Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sierra
After Phobius’ grand exit, followed by Fadon’s departure, Demos came up to me and kissed me goodnight.
“We’ll finish this once he comes around,” he said softly. “I’ll see you in the morning, Melos. Sleep well.” He hugged me, and I could have sworn it was with effort that he released me. I imagined that, once things settled a bit, I’d have to come up with a schedule to be with each mate. I still had no idea how any of this was going to work, but, by the gods, I’d figure it out somehow.
Demos bid Lucius a goodnight and left us. I looked over at Lucius, who was standing frozen in thought. With a sigh I went to him and took him in my arms. He rested his head against mine and breathed me in.
“Gods, what a day,” he whispered. He sounded exhausted.
“I agree. It’s a lot to take in, trust me.”
Silver eyes searched mine and I heard him swallow. He gently cupped my jaw before laying a kiss on my lips. I’d missed him. All the emotions, all the love I had for him hit me with such force I shook. The kiss became fierce then, desperate, and I swayed in his arms. Lucius picked me up and carried me to the corner of the tent and laid me down on the bed roll.
In silence we undressed each other, and when we were fully naked, he dragged a finger over my neck, where my osnat laid sweetly against my skin, leaving tingles of heat in its wake.
“You are mine,” he said, leaning over me.
“I am yours.”
With our fingers intertwined above my head, our joining was a homecoming. So much unsaid between us was answered in passion, and both of us gave to the other the healing we needed and more. Our lovemaking was tender and conquering, a melding and a promise to never separate again. And when our bodies were sated we held each other in the quiet of our love, fully prepared for what was ahead of us tomorrow and the next day.
My head was pillowed on his chest, my hand resting on his stomach. Outside I could hear the murmuring of the Ongahri settling down for the night. The tent’s lantern had been extinguished and the only light I could see came from the fire outside the tent, its flame dancing on the canvas walls.
“That was why Demos and Phobius never seemed to have a scent,” Lucius said out of nowhere.
“Demos has always smelled like streams and forests to me. But Phobius? Nothing but air.”
“That’s odd. Wonder why you can scent Demos but not… his brother. Ongar, I’ve heard and seen some things in the course of my life that you wouldn’t believe, but what they told us tonight?”
“I know. And Seraphs, Lucius? I can’t decide which is more fantastical: they can turn into birds or that they are ancient beings of power.”
Lucius squeezed my bottom, and I snuggled closer to him. “So Fadon, huh?”
I raised my head and tried to read his expression, but I could barely make it out, it was so dark. “Yes. Fadon. If he can come to terms with what you revealed. I haven’t thanked you for being so understanding, so accepting.”
He kissed my head. “I wouldn’t say ‘so accepting.’ I can’t stand it, honestly. But I love you enough to love all of you, Sierra. And of all the men I know, I admit Fadon is the best of men. A True Alpha, honorable. You deserve nothing less than the best.”
I smiled, feeling tears in my eyes. “Wow, Lucius. I should run from you more often.” I yelped when his arms went around me so tightly the sound was more a squeak.
“Don’t you dare even consider it, Little Dove.” He captured my mouth and bit my lip. “I may be willful and sometimes play the brute, but I’m not oblivious or blinded by resentment. I know your worth. Besides, you made me your husband.” That last was said with a growl, and my toes curled.
“That I did.”
“No regrets?”
“None.” I kissed him, then laid my head on his chest once more, sighing with contentment. “What now?”
He let out a breath. “Now we ride as far as we can until we reach a village. Gather supplies, replenish our mounts, and seek the latest news.”
“And then?”
“And then repeat until we reach the Basilica.”
“What about that weapon?” My contentment faded away as fear took its place.
“The other leaders have sent word to their respective tribes, a few men from mine as well. An envoy will be arriving to remove the weapon and destroy it. And if not destroy it, then dismantle it.”
“I don’t even want to know how you came to learn about this weapon.” And I truly didn’t.
He kissed my head. “That’s what I prefer. But this will end. The days of being blind and on the sidelines are over, Sierra. Once this is done, I have a lifetime of enjoying everything already in my life and I plan on spending every moment exploring it.”
I sighed, the contentment returning. “Gods, that sounds wonderful. That’s exactly what I want, too. So much, I can taste it already.” Another contented sigh. “I just hope it’s over soon. I’m so tired of traveling.”
He chuckled. “Would you believe I am too? Marriage has made me want to live the life of an old man.”
My hand traveled down to his length, and it hardened at my touch. “Not too old, I hope.”
“Oh, never worry about that, Little Dove. Never worry about that.” And he showed me exactly what he meant.
The next day, we packed up early and headed out once more onto the cold, forest roads. Around noon we arrived on a main trade route, finally able to pick up speed. That day, I had started out riding with Lucius, and after lunch, rode with Demos. Fadon still wasn’t quite ready for company, had only kissed my forehead in passing on one of our breaks. I put no pressure on him, though, and like I’d told him that night, I allowed him to take as much time as he needed.
We arrived in the first village we’d come to, a few hours before midnight, all of us silent with fatigue and dirty with travel grit. I could barely walk up the steps that led to the rented room Lucius had gotten us for the night. As soon as he opened the door to the little room, I fell into the sunken bed that smelled like horses and fell instantly asleep.
“Melos, come on. Your breakfast is getting cold.”
I opened my eyes and saw blue ones staring back at me. My hand poked out of the blanket and found his forearm. “Mmm. So warm. Not at all cold.” My fingers crawled under his sleeve to feel his soft skin and taut muscle.
A flush of ruddy color painted Demos’ cheeks, and I giggled. “You’re blushing.”
“Am I?” he asked, amused. He kissed my head and stood. “Come on. We have lots to do before we head back on the road.”
Groaning at the thought of getting back in the saddle, I sat up. “Where’s Lucius?”
“He’s downstairs. We wanted you to get as much sleep as you could.” He handed me my boots and a clean pair of wool socks.
“We, huh? I like hearing that.” I was one lucky girl.
After a quick scrub with water from the basin and a brush through my hair, I was dressed and heading down to the public for whatever meal the establishment had available. I was starving and wouldn’t even bat an eye if the only thing it offered was stale bread.
Fortunately, it was a steaming bowl of porridge with walnuts, honey, and dried berries—delicious and perfect for the weather that had taken a turn outside. From my vantage point at the table, I could see the snow falling outside in deep drifts.
“Not good travel weather, I’m afraid,” the inn lady said, taking my empty bowl. “Where yons headed?”
“North,” I answered.
I must have made a face. She laughed. “Well, hopefully it will turn. But I tell ya, never seen a thing like it, this weather. Awful stuff. You’d think we pissed off Lady Winter with the way it’s a’been here lately.” She shook her head and walked to the next table, where I saw Ander, Pateus, and a few others sitting.
Her words had my food sitting heavy in my stomach. Lady Winter was indeed the cause of this, but not because she was mad. I wasn’t sure why she was anything, actually, but I knew pain and heartbreak when I saw it, and that was exactly what I needed to do—find out what was hurting her and fast. If the winter continued to be this brutal, and worse, if spring were months and months away, then the people of Titus were in danger, regardless of war.
Demos joined me and looked out the window as well. “Think you are up to visiting the In-Between again?”
The thought of going back to that realm made me want to run back upstairs and hide in the bed. But the inn lady’s words were still in my mind. “I can try. Isn’t there another way to reach her? You said we were seeing what she was seeing, feeling, in her mind. What about where she really is?”
He seemed to think it over. “Perhaps there’s a way. Phobius and I have tried and failed. But we can try with you.”
“What about… him, the winged-one?” I still had no idea who that dark voice in the winter forest was. Was he even a real being?
“I wouldn’t worry about him. He can’t get to you, Melos. Not from there. Just focus on Boriel. She’s the one we need to wake up.”
“Who is he, though? I know you and Phobius have some idea.”
He shook his head. “That’s a story for another time and place.” When I huffed, he smiled. “I’m not keeping it from you, Sierra. Just…” He looked around the busy room, and I understood he didn’t want to tell me here among all these people.
Sighing, I took his hand and held it. It was comforting and warm and real. “When do you want to do this?”
“Now would be best before we have to set out.” He stood and handed me my cloak. “Come. Let’s go find Phobius.”
We found him outside the inn. His clothing was covered in snow, his cheeks and nose reddened from the cold. And gods was it cold. I hadn’t felt cold like this since my last winter in Providence, which meant our trek further north might just kill us.
Demos briefly explained to his brother what we wanted to do, and the three of us went back inside and up the stairs to where their room was.
As before, they bared their chests, but this time they had me touch a specific “spell.” With my hands pressed against their warm skin, I closed my eyes as more warmth entered my palms, twining along my bones like a fuse.
The In-Between “waiting area” took less time to reveal the entrance into the elemental’s forest as it had before, and I wasted no time finding the iced-in woman. Nothing had changed with her—she was still encased in ice, still weeping. But along the perimeter were people. Women. At least a score of them. Some kneeling, some floating above the snowy ground a few feet in the air. All of them watched me with knowing looks.
I knew instinctively they were the Sisters of the Old Ways. Like me, they were watching the elemental, but no one had gotten close, all were a safe distance away. I could have sworn one of them was Lady Lordes, but I hadn’t the time to really take her in.
Why hadn’t they approached the elemental? It didn’t take me long to realize why: as soon as I got a few yards closer to the weeping woman, my bones felt like they were made of ice, coming into contact with a barrier that threatened to shatter them like a hammer. How was I going to reach her?
I took a big mental breath and concentrated on the block of frozen crystal that contained her. I needed to get inside. Needed to see.
See with a different sense. Those words from a certain elemental from my rite in Ordelpho popped into my head. As if Esta were here, I nodded and concentrated on my center, then shut my eyes and… felt.
In my mind’s eye I was passing through a hallway with ceilings so high the area echoed. Blue gray light lit the granite floors from the wide stained-glass windows on either side. Robed men passed through me like specters of wispy smoke. I heard a hollow sound of a deep timbre of voices. A choir?
The hallway changed into stairs that led down, down, down. Dark stones. Damp air. Dripping. Cold.
Torchlight shone ahead, casting the stone walls in inky wetness. A dungeon. Thick bars of iron. A voice and a whimper.
Something splashed outside the iron bars, and a raucous laugh echoed through the space.
“Oh, Boriel. Such temper. Tell me, do you—” The voice broke off, now becoming sharper, closer. “Who is there? Show yourself!”
Terror filled my veins, and for a moment I was frozen with it. I knew that voice. It was the same villainous man from every other time I’d been in the In-Between.
“Come back to me, Melos,” I heard from far away.
Demos. Thank the gods.
I quickly sent a message to my brain that this wasn’t real, that I was, in fact, in an inn with my mate and his brother.
Unlike before, I knew exactly how to get back, and when I opened my eyes—which I found were wet with tears—I collapsed against Demos.
“Well?” Phobius grabbed my hand and began rubbing it as if my fingers were frozen with cold.
“I found her,” I said, my voice breathless. “She’s in a dungeon. In the Basilica.”