Chapter 23 #2
“It was so long ago now I can’t even remember the date.
There was some fighting and unrest in a part of the underworld—this was back when supernaturals didn’t walk the earth, even coven witches had a place in the dark.
Tate, the ruler, decided to attempt to conquer the various realms, beginning with the witches.
I was called in by my father to assist with their defense.
He told me I had a critical job to do.” He grins over at me.
“And I did, I didn’t know it at the time.
I remember fighting and being cornered next to a cave; the daemons I fought started to overpower me.
I was a young daemon at the time; I was strong, but still had a lot to learn.
“One of them stabbed me in the arm—I wasn’t fast enough—just when I thought it was close to the end, this gold light filled the space and dissolved the daemons into nothing.
It shocked me because I had never seen anything like it.
When I got to my feet, I saw her—she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, with glowing amber eyes, an Orion’s belt marking on her left cheek, and the sweetest smile.
She asked if I was okay before running off to fight again.
I didn’t see her for the rest of the fight, not until later that evening at dinner.
She sat with the head of the coven, whom they referred to as the Book Reader.
“My father made the introductions, and when your eyes locked with mine, something clicked into place. I can’t explain it, I just knew it was you.
I felt the need to protect you, to possess you, to love you so fucking much.
You already knew, though,” he chuckles. “That night you told me about the voices in your head—your guides—had told you to wait for me, that our love is one from the powers that be, and that we were always meant to be.”
Gaelan’s eyes lock with mine, and I know that they must be showing my shock.
I have never told anyone outside of my family about the voices I hear; my grandfather would always tell me that they were my guides, but I never believed him.
But as I grew older, they became my friends in the darkest of times.
Sitting forward, I shake my head. “I still don’t understand. ”
“Let me finish, Ari.” He takes my hands in his, and the comfort I feel from that touch settles over me.
“That night we sat at dinner and talked, the next day I couldn’t wait to see you, it was like you were made to be the perfect person for me.
” He lifts my hands and kisses the back of them.
“You still are.” He grins at me. “We spent the next few months together before we completed the mating bond. We didn’t just mate as lovers, we mated as soul mates, we both received this mark because of it. ” He touches the dragon again.
“We moved to a little house in the village, but we didn’t have much time together after that.
Tate came back and caught you alone.” Gaelan’s eyes turned sad as he sat there with me, and as he was telling me this, it made it feel real, like I’d lived it.
“He poisoned you, an arrow in the heart, it was covered in Reaper blood, which is deadly to anyone. You managed to come back to our home, but it was too late. I wasn’t there to save you, and I had to watch the life drain out of you. ”
He kisses my hand again. “You died in my arms.” The emotion is thick in his voice as he stands up to look out of the window.
“I waited for my mating mark to fade; I didn’t want it to.
Everyone told me that if it faded, I would be free of the bond, and I could find another mate.
I was so scared that it would vanish, I didn’t want that, and I didn’t want another mate—you were it for me.
“It never did fade. Then a century later, there were whispers of a great power being born into the world, one to save us all.” He turns to me. “They told me that you had been reborn, but I didn’t believe them, not until I saw your eyes.” He faces the window again and is silent for a moment.
His voice is softer now. “Every time you’re reborn into this world, you always have the same beautiful amber eyes.”
I stand up slowly and frown at him. “This can’t be real,” I whisper in disbelief.
Looking down at the stack of photos, the one on top is of a lady—me—smiling.
Her long brown hair is wavy, her eyes—my eyes—stare back at me.
“Tell me about this one.” I pick it up and hold it for him to see. “Who is she?”
Gaelan walks over to me and smiles. “Maria, but you liked to be called ‘Ria.’ I took this photo; we had just finished dinner. You wanted chocolate, so we walked along the river to get some. The sun was setting perfectly, so I took this.” He pulls in a sharp breath before his eyes lift to meet mine.
“She took you from me this time, she made me beg for your life, but she killed you anyway.”
“Who did Gaelan?”
“Macy.”
I frown at his words. “The woman who kidnapped you? Who almost killed you?”
“Yes,” he answers.
My mouth falls open in horror, hurt, and more confusion.
“I need a drink.” I walk past him and into the kitchen, grateful he doesn’t follow me.
I need a minute to process all of this. The way I feel about him in the short time I’ve known him is new to me.
I’ve never fallen for someone this fast. The moment in his hotel room when he looked into my eyes before he kissed me felt like a missing puzzle piece had been found.
Then, each moment after that, all started clicking together.
Making the perfect picture. An image I had no idea I was missing so much until now.
This is all happening so quickly, and it both worries and scares me.
“Find the book, find the answers,” a whisper moves through my head, making me roll my eyes.
“Now you want to give me advice. I haven’t heard anything from you for days, and now you reply?” I wait for them to whisper again, but I’m met with radio silence. I pull in a breath and put the water on to make another cup of tea.
“Rose?” Gaelan’s voice softly comes from the doorway. I turn to look at him, his eyes searching my face. I know he’s waiting to tell me more, to answer my questions, but I don’t know if I’m ready to hear them. I know I have to, though.
“Who is Macy? A crazy ex I need to watch out for?” I laugh bitterly even though it’s not funny.
“She was never an ex; she was someone who wanted me and my realm.” He moves into the kitchen and sits down at the table.
He waves his hand, and a bottle of Black appears, along with two glasses.
My eyes flick down, and I watch as he pours us both a shot.
The way his hands move and the muscles in his arms flex make me wish they were all over my body.
I’m so drawn to him, even with all that’s going on right now, I want him.
“Who is she, Gaelan?” I question, needing a distraction.
“She is a princess of hell, a powerful one at that.”
“And she killed me?” I walk over and sit at the table, downing the shot of Black in one. It’s going to go straight to my head, but I welcome that feeling right now.
“Yes,” he answers. I stay silent because he’s going to have to tell me more than that.
He downs his shot and then pours another one, which he drinks straight away, before he speaks.
“She thinks that because she can’t have me, nobody else can either.
She’s been after you ever since we became bonded soulmates. ”
“How many times?”
“Too many to count.” His voice is barely above a whisper when he answers. I don’t know much about the kind of power Gaelan has, but I know dream daemons are powerful. If Macy can kidnap him, then she will easily get to me.
“Does that mean she’s going to kill me again? In this life?” I study him as his eyes lift to meet mine, but he doesn’t answer me. “Gaelan, you need to tell me the truth,” I implore.
Dread fills his voice as he replies, “She will try, yes.”
I stand up from the chair and start to pace around the kitchen. “So not only are there daemons after this book, but I have a princess of hell after me, too?”
He nods his head at me slowly and then stands up. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Ari.”
I can’t help the little laugh of disbelief that comes out of my mouth.
“Gaelan, you told me that she has killed me several times. That you couldn’t ever save me.
What makes this different?” I now have tears running down my cheeks, the fear that I now have washes over me like a wave and threatens to drown me.
Gaelan reaches for me and pulls me close, looking at me as he lifts a hand to cup my cheek.
“I am sick and tired of losing you. Of finding you and knowing that I will have to say goodbye to you. Of holding you for hours after your last breath and wondering how many more tears I have left in me. I will not lose you again.” He sounds so sure that I want to believe him.
His words make my heart beat faster, but they don’t offer me the comfort I need; they just make me wish that we could hide away from this.
“What can we do? I just…” I step away from him because I need to pace; pacing makes it a little less scary.
“So much has happened since Aunt May died, I’m finding it hard to believe this is my life right now.
” I walk over to the table and take another shot.
“What am I meant to do? I don’t have this book; I can only do healing spells, yet you’re saying that I get reborn.
What does all this mean?” I turn to him, trying to keep the panic from my voice, but it comes out anyway.
He sighs, “It means that you’re special, Ari. We will fight all this together, just like we always have.” He walks over to me and takes my hand. “Come to my home, I can protect you better there, and it might give you some of the answers you need.”
I sniff. “What answers, Gaelan?”
“About our bond, maybe even the book.”
I pull my hands from his and move to the other side of the kitchen. “Does she know about the book?”
“She knows I love no other, and that you are my soulmate.”
I meet his eyes. “And your soul mate… she’s always the Book Reader?”
He nods his head as he proudly, and with a hint of possession, says, “Yes. You are mine, Arianna.”
The way he says mine makes my body shake with wanting. I can feel butterflies take flight in my stomach. I want to tell him that he’s mine too, but I can’t, not yet.
He walks over to me. “She knows you’re alive now, so she will stop at nothing to get to you.
There’s something different about you this time, my Rose, I feel it.
We just need time to find out what it is.
I have an army, and my realm is protected.
If she comes, she’ll get a fight before she can even get to you.
” He lowers his head and kisses me, his arms wrapping around me and pulling me into his body.
I want to push him away, to run away. But I can’t. I want him. More than I’m ready to admit to myself. I break the kiss and ask, “What about my home? Lucy and Mekhi?”
“They are protected; as well as your house and our hounds are there.” He steps back and clothes appear on his body; it’s some kind of black leather with dark blue armor that looks soft to touch, but I know it’s not—how I know that, I don’t know—he seems like a knight.
“I have been without you for far too long, my Rose. Now I want you all to myself for a while.”
I worry about my lower lip. “I need to tell Lucy, then we can go.”
“I’ll wait here for you. Be quick.” He lowers his head and growls in my ear, “I’ve been wanting to fuck you since I came downstairs.”