Chapter 29 #3
“Great, the devil’s favorite daughter is coming after me, again.” I roll my head back to rest on his chest. “What kind of powers does she have?”
“She isn’t as powerful as her father; she can shape shift and has some mind control, but her main power is lightning.”
“How did she manage to kill me every time if she isn’t as powerful as her dad?”
Gaelan kisses the side of my head and moves to pour himself a glass of wine, and adds some Black to it. “She has a team of daemons working for her, all of whom have powers that she uses. She collects powerful daemons, and they fight for her.”
“Collects them? What do you mean?” I ask, taking a larger sip of my wine, I feel like by the end of this conversation, this whole bottle will be gone.
“Macy, just like her father, wants to rule everything. They are both powerful daemons, but greedy for more than what they have. So, Macy bribes or blackmails them into joining her. Once they’ve joined her team, they can never leave. I’ve heard her call them her ‘collection.’ Like she owns them.”
“Is that why she wanted you?” I ask. I know that she wanted Gaelan to merge with him.
“Yes. She doesn’t have a dream daemon working for her; none of my people will ever work with her. Dream demons can be dangerous when they go into people’s dreams; they can ultimately destroy worlds. That is one power she should never have.”
“What role does Tate play in all of this?” I get up from the chair and walk around to where the stove is, pulling open the drawer. I find pots and pans, take one out, and set it on the stove.
“Macy is Tate’s favorite; what she wants, she gets, and she wants me for herself.
Her obsession with me is unwavering. He always let her get away with pretty much anything.
By letting her kill all your past lives, leaving me with no other choice but to go to her, he wins.
No one to go against him, and his daughter will be the Lady of Illis. ”
“That makes sense. She can control the dream realm and its inhabitants. She also gets you,” Knowing what I do about Gaelan and his world, that will be dangerous for everyone. “Will I be able to beat him in a fight?”
Gaelan comes over and sits where I was sitting
“You’ll be able to beat them all. The powers from the book are unmatched.” He nods toward the pan. “Seeing as you know your way around my kitchen, I’ll leave the cooking to you.”
I smile at him. “My plan all along, just to keep pouring my wine.”
He grins and fills my glass to the top. It’s already laced with Black, but it’s light, so I’m not going to be too drunk before we eat dinner.
“Without the full knowledge of the book, I won’t be able to beat them at all?”
“We just need enough time for you to learn its magic. Once you do, you’ll be unstoppable.”
I begin to slice the steak into strips, which gives me a chance to keep my hands busy and think about this for a second. Either way, Tate or his daughter kills me. It’s a win-win situation for him every time.
“Who is the Blood Bringer?”
Gaelan took a massive gulp of his drink, then set his glass down slowly.
“The Blood Bringer is Tate’s top assassin.
Tate traveled with her to clans and villages; she would kill everyone who didn’t follow her.
She didn’t care who she cut down, woman…
children. Some say she’s his daughter, a pureblood of Hell; others say he made her.
But she has powers that almost rival yours.
Learn the book and she will not match you. ”
“What do you mean, rival mine? What powers does she have?” A little flutter of nerves bubbles in the pit of my stomach.
“She has reaper blood in her, I’m not sure how or why, I’ve seen her black eyes, that's the only way I know. She is strong; she can use both fire and water. I’ve also seen some mind control powers,” he answered me, and he sounds just as worried as I feel.
“Where is she now?” I pick up my glass and almost down the entire drink. At the start of all this thought, I only had Macy to deal with; now it’s all three of them—my odds of living a whole life are a lot less.
Gaelan gets up, pouring me another glass of wine, and kisses me softly as he hands it to me. “Tate has her locked in a cage in the underworld; he always keeps her with him. No one has access to her, not until he says so.”
“He keeps her in a cage? If she’s that powerful, why doesn’t she overthrow him and break out?”
“Fear, my Rose.”
I frown at him. “What do you mean?”
“I heard rumors that he beat her from a young age, starved her of blood, it made her fear him and be loyal to only him—the hand that feeds her. She will never leave his side.”
I turn and wrap my arms around Gaelan and look up into his eyes. “That’s so sad. Could no one help her?”
He shakes his head. “We were too late. You and I both tried many times; it was always a lost cause.”
“What happens if she comes, Gaelan? If they all come for me? I still have no clue where the book is.”
He lifts his hand to stroke my cheek before he leans down and kisses me with a passion that has my toes curling.
I clutch onto him, hating the fear that’s running through my body.
But it’s a new fear. One that makes me scared of losing this man.
A man who has made his way into my heart and has settled in as if it were his own.
He pulls back from this kiss, his voice raw with emotion. “Then I will kill everyone to keep you safe. I’ve said it before, and I’ll repeat it: I am not losing you this time. Not again. They can kill me, too.”
I shake my head. “I’m not going to let that happen. I will find the book. There is no other option.”
“Together, my Rose, we will fight together.” His blue eyes stare into mine, and I can see the love so clearly, but he still hasn’t said it.
“Gaelan? Why don’t you drink my blood?”
He frowns. “I have, Ari, when you healed me.”
“That was only because you needed it. I mean, when we have sex, you bite me lightly, only have maybe a few drops, but you don’t drink from me.
” His jaw clenches; I feel the urge to say more so he doesn’t lie to me.
“The letters, Gaelan, one of them spoke about you biting her and drinking from her, why not me?”
“Because it would make you fully mine again.”
I can feel tears pricking the back of my eyes as hurt stabs in my heart. “You don’t want that?”
“It’s complicated, Ari.”
“I see.” I pull back from his arms and pick up my glass of wine, downing it, then turn to walk out of the kitchen.
I get to the door and bump into a hard chest. Looking up, I see Gaelan’s bright blue eyes staring down into mine.
I’m now realizing that I’m never going to be able to leave a room—he’ll just shimmer in front of me.
“Let me explain, Ari.”
I cross my arms over my chest, not moving.
Just waiting. He smirks at me before pulling me close.
“I will fuck this attitude out of you later.” My cheeks flush at his words, and my pussy starts to throb.
The asshole has a knowing glint in his eye; he knows precisely what his words are doing to me right now.
“We are soulmate-bonded, which means we’re already tied together.
The bond will never break. If I bite you and drink from you fully and during sex, it will awaken, and if I start, I won’t be able to stop, Ari.
Not until I’ve marked you as mine again.
” He lowers his head and kisses my neck.
“Everything in me is screaming for me to mark you, to make you mine. But I will never do that to you until you’re ready. ”
My voice shakes with the intensity of my arousal right now. “‘Awaken?’ What does that even mean, Gaelan?”
Gaelan growls against my skin, and I feel it go straight to my wet core. “It means that we become one. What you’re feeling now will be more intense; you’ll be able to feel my pain, happiness, and sadness. My need and my love for you. It’s a bond that will make us both powerful.”
“Love?”
He chuckles against my neck before pulling back and looking at me. “I’ve loved you forever, my Rose. That will never stop.” He lowers his head and kisses me, whispering, “I love you, Arianna.”
Tears run down my face; part of it is happiness because he finally said it, the other part is sadness because I can’t say it back.
The letters I read earlier… knowing everything we’ve been through in the past, what we’re going through now, and what’s coming for us next—I’m scared.
If I say it back, if I admit to all these feelings I have for him, it might all be for nothing if Macy ends up killing me again.
Gaelan smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t have to say it back.” He takes my hand, feeling the ring I forgot to take off, and he lifts it. I watch as the color drains from his face. “Where did you find this?”
“It was in with a letter, one that you wrote.”
He smiles sadly. “Maddie’s ring.”
“I’m sorry, Gaelan.”
“What for?” He frowns.
“That I couldn’t live for you.” A sob escape, sand tears now run freely down my face. All the pent-up emotion from the letters and this man standing before me started hitting me full force. He pulls me close, hugging me to him.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Ari. Fate is a bitch most of the time.”
“What if I can’t do it, Gaelan? What if I can’t win?” My earlier confidence leaves me reeling, and my hand clutches onto Gaelan tighter. He runs his hand down my back, trying to comfort me.
“You can, my Rose. This time it will be different.”
I can feel the lie on his tongue, sharp and ready to sting me. I just hope he’s right and that this time will be different. If it’s not… I’ll lose him.
I’ll lose… everything.
“Come on,” Gaelan says, pulling my hand and leading me back over to sit at the kitchen island. He pours me another glass of wine and sets it in front of me. “Relax, I’m going to make you my specialty dish.”
I use my hand to wipe my tears away and smile. “What’s that?”
“Grilled cheese.”
I burst out laughing.