Chapter 46
ARIANNA
Gaelan held me in the shower for a bit longer, not moving, just watching me like I was about to disappear from his arms at any second.
I told him what my guide had said about me being the last, but I wasn’t going to, since I didn’t know whether it was true.
But he was so mad at me, and I could see that pain in his eyes again.
In the end, I had to tell him. Lexus has made this all so real for me, to the point where I am starting to believe my past self —that this could be what both Gaelan and I hope for: that he will get to keep me forever.
I can feel Lexus and her power in my body, and it scares me how much we have.
Her essence feels just like the book when I touch it, a warmth that settles over my skin, an electric hum that feels like it’s channeling every single power element in the world.
It makes me feel like I can both heal the universe or destroy it with just the faintest of touches.
When Gaelan finally let me go, he didn’t move far from me, watching as I got dressed before he shimmered us back to our part of the castle.
He had a meeting with some of the guards, and he made me sit on his lap the whole time. The guards thought it was funny until Gaelan quietly threatened to kill them if they kept on sniggering. I had to bite my lip to stop from laughing every time he growled.
My daemon is so possessive.
After the meeting, he sent them to my house in Darkville to keep watch until we arrived.
He lifts me when they leave the room, and as I perch on the edge of his desk, he kisses me deeply, making my body all hot and needy for him again. A knock on the door that startles us both.
“Come in,” Gaelan calls, but doesn’t move from between my legs, eyes never leaving mine. I lick my lips slowly, and his eyes drop down to track the movement, making me worry that whoever just walked in is about to see some live porn.
“My lord,” Mark says, his posh accent booming across the room.
I smirk at Gaelan and then turn my head to smile at Mark; out of his eyesight, I move my hand to cup Gaelan’s cock through his pants, my smile growing when he growls low in my head.
“Hello Mark,” I say. He bows slightly.
“Ari, how are you?” he asks.
Gaelan still isn’t talking, his head buried in my neck, and I squeeze him tighter. “I’m good,” I grin, trying to hide the wobble of pleasure in my voice.
“Did you bring it?” Gaelan asks, his voice muffled by my shoulder as he peppers it with kisses.
Mark places an ancient-looking black book on the desk and steps back. “Yes, my lord, the oldest grimoire I could find. Second only to the Reader’s book itself,” he says, sounding a little awed.
I frown and look down at it. It’s bound in some kind of animal skin; the edges are ripped and jagged, as if the blade had been dull.
There are bones and a pentagram in gold on the front, along with other symbols that I don’t immediately recognize.
I reach out, and at my touch, the gold flashes, a tingle of power shooting up my arm like electricity.
The familiar feeling of home settles over me, making me smile.
“It feels old,” I say, flipping the first page open.
“And powerful.” The inside is made of the same kind of animal skin, almost yellow in color.
The ink looks red; I worry about my lower lip, hoping it’s not blood.
Gaelan moves back from me and leans over to look.
“Does it have the prophecy in it?” He asks Mark.
“What prophecy?” I ask, my eyes flicking between both.
“There was a prophecy made a long time ago, a seer as old as the gods and the devil spoke of a great power.” Gaelan runs his hand over the pages of the book, almost like he is remembering something, a light smile on his lips.
“In your first life, we were so sure that this was talking about you. But it didn’t match.
There were parts of it that just didn’t fit, until now.
I think this is what you were always destined to become, Arianna.
This life is the one she spoke about, I’m sure of it.
” He looks at me. “Everything you have been through in each life has been leading up to this one. To the power you are becoming now.” Gaelan says as Mark flips to the second page.
The words stare up at me, the dull red ink a stark contrast against the pale paper.
The prophecy speaks of a power so great that neither the gods above nor those below knew what to do. Its essence, its most distilled form, is the purest of souls
There is one who will come to read the book
Not born in heaven or hell
She will be a lady among lords.
A soul too pure for heaven.
An entity to rule the shadows
Two paths the Book shall offer
One of darkness and one of light
She is the voice of the great Book of Power
A gift that is hers to wield alone
Born again as she was before
Her soul, a continuum.
Her one true love holds her balance.
A love that has gone through the midst of time,
In her is the beginning and the end.
She alone has the power to save them all.
I reread the passage, trying to make sense of the words.
I look up at Gaelan and Mark, who are both studying me.
“So, I was made? By the great powers?” I shake my head in disbelief as a nervous laugh shoots out of my mouth.
“This type of stuff isn’t real. It’s like one of those made-for-TV movies.
” I’m not sure who I’m trying to convince, but Gaelan reaches forward and turns the page again.
My eyes go wide at the daemon looking back at me, with her white skin covered in gold markings, a drawing of a book to her left, a gold glow emanating from its open pages.
She stands in front of what looks like a throne, a throng of daemons bowing down to her.
She appears to be, in all senses, Lexus.
I read the inscription under the drawing.
When dark and light collide, she will be the one to separate, conquer, and rule. She is balance.
The drawing can only be Lexus, the likeness so substantial that I’m having trouble holding onto my doubt.
“We need to be careful, my Rose. Macy will never rest knowing you are back. If Tate ever learns about this prophecy or finds out that you have Lexus, he will be coming after you, too, and he’ll bring the Blood Bringer with him.
She’s the only one who might be able to beat you now.
” Gaelan places his fingers under my chin, making me look into his glowing blue eyes.
“You can’t go back topside, my Rose, it’s not safe. ” His tone breaks, no argument.
“Gaelan, I need to go back and get my things, and I have to talk to Mekhi and Lucy,” I say. I can’t just go back and disappear again. Mekhi would never forgive me, and Lucy has been running the club all alone. She needs help.
Gaelan shakes his head at me. “I’m sorry, my Rose, but it’s not safe.” His voice is unyielding.
I pull away from him and put some distance between us, moving to the other side of the room.
He has to know I can’t just leave. I have a whole life that is separate from all this.
“It will be fine,” I tell him, trying to make my voice soothing.
“The house is protected, and I’m not the weak witch I was before.
Besides, I have Lexus now. Doesn’t that make me a lord?
I have to go, Gaelan,” I implore. “Please don’t tell me no, baby. I’ll go with or without you.”
Gaelan’s eyes narrow slightly before he turns his head to Mark.
“Leave us,” he barks at him. Mark bows, but he gives me a look of apology before he leaves the room.
As the door clicks closed, Gaelan rushes over to me, wrapping his hand around my neck and smashing his lips to mine.
The movement steals my breath away. He picks me up and places me back on the desk.
His kiss is brutal and punishing. When he breaks it off, we are both breathless.
“Fuck! When you speak to me like that, I want to take you to our room and spank you until you beg me to stop,” he pants against my lips.
“You never listen to me,” he says, moving his hand from my neck to cup my cheek.
“I’ll go with you. I can help you pack whatever you need.
But we are coming back here. We have to be quick,” he says, kissing me again.
I’m thankful, but I would have gone alone if he hadn’t agreed to come with me.
I understand the danger, but I know Lexus wouldn’t let anything happen to me.
I feel her moving under my skin. “I always keep us safe,” she giggles, and I feel her sniff the air. “Gaelan smells good.” I smile because she’s not wrong.
I can feel her pressing against my skin, and one of my hands starts to turn white. A slight pulling tugs at my skin, making my breath come in pants.
“Breath my Rose, this is your body. You have the power to hold her back,” Gaelan says.
Having Lexus and keeping myself separate from her is something I’m going to have to learn to do. I feel her all the time, like a heat building in my heart that is so close to setting a blaze. She is a breath away from coming forward every second, and that scares me. She killed so many last time.
I look down at Gaelan’s hand holding my white one, gold claws longer than my fingernails poking from between his fingers.
I wiggle my fingers as they turn back caramel.
I close my eyes and take some calming breaths.
“Lexus can play later,” I whisper. She giggles in my head, then goes back to just staring at Gaelan, who grins.
“Lexus wants some of her other mate?” he asks, wiggling his eyebrows.
I laugh. “I’m a little worried about what she wants to do with you,” I smirk, but Gaelan just grins and then leans forward to whisper in my ear.
“I can’t wait to see just what she has in mind.” A shiver runs down my body, and I can feel Lexus’s need mirroring my own. I push Gaelan back lightly, jumping off his desk.
“Let’s go before my daemon makes it so we never leave your office,” I say, walking to the door; Gaelan takes my hand, and we both shimmer to my home.