Chapter 47
ARIANNA
Ican’t help but feel that my house is smaller, somehow. I guess spending more time at the castle makes it seem that way, or maybe it’s just that my world has got so much bigger.
The wards are still firmly in place around the house. They caress over my skin as we walk up the garden path to the front door. The lights are all off, but it’s only just after nine PM. No one should be asleep.
They could all be out.
I turn my key, pushing the door open. I can hear the faint sound of a TV coming from upstairs.
Gaelan squeezes my hand. “I am going to check around the house, make sure the hounds and guards are still in place. I will be up to help you soon.” He kisses me, then backs out the front door.
I know he is trying to give me some space with my friends, and for that I am grateful.
Heading up the stairs to Mekhi’s room, I knock on the door and slowly push it open.
“Hitch?” he calls before he leaps off the bed and rushes to hug me close.
“Girl, you scared the shit out of me. Last thing I remember is dancing my ass off to B, then I woke up to a hot guy staring at me,” he says as he pulls back to look at me.
“He said you were missing?” he exclaims.
I smile at the rush of words that come out of his mouth.
He will always be my best friend, my partner in crime, the one I know would hide a dead body with me and then take me to get a manicure afterwards because we got dirt under our nails.
There is no one like Mekhi, which is why what I’ve come here to tell him is going to break both our hearts.
“I wasn’t missing, I was just…” My words trail off because I don’t know how to tell him that I am not just a supernatural, but that I am something… else.
He presses my chin up so I am looking up into his chocolate eyes. “What happened?” he says, leading me over to his bed. Distractedly, I notice that he’s covered it in a leopard print blanket and purple pillows, with ruffles around the edges.
“I’m not sure you are going to like it,” I say sadly.
He rubs the back of my hand. “Whatever it is you've got going on, I’m still gonna love you. Baby girl, you came back here covered in markings. I know something’s up.
” He pulls me close and hugs me. “Tell me what the fuck is going on, so I can freak out about it, and then it’ll be okay.
” He laughs, making me laugh with him. I take a deep breath and tell him everything: my past lives, Macy after me as well, any daemon that can smell me, Lexus, and what happened to me a couple of nights ago.
It was only a day in the Underworld, but for Mekhi, it’s been longer.
I’m not sure if I will ever get used to the time difference.
Mekhi listens the whole time, so still. At one point, I was worried that he had stopped breathing, but he nodded when I asked if he was okay.
He stares at me. “So, you’re in a prophecy, from an old ass book? Written in blood?” he asks me slowly.
“Yes. Gaelan and one of my past lives found it years ago. Now I have Lexus things are starting to add up,” I say. Mekhi nods slowly.
“Lexus is your inner daemon?” he asks, frowning.
“Yes. She looks like me, but her skin is pure white, and her markings cover more of her.”
“Can I see her?” he asks, offering me a hesitant smile. I never thought he would be up for something like that. He seems to be handling all this better than I expected. I was expecting him to freak out, to tell me that he doesn’t want to hear it, then start drinking.
Lots of drinking.
“You can, but I need Gaelan to be here. She’s new and still learning about our worlds. We don’t need me to go missing again,” I add.
Mekhi bites his lower lip. “Nah, we defo don’t need that. No way am I chasing Hitch Two-Point-Oh,” he groans. “My ass isn’t fast enough for that.” He laughs, then his face turns serious.
“Are you in even more danger? This Macy sounds like a right bitch Hitch; you need me to scratch her eyes out?” He grins, then makes a grabbing motion with his hand and hisses, making him sound like a cat.
“She is a bitch. I’ve not met her face to face yet, but I have to be ready when that does happen,” I say, hating that I’m about to tell him I’m leaving him and Lucy alone.
“Where is Luce?” I ask.
Mekhi shrugs his shoulders. “She hasn’t been home much.
I only see her maybe at breakfast.” He sighs, then stands up and walks over to his wardrobe, pulling it open.
“I think we need a night out. You’re back now, and we haven’t been out for ages,” he says, grinning at me.
I see the hope in his eyes. I don’t want to do this.
I want to go out dancing and drinking, take Gaelan with us, and show him how the people of Darkville party.
But I can’t.
Not yet.
I stand up, twisting my fingers together as the anxiety builds in my stomach. “I can’t, Mekhi,” I say, trying to not sound as sad as I feel, but it comes out anyway.
“Why not?” he asks, dropping the clothes on the floor and putting his hands on his hips.
“I’m moving out, Mekhi.” My voice shakes, and I hate the look in his eyes; the disbelief melding with shock as my words hit home. His eyes start filling with tears that he sniffs away.
“What do you mean by moving out? We made a pact, Hitch. Together till the end, this is no end.” His sadness turned to anger, and the force of it hits me in the chest.
“No, it’s not the end. But it’s not safe for you or Lucy if I stay.” I try to plead with him, but he crosses his arms over his chest.
“This is your house, Hitch. You can’t move out of it. I thought baby blues was moving in?”
I reach for his hand, but he pulls it away from me.
“We have to stay in the Underworld right now, Mekhi. If more daemons discover where I live, they will attempt to reach you and Lucy. If I leave now, you’ll both be safe.” I reach for his hand again, and this time he lets me take it.
He looks down at it and sighs sadly. “What am I going to do with you gone? Lucy is hardly home, and when she is, she spends all her time in her room. You’re my best friend.
What am I going to do without you?” He closes his eyes and pulls in a long breath.
“It’s been you and me forever, Hitch. How can you leave me?
” His last words come out as a whisper, and tears start to roll down his cheeks.
We met when we were teenagers, and we’ve shared a great deal with each other over the years.
Having Mekhi in my life has helped me heal from the loss of my family.
I’ve been with him through all of his breakups; we used to joke that if he wasn’t gay, we would have been married with the cutest children in the world by now. He has always been by my side..
“Just for a little while, until I learn how to keep us safe,” I whisper, choking back my emotions.
Mekhi exhales loudly as he squeezes my hand. “You will be gone for ages, for years, Hitch. Time works differently there, remember?” He lets go of my hand and moves to sit on the bed. “Why do I feel like I’m never going to see you again?” He says, looking up at me, anguish clear in his eyes.
I walk over and sit next to him. “I will be back. Gaelan is still going to move in with us, I just don’t want anything to happen to you.
” I wrap my arms around him and hug him tight to me.
“You are my best friend, Mekhi. I love you. Plus, who else is going to tell me what I really look like in my dresses? Who is going to steal my shoes?” I laugh as tears start to roll down my cheeks.
Mekhi presses a kiss to the top of my head.
“I love you too, Hitch. It’s going to suck even more because I can’t even call you.”
“I might have a way to fix that.” My voice wobbles with emotion. “But you might not like it.”
“What do you mean?” He asks, sounding worried.
“I have a spell, one that will allow us to talk without a phone,” I tell him.
He looks scared now. “No magic, Hitch, you know that.” He protests, looking at me like I’m crazy.
“I only have to cast it once. You don’t have to, but I won’t be able to speak to you otherwise,” I plead.
I can see him thinking about it. I hate the thought of not knowing what is happening while I'm away, knowing I could have put them both in danger.
Mekhi snorts. “What will I have to do? I’m not putting my ass on a broomstick,” he pouts at me, making me laugh.
“No broomstick, I promise.” Standing, I take his hand.
“Stand up and close your eyes,” I say. He watches me for a moment, then rolls his eyes before standing up with a bit of a huff.
He blows me a kiss, then closes his eyes.
I place my other hand on his chest, a warmth spreading over me as I connect to my powers.
I can feel the book at Westrey open, its pages fluttering.
Lexus stirs under my skin, and we both smile.
“Vinutus erimus, religati erimus, ita fiat.” Bounded we are, bonded we will be, so mote it be.
I watch as a mark like a gold feather forms on my hand, the light glittering like 4th of July sparklers. The same symbol appears on Mekhi’s chest; he winces as the last curve of his mark forms by his heart. I wince in sympathy. I know it can sting a little when they first imprint on the skin.
More spell markings appear on my forearm, writing in gold. As they settle, I know it’s vanished from the book like all the others. I feel the pages of the book flutter closed. “Done,” I say, excitement lacing my voice, hoping Mekhi will feel the same way about our new shared bond.
Mekhi opens his eyes, lifting his hands dramatically, twisting them back and forth in the air as if checking for something. I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up in my chest. “What did you feel?”
He rubs a hand up his arm, then over his chest. “Like Henry Cavil just kissed me and asked me to marry his fine ass.” He grins. “All warm and fuzzy inside. What happens now?” he asks.