Chapter 40
DARCIE
Every muscle in my body tingles, my joints throb, and my skin feels too tight.
Even the air kissing my cheeks is too abrasive. The coolness is anything but gentle despite the heat burning beneath my skin.
I…don’t feel right.
Something is off, but I can’t figure out what.
My eyelids crack open, and I immediately cringe at the sunlight flooding the room around me before a familiar ceiling comes into focus.
I’m in Greece.
When did I—
Breath lodges in my throat. I jolt upright, whipping my head from side to side, panic threatening to choke me. Only…I’m alone.
Aside from the two men standing on the balcony.
I exhale a staggered breath, relief loosening my muscles as I watch Des and Alex speak.
I’m safe.
Des got me away from Adir before it was too late.
My eyes snap down and examine my hands.
There’s no sign of golden light, but my gut says I’m not unscathed from Adir’s attack.
With each breath I take, the certainty that I’ve changed grows.
I expect panic to surge as the trauma of Bella’s death and what Adir almost accomplished with the help of Faine and an Elder hits me.
But I’m…composed.
My thoughts may be a mess, but I’m calm.
What is going on?
I swing my legs out from under the comforter tucked diligently under my thighs and slide off the bed. My feet touch the floor. I pause and flex my toes against the soft carpet, marveling at the intensity of the ordinary sensation.
I tug my wrinkled shirt down to meet the waistband of the matching sleep shorts and approach the balcony.
My steps are slow. Light. Fluid. Not like me at all.
My heart flutters when Des’s voice trails back to me. He sounds tense. The urge to go to him and alleviate his discomfort nearly steals my breath.
I stop and bite my lip, my brow furrowed.
What is this?
“She will hate me for the rest of time for what I’ve done,” Des says.
My stomach clenches, and instinct says he’s speaking about me. A
The thought that he blames himself for anything that happened with Adir has me hurrying forward, desperate to free him of his guilt.
“You do not know that,” Alex replies, frustrated. “And instead of assuming what Darcie thinks, you should simply ask her.”
“I agree.” I exhale.
Both men whirl around.
A glance confirms Alex looks okay after facing off with his father, but my attention is quick to focus on Des.
A warm gold halo surrounds his body, an aura. One that matches the one kissing my own skin.
Des stumbles, his back colliding with the railing, and a stricken look crosses his face.
Concern grips me.
“Des?”
Is he okay?
Before I can utter the question, he closes the distance between us and wraps me in his strong arms.
My soul sings. My blood races. Every inch of my body preens under the contact, but concern overwhelms those breathtaking emotions.
He nuzzles my neck, and warmth floods my veins.
“Des?” I murmur. “Are you alright?”
He sighs. “I am now.”
I don’t know what to say.
But I know I don’t want him to let me go.
I slide my hands tighter around his back, pressing my palms against his rippling muscles.
A throat clears. “I’ll just…I’ll leave you two to talk.”
Alex’s form blurs across the balcony, but I don’t turn my head to watch his exit. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.
My body and soul are of one mind, and that mind refuses to put distance between me and the formidable Immortal I’ve longed to touch and hold for longer than I care to admit. The same Immortal who has rejected me on more than one occasion.
But he’s not rejecting me now.
“I’m so sorry, Darcie,” he mutters into my neck.
“For what?”
His lips brush my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “Everything.”
I let the word hang overhead, but I don’t dwell on it. I don’t make assumptions.
Now is the time for questions, and I believe Des will give me the answers.
“What’s happened to me?” I draw back just enough to meet his gaze.
His green irises swirl. “Your mortality…it’s…”
“Changed,” I finish for him, my voice barely above a whisper.
I assumed as much the moment I stepped on the carpet.
I’m no longer mortal. The Immortal’s Curse has taken hold.
His lips press together. He gives a stiff nod. “And—”
“Bella?” I cut him off, swallowing the emotion threatening to clog my throat. “Is she really…”
“Yes.” Pure anguish floods his features. “Adir killed her.”
I grip his shirt tight. “But she’s Immortal. Shouldn’t she have survived?”
“Originals are powerful.” A lone tear rolls down his cheek. “More powerful than we should be.”
Meaning, Adir has the power to kill another Immortal.
My heart aches.
I reach up and wipe the moisture away. “How’s Thane?”
“Destructive.” He sighs and closes his eyes, leaning into the hand I leave hovering by his face. “Lome and Eshe are working to keep him contained as he works through his grief.”
I can’t imagine.
“This…doesn’t feel real.”
His eyes open. “I know.”
I lower my arm and move to step back. Des’s arms tense for a moment, but then he drops them to his side and releases me.
I resist the urge to step back into his hold. “What happened after I fainted? Where’s Adir?”
His jaw tenses. “He escaped.”
My stomach drops. “What? How?”
“Faine,” Des hisses the Original’s name. “She created a rip while my brothers and I were distracted. Adir stepped through while I was trying to help you.”
Damnit.
My teeth clench, and hot tears burn the backs of my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for.”
“No?” I scoff and shake my head. “I’m the reason Bella is dead.”
The words strike my chest, making it hard to breathe.
“No,” Des clips out. “That fault lies solely on Adir’s shoulders. You didn’t ask to be taken.”
“But Bella was working with Adir,” I say, uncertain if the brothers know the depth of Bella’s involvement in the rebellion. But I’m not willing to hide any information. Not after what happened.
Des doesn’t look surprised.
My forehead furrows. “Did you know?”
“No,” he says. “But there were rumors…”
Of course, there were.
And of course I’m only now hearing about them.
I take a deep breath and shake my head, clearing away the frustration trying to take root from being left in the dark.
There’s no point now.
“Bella and Adir were allies,” I say. “But then she disagreed with him about the…the bond.”
“Of course she did,” he says. “Being a One, Bella knows how sacred the connection linking soulmates together is. No matter what her allegiances were at that moment, she wouldn’t have been able to sit on the side while Adir attempted to desecrate such a sacred bond.”
“Attempted?” My pulse spikes. “So…Adir didn’t…”
“No. Adir did not complete the bond with you.”
My shoulders slump. “Thank the Creator.”
“But there is something you should know,” Des murmurs so quietly, I am surprised I hear him.
I lift my gaze.
Brilliant green eyes hold mine. In their depths, a flicker of fear ignites.
My stomach twists.
“What is it?” I ask.
“By the time we arrived, the bonding ceremony had reached its pinnacle.” He crosses his arms. “There was nothing to be done.”
“What do you mean?” The way Des averts his gaze puts me on edge. “What—”
“The bonding ceremony could not be undone. The powers that be—the ones that solidify connections between my brothers and our soulmates—had already woven itself into your veins.”
The golden light.
My throat tightens. “What does that mean?”
Des drags his gaze to mine. “Once the bonds are called forward, they must secure a connection. Otherwise, your soul would’ve remained open and vulnerable. It would have left you exposed to anyone with even the slightest ability to bind souls.”
“So…” I search his eyes. “What did you do?”
“We had to complete the bond.”
My heart thumps painfully, and my blood turns to ice.
“You mean…Adir—”
“No.” Ire flashes in his eyes. “I already told you, you did not bond with that asshole.”
Relief flows through me, but confusion prevents it from taking root. “Then, who?”
“Me.”
My breath hitches, and my heart soars. “You?”
Des rolls his shoulders back and holds my stare. “Me.”
My skin draws tight, and tingling erupts all over my body.
I urge my body to calm down—to temper this reaction.
From the expression on Des’s face, he isn’t thrilled by this news. His reaction reminds me of our conversation outside the Parthenon—
Wait.
My eyes blow wide.
Memories…
Memories I didn’t remember before this moment race through my mind.
The National Gardens.
The Parthenon.
The café.
Des picking out the keychain with a miniature of the monument…
The truth hits me like a punch to the gut, and I gape at the Immortal in front of me.
“We’d met before,” I whisper. “In Greece.”
Understanding floods his features. “Your transition has removed the Masking.”
“Masking?” My temper sparks. “You put a Masking on me?”
“I had to.”
“No,” I snap back. “You didn’t.”
Des didn’t mention anything about our connection during that stolen day together in Greece.
Sure, I was attracted to the handsome man who’d approached me in the National Garden. Any woman with eyes would’ve been.
And while I found it odd how desperately I wanted to spend time with him, nothing about it felt unnatural.
Or alarming.
Des did not have to erase the moment from my mind. There was no danger in keeping the pleasant memory of one of the most thrilling days of my life.
He runs a hand through his hair, revealing a sliver of skin at his waist. “I did what I thought was best.”
I shift my gaze, resisting the lust-filled thoughts trying to take root. “I didn’t deserve to have my mind manipulated, Des. You don’t get to decide what I remember.”
“I know. At least…I know that now.”
I lift my eyes. Sincerity shines in his stunning emerald eyes.
“You do?”
“I do.” He nods and steps closer. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
“For which part?”
“All of it.” He exhales. “For manipulating your memories. For forcing the bond—”
“You didn’t force anything,” I counter. “That was Adir’s—”
“But I am the reason you are in this situation. If it weren’t for—”
“For what?” I snap. “The fact I’m your One? The fact that someone in the past murdered all of your soulmates? The fact that Adir forced your hand and made you bond with me? I understand you don’t want me. But do you have to—”
“What are you talking about?” His voice drops low.
A shudder races through me.
I swallow down my nerves and lift my chin. “I know this isn’t what you want, but—”
“You’re wrong.”
I pause and blink. “What?”
His eyes search mine.
For a moment, I believe he’s going to be honest.
That I may finally catch a true glimpse into the Immortal’s thoughts and worries—that he may finally realize keeping information from me is pointless.
But whatever he planned to say stays locked behind his lips.
“You know what?” He clears his throat. “You’ve been through an ordeal. Perhaps you should rest—”
“Damnit, Des!” I shout, spin on my heel, and stomp back into my room.
I need distance from the Immortal.
Before I do something foolish like punch him.
Or kiss him.
The hum of awareness in my gut tightens as Des follows me.
“Darcie? What is it?”
“Nothing.” I approach the door, determined to escape this room and the confusing as hell man following me.
My hand grabs the knob. Before I can open the door, Des’s hand lands firmly on the wood next to my head, holding it closed.
“What did I do?”
“Nothing,” I say again, frustration dripping from the word. “Like always. I think you and I are on the brink of something—that we’re finally going to be honest with each other. But then you chicken out.”
A shadow creeps over his face. I expect him to either deny my accusation or deflect it.
“I don’t want to cause you pain,” he says.
I frown. “What do you think I feel every time you reject what’s between us?”
There.
I said it.
My feelings are laid bare, open to more rejection and heartache.
But I can’t help it.
Whatever the bond did, that connection linking me to the stoic Immortal has never been so taut, so undeniable.
Every inch of me wants to close the distance between us and explore what this bond means.
But Des doesn’t feel the same.
Clearly.
He wouldn’t be able to stand there and tell me to go—
Des growls. “Fuck it.”
His hand slides behind my neck while the other grips my waist, and he yanks me into his chest hard enough that I suck in a breath.
That same breath is stolen from my lungs when his mouth descends and crashes into mine.