Page 81 of Immortal Burden

My eyes snapped open.

I shot bolt upright, shaking and sweating.

A quick, anxious scan told me I was back in reality, in my own bed at my estate.

What on earth?

Running my hands through my mussed-up hair, I fought to get a handle on what I’d just experienced.

In my confused, dazed state, it took me precious seconds to notice the shadow standing between the now open balcony doors, a striking silhouette illuminated just barely from the muted glow of the moon.

I strained to make out further details, to identify the intruder, but it proved unnecessary when he strode further into the bedroom.

“Lucian,” I gasped.

That self-satisfied, overly-confident smirk I usually associated with him was nowhere to be found at present. His expression was severe and profoundly serious, his features drawn tight, his red eyes flickering with an urgency that matched the same coursing through every fiber of my being.

I drew my silk sheet up, fisting it at my chin, suddenly feeling self-conscious wearing only a thin strappy top and satin pajama shorts in the face of his fully-suited getup.

“How are you here?” I demanded. In my freaking bedroom, no less!

He cocked an eyebrow. “How? Wouldn’t you say ‘why’ is more pertinent?”

“No,” I shot back. “I only just emerged from that phantasmal plane, how are you out and about and functioning without any effects?”

“I was experiencing the same disorientation that you appear to be at the moment, but I awoke a lot sooner.”

I frowned in thought.

Before I could ascertain a viable reason for that being the case, he cut me to the quick, positing, “Perhaps it was the wolf’s presence holding you there, trying to tether you to him. He didn’t want to let you go, as you may recall. It could have had an impact on your journey back to this reality.”

It took a lot to swallow his reference and words about Jaxon down. Him being there had escalated the mind-fuck of a situation to another level entirely. And considering how unbelievable it had been, that was really saying something. “That’s a viable theory.”

He stepped deeper into the room, closer to my bed, making me tense. “We need to discuss what happened there.”

My cheeks heated and I hated myself for the obvious reaction, the show of weakness.

“Not to worry, little sorceress, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. We were all victims of the whims of another. I don’t believe our true personalities were wholly reflected in that space. I believe only those conducive to the intention behind the created plane were accessible to us. Your desire to be lavished with love and pleasure. My seductive charm. Ryker’s reassuring tenderness.”

“And, Jaxon?” I asked, unable to help myself.

Something flickered in his eyes, something that I couldn’t comprehend. “His presence was not intended. If you recall, he fought his way into that room. He was not… summoned there.”

“Cornelius didn’t want him there, but he’s clearly a part of this. His connection to me is undeniable,” I mused aloud. “I’m still trying to determine why the most powerful wolf in the supernatural world was effectively snubbed.”

“It could be because Jaxon Silver is no ordinary wolf.”

“What is he then?” I asked, remembering his ability to view that magical signature emitting from the chasm on his pack lands and my subsequent questioning of his wolf heritage.

Lucian shrugged. “I do not know.”

“Then how do you know he’s more?”

His eyes bored into mine. “There are several tells. The most prominent one that proves it beyond all doubt, however? His heart was pierced by a blade of pure silver, yet he still lives.”

“He… what?” I shook my head. “That must just be an over-inflated rumor.”

“On the contrary, little sorceress, the phenomena was something I witnessed firsthand.”

---