Page 4 of Immortal Burden

~Ryker~

Infuriating. Oblivious. Beauty.

I’d anticipated this being difficult, but it was far worse than I’d even imagined.

The way Mia had looked at me with such disappointment and pity when she’d realized I was smashed had been a punch in the fucking gut. But it wasn’t as bad as the other sucker punch sensation that I normally suffered when I was in close proximity to her.

Did she really not get it?

Did she really not understand why I was three sheets to the wind?

It was the only way to numb that all-encompassing, total bodily assault of the pull to her. It always threatened to take me over completely, to make me its bitch. Hell, to make me her bitch.

The sad thing was that it hadn’t been a bad thing, or something I’d ever thought of in any sort of negative way until recently. It had served to heighten things between us, making the emotional and physical connection so much more profound, all the sweeter.

But that had been then.

This was now.

Eleven months. Twenty-five days. Fourteen hours.

The time that’d passed since that brutal day when she’d ripped my heart out.

We’d been together for almost two decades when she’d uttered those words. The night I’d proposed. The moment she’d seen that fucking diamond, it was like something had triggered in her, shattering what we’d had in one fell swoop. I knew her. I knew everything that she was. Yet, even I hadn’t been able to figure out what the hell had happened.

The situation itself was bad enough, but it was exacerbated by the fact that we worked together, both of us high-ranking members of the Guardian Movement. Thankfully, shortly after she’d broken things off, an assignment had come up off-realm, giving me the escape I’d needed. The Light Fae Kingdom had required assistance with their Orb of Life, which had started to leak energy at a rapid rate. It’d required someone of profound light magic to meld their power with the King’s Fae magic to ensure a permanent fix, something that had taken months to accomplish.

And now, here I was, back home.

The moment I’d laid eyes on Mia earlier, it had hit me like a powerful blast of magic that the break hadn’t actually done shit to help.

The pull to her was as intense as before I’d left.

The pain was just as unbearable.

I sighed heavily as I watched a flash of pink light swallow Ella, returning her back to her realm. She’d only acquired a day pass and the nuptials had taken hours. For my part, things had gone off without a hitch. I’d done my duty as Union Advocate. Mia had been happy that I hadn’t embarrassed her in my inebriated state, as she so properly put it. Now the reception was in full swing. It was as ridiculously stuffy as the ceremony, the way this Coven did everything.

Boring, cream table linens. Harpists for musical entertainment. Tiny portions of fancy food.

At least there was an open bar.

It was where I was headed now that I’d taken care of sending Ella back.

I passed under an archway entwined with lilies, back into the garden where the party was taking place. I stuck to the periphery, avoiding the crowded clumps and old friends and mentors that I knew, so I wasn’t pulled into non-stop conversation and catch-up sessions.

Reaching the bar, I ordered an enchanted margarita. Regular liquor wouldn’t get it done for supernatural beings like me. You could barely even get a slight buzz from that human shit. And, I needed to act fast. My buzz was waning.

I took a few gulps then left the bar with my glass in hand, making my way over to the farthest corner of the reception area, knowing I needed to remain for an appropriate amount of time so I didn’t look like an asshole, but not wanting to actively engage either.

I just wanted to be alone.

Bringing Ella here had been a mistake. It’d taken too much out of me through faking a jovial, fun-loving disposition. I’d done it to affect Mia. Immature, I guess. But, I’d wanted to be the one to throw up a barrier between us. It was always on her terms.

I knocked back half the glass as I settled into a spot beneath an age-old weeping willow tree. Perfect seclusion.

Before I could get lost in the reverie of the peace and quiet, hushed voices gravitated toward me, coming from just inside the entrance to the hedge maze a couple of feet from where I stood.

The notion of simply tuning it out became impossible once recognition set in and the identity of the voices became apparent.

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