Page 2 of Fated to the Phoenix

Her sisters, the Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, had agreed to keep the secret of our birth from the rest of their siblings. Mainly because all of them were jealous of Athena, searching for any excuse to knock her out of contention as the favorite child of their daddy, Zeus. Because of their blackmail, I was chosen to be mortal.

Well, at least I’d gotten centuries out of the deal.

As the days drew close to my birthday, the less I could fully shift back into my human form. I would not fully regain that control until I went through the regeneration process. In the past, my brothers knew and accepted I would hole up at my home in central America until it was over. But not this time.

I’ve been hopscotching from one place to another so my brothers wouldn’t see this final decline.

My usually vibrant red, orange, and gold coloring had diminished, my skin tone more ashen each day, and my hair had gone totally white.

With my wings on full display and feathers lining my arms and upper back, it would be near impossible to be among humans, so if I did travel, I would wait until nightfall.

But none of that matters today. I’ve been alerted to perimeter alarms at our main headquarters and our oldest brother, Quinn’s, Scottish castle in the Highlands. The concern wasn’t the breach itself. It was that none of my brothers were responding to my texts. Ironic, I know, considering I’ve been radio silent for weeks, but knowing that the Duke of Hell, who had sworn to keep us from our fated mates, had almost succeeded twice, made the timing of their absence more than worrisome.

It turned my blood cold.

Had Dante finally discovered our stronghold and attacked? We’d been battling the demon for centuries. He’d made it known he would do whatever necessary to keep the prophecy from starting.

It had become known as the Brethren’s Prophecy and decreed that once the six of us had found our mates and bore the next generation of brethren, the continued survival of mankind would be ensured. But if we reached a millennia without our mates, all bets were off.

Dante had gone so far as to murder a powerful Celtic Goddess, Brigid, whose future daughters were thought to be our mates, after the demon discovered our father hadn’t wanted to wait for the prophecy to begin in its own time. He’d been the one to approach Brigid because he didn’t trust the Fates. And when he’d discovered Athena’s deal to make me the sacrificial lamb at the end of our tenth century, their already rocky relationship had fallen apart, and deceit and lies had become the cornerstone of their feud. It made family gatherings so enjoyable. Luckily, we’d only had the one in the past nine hundred plus years.

I’d tried repeatedly to reach each brother: Quinn, Keir, Mac, Roane and Gavin. But after an hour of no response, I used the closest portal to my recent hideaway in Cairo to investigate for myself.

The hum of the portal we used to travel between ancient standing stones overpowered my senses as I stepped from behind the stone nearest the castle. A sharp ping bounced around my chest. Unfurling my wings, I pushed back the temptation to take flight. I didn’t sense demons or anything else immortal, so I wasn’t going to take any chances of becoming a target without any backup.

I kept my system on full alert as I walked the path toward our headquarters. Instead of ruins, my family’s castle stood silent in all its glory. The cloaking spell had been broken.

What the fuuuck?

Screw the potential hidden dangers.

I snapped my wings wide, then shot into the air. Circling the perimeter, I scanned the entrance, the towers on either end. My gaze darted from window to window. Nothing. No movement. No siege. No brothers.

What, or who, had triggered the alarm?

Movement caught my attention when a figure darted from the shadows, running toward the edge of the drawbridge, then, unbelievably, they threw themselves over the side.

“Stop!” My shout bounced off the stone walls, too late to do any good. A high-pitched scream followed. Swooping down ready to attack, another, sharper ping erupted inside my chest, robbing me of my breath. For a moment, time stood still as I hovered in the air, then as I drew closer, a figure came into sharp focus.

Long, midnight black locks swayed in time with the female’s lower half as she struggled to hold on to the wooden beam.

Mate! filled my mind as my phoenix released an earsplitting bellow only I could hear.

My eyes zeroed in on her hands, her fingertips now barely grasping the edges. Her accelerated breathing filled the air between whimpers that I thought at first were fear-filled, but it quickly became clear were curse-laden cries.

I hovered behind the pissed-off curvy woman who somehow had penetrated the security of the castle, both human designed and magical. Usually, the remote location above the sea appeared as a long-forgotten castle ruin. But in reality, was an intact castle hidden behind the veil of magic our mother had gifted.

“A little help here would be appreciated.” Her frustrated demand knocked me from my musing.

I’d still yet to see her face, but the view of her backside was something to behold. Thick thighs, nipped-in waist and curvy hips made me momentarily forget the danger she was in.

The drop from the bridge to the frigid water of the moat had to be at least two stories. Not something a human would successfully survive without major injury. I gripped her waist and pulled her flush against me, then shot up into the air before setting her down on the bridge.

Shock hit me hard as yet again my phoenix screamed mate, which was followed by a sense of calm washing over me. The female in my arms had done that. After centuries of not being able to touch a female without causing her skin to burn, my hand brushed her exposed midriff where her blouse had risen, and instead of her writhing in pain, she stilled. Looking down, there was no red mark on her smooth flesh, no blisters. Only my mate would suffer no ill effects of my touch.

Dazed, I lost my balance when her body bucked against me.

“Let. Me. Go.”

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