Page 32 of Forsaken Dream
Chapter Fifteen
Echo
The floor opened under my bare feet, hurling me into a bottomless pit of despair. Okay, it didn’t really open, but it sure felt like it when the angel stumbled back as if speaking my real name had punched to his stomach. My own gut took a nosedive as all the blood drained from my face. Why did I tell them the truth? I could’ve lied. All I had to do was pick a supernatural race that resembled my magic and pretend I was it for as long as I could. Now, I had a feeling I’d be seeing my father a lot sooner than expected. If never was a set timeline for visiting one’s parents. I knew I’d have to face my father at some point, the male wasn’t the one to give up on anything that will move his plans forward. But, I loved lying to myself that never seeing him was a possibility more than likely to happen.
“Fuck!” Vaser started spewing profanities that would’ve made my face burn if I wasn’t feeling numb.
“I should’ve said something sooner.” My tone strange to my own ears, my voice distant as if I was talking through a tube. “I didn’t think …” Blowing out a breath, I steeled my spine. I was the heir to the throne, damn it, regardless if I wanted it or not. Just because I’d forsaken that part of my destiny didn’t mean I had to act like a scared mouse. “I left that life behind me sixty years ago.” The words rang loud and clear in the small room.
“Echo.” Tyler reached for me, but I shrunk away, the counter digging in my back.
“I am not my father, and I refuse to be associated with the male or his court. Whatever promises he has made on my behalf are his to deal with and not a concern of mine.” The weight of three sets of eyes on me was too much to bear, but I prevailed. “Coming to this realm was a clear enough message for the King that I wasn’t going to play his games, or so I thought. From what Angelo said, I see he found a way to manipulate that in his favor as well. Claiming I’m missing absolves him from any responsibilities the oath gave him to the Unseelie court. You explained the mate bond, and I know my soul recognizes in my soul to the three of you, but I will not be like him and forcefully shackle you guys to me. You are free to go and never see me again, fates be damned.”
“It’s your destiny.” Angelo sounded like that was ripped from his soul, the sorrowful look in his eyes dulling the bright blue of his irises.
“We have the power to give or take life in the palm of our hand, angel. I refuse to take it when it’s so precious, much to my father’s displeasure. I’d rather die than watch him continue to torment my people.” Old fears reared their ugly heads, but rage burned them to ashes. “He tried everything he could think of, torturing and hurting anyone and anything I cared about to punish me into doing his bidding. I never bent my neck for my father. I’ll be damned if I bow to that kind of destiny.”
Tyler’s eyes were glowing on his face, but I couldn’t read his expression because I was too wrapped up in my own turmoil. My nails were digging into the skin of my palms, my fists clenching so hard that it was easy to imagine them being wrapped around that sadistic jerk’s neck.
“I never bowed to my father. I’ll be damned if I bow to a fate like that.”
A startled squeak was ripped from me when Vaser yanked me into his arms, his embrace so tight spots danced at the corners of my vision in seconds. Struggling to dislodge him didn’t work, it only made him squish me harder, as if he was trying to fuse our bodies together. Asking him to loosen his hold didn’t work either, not when my words were muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt.
“Stop hogging our mate.” Tyler’s deep voice came from behind me, and blissful cool air filled my lungs before I was yet again in another pair of arms, my face mushed in the gargoyle’s pecks. “I noticed you were from a court, I just never imagined you could be a royal.” The deep voice traveled through the center of his chest to assault my ear.
“What made you doubt it? Was it the fart?” White noise overtook my ears, and I could barely hear myself, but I did hear the bark of laughter from Vaser.
Pushing me away, Tyler held me at arm’s length, looming over me with his great height. “You are our mate, Echo. I will never walk away from you, even if it has been you farting.”
“Thanks.” My drawl was lost in Vaser’s guffawing.
“You didn’t smell it, brother,” the incubus informed, setting my face on fire. “I bet that would’ve changed your mind.” He winked conspiratorially when I turned to glare at him.
Tyler just shrugged as if that was fine with him.
My stone-skinned mate would have me forever, stench and all.
My mate.
I didn’t dare say that until now, not even in my own mind. Somewhere deep down, the fear of their reaction when they found out who I was made me hold back, not daring to hope that running away would lead me to a mate. Well, three, but whatever. I always dreamed of true love, of the air around me being charged with barely suppressed passion. Kind of like it was now around the three males who’d dug their way past my walls, -shattering them as if they were made of glass- and straight into my heart. My father did everything in his power to make that a forsaken dream. So, I made sure what he expected from me would be a forsaken destiny. At the end, the fates shuffled the deck and dealt a new set of cards.
Warmth spread through me, melting the ice that had frosted around my heart. I’d known them for almost two weeks, which was nowhere near enough time, not by a long shot, but I would have the rest of my life to find out everything about them. What I did know was that they would lay their bodies on a mud-covered ground so I didn’t step into a puddle. They’d protect me to the point it’d suffocate the life out of me, but I’d love every second of fighting to get my independence back. I’d surely do that with Tyler and Vaser, but I wasn’t sure about the angel. After speaking my identity, Angelo hadn’t said a word apart from reminding me about my destiny like he was some prophet. My eyes locked on his.
“You thought what I said meant we don’t want you as a mate?” Angelo asked, his soothing voice raw. “That I don’t want you as a mate or am accusing you of your father’s sins?”
“You wouldn’t be wrong if you did.” My attempt at shrugging failed thanks to Tyler’s paws still wrapped around my upper arms.
I wasn’t sure if it was what I said or the way I said it, but something snapped inside the angel. A fierce glint entered his gaze, melting the bright blue into a smoldering fire I felt all the way to my toes. In one step Angelo was next to me, wrenching me out of the gargoyle’s hold. His lips slammed on mine, his tongue slipping inside. It wasn’t a rough kiss. It was hard, claiming, and disgustingly possessive, and it branded me to my soul.
I couldn’t get enough of it.
He tasted like sunshine and honeysuckle, sweet and soothing at the same time. Where the incubus was all dark melted chocolate, the angel was a fresh breath of air in a stuffy summer night. Something shifted in my chest, pieces of a puzzle rearranging and locking together as two parts that fit together perfectly. It connected to the pieces the incubus shuffled a few days ago, and everything inside me was almost right.
Almost, just not fully yet.
“I will never turn my back on you. This only means we need to up our game in order to protect you.” After murmuring the words over my lips, Angelo pulled away, and I stared at him in my daze. A giggle escaped when I noticed that he looked just as stunned from our kiss.
His golden hair was sticking in all directions where I’d tangled my fingers through it, and his lips were red, glistening, and swollen. If I thought he was mouthwatering the first time I saw him, I’d be the first to admit how stupid that thought was. He was irresistible now, and I leaned forward to continue where we had left off. The hunger that sharpened his gaze sent a jolt through my core, but Tyler was already tugging me away.
