Page 4 of Eternal Sacrifice
He winked before heading into the kitchen to make his own cup of coffee. Since his mother’s revelations, I noticed him doing things manually whenever he got the opportunity. But every time I have brought it up, he has shrugged it off and claimed he just wanted to experience more of life’s little nuances.
I worried it meant he thought his prophecy would come true soon, and he needed to enjoy the little things because he didn’t have much time left. None of us could afford to think like that. Not when the death of one of us would cause the end of the others.
I can’t live without them. All of them.
We hid for two months to be at full strength when it came time to show our faces.
“Hey,” Justice said softly, and I turned my gaze back to him. His swirling green eyes peeked out between stark white strands of hair.
I felt soothing waves of calm, love, and adoration washing from him. They hit my emotional wall like the bay meeting a breakwater. His emotions beckoned me while his soft eyes pleaded. I opened a small crack in my shield, letting his love for me wash away the last of my uncertainty. Sealing the good feelings inside, I smiled in thanks.
He always knew exactly what I needed.
“We should have about a week before Jace is a vybred,” Jax said as he placed his black cup of coffee on the table. My mind went back to nearly drooling as I watched him take a seat. He settled into the chair with his legs splayed.
If only I could see a dick print.
“Two,” Justice said with a cough.
I nodded, picking up my cup of coffee to hold between my hands rather than lunge across the table like I wanted to. We wouldn’t be able to jump each other every second when we returned home and started working hunts again. I needed to learn how to control myself.
“Focus,”Jax sing-songed inside my head.
My eyes slid back to his sea-foam green ones. I could quickly lose myself for hours in them, counting the flakes of gold that blended into the blues and greens. Movement caught my attention, and I saw Jax playing with the small metal coin attached to the chain around his neck. It kept Jace on the same plane as our other mates rather than letting him in on all Jax’s personal moments, telepathically speaking.
Jax smiled, open and carefree, and I nearly threw my mug against the wall before climbing over the table to straddle him. He smirked, knowing precisely what he was doing to me.
Damn demon.
I smiled despite myself, feeling more in control again. It didn’t matter what anyone wanted to throw our way once we got back. I was powerful enough to take on an entire army if I needed. And with my boys at my back, there wasn’t anything that could take us down.
I just needed to figure out how to break a prophecy.
Jax
Despitethetimecrawlingby slowly and steadily, as it always does, the unnerving sensation that had taken residence inside me the moment I learned my entire life was a lie hadn’t faded into a slow healing wound. It was heavily infected, seeping, and raw from my constant digging. But I couldn’t help it. Every memory of my life was now called into question. The worst part was that I could not distinguish the lies from the truth.
My mother had acted as a perfect puppet master. Sliding her pawns into position by filling their minds with delusions. The pads of my finger explored the skin of my neck. My heart beat faster as I felt the ridge of scar tissue that ran across my throat. The very real ramification of my mother’s powers used to her benefit no matter the casualty.
My voice was fucked permanently because of her.
Mor’s laughter pulled my gaze beyond the sheltering shadows under the trees. Jace sat beside me, watching the coastline where Justice and Jasper took turns swooping Mor into their arms.
I watched her laugh, bending to scoop ocean water between her palms. She launched it in Justice’s direction, but he wasn’t looking. He had just ducked down to tackle Mor into the surf, bringing him level enough for the water to drench his face. His white hair turned translucent and stuck to him, making the tips of his feline-like ears even more pronounced.
“He almost looks like a white tiger with green stripes,” I laughed, turning to Jace.
We all took turns sitting with Jace in the shadows of the tree line. It was an unspoken agreement made when we discovered this light hurt his vampire side. We didn’t feel too bad for him, considering Mor would take him off for private adventures on the beach at night.
I just needed everyone to be at full power before returning to Hell.
Jace must not have thought Justice resembled anything, because he didn’t respond.
I turned back to watch Mor. Jasper held her over his shoulder as he waded into waist-deep water. She struggled against him, pounding her fists into his back. But it did nothing to prevent Jasper from picking her up and launching her as far as he could. Her body turned over twice before landing with a splash large enough to be seen from shore. The water settled, and Mor hadn’t resurfaced.
Her head broke through the surface several heavy heartbeats later, followed by laughter floating in the breeze.
“That’s the best sound in the world,” Jace sighed. I looked over and saw his eyes closed, as if he was basking in the sunlight instead of shadows. He wasn’t; he was basking in her.
