Page 108 of Fated In Forever
“Can you reverse this or not?” Malachi's voice was little more than a gravelly rumble, barely recognizable, but the unspoken hope in those burning eyes made my chest ache.
Sabine circled us slowly, her power humming in the air like electricity before a storm. Her magic felt ancient and vast, like nothing I’d ever encountered before and I gripped Malachi’s hand tighter. She took her time, probing at the darkness that had taken root in both of us, then sighed.
“Not reverse,” she finally decided. “That would be a tragedy. I could, however, perform a spell that would glamour you,” she looked at Malachi, “to appear mortal as long as you remain in this realm. Or I could cast a spell over you,” her attention turned to me, “for when you go back to the Underworld.
“Forget about me. I’m never going back to the Underworld.” I said quietly, shivering in the chilled morning air. “That’s what started this in the first place.”
“Do you want my help or not?” she asked, sticking her bottom lip out like a petulant toddler.
“Yes, we want your help.” I said, all the fight draining out of me. We had too many battles ahead of us for me to go to war with her, and anyway, I was pretty sure I wouldn’t win.
“Good.” She ran her eyes over Malachi again. “But you have to be sure. Choices like this can …” she clamped her lips together, as if she was tryingnotto say something. “Are yousure?”
No. “Yes,” I told her.
My eyes kept drifting over to Malachi, to the way shadows drifted off his shoulders, how darkness crept out of the corners of the garden, even though dawn was close. I hadn’t been brave enough to ask the really hard question—like…when do you have to go back?
I couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving, not when he’d just gotten here, and from what I’d picked up so far, his time in the Underworld had been far longer than my own, three-week separation.
And truthfully, I loved this form, even the horns. I loved the way his skin glowed with an almost purplish hue, I loved how shadows spilled from him like water and Iespeciallyloved his tail. But I also wanted my old Malachi back.
I wanted to be able to wrap my arms around his waist and wind my fingers between his and I wanted to make love to him. I wanted to feel all of him inside me, and I wanted to have a future with him, in this realm, where he didn’t become some sort of side show.
“We’re sure,” I said, straightening my shoulders. “We’re ready.”
Sabine wove her spell without ceremony, her hands moving in intricate patterns as words I could never hope to understand spilled from her lips. The misty air shimmered around us like gossamer, a comforting kind of magic, washing over me like warm honey, seeping into my bones, battling back the Underworld's cold corruption.
Beside me, Malachi roared as the transformation took hold. His massive form convulsed, thick, inky skin melting away, horns receding, until finally—blessedly—the male I remembered stood before me.
But even in this form, he had changed.
Before, he'd been lean and graceful, now his tall frame was a corded mass of pure muscle, shoulders more defined, layered with strength, wider than before. The Underworld had remade him into something magnificent and terrible.
And best of all, he still had that delicious V.
I sucked my bottom lip into my mouth, and henoticed.
His eyes caught mine.I want to devour you, Vicious.With a snort from Sabine and another swirl of magic, he was dressed in a long dark blue coat, perfectly fitting black pants, a white shirt unbuttoned to show his strong chest.
“I’m not sure this is an improvement,” Sabine sighed, lowering her hands. “But there are some things I can’t change. This is no longer your primary realm. Your place is in the Underworld now, because there is something that needs finishing.” Sabine sounded almost regretful when she added, “They must all find their way home, they have waited long enough.”
Confused, I looked between them, hoping for an explanation, but Malachi just nodded solemnly. “I understand.”
“You should know,” Sabine continued, cupping his chin, “this burden you carry is sacred. There is honor in sacrifice, Malachi, joy in suffering, and the dead could not ask for a better guardian.”
I expected him to snicker, or make some depreciating remark, but he only laid his hands on her shoulders. “That is something I have recently discovered, but thank you for the reminder,amicus meus. Gratia te benedicat et te tueatur.”
I had no idea what he said, but then it didn’t matter, as Malachi's hand found mine, his fingers still just as callused and strong as in his other form.
“I expect you have something totell me. About this burden of yours.” I whispered, half afraid to hear that story, but there was something so different about this new, steady sense of pride and quiet assurance, I kept my questions to myself.
He’d always worn his arrogance like a shield, his mocking smirk like a mask, but I had a feeling I was finally seeing the real Malachi, or at least, the one who’d been baptized in the shadows of the Underworld, and emerged from the darkness changed.
For the better.
His fingers tightened around mine. “May I choose how I spend my time here?” he asked Sabine quietly, more of that cautious hope threading through his voice.
“You will never be denied a choice, as long as you fulfill your duty to the Underworld,” her eyes softened when they landed on me and I braced myself. The black veins had almost faded entirely, now appearing more like intricate tattoos than a sign of magical corruption, but something in her gaze told me I was about to get bad news.
