Page 59 of Fated In Forever
Nikolai paused at the edge of the firelight, his pale hair catching the glow. “If my sister agrees to help, you'll know when she arrives. The very air will tremble.”
“Yeah, like the coming of a plague,” Aisling muttered.
“You are right as usual,liobôn.”Nikolai grinned, then vanished. I stared at the empty space where he had been, my hands still clenched into fists at my sides. Another cryptic promise, another vague hope to cling to while the woman I loved faced unimaginable dangers in a realm I couldn't reach.
“Well,” Riordan said into the silence, his voice rough. “Thank you for your hospitality. We’ll take you up on that food, and the rest.”
What the fuck, Rohr?
She’s right. We’re not doing Evie any good by starving ourselves. My magic is depleted, and so is yours. Ideally, we should both feed, but…
I shuddered at the thought of feeding from anyone but Evie.Not happening.
Yeah, I agree. So food it is, and sleep, and then we convince this sister of Nikolai’s to take us into the Underworld to find Evie.
Because we’re both going.I finished for him.
You’re goddamned right we are.
We followed Ash to the kitchen, the mate bondtightening around my heart like an iron vise. Evie was out there in some other realm, trapped in shadows and death, and I was here—useless, helpless, unable to protect the one person whose life mattered more than my own.
All I could do was wait, and pray that when Nikolai's sister arrived—if she arrived—she wouldn't be too late.
26
EVANGELINE
Awe didn’t come close to describing what I felt at this moment.
Not as I watched Malachi, with his crown of horns and whipping tail, taloned hands raising the vaulted ceiling into place a hundred feet overhead, like some mythical creature of legend.
He was beautiful. A monster, yes, but perfectly sculpted for the darkness, for this place, and I could spend the rest of my life admiring him.
I had never felt this sense of overwhelming wonder as Malachi rebuilt the castle around us. Not the entire castle, but a bedroom to rival a king’s, with smooth glassy walls and tall windows that outlined the storm-driven sky, a fireplace we could both stand in, red flames roaring, filling the room with toe-curling heat.
A flick of his fingers, and an enormous four poster bed stood in the center of the room, covered in silky black sheets. One blink of his amber eyes, and long red drapes framed the view of the valley and the mountains beyond. He wielded his magic so effortlessly I was jealous, and impressed and just a little bit breathless.
And Malachi sensed my emotions, because he turned to me, hands dropping, eyes taking me in from head to toe, a slow, lingering slide down my body that left me shivering.
There. Now you will be comfortable when you sleep.
I don’t know if I can ever sleep in this place.I gazed through the windows at the hellscape outside.But thank you. It’s a beautiful room.
His expression shuttered, the fire in his eyes went out.You should not be here, Vicious. This place…cannot be good for you. Get some rest, while I search for another way out.
Wait.I reached out and caught his hand.
Wait. I brushed my thumb over one of his long black talons, curiosity rippling through me.I’m sorry. I’m the one who followed you. This was my decision, and now I’m complaining about being here. That wasn’t fair.
Nothing that’s happened to you has been fair. You have every reason to complain.
Not to you. Not when you’ve been working tirelessly to keep me safe, and then I go and…I swallowed.Anyway. We’re both tired.I snuck a look at the bed. Which did look comfortable, and my very bones ached from exhaustion, my eyelids all of a sudden too heavy to stay open.
I just want…could we just lay down for a few minutes? If I could feel your arms around me, I could pretend everything is okay.
His whole body stiffened, and then his hand closed around mine and he guided me to the bed, waited while I climbed in, then slipped in beside me, more gracefully than a creature his size should be able to move.
Because much like this place, Malachi seemed to be made of smoke, effortlessly shifting between darkness and dusk, melding seamlessly with the shadows themselves.
