Breathless Magic Read online

  “And we will honor them greatly,” I vowed.

  “Then let’s go find Sebastian and see what he’s brought home.”

  We stood together and wiped at our wet faces. Without bother to freshen up or put on the royal façade we were supposed to wear constantly, we walked hand-in-hand down the corridor and found courage in each other to face the task ahead.

  Once upon a time, Gabriel told me that leadership meant experience and it should not come easy. Experience was life’s greatest teacher and without it I could never be the leader I was supposed to be.

  Now more than ever, I hoped that he was right.

  Chapter Two

  Two days later the grief still hadn’t eased.

  In fact, if anything, it had worsened.

  We had learned that Gabriel and Silas were murdered in an altercation with Terletov. From how Sebastian described the confrontation, I had to believe we were lucky to only have lost those two men. But, I didn’t feel lucky.

  Not at all.

  Sebastian, Jericho and their team had escaped alive and mostly unharmed. From what Sebastian explained, it sounded like Silas wouldn’t have lasted much longer even if they’d been able to extract him from Terletov’s captivity. And I knew from experience that Gabriel had done everything he could to help his friend escape the battle alive.

  My only solace was that they were both free now; free from this ugly world, from the lifelong battles they’d waged and from anything else that could mean them harm. They were in a better place. I believed that with all that I was made of.

  Terletov’s experiments were killing people; not just Immortals, but humans as well. And I had failed in protecting the people closest to me. How could I ever begin to hope that I could keep our Kingdom safe?

  This was Lucan all over again.

  My friends were taken. My friends and loved ones were dying. And I sat helplessly on the sidelines and watched evil run rampant.

  Terletov was obviously a monster. Completely sick and deranged, he hunted Shifters specifically and used the Kingdom’s recent turmoil to advance his manifesto of world domination. But whatever the reason for his “scientific” pursuits, no matter how noble and pure-blooded he believed he was, he did not have the right to give and take life, to steal and replace Magic.

  He was playing God, while my Kingdom suffered.

  I had never hated any man more than I hated this one.

  And since I’d spent my late adolescence fighting an equally tyrannical King, that was saying something.

  I looked over at my husband while he listened to some menial Castle business that needed his approval. Kiran sat nodding his understanding or holding up a hand to interrupt. He seemed perfectly stoic while normal life continued in the wake of our great tragedy; the utter horror of losing two men we both cared deeply for, hidden beneath his royal mask of authority and calm. Only I could see the pain flashing in his eyes with every blink or the press of his lips into a sad frown.

  My husband was hurting, which doubled my own pain until my heart felt broken in two.

  While the entire Kingdom was rocked to the core with news of Gabriel and Silas’s downfall, the majority of life had moved on. There were still decisions to be made, events to plan for, and business to be dealt with. Our bodies felt frozen in emotional chaos, but we suffered on together in order to keep up with the life that would not slow down.

  Especially today, when my brother was noticeably absent. He had started out so strong after Sebastian debriefed us on exactly what happened; but his grief had come in stages. Today, I could feel- through our blood-bond- how inconsolable he was. His pain was so very acute and consuming that even with our mutual separation, he’d startled me awake in the middle of the night with his distress. Kiran and I had readily given Avalon and Amelia the day off, or as much time as they needed, until Avalon could face people again, face this Throne Room, face his own grief and conquer it.

  We decided to hold a memorial for the two fallen leaders, but hadn’t decided on a date yet. Every usual Kingdom festivity and celebration had been postponed when Terletov’s terror had reached the Omaha club last fall. We didn’t want more civilians targeted and we were not thrilled with how easily the club had been infiltrated and burned.

  But we would make an exception for this. For Silas. And for Gabriel.

  Kiran finished up whatever he needed to with the two men standing before him and then they left us alone. I hadn’t bothered listening for even a second, so I couldn’t have added one significant detail to their decisions.

  When he slumped back into his rigid seat, and shot me a pitiful look, I couldn’t help but take his face in both of my hands and kiss him on the lips.

  I hated my own pain, but I loathed that he was hurting, too. I felt like I could control my own grief. It belonged to me and I knew how much I could cope with. But the echo of heart-wrenching sorrow from Kiran’s Magic, ricocheting back and forth in my own body, tore me to pieces.

  I would do anything to take that hurt from him, to heal his gaping wounds and bleeding heart.

  He tipped his face up to mine, as if I were the sun and he desperately needed my warmth. I continued to kiss him, slowly, languidly, as sweetly as I could manage.

  Heat bloomed between us, but we kept the pace of our moving lips to a languid, relishing pace. I left his lips to press drugging kisses along his jaw until I could nibble on the soft flesh of his ear. He reached for me as his body shivered with need.

  With a roughened voice he whispered, “What will I do with all this love I have for you, Eden? It’s going to burn me alive if I don’t learn to contain it.”

  I smiled, because I couldn’t help it, because I had the same question boiling in my own chest, because I loved that he could feel this way about me after all this time. “Mmm,” I teased him. “What will we do with all these… feelings?” I let my hand coast over his hard chest and the rigid planes of his ab muscles. I had a destination in mind and it was not at all appropriate for the Throne Room.

  Not that it would be the first time….

  The door burst open and a female shriek of surprise pierced our quiet seduction. “Sorry!” Syl said, a little panicked.

  Kiran and I broke apart, breathing heavy and laughing. This was just not our week.

  “It’s alright, Sylvia,” Kiran drawled. “Eden and I were just…” he sighed with exhaustion and I smiled. He was too tired to make an excuse for us and I found that adorable.

  I grabbed his hand and held it tightly against my protruding stomach. The babies flipped inside, but he couldn’t feel them yet. Only I could feel their fluttering movements. “We were consoling each other,” I told Syl.

  She cleared her throat. “Er, right.” I blushed because she was still very much a mother to me and this was nothing but awkward. I could admit that. She recovered quickly and a huge smile lit up her beautiful face. “Ophelia’s awake!” I gaped at her while Kiran struggled to remember who Ophelia was. Sylvia, sensing his struggle, explained, “The human. Olivia’s sister. The one that’s been unconscious upstairs all this time? She just woke up! Not five minutes ago! I ran down here to tell you, but I need to go back and run some tests. The Witch is with her now, no doubt scaring the holy hell out of her. But he insisted on checking her over for the same Magic that Olivia came down with.”

  Came down with? Like it was some disease. I held back an indignant snort because I knew that was exactly how Olivia felt, and it might be very well how Ophelia felt when she figured out what was going on with her body.

  “That is fantastic news,” I breathed with relief. “And we desperately needed some good news.”

  “I thought you would be pleased.” Syl’s eyebrows dipped with concern but I waved her away.

  “Go back to Ophelia,” I told her. “I’ll call Jericho and fill him in. I’m sure Olivia will be ecstatic.” Syl turned to leave, but I realized I didn’t know anything besides Ophelia had woken up. “Syl, is she alright? I mean, it is a good report, right?
I can tell Olivia she’s doing fine?”

  Syl shook her head enthusiastically. “She seems to be doing great so far. She’s a little out of it and still very exhausted. Other than that, she said she felt fine and there weren’t any immediately obvious issues. She’s asking for her sister.”

  “Great!” I felt near tears with how happy this moment was and I couldn’t even fully define the emotion in myself. “I’ll call right now.”

  Sylvia left and Kiran looked at me, letting his turquoise eyes say a million things that words would never be adequate enough for. “Finally something good.”

  “Yes,” I agreed.

  A shadow of his signature smirk tilted his full lips and mischief danced in those blue depths. “This might be good news for Jericho, as well.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Olivia might relax a little with a healthy report of her sister. He might actually have a shot at her.”

  I laughed lightly but disagreed with him. “I think he’s always had a shot at her.”

  Kiran shook his head and the crown he wore dipped precariously to the side. “Only because you’ve always had a soft spot for him.”

  “Still jealous?” I leaned forward and brushed my lips gently across his delicious mouth.

  “When it comes to you, Love, I’ll be jealous of every moment you ever spend without me.”

  My heart thudded in my chest and I struggled to find words that would fit past the lump in my throat. His phone rang and I didn’t have to speak then. He kissed the tip of my nose and then excused himself. I sighed with something that sounded like complete and utter bliss. Despite all of the turmoil and tragedy around us, there would always be these moments with Kiran… always this unfailing happiness and joy that would not leave me.

  He would be what got me through this in the end. He would be my survival.

  I pulled out my cell phone and swiped through until Jericho’s number popped up. I dialed and then tried to stem my happiness from bubbling out of me. I didn’t know what kind of situation I would find Jericho and his team in and I wanted to treat this maturely.

  He was in Chicago with Talbott, Titus and Olivia, checking on Olivia’s family. Terletov had made a vague threat against Olivia’s younger brother and they’d gone to see if they could catch the bastard before anything more happened to Liv’s family.

  I hoped they’d caught him and crucified him by now.

  Jericho answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

  The good news bubbled out of me before I could phrase it perfectly, “Jericho, Ophelia’s awake! She just woke up, she’s asking for Olivia.”

  He didn’t say anything for several beats and I could feel his shock at the news through the phone as if it were a palpable force in the room. “Amazing,” he finally said. “We’re on our way now.” His tone changed dramatically when the next shocking words came through the airwaves. “We have Lilly, but you need to be ready for her. She has a gash. It’s small, and she should be able to make it back to the Citadel, but you have to be there as soon as she lands.”

  It was my turn to feel the utter speechlessness that comes from extraordinary good news. Tears fell from my eyes in huge drops of relief. Lilly. Lilly was with them.

  And while she was not completely out of danger, she was alive.

  I prayed that Jericho was right and that she could make it here. I pleaded with God to breathe enough life into her until my smoke could wrap around her and finish the job with the skill He’d gifted me with.

  I had the tools to seal her Magic in her body, but she had to get here first.

  Kiran came back into the room look distinctly pale again. His forehead was creased with pain and uncertainty, and instinctively I knew his phone call had been the opposite nature of mine.

  But my dearest friend was safe and nothing could take that incredible relief away from me.

  Distantly, I heard Jericho shouting my name through the phone dangling from my fingertips, but I was still processing the intense joy that came with knowing Lilly was alive and the confusion that accompanied it.

  “What is it?” Kiran asked immediately

  No sound came out but I was able to mouth, “Lilly.” I pushed past the emotional blockade in the center of my throat and croaked out, “She’s alive. Jericho has her and she’s alive!”

  Kiran ripped the phone from me and I heard him interrogate Jericho on exactly what they were doing and when they would be here.

  Eight hours.

  Eight hours and Lilly would be here- far from Terletov and reunited with Talbott.

  I tried to stand up to run to the back of the ballroom where I could wait and watch for their plane to land, but my knees gave out the moment I put any weight on them. I sunk to the floor in a heap of happy tears and sad tears. I had just lost two of the most important people in my life; but I was getting another one back, someone I counted as close as a sister and as important as my own life.

  Terletov was slowly tearing my Kingdom apart with his malicious terror, but I had the man I loved at my side and his children growing in my belly. Such contrasts of extreme delight and absolute despair were at war with me and so I chose one.

  I chose to be relieved and excited. I chose to anticipate Lilly’s arrival and the promise of finally being able to do something- finally being able to save someone.

  Because I would use my smoke with her. There would be no stopping my intervention. She would live.

  I would make sure of it.

  Chapter Three

  “There,” Avalon pointed to the distant jet stream that approached our general area.

  Avalon and Amelia had come out of hiding with the news of Lilly’s arrival. I’d sent Seraphina off with Sebastian, Roxie, Xander and Xavier to go help Jericho rescue his mom and Kiran’s mom back in Brazil.

  And the rest of us waited anxiously for Lilly’s arrival.

  The four of us gather in the ballroom and held a silent vigil through the night. Syl had checked on us a few times as we struggled through the idle hours, but she was needed with Ophelia until Lilly came. Syl wasn’t sure what she could do for Lilly if she needed help beyond what my blue smoke could do; but just like with the babies, we were all exceedingly grateful Syl decided to give up her human life and stay with us.

  With the jet in sight and the distant Magic growing increasingly stronger as they prepared to land, we filed out the recently-restored doors- that Olivia had destroyed when she’d discovered her Magic- and walked quickly down the deck steps.

  Kiran had thoughtfully had the Guard bring out snowmobiles for all of us. They were waiting on the other side of the Magically protected Citadel wall. We each had one for the ride to the tarmac, but would double up on the way back with the passengers from the plane.

  We were silent still as we arrived on the frozen airstrip. The Guards had been out earlier, melting snow and ice to prepare for the plane’s arrival, but the temperature was below freezing and snow piled higher than my head on every side of the airstrip.

  We stood back as the small, luxury jet dropped down. Titus, the pilot for this particular trip, landed without incident and soon the engine was whirring to a stop and the stairs descended.

  We took off running then, anxious to get inside. Before the staircase even touched the tarmac I leapt onto it and sprinted up the stairs. The door opened and I rushed into the small cabin, expending my blue smoke before I could even visually assess the situation.

  Lilly lay across Talbott’s lap like a petite, wounded bird. My heart shattered at the sight of her so frail and helpless. Her already pale skin was nearly translucent in this light. Her closed eyes were sunken and black and blue with fatigue or trauma. Probably both. Her body had wasted away to nothing but thin frailty and her clothes were filthy rags that stuck unnaturally to her protruding bones, like they’d been glued on with blood or other unthinkable liquids.

  I pushed more blue smoke into the small space that was cramped with people now. Talbott looked up at me with desperate
, pleading eyes. He silently begged me to fix her, bring her back from the precipice of death.

  I held his unsettling gaze for only a moment, promising that I would do everything in my power to heal her.

  But then my eyes were back to her, back to watching her as the blue smoke took hold of her beaten, broken body and went to work.

  I felt the Magic between us. I felt the smoke as it connected to her very weak energy. A thin stream of violet electricity leaked out from her limp hand and floated into the smoky air.

  Slowly my special Magic began to infiltrate her energy field. Slowly, so slowly I wanted to cry, my smoke reversed the effects of that deadly knife that had taken Lilly’s life by force. Slowly, I began to feel the smallest blossom of hope as it took root in the pit of my soul.

  And then without warning, Lilly sat up on her own and sucked in a deep, gasping breath. Her eyes fluttered open for just a moment and her skin pinkened with new life. She collapsed back onto Talbott in the very next second, but the wound on her finger was healed and her body pulsed with life again.

  I crumpled at Talbott’s feet, too relieved and overwhelmed to stay standing. Grateful tears poured from my eyes and my chest heaved with sobs that represented a hundred different emotions. I felt Talbott’s own tears as he clutched Lilly against his chest, leaning over her and openly weeping.

  Kiran lifted me from the ground and pulled me tightly against his body where I could continue sobbing into his warm sanctuary. My arms held tightly around his neck, but he supported my weight since I was incapable at this moment.

  My friend, my closest, most loved friend who had been to hell and back countless times in her short life, lived. She was alive and she was with me again.

  My vow to keep her safe for the rest of her life had to have been as strong as Talbott’s in that moment. She had been through too much. Always the victim whenever conflict raged against this Kingdom.

  She’d been beaten, broken, experimented on and through so much pain and torment I didn’t know how she kept her sweet spirit. But she did. She was stronger than I could ever hope to be and more resilient than anything else alive.