“It is now,” Evanthe’s voice yelled into the room.
Any misgivings the six had were long gone as they disappeared from where they were then reappeared around the circle of the room, each perfectly spaced, looking fierce as ever.
“Have you lost your mind, woman! I was trying to get the one back, and you sent the other six!”
Shade had managed to grip Zosime, peel her off of Gwinn then pass her back to Dagen, he never had a chance to catch her, Agatha appeared before them. “I’ll be handling this for ya for now,” she said as she vanished with Zosime. In rage Dagen left the garden chasing the scent of Zosime through the rumbling place.
Shade pulled Gwinn against him as he edged back then used his vim to take him back to the doorway.
“What the hell,” he breathed as he looked across the room.
“I don’t know. We didn’t do anything!” Gwinn said.
Evanthe had vanished and appeared on the one solid point in the room, the foundation of a spell. Rapidly her eyes read the marks on the spell, each second only made her chest heave.
“Mom?” Bastion said from across the room.
“Woman quit fucking with me, get over here!” Thrash said pointing to the ground at his feet, the shaking ground.
Evanthe looked up from the spell to her youngest at the northern point of the spell then she spun in place looking in the eye of each boy, finally stopping when she reached Thrash’s enraged expression. She stared him down as she stepped closer to the edge of the stone she was on. Before she could take one more step, Thrash had used his vim to vault him there. He appeared behind her and pulled her body flush against his.
“Witch, no time for games.”
Evanthe couldn’t help it—her body pressed back into his taking in the stolen embrace, the feel of the male she had loved before she was ever born.
“There are but two choices,” she said as her stare moved across the room to Shade. “Either this blade returns, or I must fight the power neither of you are ready to release.”
Shade swayed his head. A silent answer. He wasn’t holding shit back. If he knew anything about Evanthe, it was that she was pure, not a selfish bone in her body. If this power that was struggling to rise was evil, she would not have bothered to ask what Shade or Thrash wanted, she’d already be in the waters below fighting a power Shade could feel chilling his bones.
Thrash went to tear the weapon from her, his intent was clear, toss the fucker away. Evanthe held her ground, and seconds later her back was flush against his front as they both outstretched one arm. A bolt of light came from above landing on the blade, the power in the room was bone shaking, breath-stealing. Then one by one a ray of light came from each son, not a single ounce of relief came until Bastion, with a degree of confusion lingering in his wolf’s stare, stretched his arm out and his vim, full of light connected with is families.
The knife fell then, slow and purposely, before it reached the raging water a whirlwind spun up and took the weapon. When it morphed into the image of phantom everyone in the room leaned forward ready to defend.
The question if they were right or wrong had no chance of skirting across their minds. In one beat the earth was swallowing them whole, the next...the garden had returned. Silence returned.
What. The. Fuck.
Chapter Four
Thrive. Thrive! Fucking Thrive. It was all Reveca had ever strived to do. One fuck up after another and derailed her, molded and twisted her into someone she didn’t recognize at times. She could list every fault that was hers and everyone that wasn’t and still miss half of the ones the Gods of karma were tracking.
Which is exactly why she had decided to stop looking back. What good did it fucking do? Pricus had stirred her soul to the point of nausea. It was like staring back at a yearbook photo when the camera captured ‘one of those phases.’ Part of you wants to rip up all the evidence. The other is enamored by how far you’ve come.
Reveca’ didn’t want to go back, she simply couldn’t. Her magic was like a rocket on steroids when she did manage to ride a wave of exaltation, it was as weak as dime store witch when she met the blues once more. Pricus had set her the fuck up. She’d give him that much.
The fucker put exactly what she wanted before her: a way out and nothing but pure power to siphon from. What did he expect her to do? Take the higher ground and say thanks but no thanks, I think I’ll just chill in sugar daddy’s crib til he comes back ‘round. Fuck no. She had to survive! When vultures circle, you do not idle, you defend all that you are with all that you are.
Reveca had.
At least she thought she had. She walked through that fucking mist drawing it all in, every single fucking gift her ancestors once had was now swimming in her vim. Every fucking body should’ve bowed at just the idea of her approach.
There was the mist, check. There was a swamp...freedom, check! Then there was Talon—way more than Talon. The air had popped with electricity she could feel the dark and the light magic clashing in the heavens above her. She knew then she was a toy to the freaks who had beat her to the party. They’d set up shop while she was locked away fighting with an ancient she obviously failed to kill correctly the first time!
All that came after was a haze. A maddening mess in the fog of her mind. Then nothing, not a fucking thing. There she was in the middle of a swamp, Scorpio’s territory (figures) and no will to leave. Why? What had they fucking done to her this time?
The bank of the river was easy enough to find, so was the doorway home, but not a single fucking one of the people who was supposed to love and adore her, be her teachers and her foundation, would let her in. They all stared her down like she was the crazy one.
Her father tried to speak; Reveca would have none of it. Life was disciplining her enough as it was. Her mother offered her the same cool gaze. Commanding and bitchy as her. Reveca could hear them begging to ask after Saige. Their perfect child, the one who honored their blood. It was sickening, truly.
Forgiveness, forgiveness, forgiveness. Three ravens landed near Reveca, each squawking the same word. Forgiveness three times over? Reveca knew this was not a promise of what was to come for her but something her pesky ancestors meant for her to do.
Reveca wasn’t forgiving shit. She knew ravens were symbols of transformation, reflection...both sounded far too close to the final bow to her. Why should she give those left behind the honor of living on for eras with forgiveness?
There are no words for the dead. It’s all sensations and vibes. Which made arguing all the harder because it took a lot of energy to find the right vibe to state a well pointed, insanely well thought out rebuttal. Reveca had settled on a stubborn glare into her roots as she flipped through any and every chance she could hope to have of breaking out of the spell she was trapped behind, and then the victory that was long overdue, the slaying of Scorpio.
Reveca was sure she had found the perfect glare and had settled into the long shot actions she could take to win when King came. At first, the same thrill he always gave her swarmed through her being, the sense that all was well echoed through her in the calmest of ways.
It was the way he looked at her that chilled her to the bone. It was a look that simply said he had seen her defeat, he was only there to hold her through the reality of it, which changed her view. King may have never been shy about laying down his life, but when it came to hers—he’d destroy the universe before he let her fall.
He couldn’t be real; not this being that had so much sorrow in his gaze.
Real or not, second by second awareness was swelling in her mind. The fight with members of her long gone coven had taken over too many of her thoughts, the much needed death of Scorpio and Toril had barely had a chance to rise to the surface.
It wasn’t until this version of King told her he had lost Dagen, that Dagen was one of those Creator forsaking Throng people that Reveca felt truly sick at her stomach. She had felt the wretched pain when Dagen and King’s connection was sever
ed. As crude as Pricus could be with his life lessons, even he would not make such a thing up.
What was this then? Why could she not feel her King? Why was everything where she could see it, but nothing where she could truly feel it? Right when the spiral of her thoughts began a downhill slide, King dropped the bomb, telling her to speak to her Sons like it was the last time.
Her first thought was he meant she was no more, this spell she was locked under would fuck with her for all of time until madness stole her awareness. Then she realized Toril was not the kind of woman who toyed with her prey. She had promised as much long ago when she delivered the prediction of Reveca’s death, a death with a sword of every soul Reveca had unjustly slain.
So, what other conclusion could Reveca draw? Her entire fucking family had turned on her. Just like that. No warning, no discussion, BOOM, they were over her and cut her free. They chose Talon over her. They chose their loyalty to Scorpio over her. Fuckers! All at once the brethren she had admired and felt protected by turned into selfish assholes.
Her rage had frozen the humid air. It was snowing in the swamps of Louisiana. She stared at King hating the look in his eye—no one feels sorry for her! Her senses began to stretch in every direction. By far, not all the Sons she had held dear were close. Shade and Thrash were nowhere close, others that she had granted leadership over other chapters were still far enough out of range for her.
Beyond Shade and Thrash, every son who had heard her ask for Scorpio’s head was close. Each strategically placed around the vortex of power she could sense all around her. Her coven was there along with each of their little mini rising Gods. What a fucking mess.
One second Reveca had a hot shot plan to flag down Temple, Thames, and Knight and then a few dark angels that she was sure she could charm and send them to deepest waters on the earth. Temple was strong enough to find the blade she was after, the closer he got to where she knew it fell the better he’d be at it, any one of them would have the power to make it down to the sea bed.
Now this shit!
Reveca glanced back to the fog-laced swamp and gauged her chances at drawing more power from her ancestors. The vibe that screamed NOPE was still loud and proud from those peeps. She dropped her gaze and focused, the points of the spell she had were close, one dark, one light. Even if she found them she’d have no luck at breaking them or taking their power, she was a player on the board. She needed a witch.
Her senses grappled with looking for Temple. He was too close to Judge, the one Son Reveca knew would be the hardest to sway to her favor, Judge and Talon had a family aside from the Sons, one that only added to the ageless loyalty between them.
A sly hitch of her lip emerged as Reveca’s senses locked in on none other that her twin sister. Saige was a lot of things, but under it all, Reveca knew the two of them were bonded. Even when they were at each other’s throats, there was little they would not do for the other. At the very least Reveca was sure she could taunt her sister into coming closer to the battlefield. Any promise of seeing their ancestors, along with the proud gleam in their eye when they saw Saige and deemed how dutiful she had been across her existence was enough to hook Saige into Reveca’s whims.
She was near Talon, but Reveca worried little about this hang-up. Last she saw of Talon he was looking right ragged. Weak as shit. It was no surprise Saige was close to him when Reveca took his state into consideration. Come to think of it, it was no surprise why the Sons had turned on her. They’d do anything for their dying King. All in the hopes their good karma would bring him back ‘round to the side of the living.
Stupid fucks.
Reveca had gotten a good look at Ambrosia. She had seen the hunger and determination in her eyes. There was no stopping her. Talon would have to play house or plunge into the ‘big sleep.’
In life, it was all about timing and as of late Reveca’s timing, or better yet, the timing of her enemies had sucked hairy balls. If all this shit had happened after Talon had succumbed her Sons would have done anything for her, they would’ve been more lethal than she had ever imagined they could be.
What are you gonna do? Roll with the fucking punches, that’s what.
Reveca turned from King and began to move toward where she knew Saige to be. She cursed when she felt King’s hand wrap tightly around her arm. “Did you hear anything I said?” he asked her.
“I did. My family has left me. So be it.” She went to manifest her way to where she wanted to be, but she might as well have had sandbags wrapped around her ankles.
“Let. Me. Go,” she raged only to figure out he wasn’t holding her, only walking at her side at an utterly slow rate. What the fuck was wrong with her?
“Where are we going?” he asked again.
“To Saige alright?” she ticked her head back to the swamps. “Mom and pop want to say hi.”
“That’s a lie.”
Reveca sneered. Lie or not, Saige was coming into the center of this spell. She was going to help her break it then give her safe harbor until she made it to the deep waters of the sea. By then Talon would be worm food, the Sons would be vengeful, and Toril would run with her tail tucked between her fucking legs.
I Win.
~~~~~
The feel of Saige’s legs wide open framing his stance, the heated look he saw in the white orbs her eyes had become was what wet dreams were made of. They’d graced each other innocently, they’d fallen hard and fast the way desire forces one to do from time to time, but they had never stared this long into each other both questioning if this was right or wrong.
Not them being right or wrong, there had never been a more right than them, if Talon knew anything he knew this. Saige had awakened his soul with one glance, changed every perspective he had and left him groveling for more. It wasn’t her beauty or brilliance that broke him, it was the emotions he felt emanating from her. With her, truth was always there. No barters, no gimmicks, no ploy in place to get one thing so another can be had. She let him feel her anger, her determination, sorrow and happiness. He knew where she stood at all times, and thank heavens she always knew where his soul was.
Scorpio had looked at the pair of them, more so Saige, like she was insane for knowing this whole time what was meant to be and still sending Talon on his merry way to Reveca. He’d said Saige had felt it all, endured it all. At first blush, the thought turned Talon’s gut.
There were moments when something was rich between him and Reveca, a connection born in blood on the battlefield, a lust found in sweat and desperation to feel anything and everything that resembled life. Life that had threatened to end its stay once more.
The thing was, those were moments, bleeps on a radar that gave reason to believe Talon’s humanity wasn’t left in the dark ages but still with him. With Saige, it was constant. She didn’t have to stroke an emotion to life. They didn’t have to endure anything to feel connected, they just were. Enemies and allies, bonded soul deep.
The right or wrong questioning in either of their eyes boiled down to timing. Had they waited this long only to take each other in a pit of sorrow, only because they needed to outrun the grief that was cutting them open with every breath they had.
He wanted her, he was mad as hell at her for all her Rapture had put everyone he cared about through but this right here was all he ever wanted. The hesitant stance he had taken as his lips lingered just a breath away from hers needed to come to an end one way or another.
When he felt the satin touch of her hand on the center of his chest, his mind was made up. Talon’s lips landed on Saige’s, as softly as one feather colliding with another in mid-air. Saige drew in a deep breath as her palm side up, encircling his neck. One tender kiss, then another landed on her lips as she felt the male before her tremble with need.
Saige opened her lips just so, as she did Talon’s hands moved to frame her face as his kiss deepened. His fingers splayed through her long damp locks as he inhaled the sweetest taste he had ever known.
; She moved closer to him so her thighs could hold him in place, so he could feel the innocent desire she had to have him closer. One of Talon’s hands moved down her neck, but the other held her face with reverence. He could kiss her for a thousand years and still not get over the taste, the need for more.
His wandering hand was far slower than hers, Saige was holding on to his neck with one arm and swaying her hand over his chest and back with the other. The calming sway was intoxicating. He could feel her. Her raw emotions were erotically tangling with his, surge-by-surge he felt his vim explode with a power he had only brushed up against. All his immortal life he had been taught to chase the rush, to seize the rush of vim.
This wasn’t a race, it wasn’t something he had to catch, it was something that was always his, something that only needed to be awakened and adored.
He wasn’t the only one lost in the beauty and hastening away his primal lust. Saige had gone as far as squeezing her long legs around his waist and arching her back, so their chests melded together, but she wasn’t working him into a fever pitch. Both of them were dancing with the vim.
To Talon, it was if he was outside his body on another plane of existence. He could feel every physical touch, sense the drive of need building inside of him, but where he was put such sensations to shame. Saige’s soul was before him gazing blamelessly up at him. Her beauty had never stilled him more.
Everything, every single woe in his life vanished in one breath. He had nothing to grieve for, no one to fear for, or a war waiting on him to guide it to victory. They were alone in the universe. As his body had done, Talon tenderly reached the palm of his hand for her face, the jolt jarred his soul, as far away as his body might have been he felt the surge of need rush through his flesh.
Saige’s shy smile was his undoing. He eased closer as his thumb moved up and down, they were as solid as they wanted to be on this plane. He didn’t care to be solid at all. He wanted to fall into her, to feel the rush of her being fulfilled for the first time in his life.