“She was barely past infancy when the nightmares began, reliving her death every night. I would sit and hold her until she finally slept, but I could not stop those horrible nightmares. Broni received her powers much earlier than my other children because as much as we loved and protected her, those nightmares stole her childhood. She even tried to stay awake until her powers began to weaken because she was so fatigued.”
Fate’s eyes turned reminiscent. “I started to notice a change. It was small, but gradually, she began sleeping longer, deeper. She still had the nightmares, but I began to see resolve and courage as she would fight through them. Finally, they began to lessen. Her nightmares didn’t disappear, however they came less often.”
“How? What changed?” Rhys asked, ashamed that in the time they had spent together, he had made no attempt to get to know Broni beside how it affected him or the sex they shared. He had shied away from gaining any intimate knowledge of her to protect himself from drawing closer to her.
“I asked that same question myself, but she would never answer me. I was determined to find out, though.”
What a surprise, Rhys thought to himself.
“I began following her and found a pattern. When she was called to use her powers, she would stay and watch until the battle was finished. She needed only to stay until her duty was done, yet she did not leave. There were only certain ones, however each involved the same man. Additionally, Broni was sneaking away to watch battles that she was not called to. It soon became apparent to me who she was watching and why.”
Her eyes returned to the present, staring directly into his. “She was obsessed with a man that was born on Earth, destined by the Gods to become the greatest warrior known to mankind. He would live several lives, each not knowing of the others, but becoming superior in skills and tactics developed through lifetimes of battles. He would become the ultimate warrior, invincible until finally he would be returned to the Gods in victory, able to live with the warriors he had loved and fought with for eternity. A warrior without equal, both in the mortal or immortal world.
“Broni would watch him fight, both winning and losing battles, exhibiting great courage and fortitude. He was not a kind man or even one to idolize in some of his lifetimes, yet he always fought bravely, facing his fears even when death was a foregone conclusion. Those were the qualities Broni needed to face her nightmares. The warrior gave her the courage and strength to do that, and in the process, she fell in love deeply and irrevocably with him.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Rhys’s voice broke. “To show me I am not fit to touch her? I am not blind to the fact I am not the man I once was. I don’t remember being a warrior, yet I feel him inside me, sick at what I’ve done. I took her body, and she gave me her soul each and every time, but I had nothing inside me to give her in return.”
“You are not the one meant for my daughter, you fool.” Rhys stiffened when Fate laughed at him as she walked closer, standing before him. As she stared deep within his eyes, searching for something, Rhys felt as if a flicker inside him was stirring, awakening. The last time he had felt this way had been when he was with Broni. “I merely used you to draw him out.”
“You used me to make another man jealous?” Rhys tried to understand the feelings bombarding him. Anger, a tiny spark of jealousy, but he couldn’t place a name on the other emotions assailing him.
“No. To help you remember that you were once a warrior beyond compare—a man who has lived and loved well, giving his heart to many, his soul to none. That soul and love was destined for one woman equal in courage and bravery. Only one woman would deserve a warrior like him—my daughter.”
Rhys felt as if a storm of emotion was building deep within him. The wall he had built to dam his emotions bulged as he fought to hold back the emotions and memories trying to gain freedom, breaking out in a cold sweat as Fate relentlessly tore away those barriers.
“No. You’re wrong.” Rhys attempted to convince both Fate and himself that he could not be the warrior who had fought so many battles when he’d failed to protect those whom he had loved the most. A wife and children who had trusted him with their lives, even though he couldn’t even be on fucking time to save them.
A primal scream tore through his throat as he released his pain and agony to the very heavens, and Fate’s voice softened as she gently cupped his cheek in her hand. “Before you leave, Rhys, I want you to understand and finally believe that your family did not blame you, nor should you. It was their destiny, just as this is yours.” Fate’s hand dropped away, waving it in a graceful motion toward the sky.
This time images played out of a young Jericho and the life he’d led. Rhys’s respect for his friend grew as he saw what the man had been forced to endure, both as a child and young man.
“When you gave all your wealth away, you helped thousands of children find a voice who had been victims of crimes. One of those children was a young boy who ultimately was able to have Jericho released from prison. His soul was nearly lost before he found Cara, however. Now, he will soon have a child, my grandchild. You not only have my gratitude and thanks, but all of the Gods.”
To know Jericho had survived such senseless cruelty because of something he had done in his family’s memories eased some of the terrible guilt in Rhys’s heart.
Fate continued. “He was not the only one, either. You helped numerous victims find hope and love.”
Rhys’s throat tightened as children of all ages and races filled the sky. He felt humbled when he saw the ones who had faced adversity and survived.
“That was your destiny, Rhys. Your last battle as a mortal on Earth,” she said softly.
Rhys’s emotions swelled until there was no longer a way to hold them back, and with them, the memories that had been buried for centuries flooded his mind and consciousness with all that he was and had been. A conqueror whose victory was not what he’d wanted; he’d only desired his family returned. One who could accept that a victory was not always the one they wanted, but it might have been the one that was needed. Rhys could live with that. However, he frantically clung to the last remnants of his life with Deena and his children, not wanting to lose them forever.
“Rhys, do not be afraid. You will always be inside of him, but now it’s his turn to return home,” Fate spoke, easing his confusion and fear of the returning memories flashing through his mind.
Fate waved her hand and the sky became filled with scenes Rhys didn’t remember. A man bearing a striking resemblance to him was fighting an animal that he had seen in museums. Then he was fighting other men, going through different time periods and battles. The hair color and eyes changed, but the man stayed the same. Fate had not lied; he had been a killing machine, winning battle after battle, time after time, until even Rhys became entranced at the fierce image in front of him.
“He is magnificent, isn’t he?” As Rhys heard the awe in her voice, something within him preened, enjoying the praise from a woman who had seen it all.
“Why did you wait to bring him back?” Rhys did not take his eyes off the images flowing across the sky as he felt himself slipping away, exchanging places with the force within him.
“For two reasons.” Fate’s voice softened. “To give you a chance to say good-bye to your family…” Rhys felt a sharp pain in his heart, but it wasn’t as sharp nor did it last as long.
Fate nodded to the sky. “He is used to death and loss; he will give you the strength to accomplish what you could not do alone—heal. He knows what it’s like to experience loss.”
“The other reason?”
Fate laughed. “Because he also needed to learn a lesson from you. How to be a loving, faithful husband. That was something you excelled at doing in life. Together, you will be worthy of Broni.”
“You’re taking a lot for granted. Perhaps he won’t want Broni any more than I did.” The warrior within Rhys came closer to the surface, not liking being told what to do even less than Rhys.
&nb
sp; For a second, anger glittered in Fate’s eyes, and Rhys became very aware of this woman’s power.
“Oh, he wants her just as you do, but he’s stubborn. He’s tired from the battles he has fought, and he senses the battle coming will be the worst of all.”
When Rhys opened his mouth to deny it, Fate stopped him before he could lie to both her and himself. “Remember, I see everything. Your guilt and fear held you back from loving Broni, but she was meant to be yours for eternity. Yours to have or lose forever,” Fate warned, waving her hand again.
This time, the sky lightened as image after image played before him and the warrior was forced to watch. A tortured groan came from deep within when they saw Broni attacked on the street. When Adam bent and picked her broken body up into his arms, Rhys wanted to tear her away as their images gradually faded away.
“My prize.” Now the warrior within Rhys prowled even closer to the surface.
Fate’s lips twitched at the vain warrior. “Believe me, she’s no prize. Broni is willful, disobedient and takes dangerous risks with her safety. It will take a strong man to hold her heart and a warrior to claim her soul.”
“Are you doubting me?” The warrior was nothing if not vain.
“It is not me who has doubts.”
Rhys had fought against the attraction to Broni, refusing to see what was before his eyes. With the memories and emotions assailing him, he was no longer afforded that luxury as the images in the sky changed one last time to Broni as a young child watching him fight. At first, she’d been frightened but bravely watching. As she grew older, she had begun to watch his lives other than when he was fighting. He saw the laughter in her face as she watched him with other warriors, training, and when they were just together as friends. The jealousy as she grew older, observing him with the women and families he’d had. Finally, the tears she shed as she watched him that last day as he found his family. Broni had watched and loved him through lifetimes.
The sky darkened and he saw a passageway with Broni, Cara, and a woman he knew must be Zerina. He witnessed as they were attacked and Broni fought to reach a particular doorway as the swirling mist tried to swallow her just before she finally succeeded in dragging herself through. Unbelievably, he watched as she found herself on Earth, weak and sick. She had almost died before an old woman had taken her in from off the streets, helping her.
Rhys winced in self-hatred as she tried to warn him of the danger his family was in. It was Broni, not Deena, who had called that day to his office to try to get him home early. She had even dragged herself to the courthouse and tried to use the little power she’d held, which had been taught to her by her father for transferring emotion through love. She had lied to him. She had tried to save his family without endangering him. Broni had tried to get him home before the tragedy unfolded, but she had been unsuccessful because Fate had intervened.
“I didn’t know it was her.” Fate’s voice broke. “The doorway had thrown her back in time. I stood there with her within my reach, and I did not know. She hid from me, knowing full well the consequences she would face. Not until the Drearien appeared did she allow me to find her.”
“Consequences?” Rhys asked, yet he saw for himself.
“She followed your every footstep for the next five years. That was why she was at the bar that night.
“She walked the Earth for you. One of the harshest punishments Mother gives to immortals, yet she put herself there willingly, knowing there was a chance she would never be able to return home. She did that for you. To give you your family back, not so she could be with you. She sacrificed herself. Even upon her return home when her powers were given to you because she’d tried to interfere, she didn’t protest. With Broni, it was and always will be because of you.” The words clicked into place as, at last, Rhys understood those words spoken to him by Fate as she had stopped him from killing himself.
Fate touched him, drawing a symbol with her finger on his chest. Walking behind him, she traced another on his back. Then, walking forward, she again traced one last mark on his forehead. “Remember who you are as well as who you have been.” Fate then took a step back, walking slowly around him in a circle.
With each name she called out, the warrior within prowled closer. “Do you remember your battles, Douglas? How about you, Cromwell?” Each name was as if souls were awakening to life within him. “Do you remember who you were, Khan, Hannibal, Alexander?” Rhys knew the greats through history. She was mistaken; no soul could have lived through so many lifetimes. “Cyrus and Erik the Red?
“Do not let me forget your favorites where, even when you lost the battle, it was worth the cost, lone axmen. And, Dian Wei, do you not long to feel your axes in your hands again?” In Fate’s hand, a battle ax appeared.
Rhys felt his body at long last released from Fate’s grasp, but what she did next stunned him into near immobility again. He would have been chopped in half if not for the life forces taking over, merging into one. The warrior instincts sprung back to life. Catching the ax thrown at him in a hard grasp, twirling its familiarity in his hands.
Fate stared in admiration at his display of mastery over the fearsome weapon. “I am relieved to see you remember how to wield your weapon.”
“Are you? I thought for a second you were about to decapitate me,” Rhys said suspiciously.
“Not I, but Valentine and Destiny came precariously close. I had every faith you just needed a little nudge to make you remember.”
“There are gentler ways other than throwing an ax at my head. Have I not always been a faithful servant of the Gods?”
“Yes, Warrior, you have. Odin was sure you would eventually remember, but I have need of your skills now.”
His grim countenance changed into one of admiration. “Odin.” He went to Odin who had silently been watching the entire confrontation from his throne. Rhys clasped his hands before sinking to his knees before him. “I am at your command, once again.”
Odin nodded. “I want you to command my army as you have earned the honor. However, the battle this time will be the most important one you will face. Many humans, immortals, and Gods will not survive. If we lose, evil will reign in all realms.”
“It will be my privilege to serve you. I only ask that the choice of realms I fight be given to me. If Broni must stay on Earth, then I wish to be with her.”
“You intend to claim her?” Odin questioned his intentions.
Rhys said in resignation, “I doubt Fate or her father would allow less any longer.”
“It won’t be as easy as you believe,” Fate snapped. “Her giving heart was rejected while you whored your way through every Goddess and slut in our realm. I have had a difficult time restraining Valentine. Besides, our daughter will find the happiness she deserves with or without you.” Fate believed in giving fair warning.
“I will make Broni happy, but there will be times she will be unhappy with me. When those situations occur, I will tolerate no interference. There will be only one master in my relationship with her, and that will be me.” Rhys took Fate’s warning in stride and gave one of his own.
“I can live with that,” Fate conceded.
“As can I.”
Both had set their terms and were happy with the outcome, each believing themselves the victor.
“I have your permission to leave?” Rhys turned to Odin.
“You do. Take who you want with you and prepare for battle; it will not be long in coming.”
Rhys looked over to the tables at his Viking brothers, many of whom were anxious to be embroiled in a fight again. He would have to choose carefully; Odin could not be left unprotected.
He moved toward the table, but when he would have moved forward to make his selection, Fate stopped him with a hand on his arm. “I want my daughter protected.”
“Do you doubt my ability?” The Warrior was astounded at the insult. “You should have kept a better eye on her.”
“Don’t anger me again, Warrior. L
et’s not forget who is responsible for her being there in the first place.”
“Did we not just discuss your interference?” he stated between gritted teeth.
The Warrior had not become a brilliant strategist by being an idiot. However, Fate wanted Broni happy and safe, and he had fucked up. Until he proved himself, she would continue to doubt his worthiness. For now, he would have to tolerate Fate’s insults.
“I see that I am going to have to convince you as well as Broni. Her safety and happiness will always come first.”
“Thank you. I am aware of the difficulty it was to give me your promise. Odin has a need for your skills as a warrior; Broni needs a mate that will see she is cared for. I am sure you will be able to accomplish both.”
“I will.” The Warrior crossed his arms over his chest. “Now, if you will leave, I will be able to pick my men and go to Broni.”
“I will leave you to it then. Remember, I will be watching,” she said, disappearing before he could reply.
“That woman needs a firm hand,” the warrior stated, looking over his shoulder at Odin.
“Are you doubting my skill now?” Odin raised a questioning brow.
“No, just your sanity.”
Chapter 23
Broni moved stiffly across the clubroom. It had been four days since she had been attacked, and her body was still sore, bearing the bruises of the hits the men had inflicted. She sat down at the first table she came to, biting her lip at the excruciating pain.
“Should you be out of bed?” Adam asked, sitting down beside her.
“I couldn’t lie in that bed another second. I needed to walk the stiffness out.”
Adam frowned. “When I go out, I’ll try to find something for pain.”
Broni covered his hand with hers. “Don’t. Those are the most dangerous spots. I’ll be fine in a couple of more days.”