Eternal Vows (19 page)

She shot him a thankful look. Even though it wasn’t really his business, she appreciated how adamant he was about keeping her safe, as if he truly cared for her wellbeing. “I don’t think the king wants me back. I might’ve called him Vic one too many times,” she said. “He really hates that. I’m not sure he’d be very forgiving or eager to experience marital bliss with someone he’s already threatened to kill.”

Jules snorted. “Vic? You called him that, yet you’re still breathing? You must have a brilliant guardian angel.”

Sarah smirked. “More likely it’s because my boobs were half falling out of that wedding gown. What’s with those corsets anyway?”

Jules’s cheeks flushed, and he cleared his throat, signaling that a change in subject was imminent. “You could use your, um, queenly influence to strike a deal to see Frank sent safely back home—to his own world.”

“I noticed you didn’t mention me in that deal,” Sarah said. “Why would I send Frank back without going with him?”

Jules’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe it’s time you faced the consequences of what you did. You entered into holy matrimony…and made an unholy façade of it.”

Consequences?
The guy was clearly delusional. Either that, or he didn’t get half of what she said. She laughed. “I’m the victim here, Jules. In case you forgot, the royal bridal suite he had me locked up in before the wedding was a dungeon.”

“I’m afraid I would have to disagree. You treated sacred wedding vows like some kind of joke to steal a priceless piece of jewelry…and your boyfriend involved my girlfriend in your deceit.”

She shook her head, her heated gaze connecting with his. “It wasn’t like that at all! I didn’t come here for a jewelry heist or to mock your traditions. I take marriage very seriously, when it is the desire of both the bride and the groom and not a decision forced upon someone with a death threat or for personal gain on the groom’s part.”

Jules averted his gaze, unconvinced. “If you take it so seriously, then why aren’t you with the man you swore to spend the rest of your life with?” he whispered.

She could already see he wasn’t going to turn into a real ally anytime soon. “Listen, I’ve no idea what your problem is, buddy, but I didn’t—”

“Jules, what Sarah is trying to tell you is that the wedding wasn’t real,” Frank said, cutting her off. “We needed the key to open the portal. You think we want to stay here with you? All we want is to go home…well, that and a freaking cheeseburger.”

“If the union was not real, then prove it. Release the ancient ring that adorns her finger.” Jules crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back. His attitude spoke more than a thousand words.

“No matter how this plays out, I’m not staying here,” Sarah said. “This isn’t my home.”

“You think the Immortals from the council will give up so easily? You think they won’t follow you back through the portal and hunt you down?” asked Jules. “You’ve no idea how vicious and ruthless they can be, and they do not take deceit and betrayal lightly…that or theft of their magic artifacts.”

Frank’s eyebrows rose into arches of disbelief. “Sure. Maybe if they had some kind of tracking device, but I’m pretty sure that cheap trinket isn’t equipped with GPS.”

Sarah noticed the serious look on Jules’s face and the intensity of his words. “You don’t know that, Frank. Maybe I’ve been tagged, like a wild animal,” Sarah said.

“Doesn’t matter,” Frank said. “I have all kinds of tricks up my sleeve to outrun them.”

“Without their blessing, you’ll never be safe again.” Jules stood and adjusted his cloak, pulling up his hood as if he was getting ready to leave. “You can’t do this by yourselves any longer.”

“Yes we can,” Frank said. “You’ve grown up being taught to fear them, but we haven’t. We’ll fight to the very end.”

“With that kind of thinking, you’re going to get yourselves killed. Sarah doesn’t even know how to use her powers. She’s like a newborn fighting against experienced Immortals, hundreds of years old. How long do you think you two can last out there stumbling around in the dark with no knowledge whatsoever of the landscape or what you’re up against?”

Sarah’s stomach fluttered. She knew absolutely nothing, but she was sure she and Frank could figure it out on their own. They were both investigators after all, though she never would have liked to compare herself to him before they’d arrived here. “I know we’re in over our heads here, but I think we can manage.”

Jules’s gaze narrowed. “You’re drowning, milady. You need help from another Immortal, someone who can guide you through the process. Go back to your husband and fall into his arms. Throw yourself at his mercy and beg for forgiveness. He’s the only one who can help you now.”

“She’s not going back to King Victor, Jules, and I’ll hear no more of it!” Frank yelled.

“If I go back to him, all of this we’ve suffered in an effort to escape will have been for nothing,” Sarah reasoned.

“So what?” Jules asked. “At least you’ll continue to breathe. Did you ever think he might annul the marriage and let you go once he finds out he married the wrong person?”

She knew Victor would never let go of her so easily. “That won’t happen. He feels connected to me because—”

Frank met her gaze straight on. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

“Did you bed down with him?” Jules asked, wide-eyed. “I mean no disrespect, miss, but if you did, you completed the bonding process, and it is unbreakable.”

“Sleep with him?” Her cheeks suddenly burned. She’d definitely thought about it. “No! Of course not! Who do you take me for?”

Frank grabbed Jules’s arm. “Sarah’s not like that. She only kissed him on the lips during the ceremony, and that was only to play the part of a happy wife.”

“She’s seeing visions, and he is behind the sending of them,” Jules said. “That would never happen unless a bond was formed, and that would likely require more than a tiny kiss on the lips.” He glanced over at Sarah. “Did you give yourself to your husband before you ran?”

“No, I most certainly did not…and quit referring to Victor as my husband!” Sarah retorted.

Frank pushed Jules against the wall, his eye throwing daggers as he hissed, “Listen, buddy, I’m really beginning to dislike you. What kind of girl do you take Sarah for anyway? She’d never touch him like that. Do you understand?”

“Perhaps not by her own will, but she could’ve been forced,” Jules whispered. “Victor is a very powerful, persuasive man, and we should have never left her in that dungeon to face him. It was a fool’s plan!”

Sarah nodded eagerly. “Frank is right, Jules. Nothing like that happened! I swear. We just said the vows, I kissed him, and I escaped the first chance I had. The entire thing was a farce.” She didn’t think it was a good time to elaborate on just how much, how deeply she’d kissed him or how much she’d enjoyed it.

“You still mock our tradition of marriage? You call it a farce?” Jules said.

Frank rolled his eyes. “I’m sorry we scammed the sacred vows of marriage, but the king ain’t much better. He only forced Sarah to marry him in order to piss off his greatest enemy by becoming the new son-in-law, to contaminate the pure bloodline. If a shotgun—or crossbow—wedding ain’t a mockery, then I don’t know what is! Why don’t you save your lecture’s for him?”

“It is impossible to speak with either of you. I must go now,” Jules said, heading toward the exit.

“Just admit it, Jules,” Frank said, following after him. “You don’t approve of what we did—or should I say—what
I
did. This entire thing was my idea, and you’re just angry that the fool, as you called me, dragged Sarah and Mia into this wedding gig.”

Jules glared at him. “You are correct, sir. As I said, it was a fool’s plan, and it put my Mia and your Sarah in more danger than was necessary.”

“I get that, but what I don’t get is why you’re so angry about us scamming that rotten pinhead that forced Sarah down the aisle.” Frank spoke with a dangerous glint playing in his eyes. “How could you even stick up for Victor? I wonder if Mia knows about where you true loyalties lie.”

“I don’t know how I let Mia talk me into this. Sarah said the vows, and now she must honor them.”

“Sorry, but that ain’t happening,” Frank roared, getting in his face.

“This whole thing could have been avoided!” Jules yelled back. “My friends and I risked our lives when we took you to the dungeon to rescue Sarah, but did you come back with her?” He pushed Frank away and pointed at Sarah. “No! You left her to her fate. Unbelievable.”

Sarah realized in that moment that Jules had, in fact, been the lookout, the one who had done the whistling. “Guys, stop it!” She turned to look intensely at Jules. “It’s not his fault,” Sarah said. “Frank gave me an out, and I didn’t take it.”

“That is only because of him!” Jules pointed an accusatory finger at Frank and shot him a most distasteful glare. “He filled your head with talk about the ring, the key to your home world. Had you left with us at that very moment, you’d be free from all of these problems already, and my Mia would be by my side instead of suffering or in danger!”

“And I’d be stuck in this world forever!” she retorted.

“We don’t need you anymore, Jules,” Frank said. “Go back to Mia. At least you’re marrying someone that has sense. I can’t say the same for the poor girl’s groom!”

“You may insult me as much as you like, but I’d never put Mia in the kind of situation your foolhardy ideas have put Sarah in.”

“What?” Frank snorted. “Mia traded places with Sarah…by her own will!”

“Yes, but that was
her
choice, not mine,” Jules said indignantly. “I hope you know your so-called ‘brilliant plan’ has ruined Sarah’s life. I think you’re the one who needs some sense.”

Frank took a menacing step forward, his cheeks ablaze with anger. “Get out! We don’t need you.”

Sarah grabbed his arm. “Everyone calm down. Let’s take a breather.”

“I’m going to look for my friend,” Jules said, opening the door.

Wait…is he crazy? But the knights saw his face in the pub. They know he’s in on it with us.
Sarah grabbed his arm, his gaze imploring. “It’s not safe out there.”

“It’s not safe in here either.” Jules shot Frank a glare over his shoulder before he walked out, slamming the door behind him. Ironically, as loud and ominous as the slam sounded, the ornate door was carved with a bevy of angelic symbols and cherubs.

“You idiot! How could you chase away the only friend we have in this dreadful place?” She turned to face Frank, challenging him to a fight that was long overdue. She wasn’t keen on his Victor-marrying plan in the first place, and he had talked her into it, just like Jules said.

He hugged her tight, pressing her against his broad chest. “I’m sorry, Sarah,” Frank whispered into her ear, “but the thought of sending you back to that whack-job infuriates me. We’ll find another way. I promise.”

She snuggled into him, inhaling the manly scent of his skin, comfort washing over her, if only for a second. She let out a sigh, eager to forget her own incredulity and just trust him for a change. “I know, babe. Just try and keep your cool. Your outbursts aren’t helping my nerves.”

“So what exactly did you do to strengthen this so-called bond with your so-called husband?” Frank asked. “I’m sorry, but I gotta know.”

She looked up at Frank, ready to confess it all. “I kissed him.”

His gaze narrowed. “Yeah. You mentioned that.”

“No, I mean…I-I
really
kissed him…like, uh…a lot.” She felt the telltale heat rising in her cheeks. Her breath caught in her throat, but not from shame. Somehow, Victor’s kiss lingered in her mind, all too vivid, and it wasn’t an unpleasant memory.

Frank narrowed his gaze. “What happened to the alleged smooch?”

Is he jealous?
She regarded him intently, taking in the frown perched above his brows and the tight lines around his mouth. “It was more than that—more like some serious making out, but it didn’t go very far. I swear! Besides, it was only because he seduced me with those bright blue eyes of his, and I think—”

He pushed her away. “I just wanted the truth. You think I want to hear the details? How could you let him lock lips with you anyway?” He shuddered for dramatic effect.

She shrugged, anger rising up inside her.
How dare he corner me like that and try to make me feel guilty?
“It just happened, Frank. It’s not like the priest announced us man and wife and I jumped him. It was more like the other way around. I guess when I didn’t resist, when I kissed him back, I somehow triggered the darn ring. It was really just some kind of accident.”

“So he just attacked you?”

“He just seized the moment.”

“And you obliged him because you liked it?” He groaned. “I don’t believe this. I know we’re not dating, but still. You’re attracted to him big time, aren’t you?”

“What woman wouldn’t be?”

“Right, with ‘those blue eyes of his,’” he mocked. “God, Sarah, I can’t believe you’d kiss that jerk. Do you want to be with him, to be his queen or something?”