Fated Betrayal: A Paranormal Erotic Romance (The Twisted Destiny Saga Book 2) (15 page)

CHAPTER 23

Ryan and Cora lay on their bed with their son between them, watching him as he slept.

“Orion,” Cora said suddenly. “That should be his name.”

“Like the constellation?” Ryan asked.

“The constellation that can be seen everywhere in the universe. The most famous and renowned one in existence. Just like our son. He is the bridge across all the realms—the entire universe.”

Ryan smiled and nodded. “I like it.”

“Really? You’re on board?”

“Yep.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “I was expecting one hell of an argument about this.”

Ryan chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll find plenty of other things to argue about. It’s inevitable with your stubbornness.”

“
My
stubbornness?”

He laughed and kissed the top of her head. “See? I told you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Funny.” She shifted her weight on the bed and asked him, “You want to tell them that we’ve named him?”

“No. Not yet.”

“Ryan, it’s already been a few days.”

Ryan gazed sadly at his son. “He’s only a few days old. Just a baby. And already they all have their designs for him, trying to map out his entire life, his supposed destiny. Well, he’s not a bridge to me, not a bargaining chip, none of that. To me…he’s just my
son
.”

Cora reached out and stroked his arm gently. “I know, Ryan. I feel the same way. But Nathanial has made it clear that he wants to work
with
you, not against you. He won’t do anything, or try to make anything happen, without our consent.”

“I never thought I’d say this, but it’s not him I’m worried about. It’s your father.”

“What does that mean?”

He didn’t trust him, that’s what it meant.
But he knew she wasn’t ready to hear that. She’d only just been reunited with Vazra. She didn’t remember her time with him in the past, before he’d hidden her in the human realm. The spell he’d cast on her to keep her in a suspended sleep for so many years had seen to that, effectively erasing her memories. She’d just started to get to know him and Ryan knew that they were growing closer. She wasn’t ready to hear any words spoken against him.

“Nothing,” he responded. “I’m just being paranoid. Forget it.”

Abruptly, Orion let out a shrill cry. A
pained
cry. Cora gathered him up in her arms urgently, studying him and trying to determine what was wrong. Ryan loomed over them, doing the same.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked, frantic with worry.

Ryan held out his hands to her. “Give him to me. He’s growling but it’s too faint. I can’t hear.”

“Even with your wolf hearing?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “Pass him to me.”

She did as he asked and Ryan took him in his arms and held his tiny mouth close to his ear.

He listened for a few moments and then he told her, “Get Nathanial.”

Cora scrambled off the bed and rushed out of the bedroom.

Seconds passed and Ryan felt a sudden rush of cold air. He looked up to see Nathanial suddenly standing beside him.

“You’re King of the Dark Realm. You can understand wolf communication.”

“Yes,” Nathanial confirmed.

“Do you hear that?”

Nathanial nodded.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“The child is a product of both white
and
dark, Ryan. It makes perfect sense that he would need both to sustain him. I can ease his discomfort for now, but it will only be temporary. He needs
natural
exposure…regularly…to both the white and dark.”

Cora burst back into the room, running towards them in a panic. “Did you figure out what’s wrong with him?”

Ryan and Nathanial exchanged a look.

“Ryan!” Cora pressed. “Tell me! Is he okay? What is it?”

“I need to take him to the Dark Realm.”

“What?” Cora gasped. “No.”

Nathanial moved forward and pressed his hand gently to the baby’s head.

“What are you doing? Ryan, what is he doing?” Cora demanded, approaching Nathanial.

“He’s helping him, my love. Stay back.”

A faint, shimmering, black glow emanated from Nathanial’s hand. Orion ceased his cries immediately. Nathanial stepped back and told them, “That will only last for a few hours. We need to leave tonight.”

Ryan saw Cora about to protest, so he cut in quickly, “He needs natural exposure to both realms, each on a regular basis, my love. He is a product of both, that’s why.”

“So, what, we’re supposed to ferry him back and forth between the two realms for the rest of his life?”

“Until the White and the Dark Realms are united,” Nathanial said.

Cora looked hard at Nathanial. “I’m not letting my child go anywhere without me.”

“Cora!” Ryan snapped. “I don’t want you in the Dark Realm. Things are unstable enough there right now as it is between wolves and vampires. A pure White Realm princess walking through the gates is the last thing that’s needed.”

“There’s something else,” Nathanial said.

They both eyed him in question.

“Cora is still bound to Luca by the betrothal. The magical connection needs to be severed first. If she enters the Dark Realm before that has occurred, she will be unable to leave.”

“Fine. How do we sever it then?” Cora pressed.

“It requires the consent of both parties, involving a spell where both you and Luca must combine your magic and utter your mutual desire to break the betrothal bond.”

“Oh, come
on
!” Ryan exclaimed. “Luca will never agree to that.”

Nathanial nodded. “Hence the severity of our predicament.”

“What’s happening in here?” Marella’s voice came from the door suddenly.

* * * * *

Nathanial watched as Marella swept on in and took in the scene before her.

“Marella,” Nathanial greeted politely, his gaze discreetly raking over her.

“Nathanial,” she responded unemotionally.

My angel
, he rebutted telepathically.

She started in surprise.
Stop it, Nathanial.

Why? This link between us is just more proof of our true bond.

She looked away and he heard her clear her throat, before she turned her attention to Ryan and Cora and asked, “What’s the matter?”

Ryan explained the situation to her.

As she mulled it over, Nathanial discreetly slid his hand up and down her back, rubbing her softly. She hastily moved away, trying to appear unaffected in front of Ryan and Cora.

Nathanial laughed with amusement inside her head, via their telepathic link.

He watched her roll her eyes and then she said, “The Dark Realm is dangerous right now.”

“Precisely my point,” Cora agreed. “He needs my protection.”

Marella shook her head. “Whilst your power is unmatched by anyone in the White Realm and you would be the best choice, you cannot enter the Dark Realm until the betrothal is nullified. Your father would lose his mind. And that is never…pleasant.”

“An understatement,” Nathanial growled.

Marella flashed her eyes at him in warning and continued, “But there are many others with powerful white magic at their disposal who could go along in your place.”

“Why not you?” Nathanial asked.

Marella’s gaze snapped to his.
What are you doing?

You question my motives, angel?

Of course!

You are the most powerful white witch outside of Cora, making you the best choice.

“Pack your bags. Be ready to leave by nightfall,” his voice boomed suddenly, aloud.

And in a flash of vampire speed he was gone, leaving Marella to deal with
that
.

CHAPTER 24

Nathanial led Ryan and Marella through the gates of the Dark Realm castle.

“I forgot about those ugly things,” Marella said, eyeing the two massive, ten-foot-tall, gray, stone gargoyles positioned either side of the castle entrance, their eyes afire with a red glow.

Suddenly, one of them shifted its weight. She jumped in surprise.

Nathanial chuckled. “It seems you also forgot that they are alive.” He turned to Ryan and told him, “They weren’t here when you lived here, Ryan. I only brought them in about a century ago. The White Realm has dragons. We have gargoyles. They are great guards. They have the ability to sense a threat from a great distance away—further than wolf
and
vampire can.”

Ryan nodded his understanding and gazed up at the familiar castle as he held Orion tightly to him. The mammoth, gray, stone castle looming before them was just as he remembered it—cold and uninviting. It represented more of a deterrent than any sort of welcome.

He studied Orion worriedly. As soon as they’d passed through the Dark Realm gates, Ryan had choked on the acrid air fused with blood, ash, and death. He’d been surprised that Orion hadn’t reacted the same way. Even as they’d walked along the half-mile-long bridge that led to the castle, above a bottomless pit of boiling lava looming below, Orion hadn’t reacted to the intense heat like he had. Marella hadn’t either, but Ryan knew that was because she was using her magic to remain unaffected by the elements of the realm. And Nathanial? Well, he didn’t have a body temperature, as a vampire.

But, despite all the discomforts that Ryan had been feeling, Orion still seemed completely oblivious to any of it.
Phew
. During his years living in the Dark Realm, Ryan hadn’t felt such negative effects to the atmosphere. But, obviously being away for the last two centuries, had weakened his tolerance and he needed to reacclimatize to it.

Nathanial led them into the castle and they stopped at the lobby. Vampire guards wearing centuries-old chainmail stood at attention along either wall. They all bowed at Nathanial in unison. To their far left and far right, two black, marble staircases led up to a mezzanine level and, what Ryan knew to be, the heart of the castle.

“This way,” Nathanial said, striding up the staircase to their left.

As they reached the top of the stairs, he walked through an open archway into the largest room in the castle—the Great Hall.

At the far end, two identical thrones of black thorns—crafted from a rare crystal found in the depths of the mountains surrounding the realm—stood tall. On either side of the thrones were a set of smaller, blood-red, high-backed chairs—seats belonging to the king’s advisors. In the center of the room were several long, stone tables used for the lavish banquets that Ryan remembered Nathanial liked to host on a regular basis. The high-vaulted ceilings akin to that of medieval cathedrals allowed for a second level. Stacks of books that contained knowledge on anything and everything lined those walls. A single winding, iron staircase was the only access to that level. It had been built solely for the wolves that had once walked the castle alongside vampires. Vampires had the ability to jump the thirty-foot distance to the second level without the need of the steps. The Great Hall was dark, aside from the muted light from the torches and candelabras of red fire situated sparingly along the walls. The red fire wasn’t actually fire at all. It was dark magic that looked like fire. As a home to vampires, the castle couldn’t risk having any fire inside of it—a hazard to the undead. It was just as Ryan remembered it.

“I’ve always wondered whether those are real or purely decorative,” Marella said to Nathanial as she pointed at the ceiling.

Hanging from the beams were hundreds of bats.

Nathanial chuckled. “You may relax. They are only decorations.”

Marella scoffed. “Catering to a bit of a stereotype about vampires, don’t you think? One that is nowhere near the truth.”

Nathanial stopped short and turned to her. “Are you going to criticize everything about my home?”

Ryan eyed the two of them with suspicion as they continued to argue for several moments, before Nathanial finally huffed and turned away to lead them out through the other side of the Great Hall.
Something is happening here. I need to talk to Marella ASAP. What the hell is she doing?

They were greeted by the sight of more than fifty vampires lounging on couches, loveseats, and armchairs—some on the floor—feeding and fucking to their hearts’ content. Upon sensing Nathanial’s presence, two well-endowed blondes, wearing nothing but black, leather thongs, bounded up to him, their tits bouncing as they ran to him in a flurry of excitement. He held up his hand, willing them away. They made a face and turned away dejectedly.

Ryan watched Nathanial whisper something to Marella.
An apology? What the hell?
And then something else drew his attention. He suddenly realized that all eyes were now on him and all the vampires began snarling at him. He growled in response and he had to stifle a laugh when he heard Orion doing the same.

“He is Wolf King! No one is to harm him or his son!” Nathanial thundered.

Immediately, the snarls ceased and the vampires returned to what they’d been doing as if nothing had happened. They made it through the room without further incident and turned down a narrow corridor.

Nathanial stopped and turned to them. “You may retire here, Ryan. My servants have prepared everything you will need—food and comforts for you and your son. Day is coming and I must rest now. I will give you a tour at nightfall and then we will discuss matters of the kingdom.” He turned to Marella and gestured to the room opposite Ryan’s. “Yours,” he said curtly. And, without another word, he opened a door adjacent to theirs and stepped inside, slamming it behind him.

“He’s pissed because you insulted his décor,” Ryan jested to Marella.

Marella rolled her eyes. “Sunrise makes him moody. Even though,
here
, sunrise is not as it is in the human realm. Urgh.”

Ryan simply smiled and watched as she headed inside her own room. He stared after her for a while. How did she know that about Nathanial? How close were they? How close
are
they?

“Time to eat,” Ryan told Orion as he pushed open the door in front of him and stepped inside.