Her Imaginary Lover (9 page)

Seriously?
It seemed men
were as dense here as they could be in the human realm, and Macie crunched her
teeth in disgust, which caused
Lycille
to giggle like
a schoolgirl. A look from
Arich
quelled her
amusement, and Macie squirmed inside when he gave that same steely look to her.

Oh
heck, she hadn't answered him, and now might not be the best time to be seen as
disrespectful.

"What
do I have to do, Sir?"

The
flare of approval in his azure eyes, and the brilliant smile lighting up
Lycille's
face told her that had been the right response.

"I'll
do whatever it takes."

****

Whatever
it takes turned out to be some of the most bizarre experiences in her life.
Macie lost count how many
inspections
she had to endure over the course
of the next few days. She was assessed mentally and physically by a seeming
army of
Athuron
scientists, until Macie wanted to
scream that she wasn't a fucking guinea pig. She didn't, of course. For
starters
Kaylom's
life quite literally hung in the
balance, and besides, everyone was perfectly polite and considerate.

Everywhere
she went folks stared and treated her like some form of royalty, which was
rather disconcerting. What was even harder to take was the sheer opulence of
her surroundings.
Arich
was one of the
Athuron's
most respected elders, and
Kaylom
was his only son.

Under
the circumstances Macie wouldn't have blamed him if he'd sent her packing back
to the human realm, or at the very least, would have been pissed off with her.
Instead he scoured the old texts for a precedent and came home every evening
looking more and more haggard.
Lycille
worried about
him, yet she never once lost her sunny disposition, and regaled Macie with
tales of
Kaylom's
childhood that made her sides hurt
from laughing so much.

The
Athurons
’ world was fascinating, but it wasn't home,
and with each day that passed Macie worried more. About
Kaylom
,
her parents, and her practice, too. Lord only knows what her parents must be
thinking about her absence. They would be going insane with worry.

The
evening before
Kaylom's
date for trial everything got
on top of Macie. Sitting in the sumptuous gardens of
Arich
and
Lycille's
mansion she threw stones in the pond.
One hit the water nymph statue straight in the face, and the statue shattered
into a gazillion pieces, and it shattered her resolve, too.

"Fuck
it." Macie screamed and ran full pelt into the hard, immovable wall that
was the body of
Arich
.

"Where
do you think you're running to, little one?"

Macie
pummeled his chest, too far gone to care about the fact that she was hurting
him, or the fact that his guards were once again surrounding him.

"Let
me go, damn you. I
wanna
go home. I don't belong
here. This is useless. Just let me go."

Arich
pulled her into
a fierce hug and simply held her while she soaked his front with useless tears,
until she had none left. He handed her a silk handkerchief, and she blew her
nose noisily.

"Better?"
he asked, and she nodded.

"Sorry,
it just all…"

"Got
on top of you, I understand. To be honest I'm surprised you have not broken
down before.
Lycille
was right.
Kaylom
chose well." He nudged her chin up to study her face and smiled down at
her.

"You
won't be saying that when they decide to execute him." She sniffed her
tears away, and he shook his head.

"That
won't happen. I came here to tell you, I found what I was looking for."

That
got her attention, and his grin deepened.

"There
is a reason you can sense us in the human world, and a reason for your
blindness. You have
Athuron
blood."

Chapter Seven

Macie
was going to be sick. Nerves had her strung so tight, she could barely see
straight, and a heavy weight sat on her chest and made breathing difficult. The
old courthouse was packed to the rafters with
Athurons
of all ages, and a murmur went through the crowd when she entered, safely
surrounded by
Arich's
guards.
Lycille
had opted to stay with her, and she clutched the older woman's hand in a death
grip.

This
was it. Make or break time. If the elders voted against their union, the best
scenario would be
Kaylom's
banishment to the human
realm forever. He would be stripped of his shifting powers, and he would never
see his parents again. Macie couldn't even begin to imagine what that would do
to him. It was clear that they were a close family unit.
 
Kaylom
had an
important role to fulfill, and when all was said and done, they were his
parents. The week she'd been forced to stay here in the
Athuron
realm had made Macie realize how much she'd missed her own parents, as
overprotective and annoying as they could be. The thought of how frantic they
must be by now, tore her heart to shreds.

A
murmur went through the crowd when another set of guards brought in
Kaylom
himself. His gaze instantly sought hers across the
crowded room, and some of her apprehension fled. It was
so
good to be
able to actually see him. Stood at well over six and a half feet, and dressed
in traditional
Athuron
clothing, he looked mean and
utterly edible. Every cell in her body drew tight at his commanding presence,
and she had taken several steps toward him before
Lycille's
hand on her arm stopped her.

Macie
let her gaze roam over his muscle bound physique, as the body she had traced
with her fingers and lips towered over everyone, and his crystal blue eyes
seemed to look straight into her soul. He smiled at her, and she allowed
herself to be tugged down to a seat.

The
actual proceedings would take place in
Athuron
, and
so
Lycille
translated for her in hushed whispers.

"On
the charges of unlawfully mating with a human and bringing her into our realm
how do you plead,
Kaylom
of the House of
Arich
?"

"Not
guilty, elders."

A
roar went through the house, and thus it began. Seemingly endless witnesses
were called and regulations stated.
Lycille
and
Arich
themselves took to the stand, and finally it was
Macie's turn to face the panel of stern faced elders.

"You,
a human, profess to be mated to
Kaylom
of the house
of
Arich
?"

Macie
nodded, cleared her throat and finally managed a, "Yes."

"How
do you come to be in this realm?"

"I
held onto one of the guards when they came to take
Kaylom
away."

"You
do realize this is not supposed to be physically possible."

Macie
shrugged.

"Nonetheless
I'm here. I leave the explanation of how up to your scientists."

She
sought
Kaylom's
gaze, and he smiled at her. The tense
set of his shoulders gave him away, however. He hadn't wanted her to testify,
she knew. He wanted her as far away from this courthouse as possible, according
to his father, but
Arich
had agreed that she needed
to be there to show their connection. Wild horses wouldn't have managed to keep
her away, not least because this was the last time she might ever see him
again.

If
the elders’ judgment went against them…

No,
she wouldn't allow herself to think like that. Not with
Kaylom
standing mere feet away from her.

"You
claim to be able to sense
Athurons
in your world. How
is that possible?"

Macie
crunched her teeth and gripped the railing in front of her in a white knuckled
grip.

"I'm
blind in my realm." Again a murmur went through the room at that statement
"I was born this way. There has never been a physiological reason for it,
but it meant that I had to rely on my other senses. So when
Kaylom
shifted into my realm I sensed him immediately. I was a child, and I did not
know what or who he was, or that others could not see him, nor sense his
presence. That knowledge came later, when my parents called him my imaginary
friend."

The
stern faced head of the elders shuffled his paper and pursed his lips.

"So,
you are saying that
Kaylom
did not divulge this
information to you."

Macie
shook her head and looked toward
Kaylom
again.

"No,
in all the time we were children, he never did, and he left when I asked him
to."

"So,
how do you come to stand before us today, in full knowledge of what and who he
is?"

The
very air in the room seemed to wait for her answer, and
Kaylom's
fury wrapped itself around her. He shook his head at her when she opened her
mouth to answer that latest question, and his growl shook the room.

"Enough!
I take full responsibility for my actions. Interrogating my mate will not get
you anywhere. I claimed her, knowing full well what the consequences would
be.
 
I—"

"
Kaylom
saved my life that day." Macie interrupted him,
and even though his furious growl tore through her and urged her to comply with
his wishes she carried on speaking. "I was attacked by two humans.
Kaylom
fought them and was injured in the process. He
stayed to make sure I was okay, and it was I who urged him to claim me. If you
want to blame anyone, then blame me. I was scared and lonely, and I finally had
Kaylom
back in my life. I was not going to let him
leave again without giving
us
a chance. He warned me to stay away, that
it was against the rules, but I love him with all my heart and soul, and when
he claimed me it was the most magical experience of my life. The only thing I
regret is the problems it has caused."

Macie
held her head high and stuck her wrist in the air so that all could see the
markings.

A
collective gasp went through the room when
Kaylom
mirrored her action.

Her
mate tattoo burnt and sizzled, arcs of light dancing across the distance
separating them, and Macie closed her eyes and let the sensations fill her.

"It
is true that I claimed Macie. Our connection was too strong to be denied, and I
underestimated it, and for that I am sorry, because it has caused grief to my
family."
Kaylom's
deep voice filled all the
empty spaces in her heart, and her eyes filled with tears at the wealth of
emotion behind his words.

"I
did not expect for the mating to record
itself
in our
archives, but I shall never regret it either. If the brief time we shared is
all we are granted, then let it be known that it was the happiest time of my
life."

All
hell seemed to break loose after his statement, until the hammer fell and
suddenly it was all over.
Kaylom
was free.
Lycille
hugged her,
Arich
smiled
and nodded, and then
Kaylom
was in front of her. He
picked her up, and the world spun as she held on for dear life.

****
   

Kaylom
shifted into
his suite of rooms at his parent's mansion, his only thought to get his
precious burden away from the courtroom before anyone could change their mind.
He ought to take her straight back to the human realm, where she would be safe
from any retributions, but he couldn't wait one minute longer to reconnect with
her. The fact that she could see in his realm had blown him away.
The discovery of her
Athuron
ancestors
almost too much to believe.
Their species were meant to be incompatible.
At least that's what they had been told for centuries, but his father had
unearthed an ancient text that spoke of different times, when human/
Athuron
offspring were not common exactly, but not unheard
of either. Revered as gods by the humans then, the ancient
Athurons
had misused their powers, and their half human offspring caused havoc on earth.
It was decreed that all contact ought to be stopped, and shifting into the
human realm meant instant death to anyone who was discovered doing so.

As
time passed, rules relaxed, and as children do the world over, curious
youngsters once again explored their powers. Only the humans had made great
technological advances and did not believe in the gods they once did. With that
lack of belief they lost the ability to see the
Athurons
.
Only children were innocent enough to open their minds to the
Athurons
’ presence, and the concept of imaginary friends was
born.