Immortal Grave (7 page)

“Zeus, I would ask that you forbid Ares to visit the Alastriana.” Hecate’s voice changed the subject.

“You would dare to tell me what to do, Hecate?” Ares stood up from his black and bloody throne, his back to Ree. “Who are you to dictate my actions?”

“We cannot afford for you to endanger our plans. We’ve made many sacrifices to get to this point.” Hecate sounded like a mother scolding a child. “Now, sit down and let your father answer.”

The attention in the room seemed to shift toward a corner Ree couldn’t see, but it obviously housed Zeus’s throne. No one said anything as Zeus pondered the request.

“Ares, it is best for you to avoid the Alastriana and her Guardians. They need no distraction from the task at hand.” Zeus’s voice made it clear he would brook no argument, but Ares sputtered.

“Father, I am a god of war! Shouldn’t I be a part of the preparations for an upcoming battle?” Ares leaned forward in his chair, as if to look at Zeus better.

Unable to help herself, Ree took a step closer to the door to try and see better. Hecate’s eyes snapped to hers and widened slightly. Ree froze, her heart stuttering. Would the goddess announce that Ree was present? Carefully, Hecate turned her head as if she had not seen anything, but Ree knew better.

“It is not your place to question me, Ares. I have declared you are to avoid the girl. This is a time for strategy, not battle.” Zeus stood up and walked into the middle of the room. He was taller than any human Ree had ever seen. His skin glowed and he carried a golden staff shaped like a lightning bolt. He came to stand in front of Ares, and Ree moved away from the doorway, afraid that the god’s silver eyes might see her. “If you go near the girl again, and I have proof, then you’ve signed your own death warrant.”

There was a loud gasp, and murmurs circulated through the room, but Zeus was not finished talking. Turning away from Ares, he looked at the other gods and goddesses. “That goes for anyone else who would harm the girl in any way.”

Was it her imagination, or did Zeus’s eyes rest in the direction of Loki’s throne? Deciding it was time to get as far from that room as possible, Ree slowly tiptoed back in the direction she had come. The fog was still at the end of the hall, and Ree hoped it would take her away from the home of the gods. Last time she had been here, Hecate had sent her back. She still wasn’t sure how she had gotten here in the first place, but she was glad to have gleaned some more information. Everything she knew brought her closer to getting her friends out of this mess alive.

The fog closed around her feet, which she was amused to note were wearing the thin, gold sandals from her last visit to the god’s home. The further she walked into the thick, fluffy cloud, the sleepier Ree became, until eventually she wasn’t aware of anything around her.

Ree sat up in her bed and took a deep breath. Her eyes searched for the clock and frowned at the numbers. It was almost midnight. She had been asleep a lot longer than she thought. Throwing the covers off of her, she hopped out of bed and padded over to the wardrobe against the wall. She opened the drawer and was relieved to find clean clothes. Pulling out a pair of jeans and long sleeved t-shirt, she quickly threw them on and looked around for her tennis shoes.

As she finished tying the laces, someone knocked on her door making her jump. If she was immortal, shouldn’t she have heard them coming? She was going to have to work on that soon. Letting the power wash out of her, she walked over to the door and took a deep breath.

Paden was standing on the other side, his face blank and she could feel him trying to hide his emotions from her.  “I heard you get up. Can we talk?”

Chapter Eight

“Sure.” Ice settled into Ree’s gut as she looked up into Paden’s face. She had messed up her chance with her soul mate. How could he possibly ever forgive her for kissing Roland back? “Um, do you want to talk in here?”

“Why don’t we go for a walk?” Paden took a step back and jerked his head toward the garden.

Nodding, Ree stepped out into the hallway and pulled her door shut behind her. Stuffing her hands into the pockets on the back of her jeans, Ree followed Paden out of the house. He held the door open for her and her heart ached. Even with everything that had happened he was being polite to her. He was much calmer than he had been earlier and it scared her down to the bottoms of her feet.

They walked for a while, the moon shining through the branches of the trees to dance across the sandy path near the beach. Eventually, the trees thinned and Ree could see the water. Paden seemed to have a destination in mind, so she just let him lead the way. After a while, Paden sat down facing the water, his legs pulled up in front of him and his arms braced on his knees. Ree sat down quietly next to him and looked out at the water. Her stomach was clenched and her heart was thudding in her ears. Had he brought her all the way out here, so the others wouldn’t hear if she made a scene? She felt as if she was standing on the edge of a cliff, waiting for him to push her off, all the while knowing she deserved it.

After a while, she cut her eyes toward Paden and watched the sea breeze ruffle his hair. His face was stoic, but she could feel his carefully concealed turmoil. She hated to watch him suffer, even if it was to find the words to break her heart.

“Paden, I’m sorry. I understand if you—“

“Do you love him?” Cutting her off, he glanced at her and then quickly away.

Ree became conscious that her mouth was hanging open, so she snapped it shut and shook her head no. When she realized he might not have seen her response, she cleared her throat and his eyes cut back to her face.

“No. Not like that. Not like…” Her voice caught, but she pushed on. “Not like I love you.” Paden closed his eyes for a moment and Ree tried to keep from crying. “I’m not trying to make this harder on you. I know you deserve much better than me. I don’t even really know why or how it happened. It was stupid and I wish… I wish you could forgive me, but I know that’s not possible. I won’t make things difficult.”

He opened his eyes so they were barely slits and looked at her. “You don’t love him.” His words were odd, and didn’t make sense to her at first.

“No, no. I mean, I care about him. I want good things for him, but I’m not in love with him. I remember how much Tria loved him and it made things kind of confusing, but that’s gone. Roland was meant for someone else.” Ree took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around her waist. She almost told him she was meant for him, but that wasn’t fair. She didn’t need to make things harder on him.

Paden’s breath came out raggedly and he hung his head so she couldn’t see his face. Biting her bottom lip, she looked away and tried to keep the tears from running down her face. Part of her wanted to find a place to cry, while another part of her wanted to yell and kick things.

“Ree, I’m sorry.” Paden didn’t look up at her, and Ree felt her heart sink. This was it, the end. Her tears ran down her cheeks, but she didn’t say anything. She’d let him finish and do her best to not make a scene. “I never should have made that bet with Roland. I shouldn’t have treated you like you were an object to be won.”

“Why did you?” Confused, Ree wiped at her cheeks with her sleeve.

Looking up at her, his face looked terrified. “No, Ree, don’t cry. Please.” He moved as if he was going to touch her face, but stopped. He shook his head and licked his lips. “I thought I would win. I wanted to win, to be better than him. It was stupid, but I thought it would prove that you were supposed to be with me.” Running a hand through his hair, his eyes got a wild look to them. “God, Ree. Do you know what it felt like to see him holding you? Kissing you?” His breath came out raggedly. She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.

“And it was my own damn fault.” He looked at her seriously, his eyes wide and earnest. “But, you’re not in love with him?”

Again, she shook her head no and waited to see what he would say. “Do you…” He stopped and seemed to struggle for words.

“I love you, Paden.” Reaching a shaky hand out, Ree touched his fingers and gasped when he yanked her into his lap. His arms crushed her to him, his fingers tangled in her hair and he tucked her head under his chin.

“I love you, Alastriana McKenna. And I never want to see you in someone else’s arms again. You belong right here. Right here with me.” He turned so he was talking against her hair. “I love you.”

“I’m so sorry, Paden.” Ree mumbled into his shirt. “I love you so much. I never meant to hurt you.”

Paden pulled back and used a finger to lift her chin so he could look into her eyes. “No. Don’t be sorry. I think… I think it had to happen for you both to move on. And I made just as big a mistake, okay? I should never have made that bet. You are worth so much more than my pride. Do you understand that? You’re my life, Ree.”

“So, you’re not breaking up with me?” Ree bit her lip and felt the stirring of joy and relief in her heart.

“Break up with you?” Paden gave her a small smile before tucking her head back against his chest. “How does someone break up with their own heart? To not have you would be like living half a life. Only death will keep me from you, and then only for a little while.”

Ree laughed weakly, her tears choking her as she buried her face in his shirt. His arms tightened around her, and he shifted her gently so he was lying down, and she was tucked against his chest. They didn’t say anything for a while. Instead Ree stared at the stars and enjoyed being in Paden’s arms. His free hand toyed with her hair and she cuddled up to him as closely as she could get.

“I meant it, Ree. I would fight all of the Dark Ones by myself to keep you.” Paden’s voice rumbled through his chest, making her body ache to be closer to him.

“And I would fight the gods for you.” Ree moved so her leg was thrown over his and she wrapped her arm over his chest.

“Those are dangerous words.” Paden said quietly, but he turned his head so he could kiss her hair.

“Those are true words.” She looked up at him, so he could see the fierceness in her eyes. He nodded and smiled at her before tucking her head back down onto his chest.

The sound of the lapping waves seemed to soothe their hurts as they lay under the stars in each other’s arms. After a while, Ree started to drift to sleep, only to jerk awake when Paden shifted.

“I guess we need to head back to the house.” Ree sat up and brushed some of the hair out of her face.

“Why?” Shrugging out of his jacket, Paden held his arms open in invitation to her. She melted back into him and smiled when he covered the two of them with his coat. “I want to spend the next few hours holding you.”

“Sounds perfect.” Cuddling back into him, she put her hand on his chest and smiled when he covered it with his own.

After a while, Ree’s eyes fluttered open and she saw Aphrodite tending a small campfire. The goddess smiled at Ree and put a finger to her lips. Snuggling closer to Paden, Ree closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Chapter Nine

The sound of hissing may have woken Ree, but it was the stinging cold water droplets that kept her awake. Rubbing a hand across her face, she looked around the area in confusion. Soft rain fell from the early morning sky, causing the fire to sputter out. A rumble of thunder woke Paden, who cussed under his breath and pulled Ree up and out of the sand. He held his jacket over their heads as they ran for the cover of the trees.

“And this would be why I never wanted to go camping.” Ree laughed.

“Congratulations. You just spent your first night roughing it.” Paden winked at Ree.

The clouds opened up just as they reached the large tree Ree had fallen out of not so long ago. Laughing, Ree fended off the wet assault when Paden shook his head, sending water flying in all directions. Paden narrowed his eyes at her before pushing her against the tree and rubbing his wet hair along her face. She couldn’t help the squeal that escaped her lips as she tried to shove him away. Somehow during their struggle, Paden’s leg ended up pressed between hers and her heart started to flutter in her chest for very different reasons. Paden seemed to be experiencing the same thoughts, because his mouth touched hers in a scorching kiss. His hands tangled in her wet hair, tipping her head backward so he could reach her easier. Tiny pricks on her lips meant his fangs were down, but that only urged Ree onward. Running her hands over his wet t-shirt, she traced the outlines of his muscles with her fingertips.

Her heart stuttered when his hands followed the same path hers had, only over her shirt. When his hands hesitated along the lines of her bra, she leaned into him, wanting more. She could literally feel his resolve weaken as his hands ran over her body freely.  When he lifted the hem of her shirt so his fingers could touch her skin, she moaned into his mouth.

His breath stuttered against her skin while he trailed kisses down her neck. When his fangs scratched gently over her skin, she felt a small sting of pain that quickly disappeared as he healed her. His mouth continued its downward journey, his hot breath teasing her skin through the wet material of her shirt. She gasped in pleasure, her hands tangling in his hair.

Water from the rainstorm dripped through the leaves and ran along their faces and down their bodies as they stayed pressed against the tree. The soft sound of wind filled their little area, and Ree knew her power was swirling through the fallen leaves at their feet. There was no way she could control the power at this point, but if all it did was churn around them happily, then she decided it would be fine. At least out here no one would notice.

Running his hands under the back of her shirt, he played with the clasp of her bra. After a moment, it snapped open and his breath shuddered out of him. Almost timidly, his hands slid around to the front of her body and her back arched in pleasure.

     Ree could barely form a coherent thought as Paden’s hands and mouth touched her hot skin. The only thing she was capable of deciding was that she wanted more. She wanted to touch him and never stop. Moving her hands out of his hair, she slid them down his chest and grabbed the top of his jeans. With nervous jerks, she undid the button and traced her fingers along the top of his boxers. Paden sucked in his breath and grabbed her wrists. Very slowly, he lifted her arms so they were pinned above her head.