Immortal Prophecy (The Immortal Prophecy Saga) (21 page)

“Yes he is or rather was my brother. He was lost to us fifty years ago.” James eyes were swollen with unshed tears and sorrow as her gran’s had been.

Lost in his own memories she let him have a moment. And in doing so she gave herself a moment to study him and soak him up without him noticing.

He really was something else. She felt the instant need to cower away from him to go back to her comfortable place and hide. Pretend that none of this was happening but she couldn’t and she knew that now. However admitting that to herself was one thing, admitting it to James was another.

Ally needed time to absorb the immense amount of information she had been given and the fact that her life had been irrevocably changed by the events of yesterday.

Was that really only yesterday she thought and laughed softly at the thought. It seemed so distant like it happened a million years ago.

Her soft laugh had brought him back to reality and he was staring at her as if he could see into her very soul. Those sparkling emerald eyes were drawing her in. Ally felt the drowning sensation begin as she found herself caught in those eyes. Everything about him was so intense, right down to his gaze.

How will I ever survive this? She wondered.

“I came here to discuss my dream so stop looking at me like that. It’s distracting,” she chided him gently.

“I was just admiring the most beautiful creature I ever beheld. You can’t blame a man for that,” James said with a devastating smile.

“What am I supposed to say to that?” She said losing the battle to his natural charm.

“Thank you springs to mind. It was a compliment after all.” Amusement was written boldly across his features.

“You said you wouldn’t push, James,” Ally reminded him.

“No I said the decision would be yours but I also said that I wouldn’t hesitate to push the scales in my favour.”

“A mere technicality.”

“Perhaps,” he took a sip of whisky looking at her over the rim of the glass. “Is it working?”

“No.”

“You say that but I don’t believe you,” He stated full of confidence.

“You’re wrong.” But inside she knew he was right.

“Stubborn woman of mine,” he said with a loving smile. “You will come to my way of thinking soon enough lass.”

“Oh for the love of…” Frustration was beginning to take hold as he drew the conversation away from the dream.

“The dream, James.” Ally said as patiently as she could manage.

This seemed to bring him back to reality.

“Yes your right. I’m sorry. Now the dream concerning Damian, tell me about it.” James appeared to be open and she had his full attention back onto the dream so she relayed the information to him.

The same thing happened again as it did with her Grandmother. Ally could see he was lost in thought, sadness and a sense of pride that she hadn’t seen in Adele, but each person would have a different way of seeing things.

“So what do you think?” Ally asked once she had finished.

“About the dream or why you had it?” he asked with a seriousness she hadn’t seen before. He wasn’t flirting or charming her but he gave off the feeling he would take care of things. It made her feel safe and it was very appealing.

“Well about both.”

“As for why you had this dream I don’t know. The ancients do things for a reason but sometimes it takes a while for that reason to be apparent to us.”

She laughed.

“Did I say something amusing Ally?” James stared at her with confusion.

“Not really. It’s just that Gran said the same thing to me.”

“Adele knows about the dream?” His eyes were full of concern.

“Yes she does and I know about Damian being her soulmate.”

He put his drink down on the occasional table beside him and went over to stoke the fire. “I imagine it was painful for her to relive that night.”

He was full of empathy another part that she hadn’t seen before now. So far he had been playing the part of the gorgeous but eternal playboy. Perhaps Gran was right and there was more to him that she thought.

“It was but she is holding up fine. I had no idea that she had a soulmate or that he was my mother’s father and in turn my grandfather. It was surprising to say the least.”

“I can imagine.” As James drifted off in his mind, something must have occurred to him for his eyes flew to her with what appeared to be horror. “Did Adele explain the relationship between my brother and I?”

She smiled widely, realizing that she may not have been aware of his adoption so to speak. “Yes she told me. Not until after I began thinking that you were a close blood relation though.”

James laughed at the image of Ally in his mind as she found out that she was Damian’s granddaughter and in turn, her soulmate would have been her great uncle. “I’m glad she told you.”

“Me too,” she smiled back.

“What about you though, finding out that Damian was your Grandfather must have been a shock. Are you alright?”

“Surprised, shocked and everything in between but I will be fine,” She replied.

He smiled a genuine smile. James didn’t appear to be trying to flirt or draw her in but just comforting.

Ally had to admit it was nice. He wandered back over to the sofa beside the fire and sat down next to her. He drew his hand in hers and turned to look at her.

She was caught up in the haze of desire that his touch brought. Ally looked into his eyes.

“I know you have had your life turned upside down again and I just wanted to tell you that I think you are handling it remarkably well.”

“Thank you.” Her smile touched him to the core.

“I had a wonderful idea,” he said still rubbing his thumb gently against her hand.

“This sounds dangerous,” she laughed.

A joke he thought, that is a good start. “I wanted to take you riding around the area this week. The mountain range is spectacular and there are some ruins not far from here that I think you will find interesting. I thought it might be nice way to forget about all the hard stuff for a day and just enjoy ourselves.”

She was astonished. It sounded wonderful!

“I would love that. This place is incredible it would be lovely to see more of it.”

“Good. I will organize a lunch to be packed for us too.” He beamed a smile so bright at her she thought she might go blind. “There is just something I need to organize first, a present of sorts before we go.”

Her eyes widened like a child on Christmas morning.

I must remember to thank Henry again he thought, romance seems to be quite the charm.

“A present? What is it?” She asked.

“It’s a surprise so you will have to wait and see,” James said with a sweet smile.

Ally was so excited she almost couldn’t contain it! A ride in this beautiful place and a present!

“A ride would be really nice. It may just be the enchanting distraction I need.” In more ways than one she thought. It would be a good chance to get to know him better, get past the façade and find out just who the real James was…perhaps even have a few questions about the immortals answered. All in all she was really looking forward to this day out.

“Dress for a day in Antarctica and you should be warm enough,” he laughed.

“That sounds ominous, is it really that cold?” she asked suddenly concerned, she wasn’t a person who liked to freeze.

“No not quite but it is better to be prepared. You can always take a layer off when you get hot but you can’t put a layer on that you don’t have with you.”

She laughed and said with a smirk, “Very sound advice James. I shall take it on board.”

He laughed with her.

She is breathtaking. He is mesmerising, they thought simultaneously.

The air started to crackle around them as the laughter died down and the seriousness that was desire settled around them. Both lost to the web of passion they found themselves tangled in. Neither wanting to fight it but one knowing she must for her own sake but the will to fight had quickly vanished.

Their eyes locked, immersed in each other’s green depths, the windows to their very souls.

Ally and James had been bewitched and entranced by each other, it was inevitable, they both knew it would happen. The only question left to be answered was when and that was entirely up to Ally.

Their bodies were moving without conscience thought toward each other, slowly but unavoidably.

Ally could feel the desire radiating out of him, it sent a dizzy wave of lust through her body like a lightning bolt. His desire was for her and no one else.

James could sense the anticipation that was pouring off her in waves and he felt her body stiffen slightly in response to his touch. He also had the added ability of reading her mind so he pushed gently hoping Ally wouldn’t realize but instantly he was thrown out as she threw a wall up.

Ally hadn’t reacted at all, James thought to himself in amazement she has no idea that she can do that and yet she did, annoying for me but good protection for her. If Ally is capable of all this as a half immortal then imagine what she will be as an immortal…almost unstoppable.

Hope surged through him and took him higher than the very sky.

Part of him was terrified of losing her when he had only just been able to get her in his life finally. He knew what happened to immortals that lost their soulmates. Most could not go on. He greatly admired Adele for being able to carry on. Not as though nothing happened but because she knew that’s what Damian would have wanted her to do. But if Ally could do all this then she had a real chance of defeating Vincent. She was destined to fight Vincent that would happen no matter what, but the outcome, that was up to fate.

Ally was the first to pull back, realizing that she needed to get out of here whilst she was able to. Standing up, she looked down at James. “I’m really looking forward to our outing James.”

“Me too,” he answered smiling dreamily at her. “Go get some rest Ally. I have to go away for a few days but when I get back expect to be romanced till you can’t take it anymore.”

Ally smiled again and left the room feeling like she was on cloud nine. I hope this lasts she thought to herself.

Chapter Sixteen

T
HE NEXT THREE DAYS WITHOUT
J
AMES
passed by slowly. Ally began to realize how much she missed James and that he meant a lot to her. She spent her days curled up with a book in front of the fire in the lounge room and read while snacking on Sophie’s delicious cookies and drinking her favourite beverage coffee. Ally was enjoying the normalcy and her time to think but she found that at times there was too much time to think and she began over analysing everything.

Getting to know Sophie and Henry more was something that she had wanted to take the time to do.

Ally learned that they had two children, Logan and Mackenzie. Logan had gone with James to his mysterious destination and Mackenzie would be returning from a week in London tomorrow so she hadn’t been able to meet them as yet.

Listening to Sophie and Henry speaking of their children you could tell that they were devoted parents who loved their kids dearly. It made her heart cry out for her own beloved parents but at least she had Adele. Ally honestly didn’t know what she would have done without her.

As the third day without James came to a close and she finished her novel, Ally began to reflect upon everything once more. She found that she longed for James to come home and was insanely curious as to what he was doing. Ally silently prayed that he was missing her just as much as she missed him.

Everyone else had wandered up to bed earlier and she was all alone. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was almost midnight. Ally decided that it was time she went up to bed. Not aware how tired she was until after she got up, Ally stood at the bottom of the stairs wondering if she had the energy to climb the two levels to her room.

With a sigh of resignation she climbed the steps one by one until she found herself in the hallway leading to her room. Once inside she got into her sleeping attire and crawled deep under the covers. Her last coherent thought before sleep claimed her was of James and her dearest wish that he would return tomorrow. She needed to see him.

The following morning Ally woke up in the big fluffy king size guest bed that had been given to her. She was hopelessly in love with this room. The room itself was large and spacious, with an open fireplace on the wall and an elaborate mirror above it. The couch and ottoman were deliciously comfortable as was the bed. She got up and wrapped her cream satin gown around her, the fireplace had already been lit and the room was warm.

Ally looked towards the balcony opposite the fireplace and something caught her eye, she went over to investigate. Opening the white french doors leading onto her private balcony, she felt a chill run through her as stepped outside. James hadn’t been joking when he had likened the climate to Antarctica, but it was astonishingly pleasant. Ally was surprised to find that the cold didn’t bother her that much.