King Tomb (Forever Evermore) (29 page)

Ezra grunted. “
And
him?”

A simple word. “Yes.”

Ezra’s Vampire gently growled. “The entire damn time?”

“Yes.” He was quiet for a moment. Then he sighed, his words just as soft as he said, “Antonio is the love of my life, son. He always has been. He always will be.
He
is my soul mate.”

Instant. Unforgiving. “Did Mom know?”

“No.” And…there was no apology given.

Just as fast. “Did you treat her any poorer because of
him
?”

“Never. She was my mate. I loved her. You know that.”

Ezra stared for a long moment, his nostrils flared. The silence was so heavy that I rolled down my own window for the rushing night air. Ezra continued eyeing his father before his attention, ever so gradually, swiveled to Antonio. His Vampire began hissing in slow ticks. “Do you feel the same way about my dad?”

Antonio answered coolly, “Yes. He is
mine
.” He even glowed the smallest bit, lighting the Hummer with a subtle frigid radiance. “I’ve had to wait much longer for him without love.”

“If you hurt him—”

“I won’t,” Antonio interjected, leaning forward. “Now, back off.”

Ezra’s Vampire didn’t stop hissing, but he did ask, “Lily?”

“
Truth to all
. For both of them,” I whispered, having heard the hidden pain not only in Antonio’s voice, but in Cahal’s as well. I sent a swift warning glance to my husband. “Do as he said. Back off.” I couldn’t imagine being in their situation, the internal torment they had both endured at knowing their agonized love for one another but not knowing if they would ever be together again.

At the direct order, Ezra shot me his own cross expression, but his regard swiftly turned back to his dad, his words curt. “You should have told me.”

Cahal grunted. “Son…shut up.”

“Does anyone else know about you two?”

Cahal sighed grandly. “Merrick knows. He’s always known.”

Antonio quit glowing and muttered, “Jacobs isn’t unintelligent, either.”

“Wonderful.” Ezra’s Vampire growled, but he finally turned to face the front. He was grumpy as hell, his arms even crossed like a scolded child, but he didn’t pry further. Ezra was silent as he processed their information, just as I was wordlessly doing.

Antonio eventually cleared his throat, changing the subject. “Have you two decided how your
introductions
will go with Queen Cooper and King Collins?”

Drawn out of my thoughts, I snorted softly. “Nice code talk.” I shook my head. “While you two were having your fun today, Ezra and I were trying to decide how to broach the subject.” I hesitated. “We didn’t come up with shit. The only thing we can think of is to give each of them a copy of the videos that we finished duplicating today, and let them figure it out.” I mean, there was no easy way to handle an individual who had been mind raped.

Antonio hummed softly. “That might be the best way.”

“It’s the only way,” Ezra clarified. “If they’re like us, they’ll want the blunt truth.”

Cahal chuckled softly. “Just be careful. The truth can be just as dangerous as a lie.”

Ezra grunted, glaring out his own window. “No shit, Dad.”

Ignoring the hostility radiating from my husband again, my head cocked as I stared at the road ahead. “What…is that?” It looked like a darker-than-dark shadow on the side of the road.

Ezra instantly sat straighter, squinting out the front windshield. “It’s a person in a black cloak. The hood is up. I can’t tell if they are male or female.” He leaned forward, everyone staring now. “This road was supposed to be cleared.” Yes, our elite guard, along with Bindi, were driving a few miles ahead of us, making sure of this fact. A soft shake of his head. “Whoever it is, they’re holding up a sign. It says,” he paused, squinting further, “
Queen Ruckler and King Zeller: stop.
”

“Uh…what the hell?” I was at a loss.

“Yeah,” Ezra grumbled, resting back on his seat.

Antonio cleared his throat — loudly. “I would stop.”

My eyes flicked to the rear-view. “It’s odd.”

His nostrils flared. “Exactly.” He pointed his finger toward the stranger. “Do as I said, Lil.”

My brows rose. I knew that tone. “What don’t I know?”

Instant. “A lot.” More finger-pointing. “Just stop the damn car.” He paused. “Please.”

I blinked at his plea. My foot instantly altered from the accelerator to the brake as I steered the Hummer to the side of the road the individual was on — almost on top of him/her. “Okay.” Antonio didn’t ever beg. This was out of character for him. “Is this a Mage thing?”

Antonio sighed heavily as we came to a complete stop a few feet away from the person, taking his seatbelt off, his words barely heard as he opened his car door. “When is it not?”

Turning the Hummer off, I glanced at Ezra. We didn’t say anything, but we both had a gun ready as we unbuckled our seatbelts then stepped out of the vehicle. Behind us, Elder Merrick and Elder Jacobs were already out of their car and walking toward us, their eyes glowing on the individual, whose cloak fluttered softly in the night breeze. Everyone was on high alert as we eyed the silent individual.

Except for Antonio.

I stood stock-still as he bounded forward. He started circling the person, his gaze running up and down their body with way too much excitement. His shoulders even bounced a few times. He seemed…giddy.

Cahal was instantly next to the silent individual, a gun in his hand. But he made no other move, just silently watching the person as Antonio did his little happy dance around the cloaked figure.

The stranger gradually started to lift their head…and the sweetest, softest, most feminine chuckle could be heard. A long, fire engine red curl fell out of the protectiveness of the black hood, laying gently across her cloak. Under the bright moonlight, I stared in silent fascination. It was a Com teenage girl. Maybe around thirteen years old. She was a real beauty: porcelain skin, dark brown eyes, and rose red lips. As she continued laughing gently, she merely watched Antonio as he circled her.

I cautiously stepped forward, being too damn careful for a Com teen. Her gaze altered to mine as I walked toward her. I kept my tone unruffled despite the oddity of the situation. “Who are you?”

She spoke so softly, I had to lean forward to hear. “My name is Julia.”

Grinningly widely, Antonio twirled behind her and shot a fist into the air.

I blinked from him back to her. “
Who
are you, Julia?”

Calmly, she folded the sign in her hand and stuffed it into a pocket of her cloak. “For you, that is not important right now.” She flicked a finger to Ezra as he stepped beside me, neither of us putting our guns away. “Though I do have something for you both.”

Ezra grunted quietly. “That would be?”

Her words were a whisper. “The cure to your ache.”

My entire body went still, my mind reeling at this Com. “Explain.”

She rolled her eyes grandly. “Elder Harcourt found me exploring where I shouldn’t have been, so I made a deal with him. Apparently, I’m now a courier.” She chuckled quietly, a condescending sound. “And not for whom I originally came for. My deal with the Mage is that I would bring you what you seek.” A long aggravated sigh. “He is way too big on himself. With timing — and many other issues.”

Antonio snorted softly…then gently touched her shoulder, squeezing it.

Her gaze snapped to his. She wiggled her captured shoulder. “Do you mind?”

“Nope.” Antonio studied where he held her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Julia.”

Another wiggle of her shoulder. “I did not give you permission to touch me. Let go.” She paused for an extended moment. “Or I won’t give them their gift.”

Antonio released her, but he was still grinning like an idiot. “So sorry.”
Lie
.

She huffed. “Please. I am no fool.”

“No, you’re not,” Antonio murmured, then he continued his circling dance about her.

I waggled my gun in irritation. “What exactly are you talking about, child?”

With pure, haughty teenage attitude, her brows rose. “Are you deaf? I already said.”

I stopped waggling my gun and just flat out pointed it at her head. “What
ache
?”

She didn’t even look at my gun. She just rolled her eyes again. “Your memory wipe.”

Absurdly, as the air rushed from my lungs, all I could think was that she needed a piece of gum. If she blew a large pink bubble and popped it right in my face it would fit with her blasé attitude. And she apparently held the golden ticket: the cure to my insanity. My blink was gradual as I sucked air. “Excuse me?”

Julia shrugged a shoulder. “Elder Harcourt couldn’t bring it here himself. Something to do with the Laws that bind him on judgments, plus he thought,” a thumb-flick at Antonio and Cahal, “they might try to kill him. So he sent me.”

Her brows puckered, and she tapped a finger on her bottom lip. “He said a lot of other crap.” More finger-tapping, a soft hum. “Oh, yes. He driveled that once all four of you drink your vials the spell will be reversed — everyone’s memories about the four Rulers and their past together back in place. All except the skirmish that got you here in the first place. No one who doesn’t already remember that incident will recall it.
And
he wanted me to explain that it was when your biological father healed you that your tubes — which were magically tied — were fixed. The power your bio-father used to fix you was all-consuming on your wrecked body.”

Her nose crinkled as she flicked a finger at my stomach. “The Mage also said that until you decide to have more children and purposely unspell them, the current state of your tied tubes will work just fine.” Another nose scrunch, and she yawned wide. “He said, and I quote,
the more the merrier
.”

My mouth bobbed like a damn fish. When I finally spoke, it was with a wheeze. “Elder Harcourt did this to us?”

She stared like I was an imbecile, then her dark gaze flicked to Ezra’s frozen frame. Her brows rose, her lips twitching. “You hadn’t told her you figured it out?”

Ezra glanced to me, his expression wisely void, then back to her. “I didn’t want her getting hurt going after the most powerful Mage in the world.” His tone turned absent. “And I enjoyed the games she played trying to acquire the information.” His eyes slowly narrowed on her, his gun tapping against his leg. “Tell me, Julia, how is it that Elder fucking Harcourt trusts a mere Com youth with all of this valuable intel?”

She smiled. It was slow…and wicked. “No worries, Mr King. I won’t tell.”
Truth
. She waggled a red brow at him, then she flicked a finger at me. “You really should get her a book on all things Mystical. She should know the same shit as you, since she’s…yanno, the Queen of her people.” Her stare was pointed as I continued to blink, my gun slowly lowering back to my side. Eventually, she waved a bored hand when no one said anything else. “Anywho, since I need to be going, it’s time for the vials.” She started patting her cloak, in search of our redemption.

My hands started shaking, so I swiftly holstered my gun.

I watched as she
continued
to pat her cloak.

And still, I waited…until I finally shouted, “
Did you fucking lose them?
” My salvation had better not have been lost by a Com teenage brat. My wolf growled so damn loud it shook the air around us. “I will
kill
you if you did.”

Her dark brown eyes peeked up at me from under her lashes. The most radiant smirk etched her beautiful features. “I’m just playing with you. Calm down.” Oh. My. God. I was going to strangle the tiny bitch. She reached into her left cloak pocket and pulled out four vials that shimmered with golden, powered liquid in the darkness. “Here they—”

“Shut up,” I hissed, lunging at her and stealing them. I held the vials close to my chest, my wolf huffing in contempt. “They’re mine.”

“Actually, only one is yours.”

When I bared my teeth, Ezra took a step forward and pulled me away from her, my wolf shining through my eyes.

His words were a soft warning. “Julia, I would suggest you quit talking as Queen Ruckler stated.”

“Yeah…the wolf seems pissed.” She chuckled quietly, an evil gleam in her eyes. “I haven’t even heard a word of gratitude for bringing her something she wants so badly.”

Antonio snorted and stopped circling to bend, placing his face next to hers. “It’s time for you to go away now, Julia. Elder Harcourt was right about timing. Yours is a smidge off.” He had grinned like a fiend while he had threatened her. “You are still young yet.”

“Fuck off.” She glared with haughty air, sticking her nose up at him. “I’ll leave when I wish, not when a
Mage
tells me to.” Her eyes narrowed. “How is
your
new-found ache—”

Antonio slapped a hand over her mouth, all pretenses of humor gone, his eyes turning deathly cold in a heartbeat. His voice was choked in discomfort when he hissed, “Leave now. Or
I
will be the one to kill you.”

In the silence, my wolf went quiet, hearing agony deeply seated in his tone.

Behind his hand, her voice was muffled as she growled, “Mage, oh Mage, be wary. Your own cockiness is blinding. Blank spots are not always as they appear…and sometimes, they are.” She jerked her head away from him and abruptly turned on her heel, griping over her shoulder, “This is me, leaving of my own free will. When
I
wish it to be so.”

His golden brows puckering, Antonio watched her back. “Goodbye, Julia.”

She waved a jerky hand over her shoulder, her words still whisper soft. “Later.”

I watched as her bare feet peeked out from under her cloak that whipped in the wind. Just as suddenly as she had appeared, she disappeared into the brush of the trees lining the two-lane road. My gaze gradually altered to Antonio where he still stared at the woods. “Antonio, what was she talking about? What new-found—”

“Shut it,” Antonio instantly snapped, turning a sharp glare on me. He pointed a finger at the vials in my hand. “Drink up, kiddo.”

I still stared. He had just gotten Cahal back in his life. He had no reason to be hurting. “What are blank spots?”