mythean arcana 06 - master of fate (19 page)

“Me?”

“Like I said, it’s you for me.” He met her gaze, though it was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. “But it would always turn into the worst torture. It went on so long that all touch—good and bad—became pain. And nausea. That’s why I have trouble touching.”

“Felix.” Her eyes glinted with tears.

“Doona feel bad for me. You spent three hundred years in the aether. It was no worse than that. And I’m better than I was. Logically, I know that all touch isn’t torture. But my subconscious has a harder time. The wrong touch can send me straight back there.”

She rubbed her throat with her hand. “How long were you there?”

He hesitated. “Twenty-one years.”

Her face crumpled. “At least my torture wasn’t so fucked up.”

“It’s all fucked up.”

She nodded. “Why did she torture you? What did she want?”

You.
“That’s a story for another time.” He didn’t want to tell her that his suffering had been for her. He’d do it again in a heartbeat, but it was better that she not bear the burden of that knowledge.

He could tell from her face that she wanted to press for the information, but she didn’t. Instead, she asked, “How did you escape?”

“I dinna. One day, she disappeared. It was in 1705—the year your soul disappeared from earth. I was still chained and couldn’t escape. Eventually, Malcolm appeared. With the Seer gone, the enchantment faded, allowing our wolves to feel each other’s distress. He rescued me and destroyed the tower so no other wulver could be held there.”

“The way you felt his when he needed you.”

He nodded. Going to save his brother had torn him away from Aurora. Fate was a bitch.

“It’s strange she disappeared the year I was thrown into the aether prison. Do you know why?”

“Nay.”

Aurora’s heart felt as though it were cracking. She couldn’t focus on the mystery of the Seer, just on Felix. His voice had been nearly emotionless as he told her his tale; his eyes were anything but. Her gaze caught on the tattoos that covered the scars trailed over his arms and chest.

She reached out toward his bicep, then pulled back. “Are the scars from her?”

He nodded. “Some kind of poison—and the repeated application of it via a hot knife—left them. You can—” He swallowed hard. “You can touch them.”

“I don’t have to.”

“It might be better. I need to get over this. You give me a reason to.”

Like some sick therapy? But she desperately wanted to touch him, and it might eventually work, so she did, lightly placing her fingertips on the black ink covering a long raised scar. He stiffened, but didn’t push her away.

“You added the tattoos afterward?” she asked.

“Aye. My brother did it. He took care of me while I was recovering.”

“How did you deal with his touching you to give you the tattoos? The needle must have felt like the Seer’s blade.”

“Not nearly as bad. But aye, it was hell. Worth it to reclaim those marks on my skin, though.”

The tattoos were beautiful. Protective. She was glad Malcolm could do them. “It’s been three hundred years. I know you won’t get over this quickly, or maybe ever be able to bear touch easily. That you might never be the same again. Don’t feel like you have to rush the process for me.” Because it wasn’t as though she could stay with him. Not as long as the madness haunted her.

A dark laugh escaped him. “You’re exactly why I want to rush the process. I have no’ had a lot of reason to accelerate my recovery since you’ve been gone.”

Oh gods. He really did care for her. Of course he did. And she cared for him. Maybe even loved him. She was stupid and kept reaching for more—for the closeness of knowing him, not just for physical intimacy. But then she remembered why this was all such a bad idea. After everything he’d been through, he couldn’t spend his life with a soulceress who lived on the edge of snapping. 

Could she do that to him?

No. Not a chance.

“Let’s try to get some more sleep,” he said. “We have a big day tomorrow of binding souls and traveling through time.”

She hesitated. “Actually, I think binding our souls would be better done right now, if you’re okay with it.” The closeness they’d shared these last few minutes would help power the magic. No matter how much she wanted to keep her distance right now, she wanted the spell to work. If their souls weren’t bound tightly enough, she’d be left in the aether when they aetherwalked. That was the
last
thing she wanted. “But I’ll have to touch your chest.”

“All right. Is it dangerous?”

“No. Removing the soul is. But just binding souls is not. Though the connection should not last for a very long time. Souls aren’t meant to be modified for long periods of time.”

“All right. What do I need to do?”

“Just face me. I’ll take care of the rest.”

He shifted on the bed so that he faced her, his broad chest near her eye level. She still hadn’t adjusted to his size. The idea that he had such complexity wrapped up in such a hulking package was hard to grasp.

She put her hand over his heart and gathered her power, focusing it on the soul she felt within his body. It felt like tingly warmth. A desperate craving to steal it rose within her, like starvation. She’d feel
whole
if only she could take it all. Her hand trembled as she forced herself back from the edge.

This was Felix. She could never do that to him. She should never do that to anyone.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

A shuddery sigh escaped her. “Yes. Just a difficult process.”
Lie.
But she couldn’t tell him she was fighting not to steal his soul. That she’d been fighting her desperate desire to steal souls for the past year.

She squeezed her eyes shut and focused on Felix and how much he meant to her. It made the desperate need to take his soul abate enough that she could turn her attention to her magic. She laid her hand back upon his chest and touched her own heart with the other. She gathered her power, imagining it flowing from all parts of her body. 

When she opened her eyes, she drew her hands away from their chests. Leading out from each of their chests, a wispy, sparkling cord followed her hands.

“Whoa,” Felix said.

“Our souls.” She concentrated on the filaments, making sure not to lose her grasp on the tiny parts of their souls that she’d drawn free. Magic sparked around them, glittering lights that encased them in a sphere.

With deft hands, she tied the wisps of their souls together in a knot. A sense of extreme comfort and fulfillment flowed through her. She released her focus on her magic. The sparkling sphere that surrounded them disappeared as their knotted souls faded, but the sense of completion remained. It felt so good.

She could get used to this.

“It’s done.” She hoped it would be strong enough to carry her through the aether with him. It should be.

“I feel it.”

“Good. So do I. Let’s get some sleep.” It felt strange to be looking at him in the dim light after things had been so intimate between them. It had never been quite like this in the past and she really didn’t know how to deal with it now.

She lay on her side and faced away from him, trying to grapple with what the hell she was feeling. This was so not what she’d been hoping for. This was getting messy.

His strong arm wrapped around her waist and she stiffened. Cuddling was a bad, bad idea, but it felt so damned good. 

“Is this okay?” she asked.

“Aye. Just doona touch me with your hands. Let me do the touching.”

She nodded, hoping that one day that rule would be gone. Not that it mattered. Getting involved with him again was a terrible idea. 

But it was so hard to stop herself. 

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Felix walked silently through the old oak forest alongside Aurora. They’d awakened this morning and hadn’t spoken of the previous night. After finishing the meat pasties, they’d aetherwalked to the area near the malfunctioning portal to hunt for any clue about its existence.

It was a brisk morning and the sun filtered through the leaves of the huge trees.

“I think I feel some kind of magic coming from over there,” Aurora whispered as she pointed to the left. 

They made their way silently through the woods until they reached a clearing. Mountains rose in the distance, but it was the stone circle in the field that caught his eye. At least a dozen stones, each more than twenty feet tall, stood in a circle. Four figures stood within, though he couldn’t make out their faces. Women.

“We need to get closer,” Aurora said.

“I’ll go.”

“I need to come.”

“There’s no’ a lot of cover. They’ll see you.”

“I’ll use a bit of my power to hide myself.”

Of course. Soulceresses could manifest any of their desires with their magic as long as they had enough power.

She walked forward. Within a few steps, he could barely make out her form. She reflected the area around her, grass and sky and mountains. Close up, it was obvious, but if the figures in the circle didn’t know what they were looking for, they wouldn’t be able to see her unless she got within a few feet of them. Mouse adopted the same illusion. It was a badass talent.

Within minutes, they were only a few dozen yards away from the stones. The figures within were definitely women. Their long hair and skirts were unmistakable. He could only see the faces of two—the others stood with their backs to them. They looked vaguely familiar, but he wasn’t sure why.

“Do I sense a soulceress?” one of the women asked, her tone ominous. She turned to face them, staring blindly, and horrified rage struck him in the chest. 

The Seer. Younger than when he’d first seen her, but the same woman.

He charged her, intent on tearing her head from her neck. Though that was impossible because he couldn’t touch her, he could push one of the great stones onto her. He might not have been able to change other aspects of the past without risking Aurora’s future, but killing the woman who threatened them wouldn’t pose a risk to her.

Panic flashed in her gaze, though he knew she couldn’t see him. She heard his thundering footsteps. 

“Amaris!” she screamed.

The woman behind her lunged forward, her hand flashing out. A streak of light shot at him, hitting him in the chest and knocking him back.

“Felix!” Aurora hissed.

He staggered to his feet. Aurora joined him, panting, her illusion still in place. She threw out her hand to send her own magic back at the witch, but before she could do so, the witch threw her head to the sky and cried, “Luna!”

Night crashed around them, dark as pitch save for the glowing orb of the moon. Felix was immediately hit by dark memories, but he thrust them aside to see white shadows fly from the moon. They swept down from the sky, ghostly apparitions with no true form, and grasped him and Aurora.

They were pulled into the air and separated. He strained against his bonds, fighting to break free and get to Aurora. Far away, Aurora freed one arm and a blast of flame greater than any he’d ever seen shot from her fingers and engulfed the witch.

She shrieked and fell to the ground. The ghosts that held him loosened their grip. He fell dozens of feet and landed with a crash. Pain rocked through him but he staggered to his feet once more, grateful for his quick healing. The night faded to day as the witch screamed. 

His gaze raced over the field. There. The crumpled form of Aurora. His heart leapt into his throat and he raced to her. Mouse crouched upon her chest, guarding her. As soon as he reached her, he scooped them up into his arms and focused on the future. With an image of his home as it was in 2015 strong in his mind, and hoping the binding of their souls would work, he entered the aether and carried them through space and time.

Seconds later, after flying through a whirlpool of years and places, they arrived in his living room in his cottage in Iceland. Everything looked normal. It was present day, thank gods.

“What the hell?” Aurora said.

He put her down and she swayed. He reached out to catch her but she straightened.