Authors: Rebecca Zanetti
The grin he flashed warned of an explosion, even so deep into the earth, with rumblings all around them. “Three points here,
Prophet
Lily. One, you know it pisses me off when you give me that crappy smile. Two, you know it
really
pisses me off when you call me
Prophet
. And three, you are
not
going to be here.”
She reached deep for patience. Even worse, an odd hurt filled her. Though Caleb drove her crazy, he was one of the very few people she’d thought saw the real her. The one with strength and not the fragile lady from centuries ago. “Yes, I am. You’re explosive, Guiles is arrogant, and I’m the peacemaker. What do you think I’ve been doing as a prophet for the last three centuries?”
His broad hands settled on her shoulders, shooting instant heat through her body. “You’ve done an amazing job, especially counseling soldiers in so much pain. There’s no doubt you’re the leading expert in our world on PTSD with your constant schooling as well as personal experience. But this is war.”
“No. This is peace.” That pretty much summed up the differences between them. Caleb looked for the blade, while Lily looked for the sheath. “Why don’t you want me here?” A hurt she wanted to mask slipped out in her tone.
His gaze gentled and he blinked. “I can’t do my job and protect the king if you’re here.”
She frowned. “Why not?”
“Because when you’re in a room, you’re all I see.”
Flutters cascaded down her throat to her heart. The sweetness, the blunt honesty he’d no doubt wanted to hide, shone in his eyes for the briefest of moments. A real vulnerability, and one he had the courage to express.
“Caleb, I—”
“Stop arguing. Lily needs to be here.” Dage finished his stroll around the cavern and ended up back at their lift. “Just like Janie needs to be.” He smacked Caleb on the shoulder hard enough the sound echoed through the room. “Suck it up, and forget personal feelings.”
Caleb frowned and released Lily.
Lily shivered from the sudden coolness. How odd that it was cool. She glanced around the room again. “What if the quantum physics that created this crazy room fail?”
Caleb followed her gaze and shrugged. “We all fry.”
Lily nodded at two guards flanking the doorway as she strode into the infirmary, her gaze catching on Jane Kayrs, who was patching up a soldier with a wound across his upper arm. “What happened?”
Janie finished with the bandage and gave the soldier a sweet smile. “You’ll be fine, Charlie.”
The young tiger shifter grinned back. “You should see the other guy.” He stood and grabbed his ripped shirt to tug over his battered chest, turning toward Lily. “Hi, Prophet Lily. We had a small skirmish with a band of Kurjans last night, and I thought a Band-Aid would suffice.”
Janie shook her head, fondness curving her lips. “You needed ten stitches. Thanks for coming in before your arm fell off.”
Charlie smiled and gave Janie a half-armed hug. “Thanks for the stitches.” With a respectful nod at Lily, he headed for the door.
Lily eyed Janie. Dark circles lined Janie’s eyes, and her pretty skin was porcelain pale. “How long have you been working in the infirmary?” Lily asked.
Janie shrugged and stood, stretching her neck. “All night. The fight was more than a skirmish. The Kurjans attacked an outpost of ours near Portland.”
“Your medical knowledge is impressive, considering you haven’t gone to school yet.”
Janie walked to the sink to wash her hands. “I’ve had battlefield training, I guess.”
Curiosity welled up in Lily. The young woman had been prophesied to change the world, but had anybody ever asked her what she wanted to do? What she wanted to be? “Are you interested in attending medical school?”
Janie turned around, wiping her hands on paper towels. “Not really.” She pursed her lips. “I’m interested in the medical field, and I like to help. But when the peace talks are over, and if I survive my twenty-fifth year, then I’d like to study psychology. To help people the way you do.”
Warmth slid through Lily along with alarm. “First, I’m flattered. Second, what do you mean about your twenty-fifth year?”
Janie blinked. “That year is the year it all happens. Whatever it is, I’ve always known the prophecy comes true while I’m twenty-five, which I am right now.”
“That’s frightening.” Lily’s heart sped up.
“I know.”
One concern at a time. Lily smoothed her face into calm lines. “When was the last time you ate?”
“Um, last night?” Janie smiled. “In fact, I’m starving. Let’s go find something to eat.” She tucked her arm through Lily’s. “Did Dage read you the riot act for our bar fight?”
“Not really. How about you?” Lily could eat.
“No.” Janie stifled a yawn.
“That shifter was cute,” Lily said as they maneuvered out of the infirmary into the warm sunshine brightening the main street of the vampire headquarters. Gorgeous maple trees lined the street with red leaves falling, the grass beneath already yellow as winter approached. “I’ve always found feline shifters impressive.”
Janie nodded. “I agree. Charlie was my first kiss, you know.”
“Really?” Lily smiled and glanced up at her friend’s face.
“Yes. My brother walked in, saw Charlie kissing me, and threw the poor guy over a pool table.” Janie laughed. “Charlie and I have been great friends since.”
Lily squinted against the fall sunlight. “Just friends, huh?”
“Yes.” Janie’s smile disappeared.
Now wasn’t the time to talk about Janie’s love life, or lack thereof. They both needed to survive the upcoming peace talks. Lily shook her head. “I find it so odd we need to survive peace, you know?”
Janie nodded as they strolled through the gated community, two guards following somewhat discreetly behind them. Finally, they reached a wood and stone house decorated with brilliant yellow mums lining the walkway to the door. Janie pushed open the front door, revealing a spectacular view of the ocean. “I haven’t been underground to the site yet. What did you think?”
Lily gasped at the stunning gray waves sparkling as far as she could see. “It was a bit intimidating, to be honest.”
“I agree. I’ve seen the room in visions since I was five years old. Maybe four.” Janie led her into a kitchen with shiny stainless-steel appliances. “I made lasagna last night. How do leftovers sound?”
“Fantastic.” Lily slid onto a stool behind a long counter. “Is this your place?”
“Yes. When Uncle Dage increased our land-to-air missiles, we figured we could all live aboveground in houses. If the war goes bad again, we’ll have to head back into the earth.” Janie took out a pan of lasagna. “Which is okay with me. I’ve lived in mountains for a good part of my life, and I’m comfortable there.”
Lily swallowed. There had to be a good way to bring up the subject, but she couldn’t find the right words. “Tell me about any visions you’ve had concerning the peace talks. What exactly do you see?” More importantly, could the visions really be trusted? Could the whispers in the night be telling the truth?
Janie slipped the glass pan into the microwave. “I see dark stone, tables, and a lot of figures. There’s a sense of expectation, of drama, but I can’t tell where it’s coming from.”
Lily stilled. “Do you see anybody in particular?”
“No. I can’t make out the people individually, but I see shadows moving.”
“Does anything go wrong? I mean, do you get a sense that this is a mistake?” Lily asked.
Janie leaned back against the counter, her blue eyes clouding. “No. I don’t get a sense of danger or of peace. Just shadows, and I know I’m there.”
Lily’s heart leaped. “You’re there? For sure?”
Janie shrugged. “I must be, or why would I be seeing the room?”
Good question. Lily forced a smile. “Why, indeed?”
A knock sounded on the door, and Janie eyed the microwave. “I’ll be right back.”
Lily nodded, her head spinning. Every instinct she had warned her to refrain from telling Janie about the dreams. The ones haunting her every night and keeping her from wanting to sleep. Why would her instincts warn her against Janie?
Everybody knew the young woman was the key to the future, yet nobody knew how or why. Janie was good and kind . . . so her contribution had to be necessary and good. Right?
Janie strolled back into the room with Prophet Guiles on her heels.
Lily stood for the obligatory kiss to both cheeks. “Guiles, how are you?” She’d known the man for years, and everyone called him by his last name. It might be his only name, as far as she knew.
Guiles held both of her hands in his warm ones, his brown eyes twinkling. “Ready for peace. You look lovely, as always, Lily.”
She laughed. “You’ve always been such a flatterer.”
The vampire had about a couple of centuries on her and had always worn his brown hair long while remaining ruthlessly clean shaven. The sharp angles of his face showed his Russian heritage, combining into a handsome configuration that inspired trust and confidence. He appeared to be in his early thirties, but his dark eyes showed the centuries he’d endured.
He released her and eyed the modern kitchen. “I do find it strange to be living in houses like humans.” Turning, he breathed deep at the view out of the nook window. “Though it’s beautiful outside the rock, isn’t it?”
“I agree.” Janie grabbed pot holders to tug out the lasagna.
Guiles laughed. “The king still has you surrounded, doesn’t he?”
Janie shook her head. “You mean the bodyguards at my front door? Yes. Right now, as the peace talks draw near, apparently I need guards around the clock.”
Amusement twinkled in Guiles’s eyes. “The bigger one frisked me.”
Janie sighed. “Sorry about that. Max gets a bit overprotective. Would you like to stay for lunch, Prophet Guiles?”
He smiled, flashing sharp incisors. “I just had lunch with the king, but thank you. I brought him a bottle of Dalmore 62, and we had a couple of glasses, so I really should go walk it off before I fall down in a nap.”
Lily breathed out. Guiles was usually rather, er, frugal, and the Highland Malt scotch went for about sixty-three grand a bottle. “How lovely of you.”
Guiles shrugged, red sliding up his face. “The king and his brothers saved my life, and I owe him. Everything.”
Lily nodded. Guiles had been kidnapped by their enemies, and the king and his brothers had rescued him, battered and beaten. While Guiles had always been neutral regarding the vampire rulers, he’d been devoted and loyal since his capture. “I’m thankful they found you in time.”
“Me, too.” He half bowed to Janie and glanced down at Lily. “If Prophet Lily would escort me to the door, I’ll take my leave of you gracious ladies today.”
Lily slid from the stool. “I’ll be right back, Jane.” She followed Guiles through the comfortably furnished home and out the front door and between two hulking vampire guards.
She slipped her hand through Guiles’s arm and escorted him away from the house so they could speak privately. The unseasonably warm fall sunshine instantly blinded her, and she turned toward her old friend.
He brushed a hand through his hair. “What did you think of the underground room?”
She shrugged. “I think Caleb has planned for everything he can, and the cavern will work. What do you think?”
Guiles lost his smile. “I don’t know. I’ve been having terrible dreams about the peace talks.”
Lily’s breath caught in her throat. His dreams couldn’t be as terrible as hers. “What kind of dreams?”
His gaze dropped. “Just bad ones, that this is a mistake. That maybe what we’ve always believed isn’t true. That maybe Prophet Milner was right.”
Lily stilled. “Milner was wrong.” The previous prophet had bellowed that Janie Kayrs and her mother would bring down the Realm, that whatever Janie’s destiny became, it had to be stopped. The same insidious theme had been winding through Lily’s dreams for too long.
“I know.” Guiles’s lips trembled with an almost smile. “I’m sure this is just stress. I’m worrying about the peace talks and our role in them. Sorry to have alarmed you.”
Lily patted his arm. “We’ve been friends for a long time and can talk about anything. If you have any more bad dreams, please call on me.”
His gaze leveled on her. “So you haven’t been having nightmares?”
“No.” Lily met his stare evenly as she lied with everything she had. “I have not.”
Relief relaxed his shoulders. “Good. Very good. Okay. I’ll see you at our prophets’ meeting tomorrow. Good day to you, Lily.”
She nodded and watched him walk down the sidewalk of an ordinary-appearing subdivision toward the main lodge. With a sigh and a deep breath, she turned to go back inside and face one of her friends. Janie Kayrs.
The woman the nightmares insisted Lily kill.
Caleb sprawled across the massive bed, sweat rolling down his back. He was exhausted, but he knew better than to sleep, although very comfortable quarters had been provided for him. The Realm’s main lodge held an entire wing of guest suites, and his was masculine, with heavy furniture throughout the living area, kitchen, and bedroom.
He punched the pillow into a better shape. If he didn’t get some decent sleep, he wouldn’t be of use to anybody the next few days. Damn it. He really needed to get laid.
But every time he thought of finding a willing woman, his thoughts turned to a tiny blonde with a huge spirit who smelled like strawberries.
Even now, centuries after he’d courted her, he got hard every time he smelled a strawberry.
How fucked up was that?
Plus, there was no doubt the pretty prophet also occupied a suite somewhere in the massive lodge, somewhere close. Sleeping now . . . in what? What would the classy Lily wear? Probably a head-to-toe nightgown from the 1800s. He grinned at the thought.
Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his breathing, counting slowly in a method he’d learned from a monk two centuries ago. Most people wouldn’t believe one of his best friends was a monk, and he was just fine with that. Sometimes a guy needed depth, and he certainly didn’t need to share that aspect of himself with anybody.
Even Lily.
Damn it. He forgot to count.
He started over, and finally slipped into a sleep that included dreams of battle, of war, and of ocean voyages.
During the voyage, one he’d actually taken eons ago, the ocean suddenly turned black. Churning, deadly, angry, the water rose up to cover his boat.
He dropped into freezing cold darkness, knowing even as he did so that this was a new dream. One he couldn’t shield against.
So he dropped low and chose not to question how he could breathe at the bottom of the cold ocean.
Blackness swirled around him, brushed against him, but he couldn’t see. The chill fingered through his skin and muscles to his bones, digging deep with sharp nails.
Pain and fear roared through him, scratching inside his flesh.
He tried to awaken, and a voice in the darkness laughed in a distorted tone. “This is your future,” the voice said. “If you don’t fulfill your destiny, this is everybody’s future. Everyone you know, everyone you love. Darkness and pain.”
He tried to punch out, tried to kick, but the swirling vortex contained him. So easily, as if he were nothing better than a gnat in the air.
Down there, he was nothing.
“There is nothing,” the voice intoned. “Do. Your. Duty.”
“Which is?” he tried to yell, but his voice emerged weak, like a toddler’s.
“Janet Isabella Kayrs must die. To save humanity, to save everyone, the prophesied one must die.”
The water grew in force and stole his breath. He coughed, trying to get oxygen. Panic filled him. His skin heated. He struggled like a trout on the bottom of a boat, his mouth working, a silent scream seeking air.
Gasping, he sat up in the bed.
God. Oh God.
Gulping, he sucked in as much air as he could. He panted and shoved the bedcovers to the floor. The cool air dried the sweat rolling off his body, and he shivered.
Taking a deep breath, he stood. His knees wobbled.
Preposterous. He was one of the most dangerous vampires alive in the world, and he could barely stand. From a dream. A nightmare.
He drew a shaking hand across his wet forehead. This was ridiculous. Feeling unbelievably chilled, he headed into the shower and let the scalding water wash away the remnants of the dream.
What the hell was going on?
When the water turned cold, he turned off the faucet and stepped outside to dry off. The stupid prophecy mark on his neck was turning him mad. He glared at the dark blue Celtic knot marking him for Fate. His was bigger and had sharper lines than Lily’s more gentle marking. Tying a towel at his waist, he padded out of the bathroom toward the kitchen. Maybe the king had stocked some whiskey for him.
A soft knock at the door nearly stopped his heart.
He shook his head at his scattered thoughts and strode forward to answer the door.
Lily Sotheby stood on the other side, her blond hair wild around her shoulders, her midnight-colored eyes wide. “I require a clear head.”
Shock kept him immobile for the briefest of seconds. He glanced down at her tank top and black yoga pants and actually took a step back. The top outlined pert breasts, while the pants showed small but toned legs. Lily Sotheby was out of a skirt.
She was the sexiest thing he’d ever seen.
He bit down desire and gestured inside the living room. “Come in, Lily.”
She glanced at his bare chest and swallowed. Loudly. “Ah, I—”
He took her arm and all but pulled her into his suite. Even so, she moved gracefully past him and faltered. “I’m sorry to bother you. It’s merely—”
Good God from heaven above. Her ass was everything he’d ever hoped and more. Curvy, tight, she filled out the tight pants like she ran on treadmills all day. He tried to force his dick to remain calm. Mindful of her much smaller bones, he wrapped a hand around her bicep and turned her to face him. “It’s okay. Tell me what’s wrong.”
She shook her head, distress in every line of her body. “This is so silly. I’m silly. Please go back to, ah, the shower?” Her gaze dropped to his tenting towel, and a fine pink flushed across her smooth cheekbones.
“I had a bad dream and showered to clear my head.” He drew her toward the couch and settled her down. “If you’d like, I’ll go throw on some clothes.”
She breathed in sharply, lifted her chin, that intelligent gaze direct. “What kind of a bad dream?”
Shit. He ran a ragged hand through his wet hair. This was worse than he’d feared. “Don’t tell me. You’ve been having nightmares, as well?”
Her hands trembled as she clasped them in her lap. “Yes,” she whispered. “About Janie.”
“Fuck.” He dropped to the couch, the towel sliding to the floor.
“Caleb!” Lily’s gaze darted away as the pink turned to a full-on red across her face.
He coughed. “Uh, sorry. Be right back.” Standing, he turned and strode toward the bedroom to yank on a worn pair of jeans with a grimace. He was half-hard just from Lily’s scent, and the jeans were damn uncomfortable. Glancing down at his bare chest, he shrugged. The important parts were covered.
With a ton of stones dropping like weights onto his shoulders, his sense of foreboding dark, he headed into the living room to figure out what the hell was going on.
Lily’s breath heated, and her thighs trembled. Naked, Caleb was the most impressive man she’d ever seen. After being a counselor and even a part-time nurse the past centuries as a prophet, she’d seen nude men.
Not one compared to the Realm Rebel.
Good Lord.
Needing to put her hands on something, anything but the hard body that had just exited the room, she grabbed the damp towel from the floor and folded the thick terry cloth into precise lines. Her world was spinning out of control, and once again duty required more than she could imagine giving.
He stalked back into the room, having donned ripped jeans that weren’t fastened at the top. Broad and strong, his chest held impressive muscles, as did his arms. A happy trail, or so she believed it was now called, arrowed down his ripped abs, leading to what she now knew was a well-endowed cock.
Not penis. Not dick. That was a cock.
She cleared her throat and held out the folded towel, her hands trembling. “Thank you for getting dressed.” Could she sound any more formal? Sometimes she wished more than anything she could be free. Could be somebody other than a prophet.
“Of course.” He sighed wearily, took the towel, and tossed it on top of a wooden coffee table as he sat next to her on the sofa.
Lily opened her mouth to object since the wood shouldn’t get wet, but no sound came out. The coffee table was of little importance compared to what she was beginning to believe was happening. “I keep having dreams that I should kill Janie Kayrs.” There. She’d said it—finally confessed to somebody.
“Damn it.” Caleb stretched long legs out, his feet on the towel. “Me, too. Scary, over-the-top, bizarre dreams saying that the only way to save humanity is to kill Janie.”
Lily covered her eyes with her hands. She had always followed her duty. Always believed in the paths created by faith and destiny. “This can’t be happening.”
“Have you ever had visions like this before?” Caleb gently drew her hands from her face.
“Sometimes,” she whispered. His one hand completely enclosed hers in warmth and strength. “I’ve had visions throughout the centuries of people I need to seek out and help, or even conversations I need to attend to avoid war. I’ve always followed the visions.”
Caleb blinked. “Have you ever had a vision telling you to kill somebody?”
“No.” In fact, she’d never had one inciting violence. “This doesn’t make sense. None of it makes sense.”
“This is the first time I’ve had vision-type dreams.” Caleb’s thumb rubbed circles across the pulse in her wrist.
The pulse increased.
She drew in air, trying to calm herself. Broad and dangerous, Caleb drew her in ways that were anything but proper. “I can’t help but think that dreams haunted Prophet Milner. We could’ve helped him instead of letting the king kill him.”
Caleb shrugged. “Dage didn’t have a choice. Milner was going to kill the queen, so Dage killed him. Making me a damn prophet, I might add. We need to concentrate on right here and right now. Why are we having these dreams, and what do they mean?”
“Well, if you believe in Fate, then Fate is giving us instructions.” Lily couldn’t believe any Fate would want Janie wiped from the earth. But life often took odd turns, and Lily was ever mindful of duty. Even if duty hurt and ultimately ended in her death. But the death of a friend? Was she strong enough to make that happen?
“I don’t believe in Fate.” Caleb rubbed his scruffy jaw with his free hand. “I’m more concerned about anybody else getting these nightmare instructions. I figured if it was just me, then this whole prophecy thing was getting to me. But if two of us are being haunted, then there may be more people.”
“I think Prophet Guiles is having nightmares, too, but I didn’t ask for details,” Lily said.
“We’ll need to talk to him.” Caleb nodded. “I’d like to say we should notify the king, but we can’t.”
Lily gulped. Would Caleb agree to kill Janie if the Fates demanded it? “Why not?” she whispered.
“Because he’ll demand we bow out of the peace talks—if he doesn’t have us both sent into exile somewhere. He’ll do anything to protect his niece.”
“I don’t blame him,” Lily said.
“Me, either. But we need to figure out what’s going on in order to stop it, and I’m needed at the peace talks. While you and the king have decided you should be there, I’d like to figure out a way for you to attend via teleconference.”
The man was trying to protect her, so she should stop thinking about punching him in the head. “I’m attending the talks. Get over the big-man-protecting-the-little-prophet attitude before I have you banned.” There. That was a decent threat.
He didn’t seem fazed, if the twinkle in his eye said anything. “We’ll talk about it later. For now, tell me about your dream. All of it.”
She sucked in air, grateful Caleb still held her hand. “I keep walking in a dark forest, then it gets darker, and then some weird voice tells me that Janet Isabella Kayrs must die, or we all die. The entire world will die. Then I try to wake up, and I can’t breathe.”
Caleb nodded. “Mine is underwater, but the same concept. In the past, when you’ve had visions, have they been similar?”
“No. They’ve been more intuition, or a realization I’ve had once in a dream. Never a dictate or an order.” Lily tried to keep her gaze off the light sprinkling of hair across his chest. So masculine, so vital.
Her husband had been centuries old and more interested in her mind than her body. He’d been a great friend, and she’d grieved his loss.
But she’d never felt on fire for a man. Until now.
Caleb nodded. “This is different and new for us both. Our first step is to pin down Prophet Guiles and make sure he’s not getting the same visions. Although you talked to him, I’d like to probe a bit deeper. Then we’ll decide our next move.”
“What if there isn’t a next move? I mean, what if the vision is true . . . that Janie will bring down the world?” Lily hated even saying the words, and something in her chest twisted.
His jaw tightened. “They’re not true. I don’t understand what’s going on, but we’ll fix it. I promise.”
That was what Lily had wanted when she’d knocked on Caleb’s door after the nightmare. A sense of purpose and a way to deal with the fear. The ball of dread in her stomach finally started to dissipate. They had a plan, and they’d figure out a way to save both Janie and the world. Lily allowed herself a moment to feel safe.
His thumb caught the earring on her earlobe. “I like seeing these on you.”
“I haven’t taken them off,” she whispered. She felt closer to him every time she saw the diamond earrings in the mirror. He’d chosen them. Just for her.
A clock ticked quietly on the mantle as the late hour pressed in. Intimacy slid through the room. They were both nearly unclothed, and propriety demanded she take her leave from Caleb’s quarters. Yet she remained on the sofa. Sometimes the loneliness of her position chilled her until she shivered. She was so tired of being alone.
The scent of soap and male swirled through the air along with power. Lily finally allowed Caleb’s warmth to relax her shoulders. “Do you like being called the Realm Rebel?” she asked softly.
His upper lip curved. “I don’t have an opinion either way, but to be honest, I’ve been called worse.”
She smiled. “I’m sure of that.”
He leaned toward her, his hold strengthening. “Do you regret your choices so long ago?”