Breathless Magic (2 page)

His knees gave out, and since I didn’t have any of my own
strength to hold me up, we slid down the open door until we were a tangle of grief,
limbs and sorrow.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that, both of us lost
in our own memories and despair. But we clung to each other. He held me in his
lap fiercely and protectively, as if the same evil that could kill giants of
men like Silas and Gabriel could descend upon us at any moment and threaten us
as well.

I let him hold me like that, crush me against him, melt my
body into his as if we could truly become one soul in our heartache.

This was not fair.

I had been forced to lose so much in my short life.
We
had been forced to lose so many. And
we were still so young. How much more would we have to endure as our endless
lives carried on?

There was hope in knowing that I would never lose Kiran;
that we would
forever
have each
other. But that optimistic thought seemed small and insignificant in the wake
of such powerful loss.

I didn’t know how much time passed as we sat there,
comforting each other and grieving two of the best men either of us had ever
known. But when we resurfaced into reality, our room was dark with no sun to
shine through the long windows; not even the moonlight dared enter our own
personal blackness.

Kiran kissed my temple, tasting my salty tears with his soft
lips. His hands released his severe grip and he rubbed soothing circles over my
back.

“We will vindicate them, Love,” he promised me in a husky
voice, hoarse from spent emotion.

I nodded against his chest, wet from my tears.

“Eden,” he said so forcefully I had no choice but to meet
his ocean blue eyes. He held me there in that moment- still and unmoving. There
was comfort in the resolve buried in his stern gaze, conviction and promise in
the aqua depths. “We have not failed to bring about retribution to those who
deserve it, yet. This will be no different. I will find their murderer and I
will give him exactly what he deserves.”

“I know you will,” I whispered. “I know you’ll give them nothing
less than the justice they are owed.”

“They were great men.” His eyes closed with those words and
his voice cracked under the truth of what he’d said.

“And we will honor them greatly,” I vowed.

“Then let’s go find Sebastian and see what he’s brought
home.”

We stood together and wiped at our wet faces. Without bother
to freshen up or put on the royal façade we were supposed to wear constantly,
we walked hand-in-hand down the corridor and found courage in each other to
face the task ahead.

Once upon a time, Gabriel told me that leadership meant
experience and it should not come easy. Experience was life’s greatest teacher
and without it I could never be the leader I was supposed to be.

Now more than ever, I hoped that he was right.

Chapter Two

Two days later the grief still hadn’t eased.

In fact, if anything, it had worsened.

We had learned that Gabriel and Silas were murdered in an
altercation with Terletov. From how Sebastian described the confrontation, I
had to believe we were lucky to only have lost those two men. But, I didn’t
feel lucky.

Not at all.

Sebastian, Jericho and their team had escaped alive and
mostly unharmed. From what Sebastian explained, it sounded like Silas wouldn’t
have lasted much longer even if they’d been able to extract him from Terletov’s
captivity. And I knew from experience that Gabriel had done everything he could
to help his friend escape the battle alive.

My only solace was that they were both free now; free from
this ugly world, from the lifelong battles they’d waged and from anything else
that could mean them harm. They were in a better place. I believed that with
all that I was made of.

Terletov’s experiments were killing people; not just
Immortals, but humans as well. And I had failed in protecting the people
closest to me. How could I ever begin to hope that I could keep our Kingdom
safe?

This was Lucan all over again.

My friends were taken. My friends and loved ones were dying.
And I sat helplessly on the sidelines and watched evil run rampant.

Terletov was obviously a monster. Completely sick and
deranged, he hunted Shifters specifically and used the Kingdom’s recent turmoil
to advance his manifesto of world domination. But whatever the reason for his
“scientific” pursuits, no matter how noble and pure-blooded he believed he was,
he did not have the right to give and take life, to steal and replace Magic.

He was playing God, while my Kingdom suffered.

I had never hated any man more than I hated this one.

And since I’d spent my late adolescence fighting an equally
tyrannical King, that was saying something.

I looked over at my husband while he listened to some menial
Castle business that needed his approval. Kiran sat nodding his understanding
or holding up a hand to interrupt. He seemed perfectly stoic while normal life
continued in the wake of our great tragedy; the utter horror of losing two men
we both cared deeply for, hidden beneath his royal mask of authority and calm.
Only I could see the pain flashing in his eyes with every blink or the press of
his lips into a sad frown.

My husband was hurting, which doubled my own pain until my
heart felt broken in two.

While the entire Kingdom was rocked to the core with news of
Gabriel and Silas’s downfall, the majority of life had moved on. There were
still decisions to be made, events to plan for, and business to be dealt with.
Our bodies felt frozen in emotional chaos, but we suffered on together in order
to keep up with the life that would not slow down.

Especially today, when my brother was noticeably absent. He
had started out so strong after Sebastian debriefed us on exactly what
happened; but his grief had come in stages. Today, I could feel- through our
blood-bond- how inconsolable he was. His pain was so very acute and consuming
that even with our mutual separation, he’d startled me awake in the middle of
the night with his distress. Kiran and I had readily given Avalon and Amelia
the day off, or as much time as they needed, until Avalon could face people
again, face this Throne Room, face his own grief and conquer it.

We decided to hold a memorial for the two fallen leaders,
but hadn’t decided on a date yet. Every usual Kingdom festivity and celebration
had been postponed when Terletov’s terror had reached the Omaha club last fall.
We didn’t want more civilians targeted and we were not thrilled with how easily
the club had been infiltrated and burned.

But we would make an exception for this. For Silas. And for
Gabriel.

Kiran finished up whatever he needed to with the two men
standing before him and then they left us alone. I hadn’t bothered listening
for even a second, so I couldn’t have added one significant detail to their
decisions.

When he slumped back into his rigid seat, and shot me a
pitiful look, I couldn’t help but take his face in both of my hands and kiss
him on the lips.

I hated my own pain, but I
loathed
that he was hurting, too. I felt like I could control my
own grief. It belonged to me and I knew how much I could cope with. But the
echo of heart-wrenching sorrow from Kiran’s Magic, ricocheting back and forth
in my own body, tore me to pieces.

I would do anything to take that hurt from him, to heal his
gaping wounds and bleeding heart.

He tipped his face up to mine, as if I were the sun and he
desperately needed my warmth. I continued to kiss him, slowly, languidly, as
sweetly as I could manage.

Heat bloomed between us, but we kept the pace of our moving
lips to a languid, relishing pace. I left his lips to press drugging kisses
along his jaw until I could nibble on the soft flesh of his ear. He reached for
me as his body shivered with need.

With a roughened voice he whispered, “What will I do with
all this love I have for you, Eden? It’s going to burn me alive if I don’t
learn to contain it.”

I smiled, because I couldn’t help it, because I had the same
question boiling in my own chest, because I loved that he could feel this way
about me after all this time. “
Mmm
,” I teased him.
“What will we do with all these… feelings?” I let my hand coast over his hard
chest and the rigid planes of his ab muscles. I had a destination in mind and
it was not at all appropriate for the Throne Room.

Not that it would be the first time….

The door burst open and a female shriek of surprise pierced
our quiet seduction. “Sorry!” Syl said, a little panicked.

Kiran and I broke apart, breathing heavy and laughing. This
was just not our week.

“It’s alright, Sylvia,” Kiran drawled. “Eden and I were
just…” he sighed with exhaustion and I smiled. He was too tired to make an
excuse for us and I found that adorable.

I grabbed his hand and held it tightly against my protruding
stomach. The babies flipped inside, but he couldn’t feel them yet. Only I could
feel their fluttering movements. “We were consoling each other,” I told Syl.

She cleared her throat. “Er, right.” I blushed because she
was still very much a mother to me and this was nothing but awkward. I could
admit that. She recovered quickly and a huge smile lit up her beautiful face.
“Ophelia’s awake!” I gaped at her while Kiran struggled to remember who Ophelia
was. Sylvia, sensing his struggle, explained, “The human. Olivia’s sister. The
one that’s been unconscious upstairs all this time? She just woke up! Not five
minutes ago! I ran down here to tell you, but I need to go back and run some
tests. The Witch is with her now, no doubt scaring the holy hell out of her.
But he insisted on checking her over for the same Magic that Olivia came down
with.”

Came down with? Like it was some disease. I held back an
indignant snort because I knew that was exactly how Olivia felt, and it might
be very well how Ophelia felt when she figured out what was going on with her
body.

“That is fantastic news,” I breathed with relief. “And we
desperately needed some good news.”

“I thought you would be pleased.”
Syl’s
eyebrows dipped with concern but I waved her away.

“Go back to Ophelia,” I told her. “I’ll call Jericho and fill
him in. I’m sure Olivia will be ecstatic.” Syl turned to leave, but I realized
I didn’t know anything besides Ophelia had woken up. “Syl, is she alright? I
mean, it is a good report, right? I can tell Olivia she’s doing fine?”

Syl shook her head enthusiastically. “She seems to be doing
great so far. She’s a little out of it and still very exhausted. Other than
that, she said she felt fine and there weren’t any immediately obvious issues.
She’s asking for her sister.”

“Great!” I felt near tears with how happy this moment was
and I couldn’t even fully define the emotion in myself. “I’ll call right now.”

Sylvia left and Kiran looked at me, letting his turquoise
eyes say a million things that words would never be adequate enough for. “Finally
something good.”

“Yes,” I agreed.

A shadow of his signature smirk tilted his full lips and
mischief danced in those blue depths. “This might be good news for Jericho, as
well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Olivia might relax a little with a healthy report of her
sister. He might actually have a shot at her.”

I laughed lightly but disagreed with him. “I think he’s
always had a shot at her.”

Kiran shook his head and the crown he wore dipped
precariously to the side. “Only because you’ve always had a soft spot for him.”

“Still jealous?” I leaned forward and brushed my lips gently
across his delicious mouth.

“When it comes to you, Love, I’ll be jealous of every moment
you ever spend without me.”

My heart thudded in my chest and I struggled to find words
that would fit past the lump in my throat. His phone rang and I didn’t have to
speak then. He kissed the tip of my nose and then excused himself. I sighed
with something that sounded like complete and utter bliss. Despite all of the
turmoil and tragedy around us, there would always be these moments with Kiran…
always this unfailing happiness and joy that would not leave me.

He would be what got me through this in the end. He would be
my survival.

I pulled out my cell phone and swiped through until
Jericho’s number popped up. I dialed and then tried to stem my happiness from
bubbling out of me. I didn’t know what kind of situation I would find Jericho and
his team in and I wanted to treat this maturely.

He was in Chicago with Talbott, Titus and Olivia, checking
on Olivia’s family. Terletov had made a vague threat against Olivia’s younger brother
and they’d gone to see if they could catch the bastard before anything more
happened to Liv’s family.

I hoped they’d caught him and crucified him by now.

Jericho answered on the second ring. “Hello.”

The good news bubbled out of me before I could phrase it
perfectly, “Jericho, Ophelia’s awake! She just woke up, she’s asking for
Olivia.”
 

He didn’t say anything for several beats and I could feel
his shock at the news
 
through the phone
as if it were a palpable force in the room. “Amazing,” he finally said. “We’re
on our way now.” His tone changed dramatically when the next shocking words
came through the airwaves. “We have Lilly, but you need to be ready for her.
She has a gash. It’s small, and she should be able to make it back to the
Citadel, but you have to be there as soon as she lands.”

It was my turn to feel the utter speechlessness that comes
from extraordinary good news. Tears fell from my eyes in huge drops of relief.
Lilly
. Lilly was with them.

And while she was not completely out of danger, she was
alive
.

I prayed that Jericho was right and that she could make it
here. I pleaded with God to breathe enough life into her until my smoke could
wrap around her and finish the job with the skill He’d gifted me with.

I had the tools to seal her Magic in her body, but she had
to get here first.

Kiran came back into the room look distinctly pale again.
His forehead was creased with pain and uncertainty, and instinctively I knew
his phone call had been the opposite nature of mine.

But my dearest friend was safe and nothing could take that
incredible relief away from me.

Distantly, I heard Jericho shouting my name through the
phone dangling from my fingertips, but I was still processing the intense joy
that came with knowing Lilly was alive and the confusion that accompanied it.

“What is it?” Kiran asked immediately
 

No sound came out but I was able to mouth, “Lilly.” I pushed
past the emotional blockade in the center of my throat and croaked out, “She’s
alive. Jericho has her and she’s alive!”

Kiran ripped the phone from me and I heard him interrogate
Jericho on exactly what they were doing and when they would be here.

Eight hours.

Eight hours and Lilly would be here- far from Terletov and
reunited with Talbott.

I tried to stand up to run to the back of the ballroom where
I could wait and watch for their plane to land, but my knees gave out the
moment I put any weight on them. I sunk to the floor in a heap of happy tears
and sad tears. I had just lost two of the most important people in my life; but
I was getting another one back, someone I counted as close as a sister and as
important as my own life.

Terletov was slowly tearing my Kingdom apart with his
malicious terror, but I had the man I loved at my side and his children growing
in my belly. Such contrasts of extreme delight and absolute despair were at war
with me and so I chose one.

I chose to be relieved and excited. I chose to anticipate
Lilly’s arrival and the promise of finally being able to do something- finally
being able to save someone.

Because I would use my smoke with her. There would be no
stopping my intervention. She would live.

I would make sure of it.