Soul Bound (8 page)

“No.” One word.  He rasped it and the effort that it took for him to speak was unmistakable.  And one word was all that he could muster. 

But one word was enough. 

Helen stopped moving and stared at him, shock apparent on her face.

“What?”

“I said no,” Brennan repeated, this time sounding stronger.  “I do not want you.”

“Yes, you do,” Helen said uncertainly, leaning forward and brushing her lips across his.  “I know you do.”

“My body wants you.  But I do not.  Please get off of me.  We can sit here and do this all day, but I won’t cave in to you.  I won’t. So you won’t like the outcome.”

He was abrupt because he had to be.  He needed to focus his energy on keeping his body in check and resisting her.  But his tone was firm.  He meant what he said.  And Helen knew it.

She sighed in defeat and instantly the mood in the room changed. 

The smell of sex and pheromones disappeared as Helen climbed off of Brennan and stood on the floor next to the bed adjusting her clothing.  She snapped her fingers in my direction and the men holding me shoved me in front of them.  I felt to the floor and I knew my invisibility was lifted.

Brennan stared at me in shock as I writhed helplessly on the floor in the impossibly strong gauze.  Within a second, he broke the bonds that held him to the bed and leaped to my side.  He was able to untangle me from the gauze in just a few seconds and helped me to my feet. 

“Empusa, are you alright?” he asked quickly, staring into my eyes.  As I looked into his, I was so overcome with his dedication to me that I wanted to cry.  In fact, my eyes did tear up.  He was instantly concerned, followed by fury at Helen.  Turning to her, he started to grab her arm, but I held him back.

“It’s not her fault, Bren,” I insisted.  “She was sent here by Zeus as part of the game.  And you won this challenge.  It’s fine.  It’s wonderful, in fact.  I can’t believe you did so well.”

“I can’t either,” Helen sniffed. “No one can withstand me.”

“Brennan just did,” I told her with a cocky smile.  “Now go home and lick your wounded pride.  And on your way, you can tell Zeus that we have another point.”

Glaring at me, Helen snapped her fingers once again and she disappeared along with the two hooded men. 

Alone, I stared at Brennan.  “You do love me, don’t you?” I asked softly.  He looked surprised at my question.  

“You doubted me?” he asked, one eyebrow raised.  “You should never bet against me, Emmie.  Especially not when it is something concerning you.”

I nodded slowly.  “Alright.  I’ll have to remember that.  I love you, Brennan.”

“And I love you.”

He opened up his strong arms and I flew into them.  Cradling me softly to his chest, he kissed my forehead.

“And I just forfeited some pretty hot-and-heavy moments for you.  Are you going to compensate me for that at all?”

I yanked away from him and looked up to find him laughing.  I swatted at his arm. He was so large that I seemed about as effective as a gnat, but still. 

“You’re impossible.”

“I know.”  He smirked and I had to laugh before I once again straightened my clothing and hair for breakfast. 

Chapter Eight

“You’ve done well,” Circes creaked from across the breakfast table.  She paused with her soup spoon midway to her mouth, the steaming porridge dripping back into the wooden bowl.  “I’m impressed, son of Apollo.  Mortal men can never resist a siren.”

“I’m not a normal mortal, Circes,” Brennan pointed out calmly as he took a bite of his own breakfast.  “Although, some advance notice would have been helpful.”

“I did not know in advance,” she replied.  “Zeus alone knows his plans.”

“Circes,” I interrupted.  “When do you think we’ll hear of our next challenge?  It’s maddening to not know.”

She shrugged, dipping her spoon once again into her soup.  “I know not, Empusa. Be patient, young one.”

Young one.  I had to smile.  Only the very ancient could call someone who was a thousand years old
young.
I heard Brennan chuckle, as well.

“I don’t know what you’re laughing about, young pup,” I told him, jabbing him in the ribs.  He laughed even harder until Circes silenced him with an icy, sightless stare. 

“There is nothing to laugh about,” she told us.  “There is much that still lies ahead.  You will need to focus more now than ever before.”

“We know, Circes,” I assured her, quickly finishing up my soup so that I could step away from the depressing conversation.  “Trust me, we know.”

She nodded, placated.  I grabbed my trencher and left to scrape my dishes off with Brennan on my heels.

“She’s pleasant,” he remarked as we took care of our dishes.  Handing my bowl to a young girl, I nodded at her and then replied to Brennan. 

“Circes means well.  She’s so old that I think she’s lost her tact.”

“You think?” He laughed at my obvious statement.  “If she were any less tactful, she would be a Mack truck.” 

The village still sparkled with dew and we strolled through it, enjoying the morning sun.  The grass was thick and wet and the air smelled fresh and new.  I breathed it in and tilted my face to the sun.  As the warmth bathed me in its glow, I found myself comparing Brennan to it.  It was impossible not to draw the comparisons.  He was a child of the sun, after all.

“I wonder what other powers you hold,” I mused, grasping his thick arm tightly as we walked.  “What powers you might have that we aren’t aware of yet.”

Brennan didn’t seem concerned.  “It’s hard to say,” he answered.  “But I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough.”

“I’m sure,” I answered absently.  I stared at the beauty surrounding us.  The magnificence of nature was impossible to ignore here in this serene place.  The air was always hushed, as though it was waiting for something.  I almost felt as though I should whisper.   The sunlight filtered through the limbs of the trees, creating a beautiful glow.  It seemed to illuminate everything around us.  I turned to Brennan.

“Have you ever actually thought about how different you and I are?  You are born from the sun.  You are glowingly beautiful. The sun’s power is bright and warm, illuminating everything that it touches.  I am from the moon.  I dwell in the shadows, the darkness.  Moonlight provides a buffer for the night, hiding things that are frightening…things like me.  We’re so different, you and I.”

Brennan stopped in his tracks, his eyes pensive and thoughtful as he appraised me. 

“Are you serious right now?” he asked.  “Truly serious? Because that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”  He reached over and grabbed my hand, his voice earnest.

“Empusa, you are the most beautiful creature, inside and out, that I have ever laid eyes on.  You
do
glow.  Your glow is ethereal because it comes from the moon.  So many beautiful things come out at night.  There are actually night-blooming flowers that solely bloom in the moonlight.  You remind me of those, actually.  Do you truly feel that you belong in the night because you should hide?”

I swallowed, trying to swallow the foolish tears that threatened to form at his sweet words.  I finally settled for nodding. I just couldn’t trust my voice.

He took a long breath and grabbed me, clutching me to his chest.  I could hear his heart beat against my ear as he spoke again.

“Emmie, you’re the most delicate and beautiful thing in the world.  Your soul is pure and sweet.  You are not frightening, not in the least.  I want you to put that thought out of your mind right now.  I love you.  I wouldn’t love you if you were a monster.”

That thought was meant to be comforting, but it wasn’t. 

“Brennan, you would love me no matter what- because we’re connected.  My mother still loves my father, who is the most heinous monster in the world.  She cannot help it because they are soul mates, like we are.  So, you’ll have to forgive me if I discount your opinion based on bias.  You would love me even if I was just like my father.”

One tear broke rank and streamed down my cheek.   Brennan wiped it away and kissed the spot where it had been. 

“I can tell you with no bias whatsoever, that you are not like your father at all.  You are the opposite of your father.  You have taken a horrible curse, one that put you in the worst position thinkable, and have managed it in the most humane possible way.  He would never have done that.  Mormo doesn’t care who he harms.  I have read that he used to drink the blood of children because it tasted the sweetest.  That is a monster, something that you are
not.
”

His words buoyed me, lifted me out of my dark thoughts.  He was right.  I would never kill a child simply because their blood tasted sweet.  It was true.  My father did indeed do horrific things like that just because he wanted to.

“Thank you,” I whispered to him, kissing him lightly on the cheek.  “You always know just what to say to me.”

“That’s my job,” he shrugged.  “It’s in the soul mate handbook.”

“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.  “I haven’t seen that part.  In fact, I haven’t seen the book at all.  Do you have a copy?”

He grinned.  “Well, it’s not so much a printed book as it is a book that I have stored in my head.  But don’t worry.  I’ll fill you in on the wifely duties that will be expected from you after we get married.”

My heart immediately began racing and I tried not to allow the idea of marriage terrify me.  Because it wasn’t marriage that I was afraid of.  It was the thought that we might not survive this game so that we could in fact get married.   In spite of that, I smiled anyway and tried to keep my thoughts light.

“Really?  Such as… I’ll have to give you a foot rub every night?”

“Well, that certainly wouldn’t hurt,” he answered with a laugh.  “And a back massage too.  But I was thinking of your other wifely duties.”  He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and my cheeks burst into flame. 

“Oh. 
Those
duties.  Care to elaborate?”

He shook his head. “Nope.  I’ll fill you in when the time comes.”

“Great,” I answered wryly and he laughed. 

“Don’t worry,” he told me. “You’ll like it.”

“I’m sure,” I replied dryly. 

“I hate to interrupt,” Branwyn called from behind us.  “But I thought perhaps Empusa would like to come down to the hot springs to bathe with me?”

“Hot springs?” I almost broke my neck, whipping around to look at her.  “A bath sounds heavenly.”

“I thought you might think that way,” she replied with a smile.  “Come with me, princess.”

I glanced at Brennan.  “I hate to abandon you, but I’d really like a hot bath.”

He nodded, giving an exaggerated sigh. 

“Women,” he huffed.  I rolled my eyes and kissed him on the cheek before I joined Branwyn.  She had her arms full of bathing towels and a small wooden bowl that I assumed held soap.  I took some of the things from her and we strolled towards the woods.

“I had no idea there was a hot springs here,” I told her conversationally. 

“Oh, yes,” she nodded.  “It does wonders for our skin.”

We fell into silence as we walked, but our journey wasn’t far.  A few minutes later we found ourselves next to a babbling brook, which curved into an inlet encased in rock.  Water bubbled up in the inlet from the earth itself, from hot springs below the earth’s crust. 

I knelt and dipped my fingers in the water.  It was the perfect temperature, hot enough to steam.  I closed my eyes in pleasure.

“Brennan was right,” I told Branwyn.  “I don’t think there is a woman alive who doesn’t enjoy a hot bath.”

I glanced up and found Branwyn disrobing on the edge of the water.  She stepped out of her saffron shift and it puddled around her feet.  My gaze flew to her face in surprise as she turned to me, laughing.

“What?  You seem shocked, princess.  There are no men here, but for your sun god.  I feel certain that he won’t venture out here on his own…so we’re safe to bathe in peace.” 

I was still shocked.  I couldn’t help it.  I wasn’t a prude, but watching Branwyn step into the water buck-naked without a care in the world was startling, to say the least.  Her milky white skin seemed even paler in the bright sunlight and she laughed at my expression.

“Still mortified, princess?  Come. Bathe.  You’ll feel better.”  Laughing, she splashed onto her back and lifted her face to the sun. 

I shrugged.  What the hell?   It didn’t matter much in the large scheme of things.  So, casting off my clothing as well, I stepped into the inlet.  The hot water swirled luxuriously around my ankles and I sank into it, relishing the relaxing warmth.  Seating myself against a rock wall on the side, I immersed myself up to my chin and leaned my head back, closing my eyes.

I had so missed baths.  The bubbling sounds immediately soothed me and I tuned out any other noise… the birds chirping, the wind, the trees.  I concentrated solely on the water sounds and it wasn’t long before the tension had left my shoulders and my spirits were lifted.

“I have dreamed of you since I was a child, Empusa.  It’s so strange to have you here now in person.”

My eyes popped back open. 

“You’ve dreamed of me?” I asked with interest.  “What were the dreams?”

Branwyn paused, washing her arms in the pleasant water, staring thoughtfully at nothing.

“There were all kinds,” she said.  “Beginning when I was just a child.  The strange thing was that I always knew that you were my sister.   Your mother was sometimes in my dreams, her presence, her voice.  She would tell me how I was so important because someday I would give my life for you.”

I sucked in my breath and froze.

“What?”

Branwyn ignored my question, instead choosing to continue bathing her body and telling her story.  “Sometimes I almost feel as though my very life is because your mother willed it so, so that I would be here for when you needed me.  When I saw you from across the meadow, I knew the time had arrived.  I knew that very shortly, I would be given the highest honor…I would die for the goddess.  Thank you for giving me the opportunity, moon princess.”

I completely froze now, staring at her in horror.  “You can’t mean that,” I said slowly.  “Branwyn, you’re not going to die for me.”