Page 50 of Fated In Ruin
I left the phone, crossed the cold floor and found an enormous clawfoot tub filled with steaming water. I sank into the warmth, but nothing calmed my raging thoughts, nothing eased my guilt, nothing stopped my frantic mind from racing.
“I’m sorry.” Malachi propped himself in the doorway, face so full of emotion I couldn’t begin to parse anything out. “This was exactly what Ididn’twant. You saddled with guilt.”
“I knew what I was doing, and I’ll figure out a way to fix things with Blake and Riordan.” I sank lower into the water and his eyes darkened, hooded lids dropping. “But I don’t regret last night, Malachi. What happened between us felt…”
“Inevitable?” He suggested, lifting his brow.
“Inevitable,” I agreed, the water swirling around my throat. “There’s a reason for that, isn’t there?”
He stared down at me for so long, I didn’t think I’d get an answer, but then he nodded. “Yes. There is a reason for that.” I waited, but no explanation came, just that sad, sorrowful expression deepening.
“We need to talk, Vicious. About many things, but time…is not on our side right now.” He crossed the room, picked up a washcloth and dropped to his knees beside the tub. “I’m going to loosen the block on your magic. The warmth of the water will help keep your body calm. Let the power flow through you, don’t fight your flames, try to guide them, instead. I won’t let you get hurt.”
He soaked the cloth and squeezed warm water down the nape of my neck, while deep inside, the lid of the silver box cracked open. Shadow fire crept out, not in a vicious flood, but a slow trickle of power.
“Relax. Let them fill you up, don’t resist, even though this will feel strange at first. Fighting the process only makes them push harder for dominance.” More water flowed down my neck, my chest and I closed my eyes, my muscles going loose.
“That’s it, just like that. Now I’ll let more out, but I won’t give you more than you can handle, and we’ll go slow.”
I didn’t know how long we sat like that, steam curling around us, his scent fogging my senses, magic slowly flooding through my body like liquid power, him soothing me, whenever my pulse began to race, the washcloth traded at some point for his fingers, massaging the tension from my shoulders.
“There. The box is fully open, how do you feel?”
I opened my eyes. The effect was strange, but not uncomfortable, like having to pee really bad, but I didn’t feel like I was in danger of being torn apart, like I had before. And like he promised, there was no pain.
“Good. How did you know the water would work?”
“Because this isn’t my first time dealing with this magic,” he said cryptically. “Water is a conduit, softening the transition, both for you and for the magic, easing the transfer of power. I would have tried this the first time,” one side of his mouth quirked, “but somehow, I didn’t figure you’d agree to be naked in a bath with my hands on you when I’d just dragged you away from your mate and the king.”
“No.” I agreed softly, “I would have found a bigger candelabra.”
His smile grew, as did the dimple in his chin. “That’s my girl. Get dressed, there’s food on your dresser and clean clothes. Meet me downstairs and we’ll go over some ground rules before we head to Sleepy Hollow.”
My stomach tightened into a knot. “Right now?”
“We are out of time, Vicious.” He reached out and tucked my hair behind my ear, then cupped my chin. “If I had my wish, we’d have months…years, to prepare. To make love and laugh and train you to be the strongest you can be while we hid away from the world, but I’ve never been that lucky.” He let me go and pushed to his feet, my eyes never leaving him.
“Ten minutes. Downstairs.” He paused, just before he reached the door. “For the record, last night meant everything to me. In case I don’t get a chance to tell you later.”
The moment he disappeared, magic rose inside me like a tidal wave, terrible and crushing, then ebbed away. I hadn’t said anything back.
I should have told him…I should have told him last night had changed my life. I should have asked him why this all felt so…inevitable. I should have told him the world had rearranged itself into something new, that even the air smelled different, like I’d been reborn.
Instead, I’d saidnothing.
Because I was a coward.A fucking coward.
I swallowed hard, rising from the water, drying off and heading for the bedroom, where I found a fresh chocolate croissant, a steaming mug of coffee, and a pile of raspberries, dusted in sugar. The clothes were black, efficient, and exactly my size, and I dressed quickly, alternating sips of coffee with bites of the delicious pastry, then picked up the phone.
Barely enough battery left for a message.
We’re going after Ravok. Phone almost toast. I’ll be home when he’s dead. I love you both, more than anything.
My phone died completely, the second after the message sent, and I headed downstairs.
Malachi said he’d used water to unlock magic like this before.
So who else had magic like mine? Rhiannon. He had to be talking about Rhiannon. Had he…oh God, had he been her lover? Had he…loved her?
