Page 26 of Emergence of Fire
“I said enough, Vivyn! This dinner is over.”
Vivyn runs over to where her mates are twitching in pain on the floor and turns to her father. I feel sorry for the poor bastards, they were clearly not ok with what she was doing. Now they are paying the price for her treacherous words. I am sure no one in this room knew what she revealed about the portals except the ones higher up in command. This will start rumors and rumors create contention, contention creates rebels. This is a recipe for disaster. Things are starting to slot into place for me and I have a feeling that this goes deeper than Twyla’s original speculations. Has Thaddues gotten to Vivyn? I search the room again, still feeling eyes on us but all eyes in the room are on Vivyn.
“Everything I say is true. We need to align ourselves—”
Her words are cut off by the snap of the king’s fingers and Vivyn and her mates are no longer in the room. He teleported them out of there, and the crowd around us goes completely silent. Some of them even begin to bow at the sight of his power. Shit, I’m in awe of what he’s just done. He went against his heir and defended Cordelia and Twyla. I know where his allegiance lies, and that is all I need to know to relax just a little bit further.
“Twyla, I need you to come with me.” King Maddox doesn’t give her a chance to reply as he snaps his fingers and they both vanish. My arm tightens around Cordelia as the house staff begin to make their apologies to the guests and start to escort them from the palace.
Cordelia sighs and sags in my arms.
“That bitch ruined my dinner. I’m hungry.” You could cut the tension with a knife in this room. Leave it to my mate to talk about being hungry. With a belly laugh I immediately release the tension I was feeling. We all do. This woman is everything to me and her needs come first. Who knew that just a few days ago I was trying to deny her presence in my heart.
“We can get Silva to get you some food when we go back to our room. I think there’s a huge tub with your name on it, gorgeous. Does that sound nice?” Gale laughs as Cordelia nods her head excitedly about the prospect of using the massive pool in our bathroom. Gale starts to make his way out of the room. He stops abruptly, looking around, eyes searching around the room just like mine had.
“You feel it too.” Adrian says beside us. He had gone quiet next to me and I hadn’t noticed he was watching the crowds just like I was.
“Felt what?” Cordelia asks him and he shakes his head no. “Not here beautiful.” He tells her telepathically, holding his hand out to her. She extricates herself from my arms and goes to him easily and my heart warms at the sight. This is just comfortable between us. We had all been fumbling in the dark until we found her. She is our beacon that chased away the fog and landed us safely to her peaceful shores.
“Torin, are you coming?” Cordelia shouts as they make their way out of the room. I take one more glance around at the rapidly emptying dining room when suddenly a shadow passes across a window. I almost missed it but I caught a glimpse of it out of my peripheral vision. I stop and turn in a circle, waiting, searching for it to reappear again but it doesn’t. I turn toward the exit and slowly walk out of the room, fully aware that we are being watched.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
SHADOW
Iwatch them leave the dining room from my hiding place amongst the shadows of the candle lit room. Torin lingers behind, as if he’s searching the room for me. Has he seen me? That’s not possible. I know they can’t see me, yet they can sense me. This complicates things. They will be more vigilant around her now. I’m not supposed to get too close. I must observe until I can get her alone.
“Torin, are you coming?” Cordelia pauses and looks over her shoulder. She looks absolutely stunning tonight. The dress she is wearing reveals every curve and slides over her body like a glove. The black sequins sparkle in the candlelight, drawing my eyes to the plunging neckline, her breasts all but begging to be licked and squeezed. It doesn’t help my growing erection that she looks as if she’s naked underneath the patterns of leaves. The smile she gives him when he nods in response sends a pang of jealousy through me. I want that smile. I want those beautiful brown eyes to look at me the same way she looks at him now. I wish things were different, that I could be equal like they are to her. Someone she could love. In just a short period of time I’ve watched their bond grow from just a flicker to a blazing flame. I can feel it and it is changing something in me. I’m drawn to her, just like they are, yet my bond isn’t real.
I’m a failsafe. I was magically created to bond to her. I am the reason the Barons know she’s alive. The magically induced bond flared to life the moment her Dragon pushed through the barrier which prevented her Emergence. I tried to fight it. The last thing I wanted to do was alert Thaddeus to her presence. Not because she meant something to me, but because like me, she is innocent. She didn’t deserve what they planned for her. She had no idea who she was then, she is still learning now. She spent thirty years living as a human on Earth.
Without proof that she was dead, I was chosen, a child of the Barron Lands, born to condemned Dragons without magic. My parents aligned themselves with the Black Barons in an attempt to get their magic back. The Fae were full of promises, and with greed and prosperity within their grasp—the Barons are now under their thumb. The Fae want to make sure Arcadia remains reliant on them for restoration. They need to be absolutely sure there is no chance the Red Dragon could return. Without a queen, Arcadia will die. They gave me to the Fae and with the last of Queen Thana’s blood they imbued me with magic. As the years passed, I was all but forgotten about. I hadn’t been triggered and therefore they assumed that she had perished. I’m the mate she was not meant to have. I’m the missing piece of the puzzle.
Torin finally follows, pausing right at the entry way as the last of the guests leave the room. He sweeps the room once more, gritting his teeth in anger, his face a mask of frustration as he turns and leaves. I wait a moment longer before I jump to the floor and uncloak myself as I walk across the room. The sound of my steps echo across the empty space as I make my way toward the exit. I want to do nothing more than to follow her. The need to be near her grows stronger every day and so does my need to protect her.
I was created for one purpose and one purpose only. To bring her to Arcadia where she will be swiftly disposed of. I thought I would be able to grab her tonight but Vivyn ruined it with her petty show of dominance. Now with the portals being under tighter restrictions I can’t come and go. I am trapped. They won’t be pleased. I need to keep my distance now that we are all in the same place.
She can’t shift. She will be too powerful. Too strong. All of this will be for nothing. They will kill me for my failure. As much as I want to disobey them, I know I can’t. The hold they have on me shatters my free will. I am forced to do this.
I wish I could be what the other three are to her. A true mate. I want to love her. She doesn’t deserve to die. The more I resist them the mor—I fall to my knees, cloaking myself as pain takes over my body. My teeth clench so tight they might break under the pressure. My stomach heaves and sweat pours from my skin as I try to catch my breath. I lay my face on the cool marble floor, the temperature change is soothing, anything to seek relief from my agony. I can’t resist. Resistance brings pain.
I know what I have to do. Though it may take longer than expected. Cordelia must die.
As the pain eases, I slowly pick myself up off the floor. I shake off the uneasy feelings inside of myself and shut off my emotions. I can’t care for her. I can’t love her. The more I resist my orders and give into my desires the more pain I receive. What I feel is not real, our bond is not real. I repeat this over and over in my head until I believe it. Until there is no pain. To believe otherwise means death.
I slowly make my way out of the palace, keeping my thoughts on my mission.
Watching.
Waiting.
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
CORDELIA
“Where did they go?” I ask Gale as I stand in front of the glass balcony doors. The stars are brighter here than they are on Earth. I want to go out and enjoy the sight but my thoughts are elsewhere. Someone or something is out there watching us. Can they see me now? The worry etched on my face is reflected back at me as I peer out into the night. I can feel my guys’ growing anxiety and anger as we made our way back to the room. That’s not all I felt though. There was confusion in our bond, it was small, and if I wasn’t so focused on each of their emotions, I wouldn’t have caught it. It wasn’t Torin’s, Adrian’s, or Gale’s. It didn’t belong to me either.
Alarm bells start to go off in my head because I don’t know if I am under some psychic attack from some unknown entity. I didn’t mention the warring emotions I was starting to feel to my mates. They were worried enough. Was I wrong for withholding information and not being as transparent as I want them to be? Now, I’m beating myself up about it. The last thing I need is for Gale to catch wind of my inner turmoil and question me about it.
