“I am a Goddess, Ristan. I can kill her, but the blowback wasn’t worth it. I knew it would only be a matter of time before her father eventually traced her to the Spokane Guild and found out what had occurred there, and he would have taken her sooner or later.”
“Just when I thought you couldn’t get any colder, you do,” he growled.
“This one is about to have fun, though,” Danu announced as she kissed Ciara’s cheek. “Destiny has her eyes set on her, so I’m guessing it will be a grand adventure.”
“Ciara has been through enough,” he growled.
“Nothing worth fighting for ever comes easy. You should know that, my beautiful Demon. If it’s too easy to grasp, then one should never reach for it.”
They both sat in silence before Ristan spoke sadly.
“I would have fought for you if you had asked it of me, but you weren’t willing to let me in, not even to help you. You bound me to you and led me on in a passive-aggressive no-win game, but why?” Ristan asked.
“You were right,” she laughed ignoring his question. “I don’t love as you do; even though I created my people without it, you still learned it. You learned that love is above greed or taint. It’s worth fighting for. I know you love her, or loved her. You may even love her centuries from now, but unless a miracle happens, she is lost to you.” She wouldn’t have asked for help and they both knew it, but he also knew that in his entire time with her, she’d never really asked for anything for herself, only this world. Sure, she took pretty much anything she wanted, but in the end, she always had Faery and the safety of its people as safe as her final goals. “My sister warned about this; that it would eventually happen. I wasn’t ready to give you up, and I am still not,” she admitted.
“Danu, I need you to let me go. I can’t do this with you anymore; it needs to be over between us. Even if I lose her, I still won’t willingly go with you.”
“You know, I have often wondered if I loved my husband. I now know that I do, and that even with his flaws, I love him still.” She sighed, considered something for a moment, and seemed to come to a decision. “I don’t want to; however I will release you from my service, Ristan. I cannot stop the visions as they have become a part of you. I hope you understand and can forgive me eventually,” she whispered and ran her fingers through his mussed hair, and kissed his cheek softly. “For what it’s worth, you were my favorite, and I do love you in my own way. I always have.”
Chapter Forty-Four
Olivia picked her way through the remains of the Spokane Guild with an odd sense of déjà vu. Her bones and body still ached from the change, but more so, her heart ached from leaving Sanctuary. She’d enjoyed her time there, but it lacked something. It wasn’t her home. She’d felt like a visitor who was observing some foreign world. Her father had been amazing and had filled in a lot of the blanks where her mother had been concerned.
He’d genuinely loved her mother, and had been torn between his love for her and the call of his own people, which was why he had returned to negotiate a plan that might satisfy everyone when Carleen died in childbirth. He’d returned to Salem only to find Carleen dead and all traces of her child had been wiped from the Salem records. Olivia had already been sent to Spokane by then, and even though he’d tried, he hadn’t been able to locate her until he followed up on the tiny scrap of hope that Elijah had sent him.
As they pieced through the past, Olivia wondered how different things would have been if the Salem Guild had kept the records of her birth, rather than forwarding them on to the Spokane Guild along with Olivia when she was a baby. It was an interesting twist of irony that Marie had given the documents to her once she was old enough to understand the difficult circumstances of her birth.
She’d spent days listening to her father’s version of his time with her mother, and how he’d fallen in love with her. Her mother had had an amazing soul and had also been a librarian just like she was. Upon hearing how Olivia grew up and the sense of isolation she had felt as a child, Gabriel admitted that this was likely due to a spell that he and Carleen had cast upon her for protection before her birth. Children of angelic unions are very noticeable and she would have attracted too much attention, so they had decided to disguise her until an agreement could be made with the Host. Only a soulmate or someone who could see the soul itself would be able to see through the spell.
After only a few days, however, she started missing Ristan, and after a few weeks had passed, she made her choice with the support of her father. In the end, his story had moved her and showed her that love was worth fighting for, and that she was willing to start over with Ristan, but this time it would be on equal ground.
She had fallen, she had no idea how to find Ristan, nor did she know how to gain access to Faery. Once again she found herself picking her way through the secret entrance and back in the catacombs of the Guild. There were sounds of activity in the catacombs, and she planned to figure out exactly what was going on.
She descended the stairs slowly; her wings itched to be allowed out of her flesh, but she kept them in, hiding them from whatever was going on in the remains of the once great library complex.
She could have imagined a lot of things going on, but what she discovered was the furthest thing she could have imagined.
Alden and Synthia were pointing to the damaged ceiling and making notes on parchment as Adrian and Adam were carrying a damaged desk to a pile of charred wood in the corner of the receiving room. The kids milled about, giggling as they carried books and other items to the far side of the room. The Horde King stood next to a few of his men as they watched the entryways. He was also the first to turn and look at Olivia, and he smiled as if he’d been expecting her.
He made his way to her, but not without the men following closely behind him, which Ristan had once explained was protocol for the Horde King, who oftentimes tried to evade them.
“About fucking time,” he said as he smiled at her.
“I was a little bit busy,” she said sheepishly.
“Synthia is going to drive me bugfuck crazy over you, so personally, I’m glad you’re back,” he said as his golden eyes sized her up. “You fell,” he said, it wasn’t a question; somehow he knew.
“I did,” she whispered and felt alone again, even with a room full of people.
“Welcome home,” he said softly.
“This isn’t my home anymore,” she answered. “I don’t really belong anywhere.”
“You’re never alone,” he muttered. “The Fae owe you for what you did, and it won’t be forgotten.”
“Thank you,” she whispered.
“No, little Witch, thank you,” he said and turned to leave.
“Excuse me, but where is he?” she whispered the question through her dry mouth.
“He’s right behind you,” Ryder answered with a subtle nod of his head and a wink.
Olivia swung around and looked at Ristan, fighting the urge to throw herself in his arms. He looked as worried as she felt. He also looked as if he too was struggling against the urge to throw himself at her and wrap her up in his warmth.
“Hi, you,” he said barely above a whisper, as if he was afraid he’d scare her if he spoke too loudly.
“Hi, you, too,” she replied.
“Synthia and Alden are making plans to fix your home,” he said sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He’d never been this unsure in his entire life. He wanted to pull her into his body and sift her to his bedroom, and feed his starving body for days.
“This isn’t my home anymore,” she answered as she began to chew her lip nervously.
His heart leapt at her words, but then the thought of her considering Sanctuary as her home filled his mind and it sank again.
“No?” he asked as he looked around the suddenly silent room.
/> “No, I learned something in the last few weeks,” she answered shyly.
He swallowed. “What did you learn?” his heart plummeted as he considered what she would say.
“I learned that sometimes a home isn’t a place, it’s a person.”
“Your father,” he said as he shook his head. He felt sick to his stomach and wanted to sift away before she could agree because he wasn’t sure he could handle knowing she was alive somewhere, and that he couldn’t touch her.
“No, Ristan, it’s you. You’re my home. I love that you love me, and I love you. I love that you want to fill those frames with me,” she said as she fought tears and lost. “I want you to be my home. I want you to be everything to me. Be my everything, Ristan, please,” she pleaded.
“Fucking hell,” he growled as he pulled her into his arms and smothered her with kisses. “I lost my heart when I saw what Cyrus did, but then I lost it again knowing that every day you were alive and I couldn’t kiss these lips, look into these eyes. I’ll love you until the end of time, and be your happy ever after, Olivia. I want to be your male Mary Poppins and I’ll even say stupid words like ‘sleek manhole’ if you want me to.”
She laughed through his kisses and the tears as the room erupted in laughter and cheers. She wanted nothing more than to be alone with him for a few days, snuggled up against his warmth in a bed.
“Question,” Synthia said as she interrupted them. “Hate to interrupt, but I need an answer and soon.”
Olivia turned to look at Ristan, but it wasn’t him who Synthia was speaking to. “Me?”
“Yes, Olivia, you,” Synthia said as she smiled at Ristan.
“Okay,” Olivia answered.
“We’re starting a new Guild. Alden is heading it up, but I still have a war to prepare for, so I need some more help. I need someone who is good with kids and won’t be afraid of the fight we will face against the other Guilds when news breaks of what we are doing. I need someone I can trust to help me run this place—a Sanctuary for everyone, no matter what species or race they are. I need someone who can be the face of this place. It’s going to be a while before we can rebuild and it’s actually running, but if you’re willing to help, we’d be glad to have you with us.”
“You trust me enough to help you after all that I’ve done? After what I did to Alden?” she whispered in shock and looked at her old mentor, who smiled and nodded at her with a twinkle in his eye.
“You opened those doors to the catacombs, Olivia. What you did, you did because at the time you thought it was right. So help us save others from making the same mistakes. Help us make a home where everyone is welcome and laws are not decided by a bunch of corrupt people with too much power. Help us rebuild the True Guild.”
“I’m in,” she said as she hugged Synthia warmly, and then pulled away. “I’m sorry,” she replied.
“For hugging me?” Synthia asked. “I think we’re about to be sister-in-laws, so hugging is more than okay, it’s expected. So is babysitting, though,” Synthia said with a smile.
“Synthia, this shit can wait,” Ristan interrupted and pulled Olivia closer to him.
“So it can,” she agreed and winked at Olivia.
Ristan wasted no time opening a portal and sifting them to his quarters in Faery. He smiled against her cheek. “You smell like heaven, literally,” he laughed.
“You smell like you need to fuck me,” Olivia purred with a saucy grin on her lips.
“I will never let you go, Angel girl,” he replied.
“Listen,” she said pushing him away from her. “I’m just a girl who fell for you. Literally. Think you can handle it?” she laughed softly as she slipped off her coat and began to undress. Magic flowed easily through her now. With every day it grew more powerful and she learned new things that she could do. She had mastered the art of changing quickly; however, teasing him and seeing what he would dress her in seemed like it would be a lot more fun.
“I can accept anything that ends with you undressing,” he purred.
“Good,” she replied as she slipped off her bra and tossed it at him as her wings unfurled and created a breeze in the room.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, taking in the thin, lacy whitish-silver brands that now decorated her arms, and the glossy black feathers of her wings.
“Like them?” she asked with a soft smile.
“No, I was referring to you,” he replied softly. “I never thought I would get you back, and the moment I started to accept it, I started to die inside.”
“I almost stayed there, but then I thought about never seeing you again, and I knew when my father said that you didn’t want to let me go. And he told me that message…I knew any chance of me staying there was ruined.”
“I’m sorry,” he said and ran his fingers through his hair. “I did warn you that I was habit-forming.”
She laughed softly and shook her head. “I’m not sorry, because I want to spend the rest of my life loving you—if you feel the same?”
“I love you, Olivia; I’ll never let you go again. Ever,” he said lovingly.
“Good. Now, I think one of us is way overdressed for the occasion, and by one of us, I mean you.”
“I agree,” Ristan smirked as for the first time in his life he felt an unconditional love that was just for him. He wanted to spend the rest of his life showing her how much he appreciated that unconditional love and he wasn’t going to wait to do so.
See you in Faery!
*~*~*
About the Author
Amelia Hutchins lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her beautiful family. She’s an avid reader and writer of anything Paranormal. She started writing at the age of nine with the help of the huge imagination her Grandmother taught her to use. When not writing a new twisting plot, she can be found on her author page, or running Erotica Book Club where she helps new Indie Authors connect with a growing fan base.
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Amelia Hutchins, A Demon's Dark Embrace
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