“Ow!”
“Right.” He wiped at his mouth as if he could physically remove that stupid grin. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m hurt!”
“Badly?” He let out another chuckle as if he just couldn’t help himself.
“Very badly!”
His tone was frighteningly calm and reserved when he asked, “If I tell you your left leg is severed completely off, will that make things better or worse?”
I snapped to sitting and grabbed my completely intact left leg. “You bastard!” I swung to punch him in the face, but he caught my wrist with his annoying hand and held me still.
“You’re fine, Sera,” he promised in a low voice, not at all bothered by my fists of fury. I opened my mouth to scream obscenities at him when he leaned in and place an affectionate kiss on my nose. “Now, let me help you up and you can tell me what you found.”
In stunned silence, I let him pull me to my feet. Both legs worked, which surprised me all over again after the scare he’d given me. But by the time I stood on my own, I was completely healed and there was really nothing left to complain about.
Except all of the falling.
But that wasn’t exactly Sebastian’s fault.
We spun around in a synchronized circle to inspect whatever kind of hole I’d fallen into. The leftover light of the day cascaded around us through the crater my body had created and glittered off of the polished sandstone all around us. It appeared to be some kind of pavilion. A temple maybe? Some kind of communal open-aired building that had been buried beneath centuries of sandstorms.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to prove me right.”
I chanced a glance at Sebastian before the words slipped out. “Prove you right about what?”
“That it was brilliant of me to insist you come along. Between the visions and your clumsiness, you might single-handedly bring Terletov to his knees.”
I noticed something then that I hadn’t noticed before, the Magic. It was spectacularly strong down here. It zinged through the air, bouncing off walls and wrapping around my skin. It had an intensified aura like I had never felt before. I couldn’t decide if it was a trick of the dim light or if the air was actually shaded in blue. It didn’t really matter either way because I could feel how pure and wholesome this Magic was.
Terletov or any outside forces did not taint this. This was our Magic in its purest, most raw form.
“This is the Source?” I asked with a voice no louder than a whisper.
“I believe so.” Sebastian took a step forward toward a rounded building with a domed top.
The shrine looked like a turret off of a Persian palace. Like a giant plucked it from the rooftop of Jasmine’s castle. The domed top glittered in what had to be solid gold and the sides of the shrine glistened in pretty sandstone.
Each side was carved with intricate patterns and symbols. The doorway into the shrine had figures etched into the perfect arch. The path to the door started just in front of us and led the way in more shaped gold.
I sucked in a breath and mourned that the Immortals that created this weren’t still with us. That was the whole point of being Immortal that we would stick around forever.
I was honestly moved by such a pretty place, even more so because it seemed lost forever in the vast and lonely desert.
I couldn’t let Terletov find this place. And I really couldn’t let him control it.
He didn’t deserve something so beautiful.
He didn’t deserve something so worthy.
He was the antithesis of this place and I would die before I gave it up to him.
“What now?” I stepped onto the golden path and felt the Magic under my feet like a current straight to my heart.
“Do you think Eden’s up to making the journey?” His tone was just dry enough that I could tell he was joking.
I gave him a look. “Not Eden, but she can’t be the only one that can tame Magic.”
Sebastian frowned. “Avalon’s never done what she can.”
I flashed a cheeky smile. “It’s never too late to start trying.”
Chapter Thirteen
Sebastian
By the time Avalon and my sister arrived five hours later, we’d all had enough of the desert.
I called for help using my satellite phone and a bit of Magic to make it connect. Jericho and all of the reinforcements had come to check out the lost Source. Someone had gone back to one of the jets for an emergency rope ladder and I’d put the Titans to task making sure it was safe to use.
I wasn’t really worried about anyone getting hurt, but it would be simpler and more efficient if the rope stayed in place.
We had come to the desert prepared. There were plenty of battery-operated torches to illuminate the space after the sun set. There was also enough camping gear for us to set up for the night and meals to cook over an open flame.
We all had Magic of course, but these tangible items would mean we could focus our energy wholly on the task at hand.
We hadn’t known how long we would have to stay in the desert, but we had planned not to leave until we found what we came for. It was sheer luck, or divine providence, that Seraphina had stumbled onto the Source so quickly. We’d hardly been here twenty minutes before I watched her cartwheel down the hill straight into the hidden ruin.
I had been out of my mind with fear for her. I raced after her, but not fast enough before she collapsed the roof and dropped to the bottom.
I thought I would be sick watching her disappear into the unknown.
I hadn’t known what she fell through or where she would end up. My mind had envisioned all kinds of hellish scenarios. I leaped through the hole without a second thought.
The worst of my fears, an endless abyss that would swallow her whole, proved to be false when my feet landed awkwardly on the splintered debris.
And then she’d been so still. Her body hadn’t moved as I rushed to her side.
I didn’t think the short fall could seriously injure her, but my body couldn’t seem to process that she was okay or going to be okay.
And then when it finally caught up to me, there was this huge surge of adrenaline that came out as… well, as laughter.
It wasn’t exactly on purpose. I hadn’t meant to trivialize her trauma, but honestly, I thought I had lost her forever.
And then she was fine.
Elated. I had been elated.
Now, I watched her speak to my sister in the corner of the spacious cavern. They whispered together like when they were younger. I wasn’t sure if they ever grew out of the habit of whispering secrets to each other or giggling about them behind an open palm.
I used to adore how close they were. I loved that my sister cared about the woman I loved so completely. I respected their trust for each other and their immovable friendship. Those two women had meant more to me than anything else in the world at one time.
One of them still did.
Okay, maybe both of them still did.
But now that bond seemed to bite me in the arse more often than not. Mimi couldn’t forgive me for what happened between Seraphina and me. And Seraphina would forever be a part of my life simply because she adored my sister.
Their friendship was now a curse upon my life meant to smite me with fire and brimstone.
However, I couldn’t deny my heart-wrenching reaction when I watched Seraphina disappear the way she did. Or the way I’d held her last night.
I had to start being honest with myself. I needed to face the obnoxiousness of my inconvenient feelings for her and decide what to do with them.
I was beyond ignoring them and pretending they didn’t exist.
Obviously, I still cared for that stubborn woman.
But now what?
I could clearly see that what I felt between us had disappeared, but how did she feel about me?
She didn’t seem nearly as in love with me as she used to be.
Which seem
ed impossible, but still relevant.
“Stop staring at my wife, Sebastian. She’s your sister.”
I cocked my head back, surprised by the words spoken at me. I blinked twice before I recognized Avalon and forced myself back to the present.
Avalon grinned at me. “I heard you’ve been accused of being a pervert. I’m not sure anyone is safe from your depraved ways.”
I wrinkled my nose. “You’re disgusting.”
“No, you’re disgusting. I’m just looking out for my wife.”
“I was not looking at my sister, you prick. I was looking at… Just never mind.”
“Oh, oh, oh!” Avalon sing-songed. “Who exactly had your attention?”
I scowled at him.
It didn’t work.
“T, has Sebastian been a little distracted lately? Kiran put him in charge thinking he had stellar focus. Could his Royal Doucheyness be wrong about that?”
This Kingdom was so messed up. I supposed that’s what happened when you put a bunch of twenty-something idiots in charge of an entire Kingdom of Immortals. We had forever to become mature. Why start now?
Titus shot me a shit-eating grin and ambled over to us. “He has been a little distracted lately.” Titus cupped his jaw and narrowed his eyes in dramatic thoughtfulness. “I think he’s been thinking about his sister though. Which is weird, right?”
“Bastards. Both of you are bastards.”
They howled with laughter at my lame insult and drew the attention of everyone down here. Seraphina gave me a scalding look, apparently blaming me for the King’s poor behavior. I tried to look innocent, but that tactic hadn’t worked with her in ages.
“Ready to get started?” she asked Avalon.
“Sure, sure.” He rolled his shoulders and faced the shrine. Nothing happened.
I wasn’t surprised.
Rumor had it that when Eden walked into the Cave of Winds the Source of Magic attacked her. Avalon had been in those caves dozens of times before that and not so much as a whisper had floated by him.
The same was said to be true about beneath the prisons. Eden warred with some kind of Magical tornado. Avalon spent the better part of two years wandering aimlessly down there and never ran into something as simple as a light gust of wind.
Eden was clearly the better half of the St. Andrew family line.
However, Eden, thanks to those tiny little Immortals bumming around in her stomach, was currently unavailable.
So we had to use the second string.
Seraphina stepped up behind Avalon and cleared her throat. “I have a theory about why Eden picked up two Source Magics early on.”
Everyone swiveled to look at her. I was more than intrigued. I hadn’t heard this before.
When she had everyone’s attention, she continued, “Terletov was a threat even back then. We just didn’t know it yet. Couldn’t it be possible that the Source Magic was looking for protection?”
Avalon looked skeptical. “You’re saying, the Magic jumped into Eden to save itself because of Dmitri Terletov?”
Seraphina shrugged. “I mean, maybe? Doesn’t it seem a little coincidental that Terletov made his debut at the same time Eden started collecting Magics?”
“Maybe it happened because Eden had never been inside before. Maybe it had nothing to do with Terletov.” Titus looked just as unbelieving as I felt.
Seraphina shrugged a shoulder, agreeing with him. “True. The Magic was under as much of an attack back then as it is now. But either way, the Magic is under attack. I think it will do whatever it takes to remain untainted.”
Avalon looked at me. “What do you think, Bastian? You on board with this?”
I huffed. Obviously. “I wouldn’t have called you out here if I didn’t think it would work. Sera’s right. The Magic is under attack. If you don’t figure out how to protect it, it’s going to end up like the others. Besides, she’s the Psychic. Best to do what she says.”
Avalon frowned. He looked to his wife who gave him an imperceptible nod. He mouthed his “I love you” to her and then turned back to the shrine. Looked like he was ready to get on with it.
“Everyone should get out,” Avalon ordered. “The Magic can be rather… violent through this process.”
That seemed wise.
The room emptied as each Immortal took turns up the rope ladder. My sister stood in the corner, nervously chewing her bottom lip.
“Come, Mims,” I coaxed her. “He’ll be fine.”
She tilted her chin defiantly. “I’ll be fine as well.”
Why were women always so stubborn? Couldn’t I just meet one female that was easy to convince? I decided I would marry her. The second I ran into a woman that did what I wanted her to do the first time I asked her I would toss her over my shoulder and carry her to the church and make her marry me.
“But will Avalon? If he’s worried about you, he won’t be as focused.”
Her expression turned mulish and I could feel the desire to fight me. It was some sibling instinct born from a childhood of bickering.
Queendom seemed to agree with Mimi though because other than a puff of frustrated breath, she complied with me.
“I suppose,” she grumbled.
Up the ladder she went while I moved aside for Seraphina. She had just started the climb when I reached out and patted her bum affectionately.
She jumped three inches and glared down at me. “Sebastian,” she growled.
“Just wanted to say, great work with Avalon. You made some excellent points.” She seemed a little dumbstruck by my compliment, but not at all appeased. “You also have an excellent arse. I couldn’t resist.”
The rest of her climb seemed a bit aggressive, but that could have been my imagination.
Out in the open again, the expansive desert seemed to shrink into a tight black box. The standing torches that had been staked into the ground around the buried Source’s perimeter made the golden sand glitter in their soft light, but their radius only reached so far. Beyond the faint circle of light, the desert became black oblivion.
The sky above hid its stars behind thick clouds. The moon that should be full tonight had shrouded itself as well. My Magic reached my vision into the wall of night, but the darkness made everything a hazy gray.
I felt exposed out here. The lanterns and torches aided our cause, but also shined a spotlight directly on our activity. Anyone could find us out here if they knew the general direction to look. And that made us vulnerable.
Which was never a good position to be in.
“You look spooked,” Seraphina said gently from where she stood at my side.
Below us, through the collapsed roof, Avalon’s Magic began to go to war with the Source. Or that was how it seemed. The ground beneath my feet rocked and surged from the power struggle. Sand cascaded from level ground to the hole below.
I took Seraphina’s arm and moved her further from Avalon and the Source. “I’m wondering if we’re secure enough.”
“There are Titans patrolling the area. Do you think Terletov knows we’re here?”
“You tell me.”
She huffed. “I’m not a Magic Eight Ball, Bastian.”
“But you are Psychic, Sera. I trust your instinct. You should too.”
She gave me a sideways glance and then narrowed her eyes on the perimeter. “We’re safe here.”
“Why do you sound so uncertain?”
“Because we won’t be for long.”
Her eyes flashed to mine and I instinctively took a step forward. A sick feeling churned in my gut and our Magics collided with startling force. It was as though they clung together for safety. I felt her energy surge through mine, and the same feeling she had just put into words fused itself with my blood.
I felt the same thing.
We would be fine here, but it was only a matter of time.
As soon as the thought had settled in my mind as truth, I questioned her power all over again. I searched frantically for my siste
r, but couldn’t find her through the crowd of Immortals congregating around the hole in the ground.
Dread clutched at my chest and I shouted out for everyone to get down just as Avalon’s Magic exploded from the cavern and burst through the night sky.
I lost my grip on Sera when the Magical eruption threw me thirty yards and buried me in the desert sand. Unconsciousness swirled around my mind and my Magic seemed to stutter and then come to a complete stop.
I unwillingly dropped my head back on the bed of sand and blinked up at the starless sky. I gave into the blackness just as Avalon’s raging shouts penetrated the eerily quiet night.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
----
My eyes shot open and I jumped to my feet. Sand gushed down my body, sifting through my collar and waistband and digging into places sand didn’t belong. I brushed it off of my face and spit it out of my mouth.
My chest heaved with anxious breaths, but I blinked at pure darkness. My mind told me not much time had passed since I’d fallen asleep, but fear raced through my veins.
An explosion.
Avalon shouting.
Unconsciousness.
Something had happened.
Magic pulsed through my veins and I pushed it harder, faster, surging it through my body, bringing life back to my confused senses.
With the aid of my Magic, I could see clearly again. I took off in a sprint toward the crater-sized hole that had once been a hidden temple. I sent my energy out to search for Seraphina. It had taken thirty seconds before I found her just as I had been, half-buried in the sand and out of it.
I knelt at her side. Unlike when I found her at the bottom of the hole she’d fallen through, I was not amused. I picked up her upper body and cradled her in my arms.
I could feel her heart beating steadily and her Magic readily clinging to mine. I tried to temper my smile as I enjoyed the willingness of her Magic to connect with mine even when she seemed to run from me every chance she got.
Her eyes opened slower than mine had. She blinked up at me with brows furrowed in confusion and her pretty lips pursed against the sand.