Chapter 24

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I t would be too soon if Rose ever had to face the staircase again. Its ability to prey on her worst fears was one she didn’t care to relive as she walked back to Norden house. Her failure to bring Luc home—her fear she’d never bring him back—was a decadent feast for the staircase today. Without Arie kicking her leg, she would have taken up permanent residence there.

“Rose?” Arie’s voice called from behind her. He and Aurora walked more slowly, hands intertwined but in the same direction. “I’m sorry to interrupt whatever spiral you’re in…”

He didn’t sound sorry. His voice sounded chipper. It held too much energy for the end of a too-eventful day.

He continued. “I do need to clarify… We’re following you because we plan to stay at Norden house.” Rose heard him grunt but didn’t turn around. She assumed Aurora had elbowed him in the stomach.

Rose laughed and turned to face them. “Did you elbow him for his presumption?” Rose asked Aurora.

Her blue eyes danced with delight. “It’s polite to ask first,” she replied.

Rose smiled. “Hopefully, you’ll be a good influence on his manners,” she said wryly. “But yes, sorry. My head is elsewhere. You’re both welcome at Norden house. You can have your choice of the open rooms.”

“Thank you,” Aurora said more formally than Arie could ever pull off. “We know it’s a bit of an imposition, but we’d rather stay close to continue to help.”

“I assure you, it’s no problem,” she said. “I give Arie a hard time, but he knows he’s family and welcome in whatever home I have.” Rose continued her walk, leaving the two of them to chat a little ways behind her while her mind wandered over the day’s events.

Arie caught up with her as she opened the door to Norden house. “Where were you just now?”

She gave him a sad smile. Of everything she had to plan, her mind kept returning to the fears the staircase preyed on. “Just thinking about how my fears seem to keep coming to life.”

Arie seemed to know exactly what she was referring to, even if her thoughts were muddled. “You did the right thing leaving him today,” Arie replied. “In fact, I’d bet it wasn’t even your decision to leave him. Luc would have given himself up as soon as he realized you couldn’t all make it out.”

Rose rolled her eyes at the god’s presumption. He was right, of course, but she didn’t need to give him the satisfaction of a response.

“Welcome home,” Walter greeted them in the entryway.

“Good evening,” Rose said. “Do you mind helping these two find a room in the house?”

“Of course.” He turned to the god and goddess. “Please, follow me.”

“Let me know if you need anything, but you’re welcome to anything you find,” Rose called as Walter led them away.

Rose knew she wouldn’t find sleep until she tried to connect with Luc again. He may have told her to go. He may have sacrificed himself—again. But now that she’d acknowledged their connection, she wanted desperately to see if they could connect more fully within the heart of her magic.

She wanted to let him in completely. Slipping into her room, Rose was ready to push her and Luc’s bond further than she had before.

Physical exhaustion threatened to overtake her as soon as she was under the covers. Her mind was far from rest though. It took almost no thought as she closed her eyes, leaving her body still in bed while the rest of her fell into the heart of her magic.

It was only this morning she’d acknowledged aloud they were bound. That acknowledgment had strengthened the mental bond between them. She was sure it would have done the same for this connection through their magic. Desperately, she needed reassurance that he was okay.

The gentle breeze across her lake drew her attention; the trees circling it swayed in the same wind. It was peaceful here, whether Luc would meet her or not.

But she knew he would.

She dove into the refreshing waters, this time knowing exactly what she was searching for. Her arms stretched as she swam, her fingers itching to get closer to the lakebed—to see the black stone she was certain spiderwebbed through it. A moment later, she reached the bottom. Her eyes lit as the black swirl became visible in the water’s movement. Rose pushed the sand away, and the material became even more apparent.

This wasn’t the tunnel she’d entered when their magic merged. What was a spiderweb of stone streaking across the lakebed yesterday was now large stone slabs replacing the sandy bottom of her lake at every opportunity.

Her hand reached again for the onyx stone. The familiar magic pulse around her. At this point, she could not determine whether the feeling came from her chest or the lake itself.

“We’re bound,” she said to the stone. That nagging thought—the worry she was being ridiculous, was no longer present. Some part of her knew the words were magic. Her acknowledgment and acceptance strengthened the connection.

His low chuckle sounded through her very bones. It brought her body to life in a way she couldn’t explain—didn’t want to explain. She just wanted to feel.

“ I think we’re past that.” His voice was a purr through her thoughts. “I’m yours, and you’re mine. Our paths are bound.”

“I’m sorry… I left you,” Rose said, the words tightening her throat as they spilled out. If this was all she got of him, she would use it to at least speak her heart. With the thought, something shifted in the lake. The stone came alive as it expanded deeper into the lakebed. It took over every inch of land, magic pulsing with each new slice it claimed.

She let it.

Rose wanted the stone to take more. She wanted no distance between herself and Luc. Every additional section of onyx brought a frenzied beat in her chest. She dared not hope for what she really wanted—this place to be theirs, a place they could connect, no matter what separated them.

The stone agreed. The water swirled with more force as the onyx base of her lake expanded. Rose desperately wanted an open connection to not just Luc’s magic but to the male himself. She didn’t know if whatever the stone was doing would accomplish her aim, but she felt sure it understood what she wanted.

She wanted Luc here—with her.

The more she tested their connection, the surer she was of her plan. When she was here, she could smell and feel his magic—why not the fae himself? The realm had a physicality to it she didn’t understand, but she planned to leverage.

Her eyes lit as the stone cracked in a way that only a Suden could provoke. The base of her lake didn’t fall into a tunnel of Luc’s magic but parted to open for something more tangible. Familiar black tendrils of power swirled up through the opening first, holding the water in place. Rose didn’t have to think twice as she cast her own magic toward the opening. Ensuring he would have separation from the water to breathe when he came through—and she knew he would come through.

She didn’t have to wait much longer as fingers crested the edge of the split. The tendrils of magic tossed Luc into the heart of Rose’s magic.

His face looked strained at the effort. But it cleared quickly, his gaze seeking and holding hers. His mouth opened, and a wicked smile crossed his face as he realized he could breathe beneath the water.

“Your magic missed me,” he said.

She didn’t deny it. Her magic accepted and protected him as soon as he crossed the threshold.

He moved slowly toward her underwater. Hesitance stilted his movements. With his decision this afternoon, he seemed unsure of his reception.

“I was a little nervous that wouldn’t work—that you wouldn’t want me here.” The exhaustion was still evident on his face, but his eyes were alert and focused on her.

She didn’t make him wait. Holding his hand today as they ran through the castle dungeon wasn’t enough. She needed to feel him. Her water pushed her forward. He caught her without hesitation, solid around her, relief apparent in the sag of his shoulders as his arms encircled her. The rightness of the moment was more than she could verbalize.

“I always want you here, you self-sacrificing idiot. I want my bound partner with me always.” Her hands roamed his skin, absorbing the physical connection she’d longed for.

“Say it again,” he replied, pulling away slightly to see her face. Pure satisfaction lit up his every feature.

She leaned forward to whisper in his ear, her legs wrapped around him of their own volition. “We’re bound.”

His low chuckle danced along her skin, shooting straight to her core as she finally—finally—had hold of him. She wasn’t letting go. Her magic pushed the water away from them enough to lean close to his neck and bury her nose against it. Pine and cinnamon rushed her senses. The scent was a part of him, and she’d missed its constant presence as much as she’d missed the fae himself. Her mouth wasn’t far behind her nose as she dragged her lips along the edge of his jaw.

“Are you going to lick me again?” he asked. “I always knew that was a good sign for us,” his voice held a smile that warmed her thoroughly, even as they were soaking wet beneath the water.

She pushed back slightly so she could pound her fists on his chest, but her legs wouldn’t let him go. “No, I’m going to kill you. Why did you do that?” She was angry at herself for not being able to enjoy this. He was solid, and he was here. Why did her brain spiral toward…everything else?

Luc didn’t try to stop her fists as they pushed against his solid chest. “I know your magic won’t strain at this,” Luc said, gesturing that they were still at the bottom of the lake, “but do you want to have this conversation somewhere else?”

“Can you leave the water?” Rose asked. She wasn’t sure of the rules, and she wouldn’t risk him being sucked back into his magic. She’d rather they have the conversation right here.

“I can go anywhere you let me, Rose,” he said cautiously. “It’s always been your choice.”

She tugged him to the surface, her magic ushering them where she wanted them and drying them as they moved. They fell onto the small beach beside her lake, surrounded by trees. It felt remarkably similar to the woods where they first fought at the Lake of the Gods.

Rose lay on her back. She propped herself up on her elbows to see where Luc had landed. He had crashed onto shore on his hands and knees—maybe that was intentional from her magic. He breathed deeply like he’d been starved for air, though she knew that wasn’t the case.

“Rosewood and vanilla,” he crooned as he crawled toward her—the scent of Rose’s magic. “I’ve dreamed of its scent every day I’ve been gone.”

Rose’s heartbeat spiked with every inch he moved forward. The curve of his lip tilted impossibly higher as he tracked her reaction. “I told you I’d spend the rest of our existence making it up to you.” He hovered above her now. “I might as well start now.”

She could feel his weight settle over her as he lowered himself. The rightness of their bodies sliding against each other had her head falling back and her breathing uneven.

“I knew I had to get to you,” he whispered, his hand sliding down the side of her face. “Your look this afternoon…” He let his head hang. “I knew you’d blame yourself for not bringing me back. I had to find a way to make sure you understood, to make sure you knew that I would throw myself into the unknown time and time again for you. That,” he said pointedly, “is my choice.”

Need drove her forward. She reached up, wrapping her hand around his neck and pulling his lips to meet hers. Their magic flared around them with this physical connection. She tilted her head to improve her angle and nipped his lip with her teeth. Luc matched her eagerly. His tongue slid against hers as he gave more than he received.

She lost track of time—of the list of things they should discuss—there was only both of them here on the shore of her lake, exploring with hands and teeth and tongues.

“I need,” Rose started. Her words were breathy. She could not complete her thought process as Luc’s lips moved to her skin.

He growled low. “Tell me,” he urged. “Tell me what you need.” His words sounded like those of a desperate male. He licked her neck as he moved down her body to her chest. “Name it, and it’s yours,” he said, his voice reverent as his mouth found her breast over her nightshirt. The material didn’t slow him down, his tongue swirling her through the fabric.

Rose arched into him as he pinched his teeth around the peaked tip, dancing the line of pain and pleasure. His mouth moved back to hers to catch her moans like they were a prize he could devour. His fingers quested down her body, eager to map every dip and curve.

She couldn’t respond to his question. He was everywhere—all at once—and somehow, she wanted more. Eagerly, they removed the barriers of their clothing. She was writhing, begging for more before his lips even hit her thigh. “I need you, Luc.”

“You have every part of me,” he said, looking up through hooded eyes, his mouth inches away from where she wanted him.

“That’s not—” She didn’t finish the sentence as his tongue slid against her center. Words failed her, and her body arched impossibly further into him. Luc’s hands caught her hips to hold them steady as his tongue slid against her again.

“Luc…” She couldn’t complete a sentence, but she needed his name on her lips like she needed her next breath. He sucked on her clit, and she let out a strangled cry, her pleasure building as his tongue licked and swirled. He was a male starved in the wilderness—finally allowed to feast.

Catching her breath was not an option. His fingers slid inside her as his tongue continued to lap up her pleasure. Heat built in her core, and her love for this fae swirled in her chest. She couldn’t hold back—nor did she want to. A wave crashed inside her as she found her release.

His mouth covered hers in another scorching kiss, and she tasted herself on his lips. It was a heady feeling to know Luc was hers—that his need for her matched hers for him.

She reached for his hard length between them, stroking from base to tip. His eyes rolled back, and his hips rocked forward into her touch. She needed more—she needed everything.

Luc sensed her need as she lined him up at her entrance. She pulled his mouth down into another scorching kiss as he slid in, giving her the connection she’d so desperately missed.

Her hips raised to take him deeper. His slow strokes were maddening, but he relished her need. Each steady thrust had her head spinning, their magics coalescing, and her body demanding more. His lips slid against her throat as he buried his face along the side of her neck. “We’re bound,” was his low murmur against her skin. A reverent refrain of their connection echoed by the movement of their bodies and their magic. She cupped his face and brought his mouth back to hers, their tongues tangling in another searching kiss.

A small spark built to a burning flame inside her. “For the rest of our existence,” she said.

“For the rest of our existence,” he replied, following her over the cliff of release.

Rose lost track of time as they lay in each other’s arms. She hadn’t fully realized how much she needed a physical connection with him. Discovering they were bound, only to be separated, had to be the reason for the ache she’d felt when he left.

“This feels right,” she said.

She felt his face twitch, and though she couldn’t see it, she was sure a satisfied smirk danced there.

“We’ll have many more nights like this, Rose,” he whispered into her hair.

He was right. She wouldn’t accept otherwise—wouldn’t give up on bringing him home—no matter the obstacles.

“I should go,” he said, planting a kiss on top of her head.

She pushed up on her arms to look down at him. Something in his voice set alarms off in her head. “What is it?”

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. “I think Aterra is starting to notice when I connect with you. When I’m physically here, my body is unnaturally still there.”

“How do you know Aterra’s noticing? Don’t you look asleep there?” she pressed.

“He seems closer and closer to my cell each time I return from the connection.”

“What do you think he’s planning?” she asked. It never sat well with her that Aterra was in a cell the same as Luc. Although godly powers seemed different beyond the veil, she was sure Aterra wouldn’t accept defeat so easily.

“I’m not sure yet. I’ll let you know as soon as I have an idea. For now, I just need to be careful.”

She nodded as he pressed another lingering kiss to her lips and slipped back into the lake.