12. Darcy

Chapter 12

Darcy

I stared at the bathroom door, straining to hear anything. Lyndon had been in there for a really long time. Should I go check on him? I stood up off the couch to do just that three times but kept stopping. What if he was pleasuring himself? I was still embarrassed he'd caught me watching him once. I would die if it happened again.

I had just decided to give him another five minutes before interrupting when a bloodcurdling scream rocked the entire cabin. My blood went cold. I didn't think, just bolted. The bathroom door was locked, but I wrenched the doorknob off. Thank you, super strength.

Lyndon was splayed on the tiled floor, unconscious.

"Lyndon!"

I fell to my knees next to him and reached out but stopped just inches from touching him.

"Fuck. Lyndon, do you hear me? Are you ok?"

Lyndon's whole body arched, lifting off the floor, his neck completely exposed as it stretched, and then he started to seize.

"Gods. Lyndon! Please, please. Oh gods, what do I do?"

I scanned the space, desperate for any clues on what was happening. Lyndon's violent seizure continued, and I was paralyzed. I had to do something, but what? Oh, Lyndon, please be okay.

I finally spotted Lyndon's phone lying on the counter. I scrambled to my feet and grabbed it. Luckily, it wasn't locked, so I went right to contacts and called Ambrose.

"Lyndon, to what do I owe the pleasure? I already told you I'm working as fast as I can."

"Ambrose, it's Darcy! Lyndon needs help. He's—I think he's having a seizure. I-I don't know what to do. Please."

"I'm on my way." The phone disconnected, but I only had about thirty seconds to panic when a humming sound had me turning around, and a hot-pink orb formed just feet away from me before quickly expanding into a full-sized portal.

Out walked Ambrose and Aria, and behind them a regal woman who could only be their mom, Lyndon's Aunt Belinda. He was going to be pissed, but I didn't care. I'd take a pissed Lyndon every day for the rest of my life over a dead one.

I scooted out of the way to make room in the tight space as Ambrose and Belinda ignored me completely, going right to Lyndon, who was still shaking violently on the floor. He was spitting up now, a foam-like drool seeping out of his mouth.

"Oh my gods. What's happening? Can you help him? He was just fine. I swear! I-I don't know what happened."

Aria squeezed my arm. "Shh, it's okay, Darcy. We'll take care of him."

Aria joined her brother and mother on the floor near Lyndon. I pushed up against the counter, not wanting to get in their way.

Aria pulled a piece of chalk seemingly out of thin air and began making a circle around the four of them. Belinda had her hands on either side of Lyndon's face, holding it still while Ambrose held his body down. Belinda began speaking in a language I didn't understand, and her children joined her. All I could do was watch and pray whatever they were doing would help.

Lyndon stopped seizing, but he was still unconscious.

For the first time since she'd gotten here, Belinda's attention turned from her nephew. Her head snapped to me. I swallowed, intimidated under her piercing purple gaze. Her eyes glowed, and even without tasting, I could tell she was extremely powerful.

"You're his mate." Her voice was rough, but I didn't sense judgement or disgust. It was more matter-of-fact.

I nodded, my mouth too dry to speak. She continued when I didn't add anything else to the conversation. "The bond hasn't been completed. It's barely started, why?"

I swallowed, unsure exactly what I should tell her. I looked at Ambrose and Aria, hoping one of them would come to my rescue.

"Lyndon doesn't want to be bonded, Mother. Darcy came here accidentally, and Lyndon is looking for a way to break the bond and get Darcy back to his home realm."

Belinda's expression sharpened. "But you touched." Again, she was stating it as a fact.

"Yessss." I somehow managed to get the word out. "But, um, only accidentally and for a few secondssss. A little bit of his magic ssssseeped into me, but we ssstopped it and have been careful not to touch sssince."

Belinda sighed and sat down on her butt on the floor, a move I wasn't expecting from someone who radiated grace and class. Under other circumstances, I might have laughed.

"Well, it's not as much of a shock as it should be, but my nephew's stubbornness might truly be the death of him this time."

"What!"

"He's fighting the mating bond, but since it started to partially form, there's no stopping it. Maybe if you never touched at all, there would be a breaking point, but now it's too late."

"Seriously? I thought that didn't happen until mates had sex?" Ambrose blurted.

His mother rolled his eyes. "Normally, that would be the case, but it seems that in Lyndon's, the goddess has taken special interest and is nudging things along."

"By killing him?" This was Aria, sounding as shocked as I was.

"I think she is hoping he stops fighting the pull before it gets that far, but I can't speak to the goddess's actions. You know they don't always think and act like we do."

"I-I don't understand. He ssstopped sssseizing. Isn't that a good thing?"

Aria erased the circle with a wave of her hand as Belinda climbed to her feet. She waved her hand and purple magic took shape, a solid, long rectangle that slipped under Lyndon. Then Lyndon was being raised from the tile, and the magical board carefully brought him to the couch before dissipating.

"I stabilized him," Belinda finally answered, "but it's a temporary fix. From what I understand, the goddess has him trapped in his own head, confining him in vision after vision that are consistently getting worse."

"Goddess," Aria whispered, sounding horrified.

"I don't understand. Why?" I asked.

Belinda suddenly looked exhausted and leaned against the wall, her eyes half closed. "Ambrose, would you be a dear and please make me some tea?"

"Of course." I had never seen Ambrose look so serious as he took off to the kitchen.

"Mother, why don't you have a seat?" Aria started, but her mother waved her off.

"I'm fine, dear. I just need a minute. It's been a while since I've had to use magic that way. It was thrilling."

"How do we get Lyndon out of that? It sounds awful. Is there anything else you can do?" I asked, desperate to help my mate. I was horrified that this was happening.

"I can't do anything. But you can."

My eyes widened. "I can? What? Please tell me." I'd do anything.

"You can touch him. Cuddle with him, ideally skin to skin. The bond can't be completely healed until you are intimate, but that should calm it enough that the goddess will let her hold on him go."

I froze. "But . . . he doesn't want me to touch him. He'ssss made that very clear."

Belinda frowned. "I understand. I don't want to violate his consent or his wishes either, and perhaps there's another way. But if there is, I don't know it, and Lyndon doesn't have enough time for me to research it. I'm sorry."

Gods, what did I do? If it was just me, I'd be naked and spooning Lyndon already. But not like this. Forcing Lyndon into something he didn't want was wrong.

"What if Lyndon consented?" Ambrose appeared with a tray and four mugs of tea. "If you could hear from Lyndon's own lips, of his own free will that he wants you to touch him, would you do it?"

"Of courssse. But how? He's unconscious."

"Aria can get you into his subconscious."

Aria shot her brother a dirty look. "Goddess, Rose. How many times do I have to tell you not to volunteer my gift out like a goddess-damned party favor? You know it's not that easy!"

Ambrose placed the tray on the low table in front of the couch. He glanced at his mother, but she seemed content to let this play out. I wished I knew what was happening. If Lyndon survived this, I was going to force him to teach me more about his world. There was just too much I didn't understand.

"Yes, but this is Lyndon. He's a surly pain in the ass, but he's family. Besides, if he got his head out of his ass, he'd realize Darcy is perfect for him."

"Some of his concerns are valid," Aria added. She shot me an apologetic look. "No offense, Darcy, but Lyndon isn't wrong. It won't be an easy life if you both choose to bond."

I nodded. I understood that. Not only was his society not welcoming, but I missed my home. I wanted to see my family, my friends. There were a lot of complications.

"And there'sssss truly no way to break the bond after thisssss? If we except it to ssssave him, that's it?"

The twins looked at their mother, not knowing the answer. "I'm not sure. I never heard of someone breaking it, but I can't say it's impossible."

I was already in it, and if I had my way, I'd never break the bond anyway.

"I'm not sssure how he feels, but I'll do anything. Lyndon is worth it."

Aria sighed. "Okay, yes, I can get you into his subconscious. I will warn you, it's not going to be pretty, and I can only keep you in there for 90 seconds, so you'll have to convince his stubborn ass really quickly or decide to go against his wishes."

I nodded and swallowed past my dry throat. "O-okay. Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. You'll be cursing me soon enough."

"I can only hold this spell for a few minutes longer," Belinda added. "You need to move."

"Okay, let's do this."

Aria beckoned me close to the couch that Lyndon was lying on and I knelt next to him. She sat on edge and ran her hand over his shoulder affectionately. "Give me you hand." I held mine out and she took it, putting Lyndon's limp one in her other hand. Aria closed her eyes and once again started whispering in that other language. I had so many questions if we got through this. Lyndon's magic seemed so different than theirs, and I wanted to know everything. My ability to think stopped as everything went blank.

Trees surrounded me on either side. I couldn't see anything beyond them, but I could feel something dangerous and foreboding. Instinct told me to stay away, but then I felt it. That little piece of Lyndon's magic that had settled inside me fluttered and came to life. Lyndon was close and he was in danger. He needed my help.

I took off at a run. Even though I didn't have my enhanced senses, it seemed I just knew where to go. I could find Lyndon, and I trusted that. I was still lucky to keep on my feet, as the woods were so dense. Little by little, a path started to become clear.

As I followed it, I could tell I was getting closer. Flicking my tongue, I tasted the air, expecting the delicious sweetness of Lyndon's magic, but nearly gagged. Whatever that was, it wasn't Lyndon's. The air was soiled with something evil.

I slowed, paying closer attention to my surroundings. That was when I realized I wasn't alone. Where just a second ago lay an empty path, it was now covered with dead bodies. The scent of decay was overwhelming. Was this what Lyndon was seeing?

"Lyndon!" I shouted, but there was no answer.

I could feel him though. He was scared and hurt and needed me. If anyone asked, I couldn't tell them how I knew where to find him, but I closed my eyes and trusted this feeling inside me to get me to him. I ignored all the bodies and walked. They weren't real. They disappeared once I touched them. It was just a way to scare the crap out of me, or more likely Lyndon. I kept going.

Lyndon was in the fetal position on the ground, his knees curled up to his chest and his hands over his head like he was trying to protect himself.

I ran to him, and for the second time today, I fell to my knees. I didn't touch him. Gods, I should have asked Aria if touching Lyndon in his subconscious was the same as doing it in the real world.

It was so tempting to just do it. Lyndon needed me. He was dying and apparently my touch would fix that. He would understand, wouldn't he? I kept my hands to myself for now, but if Lyndon said no, would I be able to walk away and let him die knowing I could save him? I wasn't sure.

You're getting ahead of yourself, Darc. One step at a time. "Lyndon! Lyndon, please wake up."

He gave a pained moan. "No, please stop. Stop. They're all dead. Just stop torturing me."

"Lyndon, no one issss dead. Ambrossssse, Aria, and your Aunt Belinda are all back at your cabin, waiting for you to wake up. They're really worried about you. I'm really worried about you. You need to come back to ussss. To me."

Lyndon didn't move for the longest time, and I was sure he was lost to this nightmare. But finally, he looked up.

"Darcy, is that you?"

"Yeah, it'sssss me."

"You're not dead?"

I smiled. "No, I'm not dead. No one issss dead."

Lyndon sat up but was still frowning. He looked awful. What had he been seeing all this time. "The world . . . it's still okay?"

I tilted my head. "Um, yeah? Nothing has changed sssince you passed out. The whole thing has probably lasted five minutes."

"Five minutes?" The poor man seemed so confused. "I wasn't in jail?"

"No, my stubborn witch, you weren't in jail."

Lyndon scrubbed his face. "Are we still in my mind?"

"Yeah, Aria sssent me here. Lyndon, all those awful things you sssaw didn't happen, but you are in danger. You're dying."

His eyes snapped up, and I saw just a bit of that brightness come back to them. "What do you mean, I'm dying?"

I gave Lyndon the quickest of rundowns on what had just happened, including everything his aunt had told me.

Lyndon didn't look amused. "So basically, I either accept the mate bond and trap you to me for eternity or I die? Amazing choices."

I didn't miss how he'd phrased it—that he was trapping me to him. He still didn't think he was worthy. I couldn't prove that to him now. I just needed him to agree.

"First, there'sss a chance it could ssstill be broken, but no one could make any promisesss. Secondly, you're not trapping me to anything, Lyndon. I want thissss. I came here of my own free will. Godsss, I don't think you understand how badly I want to touch you. To be with you."

"Give it another week and you'll change your mind."

"Lyndon, if you really don't want thisss, we'll find a way to break it. If I have to travel all the realmsssss, I'll find a way. But please, please, just take my hand. Let me heal you. I'll back off as sssoon as you're well, just don't waste your life because of thisss. It'sss not worth it."

Lyndon shook his head. "I'm not . . . I mean, I wasn't. I was going to agree anyway. I might think you don't deserve to be stuck with me, but I'm a selfish asshole. I don't want to die. I'm going to do it. Whatever happens after that, well—" He shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

I grinned. "Haven't you realized yet? I don't lissssten to warningsss very well." I held out my hand. Lyndon hesitated for the shortest of seconds before grasping it in his own.