34. Callie

Once we returned to our room, I made the most of the hot water and washed the gore of yet another battle from my skin. Standing beneath the shower set my skin alight with memories of that morning and I didn’t linger as the pain in my chest grew sharper. This waiting around was killing me. I needed to know that Magnar was alright. I needed him back in my arms again. And the longer I had to wait for it, the worse I felt.

It was like a weight pressing down on my soul, crushing me so that I could hardly breathe.

Please be okay.

I shut off the hot water and quickly dried myself before pulling on the nightclothes Clarice had delivered to me. The black camisole and shorts were lacy and pretty revealing but it didn’t really matter. I didn’t feel the cold like I used to anyway and my body ached for rest. As soon as I’d eaten I fully intended to sleep until Fabian’s Familiars located Magnar and Erik. I had to recover so that I’d be ready to help them and if I could get my brain to shut off for long enough for me to sleep, then I needed to do it.

Julius was down the corridor with Montana, giving me space to clean up while he cooed over Valentina’s sword. I had no doubt that Montana would be getting fed up of hearing him go on about it by now; I certainly was and I’d managed to escape already.

A knock sounded at the door and I pulled it open expecting to find the slayer and my sister but Fabian stared back at me instead.

I exhaled slowly, wondering if I should just tell him to leave already. It felt like we were building some kind of delicate understanding between us, but all the time the bond was in place it was hard to be sure of his motivations.

“Hello,” he breathed, his words faltering as he looked me over.

I cleared my throat and folded my arms across my chest. The pyjamas were suddenly seeming even skimpier than I’d initially thought and though I wasn’t particularly precious about my body, the look in his eye made me want to cover up again.

“You know, leaning on my doorframe and staring at me like that is not earning you any favours,” I said.

“But you look... If the stars were given souls then they could not compare to you. I have never seen a woman who sets my blood alight as you do. I could spend years staring at the curve of your lips and admiring-”

“Stop it,” I snapped and I pushed the ring’s influence over him to banish his doe-eyed expression.

Fabian blinked a few times but the desire didn’t leave his gaze. It just turned into something more dangerous. He took a purposeful step towards me and I backed up, snatching Tempest from behind the door and holding it between us so that the blade hovered an inch before his stomach.

“I won’t warn you again,” I growled.

“You know, the longer you keep up this game of teasing me and then pushing me back, the more it makes me want you. And I think you know exactly what you’re doing to me,” he murmured.

“I am not teasing you, I’m very clearly pushing you back all the time,” I snarled.

“If you say so.” His gaze slid over me again.

“I am. And on that note, your brother reminded me earlier that you’ve divorced your other wives.”

Fabian narrowed his eyes at me and I was sure he understood what I was getting at, but he didn’t respond.

“SoI want you to divorce me too,” I said firmly.

“No,” he replied casually.

“No?” I stared at him angrily. “That’s it, just no?”

“Well for a start, we can’t get divorced if we haven’t even consummated the wedding. Which we can do right now if you want to make this conversation relevant? Of course, if we do, I’m sure you’ll change your mind about wanting rid of me; you won’t be able to get enough.”

“That’s never going to happen,” I growled.

“If it doesn’t then what you’re really after is an annulment, not a divorce,” he said.

“So annul it then. I don’t care what you call it, I just don’t want to be married to you.”

“You haven’t really given it much of a chance. You’ve painted me out like this bad seed and refused to even consider it.” He stepped closer to me, shifting around Tempest as I failed to stab him with it. He knew that I couldn’t hurt him while this alliance was in place anyway and I needed to stick to my side of our agreement if I wanted their help in getting Magnar back. Fabian dropped his voice as his spoke again. “But I promise if you do, you’ll find out that it feels very good to be bad.”

I glared at him in response and he smiled at me for a moment before turning his attention to something behind him. He snapped his fingers in a command to someone beyond the door and I followed his gaze.

I stepped back as a male vampire pushed a dining cart into the room. He quickly piled the food and drink from it onto a small table beneath the window and left again without a word.

“I thought we might dine together,” Fabian said as I eyed the food hungrily. I still held Tempest and the blade was begging me to plunge it through his heart.

Fabian had been true to his word and had delivered a feast. My stomach growled but I resisted the urge to move towards the extravagant meal.

“Seeing as the only thing in this room that you might possibly want to eat is me, I think I’ll pass on that offer,” I replied.

Fabian eyed my neck for a moment then laughed as if I’d been joking. “Luckily for you, I’ve just had a drink so I have no desire for your blood tonight.”

He seemed to have given up on closing the distance between us so I slowly lowered Tempest and moved towards the feast.

“Do I smell dinner?” Julius called excitedly as he bounded into the room. He held Valentina’s blade in his fist and he swung it about casually, causing Fabian to step back as it came close to touching him. “Whoops, sorry about that.” He chuckled as he grabbed an apple and bit into it.

Fabian folded his arms, failing to conceal his disgust as Julius stuffed his face.

“Were you just leaving?” Julius asked Fabian around a mouthful of food. “Because once we’ve eaten we really need to sleep.”

“You can’t seriously think I’m letting you spend the night in a bed with my wife while she’s dressed like that,” Fabian growled and Julius glanced at my skimpy pyjamas with a frown.

“You don’t let me do anything.” I snapped. “I’m not your fucking property and as far as I’m concerned I’m not your wife either. Besides, Julius is nothing like that to me. He doesn’t look at me like that and I certainly don’t look at him that way. That bed is huge so I really don’t see the problem.”

“Harsh,” Julius commented. “And true. You belong with my brother so I would never lay a hand on you like that... But if I’m being totally honest, I’d rather not sleep in a bed with you while you’re dressed that way. It might be a bit awkward if you roll on top of me in the night, drawn in by my overwhelming masculine appeal, and I don’t think Magnar would appreciate me guarding you quite that closely.”

“At least the savage can admit that there’s a reason for you not to share his bed,” Fabian growled.

“It’s not like I chose this outfit,” I said irritably. “Clarice didn’t bring me anything else.”

“I’ll be fine on the floor,” Julius said before the argument could go any further.

“Perfect,” I said. “Problem solved, so you can go now.” I pointed Fabian towards the door but he didn’t move. He was still scowling at Julius and I could tell he wasn’t entirely satisfied with his solution to the issue. “Look, if you’re that bothered then why don’t you just hang out in the corridor all night and listen to the sounds of two people sleeping? Because I’m famished and exhausted and my head is starting to pound again. All I want to do is eat and rest and I can’t do either while you’re standing here staring at me like a creep.”

“Off you go,” Julius agreed, waving Fabian towards the door.

The royal vampire bared his fangs in reply before turning and stalking from the room. I followed him and shut the door firmly.

I left Tempest by the door and quickly moved to join Julius at the table.

“You know, I can just kill him if he’s bothering you,” Julius said as I fell on the food ravenously.

“Tempting,” I replied with a smile. “But for now I’ll stick to trying to win him around to the idea of divorcing me.”

Julius laughed. “Good luck with that. I imagine he’s not been very keen on the suggestion so far?”

“I don’t really care what he wants. Magnar asked me to be his and I gave myself to him without reservation. It isn’t right for me to be married to another man. If I should be married to anyone at all then Magnar-”

A huge crash sounded in the corridor outside our room and I flinched in surprise as Fabian started yelling obscenities. Julius got to his feet and stood before me with his new blade in hand just before the door flew open again.

Fabian stormed in with his fangs bared and I stood too, the hairs rising along the back of my neck as fear filled me at the sight of the monstrous truth of him.

“If you think I’m going to divorce you and allow you to marry that fucking barbarian then you’re insane!” Fabian snarled. “You’re mine and I refuse-”

I withdrew the ring’s influence from Fabian and his anger suddenly switched to desperation as he dropped to his knees before me. I caught Julius’s arm to hold him back as I could see him warring with indecision.

“Please,” Fabian begged. “I love you, I need you. We’re married, it has to mean something to you too. I know you feel it-”

Miles appeared in a rush of motion, clearly drawn by all of the noise. He caught Fabian’s shoulder and forced him to look away from me.

“You’re making a fool of yourself, brother,” Miles said in a low voice. “Come and have a drink with me, I’m sure we can figure something out.” His gaze travelled to me for a moment and I chewed my lip, not knowing what I was supposed to do and not particularly inclined to do anything.

“I won’t divorce her,” Fabian breathed. “We belong together. I won’t watch her marry that heathen.”

Miles arched an eyebrow at me and I could tell he didn’t think much of the fact that I’d asked his brother to release me from my vow to him. But what was I supposed to do? I didn’t want to be Fabian’s wife and I never had. After everything they’d done to me, the least I deserved was my freedom.

“Let’s go and discuss it in private,” Miles urged. “Remember which one of you is royalty here; you’re the one who gets to decide if you divorce her, not the other way around.”

Fabian nodded eagerly and allowed Miles to pull him to his feet. He gazed back at me before they headed out into the hallway, and I scowled at him until the door closed between us once more. I used my gifted hearing to listen to what they were saying as they moved away.

“If she was immortal she’d change her mind,” Fabian murmured. “If I turned her she’d want to be with me forever. She’d see.”

I stilled at that suggestion, the threat of it clear even if Fabian didn’t appear ready to act on it yet. But if that was where his mind was leading him then I was going to have to be even more cautious around him from now on because I refused to let him turn me into one of them.

“Perhaps, brother,” Miles replied vaguely, though I could tell he was just offering platitudes.

“If she was one of us I wouldn’t hunger for her blood,” Fabian persisted. “She’d have no reason to fear me and she could allow herself to see me for the man I am. She’d see how right we are for each other.”

They moved too far away for me to hear Miles reply and a shiver raced down my spine. I glanced at Julius, knowing he’d heard them too.

“I’ll never let him do that to you,” he swore.

I nodded in agreement, the ferocity in his gaze settling some of the anxiety in me. “We need to get Magnar back as soon as possible,” I said. “And then we need to break this curse once and for all.”

“Agreed.”

We sat back down and continued to eat, but as I grew so full that I couldn’t bear to taste another bite, Julius suddenly perked up.

“Before that little show of theatrics from Fabian, did you say that you wanted to marry my brother?” he asked slyly.

“What? No,” I replied. “I just said that if I should be married to anyone then-”

“Then you want it to be Magnar?” Julius raised his eyebrows at me provocatively and I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You’re making it sound weird.”

“I’m just giving your words back to you.”

“Yeah, after twisting them up and making them sound all stalkerish,” I replied, making him laugh.

“So are you expecting me to get him to propose after we free him or were you hoping to ask him yourself when you rescue him, thinking he will likely swoon at your feet in gratitude for the daring rescue?”

“Oh fuck off,” I laughed, shaking my head at him as I pushed to my feet. “For the sake of clarity, I will neither be proposing nor expecting a proposal – but Magnar will definitely swoon when I go charging in to rescue his captured ass.”

Julius laughed heartily and I smiled to myself as I moved away from him towards the bed. My limbs ached and my head was pounding more violently with each passing moment, the wound there reminding me that it was very much still present. I needed to sleep. I had to recover so I could help Magnar as soon as we figured out where that bitch was holding him.

There were mounds of blankets and pillows on the huge four poster bed and I passed an armful of them to Julius so he could make himself comfortable on the floor. He lay down, blocking the door and a knot of concern eased in my chest. Fabian wouldn’t be able to get in without waking him. So I could rest a little easier knowing I wouldn’t be woken by the feeling of his fangs in my neck as he tried to turn me into a monster.

I slid Fury beneath my pillow as a backup and curled beneath the blankets before I closed my eyes. I expected sleep to be hard to find as my gut churned with worry over Magnar but as I reached towards the space between dreams, a burning light called me to it and my heart pounded with relief as recognition filled me.

I raced towards Magnar’s dream with a desperate urgency and the light consumed me as I fell into it.

* * *

A sprawling forest surrounded me and birdsong filled the air. It was hot like the longest days of summer and a bright blue sky peeked between the boughs above my head. I was wearing battle leathers just like the last time I’d entered his dream and I spun about wildly, searching for him among the trees.

“Magnar?” I called as I failed to spot him.

“Callie?” His voice came from somewhere to my right and I ran towards it, desperate to see if he was alright.

I burst through the trees and found a huge pool. The water was shimmering blue and steam rose from it in coiling tendrils.

Magnar was standing in the centre of it, shirtless and utterly devastating as he looked over at me with that wicked smile which set my pulse hammering.

I ran straight into the warm water, wading closer to him as my heart slammed into my ribs painfully with its desire to be reunited with him.

The fighting leathers were heavy and I willed them off of my body, leaving me in the thin shift beneath them so I could move faster, and he waded towards me in turn.

I leapt into his embrace, and he lifted me into his arms as he kissed me with a simmering heat which was tainted with concern.

I wound my arms around his neck, my legs locking around his hips and I felt the firm press of his body against my own, the hard ridge of his bare cock between my thighs.

I was overcome with desire and the dream tried to pull me that way, begging me to merge my body with his and forget why I’d come as I gave in to the aching need of my flesh.

Magnar’s hands were already skimming down my spine, tugging at my shift and a fire lit in my veins as I tried to remember why I was here despite the lust which was building to a point of desperation between us.

“Wait,” I breathed, grasping for the edges of reality as I almost lost myself to the dream. “We need to... I came here for a reason...”

Magnar moved his mouth to my throat, tugging my shift from my shoulder and sucking my nipple into his mouth. My concentration wavered as my breaths came faster and my fingernails dug into his flesh, pleasure spearing through me, my hips rocking so I ground against his cock between my thighs. I wanted him inside me. I wanted him to destroy me the way he did so easily.

More, I need more of him, I need-

“Stop,” I commanded, jerking back, finding some shred of sense before the lust could consume me entirely. “Valentina. Valentina took you.”

He released me suddenly, shaking his head as my words broke the spell of his desire and I dropped back into the water, almost falling before his hand snatched mine and he jerked me upright again.

“You’re alright?” he asked, his gaze raking over me in the transparent shift as if he could inspect my real body for wounds. “You weren’t injured in the battle?”

I swallowed thickly, tugging my shift back up to cover my breasts, though as he could still see my hardened nipples straight through it, it seemed pretty pointless.

I summoned the memories of my fight with Wolfe, showing him the wound to my head and finally revealing how Montana and I had finished him.

“That monster met with the end he deserved,” Magnar growled proudly, his grip on me tightening as he looked into my eyes.

I nodded. Wolfe’s death had righted a terrible wrong, but it had done nothing to ease the pain left behind in place of my father’s presence.

“I’m glad we killed him,” I agreed firmly. “But…” I wasn’t sure if I should say the rest of my feelings aloud. Magnar had hungered for revenge for his own father’s murder for so long that I didn’t know if admitting that it brought me no relief from my pain was the right thing to say.

“But it doesn’t change what he did,” Magnar finished for me softly, running a thumb along my jaw, leaving a line of fire in its wake.

“It doesn’t,” I agreed. “We got justice but it doesn’t bring Dad back. It doesn’t change what happened or lessen my grief. It only sated my rage.”

Magnar nodded thoughtfully. “Grief fades with time. Eventually your memories of him won’t be tainted with the pain of his loss. You’ll be able to look back on the things you loved about him fondly. Somehow rage is easier to cling to.”

I reached up to touch his face, brushing the frown from his brow with a gentle caress.

“Maybe it’s time you focused on love instead,” I breathed.

He’d been consumed by what Erik had done to his father for so long that I wasn’t sure he’d allowed himself to fully feel anything but that anger ever since. But killing Erik wouldn’t fix the wrong that was done to his family. And neither would ending the curse or even destroying the gods. The only one who could set him free of it was him.

Magnar held my eye and I could see the turbulence of his emotions warring inside him.

“Before I slept, the idea of letting go of this anger would have seemed like an impossible idea. But now… Being with you makes me want to surrender all of it. I don’t want that darkness to touch us. It has poisoned everything I’ve ever owned. Each moment, each breath was laced with a piece of the hatred which drove me on. But the more I learn about the things that happened to me, to my family, even to the Belvederes. The more I see the gods’ hands in it. And still they seek to use me as their pawn. You are the only thing they didn’t intend for me to have. We crossed paths when we both needed each other more desperately than we could have realised and that collision has changed everything for me. I lived my life for the cause. For revenge. But you’ve given me so much more. And I don’t want the worst moment of my life to define me any longer.”

“It doesn’t have to,” I replied softly. “The gods are determined to rip us apart but they can’t control our hearts. And no power in the universe is strong enough to stop me from loving you. They can beat us and break us and tear us away from each other but in my heart I’ll still be right here with you.”

Magnar pressed his lips to mine and in place of the aching lust that had been there before was a pure sweetness which spoke of how desperately he loved me. A tear slipped from my eye as I drew him closer and my soul yearned to be ever nearer to his, but we both knew this wasn’t reality.

Magnar pulled back, his fingers tangling in my hair as he looked down at me.

“I dreamed of you every night before I met you,” he breathed. “You were the most desperate desire of my heart a thousand years before you were even born.”

I bit my lip as I trailed my fingers over his pounding heart and my body was immersed in the warmth of his words. Being with him was like bathing in sunlight. He’d captured every piece of me and made it shine a little brighter as he claimed it for his own.

“Where are you now?” he asked. “Are you safe?”

“We’re back at the Belvederes’ castle,” I explained. “We’re searching for you and Erik. Can you show me where you are?”

The scene around us melted away and reformed quickly. I was standing in a golden cage beside Magnar and Erik was held behind bars a few feet away. We were in a train under the ground. Memories of how they’d brought him there flooded me and I drank in every detail.

“You shouldn’t risk coming for us,” Magnar said darkly. “She wants us alive but she’ll kill you if she can.”

I shook my head dismissively and wrapped my arms around his neck once more as I looked up at him.

“Just let me rescue you for once,” I breathed before stealing one final kiss.

I could feel all the protests he wanted to make as I drowned in the feeling of his mouth against mine, but I didn’t give him the chance to voice them. If I lingered for another moment then I would give in, I’d stay in this place and worship his body while letting him ravage mine and no matter how much I ached to do just that, we didn’t have time to waste.

I drew myself out of his dream and the last thing I saw was a fire burning in his golden eyes.

* * *

I hunted around in the glimmering starlight between dreams until I spotted Clarice’s consciousness shining brightly ahead of me. I headed towards it with purpose. I was going to show her what Magnar had shown me and then we would get them back.