Bittersweet (8 page)

I rested my head on the counter, willing my heartbeat to slow down.

The door burst open once more and with it the gentle scent of thyme.

“Adrius.” I exhaled a small sigh of relief.

“What did you do?” He grabbed Venus by the arm, hard.

But Davin stepped in front of him and he let her go.

“Hey man, take it easy. She didn't do anything,” Davin warned.

“What happened?” He shot Venus a scathing glare.

She smirked in response.

I shook my head, unable to voice what I knew. Somehow my touch had made things worse for her. My hands trembled uncontrollably despite the warmth of Adrius next to me. It wasn't only because Venus had arrived to torture me. It was the irrefutable realization that something was going terribly wrong with my healing gifts, just when I needed them the most.

 

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Adrius leaned over my shoulder. We were in my room, huddled over the Book of Shadows he'd found at Gran's house. I sat at my desk gingerly flipping through the dusty pages.

Swiveling in my desk chair, I peered up at him. “Not really. But we're running short on options at the moment. There has to be something in here. Something that can help.”

“What is it you're hoping to find?”

“Fix the veil, stop Venus, break the curse, find my father.... you pick. But I refuse to believe that someone was searching for this book if there was nothing of value in it.”

He nodded as if he agreed, though the tense set of his jaw said otherwise. “And restore your healing gifts,” he said, hearing the words I'd left unspoken.

Of course that was on my list. I'd been attempting some small spells from Gran's book, with the occasional success. For the most part though, it had been a colossal failure. The magic I'd somehow conjured at the Lemon Balm with Phyllis was once again eluding me, just when I needed it most. With the powers swirling inside me, I should have been able to, I don't know… vaporize Venus, or something. Instead, I was losing the one power I'd ever had any control over: Healing.

My knees were pressed against his legs, and the heat from contact shimmied across my skin. I cleared my throat. “Could you pass me that pen?” I pointed to the nightstand next to my bed.

He stretched across the bed to the far night table and grabbed the pen and notepad. His shirt rode up, revealing a hint of skin and my stomach did that little fluttery thing. I knew from past events that the ab muscles hidden by his expensive clothing were well toned and defined. He threw the pen toward me, then moved from the bed to my side in time to catch it himself.

I shook my head. “Showing off again?”

He shrugged, then handed me the pen. “That's all it takes to impress you?”

“I'll bet you any amount of money you can't pull that off again,” I said, tilting my chair back.

He flashed a sexy grin. “It's not your money I want, Lorelei.”

“Only this time, you have to cross over the bed and catch it on the other side of the room, by the closet,” I challenged.

He scanned the room, his eyes pausing on the bed before coming back to meet mine. “What sort of wager did you have in mind?”

I gave him a secret smile.

Adrius tossed the pen and notebook in two different directions of the room. I can't say I saw him move to catch them both, because he was nothing more than a blur. But when he reappeared by my side, he had both items firmly in his grasp.

A slow smile spread across his face as he set them on the desk. “You lose.”

“You got lucky.”

“You mean I'm about to get lucky.” He leaned back against the desk.

I stood, planting my feet between his.

His hands rested on my hips and he tugged me closer. “Pay up.”

His warmth melted my insides. “You never did tell me the wager you had in mind.”

“I think you know exactly what I have in mind,” he murmured against my lips.

He slid into my chair, pulling me down onto his lap facing him. I swung one leg over to straddle his legs and then tangled my hands in his hair. Lowering my mouth to his, I savored his kiss, nibbling on his lower lip. My kisses trailed down his jaw; though he was usually freshly shaved, his evening stubble chaffed my skin. Finding his mouth again, his lips parted and his tongue skimmed mine, sending my pulse into a frenzy. His kiss slid to my neck. Shoulder. He slipped a finger under the strap of my tank top, easing it down. Slowly, he brushed his mouth over the bare skin.

I could stay right there forever. If we could only lock the door and keep out the rest of the world, our lives would be perfect. Together. My palms slid up under his shirt, running over the warm firmness of his back. He moaned and I snuggled in deeper. His arms circled my waist, holding me crushed against his chest. I could feel the rapid beat of his heart. “I'm never going to let you go,” I murmured against his ear.

“I'll never stop loving you,” he said. His eyes shone, tinged with gold in the pale light. “No matter what happens.”

My heart dove. I knew what that meant, but I pushed aside all of our problems. Grasping his collar I pulled him into me, kissing him more fervently to ward off the encroaching fear.

When I released him we were both breathless. “Swear to me. Swear we will find a way through this,” I said.

He started to shake his head. “Lorelei, I—”

“No,” I cut him off by pressing my finger to his lips. “I need you to promise we'll do whatever it takes to stay together.”

Ever so slightly, he nodded, but the distant shadows clouded his eyes again.

Resting my forehead against his, I traced the lines of his lips with my finger. “I love you.”

He opened his mouth to answer, but instead he lifted me off his lap.

“Something's wrong.” His gaze drifted to the window which I'd kept open an inch in spite of the cold weather.

I looked around but couldn't see anything amiss. “What is it?”

The knock on the door halted us both.

“It's my mom,” I whispered, rearranging the straps of my tank top.

“Lorelei.” She jangled the locked door. “I know you're in there, and I do have a key.”

Understandably, she didn't sound pleased. I opened the door and she marched in. Her keen eyes scanned the room and froze when they landed on Adrius.

“Adrius,” she greeted him curtly.

At least she'd greeted him. Progress, considering last week she ignored him completely.

“Mrs. Alundra.”

“It's
Miss
.”

“Sorry,” he said, a little distracted. His attention kept wandering back to the window.

Her gaze flashed to me. “I don't like you having boys in your room when I'm not at home.”

“It's one boy. And you're almost never at home.”

“You are not helping your case, young lady.”

I exhaled a long sigh. “Adrius just drove me home, Mom. He came in to help me go through some notes.” It was close enough to the truth. It was why he'd come up, and it didn't matter the notes had nothing to do with school. My mother never wanted anything to do with her magical heritage. After all that's happened, I doubt she'd be thrilled by my interest in it.

“We have a perfectly usable office
downstairs
.” She surveyed the books spread across my desk.

In the entire time we'd lived here I don't think anyone ever used that office. “Mom, we're almost finished. Relocating now would only waste more time.”

“Well if you must work up here I expect the door to be left open.” She made an exaggerated point of looking at her watch. “It's pretty late.”

Subtle. “We'll only be another fifteen. Promise.”

She glanced at Adrius who offered her a brief smile. She didn't return it. “Fine. Fifteen minutes, no more.” As she left my room, she pushed the door as far open as it would go.

Sliding back into my chair, I jotted a few more notes to make it look good, while Adrius maintained his distance. My mother had that effect. She could command appropriate behavior with just a look.

“I'll be right down the hall,” she called over her shoulder.

When she was out of earshot, I turned to Adrius, who already had his head out the window scanning the darkness for something.

“Who's out there?” An icy chill crept over my skin, replacing the fiery warmth.

Pulling his head in, he shut the window, locked it and then turned to me. “It's nothing.”

“I can tell when you're lying. You're not the only one with special powers.”

He returned to my side, still looking preoccupied by whatever he sensed. “Seems like you've been practicing.”

“I have,” I confessed. “Since discovering my magic works here, I've been testing it. Only with small spells in Gran's book, but I do have a secret agenda.”

“Which is?” He leaned in and kissed the crown of my head.

“Maybe if I master these spells, I can write one to free you from Venus.”

Adrius pulled back abruptly. “I don't want you to put yourself in danger for me, Lorelei. Not ever.”

I couldn't respond. The intensity of his voice threw me off track.

When he saw my face, he softened. “Sorry. I am grateful you want to free me. Of course. Doing a poor job of showing it. It's just, if anything happened to you because of this magic...” he broke off and trailed away.

“Adrius, I understand.” The shoe had already been on the other foot and when it had come time for him to choose between saving me and saving himself, he chose me... and his choice nearly killed me just the same. The thought of living without him and knowing he'd risked it all for me, it was too much. I would never have let him sacrifice himself that way. It's not surprising he feels the same about me. We would continually be forced to choose, until we were either dead or separated for good. Something had to change if we were going to stand a chance. And if throwing magic at the problem, dark or otherwise, helped in anyway, then I was willing to try.

“You have access to a tremendous amount of power. Never underestimate the cost for using it.”

I frowned. “The cost?”

“There's always a cost, Lorelei. Too many people find that out the hard way. You're a descendant of your mother's dark magic bloodline. With your father's Shadow fey magic thrown in the mix, the cost will be that much higher.”

Returning my attention to the book, I grew quiet, reading through a passage on dark magic that mentioned a special reversing spell. Several moments of silence had passed when Adrius finally broke it. “You're too quiet. What did you find?”

I glanced up. “It's nothing.”

The ghost of a smile curved his mouth. “Liar.”

I smiled in return. “There's a spell here, and it may be what we've been looking for.”

He took the book and examined it. “It requires the magic of a fey An amulet, only someone of faerie royalty would be granted.” His gaze met mine.

“Yes,” I said eagerly. “Someone like my father.”

“Lorelei, we don't know if your father is even alive. It's too risky.”

“I know he's still alive. I can feel it. I could feel it when I was in Faery and I can still feel it. I have to go to him, Adrius. According to this book, he may be the only key to unlocking all of our problems.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “I'm not taking you into Faery to traipse aimlessly while you're being hunted by everyone under my father's control. Even if he is still alive, you have no idea where to find your father.”

“No, but someone does.”

His teeth ground together, and his hands clenched at his sides. “No. No way. It's too dangerous. We have enough to deal with having Venus here.”

“Adrius,” I rested my hand on his arm. “Zanthiel knows the Shadow Court better than anyone. He could lead us there safely.”

He gave a dark and humorless laugh. “Safely for whom?” he scoffed. “He's a Shadow fey, Lorelei. He has no interest in altruistic acts. Only those that serve him.”

That might have been true but it was also unfair. “People change. They can become more than they were,” I insisted. Zanthiel had proven on more than one occasion that he could be unselfish.

“Perhaps humans can change. But he is Fey. And unless he's getting something out of the deal, you'd be bargaining for an open favor. Do you need to add faerie paybacks to the long list of sacrifices you've had to endure?”

“I'm not afraid of him.”

Adrius shook his head in disbelief. “And that is the problem, Lorelei. You never are when you really should be.”

Why was he giving me such a hard time over this? His ex-girlfriend had crossed the veil with the sole purpose of killing me, and he's ready to write off a real chance at staying together over a kiss that meant nothing. “It's no different than Venus. Only I'm not bound to Zanthiel.”

Adrius massaged the back of his neck, looking like he was trying to choose his words very carefully before answering. He stared at me for a moment, then looked over at the Book of Shadows. His tone darkened. “You are bound to him on some level. Your thoughts are intrinsically linked.”

The fight seeped out of me and I slumped back in my chair. “You promised me we'd try every possible way,” I said quietly.

Instead of a reply he blew out a long, frustrated sigh. I knew I wasn't playing fair. But it didn't matter. What else could I do? I wasn't willing to spend the rest of my life without him. When he didn't answer I continued, “Zanthiel wants me alive, Adrius. He'd never let anything happen to me. I believe that.”

“Do you?” He dragged a hand through his hair before giving another incredulous laugh. “Just give me some time. That's all I'm asking. I return to Mythlandria in a few days, after that I'll know more about what is happening. Hawthrin will have made some headway with the veil situation by then. Promise me you won't do anything rash or impulsive while I'm gone.”

“A few more days are all we can spare,” I said sullenly. My chest sank at the thought of him leaving me again. A million worries crept into mind. What if the veil sealed while he was gone? What if Venus tried something again?

Moments later a round of not-so-subtle throat clearing came from down the hall. Another minute and Mom would be back here to personally escort Adrius out the front door.

He picked up his jacket, taking her hint. “I should be going anyway, there's something I need to check on.” For the first time since I'd known him I saw a flicker of worry in his eyes. “I'll see you tomorrow, Lorelei.”

I nodded. And he left without kissing me good-bye.