Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (41 page)

“
Let me come with you. I
assure you that I can help.”

“
No way!” she demanded,
certain he’d say anything to get her back in his grasp.

“
I can’t let you go deeper
into Dornia without me. I hate to do this, but it’s the only way.
I’m sorry. I need you to surrender to me now.” He closed his eyes
and repeated his command in a stern voice.

She could feel him at the edge of her
mind, trying to break in. Closing her eyes, she tried to break out
of the vision and go back to her friends, but her mind would not
let go of him; it was as if he was held there, captive, right
before her eyes. She could smell his woody scent, and her skin
still felt his light caress on her bare arms.

He kissed her forehead. “Don’t fight
it. I’m hundreds of years old, while you are merely an infant, only
a day old as far as Immortals go. I’m doing all of this to save
your life.”

She could feel him stroking her hair,
his hot breath on her cheek.

“
I can’t let you die,” he
said.

“
These feelings we’re
having…it’s just because of the ring,” Sarah reasoned, trying to
convince herself as much as she was trying to convince
him.

He picked up her hand, touching her
finger. “This ring is capable of more than you know, but one thing
it cannot do is force someone to fall in love where those feelings
do not exist. I can sense what you feel. It’s stronger than your
will, yet you frivolously try to run from it, from me?”

Sarah fought to wake up, but it was no
use.

“
Wait for me along the
river’s edge,” he commanded. “Come alone.”

A burst
of heat spread through her body, and everything seemed
clear.
Why am I even running? Of course I
must surrender to him. I’m his…his wife. He’s only trying to save
my life. If he says it’s dangerous to go into Dornia, he must be
telling me the truth. This is his world, and I need him if I’m to
survive in it.

“
I’ll be there soon,” he
whispered in her ear.

“
I’ll wait for you at the
river’s edge, my King.”

Like through a tunnel, she could hear
the voices of her friends breaking through.

Beth yanked on her finger. “Get that
ring off!”

“
That’s not the way it
works,” Frank explained. “We’ve tried everything, and it won’t
budge.”

She felt somebody rocking her back and
forth, shaking her. “Snap her out of it!” said Adam.

Panic flickered in Frank’s voice. “I’m
trying!”

“
How did he hypnotize her
like that?” asked Steven.

Ice-cold
water rushed over her skin. She blinked as if waking up from some
kind of long nap. Pushing the hair out of her face, the rushing
river echoed in her ears.
I’m back in the
river?
Her gaze darted up to her friends’
faces, staring at her. “I felt like a swim?”

Steven touched her shoulder. “Yo, man,
what happened? You were in some kind of freaky trance. We thought
dunking you in the cold water would snap you out of it.”

“
Sorry ‘bout the bath.”
Beth helped Sarah to her feet. “You walked to the river to meet
Victor.”

Sarah cupped a hand over her mouth.
“How do you know that?”

“
You told us,” Adam said,
rubbing his arm. “You were on some kind of mission. I tried to stop
you, but you threw me against that tree like ragdoll. We didn’t
know what else to do.”

“
It’s okay…and, um, I’m so
sorry about your arm. I guess I don’t know my own strength,
especially when I’m in Zombie Land.” Sarah stood and glanced up at
Frank. “He can feel everything I can, and I can feel everything he
does. He was stabbed in the stomach while fighting the two
Immortals we saw. That was why I fell down in pain—his
pain.”

“
How’re you feeling now?”
he asked.

“
I’m fine. He healed
quickly.”

“
So if we keep ourselves
safe and he gets hurt, then Sarah pays?” Adam asked . “He’s bound
to get some bumps and bruises along the way, considering he’s in
enemy territory.”

Sarah shook her head. “Add that to our
long list of problems.” She put a hand to her head. “I can sense
him. He’s close.” Looking up, she gasped. Victor was mounted on a
white horse riding along the cliff’s edge, wind blowing through his
dark hair, blue eyes blazing as he met her gaze.

“
I can see a figure, a
man,” Beth said. “He’s hard to make out. Can any of you guys see
him?”

Sarah
could see him perfectly, down to his dimple. Anger flooded through
her as she held up her hand with the ruby ring.
How dare he use his powers to control me? Who does he think
he is?
Her voice echoed into the cliffs. “I
don’t want to be Immortal! I want my life back. Do you hear me? I’m
going to figure out a way to get this ring off, and when I do, I
don’t ever want to see you again!” He stared into her eyes, and her
knees weakened.
Am I…am I going to
faint?
Clearly, he was using his psychic
ability, showering her with mumbo-jumbo again. She could feel
herself losing control as his voice filled her mind: “Come to me
now.”

Beth tugged at her arm. “Do
something…quick! She’s going into that trance again.”

“
Why do you engage him?”
asked Adam, shaking Sarah. “You know he has those freaky mind
skills. Come on!”

Sarah’s legs wouldn’t budge, though,
no matter how hard she tried. It was as if she had no choice but to
wait for Victor. Closing her eyes, she could feel him. He was so
close she thought she could touch him. She reached out her hand and
collapsed.

“
Great. She’s back in
Zombie Land,” Steven said through the blanket of fog that enveloped
her mind.

Somebody scooped her up. “I’ve got
her!” Frank said. “C’mon. It’s about time we break the connection
between her and Houdummy.”

Sarah opened her eyes and found
herself being carried. She looked up into green eyes. “Frank,” she
whispered.

He motioned the others to stop as he
laid her down on the ground. “She’s coming to.”

Sarah’s mind started to clear at the
sound of Frank’s voice. He helped her stand on her feet and touched
her shoulders at arm’s length. “You okay?”

She nodded.

The others stopped, and Beth rubbed
her back. “You sure you’re all right, Sarah?”

Sarah hated being the damsel in
distress. “Listen, I’m fine, but thanks for asking. Let’s keep
moving.”

“
Look!” Adam yelled. “The
king just got off his horse, and he’s standing by the cliff. I bet
he’s going to jump down. He’ll be here in seconds, man!”

Sarah rushed back through the
vegetation.

“
Sarah!” Beth shouted. “Do
not engage the king. Get back here!”

There was
no way he was going to drag her back to his castle. She felt a
sudden jolt of electricity rushing through her body as her hands
glowed and crackled with balls of energy. Focusing on Victor, she
whipped her hand back and flung a fireball straight up at him. He
fell backward just as darkness enveloped her and spots danced in
her vision.
Oh no! I’m going to pass
out.

Sarah fluttered her eyes opened and
felt the cold ground.

“
Dude!” Steven shouted.
“Whoa! You’re like some kind of superhero. I want powers like that!
The way you flung that fireball was like something straight out of
X-Men! You just—”

“
Steven, that’s enough.”
Beth touched her forehead. “I guess you can feel what he does. You
knocked yourself out right along with him, Sarah.”

Sarah slowly sat up and groaned as a
rush of dizziness flooded over her. “Oh gosh.”

“
I was wondering when you
were going to wake up,” Steven said. “We’ve found the cave and
everything.”

Adam touched her shoulder. “You’ve
been out for nearly two hours.”

Sarah moaned. “I know. Me and my
bright ideas. At least I stopped him from following us for a little
while.” She rubbed her temples. “I’m so sorry about passing out.
I’m sure whoever carried me has a sore back.”

Frank raised a hand. “That’d be me. I
could sure use a massage, Your Highness.”

Beth rolled her eyes. “You’re such an
idiot.”

Frank shot her a glare when Steven
changed the subject. “Why doesn’t the royal dude just go look for
someone else to marry?”

“
Because,” Sarah began.
“The Immortals only get one chance to bond with someone, and he
wasted his opportunity on me, thinking I was Princess Gloria.
Immortal idiot.”

“
Well, yeah, if you
completely ruined his game, I guess he would be pretty royally
ticked off,” Steven said. “Pardon the pun.”

Beth sighed. “Geesh,
Steven.”

Sarah stood. “He says he’s not ticked
off at me and that he doesn’t care about whatever little agenda he
previously had going. He’s just glad fate stepped in and that we
met.”

“
Don’t trust him!” Adam
said. “That could be a ploy to get you into his grasp. He could
throw you in a dungeon for the rest of your life or worse…kill
you.”

“
I know.”

Adam started picking up small twigs.
“Let’s get a fire going and we’ll start fresh in the morning. So
where to, boss?”

“
When we wake up, we’ll
head north to Ripteenia. We need to find Charles, the man my sister
ran off with. Maybe she lives there with him, or maybe we could
find his family. Anyway, let’s get some rest. I’m beat…and
hungry.”

“
Hey, any chance Dominos
delivers around here?” Frank asked.

“
Right. In thirty decades
or less,” Beth said, rolling her eyes yet again. “Besides, between
yours and Steven’s stupid jokes, I think we’ve already got plenty
of extra cheese.”

* * *

The fire crackled as hot embers
floated into the night air as they camped in the cave Jules had
clued them in on. Frank, Adam, and Steven had already fallen
asleep.

Sarah smiled at Beth. “Looks like it’s
just us gals.”

“
Great,” she said. “Maybe
you can fill me in on how you managed to tie the knot with that
gorgeous king…or even better, what’s up with you and
Frank?”

Sarah hesitated. “I guess I can say
it’s complicated on both counts.”

Beth grinned and sat down next to her.
“I like complicated…and I’ve got all night. We don’t need our
beauty sleep as much as those three do,” she said, glancing back at
the snoring men.

Sarah laughed. “You have a point.” She
glanced down at the ring. “I married the guy because I had no other
choice,” she began, then went on to explain the entire story. It
sounded insane, even to her, and she was the one who’d lived
through it.

Beth squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry.
We’ll find your sister. I’m so glad you found out she’s here in
this place because the ‘not knowing part’ was killing you
inside.”

Sarah nodded as tears welled up in her
eyes.

“
I know she’s a beautiful
person. I can’t wait to meet her.”

“
That means so much to me,
Beth.”

“
Let’s talk about the king.
So he’s hot and a great kisser?” Beth asked.

Sarah’s heart fluttered. “Yes, the
best kisser I’ve ever had.”

“
Hmm. In that case, why
would you feel so guilty about being drawn to him? I’d die to have
a powerful king chasing after me.”

“
For one, I’m pretty sure
the only part of me he wants is my head on a silver platter. In my
vision, it seemed like that wasn’t the case, but I don’t trust him.
He could be trying to trick me so he can drag me back to his castle
for a public execution—to make an example of me since I made a fool
of him.”

Beth shook her head. “After the kiss
you shared? Girlfriend, I don’t think so. I think that’s what
you’re telling yourself, but you’re just running from what you
feel. You’ve been hurt by men your entire life, so you put this
shield up to protect yourself from any more pain. But somehow, I
think Victor has gotten past it. Something tells me you’ve fallen
for him…hard.”

But I
haven’t…have I?
Sarah set her jaw, her eyes
shifting to the flickering fire bathing half of the cave in a soft
glow. “Whatever. Nobody can fall in love that quick, especially
with a complete stranger who starts off by kidnapping you and
throwing you in a dungeon.”

“
You started off on the
wrong foot. But he was in the middle of a war and thought you were
the enemy king’s daughter. He knows the truth now and things are
different.” She grinned widely. “You got it bad for him. Your eyes
are a dead giveaway. You light up every time you say his
name.”

“
You should have heard the
pride in his voice when he introduced me as his wife to everyone as
he paraded me through the crowd of people. I had on this fancy
wedding gown and this gorgeous crown, and he looked so handsome. I
felt like Cinderella, like I was in the middle of some fairytale,
some dream.”