Emblazed (15 page)

A distant voice, sounding like it was under water, called out, “Brielle! Brielle!”

Jace? Oh, thank Gods!
“Jace!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. “Baby, please help me!”

“
Mi amante
, please wake up. Wake up, baby,” Jace’s garbled voice pleaded.

Wake up? Shit, am I dreaming?
Hermes mouth and hands continued to roam my body as his knees threatened to open
my legs.
Wake up! Wake up, wake up, wake up!

I gasped when I finally awakened. Sweat dampened my skin as I fought to catch my breath.
Vomit threatened to rise as it had before, and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply to
suppress the urge. I jumped as a hand touched my back, my eyes shooting open in fear.

“It’s just me,
mi amante
. It’s okay.”

Jace’s voice calmed my frantic nerves. I slumped against him, needing his touch to
comfort me. I wrapped my arms around his waist before curling into a ball in his lap.
His arms encircled me as he placed a tender kiss on the top of my head. As I rested
my head on his chest, I let his heartbeat drown out everything else until it was all
I that I could hear.

I don’t know how long we sat like that, but Jace never complained. He continuously
stroked my back, his touch slowly erasing the residual disgust I felt from Hermes
violating me in my nightmare.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the sun beginning to rise through our balcony
doors. “Watch the sunrise with me?” I implored.

“Sure, baby. Anything you want,” he responded.

I unraveled my hold on him and scooted off the edge of the bed. Jace followed me out
to the balcony where we sat on the love seat and I curled onto his lap again. The
sun painted the sky with shades of gold, pink, and purple that reflected off the mirrored
surface of the water.

We stared at the breathtaking sight as the sun rose; everything was still and peaceful
in the early morning light. “I know this is hard for you,
mi amante
. Just remember that no matter how dark it gets, the light will always break through,
just like the sun rises every morning. The darkness won’t last forever,” Jace whispered
in my ear.

I smiled, “When did you become a philosopher?”

“It’s not hard when you have something that inspires you, especially when I have something
as beautiful as you.”

“Thank you. You have no idea how much your words mean to me. I meant it when I said
that you got me through everything down there. Just thinking of the sound of your
voice, the feel of your touch, and the sight of your face kept me from giving up.”

He cradled my face in his hands before lightly kissing my lips. He rested his forehead
against mine as his thumbs caressed my cheeks. All of a sudden, he stilled before
pulling back from me and grabbing my thigh. “Oh my God, Brie! Are you okay?”

“What? What are you talking about?” I followed his line of sight down to my thighs,
which were covered in ugly bruises and scratches. I shivered as images of Hermes trying
to pry my legs apart resurfaced in my mind.

Jace placed his hands on top of the injuries and healed both of my legs as he muttered,
“I’m going to murder that motherfucker.”

“Not if I kill him first,” I replied.

Jace smirked at me before we settled into comfortable silence. After several minutes,
he broke the quiet by suggesting, “You wanna hang out at the beach today? Just you
and me?”

“That would be nice. I could pack a picnic,” I offered.

“It’s a date. Do you want to try and go back to sleep first?”

I shook my head, “No. I don’t want to chance another attack. Do you think that the
Oracle knows what’s happening to me?”

“I’m sure she does. The question is, will she tell us?”

I shrugged, “Probably not, but some information is better than nothing.”

“True. Are you hungry? I was gonna go downstairs and grab some breakfast.”

“Go ahead, I’ll be right down. I want to get out of this dress and freshen up first.”

“Okay,
mi amante
,” he said before giving me a quick kiss.

I headed to our closet to find some comfortable clothes for our day at the beach.
I put on my hot pink monokini under a white cover-up so that I wouldn’t have to change
later. I made my way to the bathroom, and in the middle of washing my face, my phone
rang.

The familiar ringtone informed me that it was Kimber calling, so I quickly dried my
face before grabbing my phone off the nightstand in our bedroom. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Hey, girl. I just wanted to call and apologize for last night.”

“For what?”

“Jace didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” I asked, perplexed.
What was she talking about?

I heard her exhale before she replied, “I said something that was uncalled for last
night. I was just worried about you, and I wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Kimber, what did you say?” I asked tersely, not sure what had come out of her mouth.

Another sigh, “I kinda sorta blamed him for the whole Underworld thing.”

“What? Kimber, why would you do that? He’s hard on himself as it is.”

“I know, I know. I didn’t mean it. I was just upset about everything that’s been happening
to you. It just slipped out. I feel terrible—I couldn’t sleep because of it. Can I
come over and apologize?”

“Today’s not a good day. We have plans to spend the day together at the beach, just
the two of us,” I answered.

“Oh. Well, will you please tell him that I’m sorry? I still want to apologize in person,
but I want him to at least know how sorry I am,” she said apologetically.

“I’ll tell him. I’ll text you later.”

“Brie, I’m really sorry. Truly I am.”

I sighed, “I know. Don’t worry about it anymore, okay? I’m sure he’s over it.”

“Okay. I love you, Brie.”

“I love you, too.”

“Bye.”

“Bye,” I replied before ending the call.
No wonder Jace was blaming himself so much last night.

I went back into the bathroom to brush my teeth before venturing downstairs. Jace
had a bowl of cereal, a cup of coffee, and some toast in front of him at the table.

He looked up and smiled as he said, “I made you some tea.”

“Thank you, baby.”

“I made you some toast, too,” he stated as he slid a plate with two pieces of toast
on it to me. He had set jelly, butter, sugar, and honey on the table, along with a
glass of orange juice.

I prepared my tea with sugar and honey before buttering my toast and slathering on
strawberry jelly. I took a few bites before bringing up my phone call from Kimber.

“Kimber just called.”

Jace stiffened slightly before spooning another bite of cereal into his mouth. After
chewing, he inquired, “Oh, yeah? What did she want?”

“She called to apologize for what she said to you last night.”

He didn’t say anything for a few seconds before replying, “She was right.”

“No, she wasn’t. She even admitted she was wrong, and Kimber rarely admits that.”

“I told you I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, and I did just that. How is she
wrong?”

“Baby, that was out of your control. Stop blaming yourself.”

“I should’ve fought for you. I let you go with barely any resistance,” he replied
dejectedly.

“Jace, look at me. What would’ve happened if you had fought Hades and he killed you?”
When he didn’t answer, I continued, “What would’ve happened, Jace?”

“We would’ve died,” he grumbled with frustration.

“So, even though you think you didn’t, you actually did protect me. By keeping me
alive,” I stated.

One side of his mouth curved up in a small smirk. He changed the subject, “Do you
want to leave for the beach now? I know it’s still early, but we can beat the crowds
and the heat.”

“Sure, I’ll get everything ready for the picnic. You go up and change.”

He placed a quick kiss on my cheek before jogging up the stairs. I grabbed the items
that I needed to make us some sandwiches, assembling two for Jace and one for me.
I placed them in the small cooler that we had before adding a few bottles of water,
two apples, and a bag of chips.

I grabbed some sunscreen, a comb, some detangling spray, and a couple of towels from
the guest bathroom before tossing it into my beach tote. I picked up my sunglasses
from the counter and placed them on the top of my head.

Jace trotted down the stairs in a pair of black swim trunks with turquoise Hawaiian
flowers on them. “Ready?” he asked when he reached me.

I nodded, “Lemme just leave Kiera a note so she doesn’t freak out when she notices
we’re not here.”

I quickly scribbled the note and left it on the kitchen counter. Jace put on some
Aviator sunglasses before grabbing the cooler, and I slung my tote over my shoulder
as we headed for the back door. The warm morning breeze skimmed my skin as we walked
out into the backyard. The scent of the ocean tickled my nostrils, and I inhaled deeply,
enjoying the familiar scent of my home.

Jace was right; the beach was almost deserted except for a few runners jogging along
the shoreline. We picked a spot on the sand that wasn’t too far from the house to
lay out our towels. I sprayed my arms and legs with sunscreen before asking Jace to
spray my back.

Jace handed the can back to me so that I could spray him. “Make sure you cover my
tattoos. The sun fades the ink.”

“Really? I didn’t know that,” I replied.

“That’s because you don’t have any tattoos. They tell you all this when you get one
so you know how to take care of it.”

“Now that I’m eighteen, I want to get one. I just haven’t had a chance yet, with everything
that’s happened.”

“What do you want to get?” Jace asked.

“I’ve always wanted to get a phoenix, kinda like yours, but girlier.”

He laughed, “Yeah? Where?”

“I want a big one on my back.”

“Your whole back?” he asked, baffled by my answer.

“Yeah. Why do you seem surprised?”

“That’s a lot to get done for your first tattoo, especially since you don’t know how
you will tolerate the pain,” he speculated.

“You know I like pain,” I replied seductively.

“How could I forget?” he teased back before continuing, “This pain is different,
mi amante
. It’s not exactly pleasurable.”

“I think I can handle it. I’ve experienced a lot of pain lately. I don’t think anything
can top what I felt when Zeus gave me Akasha.”

“True, that was pretty unbearable. When did you plan on going? I could make you an
appointment with my guy,” Jace offered.

I sighed, “I don’t know. When this is all over, I guess.”

“That’s probably best, baby. I know you don’t want to wait, but you’ll be in pain
for a few days after, and the tattoo will still be sensitive for a couple of weeks.
I don’t want you to be more vulnerable.”

“I know,” I responded as I lay down on my towel with my back towards the sky.

I rested my head on top of my folded arms as Jace came into my vision. He lay with
his hands behind his head, staring up at the cloudless sky. I closed my eyes and basked
in the warmth of the sun as Jace traced his fingers along my back, causing the electricity
of our bond to pleasurably spread over my body.

I let out a contented sigh as I soaked in the perfection of that moment—Jace and I,
together, enjoying a beautiful day on the beach like a normal couple. No fighting,
no Gods, no magic; just peace. I wondered why we couldn’t have more days like this.

We will, baby. Once everything is all over
,
Jace replied to my thoughts.

I hope so. I just want to enjoy every moment I have with you, not spend them fighting
for our lives.

His chest rumbled with soft laughter, causing a smile to spread on my face. I loved
his laugh, especially when I was the reason for it.

He turned on his side to face me, propping up on one elbow before asking, “Wanna get
in the water with me?”

“Not yet. The sun feels so good. You can go ahead without me.”

“Okay,” he replied before he got up and receded from my vision.

I closed my eyes again and continued to revel in the feel of the crisp air and warmth
from the sun. A few moments later, I was yanked into someone’s arms and carried towards
the water.

“Jace! Put me down!” Brielle protested as she tried to wiggle out of my grasp. I simply
laughed at her weak attempts as I continued my stride to the ocean. The water rushed
over my feet as the waves reached us, and I carried her farther into the sea. Once
the water reached the top of my trunks, I stopped and gave her a mischievous grin.

“Don’t you da—”

Her words were cut off as I dropped her into the water. She sank to the bottom, which
wasn’t very deep, before pushing off the gritty floor and propelling herself out from
beneath the waves. She gasped for air once she surfaced, swiping water and hair from
her face.

She glared at me as she spit water from her mouth. “You’re so lucky we are in public,”
Brielle grumbled playfully, splashing me with water. “I should suck your ass into
a vortex!”