Immortal Rapture: Immortal Heart (14 page)

“Stop it, Iz,” Marie said, shaking her head.

Izzy laughed as they moved down the long
hall. Marie’s eyes swept around, taking in the stone walls that surrounded them, the tapestries and paintings, and the thick, plush carpet that ran the stunningly long length of the hall.

“Here we are.”

Izzy pushed open the glossy door to Uriah’s room. Marie was met with blue and silver décor, a large bed, and beautifully carved wood furniture. “It’s very masculine,” she noted as they entered the room. “I sort of expected something softer.”

Izzy smiled. “
Why is that?”

Marie arched a brow. “You serious?”

Izzy laughed. She understood. Uriah was sensitive and caring. The sweet one of the group, but that didn’t mean he was any less masculine than his brothers. “No I get it and you can put your own touch on it… I know he’ll let you assuming you’re staying?”

Marie shrugged as she reached for Makiah. “I hope so.
I mean I want to”

“Well, he brought you here, so I would say this choice comes down to you and what you are willing to give up for him and this life.”

Marie arched a brow. “Like giving up on being honest with my family?”

Izzy crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s not fair. I wasn’t allowed to tell you… Makyle shouldn’t have helped me
. He made me immortal so I could be with the man I love. Bain’s my air, Marie, I couldn’t survive without him, and part of the deal was not telling any of you.”

“What were you going to do? Were you going to just stop coming around?”

“No, Darnel has agreed to help with glamours… I will appear to age, gracefully of course.”

Marie laughed as she adjusted the pillows on the bed to create a barrier to lay Makiah inside of. “
All right, Izzy, I’m not mad. This place and these men are special, unique and different, and they deserve to keep their secrets as their own.”

Izzy cocked her head.
“You’re in love with him.”

Marie huffed. “Yeah. Are you going to call me impulsive and reckless now?”

Izzy tilted her head. “Not at all, I know how easy it is to fall in love with these warriors. I love each and every one of them.”

“And you know they love you
,” Kat’s voice interrupted. “Sorry, I heard I have a beautiful nephew and that Uriah brought a girl home with him… both things I had to see for myself.”

Izzy smiled. “Katarina, this is my baby sister
, Marie. Marie, this is Katarina. We all call her Kat, she’s Kale’s mate.”

Marie stuck her hand out, but Kat bypassed it to wrap Marie up in her arms. “Welcome… we
hug around here. Well, except for Izzy and me.”

Kat smirked at Izzy as her face flamed. Marie’s gaze bounced between the two women.

“Why don’t you two hug?”

“It’s a long story that has to do with Kat’s species of Fae and how it affects me.”

Kat smiled. “I’m a succubus.”

Marie’s brows arched, causing Kat to laugh softly. “Don’t worry. Kale’s the only one I feed off. He’s my true mate.”

“Then what’s the issue?” Marie asked, confusion tainting her tone.

“Well, it’s more me than her
,” Izzy explained. “How much did Uriah and Makyle tell you about my life here?”

“You mean the part about you having Fae blood?”

Izzy dipped her chin. “Yes. My particular kind of Fae is able to absorb the powers of others.”

Marie laughed. “Holy shit, you’re like Rogue.”

Kat laughed, and Izzy groaned. “I don’t suck the life out of people.”

“Kale’s going to very much enjoy having her around
. She just compared you to a
X-Men
.”

Marie smiled. “I’ve met Kale.”

Kat smiled. “Have you ever discussed comics or wrestling with him?”

Marie shook her head.

“Then you haven’t really gotten to know Kale. So, do I get to see the baby now?”

Marie nodded and moved from the bed so Kat could sit next to Makiah where he slept. “Oh my… he is edible.” She lifted her gaze to Marie. “Figuratively.”

Marie laughed and turned back to Izzy. “So, what happened when you touched Kat?”

Izzy groaned. “You really don’t want to know.”

Marie grinned. “Oh, I totally do.”

Kat laughed. “She got super horny and had a make-out session in the hallway.”

“No, my proper sister made out with her man in the halls of a Fae castle? I think the Fae castle is more believable.”

Kat stood then. “Who said she
made out with Bain?”

Marie’s eyes widened
, and Kat winked. “It was nice to meet you. I have to find Holly and fill her in.”

Izzy shook her head. “She took Kyra out a little while ago
. I think they were going to see if the lake was still frozen.”

***
*

“So wait… you brought Izzy’s little sister here, who is showing signs of being a water nymph
, and you have a kid?” Kale asked, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms behind his head.

Uriah nodded
. Some of that was information they didn’t need to know yet, but of course, Makyle couldn’t help but tell them that “somehow” Uriah had awoken Marie’s Fae blood. Uriah was pretty sure he knew what had happened, but his brothers didn’t need details about what had transpired in Samira’s guest bathroom.

“Yes, but the big part is that the Immortal Four—”

Makyle cleared his throat. “There are only three of them now.”

Uriah shrugged. “The Immortal Brothers want Makiah back in the
Underworld and there was a group of Dark Fae tracking Makyle when he came to find me at Izzy’s.”

Bain grunted. “I think we’ve made it pretty clear that the Dark are not to step foot on our land. As far as the brothers are concerned, we will deal with them if
a problem arises.”

“It will eventually
,” Makyle interjected. “Makiah and I are both cloaked from them, but eventually, they will reach out and start looking for him.”

Cree sat quietly, taking in all the details that had been tossed around. “Your brothers can fuck off and so can the Dark,” he finally said.

All eyes fell on him. “I’m fed up and tired of this shit. We’ve lost enough, both to your siblings and to the Dark. We have fought for what is right. Now we will fight for our family and ourselves. Don’t forget, Makyle, you and your siblings are the ones who made us what we are and charged us with protecting the humans. We’ve done a damn good job.” Cree’s voice was hard as he stood and placed his hands on the top of his desk to lean towards the group. “And if they want to try and take Uriah’s son from us, I will burn this land to the very soil it was built upon.” His gaze flicked to Kale, who arched a brow at him. “Now, I’m done with this conversation. Everyone go get cleaned up; we’re going to have a proper dinner. I want to meet our two new additions.”

They all stood and slowly began to exit. Only Makyle stayed behind.

“You’re on our side, right?” Cree asked as he sat back down.

Makyle nodded. “You know I am. This is what Jelena wanted for her son.”

“Good, I’ll have a room prepared for you. While you contemplate your next move, you are welcome to call this castle home.”

“Jelena, Sweetie, can we come in?” Meriah asked from outside of Jelena’s room.

It had been nearly two days since she’d watched Makyle fly off with her son. She hadn’t been able to pull herself off the window seat in her room that looked out over the lands she and her sisters ruled. It didn’t seem nearly as beautiful as she had always believed it to be. The rays of sunlight streaming through the window held no heat to warm the cold pain that had settled deep into her veins. She heard her sisters’ pleas. They had come many times over the past hours, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak, let alone rise to open the door. When she heard the door open softly, she wasn’t all that surprised that they had taken the choice from her. It was what her life had been made of, always others choosing for her.

Acacia bit her bottom lip as she sat across from Jelena and Meriah sat behind her. “Jelena, talk to us, please.”

Jelena shook her head, only taking a brief second to glance at her sisters.

Meriah sighed. “I’m sorry, Jelena, we’ve been trying to find a way around the magic
. Whatever has happened, it is keeping us in our lands. We still can’t get to Limbo.”

“It’s the Fates…
We were born of them, and they are pissed. We are being punished like the out-of-control daughters they see us as.”

Meriah and Acacia exchanged defeated glances.

“There is nothing to be done… just let me mourn my loss.”

Meriah stood. “
All right, but just remember, Makyle will get him to Uriah and Uriah will adore his son. He will have a good life.”

Jelena wanted to glare and
shout that she was the one who should have been providing Makiah with his good life. She should be the one at Uriah’s side as they watched him take his first steps, say his first words, and experience each milestone throughout his life. However, the anger was fleeting… that was never going to be the path their lives would take. She had to move on and so did Uriah, but he deserved closure and her son deserved at least a few words to remember her by. With a sigh, she nodded.

“Give me a little time.”

Acacia leaned forward and hugged Jelena. “Whatever you need.”

Jelena smiled. “Keep a close eye on the list. I have a feeling the future of the warriors
, and even Makyle, are going to change very drastically. I want to know immediately if any of them show up on the list.”

Meriah and Acacia both nodded, bu
t Meriah’s brows were furrowed. “Do you believe if something happens to Makyle, he will end up in our domain?”

Jelena was staring out the window again, but she nodded. “I don’t know of a better man than our brother. He fought so hard for Makiah and
me. He had better end up here with us in the end.”

They both stalled for a few seconds before quietly exiting the room.

Jelena sat for a few minutes before she sighed deeply and finally stood. A new form of determination settled into her bones as she moved to the passageway between her room and the archives. There were answers somewhere out there for her.

****

Marie woke to soft lips caressing her neck. “Mmm,” she murmured, and rolled over to take Uriah’s mouth in a gentle kiss. “That’s a nice way to be woken up.”

He smiled down at her. “I would have let you sleep, but dinner is in a half
hour and Cree has decided we’re going to have a proper dinner to introduce you and Makiah to the rest of the family.”

Her eyes focused on a
long, teal-colored silk gown hanging on the back of the bathroom door behind him. “Is that for me to wear?”

He nodded.

“You all take dinner seriously, don’t you?”

“Afraid so, this was something that Rowan did every time someone important was brought into the family.”

She smiled at him. “Are you saying I’m important?”

He nodded. “You’re very important to me, and we all know you’re important to Izzy. So you, my beautiful
little nymph, are part of this family and they wish to welcome you… if that’s what you want.”

She cupped his cheeks and caught his silver gaze. “I want you and everything that comes with you.”

He let out a deep breath. “You have no idea how badly I needed to hear that. This isn’t necessarily an easy start to a relationship.”

She
tilted her head. “Uriah, this isn’t hard. It’s different, but not hard. I’ve never felt so sure about anything.”

He smiled and kissed her softly at first, then deepened the kiss briefly before regretfully pulling back. “We’ll have to continue this later.”

She reached up and pecked his lips before bouncing off the bed to go inspect the dress. “You bet we will. Now, I’m going to go try this gorgeous piece of silk on.”

He chuckled and shook his head as she disappeared into the bathroom. A soft knock sounded on the door only seconds later. Uriah opened the door to a smiling Izzy with a large bag in hand. “Hey, come on in, Iz.”

She stepped past him and made her way to a large chair in the corner where she set the bag down. “Darnell had some stuff made for Marie.” Izzy scanned the room. “She in there trying on the dress?” she asked, thrusting her thumb towards the bathroom.

Uriah nodded. “Yeah.” Silence fell briefly between them. “Are you mad at me?”

Izzy laughed. “No, of course not. I just want you both happy is all.” Her gaze fell to Makiah, who was playing with his toes in his crib. She smiled. “She loves him, you know that, right?”

Uriah nodded again. “They’ve bonded.”