Destiny Bewitched (23 page)

She nodded. He was
right. She had no idea why he cared so deeply, but that didn’t
change the truth of his words.

“Thank you, Aedan.” She
wiped her tears away and inhaled a deep breath. “You’ve done so
much for us.”

He let her go with a
smirk. “And you’ll pay it back one day.”

She frowned.
“What?”

Aedan nodded to
Marcelo. A warm hand fell on her shoulder then the Underworld faded
away. It would only be a memory now.

The next second she was
standing on Selene’s front yard in the dark of night. The
teleporting reminded her of walking through the Underworld portal.
Cold and creepy. She shivered.

“Takes some getting
used to,” the vampire said with a small smile.

She snorted. “I only
wish that was the weirdest thing I’ve been through.”

Nikki ran to her and
they hugged again. She opened her mouth to thank Marcelo, but he
cut her off.

“I’ll be right back.”
He disappeared again.

Nicole buried her head
in Sam’s neck, clinging to her for comfort. Sam rocked her
instinctually.

“What do we do now?”
Nikki sobbed against her.

“Shh.” She patted her
back. “We’ll figure it out.”

Marcelo returned,
dropping a beat-up lump onto Selene’s yard. Two bloodied black
wings hung limply on the body. Shade?

Marcelo left again.
Shade didn’t move. He was knocked out, if not dead. The urge to
stick him with her sword a few times weighed on her. But Nikki had
seen enough violence for a long time. So she continued to hug and
rock her.

When Marcelo came back,
he brought Sage’s mate with him – called James, she thought.

James kicked Shade in
the stomach. “Come on, fucker. Wakey, wakey.”

Shade roused a bit and
groaned.

Marcelo grabbed onto
where his wing met his shoulder and pressed a knife into the bone.
Shade made a horrible sound as he writhed under the blade.

“Where’s Maddox?” James
demanded.

“Fuck you, Sorcerer,”
was the answer.

Marcelo pressed the
blade harder.

Samantha squeezed her
eyes shut and covered Nikki’s. But she remained frozen to the
spot.

“We’ll cut these off,
soul-sucker,” James said. “Don’t test us.”

A woman’s voice filled
the night. “Samantha?”

She opened her eyes and
turned toward the sound. Selene stumbled out of her house, wearing
a bathrobe and slippers. Her long gray hair was pulled back in a
ponytail but she looked as warm and comforting as Sam
remembered.

A small smile even
tugged at her lips. “Yeah. It’s me.”

Selene took in the
scene on her front yard. Her brows descended. “What on Gaia’s earth
is going on here?”

Where to start? James
and Marcelo ignored Selene and kept pressing Shade for answers
about this Maddox. Nikki stayed in Sam’s embrace with a wary look
at Selene.

“Are you alright?”
Selene asked when she got closer.

Samantha looked down at
her body. Well, they were a sight – covered in dirt and blood, eyes
probably red and puffy from crying. Nikki was pale and sickly.
She’d need some TLC for a while to heal.

As for Samantha…the
worst of her wounds were in her heart. And she didn’t think that
would ever heal.

Her eyes watered. “No,
Selene,” she choked out. “We’re not alright.”

Selene’s face
transformed to an expression of sympathy. “Oh, sweetheart, come
here.” She opened her arms and Sam dragged Nikki into them.

More tears fell. Selene
kissed her head then began to usher them inside. “Come along. I’ll
fix you some tea and you’ll tell me everything.”

Would she insist Nikki
return home? If so, Sam would leave too and they’d find their own
way. But, God, she could really use some help right now.

Selene opened the door
to the small cottage. As they shuffled in, she yelled to James and
Marcelo, “Boys! Continue that somewhere else, please. And clean up
after yourselves!”

“Yes, ma’am,” she heard
from both men.

The door closed behind
them and, for the first time in a long time, she was enveloped in
silence. No painful screams. No swords clashing. No cheering crowd
or boots stomping down the hallways. No soft snoring or gentle
laughs or sweet whispers in her ear…

She collapsed on the
couch and wept long and hard. Her eyes burned as warm tears soaked
the pillow under her head. Would the painful ache in her chest ever
ease?

Four months later

“Grab that side, would
ya’ Nik?” Samantha pointed to the end of the curtain rod sitting on
the floor. She’d just shimmied the two blue plaid curtains across
it. And after thirty minutes of cursing in frustration, she’d
finally screwed the hardware into the wall to hang them.

“Sure.” Nikki lifted
the end then reached up on her tippy-toes to place it in its spot
above their picture window.

Samantha said a little
prayer that the brackets held. She let go of the rod and stepped
back. When it didn’t fall, she smiled. “There. That proves it. I
can do anything I set my mind to.”

Nikki giggled. “Uh,
Sam. They’re a little crooked.”

Samantha frowned. Were
they? She cocked her head to the side. “Oh, yeah.” There was no way
she was messing around with those brackets again. “Well, we’ll just
hang all the pictures in the room a little lopsided. It’ll even
out.”

Nikki, God bless her,
just smiled and nodded. This whole playing house thing was more
difficult than she’d thought. But with Selene’s help, she and Nikki
had just moved into their very own cottage – well, rented anyway.
It was small and plain, but a few coats of paint had turned it into
a cozy nook.

She looked around the
bright yellow room and smiled. Yes, they had done alright.

Since returning from
the Underworld, Sam’s powers had strengthened, and continued to
grow each week she trained with Selene. Nikki had surprised them
all, harnessing amazing abilities, not just for spells and potions,
but manipulating nature as well. For some mysterious reason, Gaia
had lifted her curse. To remain on the safe side, Sam prayed to her
every day, thanking her for showing mercy. And in secret, she
whispered a little prayer for Geo, wherever he was – if he’d even
survived.

Her heart still ached
from the loss and sometimes she still cried herself to sleep. Just
the memory of that week and a half – had it really been so short? –
spent in a world so far away made tears prick her eyes and her gut
twist in knots. More than once, she had stared out the window,
wishing, hoping he’d miraculously appear, wearing that sexy
half-grin and flashing his smoldering eyes. But he never appeared.
And when the vision faded, it left her crumpled in a ball, fighting
back deep, angry sobs.

Would she ever fully
heal from all that had happened in the Underworld? Probably not.
But she could live, for her sister, even with the void inside
her.

The
tap tap
of rain bouncing off
the window filled the quiet room. She hated silence. It reminded
her too much of…she swallowed hard and shook her head. “Let’s put
on some music,” she said to Nikki.

Her sister nodded. She
understood without words.

Samantha sighed,
staring out the window at the gray day. The steady drizzle turned
to sheets of rain. Thank God she’d painted the little white fence
last week.

“Hey, we should bake
some cookies,” Nikki said from down the hall.

The smooth voice of
Bill Withers filled the house. She opened her mouth to tell Nikki
they were out of flour when something outside caught her eye.

A tall figure walked
through the rain, head tipped down. He pounded through puddles,
kicking up water on his already soaked pants. He was heading
straight toward their house.

She went to the window
to get a closer look. Something about the way he moved seemed
familiar. When he stepped onto the path leading to the front door,
she could make out more details.

He wore a black t-shirt
stretched tight across his shoulders and chest. A pair of jeans
hung loosely on his hips. Wet hair fell down to his chin, but it
had a slight curl to it. She was sure it would be wavy when
dry.

Her heart jumped to her
throat. She’d recognize that head anywhere. Only…there were no
horns.

She ran to the front
door and flung it open. The man stopped halfway up the path.
Slowly, he raised his head.

Warm copper eyes stared
at her.

She sucked in a breath
then flew into the rain and launched herself at him.

Geo caught her in his
arms and lifted her off the ground. She pressed her face into his
neck and sobbed. Even with the rain, he still smelled so good –
just how she remembered him.

He held her, there in
the rain, for a long time – neither of them saying a word. If this
was a dream, she was going to kick her subconscious’ ass when she
woke up. Rain dribbled down her forehead and into her eyes. She
squeezed them shut.

“I missed you, my love.
My life. My angel,” he said in her ear. “I’m sorry I took so long
to find you.”

Finally, she released
her death grip around his neck and he set her down. She stared up
at him. With a trembling hand, she touched his forehead. She ran
her fingers down his cheek and across his jaw. “Is it really
you?”

He smiled then bent and
kissed her. The rain made it slippery, but he plundered her mouth,
taking her breath away. He pulled her against his body, pushing his
tongue deeper.

The kiss slowed then
reluctantly came to a stop. “It’s really me,” he said.

Were his eyes
glistening with tears or was it just the rain?

Gazing down at her with
an expression of reverence, he pushed the wet hair from her face.
“You’re more beautiful than I remember.”

“I don’t understand.”
She didn’t want to question a miracle, but she had to know if this
was temporary. Her heart couldn’t handle another break. “I-I saw
you die.”

He shook his head.
“After I fell with the hydra, I was taken home. Ares had decided to
end my punishment. I begged him to return me. I would’ve found a
way out of the Underworld, Samantha.” He cupped her face. “But he
refused. So I went to Gaia.”

She blinked in shock.
“Gaia?”

“I told her everything.
About you and your family. About Shade and our journey and even
about my sentence in the Underworld, though I think she knew it
already. But she gave me a choice. If I wanted to be with you, I
had to give up my immortality.” He pressed his forehead against
hers. “I chose you, Samantha. There’s nothing in this world I want
more than to grow old with you. To raise children. And spoil
grandchildren.”

A giddy laugh escaped
her as more tears fell.

He backed way,
frowning. His eyes filled with fear. “But I’m wholly human now. I
don’t have any powers. Not even accents.” A small smile touched his
lips for a moment then it was gone. “But I promise to protect you
with my life. To love and cherish you forever. Will you have me? Do
you still love me?”

Her bottom lip trembled
then she threw herself into his arms again. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Yes, I still love you. I never stopped loving you.”

He pulled back and
kissed her again. Their mouths moved in unison. She closed her eyes
and was taken back to the Underworld. The cabin where he’d fed her
soup. The endless underground tunnel where he’d fought through worm
guts to save her. The night he’d hand fed her meat while they’d
shared their pasts. Outside the Games gate where he’d volunteered
to fight by her side. In the bedroom where they’d danced and made
love. In the ring where he’d saved her life over and over. And that
last goodbye.

I would fall a
thousand times if it meant the chance to love you.

She’d never forgotten
those final words.

And now he was back. It
felt like a thousand little fireworks were going off in her heart.
He sacrificed everything for her. Again. Maybe the Blackthorn curse
was finally over, cause she felt like the luckiest girl in the
world.

Geo released her only
to move his lips across her cheeks. He kissed the tip of her nose,
her chin then placed one last kiss on her forehead. He looked down
at her, his eyes crinkled in amusement. “Well? Are you going to
invite me in?”

Four years later

“Push, baby, push,” Geo
said, wincing when Samantha squeezed his hand. All that sword
practice had given her a bone-crushing grip.

Magic weaved through
the air as Selene chanted. Samantha’s face relaxed. The
pain-reducing spell must have been working.

“You still have to
push, Sam,” Selene said, moving around the room, lighting different
kinds of incense. It was all Geo could do to keep from sneezing.
“That baby needs to come out.”

His brave wife nodded
then inhaled a deep breath. Geo dabbed a wet washcloth on her
forehead. “Come on, sweetheart,” he whispered. “You can do it.”

With a half-scream
half-growl, she pushed. Her grip tightened on his hand and her
whole body tensed with effort.

“Almost,” the midwife,
June, said from between Samantha’s legs.

Sam had insisted on a
home birth, with Selene’s help. So here they were, in their bed –
which they’d covered with towels – having their very first
baby.

June felt around
underneath a sheet then said, “You’re fully dilated. Stubborn
baby.”

Samantha snorted.
“Figures.”

Geo moved down to her
stomach. “Hey, little dove,” he whispered. “Daddy’s been waiting a
long time for you.” He rubbed his hand over her naked belly. “And
Mama can’t wait to meet you.”

Samantha groaned and
rolled her head back.

June nodded. “The
baby’s coming.”

He looked back at his
wife. Her face reddened and sweat glistened on her forehead. “Keep
going, love. Almost there.” To her belly, he added, “That’s it,
sweet darling. Come on out to Daddy.”