Destiny Redeemed (8 page)

Walking
slowly down the hall, he sensed her discomfort by how rigid she seemed next to
him now. Soon, he began to feel his own discomfort because he’d overexerted
himself so soon. He reached her bed but that was all he could do. Unable to
stand anymore, he placed her on the bed as his body began to give out.

Propping
him up, Thea scooted next to him to better support his body. “Amon, sit until
you feel better,” she said quietly near his ear.

She
wrapped her arm around his back, and he gently leaned into her as his breathing
grew labored.

“Tell
me where it hurts.”

In
a strangled voice, he groaned, “My ribs.”

Thea
tenderly pressed her palms to the skin under his chest to take away his pain.
Slowly, his breathing returned to normal as she continued to glide her hands
over the muscular ridges of his torso.

She
stopped, and he hung his head slightly. The pain was gone, but now he was left
exhausted. She ran her hands softly over his back, over the raised scar pattern
that ran from his shoulders to his waist, as he rejoiced in her touch.

Slowly,
her fingertips caressed over each line that marked where someone had carved
into his skin as he felt her hands erase the harm inflicted on him. With each gentle
touch, she healed him, and the scars began to fade away. Amon leaned his head
on hers and sighed deeply as he began to feel the skin on his back return to
how it had been before that first night in Nil.

A
myriad of sensations flowed through him. Her fingers danced across his skin,
bringing it back to life, renewing him. Because of her, the scars that reminded
him of that night every time his finger grazed his shoulder disappeared. The
depth of her kindness touched his heart, and he began to feel his attraction to
her was more than physical. Perhaps what she’d felt was real? But did he dare
to believe that a person like him could ever have someone like her? And how
could he while Sevine still existed?

As
she lovingly stroked his skin back to health, he wished he would never have to
leave her side, never be without her sweet touch. How many times had another
caressed his body in ways that had delivered such exquisite pleasure and had
been followed by moments of pure ecstasy, and how those times paled in
comparison to the innocent, selfless touch of the angel who sat next to him,
her head lightly resting on his shoulder?

God,
he couldn’t bear to lose her! He’d sensed she’d planned to attempt something
when he’d carried her to the bath, and he’d considered letting her go. Letting
her leave to return to the life she’d been forced to leave because of him. He’d
convinced himself that’s what the decent man he wanted to be would do.

But
now the true man he was cried out to keep her with him for as long as he could.
To hell with being a destined one! He wanted her next to him. Now. Forever. He
wanted to wake up next to this beautiful creature each morning and fall asleep
after loving her each night. He didn’t care if he was selfish. He wanted
someone this good in his life. He knew he didn’t deserve her. He didn’t care. He
wanted her.

Thea’s
hand left his back and fell to the bed as Amon realized with relief that his
pain was gone. He felt healed, but he looked down at the gentle soul next to
him and saw the toll her compassion had taken on her, her blue eyes hidden
behind their lids and her long, dark lashes resting on her pale cheeks.

Amon
ran his finger across her cheek, sweeping away tendrils of pale blond hair from
her face. He yearned to lean down and softly touch his lips to hers to show her
how much he appreciated her kindness.

“Thea?”
he whispered near the top of her head, feeling the silkiness of her hair
against his lips.

She stirred and
slowly opened her eyes. Looking up at him, she asked,” Are your ribs better?”

She
straightened up and placed her hands on his sides again to continue healing his
painful injuries. Amon took her hands from his body and held them between his
own hands. Looking into her eyes, he lowered his head to meet hers and stopped
as his mouth brushed her cheek.

“I’m
fine, Thea.”

Inhaling,
he smelled soap and her shampoo, something delicate like honeysuckle.  “Why did
you heal my back?” he asked quietly next to her ear.

 “Because
it’s what I do. I’m a healer,” she whispered softly.

Amon
needed to see her face, but she’d turned away as she answered. He couldn’t say
what he so desperately wanted to say with her avoiding his gaze. Turning her
face toward him, he saw her drop her gaze—anything to not look at him.

“Thea,
why won’t you look at me?”

She
remained silent, staring down at the enormous shirt cuffs on her small wrists.

“Thea,
look at me.”

Turning
to face him, she asked in a voice that betrayed how much his words earlier had
hurt her, “Why? You’ve already been very clear. I’m mistaken. It’s impossible.
So I leave to go to another room, but you follow me, carrying me to and from
the bathroom half naked. And now you want to look into my eyes and make me want
you even more. Why? So you can tease me and then tell me again how I’m not who
you want?”

Amon
instantly felt pain race through his limbs. Wincing in agony, he balled his
hands into fists and hoped the pain would leave before he passed out. The ache
from Thea’s emotions caught him by surprise. Because he’d convinced himself he
wasn’t falling in love with her, he hadn’t expected to feel any effect from her
emotions. But here the pain was, different from everything else his body was
going through from his time in Nil. This was because he’d made her unhappy. And
that meant he must be falling in love with her.

“Amon!
What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,”
he croaked out. Catching his breath, he remembered what Markku had said—what
had worked with Callia—just make her happy.

Thea
turned to him and began to frantically seek out the source of his pain, but he
stopped her and took hold of her hands. She looked at his eyes staring
longingly at hers and relaxed in his grip.

“There’s
nothing you can do. This isn’t something you can heal.”

 “Amon,
what do you mean?” she asked, her voice more frightened than confused.

Within
minutes, as he sat silently with her, the pain had gone and Amon could now say
what he’d planned to say. “Thea, I told the truth when I said I already had a
destined one. Her name is...well, I don’t know what her name is now, but to me
she was always who she was when we were first drawn to one another. Sevine. But
we grew apart after almost twenty lifetimes, and I haven’t seen her since the
late 1700s.”

“What
do you mean ‘grew apart’? Why aren’t you together?”

Amon
wrestled with how much he should tell her about his past. Should he tell her
who he’d been for lifetimes—the heartless, selfish prick he’d been? Suddenly,
everything he’d ever been came back to haunt him.  He’d found someone to care
about and now his past could chase her away. He knew the risk. If she couldn’t
accept his past, he’d lose her. But he knew he had to try to tell her.

“I’ve
manipulated people, hurt people, used my powers to only my benefit.”

“Hurt?
What kind of hurt?”

Amon
hung his head to avoid her wide eyes that seemed to beg for the truth. He had
no choice. He had to hope she would see he was a different man now.

“I
was responsible for the death of Sevine’s human friend. I used my tempuster
power to manipulate someone into falling in love with me when I knew she had a
destined one she loved and who loved her.”

Amon
stopped for a moment and then said, “I was in Nil because I belonged there.”

Silently,
he waited for her to respond, but for a long time she said nothing. Sure he
finally understood what Gethen had tried to tell him earlier, he moved to
leave.

Gently,
Thea placed her hand on the back of his neck and began to trace the muscles to
his shoulders. “Amon, in actuality, I’m not better. I may not have done what
you did, but I’ve let them die.”

“No...you
don’t understand.”

 “I
was born with my powers, Amon. I’ve never been anything but a healer. But
because I’m under the control of the Council, I’ve been forbidden from helping
others they deem unworthy. So I’ve watched people die all out of blind
obedience when I could have saved them. I’m ashamed to say that if Markku
hadn’t brought me here, I would have refused to help you.”

Amon
looked at the sadness in her face and knew she was wrong. She was so much
better than he, but she was like him in one way.  He heard the regret in her
voice and understood. They were both blessed with immense power, but neither
one had fulfilled the promise of greatness they possessed. Never before in all
his lifetimes had he met one who seemed like such a kindred spirit.

He’d
finally met someone like him, but it wasn’t meant to be. Destiny had already made
her choice.

Chapter Seven

Ryu
let his weight fall back onto the old couch, and he relaxed before dealing with
his assignment. As the late afternoon sun streamed into his rooms, it
illuminated just how little care he’d taken with his home for the past year.
Dust stuck to the tacky circles on the coffee table and settled in the
scratches and gouges of the furniture’s legs.

On
the table next to his beer lay the file on Amon Kalins. Ryu had skimmed it
earlier, gleaning some basic information to add to that he’d gained from his
meeting with the Council. Kalins was definitely a bigger fish than his usual
fare, but he’d be caught for the same reason all his other assignments—but
one—had been. Because he was good at his job. Great at his job was more like
it. Because with only one exception in all his lifetimes since he’d been
released from Nil, he’d never let anyone escape.

Why
he’d let that one get by him was something he’d questioned every day for the
past year. Never before had he even considered not fulfilling a task he’d been
charged with. Until that day, he’d been a machine and a damned efficient one.
His job was to catch Aeveren like him—those who’d chosen to break their
laws—and deliver them to their punishment, just as he’d been by the bounty
hunter who’d captured him.

But
Ryu had taken pity on that man the year before. Something in his eyes, in his
pleading, had touched him inside and for the first time, he’d chosen not to be
who he’d been for four lifetimes. The man’s crime was a petty one, he’d
comforted himself. People shouldn’t be punished for falling in love with
humans. He’d never really agreed with mating with them, but then different
strokes for different folks. He’d always hated collecting Aeveren women who’d
broken this Aeveren edict since invariably they were forced to abandon children.
That had never sat right with him. But he’d done his job for the Council of
Texas, bringing in Aeveren to answer for their crimes, year after year.

Then
he’d gotten that assignment on Halloween the year before and his life changed
from one of contentment, if not happiness, to one of misery. All he had to do
was bring him in and be done with him. The guy would’ve been sentenced to a few
years in the easy part of Nil, for Christ’s sake. He’d done his time for
aggravated assault in the real Nil, not the fucking country club the people he
caught went to, and he’d come out alive.

Why
the hell didn’t I just do my job?

Ryu
grabbed the file from the table and flipped it open. No, Kalins wasn’t just
some guy who liked venturing out of his race. Page after page of crimes flowed
past his eyes. Murder. An association with the Soren, a group Ryu knew the
Council desperately wanted to eliminate. Assorted lesser crimes of “abusing the
trust” of fellow Aeveren.

None
of this surprised him. Kalins had been born with his tempuster powers and
continued to gain more. As he sat in his living room drinking the last of his
beer, Ryu angrily wondered how the Council thought anyone given all that power
could ever remain good. He knew he wouldn’t be able to. Each time he’d temporarily
been given the power needed to capture someone, it had been seductive to want
to keep it. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of power, and Kalins had
multiple powers.

As
much as he may envy or sympathize with him, Ryu knew he had a job to do and completing
this job would give him his life back. As he read down the list of places he
was suspected of hiding in, he mumbled, “It’s either you or me, Amon Kalins.
And this time, it’s got to be me who wins.”

Two
hours later he knew everything there was to know about his man. He checked his
gear to ensure he had what he’d need. Smiling, Ryu ran his fingers over the
talisman that would enable him to travel through time. He’d only been given
that power once before, and the person he’d been after had only had his powers
for one lifetime, so he’d been pretty easy to catch.

That
poor fuck.

Kalins
wouldn’t be that easy, however. He’d had ample lifetimes to perfect his ability
and unlike Ryu’s other charge, he was sure to have people in many places and
times to help him. No, Kalins was going to be a challenge, but he knew if a
prisoner from Nil with only the powers the Council had given him could capture
him just a year earlier, then he certainly could now.

As
he prepared to go, Ryu took one last look around. His eyes scanned the
nondescript rooms that had been his prison for the last year, and he silently
bid that life farewell.  When he caught Kalins, he’d be able to return to the
life he’d lost when a moment of kindness doomed him and pick up where he’d left
off. Hiking the bag up over his shoulder, he closed the door behind him and
left for the Council of New York.