Dream of Me (16 page)

“I can’t accept this, Kieran. Your mother wouldn’t want you giving something like this away to a stranger.”

Gently taking it from her hand, he shook his head slowly as his eyes gazed down at the ornament. “This was the first gift my mother received from my sire during his
Malrai Hin
. According to my sire, the women of my family were more like warriors than the gentle females of my kind. And on many occasions they got themselves into dangerous trouble. My grandsire was the first to have this very
femra
designed. Giving the appearance of beauty but it also is sharp enough to be used as a weapon. Much like you, I think.”

Moving behind her, Elena could feel his rough hands pulling her hair back before gently twisting it up. Using the jeweled ornament he pinned her wealth of red hair up. Once he was done, his hands slid down the sides of her uncovered neck, leaving shivers of awareness in their wake. His hands came to settle on her shoulders as he gently turned her to face him.

“My parents died during the last war with the Kelithians. I feel honored that now I have someone to bestow it upon.”

Unsure what to say she found herself mutely nodding. Smiling warmly at her, he reached out to cup her cheek and drew her close as his lips settled over hers once more. At the first touch of his lips, she felt her body come alive with need. Her hands reached up to clutch at his neck with urgency. The need to mold his flesh to hers was an almost undeniable as not breathing. His lips began moving against hers urgently as his other hand curved around her waist to jerk her against his hard body.

Reluctantly, Kieran broke away from Elena with a growl of displeasure. He wanted her more than he wanted his next breath. But he needed to win her first and he needed to do it soon, before his beastly desires became irrepressible. Breathing heavy, he felt his chest swell with pride at the sight of her flushed face and swollen lips.

“If you are going to survive here, we will need to get rid of your unnecessary fear,” he stated casually as his wings spread out behind him.

Shaking off the smoldering desire that seemed to infuse her blood, Elena began to comprehend his words. Instantly she could hear warning bells going off in her mind. She needed to remind herself never to trust his kisses — they were more dangerous and unpredictable than roofied drinks at a frat party.

His gentle eyes reaching toward her was nearly her undoing. No matter what he said or how tempting he could be, she would always possess a fear of heights. Reaching up, she fingered the ornament that he’d given her with nervousness. By the expression on his face she could tell that he wouldn’t be backing down.

She moved to take a step back from him but he was too quick for her to anticipate. His hand shot out and gripped her wrist in a restraining hold.

“Let me make this easy for the both of us by saying there is no way you can just make my fear of heights just vanish. Plus, if — and that’s a big
if
— I even stay here, why is it important.”

“You will be staying here,” he said with absolute confidence. “I do not want you to fear your new life here.”

Her hand reached down to cover his shackling hand on her wrist. Freeing her hand from his, she took a reluctant step back, “I’m fine. I need to talk to you about taking me home for a short time.” For a brief moment she thought she saw his face take on an inhuman shift. Quickly he jerked around, presenting her with his back.

“No,” his voice vibrated out darkly. “You must understand this.”

Instantly she felt her temper flair up like a match to gasoline.

“No?”
She repeated his words with disbelief. Clenching her hands into tight fists at her sides, she strode forward until she was standing in front of him. “Under the circumstances I would say I’ve been very understanding with everything up until now. I am only asking to go home for a day to make sure my friend hasn’t called the cops yet.”

Tilting his head down towards hers, he raised an inquisitive brow at her. “Who are
‘the cops’
?”

She found herself rolling her eyes at his question. Out of all she said that was the only thing he wanted to comment on? Annoyed, she waved her hand through the air in front of her chest. “They’re law enforcement. They keep people safe and uphold the law of my world.”

Scoffing, Kieran folded his arms across his wide chest, unconcerned. “You don’t need to worry about them. Your people’s warriors would never be able to cross into our world without help from us. Put it out of your mind.”

“I will not
put it out of my mind
,” she said, mockingly as she mimicked his hard tone. “You’re missing my point. This is important to me. I agreed to stay for a time because it was important to you but I didn’t agree to become a prisoner here. Even if I gave this
thing
between us a shot, that doesn’t mean I would never return to my world occasionally.”

“Once you accept my claim as your
sou’tali
, you will never be able to go back to your world. You will remain here — with me.”

Shock tore through her chest like a bullet. “Are you telling me that you have no intention of allowing me to ever go home? What happened to what you promised or was that a lie?” she bit out as her heart began to race. Panic began to swallow up her mind at what he was saying.

Kieran’s jaw clenched against her words.

Uncrossing his arms, he moved forward until she was close enough for him to touch. Settling his hands on her shoulders he winced as if in pain. “This is the way it must be; this is the way of mates in my world. You will obey me in this.”

Would he really expect her to stay here and never return to her world if she chose him? This unfamiliar bond that linked them together was growing. She could feel it every time they were around another. The thought of going home and never seeing him again held no happiness for her. But would she be happy never visiting her mother’s grave again or never seeing her world or Angel again?

Scoffing weakly, Elena shrugged his arms off of her shoulders. She was such an idiot! She’d allowed herself to be beguiled by his tender words and seducing touch so much that it had blinded her. He didn’t feel anything for her or at least nothing like what she thought she felt for him.

He didn’t want a soul mate as she’d been led to believe; he wanted a possession and that was all she would ever be to him. It didn’t matter what her bond with him meant. She couldn’t stand to be near him anymore in that moment. She needed to get her head together and beat her weak willed heart back into its box where it belonged, safe and unreachable.

Refusing to allow him to see how much his words cut her, she kept her face a mask of indifference. “Everything has a meaning here,” she said mockingly throwing his words back him.

Allowing her mask to slip enough to show how pissed off she was with him, she turned and returned inside his chamber. Refusing to allow him to stop her, she ran. She didn’t stop until she reached the door. Jerking it open she fled. She didn’t care where she went. All she knew was that she had to get away from him and get back to her old life anyway she could.

Putting one foot in front of the other, Elena dashed down the corridor. She didn’t care where she was going; only that she couldn’t stop. Turning through a dark doorway leading into an outdoor courtyard outside the fortress walls, her breath squeezed tightly inside her chest. At first, one tear slipped from the corner of her eye, then another. Growling under her breath at her weakness, her hand wiped the traitorous tears away. Moving to stand under the dark shade of a gigantic tree, her arms slowly wrapped around herself.

She wouldn’t do this. There was no words to describe what she had begun feeling for Kieran, maybe she’d always felt something for him since they first met in her dreams. But that didn’t mean she’d let him keep her here. Obviously the other Garmorian’s weren’t thrilled with her presence here and the same went for their enemy.

Perhaps this was her brain’s way of beating some sense into her foolhardy heart. She didn’t belong here, no matter how much she may wish otherwise. But what could she do? Kieran had already made it perfectly clear that he had no intention of returning her to her world. Where did that leave her?

Just as her chest began to ache with the inner pain of her heart and good sense at war, a flicker of light caught her attention out of the corner of her eye. Turning to look behind her tree, she saw an ivory glowing form a short distance away among the thickness of the trees.

Briefly she cast a short glance over her shoulder at the empty courtyard before turning back to follow the alluring light. She continued moving at a cautious pace following the small white light that continued to move through the forest. Then it stopped moving. Edging around the wide trunk of a shielding tree, her eyes widened as she saw the source of the light. Slowly the light barely a foot from her dimmed until it disappeared completely and in its place was none other than Sera.

Sera stood still for a moment as if she was unaware of where she was. Her dark braided hair drifted forward over her shoulder as she wavered on her feet for a moment. Her pale complexion slowly began returning to her
normal
gray coloring. Turning around, Elena watched as Sera began walking again. Keeping some distance between them, Elena followed.

Several times along the way she nearly revealed herself to Sera as she leaned heavily against a nearby tree to hold herself upright. All her strength looked like it had been sucked from her. As she nearly fell to the ground once again, Elena moved to help but was stopped as Sera righted her footing and pushed away from the tree. As her hand left the dark bark, a white glowing hand print was left behind on the bark before it slowly disappeared.

Edging her way around another tree, she gasped in surprise as her foot pressed down and snapped a twig on the ground. The sound caused Sera to jerk in surprise and turn to face her. Seeing no sense in hiding anymore, Elena stepped out into the bright light of the moon.

“Are you following me?” Sera asked in a weak voice but smiled all the same.

“I saw a light and was curious.” Hesitantly she then asked, “Was that you — the light, I mean?”

Even a simple nod to her question seemed to take so much effort for Sera in that moment. “Follow me.”

Without another word Sera slowly turned and began walking once more. Seeing no sense in turning back now, Elena did as she was asked. It wasn’t but a few minutes after that she found herself led to a less dense part of the forest. Amongst the dominating trees around them sat an ivory stone structure. It looked similar to ancient Greek temples that she’d seen in movies and books. A few stone steps led up to two square pillars that stood on either side of the open doorway of the temple.

As Sera disappeared within the temple, Elena moved to follow her. For a moment she found herself frozen in the open doorway as her eyes swept around the temple. Aside from a raised alter in the center of the room and a dark doorway against the far wall, it didn’t seem all that much. Her eyes rose to the ceiling — or the lack of one. A large section of the ceiling was open, revealing the star studded sky with the wealth of moonlight pouring inside.

“I bet it sucks when it rains here,” she casually commented as she took a step inside.

Leaning against the stone alter, Sera smirked at her comment, “It doesn’t rain here.”

“No rain. No sun,” she mumbled under her breath. “Answer me something: how do things grow here if you have no sun or rain?”

Taking a step into the center of the room, Sera cast her gaze up at the open roof. “The mother provides for us,” she answered cryptically.

“I don’t understand.”

Sighing heavily, Sera rubbed a tired hand against the side of her face. “What you witnessed tonight is something that many never see. Everything in this world is a gift from our mother. It is her energy and power that sustains everything you see. However a vessel is needed to allow energy to flow from the mother to the earth around us. I am that vessel.”

Raising an eyebrow, Elena crossed her arms over her chest. “Are you saying you allow yourself to be a food source for the earth?”

Sera nodded, “Yes, in a way.” Her eyes followed the strange human woman that had followed her from the woods. It was obvious that something was bothering her as her pale arms folded in front of her like a shield. When Elena made no move to speak again, Sera took a small step forward with a friendly smile. “What is troubling you? Has Kieran explained everything to you?”

“Oh he explained alright,” she grouched. It then was Sera’s turn to raise her eyebrow in surprise.

“What is it?” Sera asked, taking another step closer to Elena.

“I want to go home — back to
my
home,” her words rushed out as her hands waved toward herself. “Kieran claims that he cannot do that.”

Sighing, Sera nodded, “It’s true.” Elena jerked her eyes back to Sera in surprise.

“What do you mean? There is no way for me to return home?”

“What exactly did Kieran tell you about being someone’s
sou’tali
?”

She shrugged her shoulders helplessly. “Something about a bond between two people, but what does that matter? It’s nothing that would explain why he refuses to return me home. I don’t belong here.” Pacing across the wide room and away from Sera, she turned back to her with a desperate look. “I don’t know what your relationship with Kieran is, but I know that you would be a much better match for him. It’s best if you just send me home. You have some type of mojo-magic don’t you?”

“First off; Elena, you are the
only
match that Kieran will
ever
have. No one could replace that. Secondly; Kieran is my dear friend — nothing more. It is so much more than a simple bond between the two of you. You are the missing piece of his soul — how is it that you can’t see that?”

“See what? Do I feel something for him — yes, it’s called being horny. But that’s not the point here. You don’t understand that none of this was my choice!” she snapped. “I have a life back home. At least there I know what to expect, I don’t understand anything here! What would be the point of me remaining here?”

“Because Kieran will die if you don’t!”

* ~ * ~ *

Flinching back at the sharp words as they flew from Sera, Elena froze. Kieran would die? How was that possible? It had to be a bluff, she assured herself silently. There was no way someone could just drop dead without cause.

“If this is some blackmail tactic — I’m not biting,” she responded firmly.

Huffing out in frustration, Sera’s hands curled into tight fists as her face turned a darker gray in anger. “Are you really so blind that you cannot see what is in front of you? You were bonded to Kieran before he even brought you here. You are connected. His soul and very life force is tethered to yours. If neither of you complete the Malrai Hin within the next moon cycle that bond will die and with it Kieran.”

“It must be a lie — that’s not even possible. People break up and go their own ways all the time and I have heard of no one simply dropping dead as a cause,” Elena’s logic stated.

“This is no lie and
this
is not your world.” Hissing out a breath between her pinched lips, spinning away from Elena as she began to pace back and forth with renewed energy. “
This
is the same reason that I told him not to forcibly cross over into your world. But of course, he didn’t listen.” Stopping her pacing, Sera narrowed her eyes at Elena with a curled lip. “I don’t know why the great mother would pair a woman like you with him.”

Elena huffed out mockingly, “Now I know you’re just trying to piss me off.”

“You don’t even care that your mate could die — I knew all humans were selfish, but you are the evidence of that.”

“Keep it up — do give me an excuse to punch you in the face.”

Sera was beyond listening to her quiet threats. How could this woman not see what she had before her and she still just wanted to run from it. Unbelievable! A deep feeling of anger and resentment rushed through her veins at what she was hearing. She would give up her wings to be able to have a mate of her own. This human didn’t know how lucky she was and worse — she didn’t care. She would never know what it was to stand on the outside looking in on something she could never touch.

Sighing, Elena’s hand reached up to pinch at the bridge of her nose in frustration. “Look; I don’t want anything bad to happen to Kieran anymore than you do, Sera. All I want is to go home to my old life, a life that I’m comfortable with and understand. There must be a way for you to do something?”

A look of sadness crossed Sera’s eyes as she paced across to the other side of the room. “No, there isn’t anything I can do. You have to understand, for my kind — we only get one chance at finding a mate and finding true happiness. Because of this our souls bind to our mates, because without them, what life could we have?”

“What are you saying? Speak to me in plain English so the whole class can understand what you’re dancing around.”

“The bond between you and Kieran is the only thing keeping you here, Elena. Do you not understand what that means? You want to go home so badly? If the both of you do not complete the bonding process, Kieran’s spirit will die and you will have nothing holding you to this plane any longer. Kieran took a great risk in crossing you over the veil of our world. I’ve assisted many in reaching their mate, but he was the most adamant about connecting to you and bringing you to his side. What do you have in your life on your world that can compare to that?”

The force of Sera’s words hit her like a bucket of ice water in the middle of a snow storm. For the first time, she was speechless. Nothing would ever compare to Kieran. But that didn’t mean she had the strength to walk away from everything she knew.

Before she could even form a response, the sound of swooping wings above them caused Elena to jump with surprise. A moment later a winged warrior dropped down from the open ceiling above. Folding his wings against his back the warrior turned his attention solely upon Sera.

“She is impossible! You’ve made a mistake, priestess! There is no way that harpy is my mate!” the warrior stated heatedly while pointing an accusing finger at Sera. Even with his back facing her, Elena recognized the agitated warrior as Lowen. As if sensing her gaze, his head jerked toward her as his dark eyes widened with surprise. “Lady Elena? What are you doing here? Does Kieran know you are here?”

Suddenly her sober mood quickly changed again. Her eyes narrowed into thin slits as she took in Lowen’s confused expression and Sera’s hard gaze. She didn’t need Kieran’s permission to go anywhere and it was time others knew that as well.

Her mind struggled with what Sera was telling her. Kieran had promised after a week he would send her home if she wished it. Why he had made that promise knowing full well that it would mean a death sentence for him? The idea that he would keep something like that from her confused her greatly.

Her head swam with too many emotions all at once to distinguish. She felt like she was drowning. She had to get back to Kieran and get to the bottom of this. Turning sharply on her heels, she fled the temple, disappearing into the dark cover of trees. Sera’s words haunted her with every quick stride she took.

* ~ * ~ *

Crouched upon the edge of the highest point of the stronghold’s sentries walls, Kieran watched the ground below for a sign of his mate. Gritting his sharp teeth together, his fist clenched so tightly that his bones cracked. If Sera had been there she would have given him a tongue lashing for his stupidity. A part of him still hadn’t grasped that Elena wasn’t one of his kind. She was stubborn, loyal and had a combustible temper that made him want her like nothing in this world.

The moment she’d fled he’d moved to follow her; he’d followed her to the outer courtyard, but remained hidden from sight. The few tears that he’d watch her shed had tore into his heart like a jagged blade. When she moved down the path leading to Kalaya’s temple he fought the need to rush after her. He’d like to say that he was giving her space but the real reason was that he had stopped himself out of pride.

Everything has a meaning here…

Her words haunted his mind like a vengeful apparition. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what had gone through her mind when he’d told her that she couldn’t ever go home. It was true that he’d promised to return her to her world once the Malrai Hin had ended — just not in the way she thought. The truth was that if he failed, their bond would be broken and there would be no way for her to remain on this plane and without the bond to her spirit his would wither and die.