InSpire (8 page)

CHAPTER SIX

“Good morning, my love.”

“Morning.”

“And how do you feel today?” He was sitting up on his elbow gently drawing circles on her belly. Her body stretched and cricked. Darian wasn’t sure if she knew anything. To be safe he had furled his wings before she woke. Now he just looked at her waiting for her to tell him what she knew. He was praying she knew everything.

“Confused.”

“About?”

“How did I get here?”

“I carried you to the bike and we rode here after the ritual last night. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“I remember taking that awful potion and throwing up. Then I remember dreaming about Spire again. That’s it.” He moved off of the bed and pulled up his boxers. He moved around to her side of the bed and sat. She could see he was formulating what to say. It seemed whatever he was thinking was something deep.

“Stand up.”

She stood up but she swayed a little like she was completely off balance. He knew why. She hadn’t even noticed her wings yet. They were close to her body, but they were there. Until she had control of them they would remain visible. He hoped she would get them in soon. They couldn’t travel with her like that. There was no way to hide them.

He moved her in front of the mirror on the vanity. She looked up and started to cry. She’d changed. Her dull hair now shone with the brilliance of the sun. Her eyes sparkled and her skin was porcelain. As she looked the largest white wings she had ever seen stretched behind her head. She jumped back thinking they were someone else’s. She brought her hand up to touch them. They were soft and silky. She touched where she remembered cutting them off to find a scar. Things weren’t perfect, but she was a Prin once again.

“Wow.”

“You look just as gorgeous as I remember.” He put his arms around her waist and nuzzled his chin in her neck. After a moment he kissed her gently on the neck.

“How did you know it was me before? I mean I looked nothing like this.”

“Yes you did. You have always been beautiful, Athena.” He looked into her eyes in the mirror. She saw he meant what he said. Her cheeks started to flush.

“So how did I forget what happened last night?”

“You woke up as the old you. You had no human memories at all. Then Sheila gave you a potion and told me to let you rest. That is what I did.”

Darian backed away from her and let her look in the mirror. He watched with great pleasure as she turned back forth admiring the Prin she was. She was even graceful just making small moves. This was the Athena he had loved for so long. She knew who she was now. Just her posture told him that. She was trained to carry herself like a Queen. She was ready to go home.

“To tell the truth my mind is a little fuzzy. There are more memories in my mind now then I have ever had. It will take me some time to sort through them.” Her wings furled and she took a seat on the bed. This was the sign he was waiting for. She had control now. They could make this trip without giving anything away. Or at least that was his hope. There were dangers out there, but he wouldn’t let her know right now. He pulled up some pants and sat beside her.

“I know, but we have to find the important ones to get home.”

“Important ones?” His eye color was dancing right now. She knew it meant he was thinking. Before it had only happened when they were making love. Now she knew Prins can change eye color for many reasons. Purple was one of passion. It could be physical passion or mental passion. Either was a good reason for the color change.

“You know the way back in. I don’t. If I did I would have spared you the tragedy you suffered.” He squeezed her hand tightly.

“I remember the day I took my life with great clarity now.”

“Tell me?” Darian had only ever heard the story from others. He wasn’t there. He wished he had been. If he had this wouldn’t have been the life they would be leading.

“I kept seeing your face when I laid down to sleep. I didn’t know who you were in my head but my heart did. I couldn’t put the pieces of the puzzle together. I just felt lost and alone. I remember I woke up on that morning resolved. I couldn’t go through another night of torture. I went to my window and sat down. I hung my feet over and contemplated the best way to end it. I decided to cut off my wings and slit my throat. I don’t know how I mustered the strength, but I do remember the long fall down. I wasn’t dead until after I hit the ground. My pain ended. My next conscious thought was when I was a three year old human.” She stopped swinging her feet and got up. Darian watched her sway her way over to the dresser. His desire for her was growing painful in his jeans. He adjusted the way he was sitting as she pulled out some clothes. She dressed faster than any human could and sat back down. He could tell she was lost in thought. Her mind must have been racing from one life to another.

“So you are able to start piecing your lives together?” He took her hand and rubbed it. The feel of his hands on mine hers was soothing. It helped her keep the memories straight in her head.

“I have lived thirteen lives.”

“That’s right.”

“How did you know?”

“I have been watching you since you appeared the first time. I picked up your scent when you were only a baby. You were born to a farmer in England. They called you Deveena.”

“I remember. My memories of Davina in Spire were still strong. It was hard for me every time they said her name. They were dirt poor, but loved me. I still didn’t feel right though.”

Her parents were poor and unhealthy. Darian watched her from a distance. He knew they were going to die. The smell in the air was death. She was still mostly Prin, so the disease would have no impact on her. He wanted to go to her, but she didn’t reach full maturity. He wasn’t going to explain to a child what she really was. This one died at fifteen years old. She fell from a cliff. It appeared despair had followed her into another life.

“The next three lives you were still in England. You didn’t live long. They were being ravaged by the plague. You were always outliving your parents. It seemed as though the burden of losing those around you would haunt you forever.”

“The next saved me. I was born to a wealthy businessman in America. It was a young country then. The change in life circumstance was a shock to my body, but I had stopped remembering at that point.”

“I had a hard time tracking you once you were born here. I think it’s because you stopped remembering. Your connection to Spire grew weaker and weaker through the years. That is why I hired the witch to test you. I had to know for sure I had finally gotten the right person.”

Darian couldn’t have done anymore to prove how much he loved Athena. He followed her through many lives and watched from a distance. He had to wait until she was old enough to understand. It seemed it would never happen, until this time. She was in her late teens when her parents died.

“Why did you watch over me?”

“We belong together, Athena.”

She sat there silent for a moment. Then her hand went to her belly again. Darian knew she wasn’t going to be able to just forget about their son. She was going to blame herself, but he didn’t.

“I can’t believe I killed our son.”

“You didn’t.”

“What?”

“You didn’t kill him.”

“How did I not? I was pregnant when father banished you from the kingdom. He erased my memories of you, but he couldn’t have erased our son.”

“You are right. You were still pregnant when you plunged to your death, but it wasn’t your fault. Your father took your will to live. You weren’t in your right mind. He killed our son, not you.”

“I should have stopped.”

“You couldn’t have.” She laid her head down on his shoulder as tears started to fall. After a moment of letting her cry, he picked up her chin with his hand and smiled. “We can always try again.” His eyebrows flicked up suggesting he wanted to start trying now. She smiled and he wrapped her up in his arms.

They sat there on the bed just holding each other for half the day. Darian was in a hurry, but he didn’t want to make her feel rushed. She was the one with the map in her head. He could hold on to the cloak for another day or so. Then all hell would break lose.

“We should feed you.” Darian suggested as Athena’s stomach started to growl.

They went down to the kitchen where he fixed her a ham and cheese. Her mind was still all fuzzy. Things were starting to make sense, but not as quickly as he would like. The secret passage to Spire wasn’t coming to her. She sat at the table and slowly munched. The importance of her finding the location wasn’t really lost on her, but she wasn’t able to force it to the surface.

“This is good.”

“Maybe some food will help you sort through the memories.”

“There are so many to sort through. I don’t know how I will ever figure out the information we need.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t.” Darian sat beside her and started eating his sandwich. His statement had her lost again. He wanted her to find the information, but now he was telling her not to try. She was confused.

“What?”

“If you relax the information may just come to you. We should stop trying to dig it out.”

“Maybe I should lay down after we eat.”

“Or we could burn some energy up first.” Darian’s eyes were changing rapidly to purple as he winked at her. Hers were moving just as rapidly. She swallowed her sandwich and milk and then bolted up the stairs. Darian smiled and finished his meal in one bite. He followed her up to the room. When he got to the door he was greeted with a beautiful sight. Athena stood in front of the bed naked, with her wings completely unfurled.

“I guess you took me serious.”

“I need to feel you inside me.”

“Your wish is my command.”

He stripped quickly and moved across the room with Prin speed. He had her in his arms and on the bed in seconds. His wings held him just above her with ease. He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips. That wasn’t nearly good enough for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him tight on her. She could feel every muscle in her body. She pressed her lips against his and pushed her tongue into his mouth. She swirled it around and invited him to play. His hands started wandering all over her body. He found her breasts and pinched her nipple. She gasped, letting go of his mouth. He took his opportunity, diving down to her nipple and sucking it into his mouth.

“Mmmm.”

“You like?”

“I love.”

Darian smiled at her and then traveled further south down her body. He placed kisses on every inch until he found her heated core. He knelt between her legs. First just blowing on her and then sucking until she arched up off of the bed. Her climax was right on the verge. He broke contact and slid into her quickly. He found her Prin body was far more responsive to his size. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him tighter. She used her strength to bury him deep inside her. Her eyes were electric purple. She was so close. So was he. He thrust into her four times before they both released simultaneously. She screamed out his name as he let out a growl from down deep.

“You are insatiable, Athena.” Darian collapsed on top of her. He was satiated but exhausted. She was panting, but her eyes were still a light shade of purple. She wanted more, but they needed their strength to travel.

“So are you, Darian.”

He rolled off of her and put her tight in his arms. She was snoring softly before he even did that. He figured a rest would be good. His cloak was holding strong, for now.

“This is our secret.” Her father was leading her down a dark tunnel.

“What do you mean?” She took his hand a little scared. This was the furthest her father had ever taken her from the palace. She wasn’t normally allowed out.

“Only our family knows this entrance.”

“Why?” They walked further and further back into the darkness.

“That is how we keep our people safe. We wouldn’t want rogue demons coming into our kingdom unguarded would we?”

“I guess not.”

When they reached the end they stepped through a mirror. They came out in the middle of a garden. She looked around in wonderment. This was not Spire. She knew that in her soul before he ever spoke to her.

“This is the human realm, Athena. We go here to capture demons. You will one day do this, but you must never use this passage to return. This is only for emergencies. We cannot let others know of its existence.”

“I won’t tell anyone father.”

Athena jumped out of bed completely out of breath. “I know where it is.”

“Huh?”

“I know where the entrance is.” She was frantically pacing in front of the dresser. Her naked body was a lure for Darian. He was trying desperately to ignore how much he wanted her right now. This was the moment he had been waiting for all this time. She finally knew where they had to go.

“You do?”

“Yes. We have to leave immediately. There was a reason why I was born in England so many times.”

“I guess we need to catch a flight then.” Darian jumped out of the bed and put his clothes on. Athena was ready as soon as he was. She was smiling and so excited. She was beyond ready to go home.