mythean arcana 06 - master of fate (15 page)

She forced her gaze away from the broad expanse of his chest. “How do you feel about toast and cheese?”

“Excellent,” he said.

It didn’t take them long to eat her paltry breakfast, though Mouse did have seconds.

“I want to swing by the city,” she said once they were done. “I need to restock my power. I’ve been siphoning off you, but I’ve been expending so much that it’s not cutting it.” She probably shouldn’t have blown all her power on hypnotizing the mortal, but she’d do it again.

“We’ll go through Edinburgh to get to the university. We’re south of the city right now. The university is northwest.”

“Perfect.” Her main concern wasn’t that she wanted to be fully stocked on power so that she could use it—though that was nice. She needed to be fully stocked so that when she entered the university campus, she wouldn’t suck the power out of anyone she found there. When they felt the shivery sense of her sucking out their immortal strength, they’d surely know what she was. Then she’d be screwed.

Before they left the cottage, she used a bit of her magic to dress herself in period appropriate attire. Felix didn’t need to change because he couldn’t be seen. She wasn’t so lucky. With a disdainful scowl, she plucked at the heavy wool of her new dress. She freaking hated these contraptions. It was suited to cold, misty Scotland, but give her Gore-tex any day. 

Fortunately, the sun was shining as they headed back out onto the road.

“How many miles?” she asked.

“One and a half, maybe two.”

Mouse bounded ahead of them down the road, the early morning sun glinting on her black fur. The sky was blue, with fat, fluffy clouds. Watching Mouse chase a bird that swooped and dived over her head made gratitude well in Aurora’s chest. She was free and out of the aether. The green hills rolled on either side of them, mountains rising in the distance.

They came upon the city half an hour later, the tall stone buildings rising over the hills. Smoke billowed from the chimneys and the sounds of people carried on the wind. She’d never been to Edinburgh until she’d joined Esha at the university. In the past, she’d always been on the run, avoiding Scotland entirely after her mother died.

“Do you know a place we can go that has a lot of Mytheans?” she asked. It’d be better if she drew strength from a crowd. The effect would be dispersed and they wouldn’t feel it as much.

“Aye. There’s one last Mythean pub standing. If it’s 1664, the rest have closed down—or been burned down.”

“Too much witch fear?”

He nodded and she sighed. Of course. The witch hunts had been in full swing for two years. Supernatural beings were lying low. Of course they’d closed most of their gathering places for fear of drawing attention.

As they made their way into the heart of the city, Felix took the lead. Aurora kept her face angled to the ground, unwilling to draw attention to herself. In 1664 she’d been a fugitive. Though word of her transgressions hadn’t yet reached the university, she wasn’t willing to risk being caught and thrown in the aether. She’d do anything to avoid that.

Mouse turned herself to smoke to avoid the crowds and stuck close by Aurora’s side. She in turn stuck close behind Felix as he wound his way through the crowded streets. No one could see him and she could tell he was careful not to bump into anyone. The smell of the city assaulted her senses. Ripe with the scents of dirty people, sewage, and animals, Edinburgh had not yet developed the clean charm it held in the present day. Tall tenements rose on either side of her, chimneys belching smoke that seemed to block out the sun.

“Here,” Felix said. He ducked under a low-hanging lintel and she followed. The ceiling didn’t get much higher once they were within—Felix’s head brushed the beams. 

There were at least two dozen Mytheans in the crowded bar. They all looked mortal, though it was likely none of them were.
Burn her!
was the rallying cry of mortals during this decade. Mytheans would be sure to keep them out. A fire burned sluggishly in the hearth and the low bar was crowded with patrons.

Aurora sighed in pleasure as the rush of power filled her, warm and invigorating. The urge to touch the chest of the nearest Mythean and take his soul made her hands shake. His soul would come to her so easily, filling her up until she felt normal. Everything would be so good then.

She clenched her fists, breathing deeply to control the urge. She
couldn’t
. She’d destroyed her life the last time she’d stolen souls. She had to be normal. Good. Just borrow the power.

“I think I’ll be ready to leave soon,” she said. “I feel a lot—”

“Soulceress!” someone hissed loudly.

“I feel her,” said another.

Oh shit.
They knew what she was. But she sure as hell didn’t want to use magic on them and reveal it for sure. 

She glanced at Felix. He’d moved to stand in front of her, blocking her from the other patrons. If he hadn’t been invisible, this would make a great hiding place. He was huge.

“Go,” he said, his voice rumbling with tension. The people in the bar were looking around.

“But they can’t see—”

“I can still fight them. Go!”

Aurora debated leaving Felix—she hated to run from a fight, but sure as hell didn’t want to be caught and exposed as a soulceress in 1664. The crowd surged toward Felix. At least a dozen Mytheans.
This was bad.
Felix was low on power since she’d absorbed almost all of his and she didn’t want to reveal her species. How would they fight them?

“Get out of the way, lad,” a craggy looking mountain of a Mythean said, his words directed at Felix.

“They can see you?” she whispered.

“’Course we can,” the mountain said. “He’s a walker, like us. We can see our own kind.”

Aurora recognized the glint of crazy in his eyes that indicated he’d timewalked too much.

“We’re leaving,” Felix said, his voice hard. His shoulders were back and his fists clenched.

“No’ with that soulceress, you’re no’. She’ll be going to the stake with the rest of her foul kind.” Fear and spite glinted in the mountain’s muddy eyes.

Felix surged forward, a blur of speed and muscle. A transparent apparition of a silver wolf burst from his chest, his wulver’s soul joining the fight. Felix laid the mountain flat with one hard punch as the wolf leapt upon another man. Despite its transparency, its fangs and claws lost none of their tearing power. The wolf fought like Felix did, an animal mirror of ferocity. Felix whirled on the Mythean at his right, another hulking man, and laid him low with a kick to the gut. His immense wulver strength was a thing to behold. His muscles swelled and his speed was a blur, like the wolf’s.

Even Mouse, who normally would have been quick to turn herself corporeal and lunge into the fray as a blur of fur and fangs, seemed to be watching, impressed. There was no need for Mouse or Aurora to step in. Though Felix was low on power, it didn’t restrict his wolf. And when Felix wanted to fight,
damn,
could he fight. His wolf was just icing on the cake.

Men fell under his blows in seconds. His wolf felled them just as quickly. The protective rage that propelled him was so obvious that the last of the aggressors backed off. If they got in the way of his fists, he’d flatten them. 

Aurora liked it.
A lot.

When the pub was littered with bodies and the remaining patrons huddled under tables, Felix turned to her. His wolf still growled at the cowering Mytheans. Rage burned in his eyes, a dark fire that lit something within her.

“We should go.” He tapped his chest and the wolf dissipated into a wisp of silver smoke and flowed back into him. Felix strode to her, grabbed her hand, and dragged her from the pub. 

Not that she was hanging back. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough. And to be honest, right now she’d follow him anywhere. The thrill of him holding her hand—willingly—made her heart pound. His ferocity had made him beautiful in an intense way. Even more beautiful than usual. She’d only seen his wolf twice in the past—both times when Mytheans had found her and threatened her—but she’d forgotten how beautifully terrifying it was. If she’d been weaker, she might have been afraid of him.

But he’d been fighting for
her. 

No one had ever fought for her except her sister. Even that had come as a surprise. But Felix owed her nothing by blood.

“Thanks,” she said as she trotted to keep up with his long strides. He was weaving through the crowd, dodging horses, people, and even a stray pig.

He grunted.

“Really, thanks,” she said.

“They deserved it.”

She agreed. It took them an hour, but eventually they made it to the other side of the city. When they finally reached the country road that led to the university, she gratefully sucked in a breath of fresh air.

“Gods, it stank back there,” she said.

“And it was too damned crowded,” he said.

She nodded. When she’d first escaped the aether, she’d wanted parties and action. Anything different from the aether. But eventually the hollow connections that she found at parties hadn’t done anything for her. She’d rather hang out with Felix, who looked so damn good standing against the backdrop of the city.

“Now that we’re out of sight of mortals, we can aetherwalk,” he said. “I’ll take you, so you doona diminish your power.”

And now he was offering to wrap his arms around her to aetherwalk.

Things were changing. He still had his damage, no doubt, but things were changing.

“Good idea.” She went to him eagerly, stifling a sigh when his brawny arms wrapped around her, so warm and hard. She could get used to this.

Mouse leaned against her legs. The familiar pull of the aether tugged at her, blackness briefly enveloped her senses, and then she was standing in a forest.

“Are we here?” she asked as she stepped out of his arms. The forest around them was thick with huge oaks. Sunlight filtered through the leaves and fell in dappled patterns on the ground. Mouse pounced at the light.

“We’re right outside the gates. I was going to take us straight to the basement where no one would see us, but it’s dark there. I realized I forgot to warn you. And I wanted to do something first.”

With a ferocious look, he gripped the back of her head and kissed her. His mouth was fierce and hot on hers. Her head swam as she absorbed his kiss. The pleasure stole her breath and her thoughts. 

CHAPTER TWELVE

She tasted
so damn good
. Her hair was soft beneath his hand and her breath sweet on his lips. Touching her still burned and his stomach flipped, but he forced the discomfort away and focused on the pleasure. He
had
to. He couldn’t let it get the better of him or he wouldn’t get to be with her. As long as she didn’t touch him, he could push away his nightmares and act on the raging desire that pounded through him.

He’d waited so damned long for this. Ever since they’d been torn apart, he’d dreamed of her. Of being with her again—of touching her and tasting her. As long as he could keep his demons as bay, he could have that.

Her mouth was soft beneath his, her tongue skilled. She moaned, the sound vibrating against his lips.

His cock punched against the fly of his pants, desperate to be free. Gods, he wanted her. It made him shudder, made his hands itch to touch her everywhere. He wanted to know all her curves and hollows, the sounds she made when he licked or bit.

He wanted to pick up where they’d left off.

Suddenly, he felt her touch on his shoulders and his stomach fell. He pulled away, dropping his hands from her hair. His breath sawed in and out of his lungs.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” she gasped. “I forgot.”

“It’s fine. I wanted that.” He’d wanted it since the men had lunged at her in the bar. Seeing her threatened had made him want to act. But what he didn’t want was to talk about it. “Are you ready to go? Remember, it will be dark.”

Her eyes raced over his face, golden and confused. She looked as though she wanted to talk about it, but eventually, to his relief, she nodded. “Let’s go.”

She stepped into his arms again, careful not to wrap her own around him. He circled his around her, banishing any memories of his torture while relishing the feel of her in his arms. She was small and curvy and perfect. Everything he wasn’t and everything he wanted. “Ready?”

She nodded. He waited until Mouse leaned against her legs, then pictured the dark basement below the building in which his brother worked. The aether tugged at them and seconds later they stood in one of the damp stone corridors.

Aurora stepped out of his arms. “I don’t hear anyone, do you?”

“We’re alone.”

A golden ball of light appeared. His eyes focused. She held it in her hand. It illuminated the stone walls of the corridor in which they stood. Rooms branched out on both sides.

“We’re in the Praesidium,” he said. It was the building that housed the Mythean Guardians, the protectors of Mytheans and the university.

“Shouldn’t this be a prison?” Aurora asked. “That’s what it is in 2015.”