Awakening (41 page)

He forced his lips upwards in a smile as he tilted his head back to look at her. “I’m just wondering how many
Calices
I’m going to have tonight.”

She smiled down at him as she began to massage the stress from his body. He was so tense she dug her fingers in deeper until he groaned. Bending her head, her lips next to his ear, she teased, “Knowing you, I’d say four.”

“At the very least,” he grinned, hiding the fact that he hadn’t had any since he… since…. He swallowed over the sudden lump, letting the pleasure of her touch warm him and hating himself for allowing it. But then she went and pressed a kiss to his cheek and he nearly died. Her light scent filled his head and he felt as if he were drowning. He could feel the points of his fangs and he knew he was losing his sanity. Maybe it would be best if he did go to the
Adytum
but he had no desire to fuck an empty
Calix
.

“You’re so
wonderful, Auberon,” she grinned, holding onto his shoulder as she walked around the chair to face him. Why did she have to torment him with her tender touch? Why couldn’t he stop her? Climbing into his lap, she swung her legs over the arm of the chair, torturing him with her intoxicating presence. “I adore you.”

He willed the blackness away, his fangs away
. Putting a hand on her hip, he continued to smile at her, his face hurting with the effort. “And I adore you, baby.”

Her grin widened at the familiar endearment. “Since you would never lie to me….”
There goes the blade through his heart. “Do you think I’m ready to challenge the Queen yet?”

His smile felt brittle; he just hoped that she remained
oblivious to his erection that was pressing against the front of his pants and the dagger sticking out of his chest. “Babe, I think you are more than ready; you’re going to kick her ass without even breaking a sweat. She’s not going to know what happened.”

She laughed, the sound melodious and wonderful, especially after… everything. Wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing her soft breasts against his chest, she kissed his cheek again, “Your confidence in me is almost embarrassing.”

Trailing his fingers up and down the outer curve of her back, unable to help himself, he asked, “And where is my wayward brother this afternoon?”

The faraway, dreamy expression that came across her face twisted the dagger even further. “He
had an emergency meeting with Thomas I believe that was his name. He should be home any moment."

“Ah,” he managed.
Barely. He should have known that but her smell was dragging him under and his barriers were breaking down; he was going to be sprouting fangs and completely black eyes in two seconds if she continued to sit on his lap.

Celeste fell to the
ground as Auberon abruptly stood up, a look of horror on his face as he looked down at her sprawled on the floor. She chuckled as he grabbed her under the arms and hauled her to her feet, “Forgive me, Celeste; please forgive me.”

Her smile faltered a bit as she saw the despair in his eyes. Cupping his jaw in her hand, she smoothed her thumb over his cheek bone, “Auberon, my sweet, I would forgive you anything; I love you.”

He closed his eyes as her words washed through him; if only they were true. Covering her hand with his, he turned his head to the side and pressed a kiss to the inside of her palm, letting his lips linger for just a moment more. Unable to look at her, he thrust her hand away, turning and strolling out of the room as quickly as he could, trying to outrun his guilt and self-loathing.

*****

Celeste stared after him in confusion; he wasn’t the same, cocky Auberon she had met in Paris; what happened to change him so drastically? After a few minutes of silent contemplation, warm, strong arms wrapped around her and she leaned back into Adam’s embrace. “What is it, love?”

“Auberon
. He's acting so strange lately,” she said, staring at the space where Auberon no longer stood. Crossing her arms over Adam's, holding him to her, she shook her head and asked, “What was the meeting about?"

After a long moment of deliberation, he finally said,
"The Council has become aware of events stirring in the
Apocritae
world. Thomas says the angels are on the war path trying to discover what is happening before it is too late and he is fairly positive the demons are doing the same. They are all jockeying for power in case something befalls the Queen."

"How did they ever hear about it?" Celeste asked.
"And why now?"

"A respected scientist's body turned up a few miles outside of town," he said with a significant look. Celeste swallowed the unease, not allowing her feelings for her father interfere with what Adam had to tell her. "The human authorities dismissed it as a wild animal attack but a few members of the Council
were suspicious and started asking questions."

"They're not very efficient if it has taken three weeks to realize something is happening."

His lips quirked upwards in a half-smile but she noticed for the first time that his eyes remained grim. "They wanted to make sure they were correct before they made any allegations. You do not accuse one of the Vespari brothers of harboring and abetting a new Queen unless you have all of your facts straight."

Her eyes widened in dawning horror at
the importance of Adam's words and she covered her gasp with her fingers. In a hushed voice, she asked, "What can they possibly do?"

"Banish the offender," he said dark
ly, taking her hands in his and bring her fingers up to his lips. Swallowing, he rasped, "Auberon has been making it appear as if he is the cause of all of this."

"Yes," she nodded, her eyes beginning to water, knowing what he was about to say and not wanting to hear it. "I know."

Pressing his lips against her knuckles, holding her gaze, he whispered, "I can't let him take the blame, Celeste."

A strangled cry caught in her throat as she closed her eyes in pain, "Please, Adam; I can't lose you, too; not after everything…. I just can't."

"I know, my love," he choked. "It won't be forever."

"How long?" she asked, the question sticking in her throat.

"One, maybe two, years," he answered. He rested his forehead against hers, "Hardly any time at all in the grand scheme of things. And with our bond I am sure to be returned to you."

"It's none of their damn business," she bit out, her fingers convulsing around Adam's, as if she could hold onto by force of will alone. "

He chuckled, "It
is
their business; it's the rules I put in place a long, long time ago to keep the peace."

"I
t's a stupid rule," she growled half-heartedly. But then Adam's earlier words hit and her forehead creased in disquiet, "What do you mean you're sure to be returned to me, as if you're not certain?"

"One year in your time will be a thousand years of banishment," he reluctantly explained and Celeste's skin turned cold with every word he spoke. "
It is easy to lose one's way in the wilderness, Celeste. If you don't have something to ground you it is easy to become lost forever."

"And you think
our bond is strong enough to bring you back to me?"

He
hesitated a heartbeat too long and Celeste knew the truth before he could tell her a lie.

"B
ind him to you,” Kim said causally, walking into the room and plopping down on the couch with supreme indifference. Adam and Celeste stared down at her in wide-eyed disbelief and she shrugged her shoulders, "It's a simple enough spell… well, if you don't kill him."

Celeste released
Adam's hands and fell to her knees in front of Kim, “How do I do that?”

Kim
winced, “You stab him in the heart and bind him to you with a simple binding spell."

“Tell me.”

“Like I said, it’s simple but it requires a great deal of power to make it work."

Celeste chuckled, her eyes
glassy with tears as she glanced up at Adam, "I can cast the spell while we make love, Adamanteros; it seems to be when I am at my most powerful."

Kim caught her lower lip between her teeth as she looked up at Adam. Softly, she asked, "Do you trust her?"

"With my life."

*****

“Do you think Auberon is all right?” Celeste asked as she lay in Adam’s arms, safe in the warm cocoon of his body; at least for now.

“He is,”
Adam assured her, staring at the ceiling overhead. He wondered how he was going to survive banishment, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to hold her in his arms; knowing that there was no other choice. He wouldn’t change things, though; no matter what was about to happen. He had Celeste and he loved her more than his own life. More than Auberon.

“I’m worried about him” she said softly, the concern apparent in her voice. She tilted her head back and looked at her beloved
Adam. “He has been acting so strangely; I’m afraid he’s going to do something foolish.”

“Too late,” Auberon said, crashing through the door. He was breathing heavily, which was unusual, considering
Apocritae
never breathed heavily. “What’s done is done; I’ve confessed to everything and I might have insulted a few of the fucking angels while I did it.”

Grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around her body, Celeste stood up and faced him, wariness and fear seeping into her bones. “What have you done?”

"I told them that they were so pathetic; that they should be using their dicks for fucking instead of trying to have a pissing match with the
Apocritae
." He laughed at her disgruntled look. Stepping forward and taking her in his arms, he spun her around, seemingly unconcerned that she was clad in nothing but a sheet. “You and Adam will be free, my love; that is, if you defeat the bitch.”

“Auberon,” Celeste said in a sterner voice. “What have you done?”

He set her down and beamed down at her. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn he was drunk, but the
Apocritae
could not get drunk. “I admitted to knowing the new Queen, to being the one to create her.”

“No!”
Adam bellowed, flying off the bed and coming to stand next to Celeste, staring at his brother as if Auberon had lost his mind.

“I told them everything,” Auberon continued breezily, his eyes glistening as he continued to stare at Celeste, to hold her in his arms. “How I found a pregnant woman all those years ago and bit her; how I came across this beautiful woman in Paris and
fed off her, over and over and she didn't change; how I fooled the Queen into believing I was Adam and got her to release my precious Celeste.”

Celeste’s nose burned as she fought against the tide of tears that threatened to spill over. “What is the
punishment?”

“Five years banishment,” Auberon answered giddily.

"Five thousand years," she breathed in horror. Celeste’s knees trembled and Auberon tightened his grip, drawing her against his chest to keep her steady. Her heart lurched in her chest as she clutched at Auberon’s arms. Tilting her head back, she looked up at him, “Why?”

“
Because they had it coming,” he said brightly. Kissing her cheek, he laughed drunkenly, “I will be returned to you in five years, Celeste; that is if I remember the way

She straightened her shoulders and stared up at him, her foolish Auberon.
Softly, defiantly, she whispered, “I’m going to bind you to me so that you will return home to me.”

“I can’t allow you to do that,” he said,
brushing a tear from her cheek with the pad of his thumb, the laughter fading from his eyes as his actions began to catch up to him.

“It’s the only way
to get you back,” she murmured, turning her head and kissing his thumb.

“Just let me go, baby,” he said, his voice trembling with emotion, with love.

She smiled at his choice of words, “I’d miss you too much if I could never see you again; I think your brother would be lost without you by his side.”

He swallowed
painfully, his eyes roaming over her face, drinking her in. After a moment, his lips quirked into a half-smile, “Oh, I suppose.”

“It’s going to hurt,” she
warned.

“I don’t care,” he answered
honestly, watching her, memorizing every little detail about her.

She looked over her shoulder at
Adam, a blush staining her cheeks as she met his eyes. “We need to be alone, my love; otherwise the spell might not work.”

“Will I be able to see him before
he… before he is banished?” Adam asked through a dry throat, the tension vibrating through his body. She could tell that he was struggling with what she had to do but surely he would understand; it was the only way.

Auberon nodded, forcing a smile, “I have an hour and this spell should take what? Ten, fifteen minutes top?”