Crux (The Aurora Lockette Series) (21 page)

But I couldn’t, because he was gone.

I pushed my hand into the soft skin of his neck again, feeling for his carotid artery. There was no pulse. But I knew that. I had felt his heart stop beating under my hands. His chest cavity was ripped open. No amount of CRR could bring him back. There was nothing I could do. There was nothing anyone could do.

“
Oh, no,” Carmen whispered. She sank beside me and ran her fingers through his hair. “No, no, no.” She turned to the crowd growing behind her. “Get a medical team down here!” she shouted. “Get Aurora’s mom!”

“
It’s too late,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.

Her lip was trembling, but she nodded.

I was in the blackest of all black holes. Gravity was gone. There was no up or down, only darkness.

I couldn’t deal with the stillness of him. His eyes were open, staring to a place I couldn’t see. I was tempted to run away and scream and cry, but he would still be dead. I would tend to him until he was buried in the ground.

I gently closed his eyes, then brushed my fingers across his strong brow. I stroked his cheek, feeling the roughness of two days’ worth of stubble. My fingers were shaking, but I gently touched his lips. It almost shattered me, knowing just hours ago his lips were pressed onto mine, a physical expression of his love for me.

No, Gavyn.

Sam appeared beside me. “Vera!” he shouted. A petite woman with black hair sprinted around the corner.

She kneeled beside me. She laid one hand on me, and one on Gavyn.
“I’ll try to give you a few seconds, but it may not work,” she said. “Be ready because I can only do this once.”

My panicked mind struggled to keep up with her strange words. She must be
Sam’s girlfriend, the one that can bend time and space.

A little spark of hope ignited inside my soul.

She raised her hands, and the world stopped. All motion and sound ended.

I marveled at the absolute quiet and stillness, then a whir of motion swirled around me.

It faded, and the world smoothed out in front of me again. Gavyn was there, pulling me to my feet. It was just me and him. He was alive, no blood on his clothes, no trace of injury, giving me a small smile.

She did it.

A familiar scream reverberated through the cavern. I grabbed Gavyn’s arm and pulled him forward, just out of the reach of the Shyama that had crept up behind him.

“
Whoa!” he said as he stumbled forward. The Shyama’s blade arced through the air, but missed its mark by inches. The Shyama turned on me and I kicked him in the stomach, sending him stumbling back a few feet. Konstantin blew his head off, and it was over. The Shyama that killed my fiancé was dead, and Gavyn was alive.

It was like it never happened.

“It worked!” I shouted. I pulled him close to me, crushing my face into his chest. Tears ran down my face. “Thank, God!”

“
Uh,” he said in my ear. “What just happened? I feel very strange.”

I pulled away from Gavyn just as Carmen threw herself into Gavyn’s arms.
“I’m so glad you’re okay!” She kissed him on the cheek.

Konstantin was smiling, but kept his firearm up.

Gavyn put his hand on his cheek and smiled. “What is going on here?”

Sam and his girlfriend walked over.
“Thank you so much!” I hugged her. She kept her arms down and didn’t hug me back, but smiled awkwardly when I pulled back. “You are amazing.”

“
I am glad it worked, but I am very tired. I must rest.”

Sam scooped her up in his arms and carried her carefully toward the entrance of the cave.

“You two should go. There are plenty of forces here to take care of the remainders. Outside is secure already,” Konstantin informed me.

“
All right,” I said.

Gavyn and I carefully made our way
to the entrance. There weren’t many Shyama left, now, but we still kept our guard up. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.

I squeezed his hand, unwilling to let him go. My heart sang with relief that he was alive. The darkness that encroached upon my soul still lingered. I knew what it felt like to lose him
, and I couldn’t ever let that happen.

“
What happened?” he said. “Something odd I’m sure. I feel like I’m missing some time. Did I black out?”

“
Kinda. It’s a long story,” I said.

We stepped out into the sunlight. The sun shined through his hair and lit up his face.

We turned to each other. His hand softly grazed my face. “We have all the time in the world.” Our lips met, and the world righted itself.

I stood in front of the mirror and smoothed out my dress. My mom was behind me in a sapphire blue gown, tears filling her green eyes.

“
You look beautiful,” she said.

I adjusted the cap sleeves of my vintage lace gown with an empire waist and A-line skirt in soft ivory.

“It’s perfect. I looks just amazing on you!” Bree said. Her short blond hair was tucked behind her ears and tears filled her blue eyes. She was wearing a beautiful aqua bridesmaid dress of her own choosing.

My hair was down
, tumbling in loose waves. “Bend down,” my mom ordered. She carefully pushed the veil into my hair, then flipped it back so she could see my face. “Perfect.” She patted my cheek. “You look the part. Are you ready?”

“
Absolutely!” I smiled at her, then turned away from the mirror.

I’d been back in
L.A. for three months now. We’d come back right after Keith’s funeral.

Three months of recovery and grieving, and of calm and joy. We’d kept ourselves busy planning our small wedding, but did little else. I’d gained all my weight
and strength back, and Gavyn was perfectly healthy. He did eventually remember dying, but he wouldn’t talk about it. “Later,” he always said. My heart clenched as I remember that moment, but I pushed it aside. We were here now, and that was all that mattered.

The soft sounds of a cello
swept through the pool house. We were at a private estate in their lush gardens. The owner of the home, a producer, was a friend of Gavyn’s and welcomed us to use his property for our wedding.

“
It’s time,” I said, more than ready.

We left the pool house arm
in arm.

Troy was waiting outside for us
and flashed us a huge grin. “Looking good, Texas!” he quipped as he took Bree’s arm. “And lucky me. I was hoping for hot bridesmaid when Gavyn asked me to be his best man.”

Bree smiled and dug her elbow into his side. Those two had gotten along famously, no surprise there.

I kissed his cheek. “Go, be good.”

He led her away as they began the very small bridal procession that would start with them and end with me and my mother.

The wooden benches that we set up in the garden were filled with the people I loved the most: my sister, Carmen, Konstantin, Dennis, Sam, Vera and a few others. Gavyn’s parents were seated in the front, beaming at their handsome son standing under the gazebo.

I walked down the grass aisle strewn with flower petals, finally raising my gaze to meet
Gavyn’s. He looked perfect in his charcoal gray suit and skinny black tie. He met my eyes, and I could tell he was fighting back tears like I was.

Every step down the aisle
brought me closer to my destiny. I relished every flower-scented breeze that wafted past me, every swell of the cello suite flowing through the air, and every radiant smile that watched me walk towards him.

Finally, we were standing under the gazebo
. My mom gave me away through a river of tears, and sat down next to Gavyn’s parents.

It was just me and him, standing under the
gazebo. The judge read us our vows, and we repeated them softly. Our lips carried the promises to each other that would last a lifetime, and we knew we meant it.

I slipped a Celtic-knotted gold band on his finger, and he slid an oval shaped sparkly blue topaz surrounded by two halos of diamonds on my finger next to the engraved band he gave me as an engagement ring.

The judge pronounced us man and wife, and a cheer rose through the small gathering of our loved ones. I looked into the face of my new husband, so grateful for the miracles that brought us and kept us together. I was lifted in a torrent of love that flowed through us and the people that surrounded our union.

Our lips met, and I was complete.

THE END

I am so very thankful for all my readers for your emails, comments, reviews, tweets, and kind words. Thank you for choosing this book.

My husband and daughter a
re my world. I couldn’t write without their support and love.

Thank you to my beta readers
: Audrey Griffin, Heather London, Melinda Mendoza-Scott, and Karen Rhodes. I couldn’t do it without your help.

Regina Wamba of Mae I Design created the beautiful cover art, and I owe a special thanks to Ami Johnson of ALDJ editing.

Miranda Kavi
is a romance and paranormal fiction author. Her books have been listed on the top 100 best seller lists on Amazon and iTunes. She has worked as an attorney, an executive recruiter, and an assistant in a biological anthropology lab. She loves scary movies, museums, and is hopelessly addicted to chocolate. She lives in the Houston area with her husband and daughter.

http://mirandakavi.net/

@mirandakavi

https://www.facebook.com/MirandaKavi

Young Adult:

RUA

RIVE (Rua, Book 2)

Adult:

FLEE

CRUX (Flee, Book 2)

Thank you for reading this book! Please feel free to drop me an email at
[email protected]
if you have any questions or comments.