Echoes in Eternity (The Pella Series Book 1) (34 page)

Alex smiles and with his beautiful smile he lights the place as if heaven opens up. He answers his friend before he departs his existence as the most magnificent
Emperor the world had ever seen: “
The strongest!
”

He closes his eyes, and this proud, undefeated, fearless
Emperor submits for the first time in his short, but glorious life to my father. Alex becomes the perpetual gladiator like Verus; from a free man into a bargained existence, servitude of some sort. But unlike Verus, he wouldn’t receive death in the arena, neither would he receive freedom until I received my freedom from whatever or whomever were seeking me, granting my immortality or somehow I got my eternal death and seized to exist in this mortal coil. My mind is reeling, jumbled and horrified with this information. Alex was a god-damned Emperor! Okay, he was on his deathbed, but would serving to protect me for what seems like an eternity be a fair trade? He’s been in a fucking arena containing unknown beasts of Hades with no wooden sword in sight to grant his freedom for centuries! Marcus then claims Alex and his soul with his surrender, leaving two marks, one on each wrist he didn’t have before: one eagle taking flight, and one diving down. Same as mine…

I’m yanked out of his body forcefully and sucked into the fabric of time in the dull silvery blue tunnel, pulled away at the speed of time and drift. I am breathless, weightless, but my soul is heavy, a dam built up; I’m unable to cry. A wailing sound comes from a distance once again beckoning, but my burden is bigger than theirs. I ignore them easily.

“Aaaaah!” I cry out and finally my voice reaches my own ears. Alex and I fiercely and forcibly separated; jolted apart, rolling in the reddish dirt several times as if catapulted, both completely naked. The dam bursts and I sob and sob into my hands covered in red dirt, turning the dust into streaks of wet mud within my palms. Alex crawls over to me, holding me. I don’t have the strength to push him away. He’s been bound to me for centuries by the looks of his men in his memory. I have imprisoned him here. The knowledge of this grieves me and I sob harder. I made him suffer because my father out of his love decided to save me. Making Alex a slave to me; bound like that Gladiator who used to be a free man. What was his name? Yes, Verus. Verus was born a free man, said Alex earlier. Priscus was born a slave. I was born a slave to my fate. By the result of my fate, Alex is imprisoned like that gladiator. How do you get the wooden sword granted to him and let him walk through the
Gate of Life
? There are two ways a gladiator walks out; either he serves his time, or the prescribed number of battles. He’s fought more than his share. There’s another way. The other gladiator dies. Since he served the time, he would get to be free then. I need to set Alex free. I made him suffer for so long.

“How long?” I ask him between my sobs. He doesn’t ask what. He understands.

“Two-thousand-three-hundred and thirty-six years,” he says softly. I sob even more.

“You’ve been my bodyguard for that long? I’m so sorry! I’m so very sorry, Alex!” That’s why he was adamant in keeping me in his sight. He doesn’t have to feel duty towards me any longer. He’s bound by oath and blood. But I’m not bound to my father by any oath or promise. I can sever Alex’s agony, and he can live a free man. Do as he wishes without duty to me.
Love requires me to set him free. I have to be selfless, because he has been that all this time.

“I wanted to protect you. It was my choice.
I want to protect you
! I long to wait for you,” he says truthfully, looking into my eyes, willing me to see his sincerity.

“But it’s compulsory. You have no say or choice in it. I thought we are supposed to be immortal. I don’t understand.”

“I made the choice. Two hellhounds are no match for me. I’m the strongest Nephilim. I still have the strength of Heaven. But being immortal doesn’t mean indestructible, Elissa. You and I are different than humans; we are governed by different rules. We are unique. There are others of us who are also similar in their strengths and abilities... but you have not fully realized yours yet. It will take time. Don’t run. I will find a way to set you free to make you your own. Stay under my protection. Work for me. Work with me… Just…don’t run away,” he pleads.

His fingers wipe away the tears mixed with dust from my cheeks. “I will restrain myself from making love to you. Give you your own space
, let you make your own choices as long as I can protect you,” he says, his voice rough as if a boulder is blocking his esophagus. He’s a man on fire once again. My heart aches for this beautiful man who dedicated his existence to protect me. I climb on his lap naked, and wrap my arms around his neck. I love him. But he shall never know that. He won’t let me go. But I need to set him free even though I want to taste him like a secret, or a sin; he’s my forbidden apple. The passion I have for him is going to drive me crazy, but there’s no other way to live for me when what he feels for me is only unfairly compulsory.

I sob until I run out of tears and he soothes me, holding, rubbing my back. He has been tied to me in servitude, and here I was complaining of my life not being mine! I’m utterly ashamed
of myself.

“Why do you think Marcus chose you? I don’t understand what he meant by twin souls,” I ask between dry sobs. Alex is silent for a moment. He’s weighing his response. I can feel him
choose his words carefully. Almost trying to sort what he should say and what he should omit.

“I have the patience of a saint, and the mind of a ruthless sinner. I am made of heaven and earth. I know lust and love. I know hate, and revenge. I know heaven, and I know hell. I’ve conquered the world and all that’s in it. I’ve had the relentless loyalty of every single one of my soldiers while I’ve been betrayed by my own father in his bid to get back to heaven. He’s the one who slayed me, selling me to Hades, while Marcus prevented the inevitable outcome. I owe him a life.”

“You owe him nothing!” I shout my voice cracking. I fist my hands and beat his chest until I am powerless. “You owe him nothing,” my voice low once again with mutinous tears.

“
Shhhh…” he soothes me. “Be that as it may, I am willing to do it. It’s my choice. I could have said no while on my deathbed. I chose to fight. Don’t try to take my choice away. You’re here now. We’re on the final round of the fight. Please,” he says tilting my chin up. “Don’t run!” as if he can read my soul. I can’t make that promise, but I want to change the topic so he doesn’t read my body language.

“Where are our clothes?” I murmur my question
, looking around.

“I’m afraid I ripped them to shreds. I
have shorts and t-shirts packed,” he replies nonchalantly. I sit back and look at him.

“You never know what happens
on a long dusty trail,” he says shrugging. I shake my head with the slightest hint of a smile. That smile is contagious.

“Well, Mr. Pella, as your assistant, what does my job entail?” I ask. He gives me a genuine smile.

“We have a meet and greet cocktail party this evening with all the high rollers. They will be bidding on the aircrafts my company is auctioning off this week. You will accompany me and speak with the foreign buyers. We have quite a few of them. Some of them are our kind.”

“Nephilim?” I ask. He nods; his face expressionless.

“Don’t you like them?”

“I like them well enough, but there’s a lot you need to learn about our kind. And a crash course here won’t do; we don’t have time. Just follow my lead and I’ll have Ant
hony take care of the rest for the time being.”

“Oh, okay. What does one wear to a cocktail party for this kind of business?” I ask.
I might as well do something right today.

“Did you bring anything?” he asks.

“Not for such a party. I’m sorry,” I reply chagrined.

“I’ll have a few
clothing options delivered in your size from Tucson,” he says and assesses me which I assume is to estimate my size. Then he nods as if he confirmed it, “You can pick and choose,” he says simple as that. “Besides, we’ll leave for the hotel after we get to the ranch.”

He gently
, sensually, cleans me up as if he’s in worship and dresses me like a lover, wordless. And somehow we’ve grown more in love; just gazing, and silently touching, hearing our breaths. But he doesn’t make love to me. He holds me up, puts me on the horse, and we ride on.

CHAPTER
X

DESERT WIND

Elissa Cassandra Duncan

“Is this Tucson?” I ask as Alex’s
Conquest Knight heavily armored SUV approaches the front entry to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

“No. This is Marana, which is about thirty minutes northwest of Tucson,” he says.
Why Marana?

When he sees my quizzical face, “the auction is held in Marana;
there’s a five star hotel which has the accommodations I require and it’s convenient...” he replies to my unspoken question. As his man whose name I can’t remember who is no longer in his cowboy outfit, but in a black suit, and with a closer glance, I see that he has short cropped military style auburn hair. With his ever alert face of a secret government agent, his eyes are scanning everything methodically. He opens my door, and when I exit the vehicle, I’m met by the hot licks of dry air. Soon I find Alex at my elbow; his hand sliding to the small of my back, intimately and protectively he leads me inside the hotel. Anthony hands him his key package. As we enter into the hotel, I feel the welcome gushing of the air conditioned cool air chase away the hot desert air as the hotel doors slide open, and we are enveloped in the pleasantly temperature controlled atmosphere of the hotel. A friendly staff greets us.

“Alex, can I get my own room?” I whisper, reaching up to his ear. His foot slightly falters and his eyes briefly close in distress.
I don’t want to cause him distress. I feel cowardly asking him that, but I won’t be able to get away if I’m with him in the same room.

“I need to keep a close eye on you, Elissa. I have a large suit
e with two bedrooms. I’ll stay in the smaller bedroom,” he replies.

“I’ll agree to adjoining suites, but not the same suit
e,” I whisper looking at my sneakers. He looks wounded, his mouth presses into a thin line, his nose is flaring, the only indication of his barely restrained anger. He must know, understand how much I desire him. If we remain in the same room, I don’t think I would have the will power to leave him. But I have to do right by him no matter what he thinks he is feeling for me. It may just be another means my father cooked up to tie him to me in servitude. He looks at me his eyes are asking, ‘
when-were-you-going-to-tell-me-this
’.

“Let’s not sort this here in the lobby. We’ll go up to our suite, and I’ll have one of my men give up the adjoining suite for you,” he looks into my eyes unyielding. I nod. If I stay with him, I
will find neither the chance nor the will to leave him and he knows it. He keeps his hand on the small of my back leading me possessively into the elevators. The ascension to our floor takes very little time and Alex’s eyes are closed as if meditating until the sound of the ding and the doors open to our floor. He leads me out of the elevator wordlessly and without an expression. He opens the door to the very large suite decorated in cream, gold and mahogany colors. As soon as he leads me into the suite, he closes the door and turns to me caging me to the wall adjacent to the door as his palms pressed on the wall on either side of my head, his right knee touching the wall as if to prevent me from making a quick escape to the door. His fresh, sweet breath is warmly caressing my face. My heartbeat immediately jumps up to Defcon 1.