Soulless (Maiden of Time Book 2) (29 page)

Fifty-Nine

To the Inn

Kiren held the horse steady. The Soulless weren’t far behind, and he was lucky they’d been able to evade them thus far.

The grinding of Alexia’s teeth was driving him mad, her pain echoing acutely through him. She had pushed herself too hard. He’d done what he could while galloping away from the enemy, begging her body to heal and gifting her the necessary dose of his strength. Still, there was so much he couldn’t heal.

Like what she’d done.

The memory of her tears tore at his heart. More so, the break in her voice after they’d outrun the Soulless, as she’d related her past two days—how she’d clung to him and begged him never to leave her. It killed him, being the reason for her weeping—and the worst part: her guilt.

Perhaps it would be better if he had died. Maybe that was what the fates intended, and if that were so, did he defy the natural order by continuing on? Was it possible the alteration in his medallion was a result of how they’d twisted reality?

No. It was a counterfeit.

His fists clenched about the reins. A coldness weighted his chest, almost as though part of him was missing, the part that knew it should have ceased upon the earth.

For Alexia’s sake he needed to be here. He understood that.  

Loose curls curtained Alexia’s neck, her pastel lips pulled back slightly as she hissed in a breath. He would do anything to keep her from suffering.

But she was so strong. So much stronger than himself. To dispatch that horde of creatures, one by one, even knowing she would forever regret it...

Starlight glazed the broken blade latched across the front of the saddle. He hadn’t seen the weapon before, or at least he didn’t think he had. To his knowledge there was only one blade in existence that could end the Soulless, and it belonged to his greatest mistake of all time, one he hoped Alexia would never have to face.

He placed a hand over her stomach. She twisted, eyebrows lifting.

“I think it is time I married you.” He kissed her cheek.

“You would still marry me? Even after—”

“I should have married you the instant you were restored to my care.”

She shivered.

“But I wanted you to have a real marriage, not some forced counterfeit.” He smoothed the hair from her brow, hating what he was about to confess. “I can see that may never happen.”

She touched his cheek, her brows squeezed inward.

He exhaled. “We are stronger together than we are apart. I need your strength.” And she needed his, more than he dared to admit.

Her warm breath skimmed across his lips. “If you will still have me, I do not care the manner of our union. It is more important that we are together.”

He nodded. She had always been too practical, too self-sacrificing. That she now must give up the one thing every young girl craved, it pinched a hole in his heart and filled his eyes with tears. “I love you, Alexia.”

“Forever.” Her fingers slipped between his.

Sixty

Deeper

Alexia was so relieved to step back over the dulling line of scorched earth. Ethel met them on the inn stoop, followed by Lester and a silently contemplative Miles. Others spilled out, fugitives of this battle, curious bystanders. Everyone watched her, and Alexia didn’t like it. Did they know what she’d done?

Of course they did. With the grime coating her dress…

She stopped shy of Miles and turned to Kiren who dragged his feet up the stairs. Lester grabbed his shoulder and exchanged an inquisitive look. Kiren gave a weak smile. His companion patted his arm and escaped to stable Kiren’s stallion.

“I have need of Lucian,” Kiren called, and the crowd parted to reveal a man with black hair, narrow eyes, and a flatter nose than most. He wore a simple robe like a traveling monk.

A smile furrowed Lucian’s one cheek. “I knew you would seek me.”

“Of course you did.” Aside to Alexia he whispered, “He has the gift of foresight.” He nodded again at the monk. “Then you know what it is I desire?”

Lucian gave a slight bow from the hips.

“Let it be done,” Kiren muttered. “Now.” He offered a hand to Alexia and she took it.

He could not possibly mean for them to be joined this instant—having just walked in the door, her dress stained in gore! But the granite of his eyes and squaring of his jaw said just that.

They descended the steps and crossed over the barrier, leaving behind scorched earth.

The monk wove two silver ropes about their wrists, joining them. The rope glittered, warming her wrist like a wreath of light.

“What is joined this day let none put asunder.” A new language rumbled up, not Latin, yet something ancient and transcendently lyrical, a tongue that resonated with her very soul. She couldn’t isolate a single word, but she understood the collective meaning:

We begin alone. In the eternities we are separate, individual. Here only can the bond be made, and here, under the vigilance of heaven, two are bound for a lifetime or so long as both shall live, with the hope of eternal love and eternal companionship.

Lucian turned to Kiren. “Will you cherish this woman with all your heart, to love and keep her until death claims one or both of you?”

“From the beginning until the end of time.” His low voice shook with emotion. “Yes.”

“Alexia Dumont, do you receive this man and his vows, through weakness and folly, through heartache and joy, and return your own pledge until death claims one or both of you?”

She nodded. “Forever.”

A shimmery warmth washed over her, as though glittering sunbeams had been sprinkled on them all. The hairs on her arms stood up. Kiren squeezed her hand, drawing her notice to the gooseflesh of his wrist.

Luminescence spilled off his skin, matched by the glow of her own. The particles merged, pulsing brighter, creating a dome of radiance over them.   

Lucian resumed. “By the power of my station, I proclaim you husband and wife. Be constant to one another. Grow together, not apart, and shape the world in your wake.”

Kiren brushed a thumb across her fingers and she met his stare.

“This day begins the rest of forever,” the monk said.

Kiren’s brow quirked. Alexia blushed, and grinned at their looped wrists. 

“May joy be showered upon you. May you live until the Kingdom be restored, until the golden age when our cares are laid to rest.” Lucian placed a hand on Kiren’s shoulder, voice lowering. “You know how I feel about passion being expressed, but I will turn away for the binding.”

He turned his back to them and Kiren smirked. He tugged Alexia closer and lowered his lips toward hers. She closed her eyes. The tender press of his mouth promised a lifetime of sweetness, a lifetime of commitment, an eternity of love. He pulled back slowly, cheeks dimpling.

Tugging at the ends of two silver strands, he nodded for her to take the other ends. She did and he laced his through hers, sewing them more permanently together.

“It is our tradition,” he whispered, “that the new bride and groom are to be bound until they are truly one.”

She flushed.

Ethel departed, leaving them in the quiet trees. Kiren led Alexia silently into the grove, the trickle of water brightened by the first hint of sunrise. Blossoms perked as they passed, as if rejuvenated by their shared light. Butterflies flitted from bloom to bloom.

Alexia didn’t like that they’d left Slayer behind, but she also didn’t want it with her. Not here.

Kiren set the spare clothing they’d brought down on a large flat stone, the very place he’d sat her several months ago to reveal the greatest truths about himself and his role among the Passionate.

She glanced back at the tree bed as he tugged her to the water’s edge.

This was real. It was finally happening. She was married! Surely there was a hitch. Something would go wrong. Some unforeseen tragedy or emergency would rear its monstrous self.

“Are we safe here?” she whispered.

Kiren met her stare. His eyes were a glittering spring, a lost Atlantis, her own eternal ocean. “No one will disturb us.”

The solidity of his words convinced her.

Carefully, he unfastened the ties of her ruined dress.

She trembled under his touch, too aware of the heat in his fingers, or the way his pulse thundered in time with hers. His lips caressed her shoulder as he bared it, his breath hot on her skin.

Heat burst all around her, within and without, sheer sunshine firing free from her depths. He guided her through the blaze, mingling their joined light in a fury so potent even the stars would tremble for jealousy. She consumed him. Took all he offered and returned her entire flaming soul. Every movement, every thought, every touch belonged to them both. The doors of his crystal palace flew wide and their combined luminescence beamed from all seven towers.

The sun clung to the apex of the sky as Alexia roused on the feather mattress. Kiren’s arms cradled her, his chest pressed to her back, but as intimate as his hold was, it paled to the way he was touching her soul. It was as though her essence had been a silvery plait of ribbon, and his had knotted and twisted with hers in a braid that could never be undone. They were twined for eternity.

Like the rope that had bound their wrists.

She grinned. His arms tightened around her, and she could feel his happiness leaking through their connection. He was a boy again, not a care in the world. How long had it been since he’d been so free?

She rolled to face him, and his lips were moving, eyes closed.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

He cracked one eye open. “Praying.”

She kept quiet until his mouth stilled. “What were you praying about?”

“Thanking the Lord for you.”

Her cheeks heated. “I thank Him for you as well.”

He sighed and turned onto his back, hands braced behind his head.

She blinked at the trail of clothing strewn across the grove and stifled a giggle. “We are an awful pair. You would think a monster stamped through this place!”

He tugged her onto her back and leaned up over her, his smile bursting. “I believe one may have.” His eyes widened. “A hungry monster.”

She gave an exaggerated gasp and placed a hand on her chest. “Did he get his fill?”

He laughed and kissed her. “Never.”

Alexia giggled and slid her fingers through his hair. “May I tell you a secret?”

He braced on his fist, eyes glittering with amusement.

“I really, truly, desperately like the monster who made this mess.” She leaned up to whisper in his ear and a shiver shook across his skin. “But do not tell him. I am afraid it will inflate his pride until no person can reasonably stand his presence.”

He attacked, tickling her until both their sides ached from laughter. He collapsed next to her and the press of his skin to hers lit her in an invisible fire, an energy that grew and encompassed them both in its protective aura. She couldn’t fathom how she’d existed without it.

“Why am I not sleepy?” she asked. For all their play, she should be exhausted, unable to rise for hours, and yet energy bubbled at the surface.

He nudged the hair away from her neck with his nose. “You will experience many of my appetites, and I shall experience yours.”

She pulled him back and met his gaze. “You are saying I do not crave slumber because you do not?”

His smirk was vulnerable and boyish. His eyes glimmered, filled with rakish mischief as his fingers glided across her cheek. “I may never sleep again.”

Heat and radiance pulsed outward, filling her world, her universe.

Kiren’s fingers curled over her jaw. “You will rarely hunger as you have, rarely need the sleep that has been so precious to you, and I shall crave both more often than I am accustomed.”

Alexia swallowed.

He chuckled and kissed both her overly-warm cheeks. “I adore you, Alexia.”

“The sensation is mutual.”

“You adore you too?”

She swiped his hair into his face, laughing.

“You should.” He blinked up at her and brushed the ginger locks away. “You are utterly adorable.”

She tucked into him, resting her chin on his chest, listening to his steady breathing and tracing circles across his skin. Yes, she loved being here with him, but the storm was coming. When and if they retrieved the necklace, their peace would only ever be short lived. If she could continue to chase away these phantoms at the back of her mind, they might have a chance at happiness.

And she was not the only one with phantoms. She’d run across the shaded places in his mind, and now that she was less distracted, she wished to know what hid behind each of the curtains. Would he allow her?

“When will it be over, Kiren?” She couldn’t keep the longing from her voice. “I want to stay like this, to be with you always.”

A cloud of sadness dropped over them both. “Soon, love.”

She gasped, startled by the blank gap behind his words. “You just lied to me.”

His face pinked, his mouth working but no words escaping.

Amazing! Finally, she was on equal footing with him. She rolled on top of him. “You are going to have a hard time with this new development, are you not?”

He cleared his throat. “I suppose I shall have to alter my ways.”

“Good.” She rested her cheek on his chest. “But do not answer my inquiry. I wish only for this moment.”