The 13th Prophecy (25 page)

I lifted my head, and stared at him, not bothering to wipe away the tears on my wet face. “Fuck you, Eric!” I jumped to my feet, intending to walk further into the maze, but Eric clamped his hand around me, and thrust me into the wall. Golden flowers bent under my weight, poking into my back. His hands pressed my wrists next to my head as he leaned closer.

Eric hissed, “Very tempting, but not today. Thank you.”

“I wasn’t offering, Eric!” I twisted, trying to pull away from him. But the best way to deal with Eric—usually—isn’t to fight back. I forced the tension out of my body and leaned back into the flowers. Usually, this was the right way to deal with him, but not this time.

He released my wrists. But he didn’t lower his hands. Instead, his arm wound back with his palm open and it flew across my cheek. My face turned to the side, as he struck me. The sting blossomed, growing stronger. “Wake up, Ivy!” I turned, looking up at him. “You die! You die without him! You die without me! Collin’s doing what he came here for. And it wasn’t to hold your hand and pat you on the back. This is what he was meant for. This is why he’s here—to give you back your soul. It protected you before, and it saved him. And now it’s time to take whatever gifts anyone offers you, and say thank you.”

I screamed in his face, “Fuck you.” I didn’t want to hear what he was saying. The things he suggested meant we were all martyrs—all three of us. I couldn’t accept that.

“Yes, you said that already,” he tilted his head, folding his arms across his chest. Eric’s eyes were gold, deep gold. The same color as the walls.

“I wasn’t done! You don’t know what you’re asking me to do! You don’t know what will happen to him. I can’t lose him, Eric. I can’t risk it. It’s utterly selfish, and I won’t do it.”

Eric growled. Reaching out he grabbed my face in his hand and jerked my gaze to meet his. “No! This is selfish—running off like a petulant child who didn’t get her way. You don’t get your way this time!” I ripped my face out of his grasp, trying to push him back. He was starting to piss me off. But my powers were still weak. Eric could strong-arm me now, and he’d win. When I tore my face away, he grabbed onto my shoulders and pushed me back into the wall, pinning me with his body. His hands moved down my sides as I tried to kick him in the groin, but I couldn’t get a good shot.

When I felt his hands on my waist, sliding higher, I screamed, “Eric!
Stop!”

He pulled away from me with lust in his eyes. I didn’t try to control my emotions. I was afraid.
Afraid of losing Collin.
Afraid Eric would overpower me.
Afraid.
His hands lingered on the hem of my shirt. With a swift movement, the shirt was ripped over my head. I stood there in front of him in nothing but jeans and a bra. The look in Eric’s eyes was
carnal
. His finger pressed against the deep blue lines on my chest. They spanned an arch from my shoulder to under my bra.

He traced the
spidering
veins of blue poison as he spoke, “This is a time bomb. You know it will kill you and you know you’re already on borrowed time. Satan’s Stone won’t heal this, Ivy. You’d be a fool if you used the stone for anything but to defeat Kreturus.” His voice softened as he stared at my breast, gently touching the soft marred skin with his thumb.

My hand caught his wrist, stopping him before he felt me up again. “I’ll use it for both.”

“You can’t,” he strained against my hand, leaning into me, feeling my body against his. But he didn’t overpower me. It gave me a sense of control that I thought I lost.
“One wish per user, with one horrifying payment.”
His lips were close to mine when he whispered, “It’ll be worse than mine. Let Collin heal you.” His body rested against mine, pressing me into the wall. His hands stroked my hair. My heart pounded in my chest.
Angry.
Embarrassed.
Afraid.
He breathed deeply, “If you don’t get your fear under control, I won’t be able to walk away.”

I hadn’t realized that Eric was fighting his instincts at all. But he was. Every muscle in his neck was corded tightly like rope. There was strain in his gaze, when he looked back down at me. It was a carnal caress. Gazing at his cheek, I asked, “What is it you want to do to me? Every time you feel this—rage—or whatever it is, what does it make you want?”

Surprise washed across his face, “You.
In pain.
In ecstasy.
And everything in between.” He pushed away from me. I stood there for a moment, watching his back as he sucked in steadying breaths. When he finally turned around, he said, “We have to go back. And Ivy, this may be the hardest thing you’ve ever done, but you have to let him give you that kiss.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

I followed Eric back to the Lorren in silence. His words unnerved me.
All of them.
I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. When we walked into the golden room, I saw Collin sitting across from an upright Jenna Marie and Lorren. There was a grin on
Lorren’s
face like nothing I’d ever seen before. He had just pressed a kiss to her cheek, when he saw me.

I couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.

Lorren said, “I sent Eric after you. Collin wanted to go, but I wouldn’t let him. This is the only place that is safe within the Lorren for him and you,” he glanced at Jenna Marie. “I wish I could offer you more.”

“You’re all I could want. You’re all I need,” she pressed her lips to
Lorren’s
and kissed him deeply. I blushed, looking away. Eric muttered something rude, and sat down on the floor.

Collin walked toward me, cupping my face in his hands. “Why didn’t you tell me? You know I’d do anything for you—anything. I could have saved you a great deal of pain. Ivy, why’d you keep this from me?”

“It’ll change you,” I pleaded. “You’ll be soulless. I don’t know what will happen, or if you’ll even survive. I couldn’t turn you Valefar again—or worse... It’s not like I can just give you back your soul. Our souls are fused together. They had to be or you wouldn’t have survived that night Eric nearly killed you. I felt the magic as it left me and went into you.
 
My soul isn’t
mine
anymore. It’s tangled with yours.
Collin, taking that away from you.
I just can’t risk it.” His fingers tangled in my hair as I spoke. His blue gaze focused on my mine. There was an expression in his eyes that was so powerful, I wanted to look away, but he wouldn’t let me.

“You’re worth the risk,” he whispered. His hands slid from my shoulders to my cheeks, slowly. His eyes darted between my eyes and my lips as I spoke.

“I can’t let you,” I replied softly, unable to look away.

He released me, gazing at the jeweled floor and said, “Tell her.” I wasn’t sure who he was talking to, but it seemed that they had already discussed it.

Lorren spoke first, “When I used the stone, it nearly killed me. Ivy, it’ll take every ounce of strength you have to command its powers and live.”

I snapped at him, turning to the spot where he sat, laying back against the wall with Jenna Marie in his arms. “Would you be able to do it? Would you risk losing her?” But he had risked losing her, and did. I swallowed hard.
Thinking.
Not liking my options, but not seeing another way out.

Eric spoke from his prone position on the floor. His fingers were laced behind his head as he stared at the ceiling. “You know he did,” he replied to the question directed at Lorren. “You’re a smart girl, despite my criticisms.” He paused, staring blankly. His jaw tensed, revealing his anxiety despite his cavalier pose. “When I used the stone, it destroyed me—and remade me. It ripped me apart, seam by seam. And I told them Ivy.”

My heart lurched. He didn’t! That was a secret between us. I wasn’t even sure if it was true—if his curse would affect me. Anger and fear were mixing together, pooling restlessly in the pit of my stomach. “Stop it,” he chided and sprang up. Walking toward me with
a fierceness
in his step, he looked down, saying, “My curse—the price I paid to use the stone—will affect you. To date it has destroyed everyone I’ve cared about.” His eyes were like golden flames, “Every. Single.
One.
No one escaped its reach. Everyone died. You know this! We already talked about it, and yet you sit here and act like this won’t be a big deal.” His index finger pressed into my chest where the poison was visible again just above my neckline, “This promises your death as well. The Omen, that dragon—if it’s really the Omen—promises destruction. Your life is over. It’s possible you’ll try to use the stone, and just die before it even does anything.” He removed his hand, and turned his back to me. Tension knotted his broad shoulders.

Eric’s words made me shiver. They presented a finality that I hadn’t heard until that point. They made me face the hopelessness that was presented to me. I had to use an incredibly powerful source of magic, and hope I was strong enough for its magic to course through me, like a piece of wire, without dying on contact. Collin remained leaning against the wall, his hands behind him with his feet kicked out in front. He watched me carefully as they spoke plainly, failing to sugar-coat anything. They said what would happen; they said what was real.

I nodded slowly,
then
turned to Collin, “And the price I pay for using the stone will be higher...
“ A
hysterical laugh bubbled to my lips. “Collin, I can’t do this! I can’t. It’s impossible. My body’s supposed to be a conduit for some massive sort of dark power that will kill Kreturus—it sounds so impossible. He could snatch the stone out of my hands before I even have a chance to use it, and use it himself.”

Collin shoved off the wall and stood in front of me. He could hear my resolve shattering, as I spoke. Reaching for me, he took my hands in his, “That’s why Eric and I are going. That’s why we have to be there. We can’t use the stone down
here,
it has to be above ground, and in front of Kreturus. ”

A puzzled look crossed my face, “Why can’t we use it in secret? Why does it have to be in the open?
In front of him?
He’ll make a grab for the stone, and if he gets it, everything will be so much worse.”

His hands rubbed smoothly over mine. Assuredly, he said, “He doesn’t get the stone.”

“But how do you know?” I asked.

“Because of the thirteenth prophecy.
Because the depiction of power on the stem of the cup was of you—not him.
Kreturus knows he’s fighting a losing battle without you. That’s why he wanted you. That’s why he waited...”

I studied Collin’s hands, the strong fingers that tapered as gently as a sculpture. “He said he waited because my powers aren’t fully formed. He made it sound like they were only in infancy.”

Collin brushed a curl away from my eyes, “He doesn’t realize you have the stone. The only thing he knows is that your powers change, and you become strong enough to destroy him as if he were nothing. He assumed your powers weren’t fully formed, but they are. It’s the stone that’s changing things. It’s the stone that gives you the power to destroy him, and make you the goddess you saw on the stem of the chalice.” He leaned close, keeping his hand on my face, rubbing his thumb slowly across my cheek. “Let me give you this. Your sacrifice saved me. I’ll always be yours. It won’t change me—I promise.”

“But how can you be sure?” Tears were pricking my eyes. I knew I had to accept his offer. I knew I had to drink his soul to reclaim my own. It was the only way we could win. There were no other options.

His voice was a whisper that only I could hear, “Because we were soul mates before we shared a soul, and we’ll be soul mates after.” He leaned closer, his dark lashes lowering as his full lips pressed into mine. His hands slid down my sides, pulling me closer as the kiss deepened. That was when I felt it—our conjoined soul was deep within him—mashed together like a ball of
Playdough
that had once been separate colors. They were now woven so tightly together that there was no way to pull the two souls apart. It was the gift that restored his life. And now I was taking it back. No, he was giving it. I kissed him deeper, wrapping my arms around his neck.