The Protectors Christmas Box Set (sexy paranormal romances) (43 page)

The frail old man dropped to the soft grasses, dazed but unharmed, while the mystical light continued to stab and tear at Manelin’s spirit.

“Save yourself!” Horace shouted. Faith hadn’t stopped herself from the free-fall. And the ground grew dangerously close to her head. “Dammit, don’t sacrifice yourself for my sake!”

“As long as you promise to never do the same for me,” she said. With a sparkle of brilliant light, she appeared right next to him.

Her body still vibrating with his golden energy, and sparks danced in the air between them. How she’d managed to transport herself through time and space had him baffled. None of
the Protectors
could pull off such a trick. At least, he didn’t think they could.

“What should we do with him?” Horace hooked his thumb toward the nearly transparent faerie being tormented by the same golden glow that illuminated Faith from the inside out.

“What do you think?” Faith asked, her eyes growing dark. “He would have happily killed you.”

“But he’s the prince of…”

“Of what?”

“Of the mystical realm.”

Her eyes glittered with excitement. “The prince of the faeries, nymphs, mermaids, and goblins?”

“And
Protectors
, among others.” This was the truth he’d been running away from for years. This was the burden he couldn’t ask her to share with him. He gave a long sigh. “I’m the king.”

“I know.” But she didn’t seem to understand what being the king of the mystical realm meant. If she had, she wouldn’t have been accepting it, or him, so readily.

“Faith, it’s not a life that will be—”

Thunder crackled across the high plateau. The bright flash that followed nearly knocked Horace to the ground.

“It is a crime to bring harm to the royal family. A law not even the king can break,” a trio of voices boomed.

Still screaming and twisting, Prince Manelin faded. In his place, stood three tiny bearded men. The tallest among them couldn’t have been more than three feet in height.

Horace recognized them right away. Even if Sapa hadn’t unlocked his memories he would have recognized them. They were the royal sages.

“You have found your mate, Lion. It is time to come home,” the three sages spoke as one voice.

“What about Manelin?” Faith demanded. “What have you done with him?”

“He has been put in a safe place. Whether he accepts it or not, he is the Prince of Arawyn, Prince of the Otherworld.”

One of the royal sages, the tallest among them, quirked a brow and, stretching, he reached up to touch the sparks that danced around Faith’s body.

“What is this?” the sage asked, speaking without the echo of the other two. As if responding to his touch, the glow vanished and the worrisome sparks calmed.

“She is his mate,” said the second sage.

“His power is unleashed and dangerous,” said the third.

Their gazes, acting as one, latched onto Horace. “Why have you done this?” they asked.

“It was a mistake.”

One that had ruined both his and Faith’s lives. As long as he remained without a mate, the sages would have allowed Horace to live with his friends in the mortal realm. He’d been given the freedom to search for the perfect woman. To take as long as he’d needed.

He had planned to take forever.

Faith wrapped her arms around Horace’s waist. “We have the power under control…mostly,” she said with so much determination, Horace couldn’t help but feel proud of her.

What a truly wondrous and brave woman, and well suited to becoming a queen. She deserved all the finest things in life. She deserved to be happy.

Horace felt certain he could make their bond complete. All he had to do was open his heart to Faith.

But should he? Faith deserved a better life. A life free from him and the burdens of the crown.

“What you’ve done or haven’t done, doesn’t matter,” the sages said. “It is done. You cannot change what you have started. Accept that and move on. It is time for them to come with us.”

“No.” Horace tried to back away from them. He wouldn’t allow them to take him or Faith. Not like they had stolen him away the last time. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

The shock of seeing Manelin had brought back the last of Horace’s stubborn memories. He remembered how the sage’s frighteningly silent minions had kidnapped him at the club. They’d bound his hands and feet. Bound, he’d fought them every step of the way as they’d transported him to the cave up on this plateau. Even as he struggled with every ounce of his strength, they’d dragged him through a swirling portal.

And the sages had changed him. They’d transformed him into a creature that couldn’t exist without a mate.

“I didn’t ask to be king of a world that had never wanted me in the first place. How can I go back?”

“It is your duty,” the sages answered as one. “You are our king.”

Muk ran up to Horace while the other
Protectors
watched from a safe distance. “Sapa has sent me to accompany you to the cave.” He lowered his voice. “He says that you must not do what you are planning to do, Horace.”

“Perhaps we should at least look at what’s in the cave,” Faith said with such eagerness that it would have been cruel to send her away before letting her see the wonders her parents had described to her. But despite Sapa’s warning, he had no intention of letting Faith follow him into the Otherworld.

The sages led the way with Muk close on their heels. Horace took one last look at the beautiful blue sky, felt the heat of the sun on his face and the tickle of the breeze. Though he’d never cared much for the outdoors, he’d miss these things.

And he’d miss Faith even more. Leaving her behind would blast a hole in his heart he knew would never heal.

The opening of the cave yawned nearly two stories high, a great hole in the side of the mountain. The passage descended sharply, winding down into the cool depths of the earth. Crystals and emeralds glowed as they passed. A steady drip, drip, drip of a hidden water source could be heard in the distance.

After what felt like a hundred forevers, they finally reached the end of the cave. The passageway stopped abruptly at a flat wall.

Horace gave Faith time to take out her flashlight and explore the primitive glyphs covering the walls, before clearing his throat.

“This is where we part,” he said, fiercely pressing his will on her. He’d promised Faith’s parents he’d protect her. And he saw now that the best way he could keep her safe was to let her go. No matter how much it hurt him, he had to let her go. “Stay here, on earth. Live your life. Become the woman you are meant to become.”

All signs of life drained from her eyes as she nodded in agreement. It had worked. She started to head back toward the cave’s opening.

But suddenly she blinked several times and shook her head.

“Oh no, you don’t. I won’t let you wiggle out of our relationship after everything we’ve been through.”

“Don’t fight me,” he said, his voice vibrating with all the power he could gather. “Go with Muk. Let him take you home.”

She sighed deeply and twined her fingers with his. “I know it’s difficult for you to trust me, to trust our relationship.”

He didn’t want her to touch him. He didn’t want any of this. But the warmth of her hand kept him from pulling away. Though earlier in the jungle he’d asked her to give him a chance to prove himself, he was no longer convinced he could be the man she needed.

She deserved someone who could give her the moon and the stars—and his heart.

“I’ve been listening to everything, you know,” she told him. “I’ve been paying attention. I understand that you didn’t have parents or a family to love and protect you when you were growing up. So this must feel unnatural. Frightening, even.”

What could he say to that? He tried to come up with something to prove her wrong. No one respected weakness, especially not women. He’d learned that lesson well enough on the streets.

“I also know that you’re a born leader, Horace. It’s in your blood to be in control,” she blazed on before he had a chance to explain away her doubts about him. “I know you want to control me. To protect me.”

She gave his hand a squeeze. “I’m learning that in your own way, you are trying to show me that you care for me. But you don’t have to prove yourself. I care for you, too. And as your queen, I’m going to be by your side. Whether you like it or not, I’m not going to let you face the unknown that waits for you on the other side of that portal alone.”

“But the danger—”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “We’re in this together. Like it or not, we’re a team. And no matter what you do, you won’t get rid of me.”

He felt a sudden urge to fight her. To rage against her. To push her away. She had worked her way under his skin again, and it was making him itchy as hell.

“I never wanted you!” he shouted, more frustrated at his own inadequacies than with her. “I never wanted any of this!”

Faith opened her mouth then pinched her lips together. A halo of golden light flared around her head. The power lashed at the sloping walls, sending loose stones clattering to the ground.

Muk backed out of the cave—smart man.

“You can’t go without me.” Her voice had turned as hard as stone. She pointed to a petroglyph of a man and a woman holding hands that had been carved into the cave wall. The woman had one arm raised. Jagged lines representing lightning replaced the woman’s fingers. “You need me to open the portal.”

He traced the deep grooves cut into the stone. The petroglyph glowed a ruby red in response to his touch.

“The sages can open the portal,” he said.

“We can,” they agreed.

He swung toward them. “I want to release Faith. She deserves more than I can offer her. She deserves to follow her own dreams. I don’t want her bound within the confines of my hell.”

“You have mated with her,” the sages reminded him. “The two of you are bonded.”

“Horace, I don’t—”she started to protest.

He pressed a finger to her lips.

“This is my gift to you, Faith.” He turned back to the sages. “You can untie us? You can remove the marks?”

They nodded gravely. “We can.”

“Horace, don’t—”

Afraid he’d be tempted to selfishly keep her with him if he listened to her reasons why he should change his mind, he kissed her.

It would be better this way, he told himself as their lips met. He would be better off. The lie contracted in his chest. Just the thought of losing Faith threatened to tear apart his sanity.

He deepened the kiss. This was his gift to her. She felt limp in his arms. Her tongue touched his, and his power flowed back and forth between them.

Their passion had the power to ignite the night sky. Such turbulence would destroy them both unless he opened up his heart and let her get closer than anyone had ever been to him.

No. He couldn’t let her stay.

He had to send her away.

In time, she would understand.

How could he do this to her? The jerk. A loveable, sexy jerk. Faith couldn’t think of anyone else she would want to spend her life with. But she didn’t know how to prove her love for him. Perhaps he would never trust her. Perhaps he’d never be able to love her back.

“Tell us,” the sages demanded of Faith. “Is this your wish?”

Was it
? To leave her life in Chicago, her dreams, her family, her friends, in exchange for a man who held back his love? Was that the life she wanted for herself?

Horace offered her freedom, her last chance to hold onto her own identity.

Why was the cost of love so high? Her parents were happy, but even they’d admitted that it took compromise and sacrifice to make their relationship work. And they were both loving and willing.

Her situation wasn’t the same. Horace was too afraid to love her. Perhaps he couldn’t love her. Ever.

“
Yes
,” she whispered, tears burning in the back of her eyes. “Yes, I’d rather continue my studies in Chicago than follow Horace into the unknown.” And if that meant she wouldn’t be in his life, so be it.

She’d survive the heartbreak, she hoped.

“V-v-very well-well-well,” the sages said, sounding somewhat uncertain and completely out of sync with each other. “T-th-the heart h-has-as s-spoken.”

A low humming filled her ears. The words of a droning language that sounded both ancient and strangely familiar called to her soul. The sound soothed her.

The words swirled around her, turning the world gray. And then black. She felt no pain, only a dull knowledge of what was happening. The only way to break the ties that bound their auras and linked their souls together was to kill her.

And while she didn’t want to die, but it wasn’t her death but the words that had been left unsaid that had her heart screaming in distress.

She’d never told Horace how she felt about him. Just as he’d accused in the forest, Faith hadn’t given him the chance to love her.

Horace hadn’t been the only one holding back when it came to love. Faith had been so worried about her future that she’d been too afraid to trust Horace with her heart.

“No!” She tried to shout but her mouth wouldn’t move.

She should have told Horace about her feelings right after he’d made that third mark. She should have trusted that he could be strong enough to accept her love.

“Horace, I love you. Please, I love you. Please, don’t let me go
.”

Faith vaguely heard someone shout her name. And then a crash.

Someone grabbed her hand. In a blinding flash, she saw sparks fly from the tips of her fingers, and the wall at the end of the cave opened up into a swirling blue portal. A blast of wind pushed the three sages through the gaping hole.

And then a force more powerful than anything Faith had ever experienced knocked her breathless. Hands rubbed up and down her back, peeling off her clothes. Lips rained feather-light kisses over her face. A loving mouth breathed life back into her body.

“Faith, I love you, too.” Horace squeezed her so hard she worried her ribs might crack. “You can have your life in Chicago. I’ll do whatever it takes to give it to you. Just…just don’t die. And don’t ever let me push you away from me again. I need you, Faith. I need you as fiercely as I need the air to breathe.”