The Discovered Read online

  “I thought I killed you, too.” Just like my mothers. I thought I’d caused their murders because of my selfishness, disobedience, and thirst for power. But if they already knew they were going to die… if I was always meant to come into this power, and everything had happened exactly according to some grand plan, then I was absolved. They said I was meant to save them in a different way. Now it was up to me to figure out how.

  We lay in silence for a beat, and I could feel an intensity bubbling up around us.

  “You didn’t fail me. Please don’t blame yourself.” It felt natural to be in his arms.

  He chuckled in a way that was devoid of humor. “My cosmic purpose is literally to protect you, Áine.”

  The hairs at the back of my neck pricked up at his tone. I wanted to lift his hand to my mouth and kiss it.

  “It must hurt to speak so please stop doing it. I can’t bear to see you in more pain,” he said, softer now.

  “It doesn’t hurt,” I lied, “that much.” I looked down at our intwined fingers. A vein bulged in his forearm, which was unsettling, considering the action that just strained his muscles. I frowned and shook the thought away. “I’m sorry for trying to seduce you,” I blurted. After this experience, I needed everything to be out on the table. “When you didn’t want to… you know.”

  Very eloquent, Áine, I chastised myself. God this was humiliating, yet again. I just wanted to put it all behind us.

  Daelon nearly snorted. “Is that how you saw it?” he scoffed. “I thought you said your actions were due to Stockholm syndrome.” The tone of his voice changed, revealing once more that that comment had cut deep.

  “That was a joke!”

  “Oh.” He was silent for a moment. “It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. I mean, don’t be ridiculous. I just didn’t want to take advantage of the situation.”

  I drew my brows together. It seemed I had misread that night in a completely different way than I’d originally thought. Heat rose to my cheeks, replaying his words in my mind. So, he had wanted me.

  Now what?

  “Oh,” was all I could manage to say. I shivered as he unclasped his hand from mine and stroked through my hair just above the ear. “Do you believe in an afterlife?” I asked, veering quickly into a new conversational direction. I couldn’t shake that image of my mothers, looking so proud of me in their white dresses that blew in the ocean breeze.

  “Occasionally.”

  “I’m not sure that’s something one believes in occasionally,” I laughed.

  Daelon’s fingers paused in their brush through my hair. “I believe in what I experience. There are plenty of witches who believe in such things and claim to have seen them firsthand. But how can I trust in them? Two people can experience the same event and recount it completely differently.”

  I picked up on the embedded double meaning. “Fair point.”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I saw my mothers. When I was unconscious. Or at least I think I did.”

  Daelon sighed. “Maybe you did. It wouldn’t be any less meaningful either way, would it? If it was really them, or some other form conjured through their energy and memory. I don’t know.”

  I wasn’t sure, either. I thought it would mean less in that I would like to see my mothers again, when it was my time to die. But if death was final and I snuffed out of existence, I guessed I wouldn’t be conscious anymore to be disappointed.

  “It’s like that Mark Twain quote. Where he says he isn’t afraid to die because he was dead for billions of years before he was born and had not suffered the slightest bit of inconvenience from it,” I thought aloud.

  “I quite like that,” Daelon said, wrapping his arm back around me. I felt him move closer, his breath warm on my neck. “But can we stop talking about death, please?”

  “Right. Yeah,” I laughed nervously.

  But the line of thought wouldn’t loosen its grip. What I saw on that beach felt just as real as this moment. It lit something inside me that I knew would guide me for days to come, like I was being pulled through this life by an invisible thread—one that tied me to my mothers, our people, that place, and a power that was universal—magick that yearned for the completion of something I had yet to understand. My mothers wanted me to trust that one day I would. I would understand everything.

  “Can we talk about whoever the hell it was that I provoked?” I asked, expecting yet another wall.

  Daelon sighed, confirming what I already knew. “We can. Soon,” he promised, and I wasn’t sure whether to believe him. Even after we’d almost killed each other, there was still this barrier between us, one that he was entirely unwilling to break down. And I was tired of being put off.

  We lay in silence, and my mind traveled to that beach until Daelon pulled me back to him again.

  “What was that dream about, Áine? The one that made you blush and get all cagey?” And just like that, playful Daelon was back, his thumb stroking my palm.

  “How did I know you would never let that go?” I muttered, glad to be facing away from him.

  “Tell me.”

  I did sort of promise the Universe to obey Daelon more often if he lived. I groaned. “Fine. It was… risqué. And about you. But not a sex dream,” I quickly added. My heartrate soared. “So don’t get too full of yourself.” As soon as it left my mouth, I instantly regretted it. What the hell was in these magickal pain killers?

  I could nearly feel his grin. “Mmm,” he purred into my neck. “I knew it.”

  I needed to use the bathroom. And exit this conversation.

  I wriggled out of Daelon’s grasp and started to get up.

  “Hey, where do you think you’re going?” he asked, more than amused. He grabbed my wrist and then quickly let go when I winced. It was the wrist he’d grabbed too tightly when possessed by whatever that malevolent force was.

  I turned to look at him as I sat at the edge of the bed. His face had fallen, no trace of its former mischief. He grasped my arm lightly, inspecting the red, just formed bruising in the shape of a hand.

  “I’m sorry,” he said again.

  “Stop apologizing.” I wished I could banish the shame from his eyes. He looked like he’d failed the whole world. “I just need to use the bathroom.”

  He released my arm, watching me as I stopped in front of the mirror. I suppressed a gasp for his sake as I caught a glimpse of my neck, which was bright pink and beginning to swell. The bruises along the sides were red and splotchy.

  I turned to Daelon, who looked positively mortified. “It’s not that bad. They’re sort of like, uh, hickeys.” I shrugged and disappeared into the bathroom. Okay, maybe it looked way worse than that, but I needed to make light of it all so Daelon wouldn’t shut down again.

  Out of his sight now, I inspected myself further in the tall, golden-framed mirrors, smoothing down my messy hair and readjusting my thick knit sweater dress. My head throbbed slightly even through the witchy painkillers, and I remembered that I’d also hit it hard during the attack.

  When I came back into the room, my stomach dropped at the sight of my empty bed. I was surprised at just how much it disappointed me. Even after all the cuddling and vulnerability, not to mention a shared near-death experience, I had absolutely no idea where we stood. I didn’t know if I could suppress my feelings any longer.

  I ventured outside the room, a bit loopy and lightheaded from the pills. They felt like a blanket of warmth around my every nerve ending, swarming my mind with soft, wispy clouds. I spotted Daelon in the kitchen chopping up what appeared to be herbs and fruit. He stopped when he noticed me.

  “Go get in bed,” he ordered.

  “Without you?” I leaned my head to the side.

  He narrowed his eyes, unable to hold back a smile. “Those painkillers are working, huh?” He shook his head. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Were the magick pills really affecting my behavior that much? Oh, well. Who needed inhibitions anyway? It wasn’t my fa
ult he looked so hot right now, with his taut muscles and his chiseled face and his—

  “Go get in bed,” he repeated. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

  “Yes, sir,” I said, biting my lip. “Is that how you want me to respond when you order me around?” I teased, feigning innocence.

  Daelon set down the knife, utterly bemused before regaining composure. He lifted a brow. “Yes, that would be preferable to how you generally respond.”

  His eyes flashed something dangerous as he crossed his arms, as if he was daring me to continue. I decided to postpone the challenge for another time, spinning on my heel to get back in bed.

  “How is it?”

  “Kind of gross, sorry,” I said, drinking the green smoothie Daelon had blended for me. It tasted exactly like its contents, which were a bunch of herbs and a banana.

  “It will help speed up the healing. It’s a recipe my mother taught me, one that was passed down for generations,” he said thoughtfully, momentarily traveling somewhere else in his mind. He sat with me in the king-sized bed. “Plus, you haven’t eaten in at least 6 hours.”

  “Holy shit.”

  “What?” He sounded alarmed.

  “You’re obsessed with me.”

  He rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically, but I could tell the corners of his lips wanted to tip upward.

  “Listen. Only stalkers know how long it’s been since someone’s last meal.”

  “I’m both a kidnapper and a stalker now, is that right?” he asked as if he’d taken the insult seriously.

  “Oh, stop pouting. It was a joke.” I exaggerated the last word, shaking my head at him. “Stop being so serious.”

  “Keeping you alive and making sure you’re prepared for what’s to come is a serious job,” he murmured.

  “I’m not a child. I think I learned how to keep myself alive a long time ago.”

  “Well, you’re not particularly good at it,” he muttered.

  I laughed.

  “What is so funny?”

  I shrugged. “You.”

  He flustered. “Glad I can amuse you.” He looked like he wanted to say something more but didn’t. Instead, he watched as I set my finished herb smoothie down on the bedside table.

  I leaned back on the pillows. Across from me, he leaned back on his palms. We stared at each other for a moment in silence. When he moved closer, my breath caught in my throat as he gently lifted my left arm and kissed my wrist softly.

  “Will that speed the healing, too?” I asked, my voice still scratchy.

  “I figure it doesn’t hurt to try,” he said. His eyes were utterly seductive, but I could tell it still pained him to see my bruises.

  “Well.” I swallowed. “Then you should probably be thorough.”

  He smiled, crawling over me so that his face was mere inches from mine. He looked down at my lips, but then cocked and moved his head lower so he could reach my neck. I turned to give him better access as he left the lightest of kisses along my bruised skin. He moved from one side to the other, and I mirrored him. Each time his lips met my throat, a shiver went down my spine.

  My breath picked up as he finished, and as his lips were so close to mine again, I was nearly ready to beg him to kiss me. He didn’t. I must’ve given myself away because he looked rather contented with himself as he pulled back, leaving me yearning.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been so gentle with someone,” he murmured.

  I quirked a brow. Why was that not surprising? Of course, Daelon wouldn’t be into gentle. All of the innuendos he’d made came rushing back to me.

  He smiled shyly, leaning on his side against the pillows. I turned so that we faced each other. “I just—this isn’t something I’m used to.”

  I didn’t have the gall to ask him to elaborate on whatever non-gentle relationships he was used to.

  “I’m not used to feeling this way,” he clarified.

  “Oh,” I said, barely audible. “Feeling what way?” My eyes probed his.

  Daelon shook his head. “We really shouldn’t, Áine.”

  “Shouldn’t what?” Why must he always make things difficult? I didn’t understand why he had all of these arbitrary rules for himself in place. I ignored the words of the wannabe devil that flashed in my mind, insinuating that Daelon was hiding his identity. I knew who Daelon was. Even without the help of my gift, I could sense it. “Nothing that you’re hiding from me could change anything.”

  Daelon sighed. “It will.” He looked so conflicted; his features wracked with discomfort. “When I was close to killing you—” I opened my mouth to tell him to stop torturing himself, but he pressed a finger to my lips. “No, listen. As you faded out, you sent me what you were feeling. That’s what brought me back, I think.”

  My eyes widened as I remembered those moments, and I knew I was probably flushed. My feelings for him had been the only thing I could think about. “And you don’t feel the same way,” I finished for him. Maybe this was all just lust for him.

  “Áine, that’s not what I’m saying.” He took in a breath. “Like I said before, I just don’t want to take advantage of this situation. I don’t want to do anything that could jeopardize what we’re working toward. It’s all just—complicated.”

  “Stop treating me like I can’t make my own decisions about how I act and feel. You are never going to take advantage of me, Daelon.”

  He sighed, and he moved a strand of hair behind my ear. “Maybe you’re right. I didn’t think I would feel this way. I’ve never felt this way,” he said. He was angelically vulnerable again, like he looked only in his sleep. Fear gleamed deep in his eyes. “I don’t know if I can stop myself anymore. Not now.”

  “I don’t know if I can either,” I whispered back, reaching for his hand. “So maybe we shouldn’t.”

  He smiled hesitantly. “Your energy—it revealed that I reminded you of a home you’d never seen. I feel the same way. You—you remind me of home,” he said, a long-buried sadness rising to the surface of his dark eyes. But hope swam there, too. “You need to rest. We can continue this tomorrow, okay?”

  I nodded, reflecting his smile. Something had finally shifted; a barrier crumbled at last. There were other walls to break and hurdles to clear, but for now, this was enough.

  When I woke, Daelon was wrapped around me, his arm locking me in place. I couldn’t help but smile. Even in his sleep, his instinct was to act as a shield. My dreams were normal and diluted for once, without any hint of hidden meanings, monsters, or magick. It was as if my mind finally blocked everything out to take some well-deserved time to recharge and rest.

  I snuck out of Daelon’s grasp, amused as he reached for me without waking. In the bathroom, I took a moment to inspect my neck in the mirror. Like my pain, the marks had faded miraculously overnight. The bruises had transformed to more blue and green hues behind my warm-toned skin.

  Daelon stirred when I stepped back into the room.

  “Áine,” he said groggily, reaching out to where I once lay. He sat up quickly.

  “I’m right here.”

  His momentary confusion and panic dissipated. He shook his head, and when I crawled back under the covers, he pulled me close to him. I rested my head against his bare chest, which was warm in contrast to the cold outside of our soft, blanket cocoon. He kissed the top of my head and held me tight.

  I was still getting used to us being this close, but it didn’t feel as strange as I thought it would. It felt natural. Destined. Like yet another piece coming together in this cosmic drama.

  “How does your neck feel?”

  “Better.”

  “Good.”

  I fell back to sleep pressed into the contours of his body, though flashes of those witches in white continued to dance in my mind in between states of consciousness. They whispered through the crashing of waves—things I would soon forget as sleep pulled me back under—but I held on to the feeling that I was exactly where I needed to be, with exactly who I need
ed to be with.

  Chapter 10

  Daelon and I sat in the dining room next to the kitchen, and I watched sleet pour down outside. I wished it was cold enough to snow, but the temperature hovered just above freezing. At least I wasn’t the cause of the precipitation today.

  “Now that we’ve regrouped,” I started, sipping on coffee. “Can we discuss whoever the hell that was and how we are going to kick his ass?”

  Daelon looked up at me wearily and set down the book he was reading, which seemed to be on war strategy or something of equal dullness.

  “We will be doing no such thing. At least not yet,” he qualified. He gazed out the window, his features oddly impassive.

  “Discussing him or kicking his ass?” I wasn’t going to let this go. This man nearly killed him. And me. Why was Daelon hesitating? “Because last time I checked you said we were completely untouchable here. What happens when he comes for round two?”

  He snapped his head back and crossed his arms, his face contorting like I’d offended him. Sometimes talking to him was like walking through a minefield.

  “It won’t happen again. It was a unique breach of my defenses due to extraordinary power and the element of surprise, but it will never happen again,”

  Again, I couldn’t tell if he was being arrogant and determined, or if he knew more than he was letting on. “You know who it was, don’t you? And if he was that powerful, does that mean I’m not the only one of my… kind?” I frowned at the way that threatened my ego.

  “There is no one like you, Áine. You can rest assured on that,” he said with a smirk. “And yes, I do know who it was.”

  I was shocked at this candor. Was Daelon finally going to be honest with me about the evil that lurked in this realm? And even my role in defeating it?

  “He’s an enemy, of course. A powerful one. But I don’t want you worrying about that for now, okay? I need you to trust me.”

  I huffed, narrowing my eyes. He was running out of just trust me cards to play.