Forevermore Page 25

  It was difficult to hold back my laughter, but I managed it. “And how exactly did Callum call me?”

  “Fucking telekinesis, asshole,” he grumbled. His words were garbled because his cheek was squashed against the car’s roof. “Marcus pulled it out of my pocket, put it near my face, and called you.”

  I couldn’t completely contain myself then and I snorted. Quickly, I swallowed the rest of the chuckles. Callum and Marcus were doing me a favor by coming here. It wouldn’t do to piss them off before we accomplished what we needed to do.

  “You can release them, Kerry. They’re my offspring.”

  “I figured as much,” she replied. “But I wanted to wait until you and Ava were finished with your…talk.”

  My urge to laugh died as she reminded me of the shitstorm that had exploded over our heads this morning and the memory that had returned.

  “You knew what would happen, didn’t you?” I asked. It was a struggle to keep my voice even as I realized what Kerry meant. Her cryptic words and behavior leading up to this morning made sense. Her reaction when she saw Ava for the first time, everything. “You knew who we were as soon as you saw us,” I murmured.

  Her gaze softened. “I did and I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. But you saw what happened to Ava when some of her memories came through. She was in agony. And then what happened to you when she spoke your name. I couldn’t risk the curse killing you before you broke through on your own. The magic holding you both has weakened over centuries. It was a damn powerful spell to last two millennia. Then, once the two of you were together, you were stronger. Your own power shattered the spell. If I pushed you the wrong way or too early, it would have ended in disaster.”

  I nodded because I knew that she was telling the truth. I could smell it, and her eyes remained steady on mine. I took a deep breath and as I exhaled, I let it go. There were too many battles ahead and this wasn’t one of them. Kerry made the same decision I would have in her position and I couldn’t fault her for it.

  “Heeeeeeyyyyy,” Callum yelled. “Could you please tell your witch to release us?”

  I shot Kerry a dry look and she grinned. A moment later, Callum and Marcus straightened from the car and shook out their arms and shoulders. Callum looked irritated but it was shaded with amusement. He’d always been quick to laugh, even quicker to laugh at himself.

  Marcus looked as stoic and aloof as ever. He rarely spoke and smiled even less. But he had a wicked, dry sense of humor and he was unfailingly loyal, even when I didn’t deserve it.

  I walked forward, lifting a hand to greet Callum. He wrapped his hand around my forearm and surprised me by pulling me into an embrace and pounding me on the back. If I’d been human, he would have broken several ribs.

  “It’s good to see you again, Mac,” he said.

  I stared at him, confused by his warm greeting. When I walked away from him a century ago, we’d exchanged harsh words and he’d told me to never darken his door again. I couldn’t blame him. I’d chosen my past over my friends.

  I didn’t deserve this welcome.

  Marcus shocked me further by mirroring Callum’s behavior. I could barely believe my ears when he spoke. “Glad you’re in one piece.” His voice was deep and rusty, as though he so rarely used it that his vocal chords didn’t work correctly. It had always been that way, even when he was human.

  As I stared at the two of them, the smile faded from Callum’s face. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I glanced over my shoulder and Kerry met my gaze. She seemed to instinctually understand that I wanted some privacy because she took Finn’s arm and whistled for Harrison. The group moved another twenty feet away and she began speaking to Finn in low tones.

  I faced Callum. “The last time I saw you, you told me to never darken your door again.”

  The two exchanged a look before Callum met my stare. “A few decades can change a lot of things, Macgrath,” he finally replied.

  My eyes narrowed. Callum wasn’t one to hold a grudge, but I had run off the woman he intended to claim for his mate. Rhiannon had plans for her, but I’d made sure she disappeared first. Callum had been heartbroken and enraged. He truly believed she’d been his mate but I’d sensed that something was off between the two of them. Lisandra, his love, didn’t seem quite right. She smelled completely human, but something about her set me on edge. No matter how I probed her with my magic or how much I watched her, I could never discover her secret. I knew she wasn’t what she seemed. The fact that Rhiannon wanted me to acquire her only reinforced my belief.

  Instead of doing Rhiannon’s bidding, I’d helped Lisandra run away. After a token resistance, she accepted my offer of help easily and with no tears. I understood then that she hadn’t loved Callum. Not truly. She wanted to use him.

  Looking back, I should have killed her rather than let her go. Whatever she intended for my friend, my brother, couldn’t have been pleasant. But I hated killing women. I didn’t want Lisandra’s blood on my hands when I saw Callum once again.

  I had been with Rhiannon for a year by then. I still openly challenged her. Then, as decades passed, I became jaded. I refused to kill for her, but I no longer shied away from doing her dirty work.

  Until I met Ava.

  “What exactly did time change?” I asked Callum. He and Marcus exchanged another look and I was close to losing my temper. “Answer me.”

  Callum sighed. “I discovered…information about Lisandra. Knowledge that helped me realize that she wasn’t my mate. That she only wanted one thing from me—my immortality. Or my version of immortality.”

  “She wanted you to turn her?” I asked.

  He shook his head. “No. She had no desire to be stuck with me for eternity or to drink blood. Only my long life.”

  I frowned at him. “And how did she intend to do that?”

  He frowned. “She was a witch, like your friend. Very powerful and very dark. But she hid it well. None of us knew.”

  “How did you discover this?” I asked, my voice low as I stepped closer. It definitely explained why Rhiannon would have wanted Lisandra.

  “She returned for him,” Marcus responded in his rusty voice. “Tried to use magic on him to steal his lifeforce.”

  I stared at my friend and saw the regret in his eyes. The fact that I had been right not to trust Lisandra didn’t take away my feelings of guilt. I had made mistakes as well.

  “I am sorry I wasn’t there to help.”

  Callum shrugged. “I cannot fault you for the desire to know your past. I only hope that you have found what you sought.”

  His words brought it all back to the forefront of my mind. Ava. Rhiannon. The curse. My fists clenched.

  “I have,” I murmured. “I know who I was and I found the mate I lost.”

  Callum and Marcus looked at each other in shock.

  “How?” Marcus asked. His gravelly voice was even softer than usual.

  “It’s a long story,” I replied with a sigh. “Come up to the house and have some coffee. We have a lot to discuss.” I eyed them both. “Do either of you need blood?”

  They both shook their heads, but the question reminded me that it had been some time since I drank. When I bit Ava this morning, I hadn’t consumed much of her blood. The magic that coursed through us had interrupted my feeding.

  But even the small amount I drank made me feel…alive. As though I were complete and whole for the first time since I lost her.

  I couldn’t wait for this shit with Rhiannon to be over so I could do it again.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Ava

  I was overwhelmed. Too much had changed in a short amount of time and I wasn’t sure how to handle it. My memories were returned and I had my mate back. Though my heart knew him as Alaunus, my mind saw him as Macgrath as well. He had changed a great deal since our time together so many years ago.

  Neither of us were the same.

  Yet my love for him was still there. No matter how different he
was from my memories, it didn’t affect the depth of my feelings for him.

  And I could sense that he felt the same toward me. Now that our memories and our bond were restored, I could feel him inside of me. His thoughts, his emotions, they were all there, right beside my own. I knew it was the same for him.

  Knowing what I now did, I wondered if he resented me for what I’d done to him before Rhiannon cursed us. I’d created him using ancient magic and a blessing from the Goddess herself. I’d been desperate to save him and I hadn’t once thought about how it would affect him.

  A soft meow caught my attention and I looked down. Satchel sat on the floor, peering up at me with her shimmering eyes. Without waiting for an invitation, she hopped up onto the bed and butted her head against my arm.

  I stroked her soft ears and head, murmuring nonsense to her. She lifted up, placed her paws on my shoulders, and tilted her head down. I understood what she wanted and bent my neck so my forehead rested against the top of her head.

  As soon as my skin met her fur, magic swelled around us and the room went black.

  I clutched the cat to my chest, protecting her. I couldn’t let anything happen to Satchel. It would break Savannah’s heart, and mine.

  “Be at ease, daughter.” A warm feminine voice whispered out of the darkness.

  Even before I saw her, I recognized that voice. The Goddess had come to me once again.

  Light returned, a soft, blue glow at first that eventually brightened into the golden sunlight of late afternoon. As I looked around, I recognized the forest where I once begged for her help.

  The same stream flowed beside me, the sound of the running water almost musical. I could see the faint sparks of light I remembered still in their depths. The grass beneath me was verdant and fragrant, so velvety that it resembled fine cloth rather than vegetation. The trees were thick and lush with ripe fruits dangling from the limbs. I could smell lavender, rosemary, and the sun.

  I was home.

  Satchel wiggled out of my arms and wandered over to the Goddess, sniffing at her long dress. The Goddess crouched and stroked the cat. Satchel’s eyes drifted shut and her low, rumbling purr echoed in the clearing.

  “Mother,” I whispered. While I felt no fear of her, I did feel a twinge of worry. This may have once been my home, but it wasn’t any longer. I didn’t want to leave the people I loved. Any of them. “Why have you brought me here?”

  I knew she heard my concern because she looked up at me and her face grew softer. “Worry not, my child. I do not intend to keep you. Only to speak with you and ask that you grant me a boon.”

  Confusion filled me. Why would the Goddess require a favor from me?

  She straightened, leaving the cat on the ground. Satchel’s eyes opened and I could see the disappointment glittering within them. Then she sighed and followed the Goddess as she walked over to where I sat and settled on the ground next to me. The luminous skirts of her dress spread around her, glittering and shimmering with the light of a thousand stars.

  I bowed my head to her. “Anything you ask of me, I will do everything in my power to grant you.”

  A sad smile tugged at her lips and she tilted her head in a way that was…familiar somehow. “Wait until I explain what I ask of you before you say that, child. It will not be—” She stopped and swallowed. Her already dark eyes grew even more shadowed. “Easy.”

  The hairs on my arms and the back of my neck lifted. Somehow, I sensed what she would say next.

  “I would ask you to spare Rhiannon’s life, daughter,” she said. And though it was not worded as a question, I could still hear the entreaty in her voice.

  And she was right. This would not be easy because my first instinct was to leap to my feet and rail at her.

  Instead, I took a deep breath and folded my hands over my lap. The last two thousand years had taught me patience.

  When she saw that I was willing to listen, her smile became genuine. “You have grown wise in your lengthened years.” The curve of her lips faded as she regarded me. “I know what Rhiannon has done and I know the pain she has caused not only you, but the world. And she will face the consequences for those actions. But I beg you to spare her,” she said.

  “What if I can’t?” I asked hesitantly, fear finally taking hold of me as I realized the Goddess had the power to take away everything I had finally found once more. “What if she gives me no choice?”

  Will you take Macgrath away from me? The question was on the tip of my tongue but I swallowed it. The Goddess might be firm and mete out punishment, but she was not often vengeful. At least not from the stories I now remembered.

  Her sad smile returned. “Oh, my daughter. I know what you fear and I would not do that. I know that what Rhiannon did to you will be difficult, if not impossible to forgive, but I will not punish you for feeling as you do.”

  “Then why?” I asked, my voice tight and high as strong emotion nearly choked me. “Why ask this of me?”

  I blinked. Shocked as tears lined her eyes and a single one fell to the ground. Where it struck the grass, a winding vine appeared from the earth, growing within seconds. In less than a minute, it bloomed with teardrop shaped flowers in purple, silver, and blue.

  Goddess Tears were rare in this realm and highly prized. They contained a great deal of magic. I realized why as I watched more of the flowers open on the vine. They were literally from the Goddess herself.

  “She is my daughter,” she explained. “Centuries before you were even born, she begged me to give her physical form. To allow her to live among the humans that I cherished. She said she wanted to learn, to grow, to understand them better. So I gave her one mortal life to live. A long life, filled with beauty and peace. I told her that she would have to serve the humans around her in order to truly understand them. That they were not as she was.” More tears fell and I watched as more vines appeared and flowers bloomed around her. “But she never understood, not truly. The longer she remained in her mortal body, the more twisted her mind and her magic became. She insisted that mortals didn’t deserve our mercy or our help. That they were weak. We argued. Then, when she killed the villagers where she lived, I knew I had to bring her back. I came for her and she fought me. She said I didn’t deserve to have dominion over humans. That I was as weak as they were. Then she cursed you and Macgrath and disappeared. I have searched for her for two millennia, fearing the worst. And now that I have found her, I know it has come to pass.”

  As I stared at her, I shook my head. “I don’t understand, Mother. If she is your daughter, how would I have the power to destroy her? How is it she did not destroy…” I trailed off, understanding flaring in my mind. “That is why you helped me and granted me power,” I murmured. “To keep her from killing me. But why would it matter? I’m only a human witch,” I muttered.

  The Goddess smiled then. “You still do not understand,” she replied, her eyes soft. “I call you daughter, but it was your mother who was my blood daughter and Rhiannon’s sister.”

  The world seemed to tilt on its axis as I stared at her. Rhiannon was my aunt. And my mother. If she was a child of a Goddess, why had she died as a mortal?

  The Goddess smiled softly at me. “Your mother, she chose a different path. She wanted to live out her life as a mortal. She lived for millennia and felt it was time to return to the earth. To the magic.”

  “Just how many children do you have?” I asked.

  She only smiled that same sad, serene smile. “Even the deities aren’t perfect. All my years of existence have brought me wisdom, but not perfection.” One last tear fell. “I’m asking a great deal from you, Aveta. I know this. I will beg if I must. Please have mercy on my child.”

  “Even though she had no mercy on mine?” I choked out, remembering the horrifying silence after my daughter slipped from my body.

  The Goddess’ face crumpled but there were no more tears. “I cannot replace your child, but I can give you a reassurance. The woman who took her from yo
ur hut, she managed to revive her. Then she took her.” The Goddess sighed. “The woman tried for many, many years to have a child and then her husband died and her flux stopped. She was not in her right mind when she stole your child. But she lived. She lived a long, beautiful life. The woman who stole her never told her, but she raised her with love and kindness. She cared for her more than anything else in that realm. And I am sorry that I could not stop it.”

  “Why?” I asked, my voice cracking. I could feel something dark stirring within me, something that craved destruction and pain.

  “I could not see. Not then. It is only now that I see the whole of our time apart clearly,” she gasped, pressing a hand to her chest. “Rhiannon took you too far from me, through many realms and many centuries. We exist in more than one world, Aveta. There are thousands. Until you broke Rhiannon’s curse, you were lost to me. If I had been able to find you—” her voice broke and I heard the raw pain inside it.

  She was in agony over what had been done to me, what her daughter had done, yet she could not stop loving Rhiannon. Just as I would love my daughter to the end of time. I would have done anything to protect her, even ask the impossible of someone else I loved. It seemed I was not so different from her as I thought.

  “I will do everything in my power to spare her, Mother,” I relented. “But you must promise me that she will never again have access to the human realms. She must be punished for what she has done.”

  The Goddess nodded, her hand reaching out and grasping mine. I gasped at the influx of power that jolted my entire body. “You have my vow. In magic and in blood.”

  She looked down at the hand that held mine. I watched as a small cut appeared on the inside of her wrist and three blood droplets slid over her skin to the ground below. Immediately, another plant appeared, a thorny bush covered in deep green and burgundy foliage and ruffled crimson flowers that seemed to pulse with light. I had never seen anything like it before.

  The Goddess reached out and plucked a flower from its vine. She held it out to me. “This is my vow and my magic. The flower will never wilt or fade. It cannot be destroyed and it will help you find and capture Rhiannon. Use it wisely,” she murmured as I took it from her fingers.