| |
LEYLAND
––––––––
EVERLY’S IN MY ARMS, safe and alive. I can’t ask for more than that. But the clock is ticking. Four weeks. That's all we've got to get ourselves ready to fight, not just for our lives, but the lives of every single being on this planet. Poseidon wants to sink the lands and kill everyone on earth except for the creatures who live beneath the sea. It's kill or be killed — Everly's life or the bastard who raped her mother. I'll enjoy watching that piece of shit be killed. He deserves it, not just for his terrible plans to kill the world, but also for what he’s done to my Everly. And to her mother.
No. I don't have an ounce of compassion towards the fiend. While Karl helped Everly shower, Garrot and I talked about what happened this evening. Never did I imagine there were such creatures like the Leviathans living in the ocean. Which is kinda naive, considering we all have gifts. Hell, I'm not even sure I'm human. But those things, at least twenty feet tall, they looked like dragons of old. Only with smaller wings. Teeth the size of people, sharp and deadly looking. No wonder Everly shook as hard as she did when they emerged above the edge of the cliff, before collapsing to the floor. They were the stuff of nightmares.
"Le, what if I can't do what my Mother says I can? I can't save the world. I'm only me. Just Everly." Everly asks softly, breaking my train of thought. She looks up at me, tears rolling down her beautiful face.
"Never, Ever, you were never just Everly. You've always been so much more than you thought you were. I believe in you, Ever — we all do. You are powerful." I tell her honestly. She's a badarse. I couldn't be prouder. She sniffs and swipes angrily at her tears.
"You guys should just leave. Your lives are at risk being near me. If he comes for me, you all could get hurt. I can’t... couldn't." She rambles, her emotions running away from her.
"No, sweetheart. No. You listen to me, we’re not going anywhere, you understand? We will protect you with our lives." Her ocean blue eyes shine with wetness. It tears my heart in two. "We will do this together, Everly. Every single step of the way. We will be here for you. This I swear," I try to convince her.
We won’t leave her for anything, ever. Wild horses can’t pull us away from her. We are hers, irrevocably and eternally. She snuggles into me, eventually her breathing evens out, I know she's asleep. The next four weeks will be hell, but together we can face everything and anything.
Garrot
I hear whispers when I wake up. It's dark in the room, so I guess it's still nighttime. Fuck me. What a day. Everly’s life is in danger. I'll be fucked if anyone lays a finger on her, let alone that slimeball sperm donor. That motherfucker deserves to be tortured to death. I fucking hope his death is slow, and painful. What I wouldn't give to be the one to send him back to hell.
"...This I swear." Leyland’s talking her down. She freaked out when the dragons came out of the sea. Shit, I almost pissed my pants when their humongous heads came into focus. Never seen anything like them in my life. Whenever I've tried to picture dragons before, all Isaw was the one from The Neverending Story. These fuckers looked nothing like that. Not even a little bit. Even I shit my pants. It's been quiet for a little while now—they must've fallen asleep. Wrapping my arm around Le, I rest my hand on Ever's belly and fall back to sleep myself.
***
THE NEXT TIME I OPEN my eyes, the early morning sunlight gives the room a soft glow. Karl sits at the end of the bed, pulling on socks.
"K." I whisper and push to a sitting position against the headboard. I don't want to disturb the two sleeping beauties by my side.
"Time for a sweep. Don't worry, I've got my phone, and Will’s sending Victor as backup." He replies just as quietly. Victor, seven feet tall, built like a barn. Dark brown hair down to his shoulders, Native American features.
"Yeah, good choice for backup, bro, " I laugh. He chuckles and leaves the room on silent feet.
As usual, I've woken with a stiffy. Can't help it sleeping next to these two. I get out of bed slowly and go for a piss, which let me tell you is fucking difficult with a hard-on. I get a washcloth, washing my face, take off my pants and throw them with my boxers in the wash basket. It's full, so I pop it near the bedroom door, ready to take down when I get up properly.
Before meeting Everly you could say I was a slob, and you'd be right. But since we moved in with her a few short days ago, I've become more domestic. I actually love it. With everything that's going on right now, a clean house is the least of our worries, but I like to do it anyway. I get back into bed on the other side of Ever, I'm naked and still hard but I fight my instincts to poke her with it. Instead, I lie there watching her sleep. She looks more peaceful now than I've seen her in days. Her flame-red hair fans against the pillow, her soft pouty lips relax with a hint of a smile. Yeah, this hard-on is going nowhere as long as I look at her.
She may have freaked out a bit, but who wouldn't? I feel pretty shaken myself. I can't believe her adopted mother changed her birthday. If we’d known, we could have all been training for the last month. Maybe then we would have taken the fight to the gobshite, instead of waiting around for him to drown every fucking person on the planet. Or maybe not—we all need training. Each of us has new powers and we need to learn how to use them.
On the cliff, when Everly was trapped behind the force field, Karl and I tried to break it down, sparks flew from my hands and snaked over the dome. It was a beautiful sight. One I'd like to learn how to do again. Fuck it, I can't sleep. Maybe a run would help let off some steam. Getting out of bed, I walk to my suitcases and pull out my running gear. Black lycra running shorts and matching tank top. Black trainers. Shit, I feel like a ninja. I chuckle to myself and jog down the stairs. Throwing some fruit in the blender, I decide today I'll stretch in the garden. It's like a little piece of heaven back there. Tying my hair in a man bun, I grab my glass and a towel, then head out the door.
Ahh, I love it out here. A big open field, grass and wildflowers as far as the eye can see, the wind blowing against my face. Home. The sun is shining — it's warm but not too hot, perfect for a bit of yoga. I lay my towel in the grass and sit cross-legged on top. Closing my eyes, I begin to clear my mind.
Which feels damn near impossible. These last few days since Will showed up have been crazy. Everly didn't even know she had a brother, let alone met him before. He's a bit of a strange one. Flirts with us incessantly. When Ever tells him off, looks absolutely ashamed like he can't help himself. I kind of feel sorry for him. I know his culture is very different from the human one Ever was raised in. I know, because mine was different too. Growing up, my Dad had a lot of girlfriends. Often, more than one at a time. Sometimes older, other times younger. He also taught us that in many other cultures it was a given women would have multiple partners.
This was because females were revered. There were three times more male births than female in the light. So with those odds, it was widely accepted the females would mate and bond with many suitors. That wasn’t restricted to just one species either. Mostly, other kind are not against interspecies relationships, even when they are a little odd. Like Octoshifters and humans.
I stand up, then bend at the waist. I curl my fingers around my toes, pulling, stretching the muscles in my back and legs. And Everly—well, what she is, is unheard of. Sure, we know all about the Gods and Goddesses, but as far as anyone was aware, they couldn't produce more of their kind. Immortals yes, but eternal beings were thought impossible to create. But from what Amphitrite, William, and my Dad told us, Everly is eternal and she has a great many gifts. Shit, I don't know how she will handle this. I mean just days ago she ran away from us when I moved a glass with my mind. How is she going to cope with being Queen of the Sea?