“I’m going to kill that bloody dragon,” I snapped, marching back into the kitchen as the front door slammed shut behind Forrest. “Why is he doing this to me? Why?”
Sabella looked at Tristan. “Love makes people do funny things.”
“Frustrating things you mean,” I corrected.
“That, too. Tristan would hardly let me do anything when we met. Thought I was too fragile to handle myself.”
He laughed with a growl as his brow shot up. “And was I wrong?”
“Sometimes, yeah, but I’ll admit I got in over my head once or twice.”
“Once or twice. Right, we’ll just go with that.” He kissed the top of her head, then glanced my way. “He’s trying to protect you. It’s an instinct thing, trust me. I go through the same issues every damned day Sabella puts her life at risk.”
“I think we should start a club,” Craig added. “The stressed out beyond belief husband club.”
Tristan lifted his coffee mug in agreement.
Sabella and I frowned at them.
I looked back toward the front door, but Forrest probably wouldn’t come back until he had a chance to cool off. Tapping my fingers anxiously on the countertop, I knew I needed to figure out how exactly I was going to send this message via the stars. I could feel my power dwindling, but there was enough remaining for what I had to do—but what to say? That was the better question.
I said I could do it without Forrest, but that was a lie. With him here, I felt stronger. The stars in my hair and eyes always appeared in his presence, even if just briefly.
I needed him to see that the two of us, bound, would aid us in this fight.
“What are you thinking?” Sabella asked.
“Huh? Nothing, why?”
“I know that look because it’s the same one I get when I’m planning something Tristan won’t like. Or so he says. Come on, spill. What are you plotting?”
“Just wondering how much Forrest would hate me if I tricked him into marrying me.”
Craig and Tristan shook their heads, but Sabella started grinning.
“No,” both guys said.
Sabella’s smile turned into laughter, and she clapped her hands.
“You can’t do that to him. He’ll be pissed for one,” Tristan said.
“And two that’s just wrong,” Craig finished the thought for him.
“So is his denial that this is what needs to happen,” I pointed out. “We found each other; we’re meant to be together. We knew it centuries ago when he was Malcolm. I’d have thought he’d want to get married, since now we finally can.”
“Mori, you can’t,” Tristan growled. “Do you have any idea what that’ll do to him?”
“But the prophecy will be fulfilled, and I guarantee that’s the only thing holding us back right now. It has to be. If we’re wed, then it completes the circle, and then we stand a chance.”
Craig held up his hands and headed for the door. “If you plan this, it’s all on you.”
“Same,” Tristan muttered. “I’ll have no part in driving that dragon to do something he’s not ready to embrace yet.” He stalked out of the kitchen after Craig.
“But you two have,” I pointed out hotly. “Why can’t he?”
They stopped and turned back around, glaring at me.
“To be fair,” Craig stated, “I wed Kate before this prophecy came into being. We had no idea what we were a part of.”
“And Tristan?”
He looked past me to Sabella. “I wed her because I could no longer deny how much I loved her. And we were going to rescue the gods. If we were going to die, I wanted her to know what was in my heart.”
“Then what’s so wrong with me wanting Forrest to do the same?”
“He has his reasons for waiting,” Craig told me. “That dragon does not do anything lightly or without thinking it through. Trust him, Mori. And talk to him. There’s a reason he’s waiting, and I’d bet it’s not what you think.”
Then they were gone, and it was just Sabella and me in the kitchen. I was ready to pull my hair out from lack of progress with the orb, not knowing if the gods still lived or not. Not knowing when Baladon was going to attack. With Forrest not listening to me. Though I guess to be fair, I had been a bit pushy with him since we arrived in the mortal realm. But how could I not be? The time to find a solution to our problems was limited.
“What do you think I should do?” I asked Sabella.
“Well, I understand where they’re coming from, but I grew annoyed when Tristan took so damned long to finally accept that we were meant to be together.” She shrugged. “I didn’t go quite so far as to trick him into marrying me, but if that’s what the prophecy requires, I say you at least try it.”
“And if I fail and he hates me for it?”
“Guess that’s the risk you’ll have to take. Are you sure you can do the message in the stars tonight?”
“I have to.” I leaned back and peered out the doorway. “Where’s Kate?”
“Good question.”
We’d just started for the door when Kate came rushing downstairs, nearly running into both of us.
I leaned against the wall, taking in her excited demeanor. “Good news I take it?”
She smiled. “Abby, the oldest witch in Lucy’s coven, she’s going to gather them all together and bring them here to help us. Many died during the first fight with Cassius, but after I told her what happened in the realms, she said they would be here within a few days.”
“And their power?” I asked.
“Since they haven’t been officially linked to the realms for hundreds of years, their magic is still intact. Tristan was right; this might be our best option. What did I miss down here?” She glanced between the two of us.
“Oh, you know. Mori and Forrest getting in a fight.”
I pursed my lips but looked at the front door again. “He stormed out.”
“He’ll be back, just give him time.”
“But we don’t have time. We haven’t had time since Baladon escaped his damned cell,” I ranted, then sucked in a deep breath and hung my head. “Sorry, I’m just… I think I’m going to get some air, too.”
Kate stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. “He loves you, Mori.”
“I know… that’s why I don’t understand why.”
“If Craig had known about this vision, I have no doubt in my mind he would’ve fought tooth and nail not to wed me, too. He was pissed the day he found out about it. As much as he puts on a brave face, he holds me close every night as if it’ll be our last together.” She nibbled her bottom lip as though she seemed to be debating what to say next. “We’d all be lying if we said we weren’t scared of what’s to come. Forrest, he’s already lost so much in his life. He doesn’t want to accept that he might lose you, too.”
I heard her words and understood them, but it changed nothing. Did I want to die? No, I did not. I wanted to be with Forrest forever, but the weight of saving the realms had fallen on my shoulders, and I would do whatever necessary to save them. I told them I’d be outside if they needed me and walked out onto the front porch.
The town bustled around us, no one realizing how close they were to danger. I longed for a day when I didn’t have to look over my shoulder and fear if I’d make it another day. Hearing Kate say we were all scared chipped away more of the hard exterior I’d managed to put up since being sent from the realms. Forrest assumed I wanted to die, but that was far from the case. But now was not a time to be selfish and think of our happiness. I loved him, more than anything in all the realms. He had to know that. What he thought might happen scared me, but unless Sabella suddenly had another vision that showed us a different course, this was our path.
I stayed on the porch, in a chair all alone, ignoring the pangs of hunger I felt, for they were so new to me. I wanted to deny them. And I wanted to deny the call of the bed upstairs. I was exhausted, not that I’d been successful at hiding it. Not that I could hide anything from Forrest. My stomach growled again, and I cursed it quietly, wrapping an arm around my middle.
“You don’t need food,” I whispered to myself. “You are a goddess, an immortal. You are starlight and life itself. You are not mortal.”
But my stomach growled once more in protest, and I pulled my knees to my chest, watching the sidewalk for any sign of Forrest returning. The sun moved across the sky, the sun we’d all missed in the realms. I moved from the chair to the steps and sat in its direct path. It warmed my face, and I closed my eyes, letting it wash over me.
I felt him before I saw him. Felt his eyes watching me closely, as if he sat right beside me holding my hand. I smiled without even having to think about it, hearing his boots as he walked up the stone path toward the front porch steps.
“Did you have a good walk?” I asked, keeping my eyes closed.
“I did,” Forrest replied in that deep, growling voice I’d come to love. “Had to clear my head. Get a few things straight.”
I heard him walk up the steps and then his arm rested beside mine as he sat down.
“And?”
“And I’ve decided I will be here to aid you in sending the message. However, you need me.”
I opened my eyes. “Thank you.”
He reached for my hand and held it. “I’ll always be here when you need me, Mori,” he promised, leaning in and cupping my cheek with his other hand.
He frowned, and I wasn’t sure what else he meant to say because he kissed me instead, drawing me onto his lap right there on the front porch, not caring if the whole world saw us or not.
“Always.”
“I know,” I whispered, not certain what else to say. I wanted to ask him again what his reasoning was for not marrying me but didn’t want to ruin the moment.
Once the sun was down, I would have to make ready to send my message and hope the others received it in time to help us. With the coven coming, I had more hope. A little more hope. I doubted any of them knew how to repair the orb, or how to kill Baladon. Killing a god took another god, but this was different. Baladon was more powerful than one god now. He’d been able to turn the minds of the gods he drew strength from, an event I’d never witnessed before. If I tried to flat out kill him, there wasn’t a chance I’d do anything more than hurt him. Even Sabella’s attack had merely wounded him for a few days.
No matter. One step at a time, that was what I told myself. Tonight, I’d send the message and put my other plan into motion at the same time. I had a few more details to work out, but if it worked, I silently prayed Forrest wouldn’t hate me forever for it.