[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
talk in a minute, Destin grumped. Salvatore just smiled. He was
where he belonged, in the arms of his Faery King.
* * * *
Ravyn s Destiny 135
He didn t know how long they slept, but when he woke it was in
the familiar space of his bedroom back on Earth. He inhaled the scent
of the sheets and rolled over, seeking his lover in the wide expanse of
his bed. He was alone. The Demon Prince spat curses to the ceiling,
his heart constricting impossibly. Destiny had left him. Again.
136 Jana Downs
Chapter Sixteen
The bond flickered to life at the same time Salvatore woke. He felt
his Ravyns come awake as their connection flared to glorious golden
life. They sat up in their beds, gasping. Salvatore didn t care. Tears
ran down his face and a hole formed in his heart. The loss of his
partner in his soul felt like someone had shot the most tender parts of
him full of nails.
He couldn t believe it. He just couldn t wrap his mind around the
fact that Destin had left him again. Worse. He had banished him from
Underhill and any connection that linked them. Hadn t he said he
loved him? Hadn t Destin given him his full name, finally? Didn t it
mean anything? He twisted the wedding band on his finger, the last
and only reminder of what had taken place hours before.
The door banged open with enough force to unhinge it on one side
as it hit the wall. Salvatore didn t even glance up.
My Prince! Tony cried, flinging himself into bed beside the
sobbing monarch. He was the first one there, but soon his beloved
Ravyns were all piled on top of him like a bundle full of anxious
puppies. Sometimes he forgot how old they really were.
Salvatore. Ally was crying, too, running his hands over
Salvatore s face over and over again.
We thought you were dead, Dageus added, burying his face in
Salvatore s side and inhaling his scent deeply.
We hoped you weren t, but even the letters weren t enough. We
thought that maybe that guy was playing some sort of trick on us.
Druas choked out the words.
Ravyn s Destiny 137
Don t ever, ever, ever, ever do that to us again, my Prince,
Germany admonished, weeping softly.
Salvatore took comfort from their combined embrace, unwilling to
relinquish it for even a minute. He was hollow inside like he d never
felt before.
My Prince, what s wrong? Tony wondered, kissing Salvatore s
tear-stained cheek. Did he hurt you?
He s a dead fucking Tinkerbell if he did! Ally growled. The
others quickly agreed.
Stop, Salvatore said tiredly. He didn t hurt me. Not physically.
I just He couldn t finish the sentence. He swallowed hard.
Tonight was our He started crying again before cursing and
shaking his head. He was not going to sit here in bed with his men,
bawling his eyes out over Destin leaving him. Again. He was going to
be productive. Find a way to talk to him. Talk some sense into him.
Something. He couldn t just sit here and do nothing.
What s with the flowers in your hair, Salvatore? Druas
wondered.
Which just made him start crying all over again. He touched the
blossoms in his hair as well as the crown he hadn t bothered to take
off. All those symbols meant nothing. All the love and energy he d
poured into their courtship and marriage meant nothing. He d been
left. Probably for another stupid-ass reason. What was it this time?
Did he make Destin love him too much? Was the commitment too
great? What the hell was his partner s problem now?
Whoa, Ally added his voice to the mix. Check out the bling
underneath the blossoms. Nice. Is that platinum? Dageus reached
over and popped him in the arm with his fist, shooting a meaningful
glance at Salvatore.
It s fine, Dageus. Truly. I m fine. Or I will be. After I get some
sleep and come up with a plan, Salvatore reassured automatically.
His Ravyns always worried about him. They had never left him.
Never abandoned him. Not once. Even if this thing between himself
138 Jana Downs
and his Destiny was over he had them. That gave him a small
comfort. The oddly out-of-rhythm beat of his heart disagreed.
* * * *
The vampires gave them their space that night and during the day,
but when the sun set the following evening, they came knocking on
the door. Druas had tried without success to repair it earlier that day.
Salvatore was still exhausted and snuggled between the warm,
reassuring bodies of his bodyguards.
Evening, Prince Salvatore, Alex, the Master vampire of the city,
greeted. He stood just off to the left of the bed as if he didn t want to
interrupt their moment of rest. Salvatore s eyes rested on his face.
Hi.
You look like death warmed over, friend.
Thanks.
Leave him alone, Alex, Dageus grumbled, hugging Salvatore
close. He had a rough night.
Yeah back off, bitey, Tony added.
I m not attacking him. Alex raised his hands in surrender. I just
wanted to check on Salvatore. He s been gone two months.
Two months? Salvatore wondered, frowning. He pushed his
Ravyns off of his naked body. I ve been gone over a year.
Time must be different in the faery world, Alex said sagely.
Demontia and Earth run on different timetables. It makes sense that
the fae world would run on yet another.
You were gone a whole year over there? Dageus echoed. Were
you a prisoner?
They hadn t spoken of his time away in the hours they d been
together. Salvatore had been too raw about the whole thing. He
twisted the ring on his finger. An imperfection in the metal caught the
light. There, etched in the metal, was the beginning of his pledge.
Ravyn s Destiny 139
Wherever you go. So go I. Call my name. Saoi. Huh. That was
strange. He didn t remember his wedding ring saying that before.
Earth to Salvatore. You okay, my Prince? Ally s voice broke his
examination of his ring.
Fine. I m fine.
Gods, is that a wedding band? Dageus was the one to notice and
grabbed his hand, dragging it toward the lamp that Alex had turned
on. Salvatore blushed.
Holy shit. You got married? Tony sounded like he was about to
give birth to kittens. Who?
I married my Destiny. Salvatore stroked the shining band. The
Fae King of Underhill. They all sucked in a collective breath at his
admission. No one had seen that coming.
So you re, uh&
That is irrelevant. Dageus interrupted Tony s inquiry. Married.
Salvatore, where is your husband?
Salvatore sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He dropped
me off here sometime during our wedding night and left. He really
didn t want to cry. He really didn t. I don t know why he left.
Immediately his Ravyns reached for him, murmuring soothing words
and running their hands over him in comfort.
Fae are strange creatures. Ever since we learned you were taken
by them, we ve been doing research in my library, Alex offered.
You re welcome to look over the research we ve accumulated. If you
want your lover back He paused. You do want him back?
Salvatore nodded. Maybe your answers can be found there.
Maybe it s some sort of test, Druas offered. They all turned to
look at him. What? Haven t you ever read any fairy tales? They
always involve some sort of quest.
That doesn t make any sense. I went on a quest. I left my own
realm. I took up his challenges. I won his bed. I grew in my powers. I
married his ass. Isn t that where we re supposed to get happily ever
after? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
talk in a minute, Destin grumped. Salvatore just smiled. He was
where he belonged, in the arms of his Faery King.
* * * *
Ravyn s Destiny 135
He didn t know how long they slept, but when he woke it was in
the familiar space of his bedroom back on Earth. He inhaled the scent
of the sheets and rolled over, seeking his lover in the wide expanse of
his bed. He was alone. The Demon Prince spat curses to the ceiling,
his heart constricting impossibly. Destiny had left him. Again.
136 Jana Downs
Chapter Sixteen
The bond flickered to life at the same time Salvatore woke. He felt
his Ravyns come awake as their connection flared to glorious golden
life. They sat up in their beds, gasping. Salvatore didn t care. Tears
ran down his face and a hole formed in his heart. The loss of his
partner in his soul felt like someone had shot the most tender parts of
him full of nails.
He couldn t believe it. He just couldn t wrap his mind around the
fact that Destin had left him again. Worse. He had banished him from
Underhill and any connection that linked them. Hadn t he said he
loved him? Hadn t Destin given him his full name, finally? Didn t it
mean anything? He twisted the wedding band on his finger, the last
and only reminder of what had taken place hours before.
The door banged open with enough force to unhinge it on one side
as it hit the wall. Salvatore didn t even glance up.
My Prince! Tony cried, flinging himself into bed beside the
sobbing monarch. He was the first one there, but soon his beloved
Ravyns were all piled on top of him like a bundle full of anxious
puppies. Sometimes he forgot how old they really were.
Salvatore. Ally was crying, too, running his hands over
Salvatore s face over and over again.
We thought you were dead, Dageus added, burying his face in
Salvatore s side and inhaling his scent deeply.
We hoped you weren t, but even the letters weren t enough. We
thought that maybe that guy was playing some sort of trick on us.
Druas choked out the words.
Ravyn s Destiny 137
Don t ever, ever, ever, ever do that to us again, my Prince,
Germany admonished, weeping softly.
Salvatore took comfort from their combined embrace, unwilling to
relinquish it for even a minute. He was hollow inside like he d never
felt before.
My Prince, what s wrong? Tony wondered, kissing Salvatore s
tear-stained cheek. Did he hurt you?
He s a dead fucking Tinkerbell if he did! Ally growled. The
others quickly agreed.
Stop, Salvatore said tiredly. He didn t hurt me. Not physically.
I just He couldn t finish the sentence. He swallowed hard.
Tonight was our He started crying again before cursing and
shaking his head. He was not going to sit here in bed with his men,
bawling his eyes out over Destin leaving him. Again. He was going to
be productive. Find a way to talk to him. Talk some sense into him.
Something. He couldn t just sit here and do nothing.
What s with the flowers in your hair, Salvatore? Druas
wondered.
Which just made him start crying all over again. He touched the
blossoms in his hair as well as the crown he hadn t bothered to take
off. All those symbols meant nothing. All the love and energy he d
poured into their courtship and marriage meant nothing. He d been
left. Probably for another stupid-ass reason. What was it this time?
Did he make Destin love him too much? Was the commitment too
great? What the hell was his partner s problem now?
Whoa, Ally added his voice to the mix. Check out the bling
underneath the blossoms. Nice. Is that platinum? Dageus reached
over and popped him in the arm with his fist, shooting a meaningful
glance at Salvatore.
It s fine, Dageus. Truly. I m fine. Or I will be. After I get some
sleep and come up with a plan, Salvatore reassured automatically.
His Ravyns always worried about him. They had never left him.
Never abandoned him. Not once. Even if this thing between himself
138 Jana Downs
and his Destiny was over he had them. That gave him a small
comfort. The oddly out-of-rhythm beat of his heart disagreed.
* * * *
The vampires gave them their space that night and during the day,
but when the sun set the following evening, they came knocking on
the door. Druas had tried without success to repair it earlier that day.
Salvatore was still exhausted and snuggled between the warm,
reassuring bodies of his bodyguards.
Evening, Prince Salvatore, Alex, the Master vampire of the city,
greeted. He stood just off to the left of the bed as if he didn t want to
interrupt their moment of rest. Salvatore s eyes rested on his face.
Hi.
You look like death warmed over, friend.
Thanks.
Leave him alone, Alex, Dageus grumbled, hugging Salvatore
close. He had a rough night.
Yeah back off, bitey, Tony added.
I m not attacking him. Alex raised his hands in surrender. I just
wanted to check on Salvatore. He s been gone two months.
Two months? Salvatore wondered, frowning. He pushed his
Ravyns off of his naked body. I ve been gone over a year.
Time must be different in the faery world, Alex said sagely.
Demontia and Earth run on different timetables. It makes sense that
the fae world would run on yet another.
You were gone a whole year over there? Dageus echoed. Were
you a prisoner?
They hadn t spoken of his time away in the hours they d been
together. Salvatore had been too raw about the whole thing. He
twisted the ring on his finger. An imperfection in the metal caught the
light. There, etched in the metal, was the beginning of his pledge.
Ravyn s Destiny 139
Wherever you go. So go I. Call my name. Saoi. Huh. That was
strange. He didn t remember his wedding ring saying that before.
Earth to Salvatore. You okay, my Prince? Ally s voice broke his
examination of his ring.
Fine. I m fine.
Gods, is that a wedding band? Dageus was the one to notice and
grabbed his hand, dragging it toward the lamp that Alex had turned
on. Salvatore blushed.
Holy shit. You got married? Tony sounded like he was about to
give birth to kittens. Who?
I married my Destiny. Salvatore stroked the shining band. The
Fae King of Underhill. They all sucked in a collective breath at his
admission. No one had seen that coming.
So you re, uh&
That is irrelevant. Dageus interrupted Tony s inquiry. Married.
Salvatore, where is your husband?
Salvatore sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He dropped
me off here sometime during our wedding night and left. He really
didn t want to cry. He really didn t. I don t know why he left.
Immediately his Ravyns reached for him, murmuring soothing words
and running their hands over him in comfort.
Fae are strange creatures. Ever since we learned you were taken
by them, we ve been doing research in my library, Alex offered.
You re welcome to look over the research we ve accumulated. If you
want your lover back He paused. You do want him back?
Salvatore nodded. Maybe your answers can be found there.
Maybe it s some sort of test, Druas offered. They all turned to
look at him. What? Haven t you ever read any fairy tales? They
always involve some sort of quest.
That doesn t make any sense. I went on a quest. I left my own
realm. I took up his challenges. I won his bed. I grew in my powers. I
married his ass. Isn t that where we re supposed to get happily ever
after? [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]