Chapter 55

When it was decided they were going back to Nova’s, Bastian for some reason thought that meant, Nova, Liri, possibly Tor, and himself—right now there were several Alterealm residents in the upper and lower part of the building, and one avenging angel.

Bastian had no idea where Nova was. He’d just finished discussing the plans for going into the tunnels with Tor and Leone and now he was searching for Nova.

Bethany and Alona came out of the bedroom in the upper part of the house. “You need to come and do a magical clean in my closet,” Alona told her with a smile.

Chase came out behind them. “Beloved, a magical cleaning can’t even straighten out your closet.” He looked over their heads at Bastian. “She just went down the closet ladder to show Crissy and your cousin the library.”

Bastian stepped into the bathroom door to allow the women to go by him.

“This place is something.” Chase grinned. “It feels like whoever designed it had a hand in our underground chambers.”

“Nothing surprises me anymore,” Bastian mumbled as he made quick work of getting to the closet and down to the lower area. This ladder came out in her bedroom closet. He wondered why the upper level of the house was smaller than the lower part, although it was likely because the soul’s keeper was never meant to live in the upper part, he imagined. It would be interesting to know the history of it being built though.

He could hear the women talking before he reached the office. Crissy was thrilled with the books. Liri was saying how sorry she was. Frowning, he looked into the room to see Nova removing a dead fish from the tank.

“This type doesn’t live long,” she explained. “I just like the coloring.”

Before he could speak a word, Tor and Victor moved by him into the room.

“You said the tunnel connects from this room?” Tor looked around.

Nova placed the fish on a tray beside the tank and pointed. “Behind that bookshelf.” She hugged her own waist. “I don’t even know if it will open. I looked at it once seven years ago.”

Victor went over and sized up the shelf and then grasped the end of it and pulled. The wheels squeaked, but the unit rolled out and swung open to reveal an old metal door with rust covering most of it.

Tor nodded and bent down to look at it. “Looks pretty seized.” He ran his hand over the orange-tinged hinges.

“We’ll come at it from the other side tonight,” Victor stated and then shoved the shelves back into place. With long strides, he left the room again.

“Isn’t this place wonderful?” Liri sounded so enthused. She turned to Tor. “I need you to go back and get my dusack from my quarters. It’s stored in the closet doorframe. Riaz can show you where if you can’t find it.”

Bastian had always wondered how she kept it so hidden no one had ever found it, not even her nosey meddlesome mother. “Why do you need it?”

Liri gave him one of her ‘don’t start with me’ looks. “For tonight.”

Bastian noted the questioning look from Tor and gave his head a quick shake. Her dusack would not be required this evening. “You’re not going in the tunnels.”

She scowled at him, and he knew he’d have to talk fast before she could get started on her ‘strong independent woman’ rant. “Seriously, Lir—it’s bad enough we’ve involved you, if your mother or mine found out you were in the human realm wandering in the tunnels. We’d both be locked up.”

Liri huffed out a breath. “What am I supposed to do while everyone is doing that?”

Bastian looked at Nova, who shook her head. “I’m going.” She stated with an unbendable expression on her face. “If I’m the one to end it, then I need to be there.”

He looked back at Liri. “Does Riaz know about any of this?”

She shook her head. “You said not to tell him.”

“I’ll stay with her. If they’re coming to that—” He pointed to the bookshelf door. “—someone should keep watch on this side.”

Bastian hadn’t thought of that.

Tor gave him a questioning look. “I don’t suppose you’d stay here as well.”

Bastian raised a brow. “Not likely.” If Nova was insisting on going, he wouldn’t be anywhere else.

“I thought as much.” Tor looked at Nova, inclined his head slightly, and then held up his hand and looked at the link around his wrist. “Work is calling. Let me know when to be here tonight.”

Crissy put a book back on the shelf. “I need to go talk to the angel; she can help us tonight.” She nodded and left the room without waiting for any sort of acknowledgment from anyone present.

“The angel?” Liri sent him a questioning look.

Bastian rubbed his hand over his hair. “I suppose she means, Ava.”

“Oh, one of those Gemini women?”

Bastian nodded.

“I must meet them.” Liri bolted for the door before he could object.

As soon as she left the room, Bastian turned and looked at Nova. “I guess your secret location is no longer a secret.” He smirked.

“There’s no reason to keep this place hidden.” She motioned to the door. “From them.”

He wanted to go over to her, closer but knew if he did, he’d go too close, and it wouldn’t do for him to be lying on the floor incapacitated right now when there were plans to be made. “So, what else did your ghost say?”

“Ghost? Oh, I don’t think she’s a ghost or they are.” She turned and looked at the remaining fish in the tank.

Was she sad about her fish dying? Should he offer his condolences for a fish?

She looked back at him. “I think we’re all connected.” She touched the side of her head. “Still, the pieces of the soul that are kept at Halcyon cottage.”

“Halcyon cottage?”

“That’s the name of the house where I was.”

He looked at the floor for a moment, that name seemed familiar. Shaking his head, he looked back at her. “How are you connected?” He grimaced. “I don’t even know how pieces of your soul are split with each rebirth.”

“I don’t understand any of it, but they’re there at the house and inside me still ever since I spoke to them.”

Bastian ignored his earlier decision and moved around to the other side of the desk, bringing him just close enough to her that he could feel her soul and his reaching, but without the electrifying results of her pendant. “And what are they saying? This collective soul?”

“Well...” She searched his face for a moment. “They agreed in bringing everyone here.” She grinned. “Maybe not the entire Alterealm population, but revealing it at least.”

That surprised him. “After this long of being hidden right under my nose—feet—they’re suddenly okay with it?”

She nodded. “It’s time.”

Bastian didn’t want to have this discussion right now, with the royal family invading the space, but he needed to know. “What of us?” He tilted his head and watched the thoughts reflect in her eyes. “What do they think about us being each other’s half?”

She smirked. “Most are for it.”

“Most?” He ran his hand through his hair. “I was hoping for a unanimous result.”

Nova smiled, it always hit him in the gut when she did. So lovely. “It’s hard to ignore lifetimes of staying out of reach I suppose.”

Bastian looked at the purple stone resting on her skin. “You are so close, but so far away.” He whispered it.

She touched the amulet. “I think it’s probably wise if I keep this until we’ve caught those responsible, don’t you?”

His mind and soul were screaming no, but that’s not what came out of his mouth. “Yes. Sadly.” Sucking a breath in, he blew it out. “Just, please, don’t forsake me, that’s all I ask.” Her expression softened and he decided if he was going to get his heart trampled on, it might as well be all of it and not a few pieces. “I know to live this long is probably frightening for you—I can’t even grasp what it’s like to live for such a short time as humans do, despite my watching them for so long. I’d like a chance to share years with you. A few hundred at least and then...” Then what? He held her look, those pale, but brilliant eyes were giving him. “And then if you wish it, I’ll—we’ll stop drinking the elixir and live out the remainder in the way of the humans.” He was nervous about her response. He honestly wasn’t sure he’d ever felt nervous in his entire life and now he had more than once with her. She was still looking at him, he didn’t want her to think she had to decide about the rest of her possibly long life right this second. “Just consider it is all I’m asking.” The silence, as she just looked at him, felt like a thousand pounds rested on his chest. He knew he should tell her about the next king news he’d been told, but he was still processing, and she had enough on her mind right now.

“This soul—” She motioned to her body. “—has gone through a lot, Bastian.”

He nodded, unable to focus to do anything else. Was he breathing? He wasn’t sure at this moment if he even should.

“I can’t.” She paused and then glanced away from him.

What was she thinking? Was the spirit talking to her? He didn’t know, but he needed her to finish before he did something as asinine as grab and hold her.

“I can’t just let it grow old and die now, not after all the years we weren’t allowed to live.” She reached behind her neck, and he sucked in a breath and held it.

Her movements were in slow motion as he watched her take the chain from around her neck and then stretch and set it as far as she could reach away from them. He could feel his heart thumping inside his chest and was afraid if he moved or spoke, she’d put it back on. With flushed cheeks and an apprehensive look in her eyes, she took one, then two steps closer to him.

He couldn’t do it a second longer, he reached and grasped her hand and jerked so she was against him and out of range of that necklace. She collided with his body, and it broke the daze he was in. Wrapping his arm around her, he held her against him. He should say something charming; he thought just as she lifted her chin and looked at him. Words? He had none.

His soul felt as if it were alive and flowing through his veins where blood should be. He’d never felt anything like it in his life. He touched her cheek; her skin was so soft and warm. Slipping his hand to the back of her head, he grasped her hair gently, it was like silk in his fingers. The words to describe how he was feeling didn’t exist, in any language, so he lowered his mouth to hers and tasted her lips.

She responded to him immediately, with no hesitation for a kiss they’d both been wanting for possibly centuries. Were the spirits of her soul with her? Did they know what was happening? A forbidden kiss. Their mouths touching were scorching yet felt like home at the same moment. He wanted to take his time and cherish her but consume her at the same time. Never in his life had he felt so much all at once. Bastian could never lose her or let her go again. As far as he was concerned, this kiss was sealing them as one for all of eternity.

Someone cleared their throat. Bastian wished at that moment he carried a gun because never was someone so deserving of being shot. Lifting his head, he gazed down into her soft lust-filled eyes and wanted to kill the body lurking in the doorway.

Nova pushed her face into his chest and then he turned to see Trendan standing at the door, a hard expression on his face. Bastian didn’t care that it was his brother, their parents were expecting again, and they could replace him with a new baby after he killed him. He wasn’t sure who had shown him how to get down here, but they deserved a violent death as well.

“You have to stop.” Trendan’s tone was hard, absolute.

Bastian quirked an eyebrow at him.

Trendan motioned with jerky motions to them. “I can see your souls surrounding you. You can’t share your souls, Bas.” When Bastian didn’t reply, his brother huffed out a loud breath. “If you do, they’ll know, and we’ll never find the ones doing this. If they know we’ve figured it out, they’ll stop and go into hiding.”

Nova sucked in a breath and stepped back from him so suddenly she stumbled. Bastian caught her hand and steadied her. Her eyes were round with the realization, her other hand was over her mouth. “He’s right.” She was breathless. “They’ll know.”

Bastian released her hand and turned to look at his brother, at least he had the decency to look apologetic. “Thank you for that, brother. Please leave.”

Nova scrambled for the chain and pendant and had it back around her neck before his bad-timing sibling left the doorway. She gasped and sucked in a breath.

Bastian swore under his breath. “Just give it a moment and breathe.” He watched her close her eyes and take steady breaths. “It’s just reacting to our souls touching.”

She opened her eyes, still clutching the stone. “I understand now.” She glanced at the trunk the journals were kept in. “Why we had to avoid you. It’s overwhelming, how our souls need to be one.”

Bastian nodded, still unable to think clearly.

“It’s beautiful.” She gave him a smile. “The feeling, but very—”

“Arousing,” he stated without emotion.

Her cheeks flushed and he wanted to grab her again. “Yes. Very.”

Dropping his chin, he rubbed his hand over his head and then face. Lifting it, he looked at her. “For the record, I’d like to state that this sucks.”

She grinned.

“I’ve waited, forever to find you, be near you and now I have to wait some more because of some evil plot.”

“It doesn’t seem fair, does it?” She released the pendant, and he was relieved it was causing her no more discomfort.

“Understatement.” Rubbing his hand over his hair briskly, he motioned to the door. “Let’s go see when this is happening. The sooner we find the culprits, the faster was can…”

“What if we don’t? Find the culprits, I mean.”

He blinked and then shook his head. “Don’t say things like that out loud. Once they’re out there in the universe, anything can happen.”

She grimaced and clamped her lips together.

Bastian blew out a breath. “Some people are going to have to die for what they’re denying me.” He turned on his heel and left before he begged her to take the necklace off again.