Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) (33 page)

Uncertainty furrowed his brows. Her heart stuttered as she watched his fingers curl, draw away from her. “Maybe—”

“No! Wait.” She lunged forward. Her sneaker caught a knobby tree root, narrowly avoiding a broken ankle as she staggered. Her hands instinctively shot out, grabbing the first solid surface within grasp.

But he was reaching for her even as her fingers closed around his shoulders. His arms banded around her, dragging her into his chest where she seemed to snap into place like a puzzle piece. She could almost feel the static electricity fusing them together everywhere they touched, binding them to that moment. Riley waited for the inferno of pain to consume her as it had the last time they’d touched. Instead there was nothing but the sensation of coming home after a long, tiring day. It was the first waft of summer after a long, hard winter. It was amazing. She didn’t want to pull away.

His quiet murmur of a language she didn’t understand was pressed into the top of her head, but even the cap wasn’t able to muffle the husky longing vibrating in the smooth flow of words.

Riley closed her eyes, letting herself savor the feel of his arms around her, his scent and heat and the worn leather beneath her cheek. Her fingers tightened around the fistful of his jacket she held.
Don’t let me go!
She wanted to beg, the ache an intolerable pang in her chest.

“Riley.” He raised a hand and closed it in her hair.

She drew back. “I’m sorry.”

He didn’t release her, but kept his arms loosely around her middle, holding her in place against him. “We should get to the bottom.”

Not sure what else to say, she nodded. He eased back just enough to offer her his gloved hand. She dampened her lips, took a deep breath and reached, gingerly placing her hand into his. Carefully, his fingers curled around hers, swallowing them as he helped her stay steady on her feet as they started down.

“Are Caster’s strong?” she asked, watching him as he edged backwards down the slope.

Without taking his eyes off the slow progression of their feet, Octavian shrugged. “Stronger than humans. Why?”

Riley nodded slowly. “Oh just in case I break my leg. You’re going to need to carry me out of here.”

Octavian laughed. “I won’t let you break your leg.”

Trusting him, she followed his lead all the way to the bottom where he kept a firm grip on her hand as they continued through the miles of trees, dead leaves and silence. No. Not real silence. It was just a different sort of silence from what she was used to. The city had its own sort of quiet that wasn’t really quiet. There was always the odd sound of dogs barking or people shouting or even the roar of cars passing through the night. But here where civilization had yet to touch, the silence was comforting. It was the lulling whisper of wind through the bare branches and the shuffle of their feet, or the odd scurry of something getting out of their path. It was the sort of silence she didn’t mind.

“What are you thinking?” Octavian asked.

Unable to contain the smile blooming through her, working up her chest to spread across her face, Riley shrugged. “Just how beautiful it is here.”

He nodded slowly, taking in their surroundings. “I come here often to think.”

Riley playfully elbowed him. “You shouldn’t have told me. Now I know your secret hiding place.”

Light reflected off the silvery surface of his eyes as they found their way down to her. “I wanted you to know. I want you to see all of me. Everything I am.”

There was a certain amount of hesitation as he spoke, like a part of him was adamant that what he was doing was a bad idea.

Riley squeezed his fingers. “There is nothing that can change how I feel about you, Octavian. You’re kinda stuck with me, dude.” She offered him a lopsided grin.

His relief rushed out in a soft, white cloud of breath that blossomed in the air between them. His shoulders rose and fell and his fingers tightened around hers. He brought her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to the heel. It was over the glove, but Riley felt the tug of it straight through her. In her chest, her heart stuttered, her stomach muscles fluttered. She was completely rendered stupid by that simple gesture.

Damn it all to Hell, but he was making it impossible not to fall for him… hard.

He smiled as though he could read her thoughts, something that wouldn’t have surprised her. “Come on. It’s not much further.”

Kneecaps blissfully numb, Riley stumbled along behind him as they continued onward. The trees here were thicker, denser and growing strategically in a way that formed a sort of wall that seemed to go on for miles on either side. Octavian kept a firm grip on her as they maneuvered through the cramped catacomb of stretching branches and massive tree trunks. It took some doing — some stumbling on her part — but finally, after nearly ten minutes of workout, they broke through to a clearing made up of soft, dewy grass untouched by snow, and trees that strained endlessly to the heavens before bending inward to form a thick, impenetrable dome overhead. What was even more surprising was the fact that the temperature had gone from frigid to muggy, humid the way an indoor pool would be, minus the stench of sulfur. The only light in the place came from the ground several feet ahead of them. It glowed a soft, dazzling gold in the sheer darkness surrounding it. Riley tried to squint and bring the rest of the place into focus, but the shimmering light only illuminated a small portion of the hideaway.

“Where are we?” she breathed, too afraid to raise her voice.

Next to her, Octavian inhaled deeply. “Home.”

Home was a paradise of blooming flowers, a lush carpet of grass and a glistening pond guarded by a wall of trees. It was the thing of dreams. And she was pretty certain that’s exactly where she’d seen this place. If that fact was weird in anyway, it didn’t faze her. Maybe she was becoming immune to weird things. One could hope.

“Careful.” Octavian helped her up four smooth stones, each slab forming a step to a soft platform of moss and grass. He guided her to a squat bolder positioned alongside the pond and the light glinting way at the bottom of the clear, still waters.

“This place is amazing,” she said, leaning in to peer into the pond, half convinced it was a sheet of glass. She raised her head to peer at him. “I can see why you come here to think. It’s so peaceful.”

He tightened his grip on her hand for a split second before releasing her and taking a step back. “That isn’t the only reason I come here.” His hand went to the zipper of his jacket. “This pond is our life force. It’s where we were born.”

Riley blinked. “You were born here?” She looked out over the water.

He nodded. “Once a month, we have to return or we weaken and eventually die.”

A strange sensation passed through her as she watched him draw down the clasp, parting the teeth holding his jacket together. He shrugged out of the soft leather, dropped it to the ground at their feet and stood before her in his jeans and black sweater. He toed off his right boot, toed off his left boot and let them both drop next to the jacket.

“Oh,” she squeaked. “So what are we doing here now?”

Gray eyes reflecting the gold light rising from the waters met hers. “This is the only source of water that will reveal us for what we really are. It will show you what I am. What I really am beneath this human body.”

Riley’s heart began to race as each word sunk into her realization. Her spit slid down her throat in an audible gulp that voiced her fears and excitement.

“I don’t have to,” he murmured, hand stilling at the hem of his sweater. “We could wait if you’re not ready.”

Riley wiped her trembling hands on her jeans. “It’s not that.” She bit her lip. She fidgeted, rubbed her hands a few more times over the rough grain of her pants. Her gaze drifted to the water, so calm and non-threatening. Hell, she could see straight to the damn bottom. There was nothing there. But once he went in…

“What is it?”

In the past, her fears had seemed stupid and juvenile because, well, creatures like him hadn’t existed, in theory. Mermaids weren’t real. They were myths. So it had been easy to brush it away as ridiculous. But now…

“I… I’m afraid of Mermaids.”

Octavian jerked as though she’d told him she had slug DNA. His eyebrows shot up into his hairline and his eyes went round. “What?”

She rubbed a gloved hand over her mouth. “It’s stupid I know, but ever since I was a kid and watched
The Little Mermaid
… I could never get past the fins and… the giant octopus…” She shuddered. “It was never a big deal because… you weren’t supposed to exist.” She dared a peek at his expression. “I’m sorry.”

She expected to see offense or annoyance or even anger on his face. Instead, he was grinning. Then, he was laughing. The sound rebounded off the wall of trees and danced across the smooth surface of the water.

“It’s not funny. I feel horrible!”

“Darling,” he soothed softly, his eyes still dancing. “I’m not a Mermaid. I’m a Selkie.”

“Your mom said—”

“It’s the closest example she was able to give you to describe what we are.”

Feeling really stupid and hugely relieved, Riley exhaled. “Oh, well, okay then. I can live with that.” She paused, forehead creasing. “What’s the difference?”

He sobered, but only slightly. “They can’t become human. They are always half and half. But other than that? Truthfully? There isn’t much else.”

That creeping sensation returned, whittling into her bones. “You…” She cleared the squeak from her throat. “You have the tail?”

Slowly, eyes still trained on her, he nodded. “Yes.”

Riley expelled a sharp, shaky breath. “Okay.” She sat down hard on the boulder. “I… I guess I’m going to have to get used to that, right? I mean, it’s part of you. It’s not something you can change.” She scratched the itch in both her palms created by sweat on her kneecaps through the gloves.

“Riley.” He knelt at her feet and reached for her hands. He hesitated, hovering mere inches from touching her. When it looked like she wasn’t going to pull away, he curled his fingers around hers. “We don’t have to do this today.”

Every muscle, bone, marrow and fiber of her body screamed for her to take it, to prolong what was sure to be the most traumatic experience of her life. If she played her cards right, she could avoid ever having to see
that
side of him. But it was the part of her that looked into his eyes and saw just how important this was to him that made her stop. He would never show it, but to rebuff him now would be a slap to everything he was. It would be a rejection of him.

“No,” she whispered, bolting down her courage. “I… I want to see.”

In that moment, her earlier assumption proved correct. Every muscle in his body seemed to unwind. The fear in his eyes melted into something that could only be construed as love and pride. His hand, when he reached up and lightly touched her face, was gentle, full of adoration.

“I will never hurt you, Riley,” he murmured so quietly she almost didn’t hear him. “I need you to remember that.”

Trembling still, Riley nodded.

Saying nothing else, he pushed back up to his feet. His gaze remained fixed firmly on hers as he tore off his sweater. It joined the small pile already at his feet. Then, his hands dropped to the silver buckle at his midsection. Riley eyes bulged, horrified, yet seriously intrigued, as he unsnapped the leather, unfastened the button and then pulled down the zipper, all very slowly, like he was deliberately taunting her, daring her to look away. Being the chicken that she was, Riley did, too mortified to keep watching as the fabric parted just enough to show a thin line of course hair disappearing into the V.

Someone is not a fan of underwear,
she noted, stifling a giggle, positive it would come out hysterical if she released it.

“I was sure you’d want to check.”

“Check?” Her voice came out embarrassingly high pitched and shrill.

He only laughed, making the situation ten times more humiliating. She turtled deeper into the scarf fastened around her neck. The thing was making her itchy as Hell where it rubbed against the sweat coating every inch of her body, but she was grateful to have it to hide under.