Soul Reborn (Key to the Cursed Book 1) (28 page)

He thought
his
insides were twisted? Hers were on fire. It had been over a week since she
drank his blood, and she could still feel the power coursing through her veins.
Similar to the first time, it was dark and electrifying. Her senses were
heightened in both taste and smell, but her ability to sense gods close by had
expanded exponentially. She knew he was approaching their room even before he
opened the door. Even before he touched her, her body responded to him, ached
for his touch. She sensed his thoughts. His taste was still the most delicious thing
she had ever experienced.

“You’re breaking
your rules, my love.” She pulled her arms out from under his body to run her
hands through his soft black waves.

“It is worth it,” he
said with a genuine smile. Although he was exhausted, Lilly could see the
happiness in his eyes. She also knew what he was trying to convey to her
without saying it directly, but she wanted to hear it from his lips. She wanted
to hear that she affected him as much as he did her. Although her life had been
considerably shorter than his, she too, had searched for the euphoria love
could give.

She’d been drawn to
him instantly, her destiny written. It didn’t matter that she was made for him
by the Mother Goddess. She didn’t regret not having control over her life. The
reward she received, the man she was made for, was everything she had ever
wanted and more. She couldn’t imagine living life without him.

Asar shifted his
weight off to the side, leaving Lilly breathless and wanting. “We do need our
rest.”

She grunted. He
never put his love into words. The very thing she desired to hear. She shook
off her displeasure. “Then you best put us to rest, or I will have my way with
you.”

He wrapped his
large arms around her and pulled her in tight to his chest. “Sweet dreams.”

Held tightly in his
arms she felt the heavy wave of sleepiness wrap around her. Drifting off into
her dreamscape, she heard his faint whisper. “You are my soul, my world, fair
Lilly. Tonight, we will be…”

Lilly shook off
sleep like a heavy hangover. The room was dimly lit by the torches gracing the
walls. So it was night. Her hand immediately went to her side to find the
Egyptian, silk sheets empty.

God, she wasn’t
dreaming was she? She was in the paradise isle of the afterlife and deeply in
love with the God of the Underworld. She and her sisters were the very
contradiction to those who lived in this plane. They were the only living,
breathing humans and demi-gods. Despite her sense of honor to be here, she
still expected to wake up with her mate at her side. Celebration or not, she had
not seen him in over a week.

The servants
immediately rushed to her side. “Madame, did you have a restful sleep?”

She rubbed her
eyes. She
was
surprisingly refreshed, which was unusual. “Yes, thank
you.” She tried to feel Asar with her senses, but his familiar energy was not
in close proximity. “Did Asar leave long ago?”

“No, Madame. The
Lord woke only an hour ago and asked that you not be disturbed.” The servant
paused waiting for her to respond. Lilly nodded.

“We must get you
ready for the celebration. If you would, please step this way, Madame.” The
servant gestured to the private bath. The scent of lavender floated into the
room, easing some of her irritation. “Tonight’s preparation will take a little
longer than normal occasions require.”

She felt less than
enthusiastic about the whole ordeal, but after the battle and a week of hardly
any sleep, it felt good to be pampered for once. A full body grooming of hair,
nail, wax, and pedicure awaited. She felt a hundred times better when they were
finished. Her skin and hair glowed. Looking in the mirror, she chuckled.
“Remind me to thank my mate. This was at his request, wasn’t it?”

The lead servant grinned
before she answered. “Oh, yes, Madame.”

Lilly thought she
caught a hint of something in the young woman’s eyes, but the servant scurried
off before she could read her. It must be all the excitement about the
celebration. She accepted the robe handed to her and preceded back into the bed
chamber.

“Oh, my god.” The
servant stood in front of her with the most ornate gown, made of the finest
white silk she had ever seen. Intricate embroidery and small groupings of gold
beads trimmed the length of the dress. The material wrapped around the front of
her chest and crossed over in the back down around her hips. The coverage on
her torso was minimal, leaving all but her breasts exposed. “What am I? The goddess
of the Cinderella ball?”

Not one zipper or
closure existed on the dress. It literally wrapped around her body in a single
piece from top to bottom. The skirt of the dress fell in panels around her
legs, which fanned out when she turned, revealing her long legs. Similar to the
top, it barely covered her privates.

“Are there panties
to go with this?” She got her answer when the servants broke out in a chorus of
giggles. “Geez! Au natural, it is then.”

Her gown was
finished off with her pectoral necklace, thick gold bands on her upper arms,
and similarly beaded, white silk sandals.

“My luck, I’ll
sneeze myself right out of this dress,” she commented more to herself than the
servants doting around her. One of the servants turned her to the mirror. Lilly
gasped. She placed her hands on her abdomen and then her hips. Her blonde hair
had been pulled up off her shoulders, wrapped intricately around her head, and
weaved through a gold tiara. Her eyes were heavily outlined in black smoky
eyeliner and mascara that made her green irises glow.

If there was ever a
time she felt special, it was this moment. Looking at herself in the mirror
reminded her of the time she first saw her mother. The Mother Goddess’ beauty had
been exquisitely wrapped in an aura that cascaded around her like a halo. But,
it wasn’t her mother she was staring at, it was her own reflection. She looked
like a goddess. Felt like one.

She choked on the
tears that threatened to destroy all the work they had done. She fanned her
face with her hands. Turning away from the mirror, she placed her hand on her
pounding heart. She took a deep breath and chastised herself for getting so
emotional. “Get a grip.”

The servants bowed
and scurried out of the room, leaving her to deal with her own little
melodrama. She jumped when there was a heavy knock at the door.

“Hey, get the lead
out of your ass!” Kit yelled from the other side.

Yanking open the
door, she found Kit and Kendra decked out with similar dresses. Not quite as
extravagant as hers, but beautifully elegant. Lilly sighed with some relief.

“Thank god I’m not
the only one dressed up like this.” She appraised Kendra, whose usually unkempt
and crazy hair had been smoothed straight, giving her auburn hair a natural
gloss. “Kendra, you look great! Kit, beautiful.”

“A huge step from leather
dominatrix wear,” Kit said.

Kendra face
reddened. “Dang if I don’t have a stitch of undergarments on underneath,
though. Some god’s idea of easy access?”

Lilly laughed at
her younger sister’s offhanded comment. “Not to worry, Kendra. We’re all in the
same boat.”

Kit shrugged. “I
hardly ever wear underwear anyway. Seems natural to me. Maybe Kendra will get
laid tonight? Hell, maybe I’ll get laid.”

Lilly shook her
head. Some things never change. She knew her middle sister was less than
receptive to having her powers released. Although known for her promiscuity,
Kit would avoid sex with a god to evade her destiny. Her virgin sister, Kendra,
had a higher probability of undergoing the change with Kit following third,
kicking and screaming.

She remembered her
mother’s words. The war would not end until their powers were released and
Bakari was awoken. Lilly would give Kit time to adjust to her destiny, but
there would be a limit. Her sister couldn’t avoid her role in this war forever
or it would cost them all.

Lilly pushed the
negative thought out of her head. Tonight was a celebration of victory and the
last thing she wanted to do was dwell on the war. “Have either of you seen
Asar? He left several hours ago, and I haven’t heard or sensed him.”

Her sisters laced
their arms with hers. “Come’on. The party is getting started. We’ll meet him at
the palace entrance next to the gardens,” Kit said.

The sisters walked
as a threesome through the stone palace.

“This is going to
be so much fun. No one would believe us if we told them we partied with the Gods
of the Underworld,” Kendra squealed.

Lilly snorted. “I
can hardly believe it myself some times. I’m still waiting to wake up from my
dream.” Kit frowned, but she managed to correct it in time. Her sisters let go
of her arms in a well-choreographed handoff, but Asar was nowhere to be found. Kit
and Kendra jetted out the door without her.

Irritated that her
sisters had ditched her, Lilly walked down the steps. The ebb of power from
several thousand gods emanated over the garden’s green wall. Her heart hammered
in her chest. She didn’t want to face all of those gods without Asar by her
side. His dark essence floated nearby in the night air, but she still couldn’t
see him. Making it to the center of the garden, she turned in slow circles searching
the shadowy vegetation.

“Asar?”

“Lilly.”

His voice fell over
her like a smooth spell. She turned to follow the voice and vibration of dark
energy. Heat rippled through her body at the sight of him. Molten energy flashed
around her and lit up the garden path. He was the most gorgeous thing she had
ever seen.

Dressed in his
finest uniform made of dark navy material with gold ribbon trim, Asar looked
like the all-powerful god he was. Thick gold bands wrapped around his bulging
biceps, and a large gold belt cinched his waist. The elegant cloth draped his
chest and fell in panels down to his knees. His feet were clad with leather
sandals. To finish the effect, a band of gold encircled the crown of his head.

He strode forward. She
could barely blink, let alone move her feet. His body came to rest just inches
from hers. He traced the line of her jaw with his fingertips.

“You are beautiful.”
He voice felt smooth and seductive. She shuddered a breath. Tears burned the
backs of her eyes. “You are so handsome. I…” His fingers went to her mouth, but
soon replaced them with his soft lips. She closed her eyes and savored the
moment of their touch. It left her breathless, just as his first kiss did. Eyes
closed, she whispered, “Am I dreaming?”

“Open your eyes.
You will see that you are not dreaming, I promise you.”

She focused once
again on her beautiful mate. Truly a god in every sense, it infused every
aspect of his being. “I am so lucky to have you,” she sighed. His eyes glistened
in response to her statement. A mix of satisfaction, and… No, it couldn’t be, she
thought. Nervousness. She had never known him to be anxious about anything.
Tense and angry, yes, but nervous? Never. And, then her answer came.

“You could not be
more wrong. It is I who am blessed to have you in my life.” The eyes that
looked at her were dark and complex, shifting to various colors and shades of
black. “You
are my life
,” Asar said in an unnaturally deeper voice.

He rested his hand over
his heart. The very heart she grew with the energy of her love for him. His
other hand cupped her chin. “I want to live an eternity with you. I want to
have children with you, raise a family of our own, together. I want to declare
in front of the world of gods that you are the love of my life.”

She stopped
breathing. The words she had longed to hear fell from his lips like magic. She
was held frozen in that moment of time, just for a few seconds, but it was
incredible. She loved this man, this god, so deeply. He spoke of her own dreams
to be with him. “I am yours,” she whispered.

He kissed her.
Before pulling away, he let out a hot breath. “Marry me for eternity.”

She frowned. “I
thought we were married?” She touched his mark on her chest and then hers on
his chest.

Asar smiled and
laughed nervously. “We are bonded with our souls as mates. I’m talking
marriage, priest, declaration of vows, gods to bear witness. Bind us for
eternity.”

She gasped and
covered her mouth. He just proposed. But, wait. Did he say eternity? She hadn’t
had time to consider the impact of her demi-god status would have on her life
span. “Can I even live for an eternity?”

His face fell blank
for a second. He touched her cheek. “Yes, if we are bound by the priest’s
blessing. We can live with each other forever. Or,” he said cautiously, “if
that is too much to ask, we can maintain our current bond.”

Her heart sang in
her chest. There would be nothing she would love more than to be with the man
she loved— forever. She liked the sound of that.

Asar cleared his
throat and shifted nervously on his feet. He seemed to be tormented by her
silence. She launched into his arms and laughed with the joy in her heart.
“Forever!”

He sighed heavily
and pulled her in tighter to his chest. “Gods, do not torture me like that. I
would have had to explain to our guests that the wedding was cancelled.”

“Guests?” she
gasped. She realized how dense she was this entire evening. No wonder he was
acting so funny and had left her in bed alone. He must have wagered that her
answer would be
yes
. Her body started to tremble. Her eyes went
immediately to the green hedge, the only thing standing between her and all the
gods whose energy poured over her. “Oh. My. God.”

“Gods, actually.
Several thousand.”

Nervous meeting one
god, let alone several thousand, she clasped on to the large gold bands encircling
his muscular arms. “Tell me you love me. Now.”

He grasped her
shoulders and pulled her into his chest. He rubbed down the center of the snake
that curved gracefully down her back. “I love you, Lilly. You are going to be
okay. We do this together. That is how it is supposed to be.”

“Good, you can
carry me when I faint.” She giggled, slowly relaxing under his touch. She took
a deep breath and exhaled. “I love you.”

The tight lines on
his face faded, rid of all the tension from the night. He stepped back and
kissed the top of her hand. “Shall we?”

Lilly nodded and wrenched
her grip on his hand. She took several more deep breaths to calm her nerves,
but the best relief of all was her connection with Asar. He absorbed her excess
energy.

They were perfectly
made for each other.

* * *

Asar walked forward
proudly, his back straight and head held high in the air. He could not be
happier than this moment. He had been searching a long time only to find
disappointment, pain, and worst of all, betrayal. He had filled his chest with
hate and vengeful things. Lilly changed all that. She was the cure for his pain
and his darkness, and his key to happiness.

This beautiful
woman could not be more different from him. She held the power over his life
and asked for nothing, other than his love and respect. She saved his life
several times, challenged him on issues, and forced him to think differently
about the world. Ideals he had believed in long ago, but lost over the
centuries from apathy, returned to the forefront. He had something to love and
protect. A sense of worth and dignity.