Damian's Immortal (War of Gods 3) (21 page)

“
Dusty around?” Jule
asked.

“
Probably in the gym with
Darian,” Bianca answered. “We’ll see you for dinner,
Yully?”

“
Yes, of course,” Yully
answered.

Jule led her away, and Bianca returned to
the railing. Yully looked up at Jule again.

“
You ever think we have a
lot to learn about each other?” she asked.

“
We do,” he confirmed.
“But I know what’s most important about you. The rest we can
discuss over a lifetime.”

“
I like that idea,” she
said, surprised to find she did. “I kind of have your soul, don’t
I?”

“
No kind of about it. You
claimed me the first time you touched me,” he said with a
smile.

“
Okay, good.” She didn’t
have to wonder about him as she had her father. She’d never known
what would set him off, or what would earn her a blow. Jule was
right; she’d learned who he was in the alley, when she’d first
touched his soul. He’d never hurt her, ridicule her, or think she
was the freak of nature her father called her.

“
What’re you thinking
about?” he asked.

“
I’m glad I tried to turn
you into a rock a few days ago,” she replied. “And just as happy I
failed.”

Jule winked and opened the door to the gym.
Several Guardians used the rows of machines or free weights while a
few were gathered around the boxing ring in a corner. She
recognized Damian and Darian as they neared and crept closer to
Jule at the sight of the strange man with red glowing eyes. Two
more men, one she recognized from the cottage, and another with
darkly handsome Hispanic features, stood watching two Guardians
box.

“
Hi Yully.” Darian was the
first to spot them. Something had changed with him, too, and she
sensed the subtle power that hadn’t been there at the
monument.

“
You here to kick Darian’s
ass again?” Damian asked with an easy smile. She reddened and shook
her head.

“
This little thing beat
you up?” the man with the chiseled features asked.

“
And Jule,” Darian pointed
out. “She shot him and ran him over.”

“
It was a
misunderstanding,” she managed, her face hot.

“
Jule kicks my ass every
time we spar. I’m okay with you running him over,” the man with the
cool blue eyes said.

“
I was human at the time,”
Jule responded. “Yully, you’ve met Damian and Darian. This charmer
is my brother, Dusty, Bianca’s mate. Bianca’s sweet and cute, and
Dusty’s … Dusty.”

“
Everyone likes Bianca,”
Darian added. “She doesn’t tell people what to do.”

Dusty eyed the wiry man coolly, and Damian
chuckled.

“
This is Toni, one of
Dusty’s Guardians. And this … thing-- ” Damian indicated the man
with red eyes “-- is Charles. He’s one of the Black God’s men, an
exchange student, here for a few weeks.” The exchange student was
growling at her.

The positive energy around the four men was
contagious, and she found herself drawing it in. Unlike the cold
rain of her father’s energy, theirs was warm and cheerful, like her
bond to Jule.

“
Do you always glow?”
Darian asked curiously.

“
No, sorry.” She pushed
their energies away self-consciously at the sudden silence and sets
of eyes gazing at her.

“
You’re probably tired
today, but when you’re ready, you’re welcome to spar with us,”
Dusty offered. “Jule says you can fight pretty well.”

“
It’s good stress relief,”
she replied.

“
I need your man for a few
minutes,” Damian said. “You’re welcome to stay.”

“
We can spar,” Darian
said. “I have my honor to regain.”

Yully smiled and shook her head again. “I
think I’ll go see Bianca’s horse,” she said, more interested in the
animal than being under the intent scrutiny of the Guardians.

“
I’ll catch up with you,”
Jule promised. He kissed her forehead and released her.

Yully left the gym, feeling as if she’d
entered a new world. She drew a deep breath, stilling her nerves,
and crossed to the paddock. Bianca was gone, and the horse dozed
next to the fence. Curious about the great animal, Yully approached
the fence. The horse’s eyes opened, and it lifted its muzzle over
the top of the railing. She rubbed its forehead and leaned forward
to touch its neck, marveling at how soft its hair was. Absorbed by
the horse, she didn’t feel the hair on the back of her neck
rise.

“
Found you.”

She turned to face the small man and gasped.
He looked like her father, only his eyes glowed green where her
father’s had been purple. She took a step back, uncertain what the
man was but aware her instincts were at a scream.

“
The Other had you hidden
well,” the man said. “This is the first time I’ve been able to find
you.”

“
Got him.” The low growl
drew her attention behind her, where the red-eyed man materialized
beside Damian. She pressed her back to the railing.

“
It’ll be the last,
Watcher.” The White God’s golden eyes were liquid and swirling as
his mate’s had. His power sizzled around him.

“
She is too powerful for
this realm, Damian,” the green-eyed man said.

“
Bullshit. You want to use
her as you have the rest of us,” Damian said. He stepped forward
and motioned her behind him. “You can have her over my dead
body.”

“
And mine,” Jule said and
materialized with two others. He held out his hand, and Yully went
to him.

“
And mine,” Dusty
said.

“
Mine, too,” Darian
echoed.

Yully listened, breathless, to the strangers
who vowed to protect her from a threat similar to her father. After
a lifetime of rejection, she’d found a home with the very people
her father warned her against.

“
This has been a long time
coming, Watcher, but don’t come back,” Damian said.

“
And if you come near my
mate again, I will show no mercy,” Jule added in a quiet tone that
promised action. The Watcher frowned, his gaze going from Damian to
Jule.

“
So be it,” he said at
last. “If this is the path you choose, we will not assist you when
the Others come. We will look upon you as enemies.” He disappeared
in a wink of light.

Yully’s heart soared higher than she thought
was possible. She looked up at Jule, whose features were grim. A
couple of them were talking quietly, but she didn’t hear them,
instead unable to fathom that anyone would find her life worth
protecting after her father hadn’t. Jule squeezed her hand.

Near tears, Yully tugged away from him and
ran into the house. She navigated her way to her room before she
started crying. She hadn’t cried in years, unless it was out of
pain from a particularly bad beating. The tears spilled fast and
hot, but they weren’t tears of anger or sorrow.

Jule excused himself quickly from his
brothers and trotted after her. He felt her distress through their
bond and suspected the Watcher upset her.

“
You don’t have to
worry,
kiri
,” he
said, pushing the door to her room open. He sat beside her on the
bed and wrapped his arms around her.

“
I’m not,” she managed.
“I’m happy.”

“
You don’t look happy.” He
laughed. “You look like Charles with those red eyes.”

To his surprise, she pulled away from him
and smiled, a brilliant sight that made her eyes sparkle and face
glow. Yully wiped her tears and flung her arms around his neck,
fluttering hundreds of kisses across his face.

“
I have a home,” she
whispered. “You really are mine. He can’t hurt us this
time.”

“
For as long as you want
me.” He closed his eyes, enjoying her affection and her
emotion.

“
I know. I think I’ve
always known,” she said and rested her forehead against his. “I
think I’ve loved you since I stole your soul.”

“
You stole my heart,
too,
kiri,
” he
added. “I’ve never met anyone as sweet as you. Nothing bad will
ever happen to you again, Yully, I swear this to you.”

“
I trust you,
Jule.”

Jule cupped her cheeks in his hands and
kissed her deeply. Yully opened herself to him, and he shivered as
their souls, then their bodies, met once again.

The War of Gods series

Damian’s Oracle (October 2011)

Damian’s Assassin (November 2011)

Damian’s Immortal (December 2011)

The Grey God (May 2012)

The War of Gods 2011 Holiday Bundle
(December 2011)

Sneak peek of rising young adult author,
Julia Crane’s

Coexist: Keegan’s Chronicles

For my mother.

Thank you for sharing your love of
books,

and teaching your children to use their
imaginations.

- Julia Crane

* * * * *

Prophecy: An elfin child on the side of the
light will be born with the gift of sight. He will be the son of a
great warrior. His father will lead the great battle with his son
by his side. This child is the only chance the elves have to avoid
extinction.

"The Book of Elfin Prophecy"

Compiled 112 BCE

CHAPTER 1

K
eegan’s call echoed in Rourk’s mind as he was finishing his
set. She always came to him when he least expected her, after which
he was unable to focus on little else but her. His hands gripped
the bar tightly and he tried to ignore the pull of her thoughts. He
tried to focus on training, on the cold steel and the smell of
sweat in the room--anything that could take his mind off of the one
girl who owned it.

Taking a deep breath, he shook his head and
unclenched his jaw, quickly finishing up the set. He had to force
his hands to uncurl from the bar; it was almost painful. The tips
of his fingers were bloodless; a fine metaphor for how Keegan
usually made him feel. He wiped his face and tossed the towel in
the bin--the rest of the workout would have to wait for
tonight.

Using one of his secondary gifts, he closed
his eyes and visualized her face. It was nothing for him to picture
her, to bring her into focus like a high-powered lens. Rourk
smiled. She was at her favorite spot; a private corner of paradise
on her parents' land.

Her beautiful auburn hair blended in with
the fall leaves that surrounded her. The dress she wore was pale
green and ankle-length, flowing ethereally around her body so that
she was like an oasis in the rust-colored woods.  He watched a
smile spread across her face as she inspected a rock from the
creek, and laughed when she slipped it into her camera bag.

The first time it had taken him hours to
navigate to her location. When the pull came, it was now just a
twenty-minute hike through some woods.

Grabbing his bag, he jumped in his old beat
up truck and headed towards her, probably driving a little faster
than necessary. It was an urgent need to be near her when he heard
her call, so he could never get there fast enough.

When he reached her location, he climbed the
rugged terrain hastily.  The dirt had the loose feel of earth
unpacked by human feet; with every step, he sank a little,
hindering his progress. The sun sparkled through the canopy above
him, illuminating the path he forged through the trees, though it
didn’t offer any warmth in the cool afternoon. A branch scraped him
across the face and he impatiently pushed it to the side, hardly
caring whether it had left a mark. Finally, he reached the top,
bursting through the tree line and into pure daylight.

Rourk stood rigid, his
lean body tensed as he looked over the edge of the rugged
cliff.
Why do I do this to myself?  I
shouldn’t even be here. She’s killing me. I have no
self-control.

In the elfin society, life mates were
predetermined using complicated methods to ensure ideal matches.
The secret of this formula had a need-to-know basis; meaning he
would never know how Keegan was chosen for him. There were many
creatures in this world, but his kind held their secrets close to
their chest.

There were certain rules his kind had to
follow. One’s lifemate may have been chosen at birth, but the first
and most important rule was that they could not meet until they
both turned 18. Growing up knowing that one’s other half was out
there waiting brought a sense of comfort to Rourk. Ordinarily,
neither knew their other half until they became of age. Their
society believed it was better this way so they could enjoy their
childhood.

So how did he find her?

Someone had told her his name. She pulled
him closer to her each time she thought of him. It was as
involuntary as breathing. When he was younger he could resist with
ease. As he got closer to being of age, curiosity got the better of
him. Sometimes he wished he’d resisted so he didn’t have to endure
the agony of waiting now. Although, he knew he loved seeing her
even if it caused him pain.

Keegan was standing on the rocks, the water
rushing around her feet, with camera in hand as usual. One minute,
she skipped across the rocks like a child and the next she would
stop, a look of total concentration taking over her face. That was
when she started snapping photos.