Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (42 page)

“
See?”

“
But that’s just it. None
of it was real.”

“
How so? You were there. He
was there. It was as real as this cave is—as real as that ring on
your finger, Sarah.”

“
What I mean is that
everything was based on a lie. He’d never marry a peasant like me.
He’s next in line to rule the Cardashian Court. And it won’t be
long now, because their Immortal king is dying. Anyway, once he
takes the title, it’ll make him the most powerful person in this
world. What would somebody like that want with somebody like
me?”

“
Don’t be so hard on
yourself. He knows the truth—that you’re not really the
princess—yet he still wants you.”

“
The thing is, I can’t stop
thinking about him.” Sarah smirked. “Especially that
kiss.”

“
How does Frank fit into
this equation?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know.
Frank and I were kind of getting back together, but—”

“
But your tall, dark,
handsome King Kiss-a-lot is coming between the two of
you?”

“
Nobody has ever made me
feel the way Victor did, and I hardly know him. I know it sounds
absolutely crazy. I don’t even understand it myself. We have this
spark, this connection, this passion, and this chemistry that blows
me away. It’s amazing…yet it scares me. Frank was the last straw,
and it was because of him that I’d sworn off men. I just can’t win
in the game of love. I guess it’s fine for everyone else, but
romance is not for me, fairytale or not.”

“
It’s not just your
eyes.”

“
What?” Sarah
asked.

“
When you talk about your
new husband, it’s not just your eyes that light up, but your entire
face and even your voice.”

Sarah giggled and gazed down at the
ring, touching it, remembering how he’d slid it on and declared his
undying devotion. “Really? Even if he was telling the truth and
doesn’t want to kill me, I can’t spend my life here in this world.
It’s not where I belong.”

“
Follow your heart, Sarah.
That’s the only way to know where you really belong.”

“
You do realize they only
say stuff like that in movies.”

Beth smirked. “Meh. It can happen in
real life too.”

“
I hope he’s not mad at me
for knocking him out, but I can feel that he’s all right now.”
Sarah lowered her gaze to her ring again. The soft light bounced
from the red gemstone, shimmering unnaturally bright. “I just need
to find a way to get this ring off, find my sister, and go home.
But enough about me. How’re you feeling?”

Beth rubbed her stomach. “I’m four
months along. They tell me I’m having a bouncing baby boy. I guess
he did a lot of bouncing when we jumped off that cliff today. I’m
pretty sure that would have been against doctor’s
orders.”

“
I didn’t realize you were
even dating anyone. Who’s the lucky guy?”

“
Um, I am not really
dating—nothing serious anyway. I met this hot guy in a bar, and we
downed a couple of pitchers together, drowning our loneliness away
I guess. One thing led to another, and…well, bingo, I’m knocked
up.”

“
Does he know?”

Beth shook her head. “Nope, and I
prefer to keep it that way. I don’t need his help or his money.
Besides, he’s too hung up on some other chick now. Plus, he’d never
understand my research.”

“
Kind of like
Frank?”

“
Definitely…and
unfortunately.” Beth laughed, brushing a stray strand of hair out
of her face.

Sarah hesitated, considering her
words. She didn’t want to make promises she couldn’t keep, but she
wanted to help Beth feel better. The baby’s wellbeing depended on
it. “Well, you know I’m always here for you, and I never got a
chance to officially congratulate you.” Sarah reached over and
hugged her.

“
Thank you,” Beth said
between sniffles.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I can’t…Sarah, I just
can’t have this baby here.” Beth hugged her more tightly. “What if
we don’t get back home in time?”

“
You’re only four months
along, Beth. That gives you five months! We’ll be back home way
before that baby’s born, and I’m going to spoil him
rotten.”

“
I’m not usually such a
wimp or a crybaby. I’m sure it’s just the hormones,” Beth said.
“I’m sorry.”

“
You’ve got nothing to
apologize for.”

Tears streamed down Beth’s face. “If
we do get stuck here, what about my epidural?”

“
Honey, women have been
having babies naturally for generations. You will deliver your son
one way or another, and you’ll both be fine.”

Beth smirked. “Yeah, I get that, but
I’m not like other women. I’m not a fan of pain. They have to knock
me out just to pull a tooth, and that’s a lot different than
yanking an eight-pound baby out of me!”

“
We’re going to get you
back home, and you’re going to be a fantastic mom.”

Beth hugged her Sarah tightly, burying
her face in her hair. “You’re such a wonderful friend. I really
don’t deserve you.”

Sarah smiled and rubbed a hand over
Beth’s back, soothing her. She wasn’t sure about the wonderful
friend part. If they didn’t get back home, Beth’s child might just
be born in the Middle Ages, and Beth would be in danger of losing
her life in childbirth like so many mothers of that era did. Sarah
had already suffered the loss of her sister; losing a friend was
not an option.

Chapter 15

The iron
gate, faded and rusted in patches from years of rain and snow,
creaked as Sarah opened it and walked through. The moon hung high
above the horizon, casting a silver hue over the trees on either
side of the road. At that time of day, the village seemed deserted,
devoid of life, reminding Sarah of a ghost town minus the eerie
wind and hundreds of eyes peering from behind closed curtains. Her
feet thudded across the bare ground as she led the way to the first
tiny house with whitewashed walls and flowerpots on the
windowsills. Stopping, she spun in a slow circle.
How are we going to find anything out if the
entire town is asleep
? “Are you sure this
is Ripteenia?”

Frank nodded. “Yep, the one and only.
Maybe we should split up—you know, start asking some
questions.”

“
Sure.” Sarah shot him an
amused look. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to accommodate us,
particularly if we show up knocking so early in the morning, in a
world where robbing and burning down villages is as common as
baking bread.”

“
Do you have a better
idea?”

She shrugged. “Let’s look around and
see what we can find out on our own before we wake up the entire
town. Some people can be real nasty if they don’t get their beauty
sleep.”

“
Sounds reasonable.” Beth
pulled Frank’s hand. “C’mon.”

Frank’s gaze lingered on Sarah and she
motioned with a laugh. “Go on. You guys go that way, and me and the
guys will go the other.”

“
I can protect her just as
well as you can,” Adam said to Frank’s arched eyebrow.

Men—always trying to out-macho each other,
Sarah thought with a sigh. “Actually, guys, I
think I’m well capable of protecting myself. Technically, you can’t
even take a bullet for me.”

Frank glanced over his shoulder and
winked. “Hmm. I wonder if I could get the jump on inventing
bulletproof vests—or bullets, for that matter. Any idea where Ye
Olde Patent Office is around here?”

Beth sighed and took charge, leading
Frank away. “C’mon, Frank.”

Adam smiled. “I told her to do it.
Come to think of it, I actually begged.”

“
What for?”

Adam shrugged. “Just needed a break
from your lover boy, I guess.”

She could only hope Beth wasn’t
embarrassing her. Frank was not necessarily her idea of Prince
Charming, but he wasn’t such a bad choice. He was surely better
than an Immortal sociopath who was trying to marry her one minute
and telepathically kidnap her in the next. She slapped Adam’s arm,
returning her focus back to the conversation at hand. “You’re so
bad. And for the record, he’s not my lover boy. I have no idea why
everyone in this place seems to think that.”

“
Hmm. I wonder what gave
them that impression.”

She rolled her eyes. “Let’s
go.”

Frank and Beth had disappeared to her
right, where the wide street seemed deserted now. The houses to the
left looked barely bigger than cottages that wouldn’t withstand a
strong autumn wind. She sighed and took that direction, the others
following right behind.

Steven resumed the conversation first.
“Where are we going?”

Sarah pointed to what looked like a
large open space, peering through the houses. “The middle of the
town. It’s too early in the morning to do much other than
wait.”

“
I thought people got up
with the sun to milk cows,” Steven said.

“
This world’s
amazing—dangerous, but amazing nonetheless.” Adam quickened his
pace, passing her.

She grabbed his arm and pulled him
back. “Wait up! It isn’t safe to just venture off on your
own.”

He seemed to barely hear her. “We
gotta take proof back with us. Somebody can always say the film is
fake, but if we have something concrete, some tangible proof, I
could be the first scientist to prove other dimensions exist. We
could prove this is where Bigfoot comes from.”

Steven patted his bag. “But I’ve got
the footage, man! I even got the Immortal dude on tape.”

“
That’s admirable, man, but
you know someone will say it’s like all that fake footage on
YouTube.” Adam motioned around him. “Boy, I never thought a Bigfoot
expedition would turn into all of this, that’s for sure. We just
need proof—tangible proof.”

“
Interesting conversation, guys, but in order to be actually
able to tell the world about it, you’ll have to get out of here
first,” Sarah said. From the corner of her eye, she noticed
something flickering in one of the windows.
Who would be awake at this ungodly hour?
Regardless of who it was, she was glad someone was up, because
she was tired and hungry, and the cold night wind had sent shivers
through her. In all the excitement, the others didn’t seem to care
about such trivial things as keeping warm and eating, but she knew
they’d thank her for it later. She took a tentative step toward the
house.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a woman
clad in an off-white dress peered out. A wimple like that of a nun
hid her features, and a fur shawl was draped across her shoulders,
going halfway down her legs. “Elizabeth?” The woman’s voice came
low and hoarse, as if she was still half-asleep. “Is that you,
dear?”

Sarah stopped, frozen to the
spot.

The woman inched closer and gripped
Sarah’s arm. “It can’t be! Elizabeth?”

With her heart pounding hard, Sarah
shook her head. “No. Elizabeth is my sister.”

“
Your sister?”

“
Yes. Do you know
her?”

The woman’s eyes glinted as she turned
Sarah to inspect her from all sides. “She came from so far away.
How’s it even possible that you’re here?”

“
I found a way into this
world just like she did—sort of by accident.” She took a step back,
hiding her hand from view so the woman wouldn’t notice the
incriminating ring. Everyone seemed to fear her or hate her for it,
and there was no need to push her luck. “I heard that Elizabeth met
a man named Charles, a man from this town.”

“
Charles?” The woman looked
away into the early dawn.

“
Yes, that’s what we
heard,” said Adam.

“
Charles wasn’t born here.
He spent a year helping us rebuild after the flood. He met
Elizabeth a few towns over.” She looked around and lowered her
voice to a whisper, as if she was about to share some juicy gossip.
“But they had to keep their relationship a secret, you
know.”

Steven inched closer, his camera and
aspirations of fame forgotten. “Why? Was he a rich noble or
something?”

“
An Immortal, and as I’m
sure you know, it’s forbidden for an Immortal to court a mere
human.”

Sarah gasped. “What? Did you say he’s
an Immortal?”

“
Yes. Elizabeth grew quite
fond of King William’s son.”

Sarah’s
jaw dropped.
Liz fell for the son of evil
King William, the guy who’s trying to have me killed? And
furthermore, how can Charles be such a saint, helping these
peasants after a disaster nearly destroyed their city, if his
father is such a monster?
Her sister was so
close, she could feel it. Her eyes widened, her heart pounding even
harder. “My sister’s in the castle then?”

The woman looked away, tears welling
up in her eyes. “Dear, your sister married him and slipped on the
Ring of Immortality. The other Immortals found out and…” She looked
down for a moment before she could finish. “Oh, I hate to have to
tell you this, but—”