Destiny Redeemed (13 page)

“Then
why curse you with something from me?”

Amon
sighed and knew he couldn’t avoid telling her the most important part of
Sevine’s curse.

“She
didn’t. The curse is more general than that. It affects me with anyone I love.”

Lifetimes
of confidence seemed to evaporate in seconds as he watched Thea’s face darken.

“Love
me? Is that what you think coming to my house to take me away is? Love?”

“You
don’t understand. I found out...”

Thea
cut him off in mid-sentence and put her hand up. “I understand perfectly. You
want me back at your house to heal you, and you think the way to soften me up
into accepting being kidnapped a second time is to tell me you love me. You
must think I’m pretty pathetic if you believe that will work.”

Pain
once again raged through his body and Amon silently reached out to Gethen to
call for help. Moments later, he and Markku entered through the front door and
Thea leaped from her seat on the couch.

“Don’t
either of you have any manners either? Get out of my house now!”

Both
men stood still waiting for instructions from Amon and appeared to almost look
right through her. With each word, Amon felt weaker, and he leaned back against
the couch, twisted in pain.

In
a strangled voice, he whispered, “Thea, please listen. They’re here to help me.
Your emotions are killing me.”

Turning
to see his face drained of all color, she asked, “You’re serious, aren’t you?”

Quietly,
he said, “Yes. Can we please just talk?”

With
his hand, he gestured to Gethen and Markku to leave and the two men quickly
exited. Amon remained silent for a minute as the ache ebbed out of him. When he
was sure he had the strength to finish what he’d started, he inhaled deeply and
let the air out in a sigh.

“Thea,
I found out my destined one has moved on. When I told you what you were feeling
wasn’t possible, I didn’t know. Then when I experienced pain when we were
together in your room, I realized the spell she put on me that causes me to
suffer when I make someone I love unhappy was affecting me and that I’d fallen
in love with you. But even then I didn’t think anything was possible, so I sent
Markku to investigate the possibility of Sevine’s moving on, hoping but never
thinking that I’d actually be blessed with you as my destined one.”

Amon
watched as she listened intently and then closed her eyes when he finished. As
he waited nervously to hear her response, he thought in desperation of gently
probing her mind to understand her thoughts about what he’d just said and end
the uncertainty he felt. Never before had he felt so unprepared to hear
another’s answer.

Opening
her eyes, Thea said tearfully, “Is this true? Have I been blessed with a
destined one finally after all these lifetimes?”

Smiling,
he took her hands in his and brought them to his lips to kiss them softly.
“Yes, Thea. I’m yours and you’re mine.”

“I
wasn’t wrong,” she said in astonishment.

“No,
I was. I’m sorry you were hurt by my not knowing she’d moved on.”

Thea
grew silent and then said sheepishly, “Amon, we may be destined ones and love
each other in some way, but we don’t even know each other. This seems all
backwards.”

Cradling
her face in his hands, he smiled. “We know everything we need to know. We know
I love you and you love me. And we know you look incredibly sexy in my shirts.”

Unconvinced,
she squinted her eyes into tiny slits in fake anger and wrinkled her nose. “You
know what I mean.”

“No,
I don’t. Those seem to be the most important things, as far as I can tell.”

Thea’s
blue eyes stared back at him, and he leaned in and kissed the tip of her nose.
“Okay. What do you want to know?”

“Everything.
Where have you lived other than the house I’ve been in? How many destined ones
have you had? Do you like extra cheese on your pizza?” She stopped and
hesitated before asking another question. “Do you like children?”

Amon
lifted both his eyebrows and wrinkled his forehead. “Want to jump right in? Okay.
I’ve lived in many places. Greece, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Mexico, Norway, in addition to other places in the United States. I have homes in many of them that
I can’t wait for you to see. I’ve had three destined ones before you. I do like
extra cheese on my pizza, in addition to sausage and green peppers. And yes, I like
children.”

He
knew the last answer was the most important, so he made sure to smile when he
said it. After, he leaned in and softly pressed his lips to hers.

Thea
pulled away and studied his face. “What would you like to know about me?” she
asked in a hopeful voice.

“What
makes you happy?”

Thea
wrinkled her nose again. “Because you don’t want to feel that pain again,
right?”

Amon
shook his head. “No. Because I want to make you happy.”

*

Outside,
Gethen sullenly watched the comings and goings of Thea’s neighbors. Markku
stood next to him smiling as he surveyed the same scene, albeit from a
different perspective.

“Gethen,
do you ever wonder what it would be like to be one of them? To be human?”

“No.”

Markku
turned to Gethen with a look of amazement. “Never once? C’mon. They seem so
interesting.”

“For
all the years I’ve been around them, I can’t figure out what anyone would find
interesting about them,” Gethen replied testily as he stared straight ahead.

“Not
interesting? That’s crazy! They only live one life, old man. One life and it
doesn’t seem to bother them at all.”

Gethen
knew he should simply ignore Markku and avoid getting drawn into the
conversation, but the man’s ignorance irritated him more than being forced to
wait on the porch for Amon did.

“I
have only one life.”

Markku
shook his head. “No, that’s not the same. Sidhe may only get one life, but they
get a much longer life than humans. Christ, they only get about eighty years
before it’s all over.”

Gethen’s
thoughts trailed off as Markku spoke. One life. Unlike those he spent all his
time near, he would cease to exist upon his death, another of his kind sent to
the afterlife in the Summerlands. He was nowhere close to the natural end of
his life. Three hundred and some odd years was relatively young for his kind,
who often lived twice as long. But now, as he felt the early November chill
bite at him, his many years away from his world made him suddenly feel old.

He
knew what was making him miserable. Inside, Amon was reuniting with the woman
he was destined to share his remaining lifetimes with, and outside, he was
struggling with jealousy he’d never experienced with Amon. He’d entered his
world after his previous destined one had left, so he’d always had Amon to his
own, despite the myriad of females who’d been in and out of the Aeveren’s life.
Now his life would change, and he’d very likely see Gethen as an unnecessary
addition. Or more correctly, his destined one would.

Markku
jabbed Gethen’s side sharply with his elbow. “We got trouble.”

Gethen
shook off his thoughts and trained his eyes on the man Markku was watching.
“Why? What’s wrong?”

“He’s
a bounty hunter, probably the one sent to take Amon back.”

Gethen
felt the adrenaline pump through him as his body shifted into protection mode.
He watched the Aeveren male make his way down the suburban side street, looking
distinctly out of place surrounded by housewives loading up minivans with bags
and children to go to play dates with other housewives and their children.

He
assessed the man’s physical character instantly as formidable, and since Amon
was still recovering from his escape from the very place the bounty hunter
intended him to return, Gethen decided to alert his friend to the potential
danger.

As
the man came closer to the sidewalk in front of Thea’s house, both Gethen and
Markku agreed he was Amon’s bounty hunter. In his mind, Gethen heard Amon’s
response to his alarm, and he grabbed Markku by the arm.

“Amon
wants us inside...now.”

As
they closed the door behind them, Thea hurriedly gathered her things and stuffed
them into her purse.

“Is
he the man, Markku?” Amon asked as he stood from the couch.

“Yeah.
My guy described him to a T. Says he’s on a mission.”

“What
the fuck does that mean?” Gethen snapped.

“I
don’t know. My guy said that this guy was released from his job at Nil last
year and was just recalled for this job.”

Amon
stood next to Gethen to comfort him, silently reassuring him. “Well, he’s going
to have to get used to failing, gentlemen.” Turning to Thea, he added, “Time to
go.”

Thea
came to Amon’s side and molded her body to his as he curved his arm around her
shoulders. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he whispered softly to her to
calm her fears.

“Gethen,
get back to the house with Markku. Thea, I promise we’ll come back again.”

Looking
up and smiling, she said, “We better. I have things I need.”

*

Out
of the corner of his eye, Amon spied the man through the front window. He felt
the man’s eyes meet his and even from a distance of twenty yards away, there
was an almost electric connection. Either he would fail in his task or Amon
would return to Nil. There was no middle ground.

Quickly,
Amon turned to Markku. “Get Gethen back to the house. Go now!”

Just
as fast, he positioned Thea on his other side near Markku and when the magickian
began to disappear, thrust her hand into his with the warning, “Hurt her and
I’ll kill you. Go!”

In
seconds, Thea’s cry of protest and her eyes full of worry were a memory, and
her house was silent. Amon stood in her living room waiting. It didn’t take
long for the knock he waited for to come, but this meeting would be on his
terms.

Before
the other man knew what had happened, Amon stood behind him on the porch. When
he felt satisfied that he had the upper hand, he cleared his throat and the man
spun around. They stood facing one another, each one sizing up the other. Amon
spent little time on him before he decided that he wouldn’t be much to handle
physically. What powers he had was a different story. With a quick look into
his mind, Amon knew all he needed to know.

“Leave
here and never come back, or I promise you this won’t end well for you.”

“Amon
Kalins, I’m here to take you back to Nil to serve out your sentence.”

Amon
grinned. “I see. All official? Okay. I’ve warned you. The next time I see you
will be the last.”

Moments
later, Amon reappeared in his bedroom. Silently, he summoned Gethen to bring
Thea to him and waited patiently to see the woman he’d completely fallen head
over heals in love with.

Thea burst into
his room, her anger obvious by the look on her face.

“What
were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt or worse!” she screamed.

Amon
was so happy to see her that he’d momentarily forgotten that her emotions could
still affect him and was surprised when a stab of pain shot through him. He
stumbled backwards toward the bed as Thea and Gethen raced to catch him.

“Amon!
I’m so sorry! I forgot,” she cried as she clutched at his arm.

Gethen
supported him and they guided him to the bed. After helping him into it, Gethen
stood back and waited.

With
Thea seated next to him stroking his cheek with her fingertips, Amon began to
relax. Looking up at his friend, he smiled. “Thank you once again, Gethen. You
seem to be always saving me.”

Amon
saw the pleasure in Gethen’s eyes and was happy he understood him so well.

“Always,
Amon.”

“Let
me rest, friend. When I’m ready, I think it’s time to see our friends of the
Soren. We may need their help with this bounty hunter.”

Nodding,
Gethen said, “I’ll tell Markku,” as he left the room.

Thea
continued to tenderly trace her fingertips over Amon’s cheek as he closed his
eyes. Leaning down, she softly touched her lips to his and then whispered, “I
am so sorry.”

Just
the touch of her lips excited him, and he caught her face in his hands to
return the kiss.

“Don’t be sorry.
You had every right to be upset. I should have remembered the effect you have
on me.”

He
slid his tongue into her mouth to mingle with hers and gently sucked her tongue
between his lips. “I like this effect better,” he teased, his face flush with
desire.

Moaning
softly, she climbed on top of him and straddled his hips. “And just what effect
is that?”

As he ran his
hands over her back, he groaned, “The one that makes me want to be inside you.”

He
pulled her down to him and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her deeply.
At that moment, nothing else mattered. Not what he’d have to do to save himself
from being dragged back to Nil. Not the last vestiges of pain he felt slowly
leave his body. No, the only thing that mattered was how he felt with Thea.

Amon
realized she’d been healing him as she touched his face and now was quietly
sleeping with her head on his shoulder. Gently, he stroked her hair as she lay
on top of him and thanked fate for sending her to him.

For
now, he’d let her sleep and he’d build up his own strength because what they
faced was something they’d need all their powers and more to overcome. But even
though he was just days away from the hell of Nil, he felt stronger than he had
in lifetimes. He had something more than himself to fight for. He had a
destined one who’d ended his loneliness. He had Thea.

Chapter Eleven

Ryu
Jansen remained on Thea’s front porch considering what he’d learned so far. He’d
known the girl was important the moment he’d seen her run from Amon’s house,
but now he needed to find out who she was. The other players in this drama he
already knew. The servant/bodyguard named Gethen had watched him approach the house
with the magickian Kalins kept on hand.