Marabella
Gentle fingers move up my spine, and sparks zap my skin as Kyan’s scent invades my nose. His scent fills the room as I drowsily wake up. My mind is trying to piece together the last memories I have.
It is like putting a puzzle together, yet the pieces don’t quite fit. How could they? It makes no sense. I remember the fearful look on his face as the elevator plummeted to the ground. But that is it.
Rolling onto my back, Kyan is lying next to me, a book in his hand. It is his father’s book, the grimoire I stole from his room. Kyan’s eyes flick to mine briefly, and he clenches his jaw, clearly still angry at me for hiding things from him.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t want to be wrong, and let you lose him all over again,” I admit. Kyan sets the grimoire down on the bedside table, rolling into me and tucking my body close.
“I’m not mad. Well, I am. However, not because you lied, but because you meddled in something dangerous, Ella. Magic isn’t to be played with, and Kaif should have known better,” Kyan whispers. His breath sweeps along my neck, moving my hair, and I sigh.
“What happened? Where are Jonah and Eziah?” I ask nervously. Worried, Kyan finished what he started and killed my brother, but surely I would feel that – we are Gemini twins, after all.
Although this is my fault, I should have come to him, yet the thought of destroying him again. Kyan can’t lose anyone else. He has sacrificed too much for my family. For me. We all have lost something, whether it is family or a piece of ourselves.
“Jonah and Eziah went to retrieve my father’s coffin. They are taking it to the ruins,” Kyan mutters.
My eyes go wider. “The ruins? Kaif figured out how to open it?”
“He thinks so. We just need to be careful. You can’t channel too much power. It nearly killed you last time,” his words confuse me.
Although I know he is right because Dominic’s power was consuming when I stopped them. The shadows were so strong as they tried to suck me under, they wanted to make me give them control.
The voices in the elevator, the feeling of falling, then I felt nothing at all. It was the oddest sensation. I shiver, remembering it, and Kora sluggishly comes forward. She lays down in my head, looking as exhausted as I feel.
“It wasn’t our power or Dominic’s,” she yawns. But I know she is right. This was colder, frostbitten, sort of cold.
“It wasn’t your father’s magic, was it?” I murmur, and Kyan’s hand moves to sit flat against my stomach.
Kora nods in my head at the same time as Kyan speaks. Clarity washes over me and fear slivers through me. “You’re pregnant, Ella,” Kyan whispers, kissing the side of my neck and making me gasp.
“But…”
“It will be fine. Kaif has a plan,” Kyan whispers, and I roll in his arms to face him.
“But the curse, Kaif will have no choice, he will have.” Kyan presses his forehead against mine, cutting my words off with a growl.
“He will die before he ever hurts you,” Kyan tells me. I try to make sense of what he is saying.
“Marabella, breathe,” Kyan whispers, making me realize I am choking on a panic attack. I can’t be pregnant. We don’t know if we broke the curse yet, Kora whines in my head, yet she feels protective of her pup already. Kyan growls, grabbing my face. “Ella, God damn it, breathe,” Kyan growls.
Yet, I can’t around the huge lump in my throat and the pit of dread that is forming in my stomach. Fear washes over me, and tears form in my eyes. What if I doomed this child, all of us? Kyan’s hands clamp down harder on the side of my face as my panic continues to grow. I feel like I am having a heart attack as I gasp for air, my body is feeling foreign, and my heart is erratic, beating loudly in my ears.
“Ella!” Kyan growls before pressing his face in my neck. He nips at my mark, sparks zap across my skin, and I suck in much-needed air, filling my lungs as I grip him, his heart thumping against my chest and I feel my heart rate slow, falling in sync with his.
“You will be fine, Kaif will be fine, everything will work out, just breathe,” Kyan says as his lips move against my neck, his hot breath against my cold skin makes me shiver.
“I’m right here with you. Jonah will be here. Our son will be fine,” Kyan purrs. His chest vibrates against me, and I clutch him tighter, needing something to hang onto, something to ground me and pull me out of my head.
“I don’t want to be like them,” I whisper. I have seen what those women are capable of. I have listened to the crazy thoughts and vile words they heard and whispered.
“You won’t. You’re stronger than the shadows, Ella. You’re made of them,” Kyan whispers, pulling back and looking down at me.
From his words, I know that I can hang onto them, that he truly believes I am strong enough to hold and fight the shadows. So with that, I can let him ground me; I press my lips to his. The kiss is needy and demanding, and Kyan instantly answers it. My fear is replaced with desire as he presses closer, his body moving to hover over the top of mine.
Sparks spread over my skin as the mate bond calls for our mate. Kyan’s mouth devours mine, and he nips at my lips before his lips travel back to my neck. His teeth graze over my mark, causing me to shudder beneath him and demanding that I lose myself in the oblivion that he can give me. Even if only for a little while.