Chapter 25
Guardian Manor, Tetartos Realm
Sam quickly threw on the robe she found after waking clothed in what looked like scrubs. She clenched the material, trying to remember what had happened. The room looked like a fancy master suite of dark browns and hardwood covered in expensive rugs. She eyed a tray that was left on a table at a seating area in front of the fireplace. It contained what looked like soup, water, juice and tea, but she was too leery to touch it. She wasn’t sure where she was and her adrenaline was pumping.
Her heart stilled when she heard a knock at the door. She looked around for a place to run.
“Sam, it’s Alex and Uri. Are you okay in there?” Alex and Uri? Her head started spinning with the realization of who they were. It really hadn’t been a dream. She closed her eyes, her mind immediately going to Erik as her heart clenched in her chest. Their presence here meant he was also real, not some product of her imagination. They’d saved her, so why did she distrust it all so much?
She sucked in a breath and willed her shaking hands to stop. She had to know if her mind was playing tricks on her. That meant braving the door even though her heart was beating a hole in her chest.
The first thing she said when allowing them to enter was, “Is Erik okay?”
Erik’s sister seemed to try for a smile, but the effort… Her heart plummeted. They’d been wrong. His wounds had been too great. She felt herself pale and almost fell into the nearest chair.
Alex immediately walked around and sank down in the chair next to her, taking one of her cold hands in her warm ones. Alex’s bright blue eyes had gone wide. “No, no. He’s fine. He’s alive. I didn’t think about what my face was indicating. I just don’t like to see him hurt. He’s going to be fine. He’s recovering from his injuries, Sam. I promise you he’s okay.”
The two sat with her for a while, softly explaining a world of Immortal beings, telling her she was a Mageia. To her it all sounded like the same thing as a witch. It was too much to process, but that didn’t stop the questions firing from her lips. They’d patiently explained that she would be in a kind of protective custody there while they searched for Cyril, the one she knew as the Nazi Fuck. Her heart stuttered when they’d told her he’d escaped. She felt bile burning her throat.
“Sam, we have a way to access your memories if you’ll allow it. I really hate to ask this of you, but we need to catch him before he does this again.” She felt Alex’s regret in asking her.
Hatred and fear filled her at the thought of that bastard out there abducting more innocent women and using them as lab rats. Doing things…
Could she deal with one more violation? Having them in her mind would be exactly that. She closed her eyes for one heart-pounding moment before swallowing. “Do what you need to.” The idea of allowing them inside her head, seeing what she went through, nauseated her, but she had to do it. She could never live with herself if someone else suffered because she didn’t have the courage to do one simple thing.
Uri nodded at her, and she swore she saw something like pride shining in those metallic eyes. “You’re very brave, Sam. It will be fast, but I have to ask…”
“What is it?”
“Would you like me to take the memories away? I can erase them, but it would be like a hole in time. It’s your choice.”
Her lips parted. They could take them. Take the fear?
“If not, I can also dull the impact. Make them fuzzy so that you’d know what happened, but you wouldn’t feel the anxiety. The fear. We’ve done this for some of the others who were there with you. None of this was your fault, Sam. If we can ease the trauma, let us do that for you.”
Alex squeezed her hand. “You’re not alone. You were incredibly strong to find a way to free yourself. You can do this. Either way is your choice. I hope you’ll allow us to blunt the memories if nothing else. It would have the effect of years in therapy. Nothing invasive.”
She swallowed. She didn’t like the idea of a hole in her memories even though she hated them.
“Don’t take them away. But I don’t want them paralyzing me anymore.” She closed her eyes, almost feeling like a coward. There were too many emotions. The biggest was shame. God, she hoped they would take that away, but it was hard to ask them to. When Alex squeezed her hand again, she eased some. A glance into the other female’s eyes showed something more.
“I understand more than you know, Sam. We will be gentle. Thank you for being brave enough to let us do something to help.”
She didn’t feel brave. She felt terrified, but it seemed to be over almost before they started. The odd feeling of someone inside her mind wasn’t as unpleasant as she’d worried it would be. Then she opened her eyes and she felt relaxed. The thick blanket of shame and panic was no more than a thin sheet slipping away.
Her muscles finally relaxed and the ache in her bones eased.
She sucked in a breath.
“How do you feel?” Alex asked, searching her eyes.
She shook her head in awe. “It’s there, but the weight of it isn’t so heavy.” She blinked back tears.
Alex hugged her and they stayed for a little longer.
“If you push the button on the wall, they’ll bring you anything you need. More food, toiletries. Just sit tight. You’re safe here and we’ll be back.
She was basking in her newfound courage up until the next knock. This time she opened the door to the blonde doctor she’d seen when they brought her in.
“Hi, Sam. Do you remember me? My name is Sirena and I just want to check on you.”
She smiled hesitantly as she let the doctor in.
“Are you feeling up to a short chat?”
She stilled. “Is it about the blood samples you took?”
Sirena nodded. “I know this is all a big shock for you, and I promise we will do anything in our power to help you through this.”
Sam cleared her throat. “What did he do to me?” Something felt odd inside her. And she knew it wasn’t normal.
“I don’t want to scare you, but, yes, your body is changing. You are healthy and will be fine. But there are going to be big decisions you’ll need to make going forward.”
“Oh god, I’m pregnant?” She barely choked out the words, feeling her world falling apart around her.
“No. You’re not.” Sirena shook her head but seemed to hesitate in continuing. This couldn’t be good.
“You’re sure? Wouldn’t it be too soon to tell?” Sam croaked the words she feared most as she searched the other woman’s eyes, trusting her on some instinctual level.
“I’m positive.” Sam blew out the breath she hadn’t known she was holding when Dr. Sirena continued in a low serious voice, “Do you know how we found your location?”
Ice blue eyes filled her vision. She knew somehow that Erik was her savior, but she wasn’t sure how or why, and Alex hadn’t explained that part.
Her stomach clenched, remembering his strength and the heat that pulsed from him in waves, finally warming her after being cold for so long. She hadn’t even had time to thank him before he’d passed out. Why did she feel like she’d known him her entire life? Like she was connected to him. It made no sense.
She whispered, “It had something to do with Erik, didn’t it?”
“Yes, Erik was the one who found you.”
“How?” Then she asked what she was dying to know, “Is he really okay?” She hoped Alex hadn’t lied to her. She wanted to see for herself that he was whole. She ached to know why she’d dreamed of him. She wanted to know why and how she’d felt safe in the middle of hell with him. It made absolutely no sense.
“There’s a lot to it. Erik sacrificed a lot to get to you. To get you, specifically, out of there.” Sirena’s words held a depth of meaning Sam didn’t understand.
“Why? I’ve never met him. Why would he come for me? How would he?”
“Did Alex explain that one of her powers is being drawn into others’ minds?”
“She was in my mind after I was taken. She said as much.” The impossible was truly possible. Creatures of myth existed, but weren’t quite the same. “I don’t know if I can fathom half of what I feel like was the kindergarten version she explained to me.” Sam rubbed the bridge of her nose. Her head was spinning with everything she’d learned. Had she not seen fangs and lion men and fireballs, she wouldn’t have believed any of it before.
“Well, that’s how they found out about you,” Sirena said.
“I’m not sure what to think about that,” she said honestly. “I don’t even know why I was taken. Alex said it was because I am this Mageia thing. A witch.” She shook her head and then thought about something else. “Are my parents okay? They have some ability with plants.” Her mind reeled with all the questions she didn’t know if she wanted answered. “I have to talk to them. Tell them I’m okay.”
“Your parents should be safe. He seemed to be targeting a certain age range, but we’ll send someone to check on them and let them know you’re okay as well. There’s no phone service here.”
“What did he do to me? And how do I even protect myself against his powers if he finds me again?”
After a brief pause while Sam took a deep breath, Sirena continued, “You’re safe here, Sam. But there is one way for you to get the power to protect yourself, and by doing so, you’d also be helping Erik.”
Sam’s eyesight blurred. How could someone she didn’t even know find her, risk his life for her? There had to be more to it. “What haven’t you told me? Stop trying to ease into whatever it is,” she asked through clenched teeth.
Sirena’s eyes softened. “You’re very strong, Sam. But I fear you’re going to have to be stronger.”
Air stuck in her throat. “What does that mean?”
“It’s complicated. Part of it has to do with what you are.” The doctor searched Sam’s face, looking for something. “You were taken because you are a Mageia that has a rare compatibility with Immortals. That compatibility is what makes you Erik’s destined mate. I wouldn’t have told you any of this now. Not after all you’ve been put through, but there’s more to all of this, and it’s put you both in an untenable situation. The moment you and Erik touched, it put things into play that can’t be stopped.”
“What things?” Sam demanded. “Destined mate?”
“It’s a soul mate. Your souls call to each other, and when a mated pair touches, they’re thrown into a mating frenzy. You won’t feel the effects as strongly or as painfully because you’re mortal. But he will. He’ll go nearly mad with the need to be with you physically. That’s why I intend to keep him asleep. You need time to heal, but I can’t keep him knocked out forever. And when I wake him, it’s going to be bad for him. It will start to become a problem for you as well. In days you’ll want him uncontrollably… and it will eventually be painful if you don’t have sex with him.” Sirena shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s the reality. If I could kill Cyril for what he’s done to you, I would. You shouldn’t have to deal with this now. Not after… everything. The monster tainted something incredibly rare and beautiful. I’m sorry.”
Sam’s stomach clenched. He wasn’t okay after all.
And it didn’t look like she was going to be okay either.