CHAPTER 14

 

 

 

In her dream the storm was real, battering her with cold, rancorous rain. She stood on the hillside Morgan had once created for her, with the sea a frenzy of furious waves and whitecaps. Overhead, lightning split the clouds and thunder boomed in answer.

Black water scoured her bare skin. The wind howled in the distance like an animal.

With a vicious laugh, Karsia danced and urged the wind onward. More lightning, more anger. Power surged in her blood and bestowed her with the ability to do anything she wanted. Anything. Such glory in the strength, in her own confidence and knowledge that whatever she willed, it would come to pass.

With the new power coursing inside of her, she could easily have the vengeance she sought for the wrongs committed against her family. She may be the embodiment of darkness and discord, but the desire to protect her family couldn’t be bad. Those responsible would be punished. A life for a life, yes?

This is who we are now. Who we can be together. As long as you accept your destiny.

“Yes!” Karsia called out her answer without hesitation. “I will!”

She’d always known there were some who found dalliances with darkness thrilling. At this point, she counted herself among them. Evil was not something to be overcome or fought against. It lived in the heart of every man, woman, and child if they took the time to look.

Evil cannot be vanquished. There must be a balance. Let you wield the weapon and burn this world and the next to embers.

“I will let no one stand in my way,” Karsia vowed. There were no rules anymore, none that pertained to her. She welcomed the uncontrollable energy inside of her, twisting itself around her soul and whispering. Whispering.

A snap of her fingers, and a figure materialized at her feet. She glanced down at him, weather beating him down to the ground. There was no sunlight to glint off his golden strands of hair. Command disappeared from his eyes and he cowered before her. Begging her.

Please, spare me.

Karsia reached out her hand and squeezed his throat until she heard a choking gasp. Orestes Voltaire collapsed in front of her. His suffering pleased her.

No, there would be no mercy. Her sisters weren’t there to offer a voice of reason. Not there to ask her to stop, to be sensible, to remember who she was and what she stood for.

She would refuse to listen anyway. She knew right from wrong, her moral compass straight and true. With a gleeful cackle, she raised her hand up and felt energy gathering there. She pointed down to Orestes with her lips pursed for a final air kiss.

Sayonara.

She was about to mete out final justice when a voice cut through the night.

“Karsia, wait!” Morgan approached from a cluster of birch trees. “I won’t let her touch you. Not here.” He clapped his palms together.

At once the sky lightened and storm clouds dissipated. The ghost figure of Orestes melted into the ground and daisies burst up in its place.

The hillside would no longer do, would no longer help her feel at ease after what she’d seen. Even with his power, Morgan couldn’t save her from herself and the nightmares brought about by her worst fears. His face dropped.

He had stepped into the voice inside her subconscious with one clear purpose: finding her. What he hadn’t expected was the turmoil of her mind, the presence keeping her hidden from him. Her dark passenger was getting stronger.

“Morgan?” Karsia hung her head.

“It’s me, honey. It’s me.” He was thankful he’d reached her in time before those fears took over completely and she experienced something she’d regret.

“What did I do?”

“Nothing we can’t move past.”

“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Karsia asked when he approached. Tears clogged her voice and she held her arms out to him. “I’m losing more and more of myself.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Morgan kept her under his arm. Considered the clean, blank canvas of the dream world. Then wiggled his fingers once more and a beach unrolled from nothing. Powdery white sand cushioned their feet and waves lapped gently at the shore in an unceasing rhythm. Salt tanged the air. He made sure the sun shone brightly while white clouds dappled the horizon. An attempt to dispel any lingering gloom.

Pitiful, he thought. He should be able to do better for her.

The beach cove curved in a semi-circle, with low cliffs and an old white lighthouse clinging to the rocks. He drew apple orchards, verdant fields of barley and acres of yellow flowers. Karsia deserved something unsparingly beautiful.

“It was a bad dream, okay? And everyone has those,” he told her, his tone nonchalant. Hoping she would remember his words when she needed them. “Try to remember it’s not your fault.”

“How can it not be my fault?” she cried, staring up at him with impossibly large eyes. “I can’t control myself. I should be able to, shouldn’t I?”

Morgan pulled her into his arms, unbearably pleased when she cuddled close without a death threat. “Not necessarily. Most humans find it difficult to resist the siren’s song of dark deeds on a daily basis. You have it curled inside of you like a parasite, and if my opinion counts for anything, I think you are doing a bang-up job of fighting it. Of fighting her.” He remained utterly calm, in direct opposition to her speeding heart. “You haven’t hurt your family. You haven’t hurt me.”

Her inhalation was shaky. “Good to know.”

“You can do more than you think.”

Her arms banded around him. “There’s only so long one can fight until it’s time to give up the ghost. I am not strong enough to do this anymore.”

Morgan dotted her face with kisses. “It’s not time to give up. Your sisters are trying to find a way to reverse this. I’m trying to find a way.”

“I don’t think there is a way to reverse it. We would have found it by now.”

“There’s always a way. You said Darkness needed a willing soul to take her place, correct?”

“Yes. But she needed a member of our hereditary line.”

“I’m not sure I believe that,” Morgan insisted. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately. As long as someone is there to fill the void and keep the balance, become the new veil after the eclipse and take up the mantle of responsibility, it doesn’t have to be a Cavaldi. I think she chose your family because it was easier to communicate with you. Easier to intimidate you. It’s just one theory, mind you. I want to do more digging but I’m afraid we don’t have time. Astix wants to make a move now. She’s right.”

Morgan removed his glasses and rubbed at his face. In the subconscious, he felt the exhaustion beating at him, a bad tenant who refused to vacate the premises. Nothing he could do about that until this blew over. It was his fault, really. He’d signed on without knowing the details. Now he was in it for the long haul.

Even in his own domain, the burden was there.

Carefully he sat down on the sand, bringing her with him. For a long moment they simply stared together at the sea, enjoying a peaceful rest. He had a feeling the next few days would require all their energy, so it was wise to snatch any restful moments whenever possible.

Karsia glanced over at him, then used her fingers to gently massage the skin around his temples. “You’re tired.”

She kissed his lips, loving the look of him there under the glow of an artificial sun. He looked good in his suit, classy and refined, yet his bare feet in the sand gave a hint he still had a bohemian streak. She flashed a secret smile, knowing he’d made the change for her. He was observant, able to assess the situation and adjust. Her scholar.

“It’s been a rough few days,” he admitted.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry for bringing you into this. I would never have thought to call on you if I hadn’t had a dream about some guy attacking me in an alley,” she told him. “It put the idea into my head.”

“Wait, what?” Morgan jolted against her, curling his fingers around her wrists to still her hands.

“It was the strangest thing. Right before I came to see you, I was down in Miami and left my hotel room one night, just walking, and some guy came out of the shadows and grabbed me. He didn’t hurt me, but he wouldn’t let go.” She shuddered, stretching her bare feet out and feeling the water lap at the soles. “He told me he’d dreamed of me. Called me a child of the dark. And said ‘come find me’. Then I woke up back in my hotel room bed. I don’t know, I guess it was a dream, but it felt real. I’m not sure if I would have had the nerve to find you if he hadn’t shown up.”

Morgan stilled, unnerved by her words. Miami? He hadn’t been there in ages, since the Roaring Twenties in fact. Something about what she said, what she remembered, tugged at him like a hook through his memory. It was well within his power to send out subconscious messages without realizing it. His magic sprang from an eternal source and could be used as a conduit by those with a different, higher power.

Was it possible? Had someone used him to contact her without his knowledge? Or had fate found a way to send him into her dreams without his recollecting it?

Morgan rocked her and shook his head. “Whoever he was, he’s gone. And we’re here together for a reason.”

“There has to be a way to block this somehow.” Karsia stared out at the open expanse of sea. Thought about the endless possibilities hidden in those waves, in the comforting rise and fall of the tide. “It’s hard to imagine reality anymore. There are too many unsolvable problems there. I feel like I’ve been trapped in my own subconscious for decades. Centuries.”

An idea struck him. “Hey. You said Darkness needs a host, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why not find someone else? Anyone else. I’m sure there are loads of people willing to line up for the chance at limitless power.”

“You want to push someone else into this instead of me?” Karsia winced. “How cruel.”

“If that’s what it takes to save you.”

“I won’t let her hurt anyone else or rope them into a position where they don’t understand the consequences. What happened to Cecilia wasn’t fair. I refuse to be responsible for damning another person. Let’s focus on how to get this thing out of me. And if we can’t—” She broke off on an inhale. “Then I accept my fate.”

Morgan turned away to stare at the lighthouse. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought and I think the best solution, if you refuse to find a replacement, is a binding spell.”

“We already tried a binding spell.”

“Well, you didn’t have me there.”

“There’s no guarantee a spell will work. I don’t like to know there are no guarantees. It could get my family killed if I decide to go on a hunting spree again.” Karsia squirmed.

“You won’t. I wouldn’t allow it.”

“And what are you going to do? You can’t keep zapping me back into unconsciousness. I eventually wake up madder than when I went in and that’s not a good scene for anyone. At least, I get the sense I do.”

“We’re going to the stone. One of these days, your resilience is going to pay off and we’re going to get this thing back where it belongs.” Morgan kissed the top of her head and shifted, his toes reaching for the water and brushing against hers. The instant the two touched, he sighed.

He would love to take Karsia someplace like this in reality. Just the two of them, with no one else around and no responsibilities barking at their door. It took effort to keep his hands off of her.

“When I tell you I don’t want to fight…ignore me,” Karsia continued. “I do want to. More than anything.”

“I know.”

Staring at her, there was no way Morgan could resist her allure. She took him over. Filled his system like a drug. Hotter and more potent than any ambrosia from Mount Olympus. He was raw for wanting her; his brain scrambled when she looked at him, and brought out feelings he’d never thought he would feel in his lifetime.

“If I don’t kiss you,” he admitted, “I think I’ll die.”

There was her smile lighting up her face, a dazzling curve of lips and plump cheeks. “We wouldn’t want you to do that…would we?”

His lips moved to gently caress hers with a light brush and scrape of tongue. Need spread quick and hot, beginning in his chest before moving lower.

Even with the severity of their situation pressing down, she wanted him. Oh, how she wanted him. His dry humor and easy manner and keen intelligence. Normally, need for intimacy would have propelled her forward, heated blood and desire and demand. She’d never believed in waiting when her heart told her to make the leap.

Still, none of the men in her past compared to Morgan and the pull she felt. Take it slow, her sisters would caution. No. She couldn’t live her life by taking it slow. She lived large, she remembered. A life full of joy and adventure. Right?

From the day of her Awakening on her fifteenth birthday, Karsia had sought happiness in freedom. To experience the joy of life outside of her tree-lined street, away from her mother and father’s velvet-lined power. She did the best she could, and had certainly bent more than her fair share of rules. She’d pushed boundaries and risked exposure based on the laws that kept witches safe. She’d risked more by thinking she was powerful enough to actually get what she wanted. Now all of that was like child’s play. Or foreplay, leading up to this encounter with Morgan.

She arched her neck and felt him touch her, slow and easy, trailing those lips along the graceful column and down toward her breasts. He trembled against her and brought an answering response. Need, merciless and demanding, devoured her and took her to the edge.

“If you keep kissing me like that, I’m never going to let you leave.”

“That’s fine with me.”

She fell into him. Understood the tenderness of the gesture. The absolute need. His pull was like a gravitational force on her soul. She’d never experienced such things before, soft and fierce and arousing.

Morgan murmured her name. He was a man ready to take her on. Warm her, keep her safe. Stand by her side through peace and trouble. Those were the kinds of things that mattered in the long run.

A tear burst to life and slid down the curve of her cheek. Morgan moved his lips to it. Made it disappear. “We will find a way, love. I promise,” he told her. “How about this… We enjoy the time we have left before we think about the hard stuff. Sound good?”

She searched his face for answers. “How long? How long do we have before it ends?”

“I don’t know.”

Her smile was slow in coming. “Then I think it’s time I see you.”

“You’re seeing me now,” he teased.

She shook her head. “No. Not this you. While I appreciate the attractive package you’ve presented to me, I know it’s a facade. I want to see the real Morgan.”

Those interesting eyes took in everything he tried to hide and could not. “You mean my…horns.”

“You have horns? Jeez, man. I mean, yes! I want to see you. All of you. No more hiding.” She hesitantly reached out and placed her hand on his arm, thrilled when his muscles flexed under the material of his suit coat. The land around them may not be real, but his arm was. He was. Real and full of heat, full of fire.

He sent her a questioning look. “Are you sure?”

When she smiled it took his breath away. Morgan paused only for a moment before calling on his power. He shook his shoulders and wings appeared, with downy feathers caressing her skin. A shake of his head and his horns sprouted and rose to touch the heavens.

His face was not so different from the one she was used to seeing. Now, black hair fell in haphazard waves around a face that looked carved from stone. Handsome and captivating. Timeless eyes took her in and waited for judgment.

There was still the searing intelligence she knew and expected, the sympathy and concern. Now it seemed both familiar and odd in a different package. A devastating package.

His horns, solid and powerful, had her heart pounding with curiosity. She reached out and touched them. Stunned, Karsia continued to stare at those ebony points absorbing light around them.

Morgan turned his head. One of the few humans to see him in his natural state and he could not puzzle out her reaction. Was she disgusted with him? Intrigued? He waited in expectation of her conclusion, this one small woman so different from any he’d ever known before.

She motioned him back to her, dazzling smile in place, taking him by the shoulders. “I know you. What’s in here—” She touched his chest. “—is what matters to me. Morgan—”

“Morpheus.”

If possible, her smile grew larger. “Morpheus. The god of dreams. I should have known. I read somewhere that you are good at mimicking the human form. Much better than any of your siblings.”

“You’ve brushed up on your Greek mythology?”

She shrugged, staring at the downy joints where wings met skin. “It doesn’t pay to be ignorant.”

“Are…are you pleased?”

“Pleased?”

“With…you know.” Morgan gestured toward the rest of him. “This.”

“You’re delicious in any form you choose. But I know what’s on the inside, and you want to know a secret?” She leaned in close to whisper in his ear. “I would love you no matter what.”

The words took him aback and he turned to stare at her. “Who said anything about love?”

She shot him a look that said he should know better. “I’ve never been one for that stars aligning and angels singing stuff. Maybe once, when I was little, but the older you get you realize falling for someone isn’t like in the movies. Or what you read in a book.” She once more touched the soft feathers on the underside of his wings, smoothing them down in a row. “You learn to appreciate time for what it is, appreciate the people who come to you. Even when they leave just as quickly. I’ll tell you one thing—I know my own feelings, and I know when they are genuine. We may not have known each other long. The real you? He’s a god to love. A man to love. And for me, there’s no one else.”

Her sentiment struck a chord inside of him, like the reverberation of a harp. Love was something he’d never known before, never experienced during his entire time on the mortal plane.

He agreed with her in that he too didn’t believe in the fairy tale where two people met and fell in love then lived happily ever after. He’d seen too much of the dark side of love, where jealousy and anger and violence reigned and the sweetness of the emotion turned to dust.

Here, with her, he accepted his feelings. The subconscious was as genuine and intimate as anything on the conscious plane of existence. It meant just as much.

Knowing their time was limited, Morgan took the opportunity to re-weave the world around them. Above he painted a night sky of stars shining with the light of a thousand diamonds. Infinite possibilities awaited there, and they were alone under the vastness.

“Is this real?” she asked, resting her cheek against his chest. He wore loose robes now, reminiscent of a Greek chiton.

“It’s real,” he told her.

Karsia tugged at a golden thread lining the pleats of his robe. “Is this what they used to wear when you were growing up?”

“Something similar. Although the gods always fancied themselves better than the rest. Their outfits were made of the finest materials and worth more than anything you could imagine.”

“I think yours is very regal.”

Morgan chuckled low in his throat. “Thank you, my sweet. I appreciate the compliment.”

She snuggled against him again, then suddenly raised her head as if struck by an idea. “Let’s stay here, Morgan. Stay here and not go back.” She stared at him imploringly. “Please. If I go back it will be nothing but darkness, forever. Is it possible to stay here? Tell me.”

“I’m sorry, my dear. We can’t stay. But we can steal some time together before you wake again. Let me love you. Here. With only the two of us.” His deep voice rumbled and caused the ground to vibrate.

“Are you trying to get me naked?”

“Maybe. Is it working?”

His heart hammered in his chest as he took her in, knowing that to some this wasn’t tangible, wasn’t real. They did not expect dreams to come true. Yet he was able to touch her, taste her, feel those hardened nipples against his chest and answer with a need of his own.

She was beautiful, with starlight in her hair and plump lips waiting for him to kiss her. He spun a dress around her, wrapping her in silver, and lifted them both high into the air. The beat of his heart mimicked the beat of his wings.

Morgan worked his magic. The landscape beneath them changed until snow blanketed the ground. It swirled in playful gusts and touched her skin without the chill. Each flake was silky-soft.

Karsia tilted her head back and raised her face to the sky, letting those pure white flakes fall onto her skin and dark auburn hair. Her joyous laughter did something strange to him. He reached for her face and cupped her cheeks to run the pads of his thumbs along her bones. She looked at him, caught those penetrating eyes delving deep into her soul, and quivered against him.

Then his lips came down on hers and she sighed as she opened to him. Passion rose in her, an emotion she hardly recognized. Real or not, she felt the pressure, felt his hands on her waist and the hardness of his torso. Overwhelmed, she clung to him until they returned to the ground. Blood rushed and rumbled in her head in time with the gallop of her heart.

Those hot and demanding lips sparred with hers and had her going weak at the knees. Her hands fisted in his chiton of their own accord while he ravished her mouth.

“You feel so good,” he told her, lips traveling along her chin and up toward her brow. “You have no idea.”

“I have a small idea.” Managing to tug one of her hands away, she lowered it to the evidence of his desire, thick and rock-hard.

He felt good, too. A windstorm brewed in her stomach and threatened to take her away. The only anchor holding her in place was Morgan. Morgan with his impossible wings and deadly sharp horns.

Every inch of his body, perfect and inhuman, pressed against her intimately in a way that took her female awareness of him to a new level. And oh, yes, she was aware of him like she had never been of any other man in her life.

Karsia could still not believe he was there. She couldn’t believe he’d managed to find her when she could not find herself. He was there with her, with an unnatural snow swirling around them. His teeth nibbled at her lips, his tongue tangled with hers.

Hasty hands tugged at the skirt of the dress, another one of his designs. She happily gave herself to this man and his power while those skillful fingers played over her buttocks before roaming again.

Her head swam and her senses tingled, with every nerve standing to attention. She loved the sounds he made, those small moans only increasing her own desire.

Morgan laid them down on the soft snow-covered ground, soft as goose down and not at all cold. His fingers began to unravel the fabric over her chest.

“I need to see you,” he muttered. It had been so long since he’d felt a woman beneath him, let alone in this form. They’d always preferred someone else, a tanned golden god versus a horned monstrosity. He obliged, if only for the touch, for the opportunity to lose himself and taste earthly pleasures.

It was not so now.

Karsia sighed when he revealed her breasts, soft as rose petals, with dusky nipples pert and ready for his attention. Morgan latched on and suckled lightly, bringing first one into his mouth and then the other. She gasped and drew him closer, her hands searching out his skin.

Her body came alive under his ministrations while his mouth tugged at her and threatened to devour her like a savory treat. Like a starving man at last presented with the one food he craved.

Morgan felt heated, lit from within by an impossible inferno. Still, chill bumps rose in a trail where she touched him. “What are you doing to me?”

“I’m loving you.” Like he was the one being silly.

She kissed along his neck and back toward his mouth. Her mind was a whirlwind, full of the beauty he helped her see. Full of him. He was raw power in a perfect blend of beast and man. She felt the muscles of his back where they tapered into wing joints. Naked, the lean lines of his face and body were clearly visible.

His growl changed to a moan and in an instant, his outfit disappeared, along with her own. They lay naked together, his hands coming up to caress the gentle curve of her waist.

“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. Everything I was too afraid to hope for. I never dared dream until you.”

Karsia took his face between her hands, noting the differences between his true appearance and the man he showed to the world.

“You love me,” she told him, her voice cracking.

He closed his eyes and relished the rawness of his emotions. “I do. Yes.”

“Even though I’m only me on the inside?”

“We’ll find a way. Whatever the Fates bring to us, we will find a way.”

“Are you sure this isn’t too fast for you?” She studied their linked fingers. “I mean, we have only known each other about a week. Maybe less. Who can tell?”

“No, darling, it isn’t too fast. Because I’ve known you for a lifetime. And loved you just as long.”

Morgan bent and kissed her gently at first. Centuries ago he’d learned to be patient. To wait for the things he wanted, for they would be his in due time.

He couldn’t wait any longer. The more he touched, the more he found he could not contain himself. Fisting his hand in her hair, he pulled her more firmly against him and watched her head fall back as her body clenched.

He’d become accustomed, in the real world, to seeing her eyes through an obscuring veil of black. Now they were light and he saw her as she truly was. Those pupils were a dazzling array of colors, drawing him into their depths and holding him down like a chain. Desire lay heavy in their depths, her skin already slick with sweat.

Her fingernails raked his torso. Morgan covered her body with his own. She felt the hardness against her inner thighs.

Morgan nudged her legs aside and tickled her womanhood with his thumb and forefinger, worshiping her. He moved her to incredible heights as he explored her, reading the changes in her countenance and driving her toward greater pleasures. Her breath came in gasps as he slid a single finger into her moist heat. She clenched around him and moved ever higher until she stood at the edge of a precipice.

“Let go,” Morgan whispered, flicking his tongue along the plane of her neck.

Karsia did that, unable to contain herself. With snow falling around them she came, her body releasing in a great flood of emotion.

She’d never felt that way before, had never been comfortable enough with a man to let herself be so carried away. After experiencing it tonight, she would never be satisfied with anyone else. It could only be Morpheus.

She tried to embark on her own exploration of him and she reached down to clasp him in her hand. He seemed incredibly big and full, and for a nervous moment she worried about pushing the boundaries of her physical limitations.

Picking up on her discomfort, Morgan silenced her fears with a kiss. “We were made for each other. I have never known the love of a woman like you in all of my centuries of walking in mortals’ dreams. Whatever fears you have, let them go. We fit together.”

“Then I trust you.”

Karsia opened herself to him. Morgan steeled himself as he fought for control. She wanted him to let go the way she had. To join her in the release. Wrapping her legs around his torso, she arched against him and urged him forward.

“Now. Please. I need you.”

Morgan poised over her and captured her gaze, blood rushing to his lower extremities as everything in him roared forward to claim her.

“I need you,” she whispered again.

Morgan buried his aching erection inside her and slid carefully out, hearing the sounds of her pleasure echo in his ears. Her hips rose to meet him thrust for thrust. She was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

Fierce desire brought them together and allowed them this moment. He wanted to cherish it and go slow. Not possible. There was no way to contain himself when fire coursed through him.

“Let go,” she said, her tone deep and echoing his earlier words.

It ignited his lust until Morgan was afraid he would push her too far. His wings poised above him as if ready to dive in an attack. Unable to fight himself, Morgan lifted her rear to meet him. Over and over again she met him, joined him in his revelry. They danced together until he could no longer contain his response.

The half-god held his witch close to his chest until he’d poured himself into her, her name on his lips and stolen peace in his heart.