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“The River of…you mean souls like in dead people? I almost stuck my hand in a river of dead people?” She cringed back, holding her hands protectively against her chest. “Eck! That’s just…eck!”
He laughed. “They are no longer people.”
“Whatever, it’s still gross.”
Tugging her to her feet, he took her hands and rubbed them between his. “The water in this realm is completely clear. So, if it is glowing a pale blue color, remember that those are souls.”
“Got it. Don’t touch the glowing river of the dead. What would happen if—no, never mind. I don’t even want to know. I’m already going to have nightmares about this as it is.”
Chuckling, he pulled her toward the structure. “Come on. This was—is my home away from home. It is the private manor that was left to me when my parents died.”
She glanced around. “How long has it been since you were last here?”
He thought about that for a long minute before answering. “I haven’t been here since before I was sent to prison. No one else knows about this location. Even if a stranger passed by, they wouldn’t see it. And everything should be undisturbed and clean inside since there is a spell in place that takes care of that.”
Instead of a door, a large opening appeared at their approach, allowing them to enter the dwelling. Several wall sconces immediately lit up and a large, rectangular firepit in the center of the room burst into flames. The shiny black stone walls and the crystals hanging from the scones reflected the light from the flames, making the room even brighter.
Off to one side was a pale gray marble table with dark silver veins shot through it sitting on a black stand, and black and gray chairs surrounding it. Over the table hung an elaborate chandelier that looked like an explosion of light captured in crystal. On the other side of the room was a large sitting area with dark gray sofas and matching chairs.
There was a wide hallway in the back leading to another room and an opening in the wall that showed a kitchen off to the side. She wanted to go in and explore, but willingly went with him as he pulled her up a curved set of marble stairs.
Down a short hallway, they came to a set of double doors. He waved a hand, and the doors opened to a large bedroom cast in shadows. Rather than stopping inside the bedroom, he led her out onto the balcony that overlooked the creepy River of Souls. As she rested her arms on top of the stone balustrade, she shivered thinking about how close she’d come to sticking her hand in that glowing mess.
Kingston moved behind her and wrapped his muscular arms around her waist, effectively caging her in. “Stop thinking about that. You didn’t touch it, but even if you did, it would only feel like sticking your hand in gel.”
“Okay, that makes it even worse.” She leaned back into his warm embrace. “What is this place?”
“This used to be my parents’ secret hideaway. When I was about twelve or thirteen, I followed them here one evening. I’d convinced myself there was something wrong and wanted to confront them about it. They knew, of course. When we got here, they explained that it was simply a place where they could come and forget about being a Spencer for a little while. I didn’t understand what that meant at the time, but it became clear once I got older.”
Since they had mated, Kingston had been careful not to mention his past much. Even when she’d mentioned the revenge vision she’d had about what his brother, Jeremiah, had done to him, he hadn’t wanted to talk about it. He’d asked for time, and she had respected that.
Autumn knew she could have looked into his mind to find out anything she wanted to know about him, but she hadn’t wanted to use their bond like that. It was difficult not to intrude on each other’s privacy when they were constantly connected, but they had been doing a decent job so far. She knew parts of his past had been dark and painful, so she didn’t want to pry since she’d figured he would share everything with her when he was ready.
He finally seemed ready now.
“My parents died shortly after that in a terror attack that occurred in the Human Realm, along with my grandmother. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even magic couldn’t save them. People often fear demons more than any other supernatural, but I believe humans are capable of even worse cruelty at times.” He raised a hand and pointed toward the left. “Do you see that, over there?”
Autumn glanced over to where he was pointing. Highlighted by the huge moon, she saw the silhouette of a large structure in the distance. “Is that a castle?”
“It is, but we call it Spencer Manor. It’s where I grew up. My brothers still live there with my grandfather, though that isn’t a hardship. The place is big enough to fit dozens of people comfortably.”
She let out a little laugh and shook her head. Of course, her mate had grown up in a real castle like some dark demon prince out of a fairy tale. “But you lived here away from them?”
“No, I lived in Spencer Manor with the rest of them, but I kept this place as my own secret retreat for when the constant surveillance got to be too much. Coming from a prominent, wealthy family might seem great, and it was, but it was also like living in a fishbowl. Everything I said and did was scrutinized.”
“That couldn’t have been easy to deal with as a young boy.”
He snorted in derision. “Don’t feel too sorry for me. I was a spoiled, selfish asshole back in the day.” He sighed as he hugged her tighter. “Look into my memories, see my past. I know you’ve been waiting, but I want to share everything with you. I should have told you all of this before. I should have tried to clear my name sooner, but I’ve just been postponing the inevitable.”
After years of suffering, Kingston was on the brink of irrefutably being able to prove that he was innocent of the crimes he had been accused of. Once he did, he would finally be free of his past. Of course, he wanted justice for himself, but more than that, he didn’t want anyone judging his mate for his misdeeds. If they did, he wouldn’t be nice about correcting their behavior.
No one would ever disrespect her and get away with it.
He’d make damn sure of it.
Besides clearing himself for his own peace of mind, he also wanted to make sure to neutralize any potential threats coming from the Celestial Realm. Kingston was worried about what the Emperor of the Gods might do to them given his status as a formerly incarcerated criminal, so waiting was no longer an option.
“Why were you waiting?” she asked, her voice filled with curiosity instead of judgment.
