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As soon as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened, I was out of them, needing to walk away and get some space. A space that was something right out of a damn fairytale. Christ, it looked like we were now standing outside some castle doors, and beyond them I would find an angry King sitting upon a throne of gold.
Or such a King who was standing outside them with me now.
Ryker growled angrily behind me and snapped,
“So out of everything I have told you, it is your birthright that offends you so?” he asked frustratingly.
“No! What offends me is now knowing the real reason you want me.” At this he narrowed his dangerous gaze at me and warned,
“I suggest you rethink your next words, Little Bird, or you may not like where this temper of mine is headed.” I frowned at that and snapped back,
“Oh, and just what are you going to do, gag me until I obey you?”
“Gagging you will only be a small part of what I do to punish you, if you continue down this path,” he warned and, Jesus, half of me wanted to push for it and the other half go running off screaming in fear! But then, I still knew despite all of this, he wouldn’t hurt me physically, which is why in the end I stayed and pushed.
“And what path is that, Ryker, hmm? The one that says you have to be with me because it’s Fated?! What if I had been some crazy hobo, living in the wilderness, eating nothing but mushrooms and talking to a stump I had named Burt? What would you have done then?!” I snapped, making his lips twitch as if he found this amusing.
“Or what if I had been some sea fairing fisherwoman with a beard that smelt like trout and big hairy legs to keep me nice and toasty, despite having a ship full of fishermen to keep me warm because I was a big hairy slut?! Huh? What then?” I asked, and at this he could contain it any longer, now leaning against the wall and grinning at me. But then as I opened my mouth to speak again, turning away from him and having my next contender for his chosen Siren all lined up, he must have hit his limit.
“And what if I was…” At this I was spun around and forced to stop when he held me by the tops of my arms, now looking down at me.
“But you are you, Evelyn,” he replied earnestly, making me swallow hard.
“But what if…”
“No… no what ifs. You were always Fated to be mine, regardless of the life you lived or the past you endured.” I flinched at that and looked away, telling him in a small voice,
“But how can you say that when you don’t know…” Once again he cut me off,
“I don’t need to know, for there is nothing that you could tell me that would ever change the way I feel about you. About the girl I fell in love with, not the Siren.” I looked back up at him when he said this, feeling the tears fill my eyes.
“Do you really mean that?” At this he cupped my cheek and ran the pad of his thumb under my eye, catching the first fallen tear,
“That night, I kissed you not because I knew you were my Siren, Evelyn, but because for the first time in my long life, I had the want, the need, the desire to kiss my first human. You tempted me like no one ever had before and had I known you were my Siren at that moment, I would have snatched you away there and then.” I sucked in a quick breath at his words, letting them settle deep and affect me to my core.
“You didn’t know?” He shook his head at this and told me,
“No, something I deeply regret not knowing. But, Evie, even the day after, I was still thinking about you. About the girl who captured my heart like no other. And that was all you, not some prophecy or some foregone conclusion written by the Fates. It was all you. With your big brown sugar eyes, your dusting of freckles I find myself itching to touch.”
“You should probably get that looked at,” I joked, making him smirk before continuing,
“Your delightful wit and the strength of your character. Your fearless determination, Gods, I have never known anything like it, despite cursing it a time or two.” I laughed at that, knowing the hard time I gave him in looking for me. But then he looked down my body and pulled me into him on a growl.
“And let’s not leave out this fuckable body I fucking crave to consume, to have writhing under me, calling out my name for hours... for days. The only man you will ever know claiming you, to feel entering your body and making it my own. That is not fucking Fate, Evelyn…” He paused so he could rest his forehead to mine before whispering the sweetest words,
“…but it is all you.” After this, I thought he was going to kiss me, but instead he turned me around to face the castle doors.
“And now it is time to discover just who I am…” he said walking me toward the entrance to what I knew was something far greater than just a mountain. But then, I soon discovered that the doors themselves were far more than those you could just push open. Because I watched as he left my back and walked over to what looked like a gold alter. But then as I walked closer, I realized that atop of it was a black charred bowl that looked as if it had been forged in Hell.
It was all twisted up like clawed hands were cupping the charred dish, as if a moment in time had been frozen by the crashing wave of lava. The base to the alter was waist height to Ryker’s tall frame and had connecting symbols all joined with swirls carved in the gold. This created a thin channel all the way down to the stone floor, continuing the design.
I quickly gasped when I saw Ryker raise his hand to his lips before biting down hard into his flesh. But before I could ask what he was doing, he lifted his crimson hand over the bowl, and I watched as thin ribbons of blood dripped down, filling it. Then the macabre scene continue, and the blood filtered down to the front of the alter, soon filling the channels and highlighting the symbols in stark crimson against the gold as the blood travelled.
This then activated another mechanism of sorts, as well as creating a shimmering veil to be seen covering the doors, for mere seconds. This was before it started to disappear, as if breaking down some magical barrier, like acid eating away at paper.
I jumped back when the doors then started to separate, feeling the strength and bulk of Ryker stepping up behind me, placing his hands at the tops of my arms as if to prevent me from running away. But then as the doors opened further, I couldn’t help but gasp in utter astonishment and awe. The glow of so much gold was near blinding. It sent a beam of light straight through the opening, like a pathway to Heaven, before landing directly on me.
This was when Ryker finally finished off his sentence,
