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Chapter 12
Fenris
Fenris’s Private Villa
Isla Lobo, Panama
Time Until the Eclipse: 12 Days
The first rays of sun were only just spilling through the window when I woke. I knew within moments I wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. Instead, I rolled onto my side, carefully propping myself up just enough to watch Celeste without disturbing her as she slept.
She was exhausted when I returned late last night, and I’d little doubt she’d been pushing herself as hard as possible in my absence.I imagine she feels everything—the ritual, the eclipse, the safety of the paranormal world—hinges on her ability to pull it off.I wished I could remove that burden from her shoulders, but she wasn’t wrong. As the last known Handmaiden witch, she was the only one with the ability to carry out the ritual, and if she couldn’t…there was no one to come to the rescue. I wouldn’t be able to help, either.
I exhaled, banishing the thought. Even if Celeste wasn’t fully confident in her talents, I was completely comfortable resting my fate in her capable hands. I didn’t need her to sense even a single shred of doubt from me.
Instead, I thought of the psychic projects she’d shared with me days ago: images of us touring Europe. I’d been to several countries there, including some that no longer existed, when conducting business both as the Lunar Lord and as “Mr. Nix.” With the help of Walter and his predecessor, I’d amassed a fortune. Mr. Nix had done quite well with his investments over the decades. I’d never have to worry about money, and if Celeste wanted to take a tour of Europe—or the entire world—I would be able to take her wherever she wanted to go. And stay however long she wanted.
We ought to start now.
The amount of pressure Celeste was putting on herself wasn’t healthy, no matter the stakes. The eclipse was just twelve days away, but a day away would be good to clear our minds after everything we’d been working on in preparation. It would have to be somewhere highly secure, but I didn’t imagine that’d be much of a problem. The trick would be getting Celeste to come with me. It was hard enough to get her to agree not to work herself to the bone.
If anything went wrong, I am sure she’d blame herself for it.
I sighed as I turned the problem over in my mind, wondering how to arrange something in a way that’d be relaxing and refreshing for my mate. I wanted to spend all my time with her, and even if that wasn’t possible right now, the least I could do was ensure her time was well-spent.
I sighed too loudly, and Celeste sighed in return, the muscles in her face fluttering before she stirred. My mate yawned as she stretched her arms out and rolled over, snuggling intome without opening her eyes. “Good morning,” she murmured, leaning into my chest. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine,” I murmured, craning my neck to kiss the top of her head. “Much better now that I’m next to you.”
She smiled. “I meant if you were still sore after the attack. How’s Snowmass Pack, anyway?”
“I knew what you meant,” I said. “The pack is still in some turmoil, but recovering. Keziah is a strong alpha, and she has always been calm under pressure. This attack was no different,” I said, frowning as I thought back on it. “A warlock from the coven that works with the pack turned on Keziah. I tried to question him after we subdued him, but he must have had some instant death hex or spell. He burned to ash when he was about to answer me.”
Celeste’s eyes fluttered open, and she swallowed hard, looking out at the room. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright,” she said after a beat too long. “I could feel your pain, but only distantly. And I’m glad that Keziah and the others are alright, too.”
I frowned and tried not to tense while I watched her expression. I didn’t know if she had the same curse that the warlock did, but I knew the Solar Sovereign would stop at nothing to hurt my fated mate. As much as I wanted to question her, seeing what’d happened to the warlock made me second-guess pushing any further.
“You should see Lyka today,” Celeste said, interrupting my thoughts. “I’m…honestly, I’m surprised how much progress he’s shown, even over a few days. Liana being around seems to keep him calm—or at least calm enough that he allows me to use some psychic healing spells. He’s doing even better than Esme.”
I inhaled, suddenly overcome by what I could only describe ashope. “I’d like to do that,” I said, squeezing Celeste closer. Even a small improvement would be miraculous by my standards, and I knew none of this would have been possiblewithout her intervention and persistence. “Are you ready to get up, or did you want to go back to sleep?”
Celeste laughed softly. “Even if I wanted to go back to sleep, I can basically feel you vibrating with excitement.”
“I am not,” I protested with a grin.
She smiled as she propped herself up, dropping a chaste kiss on my lips before pulling away and turning to slip out of bed. “Not literally,” she said. I paused as the sheets fell away, revealing her bare bottom before she walked away. She gave me a wry grin over her shoulder. “Stop staring, or we won’t be going anywhere, and I know you’d like to see him. I can feel it.”
I smiled back and admired her while she dressed, thinking how much I liked this new, confident smile. “Perhaps later,” I said, hauling myself out of bed to do the same.
After breakfast with Walter and Val, we headed over to Lyka’s containment room. To my surprise, Liana was already down there, and she didn’t look worried at all—or even tense. She barely even registered our arrival, and it only took me a moment to figure out why.
Lyka was watching her. More than that, he was clearly interacting with her, as clear-eyed as I’d seen him in centuries.
“Hello,” Liana was saying slowly to Lyka, waving at him in an exaggerated manner.
He mimicked her, mumbling what sounded like a greeting.
Celeste caught up with me, leaning against my side as she smiled. “Ever since he tried to speak to us, Liana’s been teaching him English so they can actually communicate,” she whispered. “I’m not sure how much luck she’s had.”
