2

H e’d never brought a human to his realm before.

Well, not willingly.

Several of the goblins running around were at one time his siblings, but they were only half human and most of them didn’t have a chance at surviving in the mortal world. Some didn’t even make it to the mortal world. His father really wasn’t the best human and Cillian had taken care of that shortly after Aoife was born.

It was never particularly nice killing one’s father, but it had to be done.

His mother was no better. She was a full-fledged banshee and an evil, coldhearted harpy, but he couldn’t kill her.

She was slightly more powerful than him.

Regardless of all that, he wasn’t shocked that Cali had fainted as they passed through the portal, or what humans liked to call the veil, into his realm. Red guided portals, or evil portals, as his brother-in-law Adam had called them, often didn’t mesh well with mortals. The moment they passed through, Cali’s knees gave out and she fell into his arms. He’d been prepared for that.

He’d caught her and carried her away from the portal, across the stone bridge that led straight to his tower. She was light as a feather and if his heart wasn’t so cold and hard, he might’ve melted having her in his arms again. He’d pictured this moment a few times.

As much as he dared himself. He was careful of his thoughts so no one knew his weakness, which was, of course, her.

Gootch had apparently known, because why else would he have made the deal and expected Cillian? Gootch didn’t usually go for deals like the one he made with Cali. The sack of shit was up to something and he’d deal with him later. Right now, he had a year to win a bet, so he could keep Cali’s soul, his realm, and make his plans become reality.

As he glanced down at her, his pulse began to race. Her long dark lashes fluttered, her luscious pink lips parted, and as he cradled her close, he could still drink in the subtle scent of heather.

Honey and heather.

Reincarnation was funny. Souls were reincarnated all the time, but they didn’t always come back the same. They sometimes came back as a different gender, different species. They looked different and never retained their memories. This Cali, this version, was the same as she’d always been. And the memories of their lifetimes were locked in her brain as core memories.

There were so many instances, so many moments in time when he’d picked up her lifeless body, too late to do anything to save her, and he just held her. Each moment that she was snatched away from him, his heart hardened just a little bit more.

There was a quaint little movie about a vampire who talked about crossing oceans of time, and that’s what he’d been doing for so long. Always losing her. It was a conspiracy, he was certain of that, but then she’d returned to him in this proper timeline.

Finally.

All he had to do was wait for the perfect moment.

And part of that was manifesting this perfect moment was getting his sister to overthrow her mother, mate with a sasquatch, overthrow King Tiene, and allow the northern realm to be ruled by a democracy. Protected by blood magic.

With all that chaos going on, no one had noticed Cillian working to make it so he could have Cali. So he could overthrow Death, allow magic and monsters to mingle again, and keep Cali forever.

It was forbidden for a wraith to take a mortal mate. Breeding happened, but claiming a mate for eternity, binding a mortal soul to his damned one, that had been against all laws.

Until now, when there was nothing really guiding the world.

Magic was creeping back into existence and it would be only a matter of time before the veil would be shattered, when mortals and monsters and magic would meld once more. The only thing he hadn’t counted on was Cali bargaining her soul away to Gootch.

That almost ruined all his carefully thought-out plans. Which is why he suspected Gootch knew.

Of course, bargaining away of his realm had been hard, but he had no doubt that he could keep her here for a year. He was certain he could win her over, and then she’d never want to leave. At least here, he could keep her safe and eventually, he would figure out how to keep her forever.

That was the point of all his planning and manipulation in the magical realms, to get to this point where he could bring her to safety and make her his. Certain things would have to adjust because of this contractual monkey wrench, but he could make it all work.

Cillian glanced down at her in his arms and his breath caught in his throat. It wasn’t often that he was moved, but seeing her made it all so real. Even though he had been the one traveling through time, it still felt like an eternity that he’d waited for this moment.

And he had to the contract to prove it.

A goblin, he didn’t know who, skittered in front of him and Cillian snarled, making it clear to his minions that he didn’t want to be disturbed. It would take Cali some time to wake up and then process what happened to her. He didn’t need them hanging around to frighten her.

Any of his minions that disobeyed him would feel his wrath for a very long time.

He raced up the twisting staircase to his room. Or at least, the room that would be hers. Cillian didn’t sleep, not really. He had built this place for her, years ago, because he was certain that she would one day become his.

That he would finally defeat the strange fate that wanted to part them, and he would have her. Rules be damned. He laid her down on the velvet-covered bed, her dark-brown hair spread around her like a halo.

All he could do was watch her, just in awe that she was here, with him. Her reached out and gently touched her, revelling in her warmth. He let his finger trail over her soft, supple lips.

Moonlight made it clear for him to spot her. She was running in the darkness and he appeared in front of her, enraged she was putting herself at risk.

“Cillian,” she panted. “How did you…”

“What’re you doing out here?” he demanded, shaking her. He’d lost her way too many times and running around at night on a moor was not safe. “A proper lady shouldn’t be running around on the moors unaccompanied. There are highwaymen, thieves.”

“My father says I cavort with demons,” she whispered. “Are ye the devil?”

Cillian smiled slowly, reaching out to touch her cheek and running his fingers over her soft skin. “Aye.”

She smiled, blood blooming in her cheeks. “I am not scared.”

“You should be,” he whispered ferociously, pulling her closer. “I’m no good.”

“I know who you are. I’ve been here before. Loved you before. I will not let them part us this time around.” Cali laid a hand on his chest. “Your heart beats. You are not a monster.”

“Only for you,” he growled and he kissed her, sinking in the warmth of her arms, her love. A shot ripped through the air, striking her in the back, her blood spilling out over the blue satin of her empress gown.

“No,” he screamed.

Cillian stepped back, hating the memory that came to him. One he’d thought he locked away.

He reached out and ran his fingers through her hair to ground himself and chase away those nightmarish memories of a time she was ripped from him. Touching her head, he could see inside her mind. A flash of an erotic dream she was having. It was him, though blurry. It was a repressed memory of one of their shared moments in time.

A very heated moment.

Her naked underneath him, his mouth on her pussy, tasting her. His blood heated to an inferno, his cock hardening against the confines of his tight leather pants. That was a memory he was all too willing to recreate.

Her eyes fluttered opened, her gaze locking with his. There was a pink flush to her cheeks and he could feel her hot breath on his skin as he hovered over her. No words were said, not that he could formulate them at this moment, which was strange for him.

As much as he wanted to be with her, he couldn’t tell her anything, he couldn’t have her. She had to want to come to him. And he wasn’t going to scare her to death by pouncing on her.

Reluctantly, he pulled away, when all he wanted to do was be with her, to keep her pinned to this bed and make her scream with pleasure. To make her forget everything else so that she would stay with him, but that wasn’t the terms of the deal.

He couldn’t do that.

This was a game he had to play. A very careful game.

“Where am I?” she asked, scooting up to a sitting position. The flush of arousal from her dreams still stained her creamy skin.

“My realm.”

“Hell?” she asked, her voice trembling.

Cillian rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. “Do I look like a demon to you?”

“Yes,” she said bluntly.

A smile twitched on his lips and he glanced in the mirror that was in the corner of his room. His pale skin, his dark eyes, his pointed ears—he could see it. At least his horns were hidden. Those only unleashed when he was angry.

“Well, I suppose you have a point, but no, you’re not in hell. You’re in my realm. It’s part of the underworld, but it’s neither here nor there.”

“You rule an entire realm?” she asked.

“Mine. Yes. Each wraith has their own little niche that borders around what you mortals like to call hell and heaven, though it’s a bit more complicated than that. I’m the only one with a realm, however.”

“Well, go on. Explain it to me.” Cali crossed her arms.

Seriously? She wanted an explanation now?

“I think that will wait for another day.”

Cali tucked her knees under her. “So, I have to stay here. What am I supposed to do?”

“You’re my mate,” he stated.

“I’m sorry, that’s not much of a job description.”

Cillian tried to suppress the smile. Her dry wit and sarcasm survived through the lifetimes. “You do have fire. I’m glad to see it. You let your husband walk all over you.”

Red bloomed in her cheeks. “I suppose you know everything about me.”

Oh. How little you know.

“I know enough,” he answered carefully. “Your parents treated you badly and expected you to take care of them. Good thing they weren’t your real parents.”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“You didn’t know?” He did find that curious. He thought she would’ve known that she wasn’t biologically related to the people who raised her. She’d been put up for adoption, her mother a pregnant teenager who was told that Cali had died by Cali’s biological grandparents. She had then been sold. As much as people didn’t want to believe in a baby market, it happened.

“No. Apparently I didn’t,” she snapped, her voice trembling slightly. “You’re quite the harbinger of bad news.”

“I am not a harbinger. I have a half sister who is, though.”

“Why doesn’t that surprise me?”

“Look, my apologies if I was a little blunt with that information. For what it’s worth, your real mother, she loved you and she doesn’t know you’re still alive.”

“She’s still alive?”

“Indeed. Though she has other children, she thinks of you often.” He hoped that eased the sting of his blunder.

It apparently didn’t.

Tears welled up in Cali’s eyes. “Not that it makes much difference now. I’m trapped here, aren’t I?”

“For a year, but remember, you do get one day every three months to leave.”

“So, I could see her?”

He pursed his lips together, frustrated. “Yes, but you only have a day. Just a day. You return to me at nightfall.”

“And if I don’t?” she asked.

“Our contract is broken and you go to Gootch, where, I’m sorry, then you won’t have a life. Your soul will be tormented for all eternity.” It was only partly the truth. What Cillian didn’t tell her was that he would lose everything as well. He wasn’t one for trusting too much and he was putting an awful lot of trust in her. Something he had never done, even during all her reincarnations. He wanted to, but never did, it was hard thing to do. Trust meant a loss of power and he loved his power.

The banshee who had birthed him had been a harridan. Or rather, she was, and his father, well, Cillian had taken care of that problem. Especially after his father wanted to do away with Aoife right from the moment their father learned she had magic, so he could claim her powers for his own. Aoife was the only half sibling Cillian stood up for because he needed her, but with parents like he had, Cillian had learned to fend for himself.

Period.

Yet, he had agreed to this deal with Gootch. He was still trying to figure that one out himself as well. This was a monumental thing he was doing, putting his faith in Cali.

“And if I do what you say, come back to you and stay with you for a year, then I’m free?” Cali asked.

“Yes. Those were the terms we agreed to.”

“Seems easy enough,” she mused. “I can last a year, then leave.”

He grinned. “Of course, if you want to leave after that year, that is.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

Cillian stalked toward her and then brushed his knuckles down the side of her face, letting his fingers trail over her flushed, sensitive skin, enjoying the gooseflesh his touch left there. “Perhaps you’ll enjoy being my mate.”

Cali swallowed hard. “Doubtful. It’s a deal though, and I stick to my word.”

Cillian scoffed in disbelief. “Humans never do.”

“I won’t double-cross you.” And there was something in her voice that made him think he could believe her. That she was true to her word on this.

“You’re making the right decision,” he said. “My way offers you freedom at the end. Breaking the contract you have with me only leads to your ruination.”

“I understand.” Their gazes locked and the blood in his veins heated. All he wanted to do was hold her again. Unlock her memories, let her know that they could finally be together, that she didn’t have to go through this whole turmoil of reincarnation, that everything he had been doing up until this point insured that he could have her for eternity.

It’s why he was doing all he could.

It was all for her.

Only, he couldn’t tell her that. He couldn’t. If he did, he would lose his realm.

He would lose everything, including her.

“So, am I prisoner in this room? What do I do? I’m not one for just sitting still.”

“There is a library,” Cillian said. “There is a garden. Whatever you desire, I can make happen. At night, though, you belong to me.”

A shiver of dread, but also excitement that Cali couldn’t quite explain, ran down her spine.

“At night, though, you belong to me.”

There was a dark promise laced in those words and though she should be terrified, it actually kind of gave her a secret thrill. She found it titillating, probably more than she should.

Something is seriously wrong with me.

Cillian grinned at her, slowly, his dark eyes seeming to glow. “There is nothing wrong with you. It’s very natural for you to feel this way. You have dreamt of me, haven’t you?”

Her throat tightened, her mouth going dry. “What do you mean?”

“I can read your mind, Cali. I know that you’ve had dreams of me.”

“I’ve never seen you before,” she murmured.

“Ah, but it’s me in your dreams. I see snippets of them in your mind. Erotic dreams.” He took a step closer and touched her face, his fingers surprisingly warm as they traced her jaw, sending a ripple of pleasure through her. Her breathing became erratic, her pulse pounding in her ears at his touch.

“How can I have erotic dreams. I haven’t…” Her face flushed with heat, embarrassed about her admission that she was about to tell him she was a virgin.

“Pet, I know everything.” His face hovered above her, his lips mere inches from hers. His hands drifted down her neck and she could feel the slight curve of his fingers on her throat, on her jugular, and it sent a rush of adrenaline through her. He could crush her throat, but somehow, she knew he wouldn’t. It was dangerous and thrilling.

He could kill her, but she had this deep instinct that told her that Cillian wouldn’t. That she was safe with him. Just like the man in her dreams.

“I…” She trailed off again, not sure what to say, uncertain of these feelings flowing through her. He turned her on. Completely. It was as if she had no control over her body when he was near, like her body knew him. And knew what she wanted.

“You know instinctually what to do. Your body knows what it craves,” he whispered against her ear, his breath on skin. He was reading her thoughts again.

“And what’s that?” she asked breathlessly.

“Pleasure.”

Cillian’s lips pressed against hers, light at first, but it sent a flush of heat through her, like liquid fire. Something she had never felt before, and she melted. His kiss deepened and she sank against the mattress, his body over hers. She opened her legs, his body resting between her thighs. It seemed familiar, like she’d been here before. An ache, a longing for that pleasure that he said she would crave built deep in the pit of her stomach, and she wanted to know what it was like to be possessed, to be taken, to be fucked. She’d pleasured herself before, but she didn’t want that. It seemed dull compared to being taken by this wraith. She wanted to know what that pleasure he promised, the one her body craved so desperately, felt like and right now she didn’t care if she gave that away to this demon.

“Master,” a voice hissed.

Instantly, the kiss ended and Cillian leapt to his feet, spinning around. His skin changed, pebbling and turning grayish in color, like he was erupting into something else. His claws elongated and horns sprouted from his widow’s peak.

“What?” he growled, in a voice that was deep and almost animalistic.

The creature, which looked sort of like a nonfuzzy puppetlike creature, cowered, its beetle black eyes glittering with fear. “The orb. It summons.”

Cillian’s demeanor changed, his horns retreating, his claws retracting. He ran his hands over his head, smoothing back his long black hair. “Very well. Leave, Honk.”

Honk, the pathetic little creature, scuttled off, shutting the door that neither one of them had heard open, but she could hear it shut with a large thud. A finality. An unfulfilled ache left gnawing inside her.

Wait, did he just call that creature Honk?

She stifled a chuckle.

Cillian looked at her amused. “What is so funny?”

“Its name is Honk?”

“Yes. That’s what they chose. There are so many of them about, I don’t name them all, but Honk is my right-hand goblin.”

“I see. So you’re leaving now?”

“I’m sorry, pet, I am being summoned. You have the freedom of this castle. I will make sure that Honk is at your beck and call.”

Cali licked her lips, her body still thrumming with excitement, but also mixed with fear at how quickly he had changed, because for one moment she had forgotten he was something from the underworld and she was a prisoner here, but also at the absurdity of the goblin.

“Okay,” she squeaked out.

“Perhaps Honk will bring you something to eat and drink?” Cillian offered, his voice suddenly soft and tender.

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Good. I will see you later.” He turned and marched out of the room, the big heavy wooden door just swinging open for him, he didn’t even have to do anything. When he said this was his realm, it truly was. The door slammed shut again. Everything cowered beneath him, but it was at that moment that Cali decided she wouldn’t.

He may appear like a monster, but she wasn’t going to be scared of him.

It completely sucked that she was trapped here for a year, save for one day a month, just like a modern-day Persephone. Only, Cillian wasn’t Hades. She straightened herself and approached the door, worried that she wouldn’t be able to open it, but it opened freely, just as it had opened for Cillian.

She peered out into the darkened stone hallway that seemed bare. The only sound was flames from torches burning, the crackle of fire echoing against the stone.

“Hello?” she called out, unsure.

“Yes, mistress,” Honk hissed, scuttling out from the shadows.

She jumped back slightly. “Um, maybe something to eat?”

Honk bowed. “Right away, mistress.”

The creature disappeared into the darkness, its hooves clicking against the stone, and Cali stood there, trying to see through the shadows. As she tried to do that, a shudder ran down her spine and she thought that maybe she shouldn’t be standing out here alone, as if she wasn’t safe. She headed back into Cillian’s bedchamber, and there was a small table and a single chair on the balcony where there wasn’t one before. She cautiously approached the table and a little covered tray appeared out of thin air with a tall glass of what looked like a rose wine.

Her stomach growled, because she couldn’t really remember the last time she ate. With what had happened with Simon, everything had been a blur and happened so fast. The rational part of her brain told her she probably shouldn’t be trusting anything that appeared out of thin air, but really this whole day was kind of surreal and she was freaking hungry.

She sat down in the chair and lifted the lid to the covered tray. Her most favorite meal in the world was there, fettuccine Alfredo with little pink shrimps floating in the creamy parmesan garlic sauce, and then she forgot all about where she was and just enjoyed the meal in peace and quiet. For the first time in a long time, she just felt at ease, which again was kind of weird, given where she was.