Page 30 of The Immortal’s One (Bound to the Immortals #1)

The stoic Immortal wears a midnight blue waistcoat with a high collar that sits just beneath his strong jawline. The clothing style reminds me of historical romance films. And I won’t lie, I’m into the Mr. Darcy look.

So was your mom.

I shove the thought aside. I have no interest in sharing any similarities with the woman who abandoned Dad and me.

I focus back on Des’s portrait. He doesn’t look sullen like those classic, brooding literary heroes. Instead, he looks… calm. Almost at peace. It’s a stark contrast to the angry, aloof Immortal I’ve come to know.

I haven’t spoken to Des since I stumbled into that meeting of the Original Immortals. I haven’t even caught a glimpse of him from afar.

Bella told me that while the mansion belongs to her and Thane, Eshe, Lome, and Des all have rooms here. Still, I can’t help but wonder if Des has another place to call home.

But I don’t ask about it.

Despite what Des and I both say, Bella, Lome, and Thane haven’t stopped their incessant innuendos about me being Des’s soulmate. I do my best to avoid bringing him up, not wanting to encourage their delusions.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I tear my eyes away from the portrait and meet Bella’s gaze. Her eyes sparkle with curiosity.

I keep my voice steady. “I was just thinking Des looks happy in this portrait. The artist must’ve taken some creative liberties.”

Bella chuckles, but it’s tinged with sadness. “Not quite. Des was genuinely happy when this portrait was painted.”

“Oh.” I glance back at the image, trying to process this new information. “That’s… nice.”

Bella watches me closely. “I know Des can come off as abrupt and even callous sometimes,” she says, almost as if trying to excuse him, “but beneath all that, he has one of the kindest souls I’ve ever encountered, human or Immortal.”

Really?

My forehead furrows. “Then why is he so grouchy all the time?”

She sighs, pressing her lips together as if carefully considering her words. “Des has not had an easy existence. I’d say he’s had the hardest life of all the Original Nine.”

I snort. I can’t help it.

How hard could the life of a powerful, wealthy Immortal be?

“I’m serious.” She frowns, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. “There are things you don’t know. Des’s past explains why he is the way he is.”

It’s sweet that she’s protective of her brother-in-law, but she doesn’t need to defend him to me. I don’t care about him.

Liar.

“I don’t need to know about Des’s past,” I say, silencing my inner voice. “I don’t think he’s a bad guy, but based on how he’s treated me so far, he and I aren’t going to be friends anytime soon.”

Bella’s frown deepens. “You would change your mind if you knew the truth.”

“I’m not sure I would.”

She taps her fingers on her upper arm, then blurts, “Do you want to know why Des looks so happy in that portrait?”

Yes.

“No.”

I can’t let Bella or any of the others get the wrong idea. If they think I care about Des in any way, it’ll encourage them to double down in their belief I’m his One .

If I ever want to leave this mansion, I can’t let them think I have any connection to the grumpy, devastatingly attractive Immortal.

Unfortunately, Bella presses on, undeterred by my response. “That portrait was commissioned as a gift for a woman Des met during the opening ball of the London season in 1889. ”

I blink slowly, digesting the information.

“I wasn’t aware Des dated human women.” I keep my words light, but my stomach clenches. I blame the fact I haven’t eaten lunch yet.

“He didn’t.” Her gaze sharpens. “Not unless that woman was his One .”

My eyes narrow. I wait for her to explain, but she just holds my gaze. “I don’t get it. Are you saying Des met his soulmate?”

“Yes.”

“But…” My lips turn down. “That doesn’t make sense.”

Why the hell am I trapped here if that’s the case?

“Doesn’t it?” a new voice, musical and accented, cuts through the conversation. I turn to see Eshe walks toward us, her steps light but purposeful, the soft click of her sandals echoing against the quiet gallery walls.

"No," I say, my voice finally wavering, unable to hide my growing unease. "It doesn't."

Why would the Immortals insist that I’m Des’s One if he already found her?

“Come on, Darcie.” Eshe prompts. “You're smarter than this. Think about what Bella said… think about what the brothers have said.”

I bite my lip and wrack my brain, trying to figure out what she means.

Then, it hits me.

“The likeness is notable, don’t you think?”

“I feel a connection to her.”

“The resemblance is uncanny.”

My breath catches in my throat.

The pieces fall into place with sickening clarity, and the weight of realization hits me hard. The signs have been in front of me all along. I just didn’t want to see them… I didn’t want to understand what the Immortals were implying.

My gaze snaps between Bella and Eshe, and my head spins. Bella’s expression is apologetic, while Eshe looks resolute and stands tall.

There’s a chance I’m wrong; there’s a chance that what I’m thinking is so far off base that the Immortals will laugh at me. But I can’t keep this question to myself. I have to know the truth.

I lift my chin, trying to sound confident even as dread coils in my gut. “Are you telling me that the brothers have more than one soulmate?”

The world is a big place. The odds of the Immortals only having one soulmate, ever , would make the chances of accessing the other half of their powers incredibly low. After everything they’ve shared, I doubt the Creator intended that for them.

Every muscle in my body tenses as I wait for one of them to say anything to put me out of my misery and answer me.

A heavy sigh leaves Bella’s lips. She glances at Eshe before saying, “Not exactly…”

“I don’t understand,” I choke out, the words thick. “Then what are you trying to tell me?”

Eshe, once again, does me the service of ripping off the metaphorical Band-Aid and tells me the truth. “The brothers don’t have multiple soulmates. They only have one.”

“But that’s not what?—”

“They only have one,” she cuts me off, her voice heavy with meaning. “But that one soulmate is born time and time again. They live, die, and are reborn—until they finally meet the brother they’re meant to bond with… the one who will give them immortality. ”

The ground falls out from under me. I sway and stumble, my shoulder colliding with the wall. My pulse roars in my ears, my thoughts scattered, chaotic.

I stare at Eshe in disbelief as everything I thought I understood about life and death crumbles before me.

“W-what are you saying?” I lick my dry lips. I need her to spell this out for me. I need her to say the words that I’m thinking… the ones that fill me with dread. “H-how does this relate to Des meeting his soulmate in London?”

Eshe doesn’t hesitate, her voice steady as she delivers the final blow, though her eyes flicker with the slightest hint of regret. “Des has met his One many times over the years. And you, Darcie… are just another reincarnation.”