Page 31 of The Immortal’s One (Bound to the Immortals #1)

“Eshe,” Bella snaps, her voice cutting through the air. The sweet Immortal looks genuinely angry for the first time since I’ve met her. “How could you?”

“Tell her the truth?” Eshe scoffs. “Isn’t that what you were going to do?”

Bella falters, her eyes darting to mine. “Not exactly.”

I listen to them argue, my pulse racing.

There’s no way.

I don’t care what they say. I’m not Des’s reincarnated soulmate. Nothing they say will convince me otherwise. Still, I have to admit, reincarnation is a curveball I didn’t see coming.

“Then what was your plan?” Eshe presses Bella with a sneer. “Were you going to lie to her?”

“Of course not.” Bella shakes her head, eyes wide as she holds my gaze, begging me to believe her. “I just wanted you to know that Des’s past is… complicated. I wanted you to understand why he is the way he is. ”

“To what avail?” Eshe’s voice drips with disapproval. “If Des denies her, what do you care if she knows the truth?”

“Because…”

“Because, why ?” Eshe’s voice rings throughout the gallery, her frustration evident.

Bella presses her lips together. Moisture gathers in her eyes.

Eshe closes her eyes, pinches the bridge of her nose, and takes a deep breath.

“I’m not saying I disagree with you, Bella. In fact, I think it’s ridiculous we haven’t been honest with Darcie sooner.” She opens her eyes and waves her hand towards me. “I’m not going to let another innocent fall victim to this cursed cycle.”

Cursed? The word sinks into me, cold and heavy.

“What are you talking about?” My voice comes out small but hangs in the air, thick with tension.

Both Immortals fall silent.

I part my lips to ask the question again when Eshe lifts her chin and says, “Lome and I were the first couple to bond, but he wasn’t the first to find his One . Des was.”

I bite down hard on my bottom lip, steeling myself for what’s sure to be a wild story—one that will change everything I thought I knew about the Immortals and this twisted fate they believe I’m connected to.

When I don’t speak, Eshe continues, “In the beginning, the brothers didn’t know they needed to find their One to unlock their full potential. Des was the first to feel that bond with a mortal woman.”

“They didn’t know?” I interrupt, confused. “But Thane said they were created with the knowledge that they were incomplete, that half their power was missing. ”

Eshe’s expression flattens. “Thane has a habit of rewriting history to suit his motives.”

Bella shuffles her feet, but she doesn’t argue.

I take in Eshe’s words, my mind latching onto one specific part. “So… Des was the first to find his One ?”

She nods. “Her name was Ambrosia, and she lived in Sparta.”

Sparta ?

That’s—wow. That’s incredible.

Thoughts spin in my head. It takes incredible effort to only focus on one at a time.

“Des met his One , but he didn’t know who she was?” I lift a disbelieving brow. “Or how important she was to his powers?”

Bella twists her hands in the folds of her skirt. “Des knew the moment he laid eyes on Ambrosia who she was. Their connection was immediate.”

Eshe adds, “After meeting her, Des spoke with Lome, Thane, and the others. Charmian predicted Ambrosia was his soulmate and the key to accessing the rest of his power.”

Charmian?

I frown. “How?”

Eshe and Bella share a look before the latter reluctantly reveals, “Charmian is clairvoyant. Her visions are random and sometimes contradictory, but she can foresee the outcomes of future events. Some of her mortal descendants have inherited this ability, though not as strongly as she has.”

“Wait.” My jaw drops. “Charmian had kids? And they were human?”

Bella’s cheeks flush a soft pink. “It wasn’t uncommon for Immortals to… mingle with mortals in the past. Some of those relationships produced children, but that was a long time ago. The Council frowns on such liaisons now.”

Once again, I suspect the Immortals’ actual actions inspired the myths and legends found across several human cultures.

I shake the thoughts away and bring us back to the topic at hand; the one that’s supposed to explain why in the hell I’m being told I’m some reincarnation. “So, Charmian knew Ambrosia was Des’s soulmate?”

“In a way…” Bella chews her bottom lip. “Charmian was the first to guess that Thane, Lome, and Des’s powers were not as strong as they should be, given their nature.

In her vision, she saw Des and Ambrosia together, followed by a demonstration of power that was so great, it could not have come from Des alone. ”

A power too great for Des alone…

I let that sink in.

“So, what happened to her?” I keep my voice steady even as urgency builds in my chest. “Why didn’t Des bond with her?”

For the first time, fear creeps into the Immortals’ faces.

Eshe, usually so direct, hesitates before saying, “Des didn’t believe Charmian’s vision.

He didn’t think a mortal wife would grant him more power.

” The exotic Immortal’s voice takes on a somber edge, “There’s one fact rarely discussed amongst the Originals, but they all know to be true, and that’s that Des, even without his One , is by far the strongest.”

I blink. He is?

“Back when Des met Ambrosia, there was no threat to the brothers’ places as the strongest Originals.” Eshe stares at the glass case filled with miniature portraits, her expression solemn. “Des did not feel the need to gain any more power.”

But now things are different...

The rebellion.

How much of a threat do they pose to the brothers charged with maintaining order on this earth? Why are Thane and Lome so desperate for me to be Des’s One and grant him access to his full power?

I need to know all that and more, but it can wait. One grand revelation at a time.

“So Des didn’t bond with Ambrosia because he didn’t think he needed power?”

“Yes,” Bella continues the story. “Des and Ambrosia were together for years. With each day that passed, he fell more in love with her. He wanted to be with her but didn’t know how to tell her he was Immortal without scaring her away. So, he waited… until it was too late.”

“How?” Fear hovers over me, pressing down on my lungs, making it hard to breathe. “What happened?”

Sadness shadows Bella’s usually bright brown eyes. “By the time Des worked up the courage to ask Ambrosia to be his, her father had already betrothed her to another man. It shattered both of their hearts.”

I release a ragged breath.

That’s not so bad.

I was worried she’d died or something…

“That’s sad.” I wrap my arms around my stomach. “So he never got the chance to tell her he’s Immortal?”

“No,” Bella confirms quietly. “After losing Ambrosia, Des held on to the hope that Charmian was right; that there was another chance for him to be with his One . He prayed he’d get another shot at love with Ambrosia, even if she had a different name.”

“And did he?” I swallow my disbelief. “Meet his soulmate again?”

Eshe nods. “I’d joined the family by that time. I was certain Des would bond with his One . They were mad about each other.”

A chill creeps up my spine, distracting me from my twisting gut. “I’m guessing something went wrong?”

“Yes.” Her almond-shaped eyes flash. “And it happened each of the four additional times Des met his One .”

Time slows. Did she just say four times?

Six different women, all supposedly Des’s soulmate. But he never completed the bond?

“What happened?” My voice is tight, only slightly above a whisper. “Why didn’t Des ever complete the bond?”

Why am I caught up in this mess when he had six other opportunities to put this soulmate thing to rest?

You know why…

SHUT UP!

“The first time, we all believed the girl’s death was an accident.” Eshe’s lips turn down, deepening the frown that pulls on her face. “But when the next soulmate died, we started to wonder if something… or someone… worked to keep Des from completing his bond.”

My stomach lurches. Someone killed Des’s soulmates? Flashbacks from the attack in the parking lot assault me—memories of sudden, intense danger.

It can’t be…

“Someone is targeting them.” The terrified words come out before I can stop them .

Eshe nods, her features hard and unrelenting. “There’s no proof. But we think so.”

My knees wobble. I lean more weight against the wall to keep from falling. I squeeze my eyes shut, overwhelmed by the sheer weight of what they’ve just revealed.

“Des tried not to let grief stop him from searching for his One ,” Bella says. I open my eyes and see she’s looking down at Des’s portrait. “But after the death of the woman who lived before you, the woman he commissioned that portrait for, he swore he would never search for his One again.”

I can’t imagine what it would be like to deal with the death of someone you loved over and over again. The grief must be overwhelming. It made perfect sense why he’d closed off his heart to love.

Imagine if it was Dad…

Bella was right. Knowing Des’s past explains why he’s so aloof and grumpy now, and it also explains why everyone fears for my life.

If someone is out there targeting the strongest brother’s soulmate to keep him from accessing his full power, then I’m not safe. Not even if Des continues to deny I’m her.

I run my hands over my face in frustration, blinking the tears away at knowing I’ll probably never get to go home now.

I don’t believe I’m Des’s reincarnated soulmate. I don’t feel the all-encompassing pull to be with him like Bella claimed she felt with Thane. Other than attraction, my feelings for the broody Immortal are not kind.

No. I believe Des when he says I’m not his One .

There must be another explanation why Thane, Lome, and others think they recognize me. Doppelgangers exist. This could all be the result of crazy coincidence and desperate, wishful thinking on their part.

Denial, my name is Darcie.

I told you to shut up.

“I need to talk to Des.” I straighten my spine, a plan already forming about what to do. “Where is he?”

“I don’t think?—”

“He’s walking the grounds with Argos,” Eshe interrupts Bella.

The petite Immortal frowns at her sister-in-law, but Eshe doesn’t seem to notice.

“Thank you.” I turn on my heel and make my way through the gallery. I don’t know who Argos is, but I don’t care. He can take a hike. I’m determined to speak with Des.

I’m finally ready to confront the one Immortal who might be able to help me—or who might make everything so much worse.

Time to figure out which one it is.