Page 22 of The Last Wish (Lost Legacy #1)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-TWO

SHEENA

I come to in hell. Painful light stabs my eye sockets, and I reach for my head with shaking hands. I don’t remember falling asleep, but I must have dozed off. It feels like knives are burrowing into my skull, slicing my brain to ribbons. As I push myself up from where I’m laying on the love seat, I try to focus, but the room is spinning.

Idris. I need to find Idris.

I stumble out the door and make it to the hallway before I have to lean against the wall to rest. That’s how Sarah finds me.

“Sweetie, what’s wrong?” She rushes over and wraps her arm around my shoulders. “Are you hurt?”

I shake my head, but the sudden movement sends needles of pain into my scalp.

“Get Idris, please,” I whisper, hating how weak I sound.

Thankfully, Sarah doesn’t question me. She helps me over to the couch, props me up with a pillow, and starts speaking urgently into her phone.

“Don’t tell the guys,” I beg. Her worried gaze sharpens. “I don’t want them to be scared.”

Sarah doesn’t make any promises, but she also doesn’t make any more calls.

“You’re fading,” she says, rubbing my cold hands between hers.

She can clearly see I’m not okay, so there’s no point pretending otherwise. “It’s more painful than I expected,” I admit.

“And there was nothing in the book?”

“Not unless there’s a way to bring my family back to life and find their stash of talismans without djinn magic. Otherwise, it’s a dead end.”

I cringe at my unintentional wording. A dead end. That’s what I’m going to be if we can’t find some sort of breakthrough. Sarah squeezes my hand, and I let my eyes fall closed. I don’t want to see pity when she looks at me.

Moments later, I hear footsteps coming our way. They stop in front of me. I force my eyes back open and see Idris. He appraises me with a tense look. Without a word, he presses his hands to my forehead, and the agony begins to fade. Slowly, the room comes back into focus, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

“You’re not better,” he says. “I only hid the pain.”

“I know, Idris.” I nod weakly and lift my hands, watching as they tremble in the air between us. “Thank you for making it bearable.”

He stands and turns his back on me without a word.

“I opened the book,” I tell him, desperate to change the subject. I don’t want him to see me as a fragile, breakable damsel in need of a savior. Idris turns his head slightly toward me, his profile flawless in the low light of the living room. “It had some rules, tiers of power—that kind of thing. But it was clear a talisman has to come from a relative or the elders.”

“Long dead, all of them,” Idris says.

I already knew that, but his words bring a sort of finality with them. I sink a little further into despair. “I’m sure we’ll think of something,” I mutter, but I’m not sure I really believe it.

“Damn right we will,” Gideon growls, stepping into my line of sight. Anger and hurt burn in his eyes. “I could feel your pain. It stopped.” He rubs his chest and looks at Idris. “But the bond—it’s weaker somehow.”

Sarah gasps, her hand flying to her mouth.

I guess our last secret is out of the bag now.

When Gideon realizes what he revealed, he turns to his mom. “I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but Sheena is my fated mate. I knew it the second we met.” Gideon shifts his focus back to me, and I couldn’t look away if I tried. “I followed her back then out of curiosity.” His voice cracks. “I follow her now because I can’t imagine life without her.”

I hold my hand out, and he sinks down and wraps his arms around me. Safe in the cuddle, I indulge in the fantasy that everything will be alright after all. It can’t last, though.

“Idris took the pain, but he can’t make me better,” I say. I wanted to spare him from seeing this for as long as possible, but Gideon deserves to hear the truth from me. “The book didn’t have any answers, no treasure map, no loopholes.” His arms tighten around me, and I choke down a sob. “Gideon, I’m fading. Fast.”

“Then we will seal our mate bond now.” He growls the words directly in my ear, but everyone hears him. Sarah makes a choking sound, and I know there’s something I’m missing.

“I’m not saying no, but what will that do?” I pull back and meet his eyes.

“It will bind our souls together. It could cure you.”

I’m excited until I realize no one else is cheering with relief. There’s something else he isn’t saying.

“It could cure me or?” I ask, bracing myself.

Gideon flexes his jaw.

“... Or it could kill him too.” Callum steps out from the shadows with a look of pure unfiltered agony on his face. Gideon snarls at him. “If you bond now it could either save you or kill him, depending on whose fate rises to the top.”

“It’s worth the risk.” Gideon stands to square off against his friend.

“It isn’t,” I insist, sighing as Gideon glares down at me. “I’m at peace with... running out of options if it’s only me who goes. I won’t be your death sentence.”

His expression is hard, and I can tell his mind is made up. So I play my trump card.

“Would you leave Callum all alone?”

Gideon’s face shutters, and he looks from me to Callum with a kind of helpless desperation. It’s hard to see him brought this low, but there are people who need him. I can’t be the reason his life is cut short. After a silent standoff, Gideon shoulders past Idris and leaves the room. I don’t want him to be alone right now, so I shoot Sarah an anxious look, and she follows her son out.

“So that’s it?” Callum’s voice cracks through the air like a whip. “You’re just going to give up?”

“She’s not giving up,” Idris snaps before I can argue.

“It’s not like that,” I say, keeping my voice gentle. “I’m just out of ideas.”

“I can’t... I can’t...” Callum’s voice breaks. “I promised to protect you, sweetheart. I swore that as long as you were with us, you wouldn’t have to be scared anymore.”

His devastation breaks the tight grip I had on my emotions, and a tear slides down the side of my nose.

“And you kept your promise. I’m not scared anymore, Callum, but there’s no one for you to fight. You can’t protect me from this,” I say. If we can’t find a talisman, I don’t want him remembering me with a cloud of guilt.

“We’ll keep looking for books, rumors, anything,” he assures me, gritting his teeth with determination. “All these talismans didn’t just fucking disappear. I’ll find them.”

I force a smile through my tears. I try to believe there’s a way through this like he does. Despite how awful my body feels, I’m able to muster up a tiny sliver of hope. It’s a fraction of the amount I felt last night when the book finally opened for me, but it’s something.

When I reach for Callum, he falls to his knees, burying his face in my neck. He takes in deep lungfuls of air like he’s trying to breathe me in and confirm I’m still here.

“I will question the folk,” Idris adds. He stands as a silent witness above us, and for some reason, his presence doesn’t bother me. “If any of my people know of a talisman, we will find it.”

“If you save her,” Callum says, lifting his head and giving Idris a long, searching look. “Gideon and I will pay anything.” For once, his tone is completely respectful, but his words seem to offend the fae anyway.

“You will owe me nothing.” Idris bites each word off angrily, but his face doesn’t show any emotion.

He steps back into my space and slides his hands to my temples. I feel the cool rush of his magic, and a little burst of energy flairs to life in my tired body.

“I’ll be back first thing in the morning,” Idris assures me, and I smile gratefully. “If you give her your blood, demon, it will help her fatigue.”

“I know that,” Callum hisses, his polite cease-fire at an end after Idris’ obvious dismissal. “Do you plan to stay for that part too?”

A blush spreads across my face as I realize Callum’s meaning.

“I wasn’t intending to linger any longer, but if you’re concerned you won’t be up to the task...” Idris drawls, rolling his eyes as Callum jumps to his feet with clenched fists. “In that case, have a wonderful evening, little djinn.”

Idris takes my hand, kisses the back of it, and then flips it over to press another kiss to my wrist. It makes my pulse race, and I know he can feel it. Before I can think of something to say, Idris disappears.

CALLUM

As I carry Sheena through the hallway, my mind loops through a living nightmare. Her arms around my neck are proof that she’s still here—still mine—but I’m running out of time to fix this.

Sheena is dying. What if I can’t save her?

Idris wants to take her from me.

Walking into the bedroom, I kick the door shut with a grunt. I might not be enough to save her, but I don’t know how I’m supposed to accept that.

“You can put me down, you know.” There’s a hint of teasing in Sheena’s voice, and it unlocks the worst of my tension.

“What if I don’t want to let you go?” I nibble on her earlobe, pleased to feel her shiver at my touch.

“You don’t have to,” she says, grinning. “But you do have to tell me why you got so annoyed with Idris.”

“Because this is serious,” I snap, remembering that smug fucker’s face. “I’m going to share blood with you because you’re sick, and that asshole thought now would be a good time to come on to you.”

Sheena laughs, but the sound is a little off.

“Callum...” She meets my eyes. “Idris doesn’t want me. There’s no way.”

Now it’s my turn to laugh.

“Of course he doesn’t, sweetheart,” I say sarcastically. “Like we weren’t both right there when he offered to come fuck you.”

She smacks the back of my head, and I carefully slide her down my body to sit on the edge of the bed. Stepping in between her legs, I smile when she immediately knots them around my waist.

“There’s no reason to worry about it,” I assure her, smoothing out the furrow between her eyes. That’s for me and Gideon to deal with—if he ever comes back from wherever he went to freak out. “Your only worry is staying strong until we find a talisman.” I force a smile, not wanting her to see how scared I am that we might fail. “If Idris wants you and that motivates him to help, that’s fine with me.”

Especially if it keeps her alive.

“I still think he was just trying to rile you up,” Sheena says, wrinkling her nose. “Now, about this blood thing. Are you just going to put it in a cup or something? Maybe add a straw? I’m assuming I have to drink it.”

“Yeah, but it won’t be as gross as you’re imagining.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “You’ll probably enjoy it. A lot.”

“Have you ever done this before?” Sheena asks me, two spots of color popping up on her cheeks.

I hope she never stops blushing because I plan to spend the next few decades riling her up.

“You’ll be my first,” I whisper, dropping a kiss to her full lips.

It was only meant to be a peck, but she’s so soft, so perfect. All my intentions go flying out the window. We kiss lazily, like we have all the time in the world, and each taste is better than the last. Her nails trail over my scalp, and I explore her face with my fingertips, eager to map out every dip and curve.

My determination to find a talisman bubbles up and threatens to choke me. Fuck the odds. The gods, nature, whatever powers are still around—they can’t take her from me. I won’t allow it.

As my thoughts get more possessive, our kiss changes. I’m clinging to her now, my grip on her chin tight as I plunge my tongue inside her mouth. Sheena meets me stroke for stroke, and I can taste her desperation. She feels it too—the fear that our time is running out. Her hands fist my hair so tightly it hurts, but I’m not going anywhere.

The taste of salt seeps into our kiss. It’s from a tear, but I’m not even sure who it belongs to. Our emotions are pulling me under, and I don’t fight them. If we can’t fix this, I want her to leave this life knowing how precious she was to me.

“I love you,” I gasp the words. “I love you so fucking much, Sheena.” My fear of saying it out loud is gone.

“I love you too, Callum,” Sheena says. Her voice is raw and anguished, and I know she’s not holding anything back. “I don’t want to go.” She sobs, her fingers and legs shaking as she holds me close. “I’m not ready to lose you.”

My heart breaks.

So I devour her, kissing this woman like I can erase her fear with my love—as if our passion has the power to change everything. For a while, maybe it does.

Her lust builds to a boiling point alongside mine. I can feel it threatening to set the whole room on fire. I’m dragged from the inferno when the door opens with a click behind us and Gideon shuffles in.

It’s about time.

He comes up behind me, and I reluctantly pull back from our never-ending kiss. Sheena reaches her hand out and Gideon takes it, pressing a kiss to her knuckles and wrapping his long arms around both of us.

“Are you okay?” Sheena hums, her glowing purple eyes brimming with compassion.

Gideon puffs out a breath, dipping his chin down to rest on my shoulder. “No,” he grunts.

And honestly, same here. I think that one word sums up how we all feel about this situation.

“We’ll figure it out,” I insist. “I won’t lose either of you.” It’s the first time I’ve admitted feelings for him, but it’s a relief to finally drop my guard. He’s not allowed to hatch crazy plans that leave me all alone.

“Cal, I’m sorry,” Gideon says. His arms tighten around us. “I didn’t mean?—”

“I know you didn’t,” I interrupt before he can beat himself up. “Believe me, I get it. Part of me even wants to let you try.”

We all sag at the reminder of our reality.

“I have a request.” Sheena lifts her chin, and we both direct our attention back to her. “No more worry, at least not for tonight. Can we just enjoy being together?”

The question and the way her voice trembles as she asks hit me right in the heart.

“Whatever you want, baby,” Gideon says, voice raw.

He sounds like he’s teetering on the edge of a cliff, so I step back and give him room. Gideon immediately takes the space. But instead of standing between Sheena’s legs, he follows her down on the bed, kissing her and whispering words I don’t try to overhear.

They need this moment, and I have a job to do.

I pull a pocketknife out of my jeans, flick the blade open, and drag it down my arm to make a shallow cut. It won’t take much, so there’s no need to make a mess. When I step back to the bed, Gideon is sitting behind Sheena. She’s propped against his chest, eying the blood warily.

“Just a few swallows,” I tell her, bringing my arm up to her face, but stopping a few inches from her mouth.

She leans down and hesitates, looking up at me and biting her bottom lip. I wink at her, and she tentatively drops her mouth to my arm. I know when she tastes my blood because I feel her stiffen in surprise. She laps around the cut experimentally. It feels so good, I moan. Sheena’s head whips up in concern.

The cut closes up in seconds, but I’m falling apart from all the sensations. Sheena’s pupils are huge, the dark almost completely eclipsing her vibrant irises. When they flash purple, I take a deep breath, letting her desire soak into my bones.

“Do you feel good, baby?” Gideon grins as he kisses down the side of her neck.

She shudders and writhes against him as I toss the pocketknife on the bedside table and crawl between her legs. My favorite place in the universe.

“How are we doing this?” I ask my friend, feeling all of my blood rush to my dick as he teases her. When he looks up at me, there’s so much lust and affection in his eyes it nearly wrecks me.

“Well, for starters, everyone is overdressed,” Gideon rasps.

Sheena takes his words to heart. She lunges at me, ripping my t-shirt over my head and tossing it to the floor. When her small fingers drop to my waist, Gideon takes advantage of the way she’s leaning forward and palms her ass, smiling as she yanks at my pants with frustration. I choke on a laugh when she gives up on getting the jeans off entirely and shoves her hand down the front of my pants.

Her warm fingers wrap around my cock. I thrust into her hand, and she squeezes my length with the perfect pressure, rolling her thumb over the tip with each pass. When I look up, desperate to deepen our connection, her eyes are glowing purple.

“Help. Me. Now,” Sheena demands, stroking me in time with each word while looking pointedly at my jeans.

Since I’m not a fucking idiot, I fucking help her.

We work my pants and underwear down my hips together. I moan as soon as her hot mouth finds me. In the dozens of times I’ve imagined her lips around me, she was always shy and took her time. In reality, Sheena dives in, swallowing me to the hilt and sucking enthusiastically. I’m thrilled to be wrong.

“Holy fucking shit,” I groan.

I grip her hair, terrified by the very real possibility that I might explode after thirty seconds in her mouth. I look to Gideon for help, but his eyes are glued to where Sheena is licking me like I’m her favorite ice cream cone.

“Your mouth is so fucking perfect,” I grunt, soaking up the pleasure and the view of her cheeks hollowed around me as she sucks.

When she gasps around my cock, I see Gideon has done away with her pants and has his thick fingers buried between her thighs. Watching Sheena ride his hand while she blows me has got to be one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen in my life.

Desperate, I slide my hands inside her shirt and bra, circling her nipples, then pinching sharply. She groans again; her vibrations the perfect torture. When she brings one hand up to play with my balls, I’m done for.

It’s a race to the finish line, and I don’t want to win.

So I do the only thing I can and call for backup. I lock eyes with Gideon. He winks at me, then does something with his hand that makes Sheena go rigid between us. She screams as she comes, the sound garbled by my cock, and I can’t hold back any longer. I tap her head to warn her, but she sucks me deeper until I erupt in her throat. She swallows every drop, licking her lips and looking up at me from her knees with a smile.

“You’re delicious, Cal,” Sheena says. Her voice is raspy and low, so sensual and satisfied that I’m left speechless.

I’m supposed to be the sex demon here, but my girl just consumed my soul.

GIDEON

Callum’s face is slack with awe, like he’s about to build a shrine to Sheena’s head game. While he floats at the foot of the bed in a post-o daze, I strip and pull her back against my chest.

“Are you proud of yourself, baby?” I whisper to her. “You sucked the English language right out of him.”

She basks in the praise, and I give her a moment to feel smug. Wrapping my hands around her waist, I lift her up to hover right over my cock. She tenses, anticipating the drop, but I make her wait for it. Sinking just the tip inside, I hold her still as she squirms.

It’s my turn now.

“I want you to remember,” I growl. “Exactly how it feels when I stretch you open.”

Her sweet whimper sinks into the neediest parts of me. Only when I feel her clawing at my thighs do I let her body sink down. Inch by inch, I fill her up until we’re both gasping for breath. When I finally bottom out, I hold us both completely still and pull her hair to the side.

“You take me so well, baby.” I nibble on her earlobe and feel her clench around me. “Do you know what you do to me? How I feel about you? Every second of every minute of every hour of every godsdamn day, I feel your heart beating inside my chest. It tells me I’ll be yours forever. Even when our names are lost to time. Even when some meteor turns this planet into a ball of fire, I’ll still love you.”

I choke on the last words. It’s the first time I’ve said them out loud, but I’ve known they were true now for a while. When Sheena twists her head to face me, tears are glistening in her lavender eyes.

“I love you too, Gideon.”

Sheena presses her lips to mine, and I’m lost in our connection. Our bond pulses happily as our mouths meet. I’m obsessed with how we share oxygen between kisses. She pulls back and drops her head into the crook of my neck, and I can’t imagine anything better.

“I love the way you protect your people so ferociously,” Sheena says. I feel Callum’s gaze burning against my skin and shudder. “I love how you make things simple when I’m overthinking. I even love how you claim to be bad with words, then turn me into a puddle with your dirty talk.”

She clenches around me again, and I groan.

“What about how I never have clean towels in the bathroom? Do you love that?” I ask.

Her giggle is music to my ears.

“Don’t push it.” Sheena teases me with a twist of her torso, so I thrust into her in quick, sharp strokes. “Fresh. Linens. Are. Important. Gideon.” My name comes out of her lips in a strangled moan as I lift her up and shove her down, fucking her hard from the top and bottom.

Callum sinks to his knees in front of us and licks her clit with as much enthusiasm as she sucked his cock. He’s so close to where we’re joined that I can feel his tongue too. I go completely feral. Unable to hold back any longer, I fuck Sheena so hard she’s bouncing up and down on my lap.

“Come for us, baby.”

She moans. I bite down on her neck. It’s not hard enough to break the skin and cement our bond, but it quiets the beast inside me. The feeling of her nails digging into my skin as she comes is the best fucking agony.

As her pussy tightens rhythmically around me, I slow down and give her a breather. But Callum isn’t done yet. He licks Sheena through her orgasm until she’s screaming. When I feel the pressure skyrocket, I lift her off my dick and watch as she soaks Cal’s face. Sheena sags against me.

“Are you good, baby?” I ask.

She dips her chin in a half-assed nod. I get lost in the way her chest rises and falls with her frantic breathing, smiling at the glazed look in her eyes.

“Good. Because I’m not done.”

Her eyes widen, but before she can react, I flip her on her back beside Callum and bury myself inside her once again. I’m so deep in this position, I can’t tell where she stops and I begin. Her... me... us. It’s everything I didn’t know I was missing.

Picking up the pace, I lift her legs and prop her ankles on either side of my neck. I won’t last much longer like this, but I want to bring her with me at least one more time.

“So tight,” I mutter. “So perfect.” I’m living for the sexy little sounds she makes every time I thrust into her.

Cal is kneeling beside us now, fingers toying with one of her nipples as he whispers filthy shit in her ear. The roaring in my head is so loud I can’t make out what he’s saying. From the way Sheena’s blush is spreading down her chest and belly, it’s got to be top tier.

“What are you saying to her?” I demand.

“I told her watching her wet little pussy swallow your huge cock was making me hungry.” Callum’s dark chuckle sends shivers down my spine, and Sheena squeezes me a little tighter.

“Dude,” I groan. “She strangles my dick every time you talk.”

The smug fucker just grins, bending his head back to her ear and resuming his nasty play-by-play loud enough for me to hear. He tells her he could watch her take dick all day, that nothing could be more gorgeous than her blush, and that he’ll never get enough of her pussy or her laugh. The mix of filthy and sweet is taking us both apart.

When he describes how he can’t wait until we’re both buried inside her together, my rhythm falters. Sheena pulls Callum’s hair and kisses him desperately. I slide my hand between our bodies and rub tight, firm circles on her clit like my life depends on it.

Sheena’s mouth opens in a silent scream, her entire body strung tight from the force of her orgasm. With that fucking view, I can’t hold off any longer. I finish inside her, dropping a final bruising kiss to her lips as I come.

When my arms start to tremble from the effort it takes to keep from crushing her, I pull away and flop onto my back. Callum curls around her other side, and for the next few minutes, we lay in silence, sprawled near the footboard in a messy heap of ragged breathing.

“Do you think the tub is big enough for three?” Sheena’s voice is hoarse.

“I bet we can make it work,” Callum says, pressing a smacking kiss to her shoulder. “We’ve certainly fit three in other situations that usually only call for two.”

His dirty comment earns him a half-hearted smack that he easily dodges by rolling off the bed. As he heads into the bathroom to start the water, I can’t resist pulling Sheena back into my arms.

“You know you mean more to me than I’ll ever be able to say,” I tell her.

“But you tell me all the time,” Sheena insists, shaking her head. “When you treat me like I’m the only person in the room. In the way you hold me tight.” She runs her fingers down my arm. “You make love to me with your entire soul, so how could I doubt you?”

I smile as I look down at her sleepy face.

Cal calls out to let us know the bath is ready. I press a kiss to Sheena’s forehead and carry her to the tub. It’s a tight fit, but we manage it. Laughing and splashing around, I let the warm water wash away the worst of my worry.

I don’t believe the gods would bring us together only to tear us apart. We just have to have a little faith.