Page 361 of Flirting with Darkness

Yet, this time he’s bigger than he was this morning. His frame even more chiseled than before. With bulking biceps and skin that seems bronzed by fire, seeing his flame-fueled palms aimed at Lord Marchand and my uncle sends a new fear rippling up my spine.

“Kharon stop!” I shout, hopeful he can hear me amid the whipping wind. “Please!” I plead once more.

Finally, looking pass Marchand and Uncle El, Kharon sees me. His blazing eyes seem to burn a hole straight through my heart as I see the hurt marring his otherwise perfect face. While I have no idea what happened before I arrived, I know Kharon is suffering. The look on his face now, is just as pained as it was when Lux kissed Win, breaking Melchior’s curse.

Slowly, the dark wind subsides as the fire emitting from Kharon’s hands douse as he closes his fist.

“Rae.” Kharon’s voice is small. Quiet. But it’s as if just saying my name were a balm to his soul. Cracking a dim smile, his eyes alone tell me, he’s more than happy to see me.

“Rae shut the door!” Lux’s brother, Cedric, shouts.

But I don’t move. I can’t. I am frozen. Fearful if I turn my attention in the slightest, Marchand will rush toward Kharon with whatever ill-will I see dancing behind his eyes. Thankfully, Stephen and Ross both rush to the door, slamming it shut behind me. A blessing, I’m sure to the sun-scorched vampire at my feet.

“Pip,” Ross whispers over my shoulder. “What in the hell did we walk in on?”

“Ross, Rae, you need to leave!” Uncle El barks, turning quick on his heel. Yet still, I don’t move. I will not. I need to know what’s going on. My uncle perches himself in front of me and Ross, working hard to catch my eyes. He finally does, but I look over his stout frame until my eyes once more lock with Kharon. “Stephen, please, will you get these two out of here!” He orders. Gulping, Stephen looks over at me and Ross before drawing his mouth into a thin line, refusing my uncle’s demands. “This is not a request!”

“Khari,” I quietly start, once more disregarding my uncle’s pleas. “Baby, are you okay?”

An echo of gasps erupt through my uncle’s chamber, but I ignore them all. Kharon is all that matters now. While I indistinctly hear phrases of “I told you so,” from Abigail and something about strumpets from Ross, it’s only Kharon’s words I need to hear.

Kharon smiles wide, this time it reaches his eyes. I want to ask him what’s with his transformation, but when I see his obol now affixed at his jugular, I’m sure it’s more Nether-magic, I’ve yet to understand. Side stepping my uncle, I walk past him, Marchand, and step over the injured vampire on the ground.

The remaining wind lessens to nothing but a smoky breeze, leaving Kharon standing tall in the center of the room.

Walking up to him, my hands graze his chest, slowly trailing up to his chin. Taking his chin in my hand, I trail my fingertips along the side of his golden strands, pushing a few tendrils behind his ear. Kharon runs his hands through my hair and kisses the top of my head.

“I’m okay, Rae,” he quietly replies as if we were the only two in the room. “Much better now,” he adds, with a kiss to my hand.

“How dare you!” Uncle El shouts, banging his cane into the floor. “It wasn’t enough you imprisoned, nearly killed my son, and tried to entrap my daughter into a hellish union with you. But now you dare lay a hand on my niece!” Digging his cane into the ground, my uncle propels himself forward.

He rushes toward us, but Ross grabs his shoulder, holding him back. “Wait, Uncle El. Before we jump to conclusions, perhaps we should hear from Rae. Sister?” With a raised brow, Ross keeps a tight hold on our uncle, but his gaze remains cautious as he regards me and Kharon.

“Look everyone, this is certainly not how I wanted to tell you—but here it goes. Kharon and I are in love. We always have been.”

Shock and awe stir around us, but Kharon takes my hand in his. Once more kissing the back of my hand, Kharon looks around the room. Only finding a semblance of understanding in that of Cedric and Abigail, Kharon clears his throat. “Rae speaks the truth. In fact, had you let me explain you would know it was her love that brought about the man you see before you now. While the kiss between Winter and Lux may have turned me into the grotesque thing you saw last night, it was Rae’s kiss that broke the Changeling’s curse from me. For that, I owe this beautiful woman my very life.”

“Hold on!” Ross yelps. With a wagging finger, he rears back. “You mean to tell me this is the one who took you to heights of heaven and hell? Well I’ll be damned! Come on, Pip, you’re better than this! This man was just pinning over Win just yesterday.” Ross doesn’t give me a chance to reply. “My sister deserves better!”

“You’re absolutely right! She deserves the best. And that’s what I want to be for her. I want to be a man no longer pulled on a marionette’s cord held by the Changelings. A man who is not forced to ensnare the kiss of Melchior’s blood in order to not only free him but save both the life of my sister Moirai and myself from otherwise hellish servitude. That is the man Rae deserves and it is the man I’m trying to be.”

“Ross, Uncle El, please understand Kharon never meant to hurt us.” Looking over at Cedric and Abigail, I notice Moirai’s stone, and I now understand the reasons for Kharon’s rage. Pointing to the stone, I continue, “He’s just trying to free his sister. Just like Melchior, she’s trapped—somehow in that stone. And she needs our help. She needs her brother,” I say, my eyes locking once more with Ross.

“I can hardly believe what I am hearing right now!” Uncle El snaps. I’ve never seen my uncle so furious. “Your mother is probably rolling in her grave seeing the woman you’ve become.”

“And what of my mother, father?” The loud slamming door turns our attention. Seeing Melchior’s pained face is more troubling than the words my uncle spoke only moments ago. “Is she rolling in her grave after all you’ve done? I mean you’re the reason the Changelings captured me after all!”

28

KHARON

“Melchior!” Elysian balks at the sight of his son’s glowering face staring back at him. “Son, what are you doing here? Please, you shouldn’t be here. The last thing we need to do is allow this—thisFerrymananywhere near you. I’d hate for him to imprison you once again.”

“He’s right, Melchior,” Dalcour says, coming to Elysian’s side while still keeping a pointed stare at me and Rae. “You really shouldn’t be here.”

“Oh, I know exactly where I belong!” Melchior bites back, brushing past Dalcour and his father.

Rae, Ross, and I share a look. We’re all confused by Melchior’s sudden outburst. Even Cedric and Abigail peer out from their dark corner as we all trade puzzled glances.

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