Page 10 of Fractured Souls
Closing my eyes. I stopped my thoughts right there and forced myself to calm down. What the hell was wrong with me? I was Lorcan Louvre, and I was getting butterflies because my ‘being bold’ move with Zander was playing fucking footsie?Fates. I needed to get my shit together. This was just embarrassing.
“What do you think, love?”
Desmond’s voice had me focusing on the gorgeous djinn and realizing that I totally had no idea what we were talking about.
“Desi, I have to be honest, I didn’t hear a word any of you were saying,” I admitted, wincing. The man chuckled, looking genuinely amused—because he totally knew. He was messing with me. I narrowed my eyes on him, and his eyes flickered with magic.
“We’re talking about the Elven realm and if we should try to go up the mountain tonight or wait until the morning,” he explained easily, my gaze moving over his amber skin and dark hair. He looked impeccable in a tailored suit, though his piercings made him look a bit rougher, and I found myself sort of missing the crown he’d been wearing in the Demonic realm. After all, he was the King of Smoke and Master of Illusions.
So ridiculously cool.
“What time are we landing?” I asked, knowing that despite my protests, I totally needed rest. Preferably curled up against Desmond’s chest, breathing in his bonfire scent. The man literally owned my soul, but my heart was a total puddle for him also. I melted into a state of relaxation whenever he held me.
“Four in the afternoon,” Zander calculated.
“Let’s wait until morning, then. I need some sleep.”
“Good idea.” Desmond’s green eyes filled with happiness at my choice. They were so painfully unique, neon in intensity like his smokey magic and fading to a sky blue on the edges.
“What time is it, even?” I figured it wouldn’t be long until we landed, but now that I was showered and we’d been flying for some time, I was eager to get back on the ground. Despite how often I did it, I didn’t love flying by any extent of imagination, which considering I literally flew in the stars most nights was surprising. I think it was the element of being contained in a metal contraption that was somehow soaring through the sky…yeah, that was totally it.
“Around two, so an hour or two until we land in Geneva.” Draven looked up from whatever he’d been inspecting on his tablet. “And then about an hour drive to Chamonix and the resort.”
“I’m totally falling asleep on that car ride,” I predicted.
“Good,” Desmond said. “If we’re staying the night at the resort, I have a feeling you’ll want to be up to explore it once we arrive.”
Desmond’s words piqued my attention, never having been to Chamonix. I had traveled enough that I sort of assumed, rightly so usually, that most places were the same…but if Desmond found it interesting, maybe there was something more to it.
My gaze moved out the jet window, seeing nothing but clouds. And even though we weren’t going to this new, exciting location for the best of reasons, I loved being able to do it with my men.
It made me nearly forget that we had to save the world.Nearly.
CHAPTER4
Dean
Everything was different now.In such a short amount of time, everything had changed.
They’d changed in the best way possible, but I couldn’t help but recognize the difference in Lorcan and our group as I sat in the two-story den that our ski villa featured. There was a roaring hearth crackling away, the fireplace set within a glass wall that showcased the view of the snow covered mountains at sunset. I was starting to understand why this resort was so damn popular.
Although it paled in comparison to my mate, who was waltzing around in only a small silk robe as she got ready for dinner. She was awfully energized for someone who’d only had a short nap—way too short, in my opinion.
As soon as we’d landed and settled into the car, she’d curled up on my lap, sleeping through both the hour plus drive made longer by the windy, snowy weather and the process of checking into the resort.
Which was probably good because with her head tucked against my neck and her body curled in my arms, no one had paid attention to her—no small feat given her level of fame and the crowd in the lobby. Then again, it was possible people did notice her but didn’t risk staring for long because of the looks I was offering them.
I didn’t want Lorcan dealing with any of that shit. I was already intensely possessive over the woman, and with so many males and females obsessively focusing on her… My lion and I were having issues with that shit, to say the least. Lately, though, she seemed to be shying away from the attention, and not just because of us having to save the world. No, I think it had to do with her returning back to her old self.
Lorcan had always been vibrant, a quality that had only grown over the years, but she’d never liked the attention it garnered, even when we were young. Which is why it had been my fucking pleasure to keep everyone but my brothers, Adriel, and Desmond away from her. Completely. Maybe I should have worried about trying to put her in a bubble and what that said about me…but my feelings for the woman had never been on the spectrum of ‘healthy.’ That wasn’t a concern of mine. No, all I really cared about was ensuring that she was happy.
Which is why I loved hearing her hum softly and move around getting ready, the weight of the problem with the dark ones not seeming to pull her down, at least to the extent that it could have. I knew it was on everyone else’s minds, but tonight we’d made an unspoken agreement to not talk about it. Tonight we were going to get dinner and relax.
“What type of food does the restaurant have?” Lorcan called through the open bathroom door as she put on her makeup. Instead of getting ready in one of the six en suite bathrooms in our villa, she was using the bathroom right off the den so that she could peek her head out and talk to all of us.
“French and Asian fusion,” Desmond replied, half distracted by his tablet. He, Draven, and Adriel were trying to figure out the easiest way up the mountain. Hell, I probably should have helped, but I wasn’t afraid to admit that I needed a bit of a break as well from all the logistics.
Rhett and Cash seemed to feel similarly because both were on the phone right now, video chatting with Maggie. After a half an hour of her and Lorcan talking about our Christmas plans to possibly go skiing, my mate had handed the phone over, seemingly relieved that missing Thanksgiving with them wasn’t as big of a deal as she thought. Though I had to admit I didn’t like the idea of my sister not spending a holiday with us.
