Page 109 of Forgotten Fate

Elias believed it would only take three days to get to the outskirts of Zolmara, but it took five. As much as he said he was fine, he forgot that I could now literallyfeelhis pain. Or at least some of it. And if I could only feel a small portion, then I knew how much worse off he actually was.

He wanted to get through the wards and into Zolmara as soon as possible, so Sarai and Volund couldn’t find us. But I didn’t want him to push his limits when what he needed was rest. I had to force him to stop whenever I could feel the pain in his body reverberate into mine. The site of his wolfsbane-blade wounds hurt the most, but the poison flowed through his entire body and brought waves of piercing cramps, aches, and sharp pains.

I tried distracting him with questions about his people, about Zolmara, and about other immortals. I learned that when two immortals reproduce, the child cannot have both abilities. If a lycan and a witch have a child, the child will either be all-lycan or all-witch. The magic of immortals could not mix. For that reason, they usually married their own kind. But not always.

I also learned that no humans lived in Zolmara. Long ago, humans were well aware of immortals, but did not mingle with them much, mostly out of fear. Immortals could come and go from the kingdom as they pleased, but if they fell in love with a human, the human was not welcomed to live in the City of Immortals.

I learned that they did have a queen or king just like the human kingdoms, but theirs weren’t based on a royal bloodline. Instead, they elected their ruler every half-century, and alternated having a witch, a lycan, or a mythic as their ruler.

Lastly, I learned what exactly mythics could do. They couldmanipulate the energy around them to create strong waves of condensed power – which often materialized as a fire-like light that would emanate from their eyes and hands. This explained all of the people from the book who I thought had glowing, flame-like eyes. They were mythics.

The energy flames they created could sear through the hardest stone like it was butter, Elias told me. And one of those creatures used that power to annihilate an entire race. I felt nauseous thinking about it.

But the flames weren’t just for destruction – mythics could manipulate the energy to lift objects without having to use their hands. “They were the most dangerous, but also some of the most helpful when it came to our kingdom,” Elias said. “They could use their magic to lift a tree right out of the ground by its roots, and toss it aside like it was nothing. They did most of the heavy lifting around the city.”

Why one man would destroy his own amazing species and then another was beyond me. Elias said it was because of his quest for power – his obsession to be the most powerful immortal alive. And he succeeded, only to be brought down by whatever witches remained. Because although he was nearly unstoppable, they were just as strong in numbers. Numbers they no longer had after that final battle.

“Why did their rebellion prevail where yours did not?” I asked, trying to understand his past.

Elias sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Because I was impatient, and I underestimated his power,” was all he said, and I didn’t press further as I felt his emotions bristle and guilt begin to consume him.

I kissed him, if only to distract him from his guilt. And it worked. He made love to me on the forest floor, euphoric heat running through me even as my back pressed against the cold ground.

We made love every night since leaving the village, and every nightI felt his strength returning more and more. With each passing day and with each drink of the elixirs Willow provided him, Elias felt better. By the end of the fourth day, the pain I could feel from him had nearly disappeared on my end.

That night, he made me climax three, four, maybe five times. I had lost count. The bark that dug into my back as he fucked me against a tree only added to the raw pleasure. I thought the sex was hot before. But now… gods. Elias with most of his strength back was an absolute beast at lovemaking, in all the best ways possible. The way he knew exactly how to move to make the pleasure spike from between my thighs and pulsate through my entire body was magic all in its own.

When he finally came, and I finished seeing stars behind my eyes while moaning his name, he buried his face into my neck.

“Gods, Aura. You smell…immaculate.” A bead of sweat dripped down my neck and he licked at it, making me tremble.

I laughed. “You makethatkind of love to me, and then want to compliment the way I smell? I haven’t bathed in days.” We both knew better than to spend too much time near a lot of water, for fear of Sarai.

He pulled back, his mouth curving into a smile. “I wish I could explain it to you. Your aroma is the most intoxicating fucking thing I’ve ever smelled.”

I blinked. “So your lycan smell is back?”

He paused, and I watched his nostrils flare slightly. “Yes, I believe it is.”

I smiled widely. “That’s great! Do you think you can shift?”

Elias gently lowered me to the ground, only then reminding me that I was still pinned to the tree and that my legs had been wrapped around his waist. “I’m not to that point yet, but I feel it will be soon,” he assured me.

It was hard for me to be patient when I had been dreaming aboutthe wolf for many months before I even met Elias. That dream was the sole reason I was out here in the first place, so close to a kingdom that all others had forgotten.

Elias took first watch that night for the first time since recovering. After satisfying me the way that he did, it certainly was not hard for me to fall asleep. I took over halfway through the night then woke him at sunrise.

We were a few hours into the day when Elias stopped mid-step. My heart fluttered. “What is it?” I asked, worried we had been found.

“We’re here,” Elias answered, his voice hushed.

I looked around, but saw nothing different from the forest we had been hiking for weeks. “What do you mean? I don’t see anything.”

“I can feel the magic of the wards,” he explained. “I can’t see them, but I can feel them. They start right here, a few yards in front of us.”

I stood there and tried to concentrate. “I can’t feel anything,” I admitted after a moment.

“Because you are human.”