As their group motored on, the only sound to be heard was the thunder of horse hooves and panting breaths. Eventually they were far enough away from the action--and the griffins who would surely try to follow--to open a new portal. One that led directly to the portal home.
Lazarus had to open the portal again and again to allow the entire contingent of soldiers to walk through. He and Cameo entered last.
"We're here," he said, his voice flat.
Already?
To his men, he called, "Halt." He dismounted and helped Cameo and Ever do the same before draping the satchel that contained the griffin heart over his shoulder.
Viola appeared as promised, the stolen metals nowhere to be found, her arms cradling Princess Fluffikans.
Urban refused Lazarus's aid and hopped down on his own to bow. "My most beautiful majesty."
"Laying it on a little thick, kid." Viola gently tapped him on the chin.
"I'm not a kid, I'm a warrior."
Fetid air wafted to Cameo, and she wrinkled her nose. A dreary, gray landscape surrounded their group. Bare trees stooped over, as if they had been defeated by life and had just given up. At least fifteen different animals were scattered across a bloodstained ground, each in a different stage of decomposition. Insects crawled through empty eye sockets and hollowed torsos. Small, misshapen creatures chewed on the bones.
Viola's brows knit with...confusion? "Something's off. Well, no matter. I've braved through worse."
Ever clapped and rushed forward, her arms outstretched. "Look! A puppy! Can he come with us? Please?"
"Ever," Cameo called. "Stop!"
Lazarus linked their fingers and squeezed. His other hand remained in his pocket, jiggling whatever he'd stored in there. "The girl is fine, I promise you. At least physically. Anyone else would have run in the opposite direction."
He led her forward and...the terrain changed in a blink. Cameo gasped. Here, the sun shone from a gloriously blue sky. Trees stood tall, leaves lush and amber. The color of happiness, just like Lazarus's eyes. She inhaled deeply. The air smelled clean and fresh.
The carcasses were gone. So were the insects and the creep-fest of animals.
Ever stomped her foot. "No fair. I want my puppy."
"Aunt Katarina will find the perfect dog for you," Urban told her. "She vowed it, remember?"
"How is this possible?" Cameo demanded of Lazarus. He was responsible, guaranteed.
"You know of my ability to read minds. I'm also able to...affect minds. I can create illusions. Usually those illusions work," he added drily.
Was there nothing this man couldn't do? "So you created the rotten terrain?"
"Yes."
Of course. Because who in their right mind would want to continue on?
"Where is the portal?" she asked. Don't tell me. I don't want to go.
He motioned to two towering trees, the air between their trunks shimmering like a diamond-dusted cloth.
The moisture in her mouth dried. The vision had come to life.
"Let's send your friends home." Lazarus strode to the portal. He peered into the distance, one minute bleeding into another.
Thinking of keeping me?
He must be. His words implied she was to remain in the realm. Her pulse points raced.
He removed the griffin heart from the satchel and a blade from the sheath at his waist. With a single flick of his wrist, he sliced the organ in two. Black goo dripped from the chambers.
Glimmering hands shot out from the portal and snatched one half of the heart. The diamond-dusted air undulated with more force, ripples rolling from top to bottom. He stored the other half in the satchel. For Cameo to use tomorrow?
"All right, you little terrors." Viola placed Princess Fluffikans on the ground and clapped. "Are you ready to go home?"
Ever pouted. "I guess."
Urban shrugged. "If we must."
"You must," Cameo said. "Your parents have probably burned Budapest to the ground in an effort to find you."
Both children flinched.
Viola linked an arm with Urban and an arm with Ever and glanced at Cameo over her shoulder. "Give Lazarus a kiss goodbye for me...and use tongue. I would." She winked, then marched forward with her charges in tow.
They passed through the portal, Fluffy at their heels, and vanished.
Tremors racked Cameo as Lazarus spun on a booted heel and pinned her in place with his hot gaze. "Stay. One more night."
"I..." Want to. So badly.
She longed for pleasure-filled nights, erotic mornings and blissful days. The consequences be damned. Thanks to the mirror, she knew exactly what would happen if she traveled that path.
When she and Lazarus parted, and they would part, Misery might let her keep her memory, as he'd done in the first vision...or he might erase it, hoping she'd made the same mistake again. Curious about an immortal named Lazarus who might or might not be the key to her happiness, who might or might not have contemplated killing her before she left him.
And then there was a completely unknown path. Spending a single night with him. What would happen then?
She had no idea if humiliation, rejection and danger awaited her...
Without great risk, there was no reward.
I'm going to roll the dice. I'm going to take a chance on the second vision.
There were things she wanted to do in the mortal world. Things for Lazarus...
"No," she croaked, then shook her head for emphasis. "I won't stay the night."
Sunlight stroked his features as he cupped her cheeks. He was just so beautiful, with those sardonic dark eyes, eyes so black they suddenly appeared blue. With that thick fan of lashes. Those sharp cheekbones. That blade of a nose. Those soft lips that were made for kissing. Correction: made for kissing her. The dark stubble on his jaw.
His Adam's apple bobbed, a sign her scrutiny pleased him--which pleased her. "I can force you to stay," he said. "Can hold you here until the portal closes."
Oh, no, no, no. Her friends often acted like dictators, and it ticked her off. Her fantasy man would treat her as an equal. "And I can use your heart to reopen it."
A small smile, quickly gone. "We aren't done, sunshine. One way or another, I will see you again. I will find you. I will always find you." The words were thrown at her, but she loved them, anyway. Loved them as much as Misery hated them.
She reached up to toy with the ends of Lazarus's dark hair. "I might return...for the box."
He gave a jerky shake of his head. "The box isn't here."
"You can't know--"
"I do. It's not hidden here, I swear it."
"Rumors--"
Once again he cut her off. "Rumors claim the box is in a spirit realm. There are thousands."
Well, shit. This was it, then. The end. "Will you miss me?"
"I will," he grated.
Satisfaction flared...died. This couldn't be the end. "I'll make a pact with you. If you find a way through the portal, I'll reward you. I'll kiss you--" She traced a fingertip down the center of his chest. "Anywhere you desire."
His pupils expanded, pinpricks of light blazing deep, deep in their depths. "Kiss me."
Yes. She rose to her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. He opened without hesitation, rolling his tongue against hers, tasting her as if she were a fine wine but also claiming control--claiming her. He sucked and nibbled, slid hands down her arms, around her hips, and cupped her bottom.
With a forceful yank, he tumbled her against him. Mmm. He was hard and strong and he held nothing back. Each glide of his tongue offered a hint of the satisfaction to come, and teased her with a glimpse of contentment.
And...and...happiness glimmered inside her, pure and incandescent, the only flame in a world of darkness. The light she had forever craved, but had always been denied. The sweetness she had never known, not even with Alex.
Lazarus had no illusions about who or what she was. He knew her, and he liked her, anyway. For that alone, she
lo--liked him right back.
Misery fought her, deluging her with sorrow, drowning her lust.
Crying out, Cameo broke the kiss and stepped back. Lazarus reached for her, but she stepped back. "I'm sorry."
"Cameo." The growl had returned to his voice. "You're mine, and I want what's mine."
So possessive. Shivers cascaded through her, sweeping away the sorrow. Welcome back, lust.
No more kisses to fuel her dreams and drive her wild, maybe even mad. She forced herself to walk backward, widening the distance between them, and closed in on the twin trees.
"I think your kiss got me pregnant," he said. "You had better stay until we know for sure."
"If you want me, darkpit, you'll have to come get me." Anything is possible.
"Stay."
Tempted, oh, she was tempted. If she stayed, either long or short term, they had a present but maybe not a future. I want a future. This is my only hope.
Another step backward. "Remember your reward."