Pretty Spelled by K.A Knight
Atlas
Breathing heavily, I watch her begin to crumble, her eyes rolling into the back of her head, but not before I see a flash of those blue irises I love so much. I catch her and lift her into my arms, her long black hair hanging over my shoulder. The black vines creeping across her skin fade away to reveal the tan, supple flesh underneath. The beads she wears clank as she moves, and her warmth radiates through me as I pull her closer. I grip her tightly, never wanting to let her go again as I hear the steady thump of her heart. With her out cold, the remaining skeletons collapse, and Remi looks at me with a frown as Khalid finally joins us.
“Amore,” he starts, but she pushes his hand away and glares at him, pointing her knife in his face.
“Don’t ever stop me again,” she threatens, almost hissing, but he just grins.
“I’m so hard for you right now,” he comments, and she scoffs and looks at me.
“I knew you would hesitate, I saw it in your eyes. You couldn’t do it, you would have let us die to save her,” she snaps and steps closer. “You need to figure out where your loyalties lie—your family or her. I know this is hard, but if she’s gone, if it’s between saving her and damning this world and us, you need to decide.” She glances down at Lilith and then looks around. “We need to get out of here before she wakes up, get her in that cage, and find a way to bind her magic so she can’t hurt us. We were caught with our pants down.”
“We led her here,” I argue, even as guilt fills me, because she’s right—I couldn’t do it. I knew we were losing, I knew she was going to kill us, and yet I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t throw the magic that would stop her heart. Even knowing she might be lost, I couldn’t kill my mate, and it would have cost me everything. It would have cost me my brother and Remi’s lives, my family, and I couldn’t live with that, nor could Lilith if she hurt them.
“There’s no point dwelling on what happened. We tried the trap, and yes, it went wrong, but we have her now. Atlas, can you transport us out of here?” Khalid asks, wrapping his arm around Remi, even as she tries to stab him. He blocks it without looking and kisses her cheek. I nod silently. I transported us here to be away from the house in case it went wrong, and I made sure to keep enough magic to get us out of here, even after deflecting her surge that almost killed us the first time.
Without a word, I hold out my hand and pull Lilith closer with the other. Khalid accepts it, and a moment later, I split through time. I bring us back, imagining the cottage and making sure to keep hold of him as we disappear. For them, it will feel like moments, between one blink of an eye and the next. For me, I see the expanse of time and space around us, exploding with moments of the past, present, and future. Laughter echoes from my childhood as we travel. Screams sound from battles won. Tears and shrieks of pain from when I lost her resonate. I ache to go back to before all of this began. To save her… But I can’t change the past. Her death was an event locked in time, and not even I can alter that. And then we appear, our feet landing on the doorstep outside of the cottage itself, and my magic streams through me once again, giving me butterflies before it settles. I blink open my eyes just before Khalid and Remi do.
Remi groans.
“I will never get used to that. I wonder if travel sickness tablets would work,” she mutters as she kicks open the door.
We follow after her, and I stare at the cage, still holding Lilith in my arms. They freeze when they see me, and Khalid sighs and heads over. “It’s not forever, just for now. It’s so we know she can’t hurt herself or us.”
I nod, knowing he’s right, and he steps closer, but he can’t open it. I spelled it with my blood so only I can end or save her. I march over, prick my finger on the lock, and press it to the metal. It burns, and a moment later, the lock clicks. Opening the door, I duck inside and place her on the soft floor. I rest her head on the pillow before pulling the blanket over her, my hand lingering on her shoulder. There is nothing in here that could hurt her, but I want her to be comfortable.
“Wildflower,” I whisper, swallowing as I stroke her soft cheek. “I’m here, I won’t ever let you go. Don’t give up on us, and I won’t on you. We are here now, just hold on.” Leaning down, I kiss her cheek, refusing to kiss her lips. The next time I kiss her will be with those blue eyes open and aware, and I won’t stop until she is mine.
Stepping out of the cage, I engage the lock and push more magic into the bars to strengthen it after seeing her true power today. She won’t be getting out of there, and one way or another, she will end here.
Either the possession…or her life.
“We need to find a way to rid her of the evil,” Remi murmurs.
“I know,” I whisper as I move back. “Let’s check over my books. If we can’t find it there, we will have to find someone who knows. Don’t call the others just yet, let them keep looking so we have more time to save her,” I beg.
“Okay,” Remi agrees. Khalid heads into the kitchen, and she steps closer with a glance at his retreating form. “But, Atlas, if it comes down to saving my mate, you, and your brothers or her,” she looks at Lilith, “it won’t be a choice, I’m sorry. I know it may make you hate me, but I have to put him first.”
“I understand and appreciate it,” I reply, and I do. Not only do I value her honesty, but I appreciate that she puts my brother first and is capable of doing what’s necessary when I may not be able to. I hate that weakness, but she sees it and is offering a solution.
“As long as we understand. Come on, magic man, let’s find a way to save your woman.” She smiles and leaves too.
Now we just have to wait and watch.
It’s a race against time to save my mate before the darkness consumes her completely. Before one of us dies.
Us or her.
* * *
I barely sleep as we go through the books I’ve gathered over the centuries. My magic will be strong enough, but if it goes wrong, we could lose my wildflower, so I want to be sure, to be positive I’m doing it right. I need to limit the risk as I rid her of the possession. This isn’t a demon possession, after all, this is something that hasn’t been seen in centuries.
Remi is sleeping soundly against Khalid’s side as he flips through the manuscripts. As desperate as I am to find a way to save her, I murmur to him, “Take your mate to bed. I will carry on, and we can search tomorrow.”
He looks up before wincing. “Atlas—”
“It’s okay,” I assure him, and he glances at Lilith and hesitates.
“I won’t do anything stupid, I promise you. Having her here is enough, having a chance of saving her… Please, get some rest. You must look after your mate.”
He smiles softly at me and stands, scooping up a protesting Remi before he looks at Lilith. “We won’t give up, brother. She’s in there somewhere, I saw it. You were right—she’s still fighting. Our Lils is too strong.” With that, he heads up the stairs, leaving me alone with my mate.
I trace her features with my eyes, unable to look away before I sigh and glance down, but the Latin blends together as I rub my head and swing my gaze back to her face, desperate to keep staring at her. I want to pull her close after all these years apart, but metal, years of pain, and evil separate us.
Just then, her eyes snap open, those black orbs locking on me as she lies on her side. I swallow and don’t speak as they flicker around. She sits up and stretches, cracking her neck as a horrible smile tugs at those lips I love so much. “Nice little cage, god, but it won’t hold me.” Despite her words, she doesn’t try to escape and simply watches me curiously.
“Do you plan to keep me here forever?” She moves to her knees, dragging her hands up the bars. I wince as they sizzle, her skin burning from my magic, but she doesn’t pull them away. The black in her eyes expands in ecstasy as the smell of burnt flesh fills the air before she finally removes her hands. “Like your little slave… Will you take me out and play with me?” she purrs seductively, but I ignore her, pointedly staring at the book in my lap, trying to read.
She talks, but I block her out. She gets annoyed and attempts to escape, but she’s thrown back for her effort. I want to check on her, but I remind myself she’s not my Lilith and carry on reading, though I’m not absorbing a word. Eventually, she settles down, but I feel that disruptive, intense stare locked on me. Watching. Assessing.
“Why did you cut your hair off, warrior?” she sneers. “From your little human’s memories, I remember it was long.”
I answer, wanting my Lilith to know. “I didn’t deserve the warrior braids. I could not protect my mate or family.” My heart lurches for a moment, and I wonder if she can see the vulnerability in my eyes. “Do you not like it, Wildflower?” I murmur.
She laughs and leans into the bars, her black eyes on me. “Your wildflower is unavailable at the moment,” she taunts. Pressing my lips together, I look back down, refusing to give her anything else, any more weaknesses.
“Then shut the fuck up,” I mutter.
She snarls, and a moment later, I look up to see her smashing her face into the bars. I leap to my feet, the book falling to the floor. “Stop,” I demand.
“You won’t ignore me, or I’ll hurt your precious mate,” she threatens, and then does it again. Blood drips down her head as she smiles, her eyes wild.
“Stop it,” I hiss, but she continues. With no other option, I throw magic at her, flinging her back and knocking her out so she can’t hurt my mate anymore. Once I’m sure she is unconscious, I unlock the cage, step in, and heal the wound, cleaning her up before I quickly move out and lock it again. I’m unsure if she was testing me, but her chest rises and falls slowly—she’s definitely out.
Fuck.
This is going well.
Shaking my head, I grab the book and sit down again as the moon shines through the window. I need to save Lilith and fast, before we kill each other.
