Ascension (Unbound Prophecy Book 1) Read online

  “It won’t be happening,” she continued bluntly, “at least not on their terms.”

  He didn’t know whether to laugh at her audacity and fierce resolve or to slap her for causing that tightness in his chest to compound. He chose the first option to retain his pride.

  “So serious, Vi.” He made sure to emphasize the nickname he’d given her, knowing it annoyed her. “I thought we’d take some time to get to know one another, talk a little, maybe play a little,” he said with a wink, “and here you are getting serious with me. Really, a union is the least of my concerns, my dear. You can take all the time you want.”

  He reached a hand out and ran a finger through one of her curls. He hadn’t realized he’d gotten so close to her and now took advantage of it. Her hair was soft as silk, the longing to grab a handful of it ran through him again until he noticed her flinch as he held his hand there. His mood turned darker with every second.

  “Seriously?” she asked. “I’m surprised. I would have thought you would be upset about it, considering your pedigree.”

  “I suppose I should take offense to that, but I won’t. I am serious.”

  He pulled his hand back and walked over to one of the large mahogany chairs at the meeting table. He sat down then propped his feet on the table, an act he could see clearly irritated her with its lack of respect. Violissa remained standing, once again avoiding eye contact with him.

  “You see, Vi,” he continued, “you can barely look at me. That tells me you find me as irresistible as I find you, all as part of this unexplainable attraction that can only be attributed to the Fates.” He stroked his finger along the table top, imagining it was her skin instead, noticing that her eyes were fixed on the movement. “So, I know eventually that desire you have for me will override your stubborn need for independence.”

  This time she laughed. “You clearly have no lack for self-confidence. So, what’s the catch?”

  “The catch my dear is that when I get tired of waiting, you will have no more say.” He stared hard at her and held her gaze as her eyes returned to his. “You see, I’ve waited a very long time for you, and I’m willing to wait longer. No matter what you do, you are mine; you’ve been mine since the moment you were created and no amount of time will ever change that fact.”

  He slammed his hand down hard on the table, sending a loud echo through the silent forest around them and leapt to his feet. He was in front of her before she had time to move, standing as close as he could bear without succumbing to the sexual tension.

  Grabbing a fistful of her hair and pulling her head back, he continued, “So you see, I’ll wait until you realize you can no longer resist me and come willingly to my bed. That way I can relax and enjoy it when I finally take you. Watching your pleasured face stare up at me while I thrust inside of you will be much better than looking at a bruised and battered one.” He licked his lips and growled.

  Violissa pulled away from him, eyes a dark green almost the shade of black. “Thank you,” she said with distaste in her voice.

  “Anytime, though not quite the response I was looking for. Why are you thanking me? For treating you the way a woman should be treated?” he snarled.

  She hissed at him, “No, for affirming my decision not to betroth you and for giving me a reason to ignore everyone as well as my own body. To think that the Fates would want me bound to you for eternity. I’ve never met anyone so rude and self-centered.”

  “You haven’t spent much time in my realm, have you?” he muttered.

  “Goodbye, Prince Sinow. My Council will be in touch but don’t count on seeing me any time soon.” With that she was gone. Only the lingering scent of lilacs remained.

  After she left, Sinow let out a deep growl. He hadn’t meant to be so harsh, but she had put his back up to a wall. It bothered him that she was so opposed to their union. That she wasn’t even willing to give it a chance. Oh, he understood what it was like to have the prophecy lead your life. He’d been told from his birth that she was the one, that no other choice could be made. It had been maddening to know he had no free will. He supposed she was testing it, feeling out the Fates to see who would win. She couldn’t fight it though; there were reasons the Fates stepped in. If those reasons were questioned or someone attempted to change a prophecy, things could go terribly wrong. Consequences would be paid. She would come around, he had no doubt, and he would be patient. He could be very patient when the outcome was such a valuable prize.

  He took a deep breath. The smell of lilacs still hung in the air, causing his chest to tighten again. He hated how out of control he felt around her. She was holding the cards, controlling the situation, and that frustrated him even more. As willing to wait as he was, he still didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t getting what he wanted. He took in another deep breath and turned his sudden anger to a tree across from him. He hurled a ball of power at the tree, shattering it to pieces, the noise disturbing the hushed quiet of the woods. He was gone before the last piece fell to the ground.

  Five

  Tynan heard the rumble above him as Sinow shifted back to their realm. He smiled. The meeting with Violissa must not have gone well. Sinow had a habit of slamming as he shifted when he was pissed off. He always had a flair for the dramatic. Tynan grimaced as he climbed the remainder of the stairs, holding onto the banister for only a brief second so that no one would notice him pause. He knew his father was still standing below him watching for any sign of weakness. The bastard was always waiting for any sign to reinforce his thoughts that Tynan was a mistake of nature put upon him as some punishment doled out by the Fates. Tynan never bothered to ask him what mistakes he felt he had made to feel he deserved to be punished nor did he bother to ask why Tynan had to be a mistake. No, he’d learned long ago not to challenge his father, the Dark King.

  When he got to the top of the stairs, he walked down the corridor, far enough to be out of sight before shifting back to his room. Once there, he tore off what remained of his shirt and howled in pain as it came off. Blood soaked the back of his shirt where his father’s magic had hit him, his punishment for creating a disturbance at the meeting today. His father enjoyed flaying the skin from his back in long strokes whenever Tynan made a misstep. He knew Tynan didn’t heal as quickly as the other immortals and that it often took days for bad wounds to heal where with his brother it was sometimes only a matter of minutes. It was agony for Tynan, but this time it was worth it.

  His idiot of a father hadn’t even stopped to consider the timing of his distraction. No one had. They had all just laughed him off as if he were a dumb oaf. Well, he would see who had the last laugh when all their years of planning were lost. He would be the one laughing as he took the crown from that lazy son-of-a-whore brother’s head before it even had a chance to settle. He smiled through a grimace of pain. It had been worth it to see the expression of surprise on his father’s face when he’d disturbed those two fool lovebirds. He had always thought the prophecy was just a load of crap the Lightbearers had fed to his father to trick him into not destroying them until he’d done some research of his own. That research had also pointed him to the key to stealing the crown from his older brother. The crown that belonged to him, not that do-gooder brother whose whore mother had stolen his father’s affection from Tynan’s mother and made her leftovers to come crawling back to after the bitch had died. No, the crown was his; he should have been born first, not Sinow and now he was planning to make it all right. He just needed to wait a little longer. He had waited this long watching and learning, waiting for the day when he’d have his chance. Well the day was almost upon him, and they were all none the smarter about what he was about to bring down around them. Only a short time until the ascension and then, it would all be his. What he’d seen today at the meeting gave him the weakness he had been waiting for in Sinow. Violissa. Yes, Violissa would be the undoing of them all; she just didn’t know it yet.

&nb
sp; Six

  “The nerve,” Violissa said as she flew down the corridor, inadvertently slamming doors open with her power as she walked by. The servants jumped at the noise; temper was not something usual to be witnessed in the castle. It wasn’t a feeling that often occurred in their realm, so when it did, it startled those around the person, particularly when the holder of the ill temper was their ruler.

  She wasn’t sure herself what to make of the feelings that had come over her. She felt angry at what Sinow had said, at the lack of control she’d had. But most of all, she hated the fact that she still wanted nothing more than to run back to him and let him make love to her. She knew no matter what he had said back there that she would willingly enjoy every minute of it.

  “Ahhhhhh!” she screamed at nothing in particular. With the force of her power, she blasted the castle’s back doors open, and shifted out to the woods far beyond. Once there she stood quietly, taking in the sounds of the wooded world around her, the chirp of the birds, the movement of the insects below her feet and in the trees. She breathed in the cool mossy smell of the surroundings and smiled as a gentle breeze softly caressed her cheek. Running her hand along the bark of the tree next to her she began walking. As she moved soundlessly forward, she started to relax. This was one of the places she liked to go when she needed to get away and think. To some, the forests were a frightening place filled with story-tale creatures and beasts, but to Violissa they always felt like a part of her. Her connection to the land as well as the plants and creatures that inhabited it ran deep. She didn’t know where that connection came from, but she relished it. Her nature gifts fed the land, and the land in turn fed her people; it was a relationship only she understood.

  She walked for a long while, trying to clear her head, keeping her emotions and thoughts about today’s meeting at bay. Finally, she came to a spot covered in lush green grass surrounded by a canopy of trees. A small stream ran through the middle of it; the sound of the water as it splashed along the rocks below lent a sense of peacefulness to the air around her. This was her spot, one which she had never shared with even the closest of her Council. It was where she came to deal with issues that needed to be pondered or when she simply felt the need to get away for just a brief time. Today was one of those days, and so she sat down on the grass, laid back and stared up at the sky to bring peace back to her mind. At some point dusk came, and the stars were just beginning to sparkle in the darkness.

  Violissa sat up. The stream before her looked inviting but needed to be larger to properly cool her. She said a small thank you to the land around it and placed her hand over the water. The stream began to widen and deepen until it was large enough for her to enter and swim. She removed her dress and walked into the cool, clean water, swimming under then returning to the surface to float upon her back. The sky was clear, both moons were high, the North moon a tiny sliver while the South moon shone in all its splendor lighting up the forest around her. The reflection caused a shimmer around her body that made it seem as if she were glowing. Anyone spying her there would have thought a star had fallen and rested in the middle of the water.

  She thought about the conversation she’d had with Sinow. Funny how easily she had said his name, with no formality as if she’d known him for eternity. She didn’t even truly mind that he called her Vi, a nickname she had despised from the mouth of anyone else. Even her Council knew better than to shorten her name. Somehow, though, coming from him it sounded right, as if it were reserved for his use only.

  She had been offended by what he’d said. The audacity he had to think he could just take her by force, that he even had the power to do such a thing. It was certainly the kind of thing she’d expect from a Darkbearer. That’s why it didn’t surprise her that he said it. Although it was the kind of behavior she had expected from him, what she had not been prepared for was the idea that he would wait for her. It had never crossed her mind. Oh, deep down she knew that when she finally felt ready, she would follow the prophecy. She was rebellious but to a point. She understood that to defy the Fates could be catastrophic, and she wasn’t one to buck traditions completely. She would, however, take her time playing their game. She had things she wanted to do first. She wanted to establish her rule as queen, then to adjust her people to the idea of a Dark King, not to mention give herself time to adjust to the notion of having Sinow as her mate for eternity. As much as the prophecy was talk in the villages, handed down generation to generation by her people, she knew from talking with them that they were hesitant. They had been wronged in the past by the Darkbearers, and history had taught them to fear even their name. Even though the treaty had been established almost a thousand years prior, shortly after Sinow’s conception, the fear remained.

  Violissa knew that when she stepped into her reign as queen the people would need to grow accustomed to seeing her as more than just their princess. They would adapt easily to the change, subconsciously she knew that. They loved her, worshipped the ground she walked on. She was a people’s princess, frequently spending time with them, talking, dancing, and laughing with them. They all knew and respected her, welcomed her reign as queen but Violissa didn’t see the extent of their loyalty and devotion to her. She worried that they would see her as a different person when she took the throne. There had not been a ruler on the throne of Cirillia for thousands of years. The Council had been all they had known. So, to Violissa, the change appeared massive, and since she always put her people first, she chose to put the prophecy and this sudden attraction she had toward the Dark Prince aside. Prophecy and the prince could wait; her people could not.

  With the resolve she’d had earlier that morning running again through her blood, she rose from the water. She stood letting the warm air dry her. Taking a deep breath, she reaffirmed her decision, there would be no union with Sinow until all was in place and she felt the time was right. Besides, as she had told herself earlier that day, being with a Dark Prince was bound to be like living her worst nightmare no matter how good looking he was. Prophecies and Fates would have to wait until she was ready, the deck was in her hands now, and the cards were not ready to be dealt.

  Seven

  Shortly after their meeting in the glade, the dreams began. Violissa had managed to shake off the meeting with Sinow and had become her stubborn self again at any mention of that day or the prophecy. She could tell she was aggravating the Council, but she didn’t care. In fact, she found she now went out of her way to get a reaction from them.

  One evening after a full day of preparation for the coming ascension, she experienced her first dream. Exhausted, she hastily threw on her nightdress and collapsed into her bed, the down pillows around her puffing at the sudden impact. She fell straight to sleep and then dreamed.

  She was standing in the meeting grounds, wearing the nightdress she had slept in, which was odd since she surely could have been wearing something lovelier, it was her dream after all. It was night, the stars and moons lit the glade giving it a luminescent glow. Looking around she searched for signs that this was truly a dream. It all seemed very real to her, even the peaceful feel of the glade. The ground beneath her toes was damp and soft, the warm night breeze caused goose bumps on her arms. She listened to the sounds of the night creatures as she walked forward, still contemplating the realistic feel of the dream. Suddenly she stopped, sensing another presence; his presence.

  “No,” she said silently. Turning, Violissa found Sinow standing across from where she stood. He was shirtless wearing only a loose-fitting pair of black pants. She would have noticed he wore no shoes as well, but she couldn’t take her eyes off his chest. He was amazing. She could see every ripple of muscle, each one defined and hard, moving with his deep breaths. She wanted only to take her hands and follow the curvature of each muscle, feel the solidness of them against her own soft skin. She met his eyes and for a moment she thought she read confusion in them, but it was quickly replaced by a confident gleam before
she could register it. He walked toward her.

  Well, it is a dream, she thought, her chest tightening, breath catching in her throat as she continued holding his stare. Maybe I’ll just get it out of my system here, she muttered softly as he stopped close in front of her, very close. She could feel his breath on her face, smell his scent. She closed her eyes and breathed it in, feeling his soft lips run along her jaw line and down her neck, his strong hands running through her hair and down her arms as they moved the loose straps of her gown from them. Her lips parted, eyes opened wide as the gown dropped to the ground. “A dream,” she repeated, this time aloud as his eyes met hers, his fingers caressing the swell of her breasts.

  “Yes, it is,” he answered, leaning in to kiss her. It was a gentle yet needing kiss. His lips were smooth and full; she felt his warm tongue searching to meet hers as he pulled her tight against him. She willingly ran her hands up his toned arms, along his shoulders and through his hair. He groaned as she pressed harder against him. This is wrong, she thought, but it was only a dream so she told herself to shut up and enjoy it. With that she relaxed and eagerly returned his kiss. Their desire for one another increased, becoming more frantic as if a buildup of hundreds of years of waiting were being released within them both. Violissa wanted nothing more than to be lost in his arms for eternity.