Free Spellbound by Sylvia Day Page B

in his eye. “I’m keeping up with vernacular.”
    As flowers crushed beneath their feet, sweetly alluring fragrances filled the air. It was paradise, in a fashion, but echoes of pain and longing turned down the corners of her mouth.
    Max. Her fear for him was paramount in her mind.
    â€œWhere are we, Darius?”
    â€œYou know where we are.” He looked straight ahead, revealing no more than the classical elegance of his profile.
    â€œIs it over for me, then?”
    â€œIt can be.” With a gesture of his hand, he directed her to sit upon a half-moon bench that hugged a tree. A tree that had not been there just a second ago.
    â€œYou still have magic,” she said.
    â€œIt is ingrained in us.”
    Victoria sat, her fingers moving restlessly over the edge of her skirt. The urgency inside her grew with every breath she took, sparking a driving need to act. For her, the clock was ticking double time, a jarring contrast to the pervasive leisure she felt in the Transcendual Realm.
    Darius sat beside her and picked up one of her hands in his. “When I first saw you,” he said softly, “I knew you were the only woman for me. The sensation was lightning in a bottle, an instantaneous awareness. I was certain, prior to exchanging a word with you, that you would make me happier than I had ever been or could ever be without you.”
    Her eyes stung as her vision blurred with tears. “I felt the same.”
    â€œI always knew you loved me.”
    â€œYes . . . ”
    â€œI also knew that I was not your soul mate.”
    Victoria stilled. Darius smiled, but his handsome features were marred by sorrow.
    â€œWhat are you saying?”
    â€œYou were all I needed, Vicky, but I couldn’t be all you needed. I didn’t have a firm enough hand. You were content with me, but not thriving.”
    â€œNo,” she protested, canting to face him directly. “That’s not true.”
    â€œIt is.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb following the line of her cheekbone. “That’s why I gifted my power to you. I wanted you to have a choice. I wanted to give you the opportunity to get it right the next time.”
    â€œIt was right the first time,” she insisted. “I will always care for you, always love you.”
    â€œI know.” The sadness left his blue eyes, replaced by the mischievous twinkle she’d fallen in love with. “What we had was perfect . . . but now you have something even more perfect. I wish I could have been that for you. Still, I’m grateful for what we did have. I know we had something wonderful.”
    â€œYes. We did.” Victoria glanced at the field of flowers around them. “What happens now?”
    â€œNow, you decide.” He squeezed her hand. “Stay with me or live the rest of your eight lives.”
    She bumped his shoulder with hers. “That’s a myth.”
    Darius grinned. “Is it?” he teased, standing.
    Victoria rose to her feet and stared up at him. “Are you happy?”
    â€œOf course.” His dimple flashed. “I’m with you always. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
    â€œDo you want me to stay?”
    â€œI want you to be happy,” he said, in a low ardent tone. “Whether that’s with me or with Westin. He loves you. Almost as much as I do. He’s fighting to bring you back as we speak.”
    â€œI love him.” Her tears flowed freely.
    â€œI’m glad, Vicky.”
    â€œI love you, too.”
    â€œI know you do.”
    His golden head lowered, bringing his mouth to hers. His advance was slow, yet heartrendingly familiar. The press of his lips soothed a long restless part of her heart. She hadn’t had the chance to say good-bye; he’d been ripped from her too quickly. That lack of closure had haunted her for centuries.
    Victoria’s hands fisted in Darius’s linen shirt and she kissed him