Daylight, a Timeless Series Novel (50 page)

I shook my head and saw his eyes narrow.

“No,” I whispered
, knowing what I was admitting. “It’s not your battle. It’s not your burden. It was always mine—mine alone.”

He pressed
closer placing a kiss on my lips. My lower lip trembled. I had to push him away.

“It’s not yours to bear alone
,” he protested. “Come with me. I can get us out of here right now.” He pulled me closer, and I pushed back.

“No, Colt. I’m not going anywhere.”

The moonlight hit his face, and I saw the confusion wash over him.

“You don’t know what you’re saying, Cheyenne. I can get you out of here
. We can leave together…”

“And run again? Marcus won’t stop, Colt, ever. You’re fighting a losing battle
. It’s time I stepped up and did what my mother should have.”

His fingers balled into fist at his side, then suddenly he reached out to grab me, but I stepped back.

“No,” I repeated. “I won’t leave Callon powerless. I won’t leave the Consilador clan weakened. I will fix this mess.”
I’ll marry Marcus.

“If you want to fix this mess, then you need
to finish your vows to Callon!” He lunged for me again, but I was faster.

“With what, Colt? Marcus has the Braid
. It contains my powers and Callon’s.” I knew that if I married Marcus, Callon’s powers would be restored, and I could give the clans the freedoms I’d never had. They’d have freedoms, and I’d forever live in a cage…but I couldn’t tell him that now. He wouldn’t understand, and he’d still try to drag me out of here. I had to stay.

“You don’t know what you’re saying!”

Gravel crunched, and Colt’s glare hardened. We weren’t alone anymore. He made one last attempt to snare me.

“
Just go!” I barked.

Colt’s face twisted. He backed away, as I felt Marcus step up behind me. They exchanged hard glares.

“I’m coming back for you, Cheyenne,” he warned. “I promise!” He turned and ran towards the side gate, disappearing from sight.

I remained still,
listening to Marcus’s breathing behind me. He came forward, and his gray eyes caught mine in the moonlight. I was sure he’d heard the whole conversation. Yet he said nothing. He just stood there, silently taking me in.

My heart should have been racing
. I should have been frightened at what he would do to me, but I wasn’t. Fear had disappeared just as the rest of me had.

“You didn’t go?” Marcus
asked quietly.

“No, I didn’t,” I whispered. I didn’t need to explain myself
. We both knew why.

“I think this is the first time in my life I’m speechless, Cheyenne.” He turned on his heels
, facing a group of Trackers and Conall. “Find him and kill him.” He waved the Trackers off, but Conall didn’t leave. He only stepped back.

“You’ve made a wise choice
,” Marcus said.

More footsteps neared, but I didn’t look over my shoulder. I knew who was there, who was always there with me
, watching me every moment of every hour of every day…Jahlem and Darrien.

Marcus began circling me slowly, deliberately—like he
were stalking his prey.

“You continue to surprise and amaze me.”

“If I am to marry you, I have three things to ask of you,” I asked boldly.

He
waited, wearing a faint smirk.

There was no more anxiety, no more worry. I would ask and he would give. Simple.

He extended his hand and nodded wordlessly, giving me his attention.

“First, I ask that you let Colt live. I stayed, he left. The threat is gone. Along with letting Colt live, you leave my family alone. You have what you came for, and I want reconciliation. You’ll live with me peacefully. No more hunting down Timeless, no more senseless deaths, no more war.”

He ran his fingers over his stubbled chin and stared at the ground for a few moments. I straightened my back. He would give or he wouldn’t receive.

“Secondly?” He tilted his head and eyed me carefully.

“Secondly,” I continued, not sure where all the demands were suddenly coming from. It wasn’t like I’d thought them out. “I won’t live with you here in this dreary, life draining, gray stoned compound.” I paused for a moment as hardness set into his stone cold eyes. “You’ll provide a home for us in the French countryside. I want gardens, graveled paths, manicured lawns, trees, a lake, pond or stream. I want acres for me to wander, horses to ride and a stone wall surrounding it so I know where my boundaries are…” so I’d be reminded of the cage that I’d built for myself. The cage I’d have to endure to end this war.

“No home on this estate?”

“A home that is bright and cheery, a library and a music room.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“And the third?”

“To marry at the mountain lake just outside the compound.”

He studied me for a few moments before he spoke.

“Then I have requests as well,” he said.

My jaw tightened. I should have known he’d have his own agenda.

“First?” I asked and tilted my head.

“First,” he said and began to circle me again. “You’ll allow me to romance you. You’ll willingly dine with me. You’ll willingly spend time with me, and you’ll give me the opportunity to show you who I am and what I am capable of.”

I squared my shoulders, but didn’t answer. How much worse could it be?

“Secondly,” he continued. “You’ll wear what I lay out for you.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he held up his hand.

“You are a beautiful woman, Cheyenne, and I want to see you as such. I’ve provided you with a closet full of striking outfits, and you won’t wear them. You are to be my wife, and my wife will look the part.”

My jaw clenched. It was a control thing and
we both knew it.

“Third?” I said between my teeth.

“Third.” A glint formed in his eyes. “I’ll give you the third when I think you’re ready for it.”

I’d gotten cocky
, and he took advantage of it. I made for my bedroom when he grabbed my arm.

“I’ll take you to your room. We’re having dinner tonight
, and I want to see you in an evening gown.” His crooked smile grew, and I lowered my head. I’d do what I had to do to keep my family safe. I’d bear this burden alone and always be the betrayer.

Conall’s gold-rimmed eyes stared at me in curiosity. Apparently I
’d surprised him too.

Marcus took me to my room and I changed into what he wanted for the evening.
A silky black gown with a scooped neck and back. Darrien and Jahlem waited while I prepared both mentally and physically for Marcus’s onslaught. I hadn’t had a choice in the path I had to follow. I just had to survive.

They escorted me to a rear
terrace, one I hadn’t been to in the past, one I didn’t know existed. A small bistro table was dressed with a bright white tablecloth and covered silver serving trays sat at each chair. Candlelight illuminated the terrace and soft music played in the background. The hidden terrace overlooked my garden…he’d watched me from here when I thought I was alone. How had I not seen this before?

A warm hand touched my back
, and I startled. Marcus was beside me, dressed in a black tuxedo. Apparently he was taking this dinner seriously.

“I can watch you from here without you seeing me,” he
confirmed, speaking low in my ear.

“Why? I thought the garden was supposed to be my private space.” I turned to face him.

His soft finger slid across my cheek and stopped at my neck. “Because I like watching you. You’re completely different than anyone I’ve ever met. There’s a complexity to you that I want to understand. You shouldn’t intrigue me, but you do.”

I fought the urge to push him away. I was the one who agreed to this
, and I’d have to deal with this after the wedding. My jaw firmed. If he could touch me, then I could touch him. I lifted my hand as he tilted his head in curiosity. I traced the scar on his forehead. I had a good idea where it’d come from.

“I did this to you?”

His gray gaze remained focused on me. “Yes.”

“I was angry.” He’d just electrocuted Colt.

“You were.”

“Don’t make me angry.”

“I’ll try not to,” he said with a smirk.

He pointed towards the table. “Shall we?”

We dined in silence, but I felt his gaze upon me. Was this what it was going to be like for the rest of my life? There’d be no conversation, only plotting when I could do what I was born to do? In haste I’d made demands. I’d given him the idea that we could live together far away from everyone…and maybe I was right. I’d take this burden and not have to destroy him. He’d agreed to live in peace with me, or at least I thought he had.

“Will you dance with me?” He stood beside me. I
hadn’t even seen him move.

I took his hand and moved
around the terrace with him, my mind still wandering, contemplating my next move.

His hand moved lower across my back
, and he gently tugged me closer. I knew he felt my body quiver because a satisfied grin emerged.

“I think you’re ready for my third request,” he said. His warm breath passed over my cheek as he leaned in closer. “We’ll marry tomorrow at sunset, at the lake like you requested.”

I stiffened, and we paused in the dance.

I calculated the date.

“It’s not the fall solstice.” I looked at him blankly.

He shook his head and laughed. “You believed everything they told you, did you?” He leaned
in and abruptly kissed me.

I gaped at him wide-eyed.

“What do you mean, Marcus?”

“They’ve been feeding you a pack of lies from the start, all of them. They didn’t bother to tell you that I could marry you at anytime, or Callon for that matter.”

“No,” I pushed him back. “No, Dex said that we had to have the counterbalance of the sun and the moon on the solstice so I wouldn’t kill Callon.”

He shook his head again. “Callon would have been fine. He was strong enough to handle it
. It was their mistake in being overly cautious.”

“What about you then?” I spoke the words already knowing his answer.

“Because I’ve got more powers than all of them combined, I don’t need anything to counterbalance me, or you for that matter. You could’ve been married six months ago, but Callon’s predictable. I knew he’d plan the ceremony for the summer solstice.”

I couldn’t move. I could only stare in disbelief.

“That’s why you want to marry tomorrow, to prove a point,” I murmured.

He pulled me in closer, his voice dangerously low
. “It’s more than to prove a point, my angel. I’ve waited a long time for you, and I won’t wait any longer.”

His thumb brushed my lower lip and a shiver escaped me. I’d been avoiding him
, and he hadn’t pushed me, but now, everything was different. The gray in his eyes darkened to reveal the predator he was, his hunger clear, and I was the prey snared in his trap…with no means of escape.

His lids lowered
, and I had nowhere to go as his mouth touched mine. It was soft, gentle, and not what I expected.

“I’ll make you happy,” he murmured over my lips. “Just give me a chance
. That’s all I ask. You promised to give me a chance.”

His kiss suddenly deepened and caught me off guard. It took sheer willpower to not fight back. His hold tightened, crushing me to his chest, when his thumb pressed on my lower lip
, forcing my mouth open.

He surged forward
, pushing for a response out of me. He tilted my head back, reaching deeper. And a duel began as each breath I took, he stole from me. He suddenly drew back, and I gasped for air. In the next moment, my back was up against the cold stones, and he’d twisted my right hand in front of me as he locked our rings together.

Instantly my arm began to tin
gle. A power built beneath the surface that spread through my limbs so fast I could hardly breathe. He wasn’t gentle this time as he crushed his lips to mine again. He was using the rings to have power over me, to force me to submit like Callon had.

I began shaking, losing myself in the sensation reeling throughout my body. The power, raw
and untamed, wanted to push me over the edge, and I couldn’t fight his kiss anymore.

I gave back what he
’d been seeking; I fought back with my mouth, dueling to regain control. He wasn’t going to win this battle; he’d only brought my task back to the forefront. He’d wielded his powers over me for the last time.

His hold over my ring loosened, and his kiss slowed. He drew back
, releasing my hand, leaving me breathless. A wicked smile gleamed in his eyes. He thought he’d won.

“Tomorrow, Cheyenne, tomorrow you’re mine.”