Eternal Flame - Book 6 (The Ruby Ring Saga) Read online

  I touched his face. “Why not? It’s a compliment. He will have a strong moral code, be an admirable man, respect all life. He will understand the sanctity of marriage, be selfless, have a good work ethic, be passionate, be intelligent, be faithful, and know his purpose in life. He’ll have strength, respect his family, and be courageous and honest.”

  He looked at me and blinked a tear away. “Nobody has ever said anything like that about me before. It’s quite moving.”

  “I mean every single word. I wouldn’t stay with a man I don’t respect and admire, that I’m not willing to fight for. You are as beautiful in the inside as you are on the outside.”

  Tears welled in his eyes, and I knew he was opening himself up in vulnerable ways he never had before. We were learning to trust one another and take emotional risks by opening up. “You’ve made me a better person,” he said. “Where would I be if I had never met you?”

  “That is a question I ask myself every day. Where would I be if I hadn’t met you?”

  I understood better why Victor seemed so distant and broody at times. He’d been through so much. He was raised by a tyrant who beat him. He watched his mother murdered before his very eyes. He was forced to kill his father. He’d become a tyrant himself in his own personal quest for power. People feared him all around the land, and his reputation was well known in that medieval world. He lost touch with who he was, waged wars and took over lands, leaving death and misery in his wake. When the love of his life dumped him, he lost it. He started a war with William, one that only fueled his rage. I knew we had a long road ahead of us, but I was thrilled that my warrior husband had finally opened up to me about the circumstances that darkened his heart. I’d somehow been able to break into his world, to penetrate all his pain and rage. We possessed an unshakable love, and nobody was going to change that.

  In that very instant, I felt his inner darkness, his loneliness, his struggles. I got a glimpse into his tortured soul. He had suffered greatly from events in his past, regretted his mistakes and painful choices, and he was still clinging to deep personal feelings of guilt and grief. His inner demons tormented him. I wanted to hold him, to reassure him that I was there for him. I hoped my eternal love could heal his wounded soul, pull him out of that pit of despair. I vowed to break down those walls and free Victor from his pain.

  “Why didn’t Ethano kill you when he captured you?” I asked.

  “He was going to, but he desired to torture me first. He said he wanted me to suffer. He gave me blow-by-blow reports as to how you were dealing with my death. He thrived on my emotional pain.”

  “The ass!”

  “I’m sorry you had to feel all my pain,” Victor said. “That couldn’t have been easy.”

  “It helped me understand you better. Now I know how you knew about my sister,” I whispered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “When I thought my sister died, you already knew, even though I had never said a word. You even said you felt my pain. Now I get it. You’re a stronger immortal than me, so you saw more of me than I did of you. You saw me cry for my sister in that cemetery, and you longed to comfort me.”

  “I wanted to hold you and tell you everything was going to be well, that I was there for you, but at that time, you wanted nothing to do with me.”

  “I’m so sorry about that.”

  He kissed my lips. “We are past that, Sarah. Let’s not dwell on the way we started out. Let’s just dwell on our beautiful relationship, what we’ve created together.”

  I glanced over at Alexander, sleeping soundly. “Like our beautiful son?”

  He gazed deeply into my eyes. “Yes...and I definitely want to create more beautiful babies with you.”

  “You always know what to say,” I said. “When the time is right, I want more children too.”

  We both smiled at the thought of expanding our wonderful family.

  “We’ve had our difficulties and challenges, our hardships, but we never give up,” Victor said.

  “It’s been quite the rollercoaster, huh?”

  He pulled me close into a tight hug. “I love you, Sarah Fesque.”

  I hugged him tighter. “I love you too.”

  “I waited for centuries for you to come into my life. I’m so glad you’re finally here.”

  I kissed his lips. “Was I worth the wait?”

  “True love is always worth the wait.”

  Chapter 7

  The captain led us to an isolated hotel in Tahiti, the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia. It was a temporary place for the night, until we could catch a plane. We settled into the hotel as immortals stood guard outside our door and on our balcony. I wasn’t comfortable about it, but I was willing to do whatever it took to stay safe. One of the immortals delivered some much-needed baby supplies, diapers, and baby clothes, and I was very thankful for that.

  I breastfed Alexander and cuddled him close to my chest. When he fell asleep, Victor wanted to hold him. I turned on the television and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini-fridge.

  Little Alex started to cry, but Victor didn’t hand him back to me, like most men would have. Instead, he tried to soothe his tears by singing to him and gently rocking him. Tears welled in my eyes as I watched that big, buff, warrior-king, a man meant to fight and rule a kingdom, singing a lullaby to an innocent little child. It worked like a charm, and I knew then that our baby would learn that I wasn’t the only one who could give him what he needed.

  We ordered room service, ate, and went to bed.

  When Victor shook me, I assumed the baby needed to be fed, but the look on my love’s face told me a different story.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “I heard a gunshot,” he said. “We need to leave now!”

  I didn’t question him. I hurriedly wrapped Alexander in a baby blanket and grabbed the diaper bag.

  The door burst open, and an immortal burst in. “We’ve been compromised,” he said. “We must exit immediately.”

  Shouts and gunfire rang outside the door.

  The immortal ushered us back in. “We’ll have to go out the back way,” he said.

  I glanced to the other side of the hotel room. “But there isn’t a back way.”

  “We must jump from the balcony,” he said.

  “Go with him, Sarah,” Victor said. “I’ll stay and fight.”

  “No!” I said.

  The immortal shoved Victor toward the balcony. “If you want my help off this island, you’ll do as I say!”

  I heard bullets peppering the hallway outside the door, and I knew we needed to leave fast. Victor gripped my hand, and we headed to the balcony. He jumped down first and took out two men who were attacking our bodyguards.

  Holding Alexander close, I climbed over the railing and jumped. I landed on both feet, but as I tried to run, pain exploded across my back. I gasped, realizing I’d been shot.

  Victor came to my rescue, like a knight in shining armor. He darted through the bullets and scooped me up. It was a blur, because everything was fading in and out.

  “Is the baby okay?” I said.

  “Yes,” Victor said, “and you will be too. You’ll heal.”

  “I guess being immortal does have its advantages.” I closed my eyes and drifted into darkness.

  When I woke up, I found myself in a hospital gown, in a dimly lit room.

  “You’re awake,” Victor said.

  “Victor... Is the baby okay? Are you okay?”

  “He’s right here, in the bassinet, and I’m stronger than ever.”

  My gaze shot to my sleeping Alexander, and I let out a long sigh of relief. I touched Victor’s face. “Were you shot, baby?”

  “About a dozen times, but I healed.”

  I sighed once again, so relieved they were both okay and doing well. I gripped Victor’s hand.

  “I’m here, my love,” he said. “I’m so happy to see you awake. I’ve been so worried.”


  “I’m immortal,” I reminded him. “There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “You didn’t come to for a long time, not for hours and hours. The immortals insisted you come and get checked out.”

  “Of course they did. If I die, I can’t fulfill my part of the bargain. They did their part by saving my life, and now it’s my turn to pay them back. So where am I anyway?”

  “In an immortal hospital in Australia.”

  “Victor, I just wanna go home.”

  “We will. We shall go the second you’re better. The doctor said it took longer because you’re still healing. I guess the eternal bloom is still at work, trying to heal you. After a month, you’ll be back to normal.”

  “A month!”

  “We must be patient, my dear.” He stood and reached for Alexander, then gently placed him in my arms.

  Tears began to stream down my face.

  “Sarah, what’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I just... Looking down at this beautiful baby, I realize he deserves a better mother than me.”

  “What? Why would you ever think that?”

  “He just came into this world,” I said, “and already, I haven’t given him any stability. He was supposed to go home to his nursery, the beautiful room we put together for him. Instead, we’ve been on the run and shot at. You were killed, and I was almost abducted. Our baby was threatened, with a gun held to his little side. What kind of start is our baby getting in life?”

  “He will have all the stability he needs,” he said.

  “He will? Do you really think that?” I retorted.

  “Yes.”

  “It’s essential for these months to be stable for a young child. It’s our job to give Alexander as much love and stability as possible.”

  “He will have a loving and stable environment soon enough,” Victor said.

  “Loving, yes, but not stable—not as long as there are blue-ringed immortals in this world. They are stronger than we are. I think we’re better off fighting Ethano and getting your kingdom back. Maybe then, once we win, we can give Alexander that stable environment he so much deserves, because he’s sure not going to get it in my world.”

  “I know we thought it would be best to stay here until the child’s eighteenth birthday, but you’re right. Those blue-ringed immortals will hunt us down, and they will not give up anytime soon. I have no army to command or any way to truly hide us. They definitely have the advantage in a world I don’t even understand myself,” Victor surmised.

  “No matter which way we choose, we will have to fight. Do we run from Ethano or the blue-ringed immortals?”

  “I’d rather take the gamble in my world,” he said. “We can defeat Ethano and take back what is rightfully ours.”

  “He must be stopped.”

  “Yes, and we can’t just desert our people, who desperately need their king and queen.”

  “Do you think we will ever lead a normal life?” I asked. “It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

  “We will, Sarah. I swear to you that things will return to the way they originally were.”

  “After we defeated Ethano the first time, we had that sense of normalcy for a short time. You ruled as king, and I was your queen. It was...unforgettable, etched into my mind forever.”

  “Mine too. You looked so beautiful in those long, flowing gowns and that glittering crown.”

  “It was wonderful. Nobody tried to hurt or kill us, and we just loved each other every day.”

  “Things got off track, but I promise that we’ll get everything back. We will take Alexander home to his castle and give him the greatest homecoming ever.”

  I dreamt about it, and it was all so lovely. I knew Tastia was the place I was meant to be. Liz had figured it out right off the bat, but it had taken me a little longer. Leaving everything I loved would be hard to do, but I focused on that glimmer of hope that one day, I’d get my life back.

  “I love you more than life itself, but I wonder if I should’ve put you through all of this. Ethano is my problem, not yours.”

  “If he’s your problem, that also makes him mine.”

  “You do not deserve the torment he has unleashed on us.”

  “I had an out. White Coyote gave me the opportunity to go back to my old life in California, before I ever met you, but I couldn’t do it. I can’t live without you. We have a love so deep that even the Atlantic Ocean is jealous.”

  He grinned, and nothing gave me greater pleasure than the fact that I could put a smile on his face. Our love was so deep, so faithful, so true. It plunged deeper than passion and was the foundation of our marriage. I loved Victor with my whole being and adored him with all my heart. We connected on an emotional level I couldn’t even begin to understand myself. It was beautiful

  Victor lay in bed with me, Alexander was between us.

  In that moment, I realized something. “Victor,” I said, “this is the exact picture I saw in the cave.”

  “What do you mean, darling?”

  “The old woman, Helena. She showed me the future. You’re even wearing the same shirt and blue jeans from the portrait on the cavern wall. I was in a hospital gown, and you were in modern clothes. The picture floored me before, but now I understand it. It depicted us as we are right now, this very second.”

  I knew Victor and I were meant to spend eternity together. It was a one-in-a-million kind of love, absolute destiny. What was meant to be would always find a way; that was how the universe operated. Our love was there to stay and would last forever.

  Victor knew what I was thinking, and our paranormal bond was stronger than ever. His lips brushed across mine. I longed to be fused as one, connected in perfect harmony, mind and soul. Our hearts beat in perfect unison as he kissed me sensually. Our love was meant to be, and no one would ever be able to tell me differently.

  I’d finally found a soulmate, a partner who could share and understand all my feelings, someone who cared and listened. We shared a soul connection and when we touched, I felt a rush like no other. I felt connected to him because he had touched me in a way no other ever could.

  Chapter 8

  The immortal wouldn’t let us return to our house. Instead, we were taken to a safe house. I was told my family would be waiting for me there.

  On the way, we stopped at the store and bought some summer clothes, which felt wonderful. After a long flight and car ride, we were finally at the safe house, about thirty minutes away from home.

  The car pulled into a driveway, and I stared up at a big, white, two-story house. It was modern, and the lawn was immaculate. Pretty geraniums grew in a flowerbed that lined the front of the home.

  Holding Alexander close, I stepped out of the car.

  “Are you ready to introduce our son to your family?” he asked proudly, showing off his gorgeous grin.

  I smiled back at him. “Am I ever!”

  Victor led me into the house, where I was greeted warmly by Liz, Charles, my parents, and Beth. They screamed, shouted, and laughed in joy about our family reunion, and tears poured down my face. Love filled our hearts, and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. Everyone was moved and touched by our baby’s arrival, and it was one of the most emotional moments of my life.

  “This is my son, Alexander,” I announced.

  “I’m an aunt!” Liz squealed.

  “He’s so beautiful,” Mom said, her voice wavering, “and he looks so much like you.”

  I grinned. “He has his daddy’s blue eyes.”

  My dad looked at me. “Baby, I’m so glad everything turned out all right. Your mother told me about it all. I couldn’t eat or sleep. I was so worried about my little girl and grandson.”

  “We’re fine, Dad,” I said.

  He hugged me tightly, followed by my mom and everyone else.

  “There was a moment when I thought I wasn’t gonna make it,” I said. “All I could think about was you and Victor and all the people in my life.”

  “Gimme that ba
by.” My father reached for Alexander and held him in his arms. “I’m your grandpa,” he said proudly as a tear dripped from his face.

  “I love you,” my mom said, hugging me tightly.

  “I love you too,” I said, wiping the tears away.

  Charles came over and handed me a tissue, then pulled me into an embrace of his own. “We were scared to death,” he said.

  “You know I’m too stubborn to die,” I laughed.

  He chuckled.

  I looked at Victor while tears of complete joy, love, excitement, and happiness ran down my face.

  Victor wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.

  “May I hold the baby?” Liz asked.

  “Sure,” I answered.

  She held Alexander in her arms and ran her fingers softly through his hair. “I’m your aunt,” she said, “and I’m gonna spoil you rotten, whether your mom likes it or not.”

  My mom put her hand over her mouth and sobbed. She was flooded with so much emotion. Even when I touched her back and smiled at her, she still couldn’t stop crying.

  “I don’t know how I would’ve ever lived without you,” she said. “I couldn’t stop worrying.”

  “Oh, Mom, stop. You’re making me tear up all over again.”

  She glanced down at Alexander. “I can’t begin to describe how much I love this boy, even though we just met.”

  I gripped her hand. “I know, Mom. He’s changed my life completely for the better, in just a short time.”

  “Are you...fixed now?” Liz asked with a big grin.

  “What? I’m not a dog,” I joked, “but yeah my energies are fixed now. The eternal bloomed saved my life. It balanced out all the energy. They say I’ll be good as new within a month.” I smiled, then looked away.

  My simple gesture was not lost on my mother. “What’s going on, dear?” she demanded to know. “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

  I swallowed hard and peered at her intently. “We can’t stay here in this world, not with the blue-ringed immortals on our tails. They chased us all the way to the island. We managed to escape them there, but they hunted us down and found us. I had to jump off a hotel balcony with my newborn. We can’t keep endangering our child. I know he’s immortal, but I still can’t bear to give him that kind of a life.”