“That is the preferred option. You are strong and your body will last a lifetime,” he admit
s. “At least I get something out of it. You immobilized and all but dead, but we can be happy together. Your actual death, however, will suffice if you don’t accept the life, I can give you.” He shimmers again and Fraser is standing in front of me. I breathe in deeply as his moss green eyes stare soulfully at me. Lance may no longer have an effect on me, but Fraser still does and my heart aches.
“You don’t play fair,” I cross my arms defensively, not falling for it. Not this time.
“You are still weak. You may have conquered your fear of Lance, but this man will always haunt you. But I can be him for you.” He steps closer to me and I stand my ground. I can still feel the force of the barrier between us, but he is so close to me I want to reach out and touch him.
“No, you will never be him.” I shake my head.
“But I can be, Emmie. I have all of his memories. The day we met, I fell in love with you the second you scowled at me,” he says, switching to the first person. “Our wedding day was the happiest day of my life.”
“Stop,” I say. “Stop this.”
“You know you want me. All the others don’t mean as much to you as I do. You would give them all up in a heartbeat to be with me. So, do it.”
I know by now that we have an audience, gaping at us from over by the door. Fortunately, they remain silent. I put my hand up to the force field and he does the same. We are barely touching and most of me is yelling to accept the lie, to forget this life and go and live the one I should have. But the sane part of me…
“Liv,” Xane says to me from my side. “Don’t do this.”
I ignore him and he pulls me around to face him and whispers, “It isn’t real.” He kisses me slowly, to the bristling of the crowd behind us. I can hear scuffling and I assume it is Cole being held back by Lincoln. “This is real,” he whispers.
Remiel makes a frustrated howl and I look back at him with regret. “Next time, blondie,” he snarls at me. “You won’t get this choice again.” He throws his hand out and it sends me flying across the library to bang my head painfully on the bookcase behind me. Fuck’s sake. I wish that would stop happening. How is he more powerful than me? I get to my feet instantly, before anyone can reach me, but he has disappeared, taking the growing headache with him as the magick drops as well.
“Liv, you mustn’t let him affect you like that,” Xane chides me and I brush him off me.
“I wasn’t,” I snap at him, stepping back. “I can’t get around that fucking barrier. I was trying to get him to drop it so I could kill him.”
“Oh,” he says and looks sheepishly. “You looked so…” He waves his hand about.
“Yes, so he would buy it,” I say, arms crossed again but now in restraint of not punching something. I cast a glance at the others, who all look relieved I wasn’t about to run off with him to some dreamland. “I’m not stupid,” I sulk, now slightly offended even though I have given them every reason to doubt me. “I know Fraser is dead.”
I feel a pop behind me and then a faint Scottish burr, “Oh now, I beg to differ.”
Chapter 17
My heart drops like a stone as I turn to stare right at Fraser. A real Fraser, not a fake one. He peers at me curiously as I gape at him and then at her. Other Liv shrugs and says, “When he found out about you, he wanted to come. Besides, you wanted to see him first. And I had to come to return these.” She holds up my belongings that I lent her. “Nice digs, by the way. Didn’t have to come very far at all.”
“You live here too?” I say dumbly and she nods.
I look back at Fraser and note that Cole and CK have come to stand on either side of me, clearly not trusting me not to grab him and Astral off somewhere, never to be seen again. He is silent as I take in his appearance. He is very different from the man I remember. His face, while still devastatingly handsome, is hard with a cruel edge to it. His eyes are the same peat green, but evil lurks in them. His Hugo Boss black suit and shirt are impeccable, and he looks like a million bucks in it, but it just looks wrong. All wrong.
“You came looking for me?” he asks as I just stare at him. “I’m quite flattered.”
I have no idea what to say to him. I remain standing there like a mute and think that might be preferable. At least I would have an excuse not to be speaking. He steps closer to me and my breath hitches. I can feel Cole and CK tense up and their anxiety makes me even more anxious and I suppress the shiver that threatens to go down my spine.
He cocks his eyebrow at me and then takes in everyone else. They are all staring at him in much the same manner as I, and he smirks.
“Seems my presence here has ruffled a few feathers. I take it they know who I am?”
I force myself to speak, “You shouldn’t have come.” I turn to other me. “You shouldn’t have brought him here.”
“You came looking for him first. I thought you wanted to see him,” she says, confused.
I shake my head. “No, I changed my mind. He isn’t my Fraser,” I state the obvious to his amusement.
“I am not anybody’s Fraser,” he says with a twisted smile and I gulp. She was right, he really is mean and cruel. “Although, I might make an exception for you.” He steps even closer, so I have to tilt my head right back to look him in the eye. “My victims aren’t usually as powerful as you, but I would still have fun trying to break you.”
I reel back as his evil words resonate through my head.