Willa’s gulp drew his and Aurele’s attention. “What if…?” Willa stopped and sucked in a deep breath, expelling it slowly. “What if it wasn’t the first time I was in a leviathan’s domain?”
Chapter Thirteen
“Please God, tell me that’s a hypothetical question.”
Willa met Aurele’s pleading stare. “Uh…no.” She shifted her focus to Max, who was gaping at her like she’d just beaned him with a two-by-four. “A few days ago, a friend of mine got into a bit of a pickle.”
Max’s eyes became slitted, reminding her of a shark. Oh yeah. He was. Duh. “What kind of trouble?”
“The leviathan contracted her soul and spirited her away to purgatory.”
He grunted. “Yep. You could say that’s a hell of a pickle.”
“Anyway, I went there. To purgatory, I mean. And let me tell you, that place sucks.”
“Oh dear.” Aurele rocked back and forth, fussing with the hem of her cardigan. “This isn’t good at all.”
“What I don’t understand is how the damn ugly beast was able to call Willa by name. How would it even know who she was?”
“At the core of their DNA, they’re soul collectors. Not all leviathans take that path, but they’re born with the necessary tools for the trade. One of those tools is the ability to read the blueprints on every soul that crosses its path.”
Willa gaped at Aurele. “Our souls come with freaking blueprints?”
“In a manner of speaking. Obviously this leviathan became curious about you. Enough to scan your soul and learn your identity.” Aurele’s fidgeting increased and she gave a low, plaintive moan. “I prayed this day would never come. Little good that did.”
“Okay, so a few leviathans know about Willa. The only way they’ll get to her is over my dead body.”
Looking at Max—oh so big, bad and buff—it was easy to imagine him defending her to the death. But the idea of him actually dying for her? Nope, not something she wanted to contemplate. She’d already lost enough of her loved ones.
The realization that she equated Max with love gave her pause.
Wow, did she actually…love him? They barely knew each other, for goddess’s sake. Then again, what she did know about Max certainly was enough to touch her heart. Like Aurele said, he was a good, honorable man. He reminded her of her dad, in many ways. Or at least, what she thought she remembered about her father. Obviously her mother had found enough reason to fall in love with Daniel Jameson. Maybe she’d found the same ingredients for love lurking within Max.
And didn’t that just freaking complicate things, considering she’d probably picked the worst possible time to fall in love. Yeah, that whole watery Armageddon thing? Pretty much put the kibosh on white picket fences and baby nymph sharks.
“Earth to Willa.”
She snapped to and found Max looking at her. “Hmm?”
“I want to make sure we’re on the same page here.”
“You mean about me staying out of the leviathans’ clutches? Yeah, I’m down with that plan.”
“Good. But it means trusting me to protect you. So no more running off, comprende?”
“I didn’t run—” She broke off with a sigh. Who was she kidding? She had run off. “I promise to stay glued to your side. How’s that?”
He tugged her into his arms and kissed her forehead. “Tomorrow I’ll give Reva’s grandson a call and see if I can’t put a bug in his ear about heightening security at whatever prison Reva’s being held in. Better to be safe than sorry.”
She managed a short nod before yawning. Aurele hefted to her feet, her expression stern. “You look ready to drop dead from exhaustion. Why don’t you and Max stay here tonight? The guest bedroom is already made up.”
Willa stifled another yawn. “We can’t impose on you like that.”
“Don’t be foolish. It’s a long drive back to Savannah.” Aurele transferred her gaze to Max. “You’re staying.”
Willa rolled her eyes while Max accepted the invitation. If you could even call it that. More like an order. Still, as Aurele led her and Max down the hall, she had to admit she was glad they weren’t driving back tonight. Besides being tired, she desperately needed the warm, comforting memories that Aurele’s little bungalow provided. Real memories. Of weekend sleepovers and rowdy, cutthroat games of Monopoly that would go into the wee hours of dawn. Silly as it might be, the idea of deluding herself into believing everything was normal was too tempting to resist, even if the illusion only lasted until the harsh rays of morning brought reality crashing back.
They stepped into the guest bedroom, and Aurele scrounged in the closet for a spare blanket. “I have some extra pajamas if you need ’em.” She glanced at Max. “Sorry, nothing that’ll fit you.”
Willa pictured Max squeezed into a pair of Aurele’s granny flannels and smothered a giggle. Max took the blanket and started for the door. Willa cleared her throat. “Where are you going?”
“I thought I’d take the couch.”
“Why?”
His gaze shot in Aurele’s direction. The older woman made a grumping noise. “As if I haven’t figured out what’s going on between you two. I may be older than Moses, but I’m not blind.” Aurele stepped around Max, giving him a not-so-gentle shove toward the bed. “Fortunately, my hearing isn’t what it used to be, so go at the noisy sex all you want. Not like I’ll be any the wiser.”
Aurele shuffled from the room, closing the door behind her and leaving a very red-faced Max behind. Willa bit her lip to keep from laughing.
“She’s, uh, blunt, isn’t she?”
“You have no idea.” The mattress squeaked as she plopped onto the foot of the bed and unbuckled her sandals before kicking them off. She wiggled her toes and popped the buttons free on her blouse. All the while, she noticed Max’s unblinking scrutiny riveted to her. She shimmied free from her top. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I’m still trying to absorb the fact that you’re the heir to the throne of Atlantis.”
“I know. Pretty ridiculous, eh? I mean, honestly.” She spread her arms out wide. “I’m not exactly princess or queen material.” And truthfully, she didn’t want to be. Not if it meant dealing with a whacko, murdering duchess and a legion of leviathans.
Max joined her on the bed. “Aurele’s right, you know. Ordinary doesn’t belong in your vocabulary.” He brushed his fingertips along her cheek. His touch held wonder, but also a hint of something that felt too much like sadness. Or regret.
He dropped his hand, and it was as if an invisible wall was being erected between them. She didn’t understand it. Or like it. “Not as if it matters anyway. No one knows I’m alive. And seeing how there’s a vengeful siren who’d love to get her paws on me, I have no intention of correcting everyone’s assumption that I’m dead.”
“It’s wrong that you’re being denied your birthright. Reva should be brought to trial and properly sentenced. Then there’d be no need for you to remain in hiding.”
She could practically hear Max’s teeth grinding. “I want nothing more than for my parents’ murderer to be punished, Max. But even if she was, I don’t want anything to do with that throne.”
He gaped at her. “How can you say that? Sweetheart, it’s your legacy.”
“I don’t care. It means nothing to me. I’m perfectly content with being a witch, living my quiet, uneventful life.” She grimaced. “Okay, it used to be uneventful up until a week ago, anyway.”
Max shot to his feet and began pacing in front of her. “There’s a part of your history that Aurele left out. It may change your mind about your heritage.”