[u]Part 37[/u]
Max closed his eyes in disbelief as the portal closed behind his mother and Nasedo, foiling his plan to deal with the evil shapeshifter once again.
How? How did something always happen at the last minute to save him? What lucky star was Nasedo - or Tarsus or River Dog or Laren or whatever the hell he was calling himself this week - living under that he always managed to be reprieved right before he met his just desserts? It just wasn't fair!
"Max?"
He forced himself to smile weakly at Liz, opening his arms and sighing when she melted against him. He lowered his head, burying his face in her silky hair and breathing deeply, his heart starting to pound with something approaching relief.
At least Liz was safe. At least there was that. And, in the end, it was really all that mattered.
"We were so close Liz. So close." He couldn't help it. He felt like crying. It was just so damn frustrating!
"I'm sorry Max. I'm so sorry." Liz stroked his back soothingly. "But you had to let him go. You couldn't kill your own mother."
Max briefly wondered why not. After all, hadn't she proved to be the biggest betrayer of all? She had cheated on his father with Nasedo and had birthed Ren. All of her actions since had been designed to somehow see her love child on [I]his[/I] throne. And Max doubted that Ren was even aware of any of it. Why couldn't Max just have killed her and been done with it? Because, in the end, didn't she deserve it as much as Nasedo did?
"Because you're not like that," Liz whispered. He stiffened, instantly embarrassed that she had so easily picked up on his shameful thoughts. But Liz pulled back, looked him straight in the eye and said firmly, "You don't ever have to be ashamed of anything with me Max. Nothing you ever think could make me love you any less. You are a hero. Don't ever forget that." She had tears in her eyes now too. "[I]My[/I] hero." She brought her hands up and wound them through his hair, pulling his face close to hers. Any thoughts Max was still contemplating about Nasedo instantly flew from his mind as all he became aware of was the fact that Liz was in his arms and was staring at him in a way that was making his blood boil.
"Thank God you're safe. Thank you God," he murmured, just before their lips crashed together in a kiss so fierce, his knees weakened.
The connection that sprang to life between them instantly only intensified the moment. He could [I]hear[/I] his name winding its way through her brain. [I]Max. Max. Max![/I] It was her only coherent thought. Her love for him was enough to reinvigorate him.
This wasn't over. They would still win in the end. Together they could do anything.
After what seemed like far too little time, Max became aware of someone clearing their throat behind him. He managed to stop kissing Liz long enough to turn his head slightly. He reddened when he realized that a dozen Dernians were staring at them, their faces perfectly expressionless, as usual.
"Excuse us your highness," Jaxon said, having been the one who had been assigned the uncomfortable task of interrupting them. "But we really must return to the Citadel."
"Of course," Max replied. Liz's face was presently buried against his chest. He could feel her embarrassment running through his own veins. [I]It's okay,[/I] he told her cheerfully through their mental connection. [I]They already think I'm half crazy. This will only reinforce it.[/I]
Liz snorted slightly, still not looking up. He could feel her giggling against him. [I]What's so funny?[/I]
[I]You're worried about them thinking we're crazy?[/I] Liz demanded. [I]They're the ones who've been cleansed![/I]
Max cleared his throat, gave her a stern look. [I]Liz, this is serious![/I]
[I]I know, but c'mon! It's funny![/I]
He could feel his lips starting to quirk. [I]Liz![/I]
[I]I am so sorry your highness.[/I] She straightened her face, but then smiled winningly when he glared at her, trying desperately not to start laughing. That would [I]really[/I] upset the Dernians. After all, they had technically lost here.
But Liz's giddiness at their reunion was contagious. When Max caught the perplexed look on Jaxon's face, it nearly sent him over the edge. He pressed his lips together and forced himself to focus on the shapeshifter.
He couldn't resist one parting shot though. [I]Wait until I get you alone.[/I]
[I]I can hardly wait[/I].
Bloody hell. Why did she always get the last word? And why was it always guaranteed to make him want to ravish her instantly?
When he looked at her, she was still smiling innocently. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him. She moved towards Jaxon, her hand extended. "Hi! I'm Liz."
Jaxon stared at her blankly. Max barely managed to keep a straight face when the young shapeshifter fell to his knees in front of Liz, making her jump. "I am honoured your highness."
Liz looked over her shoulder at Max. [I]I thought you said he'd been cleansed! He seems a little chipper.[/I]
[I]They obsess, remember? Apparently he's obsessed with me! Since he knows how much I care about you, it's rubbing off.[/I]
Liz's eyes glinted evilly. [I]Well, that makes two of us obsessed with you then.[/I]
Max swallowed, hard. "We better get back," he managed to croak, visions of what he was going to do to Liz when they [I]got[/I] back, making his mood lighten even more.
So Nasedo and his mother were gone. They were on Earth now - Max's turf. He still didn't know where Milena had come from or why she had done what she had, but, in the end, taking the fight back to Earth might be the best thing after all. At least this way Isabel and Michael could help he and Tess. Because, the more time Max spent on Illyria, the longer he stayed here, the more his memories of his first life were coming back, reminding him that not only was he strong because of his bond with Liz, he was also strong because he had friends he could depend on. The Four Square had been designed as a fighting instrument after all. Why they had never used it that way, Max couldn't quite figure out.
As Max helped Liz into the transport that was driven by the Illyrian Guard, he reflected further on the memories he had managed to recover. They had come back in a steady stream since he and Liz had made love, as though that final bonding had healed his soul in a way that opened him to them.
"What are you thinking about?" Liz asked, picking up his hand and tracing the veins on the back of it, sending shivers running through his body.
"I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you," Max admitted, lifting their joined hands to his lips so that he could kiss her palm. "You've given me my life back Liz."
Liz turned to meet his eyes, curious. "How did you know that combining the two portals would destroy whoever used them?" She asked. Because, it was what he had hoped to accomplish by having Liz open the second portal at the same time that Nasedo had been accessing the first. "And how did you know that I could do it?"
"I remember," Max said quietly, wondering what Liz would make of this fact. "I was absolutely obsessed with opening that portal in my first life. All I did was research it because all I wanted was to get to Earth and I remember it all. I knew everything there was to know about it, but I could never get it to work. Not until I found a reason to [I]make[/I] it work." He smiled at her, leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "You. Finding you was the reason I wanted to go to Earth, but until I [I]found[/I] you, it was impossible for me to use my gifts to get there."
Liz frowned. "I don't understand."
"You could open the portal because of our bond Liz," Max explained. "It's why a royal blessing is required to make it official. If either Iz or I bond with someone, the person we do it with gains the power to hold the fate of two worlds in their hands. It's a dangerous thing. But there's another reason why the bonding is so closely linked to the portal. I don't think I would have been able to open it if I didn't love you first. Because I wouldn't use it for evil - not with you at stake. Loving someone makes us better, makes us think of someone else before ourselves. Really, the only reason I can open the portal at all is because of you. And the royal blessing on the bond is the guarantee that the person who is being bonded to either the Blue Prince or the White Lady is worthy of the gift as well."
Liz shook her head. "Then how can Nasedo open it? Because he's certainly not worthy and I'm sure from my grandmother's journal that your father never gave his blessing for their bond."
"The blessing is a formality I think," Max shrugged. "Your grandmother [I]chose[/I] Laren. It was enough to give him the gift. It was why she was able to come to Earth in the first place - because she loved him. The bad side of the bond is that the person the royal chooses to bond with doesn't [I]have[/I] to be worthy to use the power." He felt a flash of anger. "Which Nasedo certainly isn't. And then, in the end, he betrayed my father and harnessed the gift unnaturally anyway."
"Max, you do know what this means?" Liz said, shaking her head. "Your mother has the power to open the portal too. Because of your father. He loved her, even if she didn't love him."
"I know it," Max replied grimly. "She could have come for Izzy and I at any time. It only shows how determined she was to place Ren on the throne. She didn't [I]want[/I] us back." [I]Or at least not me.[/I] He wondered why it could even still hurt. He didn't care about Milena. Why should he? He barely knew her and Diane Evans had always been all the mother he would ever need.
But now that he remembered her the first time around.He remembered the laughing and loving mother she had been when he had lived before. And, in spite of it all, she had made sure that he was reborn, had not wanted him dead.
"Ren?" Liz asked, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Why?"
Max started. "Oh right, I forgot you don't even know about that." He sighed. "We have a lot of catching up to do Liz. Good thing I'm going to make sure you don't leave my sight for the next two hundred years."
Liz smiled. "That sounds nice. But don't change the subject. Why does your mother want [I]Ren[/I] on the throne?"
"Because he's my brother," Max explained. Liz's eyes widened in shock. He held up his hand when she opened her mouth for more questions. "Hold on. That communicator orb up there is blinking."
Max hit the spot on the seat that allowed the barrier between he and the driver to lower. "What is it?"
"It is General Hamor," Jaxon, seated in the passenger seat, replied. "He's calling to get approval for a judgment in the Ring."
Max stiffened instinctively. "A judgment? Of who?"
Jaxon's gaze shifted briefly to Liz before he responded, "Of your wife. Queen Sabrya has been caught committing adultery with her bodyguard."
Max felt his mouth fall open. Well, the only good bit of news in this was that apparently Kyle and Tess had managed to work out their differences. But the rest of it.it was bad. [I]Very[/I] bad.
It made Max's decision about what to do that much easier. Because, in the end, none of them belonged on Illyria. They did not fit in anymore and they never would. And the best part was that he didn't even want to.
"Tell him that permission is denied," Max said vehemently. "But tell him to take Kyle and Tess to the Ring anyway." He felt his heart start to beat more quickly. Everything was finally falling into place. He looked at Liz, who was sitting up straight, her eyes wide with concern for their friends. He wanted to see her face when he told her the one thing he knew she wanted more than anything.
"It's time to go home."
To be continued.
Max closed his eyes in disbelief as the portal closed behind his mother and Nasedo, foiling his plan to deal with the evil shapeshifter once again.
How? How did something always happen at the last minute to save him? What lucky star was Nasedo - or Tarsus or River Dog or Laren or whatever the hell he was calling himself this week - living under that he always managed to be reprieved right before he met his just desserts? It just wasn't fair!
"Max?"
He forced himself to smile weakly at Liz, opening his arms and sighing when she melted against him. He lowered his head, burying his face in her silky hair and breathing deeply, his heart starting to pound with something approaching relief.
At least Liz was safe. At least there was that. And, in the end, it was really all that mattered.
"We were so close Liz. So close." He couldn't help it. He felt like crying. It was just so damn frustrating!
"I'm sorry Max. I'm so sorry." Liz stroked his back soothingly. "But you had to let him go. You couldn't kill your own mother."
Max briefly wondered why not. After all, hadn't she proved to be the biggest betrayer of all? She had cheated on his father with Nasedo and had birthed Ren. All of her actions since had been designed to somehow see her love child on [I]his[/I] throne. And Max doubted that Ren was even aware of any of it. Why couldn't Max just have killed her and been done with it? Because, in the end, didn't she deserve it as much as Nasedo did?
"Because you're not like that," Liz whispered. He stiffened, instantly embarrassed that she had so easily picked up on his shameful thoughts. But Liz pulled back, looked him straight in the eye and said firmly, "You don't ever have to be ashamed of anything with me Max. Nothing you ever think could make me love you any less. You are a hero. Don't ever forget that." She had tears in her eyes now too. "[I]My[/I] hero." She brought her hands up and wound them through his hair, pulling his face close to hers. Any thoughts Max was still contemplating about Nasedo instantly flew from his mind as all he became aware of was the fact that Liz was in his arms and was staring at him in a way that was making his blood boil.
"Thank God you're safe. Thank you God," he murmured, just before their lips crashed together in a kiss so fierce, his knees weakened.
The connection that sprang to life between them instantly only intensified the moment. He could [I]hear[/I] his name winding its way through her brain. [I]Max. Max. Max![/I] It was her only coherent thought. Her love for him was enough to reinvigorate him.
This wasn't over. They would still win in the end. Together they could do anything.
After what seemed like far too little time, Max became aware of someone clearing their throat behind him. He managed to stop kissing Liz long enough to turn his head slightly. He reddened when he realized that a dozen Dernians were staring at them, their faces perfectly expressionless, as usual.
"Excuse us your highness," Jaxon said, having been the one who had been assigned the uncomfortable task of interrupting them. "But we really must return to the Citadel."
"Of course," Max replied. Liz's face was presently buried against his chest. He could feel her embarrassment running through his own veins. [I]It's okay,[/I] he told her cheerfully through their mental connection. [I]They already think I'm half crazy. This will only reinforce it.[/I]
Liz snorted slightly, still not looking up. He could feel her giggling against him. [I]What's so funny?[/I]
[I]You're worried about them thinking we're crazy?[/I] Liz demanded. [I]They're the ones who've been cleansed![/I]
Max cleared his throat, gave her a stern look. [I]Liz, this is serious![/I]
[I]I know, but c'mon! It's funny![/I]
He could feel his lips starting to quirk. [I]Liz![/I]
[I]I am so sorry your highness.[/I] She straightened her face, but then smiled winningly when he glared at her, trying desperately not to start laughing. That would [I]really[/I] upset the Dernians. After all, they had technically lost here.
But Liz's giddiness at their reunion was contagious. When Max caught the perplexed look on Jaxon's face, it nearly sent him over the edge. He pressed his lips together and forced himself to focus on the shapeshifter.
He couldn't resist one parting shot though. [I]Wait until I get you alone.[/I]
[I]I can hardly wait[/I].
Bloody hell. Why did she always get the last word? And why was it always guaranteed to make him want to ravish her instantly?
When he looked at her, she was still smiling innocently. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him. She moved towards Jaxon, her hand extended. "Hi! I'm Liz."
Jaxon stared at her blankly. Max barely managed to keep a straight face when the young shapeshifter fell to his knees in front of Liz, making her jump. "I am honoured your highness."
Liz looked over her shoulder at Max. [I]I thought you said he'd been cleansed! He seems a little chipper.[/I]
[I]They obsess, remember? Apparently he's obsessed with me! Since he knows how much I care about you, it's rubbing off.[/I]
Liz's eyes glinted evilly. [I]Well, that makes two of us obsessed with you then.[/I]
Max swallowed, hard. "We better get back," he managed to croak, visions of what he was going to do to Liz when they [I]got[/I] back, making his mood lighten even more.
So Nasedo and his mother were gone. They were on Earth now - Max's turf. He still didn't know where Milena had come from or why she had done what she had, but, in the end, taking the fight back to Earth might be the best thing after all. At least this way Isabel and Michael could help he and Tess. Because, the more time Max spent on Illyria, the longer he stayed here, the more his memories of his first life were coming back, reminding him that not only was he strong because of his bond with Liz, he was also strong because he had friends he could depend on. The Four Square had been designed as a fighting instrument after all. Why they had never used it that way, Max couldn't quite figure out.
As Max helped Liz into the transport that was driven by the Illyrian Guard, he reflected further on the memories he had managed to recover. They had come back in a steady stream since he and Liz had made love, as though that final bonding had healed his soul in a way that opened him to them.
"What are you thinking about?" Liz asked, picking up his hand and tracing the veins on the back of it, sending shivers running through his body.
"I was thinking about how lucky I am to have you," Max admitted, lifting their joined hands to his lips so that he could kiss her palm. "You've given me my life back Liz."
Liz turned to meet his eyes, curious. "How did you know that combining the two portals would destroy whoever used them?" She asked. Because, it was what he had hoped to accomplish by having Liz open the second portal at the same time that Nasedo had been accessing the first. "And how did you know that I could do it?"
"I remember," Max said quietly, wondering what Liz would make of this fact. "I was absolutely obsessed with opening that portal in my first life. All I did was research it because all I wanted was to get to Earth and I remember it all. I knew everything there was to know about it, but I could never get it to work. Not until I found a reason to [I]make[/I] it work." He smiled at her, leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. "You. Finding you was the reason I wanted to go to Earth, but until I [I]found[/I] you, it was impossible for me to use my gifts to get there."
Liz frowned. "I don't understand."
"You could open the portal because of our bond Liz," Max explained. "It's why a royal blessing is required to make it official. If either Iz or I bond with someone, the person we do it with gains the power to hold the fate of two worlds in their hands. It's a dangerous thing. But there's another reason why the bonding is so closely linked to the portal. I don't think I would have been able to open it if I didn't love you first. Because I wouldn't use it for evil - not with you at stake. Loving someone makes us better, makes us think of someone else before ourselves. Really, the only reason I can open the portal at all is because of you. And the royal blessing on the bond is the guarantee that the person who is being bonded to either the Blue Prince or the White Lady is worthy of the gift as well."
Liz shook her head. "Then how can Nasedo open it? Because he's certainly not worthy and I'm sure from my grandmother's journal that your father never gave his blessing for their bond."
"The blessing is a formality I think," Max shrugged. "Your grandmother [I]chose[/I] Laren. It was enough to give him the gift. It was why she was able to come to Earth in the first place - because she loved him. The bad side of the bond is that the person the royal chooses to bond with doesn't [I]have[/I] to be worthy to use the power." He felt a flash of anger. "Which Nasedo certainly isn't. And then, in the end, he betrayed my father and harnessed the gift unnaturally anyway."
"Max, you do know what this means?" Liz said, shaking her head. "Your mother has the power to open the portal too. Because of your father. He loved her, even if she didn't love him."
"I know it," Max replied grimly. "She could have come for Izzy and I at any time. It only shows how determined she was to place Ren on the throne. She didn't [I]want[/I] us back." [I]Or at least not me.[/I] He wondered why it could even still hurt. He didn't care about Milena. Why should he? He barely knew her and Diane Evans had always been all the mother he would ever need.
But now that he remembered her the first time around.He remembered the laughing and loving mother she had been when he had lived before. And, in spite of it all, she had made sure that he was reborn, had not wanted him dead.
"Ren?" Liz asked, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Why?"
Max started. "Oh right, I forgot you don't even know about that." He sighed. "We have a lot of catching up to do Liz. Good thing I'm going to make sure you don't leave my sight for the next two hundred years."
Liz smiled. "That sounds nice. But don't change the subject. Why does your mother want [I]Ren[/I] on the throne?"
"Because he's my brother," Max explained. Liz's eyes widened in shock. He held up his hand when she opened her mouth for more questions. "Hold on. That communicator orb up there is blinking."
Max hit the spot on the seat that allowed the barrier between he and the driver to lower. "What is it?"
"It is General Hamor," Jaxon, seated in the passenger seat, replied. "He's calling to get approval for a judgment in the Ring."
Max stiffened instinctively. "A judgment? Of who?"
Jaxon's gaze shifted briefly to Liz before he responded, "Of your wife. Queen Sabrya has been caught committing adultery with her bodyguard."
Max felt his mouth fall open. Well, the only good bit of news in this was that apparently Kyle and Tess had managed to work out their differences. But the rest of it.it was bad. [I]Very[/I] bad.
It made Max's decision about what to do that much easier. Because, in the end, none of them belonged on Illyria. They did not fit in anymore and they never would. And the best part was that he didn't even want to.
"Tell him that permission is denied," Max said vehemently. "But tell him to take Kyle and Tess to the Ring anyway." He felt his heart start to beat more quickly. Everything was finally falling into place. He looked at Liz, who was sitting up straight, her eyes wide with concern for their friends. He wanted to see her face when he told her the one thing he knew she wanted more than anything.
"It's time to go home."
To be continued.
