Cara chuckled as Dawn and Linnea walked out of the bedroom and closed the door. She put her arm under Sky's head and tucked her close.
Cara stood in the middle of a windowless room. A naked light bulb buzzed overhead and a man leaned against the wall in the corner. He was from the Middle East with dark skin and piercing black eyes. He was dressed in a military uniform and her heart began to pound.
"What am I going to do with you?" the man asked and she knew.
"Luc," she whispered.
He pushed off the wall and began to circle her with his hands clasped behind him. He never took his eyes from her.
"I've created more spawn than I can remember. Human lives are so fleeting and I am forever."
She turned with him, not wanting him behind her back. Like the last time she saw him, Luc wasn't mocking or amused. His voice was filled with malice and intent. This was it.
"I was so proud of creating you, my new specimen. The other spawn were fragile, but they were children that walked in my footsteps. I taught them to play it safe since having their faces on the most wanted lists would hinder my plans. But, in the end, they all perished."
"What do you want, Luc?" Cara asked quietly.
For several seconds, he didn't speak. He strode in measured steps around her, laced boots clicking on the cement floor. The sound grated on her nerves and she knew it was a tactic to put her on edge. It was working.
"I never believed the Ancients would take you in," Luc said finally.
"What?"
"Khan is as feared as myself, though he likes to think he's doing the right thing," Luc said with a disgusted flick of one hand. "But he's killed more than myself in his mission to do
good works
."
Cara rotated with Luc. The light bulb flickered and then blazed to life once more, hissing ominously.
"I tried to save you that night on the cliffs," Luc said.
Cara couldn't hold back a derisive snort. "Keeping me alive while you torture me to death isn't saving me."
"Always so willing to die when you could have the world bow down to you. I miscalculated Dawn's influence on you. I should have killed her once she gave birth to you."
She knew he was trying to rile her. She kept a lid on her fear. She reminded herself that Luc couldn't touch them. They were in the castle and no one could penetrate the fortress.
"Ancients aren't known for their mercy. Aodhan knew what to do to make you feel something for him. Save your sister and you'd lay your life down for him, give him anything he wished." Luc curled his lip at her. "Trust you to feel
love
for a
beast
and set him free. One of Morgana's most ingenious spells, ruined."
So, it was true. Luc had known all along what would free Aodhan. She couldn't stop the faint quirk of her lips. Even Luc knew she was capable of loving Aodhan because she'd always seen beneath the surface. That's why Luc tried to take her out of the caves. Luc didn't want them to spend time together, especially after she extracted the demon out of Aodhan.
"You think this is funny?" Luc asked and came to a stop.
His utter stillness made the faint smile fade from her lips.
"No," she said.
"I've made a decision."
She didn't ask what that was.
"I should have killed you in Egypt," Luc said.
She didn't protest, beg or flinch. She just waited.
"At first, I thought your rebellion was amusing, cute even." He took a step towards her. "And now I have to pay for my leniency."
Cara backed up and her fingers twitched at her sides. There was no weapon and no escape. Red eyes tracked her every move.
"I've thought about the options the Ancients have with you and I keep coming back to one that is unacceptable," Luc said and lunged.
He moved quickly, wrapping his hand around her throat and pinning her against the wall. He held her up so they were face-to-face and leaned in so his lips brushed against hers as he spoke.
"The Immortal Bond," Luc hissed.
She couldn't stop the widening of her eyes and his face darkened with incandescent rage. He drew her away from the wall and slammed her into it again. This time bits of plaster fell around her as the wall gave way.
"You. Are. Mine."
"No," she croaked.
His hand around her throat spasmed and her legs kicked helplessly before he loosened his hold.
"I created you for myself, not for an Ancient to fuck and cuddle for eternity. Did you think I'd
allow
that to happen?" Luc shouted.
"You can't stop it," Cara whispered and used his wrist for leverage so she could breathe.
Luc cocked his head to the side. "You believe you can escape me, Cara?"
She couldn't answer since she was too busy gasping for air. Luc leaned forward, buried his face in her hair and groaned.
"You remember that year we had together, Cara? You were the best puppet I've ever had, the youngest too. Did you tell Aodhan how many men have sampled you? Does he know the rivers of blood you've created?"
Tears dripped down her face and Luc kissed them away tenderly.
"Aodhan can't have you. I won't allow it." He ran a hand down her cheek and whispered, "Daddy doesn't approve."
She raised her fist, but without looking Luc grabbed it and crushed the bones in her hand. She screamed and he chuckled and nibbled on her ear.
"You never cease to amaze me, Cara."
"Get this over with," she said through clenched teeth.
"I will, but let's have some fun first, shall we?"
Cara opened her eyes. She stood on the ledge of the bedroom window. Moonlight glinted off the lake and mountains and she knew this wasn't a dream. A slight breeze drifted over her and something brushed against her chest. She looked down and saw Sky cradled in her arms over the edge of the castle. She tried to step back into the room, but her legs wouldn't obey.
Needles of terror jabbed into her skin and she felt Luc unfurl within her. She tightened her hold on the sleeping Sky who murmured in her sleep and cuddled against her. Cara's arms began to tremble and she shook her head.
Please, please don't do this
, Cara begged.
Luc didn't respond. His resolve was ice cold. His power consumed her absolutely and no matter how hard she fought, he smothered her as easily as he had when she was eight years old. She realized in a blind flash of clarity that in the caves Luc
allowed
her to fight for possession of the knife. Luc intended to stab her all along. Luc knew where Aodhan was most vulnerable and had known he would lift his scales to heal her. Luc hadn't exerted all of his power over her until now and she realized how foolish she'd been.
Luc forced her to move Sky away from her body and she did it while internally screaming and for the first time, begging. Despite her inner hysteria, Cara's arms were rock steady. Her eyes were clear and focused on Sky's angelic sleeping face.
Release her
, Luc ordered.
Cara's arms obediently tipped Sky into nothingness. Her little body hurtled down into the depths of the night. Cara waited to hear her scream, but there was only silence. Cara tried to leap out of the window after Sky, but Luc wasn't finished. He forced her to turn, walk back into the bedroom and out into the hallway. Cara was numb with horror as Luc marched her through passageways and down the staircase. She didn't realize what was happening until she stood over her mother's bed, looking down at her face in the faint moonlight.
I'll do anything
, Cara pleaded.
She watched her hands reach out and clamp around her mother's throat. Dawn's eyes flew open and bulged as she stared up at Cara. Luc exerted pressure while Cara tried to savage him, all to no avail. She was no match for him. Cara could hear wheezing and desperate sounds coming from her mother's throat as she thrashed beneath her.
A flash of silver caught her and Luc's attention a moment before pain rippled up their side. Luc didn't release his hold around Dawn's throat and Cara silently begged Dawn to do whatever it took. Dawn understood this. She lurched up and slid the blade into Cara's chest. Cara's hands loosened as pain took over. She staggered back and fell to her knees. Dawn reached into the nightstand and pulled out a gun. She slid out of bed and stood over Cara, coughing.
"Cara, is he still there?" Dawn bit out in a strained voice.
Cara tried to nod, but Luc wouldn't let her. She just stared up at her mother, knowing Luc was crouching deep inside her, waiting to lunge. Blood gushed from her chest and she prayed for death.
"Cara."
Power filled the room and Luc cursed. He forced Cara to her feet and she moved sideways so she could face Aodhan and her mother. He backed her towards the open window and she went willingly. As long as she wasn't hurting anyone else...
"Cara, come to me," Aodhan said.
Luc snarled inside of her and said, "She's mine."
Aodhan couldn't exorcise Luc without killing her. She felt her foot rise as she stepped up on the window ledge. Dawn dropped the gun and rushed forward. Cara tried to tell her about Sky, but Luc wouldn't let her speak. He was suffocating her, replaying the image of Sky falling over and over in her mind and her screams of anguish echoed back at her.
"Cara, I won't let him have you," Aodhan said quietly.
She was too deep in nightmares to process what he was saying. Something flew in from the open window behind her. Arms grabbed her from behind. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was engulfed in agony like she'd never felt before. There was the horrible smell of burning flesh and then everything went electric blue.
Chapter Eighteen
The first thing Cara saw when she opened her eyes was Aodhan's face. She stared at him for a long moment before she remembered why her soul felt so heavy.
"Sky," she whispered and the tears came.
"She's alive."
She sat up and Aodhan wrapped his arm around her.
"Vanity saw you standing in the window. She caught Sky before she hit the ground. Sky's fine and doesn't remember anything. She slept right through it," Aodhan said.
She stared at him. "You wouldn't lie to me, right?"
"No. Dawn's fine. Once Vanity had Sky, she warned me. I got there in time."
Cara shoved away from Aodhan and got to her feet, trembling. Her family was alive.
"Do the Immortal Bond," she ordered.
He eyed her. "You want to be bonded to me for eternity?"
She gave an abrupt nod. "I love you and I want to live. You," she sucked in deep breath and put a hand over her aching heart, "you love me too. You shouldn't, but you do. You won't let me die and I wouldn't let you die. We're stuck with each other."
"You realize it's more than a band aid on your soul. It's beyond intimate."
"I feel like you're a part of me already," she said and felt her heart clench as if someone was using it for a stress ball. She braced her hands on knees to catch her breath. "I've never had anything close to normal in my life aside from Dawn and Sky and their love for me puts them at risk. I can't do it anymore. Whatever it takes to keep them safe and for me to keep you, I'll do it."
She didn't look up and therefore didn't see the broad smile on his face.
"If you can accept me for being half demon, I guess somewhere along the road, I'll learn to accept myself. I did horrible things in the past and I've tried to make up for them."
Cara brushed a hand over her side and chest where Dawn stabbed her. Damn, she was proud of her mom. She couldn't wait to hug her and Sky, but she had to get this out first. Luc showed her that she had no shields from him and she wouldn't see another soul until she was rid of him.
"You know, the night the curse broke and we stood on the cliffs, all I could think was I wanted to go back to the caves." She looked up and met his eyes, which were wary and puzzled. "I felt like an idiot because I wanted things to be simple. Up here, for me,
not
simple. I thought our bargain was up and I knew Luc wouldn't allow me to walk free."
She took him in. Brilliant turquoise eyes, the warrior stance and the power that filled the air would send any sane woman running in the opposite direction, but not her. She hadn't run from him as a dragon and she wouldn't run from him as a man. Her hands tingled with the need to touch him, but she had this overwhelming need to blurt out everything before he bonded himself to her.
"I never thought I'd live past my teens, but time passed and Luc allowed me to walk free. I took advantage of it and every day my only thought was to rid the world of one demon and then another. I never allowed myself to think of anything else because I knew one day, Luc would come for me."
She rubbed sweaty palms against the pajama pants she wore. Aodhan didn't move or say a thing. He was listening to every word and he hadn't moved towards the door, which was a good sign.
"You're talking about eternity when I can barely think of next week, but I don't care anymore. If I don't do this, Luc will keep using me as a plaything and I can't. I won't allow him to possess me again. Ever. Either I die or we do the Immortal Bond. I love my family, you and Linnea and maybe even Khan and if this bond works and I can have it, I want it. I want you."