Authors: Cindy Paterson
“If you had any sense, you would’ve pulled that knife from your back pocket and killed that guy. Stupid,” he said.
“I . . . I . . . Balen. Where is—”
“Shut
up so I can think.”
“Balen. We cannot be separated. We are—”
“Bonded, I know.” His broad shoulders took up the entire cave.
Danielle
felt her face go cold, if that was possible with the panic that was already consuming her. This guy was a complete dick-wad. Talk about rude and inconsiderate—shit, he had threatened to kill her. Yeah, and Hannah had claimed he could cook—what? Humans?
The candlelight flickered and she saw a scar that ran across his face, long and jagged from his brow down to the lobe of his right ear. His eyes flashed a look of
humor at her perusal of his disfigurement.
“A gift from an old friend,” he said
, then off-handedly announced, “He’s dead.” His long, lean legs moved with precision as he walked to the tunnel that led to the open sky, the fresh air. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
He was leaving? Relief and panic played tug-of-war with her insides. Conflicting emotions drilled at her head. Balen. Where was he? The walls were closing in, the light fading as her vision hazed. Her hands grabbed at the ground, but they were trapped, shackled to her side. She couldn’t move. Oh god, the table. The chains tying her down. The smell, dampness and cold seeping into her bones.
Something gripped her shoulders and gave a violent shake. Hands. They were hands like shackles, strong, unrelenting with a voice leaking into her mind. Was it him? Ryszard? Was he here?
“Fuck,” Kilter s
aid. “Bloody hell, woman, open your eyes and look at me.”
No, the voice was different, deeper, rough like sandpaper. Ryszard was soft and luring. She refocused and saw the scar. The scar—she recognized it, Kilter. The guy Hannah had told her about.
She pushed his hands off her shoulders and he allowed it. She used the wall to support her legs as she climbed to her feet. “I have to get out of here.”
“You will remain until the fight is over,” Kilter said.
“Fight?”
“I never repeat myself,” Kilter said.
But who . . . the Wraiths had found them.
They will take Balen and . . .
“No, it’s not the Wraiths. Others. We have been observing this group for months.” Kilter
ran his finger down his scar. “They seek to capture us.” He shrugged. “The usual.”
He was reading her thoughts. She felt him lurking like a heavy weight dragging across her mind. “Stop it,” Danielle said
, putting her hands to her head.
He scowled. “I will read your thoughts if I choose.”
“But Balen said—”
He interrupted, “Do I look like I care what anyone says?”
No, he looked like he didn’t care about anything or anyone.
“You’re right about that. I don’t give a shit about you.” He shrugged. “But I will protect the warriors
, and if that means protecting you then so be it. But don’t think that I won’t kill you if it risks the lives of the others. I would hand you over to them on a silver platter if any of mine are taken.”
Footsteps came charging down the tunnel. Danielle stiffened
, ready for more of the balaclava guys with the needles when two normal men—well,
normal
meaning average-looking, lean and strong—came around the last corner and then stopped. One had blond hair, short, curling at the tips, eyes a pale green. The other was taller and the complete opposite, dark and with spiked hair and tattoos all over the backs of his hands. He was first to step forward.
He frowned at Kilter. “Back of
f, buddy. You’re scaring the crap out of her.” He walked over and extended his hand. “Sandor and that is Derek. Balen is well. He apologizes for telling Kilter to get you out of there, but Kilter was closer to you. Our apologizes for the inconvenience.” He hesitated and then added, “And for Kilter’s lack of etiquette.”
Kilter shrugged and then shoved passed Derek and left down the dark tunnel.
“Is he always like that?”
Sandor smiled and his features were kind and welcoming. “You mean an asshole?” He swept his hand outward for her to walk ahead of him. “Yes. It takes a few hundred years before you get used to him.”
As soon as she walked through the door and the wind hit her skin, she felt the anxiety release like a balloon being set free. She sucked air into her lungs and her heart began to seek rhythm again.
She couldn’t keep her feet from running even if she wanted to. She took off for the house, pushed open the door and headed straight for the guest bedroom. She slammed right into Balen’s chest and they both went crashing to the floor.
“Little one,” Balen said, taking hold of her chin and staring up into his eyes. “Are you . . .”
Danielle lowered
his head and kissed him. She felt his mouth instantly give under her forceful kiss and she heard his chest rumble and then laughter. She raised her head and looked at him. The brilliant green eyes filled with mirth, his white teeth flashing. God, he made her insides swarm with butterflies.
“Greet me like that every
day of our lives, and I will be forever eternally grateful,” Balen said. He tweaked her chin with his thumb and then kissed her temple.
“I thought . . . I mean
, Kilter took me . . . I was sacred out of my mind. I . . . Balen, I can’t—” She paused. What did she want? They were running for their lives away from some spirits. They were Bonded together, so if she left him she’d die, and they’d just been attacked by guys with needles.
He ran his finger down the side of her face. “We will get through this, little one. You are the strongest woman
I’ve ever known, human or Senses. What you’ve survived, what you’ve accepted. God, you give me strength.”
Okay, this man was too good for her. She scuttled off him and then offered her hand. He took
it, and she urged him to the bed. Before she could undress and join him, he pulled her down beside him and wrapped his arms around her, his face nestled in her neck. “We leave soon. Let us get some sleep.”
Her back to his chest
, she relaxed and felt the tug of his words pull at her mind. She didn’t know if it was sheer exhaustion, or if he put some spell on her, but within seconds, she was asleep.
Edan’s tongue slid across the nape of her neck
, and his hand curled in her chaos of jagged strands. He grunted as she tried to shuffle out from under him. “I want to take you again,” he said, amusement in his eyes.
Delara smiled. The chemistry between them was real; it hit the instant they met six months ago, an attraction that neither were apt to deny themselves. She did it to try to ease the loneliness, that black hole that sat in the middle of her chest sucking in a piece of her soul. Edan did it because sh
e was what he never had before—a Senses. Neither expected it to continue for so long.
The passion had dwindled somewhat, for her anyway, yet leaving the realm and the safety it exuded—well
, it was easier to stay protected under Edan’s wing in his imaginary world.
Besides, she was needed here in the realm to gather information. Edan was forthright in sharing what the Wraiths were gossiping about. Why shouldn’t he be, she had been living with him and he trusted her.
When she heard about Genevieve’s Bonding spell, the anger that surfaced was difficult to keep concealed. A Senses was a warrior, not someone whose emotions could be played with. What she’d done was cruel and thoughtless. To top it off, Balen had been through hell already, he didn’t need some Elemental Wraith fooling with his life. But it was too late. The spell had been cast and Balen and Danielle were Bonded.
Genevieve refused to break the Bonding spell even though Balen was sentenced to Rest. Delara had tried to talk Genevieve into convincing the council
to allow an appeal, but the Wraith was giddy about her new plan and nothing would sway her to reconsider.
So now she was caught up
knee-deep in Genevieve’s plan with no way out except to help when needed in order to ensure that Danielle lived. At first, she had thought it would be simple, keep the secret until she was asked to go to Waleron and warn him not to send Balen to Rest. That tested her nerve and had her shaking for hours afterward. She had even hid from Edan when she came back until she had gathered her wits about her again.
Of course, all hell
had broken loose. The Wraiths discovered Waleron had ignored Balen’s sentencing, and the warriors she had grown to trust and respect were in danger. Defying a sentence was unheard of. What was Genevieve thinking? The Wraith had caused a war with her meddling and she was caught in the middle of it. An appeal would’ve been heard if Waleron had asked for it. Why had the Wraith of Water risked her own well-being for a stupid Bonding spell?
Edan wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her spine up against his chest. His breath grazed across her naked flesh
, and his finger slid over her intricate tattoo on her right shoulder.
Edan had been a surprise
, considering he was an impatient and unpredictable Wraith, yet from the moment he found her teetering on the brink of . . . well, whatever it was, he’d treated her with sensitivity. Slow and serene, soft words of love and sweetness. Everything against his nature. Okay, he had his moments when he lost his temper with the other Wraiths, and he had this thing with rough sex. She still wasn’t into it, and most of the time he’d forgo his pleasure for hers, but it bothered her because she disliked the tying up or threesomes. The latter was an absolute no way and she’d made that perfectly clear.
She wanted to ask him why he was different with her, but instead she decided to accept the ease of the relationship. She
’d learned from past mistakes that the less she knew about him the better. Especially now.
“I must rise,” he said
, stroking her hair back from her face. “I’ve been elected to go after Balen.”
Delara closed her eyes
, leaning back on the plush silk pillow. This sucked.
He leaned over and kissed her mouth. “I know this displeases you. And we never talk about it, but it is between us. I have felt you withdraw
since the day he returned.” He ran his finger across her swollen lips. “I sit on council, my sweet. I must do as I see fit, and Balen must be held accountable for his actions.” He groaned when she said nothing. “I will try to get his sentence lessened. Would that satisfy you?”
Guilt sat uneasy like a pound of lard in the pit of her stomach. But now . . . because she asked it of him . . . he would help Balen. “Edan
, I . . .” How did she tell him that she appreciated what he did for her, but that she didn’t love him? No, that was impossible. She would never love again.
It had been so long. So long since she knew a man’s kindness. She had f
orgotten what it was like to lie in the warmth of a man’s embrace, hear his breathing and the gentle touch of his hands. Edan had given her this. This powerful Wraith who took her to his bed, despite it being frowned upon. Oh, the others knew she stayed with him, and they would eventually raise the issue, but it had to be dealt with cautiously. He was powerful, and taking from him could erupt into a war none would like to encounter. So for now, they ignored that she was living in the realm.
She felt his body heat up. He had a fiery passion in him that was tiring sometimes. She threw back the sheet and swung her legs over the side of the bed before he wanted to have sex again. She looked around for her clothes on the floor, still uncomfortable when it came to walking around naked like Edan did. He had no qualms about his body
, and he shouldn’t. It was magnificent.
She looked down at her thighs and flinched at the scars. She hated them, hated the constant reminder of the pain. But it had given her power, control. An emotional relief.
“He’s in Rest.” Edan ran his hands down her back and up again. “And when he is released, he cannot enter the realm.”
She picked up her
T-shirt, but before she could put it on, Edan pulled her back against his chest and enfolded her in his embrace. “You drive me crazy, woman. If I had a choice, I’d stay in this bed with you every moment of every day. ” He nuzzled her neck and then bit her earlobe. She shivered with a mixture of self-inflicted antipathies and regret. His touch reminded her of what she had become and she hated herself for it.
The knock on the door had her scrambling to pull on her clothes. Edan growled with frustration. “Who dares?” he shouted.
Delara jerked at the sound of his voice. She still had to get accustomed to his abrupt ways with others.
“My lord, you are needed directly. Waleron has escaped the gold bands with Genevieve’s assistance.”
Delara assumed the voice belonged to a Sublym, a Wraith helper of sorts. Thirty of them lived in the realm, and they all had one thing in common . . . they were children who never aged and never lost their beauty of innocence. Perfection. She didn’t know for certain and Edan had avoided answering questions on the Subyms, but these children were filled with an immense joy. Like this was . . . well, better than heaven could ever be. Maybe it was. It was pretty damn cozy here with no temperature to think about or CWOs pounding on your door. Rumor had it that the Subyms were children who had died from horrific circumstances, and the Wraiths had taken them here to give them the happiness they’d never known. Did the Wraiths have that kind of compassion? Genevieve did. Urtzi maybe, although she’d never met him.