Tangled Sin (A Dark Realm Novel) (19 page)

That makes two of us.

Riley strolled the length of the room, stopped, and picked up a book with ancient symbols scrawled across the cover. “Tell me,” he said in bored tones. “Did you toss out all your other offspring, too? Maybe wake one morning and decide you needed an heir and drew the short stick with my name on it?”

Wrath leaned against the black desk near his pet. “I sent you to a safer sector for your own protection. There are no other progenies. As Wrath, I don’t have time for long-term liaisons, except for your mother and one other. You are my heir.”

“Right.” Riley stopped at another table at the far end of the massive room and perused the parchments and scrolls scattered on the surface. Strategic plans and attacks were detailed. The Nine Circles were certainly keeping his old man busy.

His gaze narrowed, spying a missive that seemed fairly recent. He understood the old script well enough to know what it revealed.

A crack had occurred in the Forsaken Mounts of lower Gehenna. As a young boy, he’d heard the tales. Eons ago, four mortal males, in their sheer bravery, had saved the human world from an ancient evil by absorbing the darkness into themselves to keep it contained. But their mortal bodies, unable to deal with such malevolence, were wearing down. Since they couldn’t die—for if they did, all that evil would be released—they’d taken to eternal sleep in their granite tomb instead. Seems the stories weren’t legend, but reality.

If they awoke, they would unleash hell back on Earth tenfold.

No, it wasn’t a chance Wrath would take, not when it would upset the balance between realms.

“I didn’t realize you thought otherwise,” Wrath said, distracting him. “My enemies are legion, and many attempts were made on your life when you lived here. They will try again, especially if they know I have just one direct offspring. Son, the time comes—”

“Don’t.”  Tension wired his shoulders.

Did Wrath think it was that simple? That a single word would take away past humiliations? The pain? No matter what bullshit Riley shot off, bottom line was, that six-year-old boy still lived in him, hurt and alone. Hard to admit, but there it was, brought out by that single word.
Son.

“We don’t have a relationship to signify your use of that word. And I’m not interested in being—”

A sudden influx of pain shot through Riley. He stumbled back, hitting the table. A rage so cold unfurled in him and exploded in his head—made him want to unleash his fury just to experience the quiet he’d had moments ago. Seconds from tearing his skin off, the rage eased, and blissful silence reigned once more.

“
That,
” Wrath said, his tone like granite, his usually cold gaze a flaming neon green. “Is but a part of what I am. What I live with. You are
my
son. On the second millennium of your existence, you will inherit a part of that—”

“
No
.” Riley had to unclamp his teeth to speak. Did he even get a choice? Anger swept through his psyche like a wave. “I don’t want any part of your damn legacy. Give it to the one you groomed.”

“Only direct bloodline will inherit.” Wrath nailed him a resolute stare. “You cannot escape what is.”

“That’s in two bloody weeks,” he said sharply.

“Exactly.”

Dread knotted his gut. “No. Saia needs to go back.”

“Send her back then.”

Alone? With Trevor after her? Now Ayperos was out there, too, probably searching for them. “Why did you choose to keep this a secret? That only blood will inherit?”

Wrath circled the desk to his chair and sat down. “It was better my enemies thought I had others in mind, a safety net for you. Chances are you may never have to be what I am unless I take to eternal rest. But this transference will happen. You cannot escape your destiny.”

“I'm going back. I will not leave my mate unprotected and alone.”

“It is a choice you must make. To keep the mortal world safe, be here before your second millennium day. You must be contained when it happens. Unleash your fury up there, and you will upset the balance of all that is. The archangels who watch over the human realm would not be happy.

No shit. He’d risk it.

Wrath leaned back in his seat and studied him with an inscrutable look. “One more thing. You are now responsible for the protection of your sister. Both guards were not for you alone.”

“What sister?” Riley snapped. “You just said I'm your only offspring.”

“Male, yes. Your sibling’s half human. She has no idea what she is. Her twenty-fifth year of birth approaches. The protection binding I invoked to keep her safe will fade. As my offspring, she will attract the type of attention she can never survive. I sent you to Sheol to escape my enemies’ notice. That did not turn out too well, did it?”

Riley stiffened. His old man knew about Ayperos?

Wrath nodded in confirmation at his unspoken question. “Ayperos is not your ordinary demon. He’s dangerous—will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He will not only come after you but your sister, too. I cannot leave Stygia to exact my vengeance. It would break the pact with Heaven to take the fight into the mortal world—”

“Ayperos is mine.”

Wrath inclined his head. “Good. I expected no less. I have just two offspring, and since you are immortal, I expect you to keep your sister alive.”

A decree. One he couldn’t refuse.
Damn!
He ran a hand over his buzzed hair. This was worse than he’d thought. Now he had to worry about another when his mate was already a target for his enemies. His gut tightened at the thought of anything happening to Saia. He had to talk to her. Explain that as his mate, she was now in Ayperos’s direct line of fire. Then there was his sister. The bastard would doubtless go after her, too.

“Who—where is she, this sister of mine?”

“Soho. You have her photo. That’s all you need. Trust your instincts. You will know when you meet her.”

Why he expected more from his sire, he had no idea.

“Why didn't you get rid of Ayperos if you knew?” he asked then.

Wrath’s expression steeled. “He’s cunning, adept at camouflage. I would have killed the scourge, but you, it appeared, had taken a liking to him. It is better to keep your enemies close.”

Riley realized then why Wrath had not given any more info about his sister. He probably didn't dare, not when enemies lurked in places one least expected.

Still, Riley leveled his sire an unforgiving look. “So you gave me away instead.”

“You are my heir. I cannot
give
you away, nor could I always be around, protecting a child. It seemed the best thing to do then.”

“Yeah, thanks for that by the way.”

“You are welcome.”

At the dry retort, Riley ground his teeth and headed for the door.

“Your mate will become stronger.”

Riley froze, his heart damn near stopping at his sire’s statement. He pivoted. “What?”

“She’s been engulfed in the claiming flames, it will enhance her. She took down a demon while still a fragile human.” For a second, his sire sounded impressed, but that had to be another illusion, like his entire life’s dream of living a quiet life. “Train her, and she will not always have to rely on you for protection, even in this realm.”

Riley’s mind latched on to one thing only. “What do you mean ‘still a fragile human?’”

“The claiming heat extended her life force, but she will remain mortal. Nonetheless, Réomer, in the unlikely event you should die, so will she.”

His heart kicked hard in happiness, then just as fast it slid to his belly in a cold lump
.
Oh fuck
! He scrubbed a hand over his face. Saia was going to kill him. Extend her life, only to watch her family die while she lived on?

Yes, definitely.

But the bigger danger was him. Being mated to him, he’d have his enemies on his ass twenty-four-seven. Her life would constantly be at risk. At the thought of Saia gone, his lungs shut down… Maybe he could negate the bonding.

“You would break your bonding?”

“
No
!” he snarled, his entire being clenched in denial as blood thundered in his ears that Wrath had given words to a passing thought. “She’s mine. I’ll keep her safe.”

Unaware he’d been pacing again, he stopped near Erogus. The monstrous lizard eyed him with unflinching eyes. “Yeah-yeah, I'm all scared.”

He turned to face his sire, who tossed him a black wooden box. Riley grasped the thing.

“What is done cannot be undone. Train her,” Wrath repeated his warning. “Tomorrow’s eve will be your consort’s presentation. The legions will pay their respects. You do not want another making a play for you or your mate like two nights ago.”

His jaw clenched at the reminder. Nor was he surprised Wrath knew about his encounter with the female who’d tried to trap him, or the male who’d come after Saia.

“Do not make the mistakes I did.” Wrath’s mouth tightened. Regret ravaged his face. It was the first time Riley had seen any emotion from his sire. It made him uneasy. “I erred in not bonding with my mate because I didn’t want her involved in this life.”

Wrath wasn’t talking about his mother, Riley realized. She’d died when he was young; too young to remember her. It had to be his sister’s mother that Wrath spoke of.

“I left her alone when the encampment was under attack. She was taken from the fortress while I was away. When I eventually found her, it was too late.” Pain edged his voice for a brief moment, then his tormented expression faded back into a cold one.

“You are Wrath’s heir. Present your mate to the legions. Let them acknowledge her and pay her the reverence due to her as your consort. Or lose her like I did mine.”

“Did you find those responsible?”

“I did.” Tone clipped. Icy. “A rebellion group who thought to weaken me through her death—none can. Some never learn. They now have eternity to reflect on their actions as they suffer the same fate as her.”

Devoured daily by wyverns.

The words ringing in his head, Riley walked out of Wrath’s den.

Damn straight, he would train Saia. Unlike his sire, he would never risk his mate in a situation where she couldn’t protect herself if he wasn’t around.
Tonight he would present her to the legions.

As he headed for the stairwell, his gaze lowered to the box. Frowning, he flipped the lid open and his steps slowed.

Nestled in soft gray cloth, the red stones set in black gold glowed like flames. It took him a moment to realize what they were. Faded memories resurfaced.

He must have been five when he’d asked Wrath about his mother. Of course, he didn't get much in the way of words, except that she was a “good” female. Then Wrath had shown him the box, said they’d belonged to her.

No, he may not know his mother, but he’d make sure her memory would live on.

Saia set aside the book Ikaria had loaned her, too distracted to concentrate after Riley had left. His animosity toward his father worried her, not that she could blame him. She of all people understood how a parent’s rigid attitude could mess up a child’s life.

While she didn't hate her mother, Riley sure did his father. Wrath was about as warm as a blizzard.

“You’re pacing.” Ikaria looked up from her book.

“I'm worried.”

The girl nodded and rose. “Let’s go outside. It’s not so confining.”

Blowing out a rough breath, Saia picked up her book and followed; the guard stepping behind her.

As they strolled the dirt-packed path to the courtyard, Saia took in the stumpy, upside-down white trees. “Are there no green ones here?”

“In Sheol, yes, not here from what I’ve seen. But those there—“ she pointed to the bleached trees. “They are eons old—”

She broke off at the sound of running footsteps hitting the hard ground. A young boy appeared seconds later. Breathing hard, he spoke in a strange language to Ikaria. The girl spun to Saia, her face paler than usual. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Wondering what that was all about, she sat down as Ikaria hurried off. The guard stood a few feet away.

Saia opened the book she’d brought.
Pride and Prejudice
, and an original copy, too—who knew?

Smiling, she started reading again. Movement in her peripheral view drew her gaze.

A rail-thin demoness with pale skin and dark eyes carried a tray, making her way toward Saia. She stared for a second then hurriedly lowered her head in deference. A gray scarf matching her long, simple dress concealed her hair, but brown wisps escaped its confinement.

A servant? Saia hadn’t seen many of them, especially not a woman.

She set the tray on the stone bench beside Saia. “Ikaria sent that for you.”

“Where is she?”

“She said not to trouble you.”

“What is it?” she asked, unease squeezing her lungs.

“
Ma’ori
, she is with Lord Réomer. He grows worse.”

The book dropped. Saia shot up from the bench, her heart tripping. “I thought he was healing.”

“It was an iron sword that pierced him,” the servant said quietly.

And Riley had kept that from her. Damn him. She was well aware of how deadly iron could be to a demon if aimed right. She would have tied him to the bed had she known. He could die. But with his antagonism towards his father, he’d pretend everything was fine, even if he was bleeding to death. He was so darn stubborn!

Saia hurried toward the side entrance.

“
Ma’ori,
” the demoness panted. “We could walk, but it would take too long. If we flashed, I could get us there sooner.”

Saia’s stomach lurched at the thought, but she was right. The demons’ mode of traveling would be faster. “All right.”

The woman touched her hand, the air around her shifted. Saia squeezed her eyelids tight and gritted her teeth against the unfamiliar sensation, feeling as if she’d left her stomach behind and her head elsewhere. But her fear for Riley burned away the discomfort.

The moment they touched solid ground, the demoness let her go. Disorientated, Saia stumbled, tripped on a rock, and fell. Jagged pieces of stone scraped her palms and knees. Wincing at the sting, she pushed to her feet and anxiously searched the arid area for Riley.

Inhaling deeply, the strong stench of sulfur filled her nose, Saia nearly gagged. Sweat trickled down her back. Her eyes hurt at the intense heat. This place was too hot. And gray. Night had fallen so quickly?

“Where is he? Where’s Ikaria?”

“She’s a fool who deserves what comes to her.”

Pressing a hand to her heaving stomach, Saia wheeled back to the woman in confusion. “What?”

The servant folded her arms over her chest and glared at Saia like she’d stolen her favorite mop or something. “Did you really think I’d take you to him?”

What the hell?

“Where is Réomer? I swear, if anything happens to him, I will make you regret it—take me to him.”

The demoness pulled off her headscarf and smoothed her hair—as if that were the most important thing, that she look good.

“He is at the fortress with his sire. But
you
are out of the way. As it should be. Now he will mate with one more worthy.”

Saia blinked. Then the truth hit her with the blow of a sledgehammer. “Denali sent you.”

The servant snorted. “Aye. But my mistress is not the only one who wants him. She asked that I detain you. Then I realized with you dead, it opens the possibility for him to pick me. He’s already proven class means little since he chose you, a lowly mortal.”

Lowly mortal?
The stupid ass-butt. Wait—

“
Dead?
” Alarm barreled through her.

“Aye.” The demoness glanced up at the sky deepening to a charcoal gray. “When night falls, this place is where the damned ones wander, looking for a way out. And you”—she smirked—“you are like a beacon of light to their despair. They will suck out all that bright essence from you. Later, I will find your body, take you back, and console Réomer.”

First Denali and now this skank, who was a broom short in her closet. “If Réomer doesn't kill you first,” Saia snapped.

“Why would he? He’ll be too broken up over losing you and in need of comfort.”

The delusional viper! Saia reined in her irritation and scanned the area for a familiar landmark. She had to get out of here. But how?

A wide, black river snaked past her on one side.
The River Styx
? But there were no soaring black mountains, just endless barren lands and ashy, craggy peaks in the distance. Her stomach churned. Oh, this wasn't good.

“No, no, mortal, you cannot leave this place. We are on the fringes of the Nine Circles of Hell. Beyond that rocky peak is the gateway.”

Saia spun around. “Gateway? To what?”

“Hell, of course.”

Panic shut down Saia’s lungs. She couldn’t breathe.

“Not only weak but so easily duped,” the skank sneered. “You couldn’t leave this place even if you had a miracle.”

Saia inhaled huge, shuddering breaths.
Think, Saia, think. You evaded your mother’s machinations.

Yes, but she didn't use supernatural powers.

“Goodbye, little human—”

Fear jolting through her like a livewire, Saia leaped for the demoness. Her surprise attack took them both to the ground. Her fist connected with the demoness’s jaw. Pain vibrated through her knuckles. Howling, the servant flashed some distance away, rubbing the side of her face. She glared. “Have an agonizing death, mortal.”

Nooo!
Saia leaped to her feet and made a grab for the woman, she didn't want to be left in this awful place, but she flew straight through empty air, landing hard on all fours.

The demoness had vanished.

Trapped in the gray wastelands of Hell, Saia struggled to her feet, pain ripping through her scraped knees as she straightened. The skies here weren't the pretty lavender she’d grown accustomed to, but a sinister stormy gray. In the distance, fire flared through the cracks in the ashy mountain peaks, spewing out flames as night encroached. Her white dress, streaked with dirt, stood out like a beacon in the dark.

A low, reedy moan drifted in the hot, sulfuric air. An icy chill slid over her skin as the winds picked up, echoing their eerie cries. She wheeled around, searching the desolate landscape for a place to hide. Except for the small protrusions of rocks near where she stood, there was nothing.

An unnerving, slithery sensation snaked around her ankles. A blood-curdling scream tore from her throat. Saia clawed at the dark thing to free herself, encountered something soft.

The servant’s head cover. A dry sob escaping, she yanked it free and crushed it in her hands.

The reedy wailings picked up. In the distance, a gray cloud moved toward her, thrashing and writhing in agitation. A sickly, sensation slithered deep within her, like when the Caligo had grabbed her in that alley. Her legs gave way. She slid to the ground.

Hide, Saia, hide
! Hastily, she tried to cover her bright dress with the piece of gray material.
Oh, God, too small—too damn small!

Too late.

Glacial, bony fingers slithered beneath her dress, stealing over her flesh, searching. Her skin stung as if thrown into an ice storm, and her gaze locked on to moldy, pallid skin in a near-skeletal face. Nose eaten by decay. Straggly strands of ashy hair whipped around its twisted features.

Nooo
, she didn't want to die here.
Riley, help me!

She squeezed her eyelids tight. Talons scraped over her chest, then pierced her skin. She screamed over and over until her terror morphed into one long screech, the pain in her chest too great to bear. She tumbled to her back and lashed out with her hands, her feet, but they just flayed through the dead—

More hands grabbed her. Firmer ones.
No, no, no!
She fought harder. Punched, kicked, and clawed.

“Saia, it’s me. It’s me, baby.”

No, Riley didn't know where she was!
She lashed out again, connected to a brick wall—more pain in her knuckles.

A grunt filled her ears.

“Saia, stop. I have you. You’re safe now.” Warmth surrounded her. Arms held her tight. The familiar smell of lemongrass teased her nostrils.

Riley? A huge sob erupted from her sore throat. Crying hard, she buried her face in his chest. Her hands fisted the back of his shirt, too terrified to let go. She hung on to her safe haven.

Adrenaline flatlined. Her legs buckled.

Strong arms swept her up and crushed her close.

From some far off place, she heard a fervent litany. “I have you. I have you now. You’re safe, Saia…” His lips touched her brow, and the dank, thick air around them shifted. Shuddering, she shut her eyes.

***

The murderous rage burning inside him leashed by a thin thread, Riley sent off the scouts with the gray scarf to find the demoness responsible for his mate’s abduction. The scent on the head cover that had been twisted around Saia was all he needed to locate the traitor. When he did, whoever it was would wish to Hades they hadn’t come within breathing distance of his mate.

Blowing out a ragged breath, he walked back into the bathroom and found Saia huddled in the sunken bath. The shower hitting her hard while more flowed from the slits on the side walls filling the pool.

Boots and all, he leaped into the water.

She didn't look up. Her chin rested on her bent knees, her arms wrapped around her waist, she stared vacantly at the undulating body of liquid.

Riley crouched in front of her and brushed away the wet strands sticking to her face. “Saia?”

No response.

She’d blocked out the world around her. Locked him out. That he refused to accept.

First, he needed to examine her wounds. But with her hunched into a protective cocoon and still wearing her dress, it was impossible. Carefully, he eased her back and removed the blood-streaked, sodden garment, tossing it aside. She folded back into that protective, hunched posture, her arms wrapped around her. He scanned her and found bruises on her palms, knees, and several deeper defensive slashes on her arms.

Mouth tight, he eased her hands away from her waist, his breath caught at the three gouges running from her chest to her ribs.

The image of her on the ground, fighting for her life as the damned tried to steal her soul would remain branded in his memory for eternity. Had he been any later, Saia would have died; become an apparition, cursed to wander that desolate place for eternity, searching for her soul.

How she’d survived those few minutes alone in a place where even demons feared to go, he had no idea. He was just grateful they hadn't hauled her straight into Hell—probably too eager to get at her soul.

From the moment Ikaria had told him she couldn’t find Saia, he’d torn through the citadel searching for her. Ikaria’s gift didn't help much. The fact that she could hear echoes of a conversation long after it had occurred revealed little, just a strange female telling Saia that he was hurt. Thank the dark gods he’d soul-joined with her and shared her light essence—the only thing that guided him to the outskirts of Hell.

Was this why Wrath insisted he bond with Saia immediately? Did he know this could happen?

Shit! Of course, he would. His own mate had been abducted and killed in a similar situation. Unmated, Wrath had been unable to find her in time.

He didn't want to be grateful to his sire, but Wrath was right. Now that he’d proven his worth, the females would come after Saia and try to usurp her place in his life, and the males would either want Saia for themselves or harm her to get at him. Wrath’s enemies were legion. As were his, it seemed.