Micha’s hand slipped into mine and squeezed. Yeah, he had sensed the change too.
“Who did he speak to when he found you?” I canted my head. “Emory or Gideon?”
Emory smiled, and his eyes flared bright gold, tawny and hungry like the beast that was hiding inside, and in that moment, it was the beast that was looking back at me.
“Motherfucker.” Micha stepped in front of me. “Gideon …”
Gideon blew out a breath. “Relax, I’m not here to take her from you. Not today, anyway; Emory would have a fucking fit, and living with him whining in my head all day would be torture.” He ran his tongue across his teeth. “To answer your question, Echo, Deacon spoke to Emory. He believes proof will force the council into action. Right now, they’re happy to sit on their hands and do nothing.”
That was what I didn’t fully understand. The whole “they’re safe and don’t give a shit” couldn’t be the only reason for their reluctance to act. “Why are they so eager to dismiss my story?”
Gideon shrugged. “How the fuck should I know? And, frankly, I don’t care.” He launched himself out of his seat and padded toward me.
Lyrian was across the room like a shot to place himself like a barrier between me and Gideon, his broad back a mass of tense muscle.
“This is as close as you get.” Lyrian’s tone was low and menacing.
Gideon’s expression was hidden from me by Lyrian’s frame, but his next words weren’t.
“I’ve been inside her, Draconi. Deep inside. Inside her mind and inside her sweet pussy. I fucked her and watched her face as she came, and damn, it was fucking beautiful. I hope to do it again sometime soon, but this time for real. This time I’ll have her suck me off first.”
Lyrian lashed out with a fist, and then Gideon staggered back a step. His eyes glowed like twin suns in his face as he touched his bloody mouth. And then his fist connected with Lyrian’s jaw in an uppercut that sent the Draconi flying backwards.
My scream locked in my throat, but Micha was a crimson blur slamming into Gideon and taking him down. Lyrian was back on his feet, and they both pinned the beast to the ground. But Gideon … Gideon was laughing, deep belly laughs that made my skin crawl and my stomach roil, because if my gut was right, he was allowing this to happen. He was allowing them to hold him down.
My gut whispered that he was stronger than this, perfectly capable of taking on both Lyrian and Micha, but he was playing them, allowing them to believe they could overpower him.
His golden gaze was on me, locked on my eyes. His laughter died, and his face was etched in primal hunger, more than carnal, deeper and more desperate than I’d ever seen before, but in the next heartbeat, it was gone, replaced by a wicked grin that showcased blood-coated teeth.
My stomach clenched hard, but one thing I’d learned about bullies was that the more you cowered, the harder they came at you. I stepped between Micha and Lyrian and stood astride Gideon before deliberately lowering myself so I was straddling him.
“You want to fuck me?”
“You want me to fuck you,” he replied with confidence.
His words teased my anger but also raised memories of him inside my mind, inside me. They raised a lick of heat in my abdomen. Fuck him. He was in my head, and I hated it.
I placed a hand on the side of his face. “Let me make something really clear. The only way you’re getting inside my sweet pussy is if I decide I’d like to fuck Emory, which, as things stand, is about as close as hell is to freezing over.”
Gideon arched a brow and opened his mouth to respond, probably with some more bullshit, but I was done listening to his crap, and I had a plan. I wasn’t sure it would work, but it was sure worth a try.
I leaned in, and my lips hovering over his gave him pause. “But there is something you can do for me, Gideon. Something you can do for me, right now?”
His tawny gaze was on my mouth, his body tense as if he was holding himself back from launching himself at me.
“What?” His voice was a growl.
“Fuck off.” I blasted him with a shot of arcana.
Chapter 2
The arcana skimmed over Gideon’s face, and his eyes blazed bright for a moment then muted to twilight, leaving Emory staring back at me blankly, and then his mouth twisted in rage.
“I’m sorry,” Emory said stiffly.
Lyrian released him, and Micha followed suit. They both held out a hand to Emory, and the nephilim accepted, allowing them to haul him to his feet. His hand went to his bloody lips.
“You okay?” I reached for Emory.
He backed away. “Don’t touch me,” he snapped.
“Hey,” Micha warned. “Don’t use that fucking tone with her.”
Emory squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”
My heart ached for him. This was my fault. He’d used the last of the special ink on me, on tattooing the protection runes onto my skin, and now he was stuck with the obnoxious, slightly unhinged beast inside him; a beast who wanted me.
Emory exhaled heavily and finally met my eyes. “I’m sorry for the things he said.”
I offered him a tentative smile. “Don’t be. You can’t control what he does and says any more than he can control you.”
Emory massaged his temples. “That’s just it, I’m not so sure anymore. Did you ever read that story, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?”
Yes, I’d read it, and it was obvious where he was going with this. “You’re not Jekyll. And he isn’t Hyde.”
“He’s a part of me though. He’s connected to me. He came from me, so what does that say about me?”
“It says you’re a strong man with enough will power to keep that shit in check,” Lyrian said.
“He’s going to come out,” Emory said softly. “There’s nothing I can do about it.” He looked from Lyrian to Micha. “He’s strong. Stronger than he makes out to be.”
I held up my hand and pushed arcana into my fingertips, lighting them up green. “He’s not stronger than this.”
He blinked at my hand. “You used arcana to make him back off?”
“Did you miss that?”
“I heard what he said, but I can’t always see what he sees. I was clawing my way back up, and then I was through, and he’d been pushed into the dark.”
The dark … was that where Gideon lived? The question was out before I could bite it back. “What is it like in the dark?”
Emory averted his gaze. “Lonely.”
And that was where Gideon had been all his life. Trapped. Imprisoned. Would he be a different person if he’d been allowed into the light? Emory’s expression was reflective, telling me he was thinking along the same lines. But he was what he was, and guilt wouldn’t solve that.
“I know this isn’t your fault,” Lyrian said. “But if he comes at Echo again, I will hurt him.”
Emory’s smile was wry. “And he might let you, but he might decide he isn’t in the mood to play like he was today. Like I said, he’s stronger than he makes out, and what you’ve seen … It’s not even the half of it.”
What did he mean? But his expression had shuttered, telling me he was done talking about this now.
Micha left the room and returned a moment later with a wet cloth for Emory’s mouth. He handed it to the nephilim.
Emory wiped away the blood. His split lip had already healed, and now he looked as good as new.
He placed the cloth on the side table. “I guess I should tell you what I came here to say before Gideon decided to take the wheel.”
He glanced at me, and it was impossible not to read it as an accusation, because it was my fault Gideon had risen. My scent, my presence had pulled him out. But I’d put him down again, so that was a bonus.
“What did Deacon say?” Micha prompted.
“He said we need to get proof, and I have an idea as to how we can do that.”
I waved a hand at the sofa. “Sit. Explain to me what we can do.”<
br />
We all took seats. Micha and Lyrian and me on the longest sofa—even though it seemed small with them seated on either side of me—and Emory on the smaller sofa opposite.
He leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “I think your father was using a specific frequency to tap into the soul eater, like a radio signal that disrupted Genesis’s hold and allowed your father to momentarily wrestle control of the eater. You see, the scouts, the scuttlers, the eaters all have a two-way communication with Genesis. We’ve known this forever. It’s how they send data back to him, and how the eaters transfer the converted energy of the souls they reap back to him. We tried it once, a long time ago, before the Hive. We added a trace to several signals, and we discovered they all go to different mini brains, like servers for the higher brain which is Genesis. The connections were convoluted and constantly shifting, they were impossible to trace, but unfortunately, he was able to track us. Our topside lab was attacked, and many nephilim were killed, including one of my fathers.” He paused for a breath. “We haven’t tried to follow the signal back since.”
“You want to try again?” Micha asked.
“Yes. But it will be different this time. This time we won’t be tracking the path of the signal a scuttler transmits, we’ll be transmitting our own signal back with a message hidden in binary code. A message that maybe Roland Patch will pick up and respond to, and we’ll do it far from here.”
He was hoping for the jackpot. “You’re hoping to get a location, aren’t you?”
Emory nodded solemnly. “We record the data, we take it back to the council, and we plan our attack.”
“How long will it take to set this up?” It was my turn to sit forward in my seat, to let eagerness grip me.
“A few days, maybe a week.”
Shit. “They’re sending me to the sea realm in a couple of days.”
“Then it will be ready for when you get back.” His frown was determined.
“Wait, aren’t you supposed to come with me?”
He sank back in his seat. “Damn. Yes. They sent word that the generators in Rydian’s dwelling need replacing.”
“Are they like the ones you gave to the Keep?”
He nodded. “The dwellers have become accustomed to arcletic power. Unlike electricity, it works perfectly underwater. It was the compromise we made in exchange for the main crystal. We gave them three guardians on a rotational basis as a security measure and generators to power their realm. The king has summoned me to come and switch the generators for new ones.”
“Can’t someone else deal with the generators?” Lyrian asked.
Emory’s smile was dry. “Of course they could, but Rydian’s summons was clear. It must be me, the son of the councilwoman. I think he gets off on the power.” He pouted in thought. “I’ll get started on our project, and we can finish up when we get back in two weeks.”
Micha cleared his throat. “Um. Emory, not to be a dick, but I’m not sure I’m okay with you being alone with Echo. Not with Gideon being a factor.”
I placed a hand on Micha’s arm, reveling in the velvet skin beneath my fingertips. “I can handle Gideon. If he tries any shit with me, I’ll blast his ass back into the darkness.” I locked gazes with Emory. “We do this together, right?”
For a moment, I thought he’d leave me hanging, that he’d agree with Micha, but then he gave me a small smile.
“Make sure you hit him hard,” Lyrian added, his gaze on Emory.
Emory sighed. “He’s right, Echo. Do not take any chances.” He unfolded himself from his seat and stood. “I should go and get started. We don’t have much time before we leave.”
Two days, that was it. Oh, crap. Bry and Gem … I’d barely had any time with them since I’d recovered from my last ordeal. They’d been frightened and teary when Deacon had brought them to see me yesterday evening, and with it being a school night, they’d been forced to go back to Chamber H.
“I need to see the kids before I go.” My heart sank with my words. “Looks like I’ll miss two weekends with them.”
“I can stay here if you like?” Lyrian said gruffly. “I can have them for the weekends. Keep them busy?”
Micha was staring at him with a strange expression on his face again, the one that I hadn’t quite figured out yet.
I studied Lyrian’s face. His lids were lowered, so the windows to his soul were hidden. “You’d do that for me?”
A blanket of warmth unfurled in my mind. Lyrian … It was him.
“It’s no problem.” His tone was even and unaffected. “I enjoyed hanging out with them.”
Micha held up a hand. “Whoa, wait a minute. You hung out with Echo’s kid siblings? You spent time with children without wanting to shoot yourself in the head?”
Lyrian’s ice blue eyes were positively arctic as they settled on Micha. “They’re not like other children.”
“And why is that?” Micha asked, arms crossed over his broad chest.
“They belong to Echo,” Lyrian said, as if that was reason enough, and this time it was my heart that warmed.
Micha’s amused expression cleared into something revelatory. He opened his mouth to say something, but Lyrian growled low in his throat, cutting him off.
“Just drop it, Micha,” he said.
What was I missing here? I glanced at Emory, but he looked as confused as I felt.
Micha threw up his hands. “Fine. Then I’ll stay too. I’d like to get to know the kids.”
The knot in my chest eased. I hated to leave the kids, but they’d be in great hands. Verona, Micha, and Lyrian would take care of them.
Emory’s expression was distant. I knew that look—it was his problem-solving face, the one he’d put on a lot when we’d been working on the air filter system over a year ago. He was already slipping away from me.
“Maybe I can help?” I tried to catch his eye.
He shook his head, keeping his gaze averted. “I’ll see you in a couple of days.” He made for the door and was gone before I could say anything else.
Lyrian stared after him for several beats. “I like Emory, I do. But I don’t like this situation. Try not to be alone with him.”
Once again, Lyrian seemed calm enough, but his anxiety was a pressure in the back of my mind. I took a step toward him, my instinct to soothe.
“So,” Micha said. “What would you like to do today?”
I wanted to take Lyrian aside and comfort him, I needed to hold him and press my mouth to his and breathe him in, and shit, where were these feelings coming from?
His icy blues were on my face. “Echo? What would you like to do?” He reiterated Micha’s question.
Shit. Focus. “Well, if you’re going to be having Bry and Gem for two weekends while I’m away, I guess I better formally introduce you to Verona.”
“Can you cook?” Verona looked from Lyrian to Micha, arms crossed under her breasts, expression stern. “Because I’m not having the kids eating rubbish for two whole days.”
Faced with her teacher frown, the two large males were reduced to school boys.
Lyrian nodded. “I cook.”
Micha gave her a mock salute. “Nutritious meals it shall be.”
Verona didn’t crack a smile, but the twinkle in her eyes told me she was cool with the idea.
Even though Bry and Gem were my siblings, Verona was like a second mother to them. And when it came to raising them, she mattered, her feelings and views mattered.
Behind the door that led to the bedrooms, Gem and Bry whispered excitedly to each other.
Verona sighed and rolled her eyes. “Come out, you two.”
Bry and Gem tumbled into the room.
“Lyrian!” Bry attached himself to Lyrian’s leg with enthusiasm, and Gem slipped under Lyrian’s arm to give him a shy hug.
His face lit up, and he ruffled Bry’s hair and held Gem to his side.
“Can we play cards?” Bry asked.
“And will you tell us tales of dr
agons?” Gem added.
Lyrian chuckled. “Of course.”
Gem’s attention slipped to Micha. “I don’t suppose you know stories too?”
Micha’s smile was mischievous. “I suppose Lyrian’s been telling you about the might of the Draconi?”
Gem nodded.
Micha made a face. “Hmmm, not bad, but I have the monopoly on tales of the Shedim.”
Lyrian rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes, we’ll see who tells the best tales.” Like before, when around the children, Lyrian had relaxed and lapsed into a different kind of man, one whose eyes smiled and whose mouth laughed.
“Ah, a challenge?” Micha raised both brows. “Bring it, brother.”
The kids giggled.
“You’re on,” Lyrian said.
Gem’s attention slipped to me, and her smile wavered. Although she said she understood that I couldn’t be with them all the time, there must be a part of her that resented my absence. She was growing up, but she was still a child.
“Hey, Gem.” I held out a hand. “Can I have a chat?”
She broke away from Lyrian and took my hand. I led her into the back room where Verona had set up both kids to sleep.
“I’m all right,” she said as I closed the door behind me. “I can take care of Bry. You don’t have to worry.”
“I know you are, and I’m super proud of you, and I’m not worried, I just … I just want you to know that if I had a choice, I’d be here with you and Bry.”
She dropped her gaze. “Being a guardian is more exciting than being here.”
Oh, God. I’d been right. “Being a guardian is a duty. You and Bry aren’t. You guys are my life. I’m doing this because it’s the only way to keep you safe, and it kills me that I can’t spend more time with you.”
She met my gaze and sighed. “I know that. Of course I do. I just … sometimes I get angry that you’re not here. Like when Bry brought home his spelling award or when I got a prize for my literature project. I miss not having you here to see those things.”
Dead Sea Page 2