His throat moved as he swallowed, the shadows of his brutal incarceration edged in his haunted gaze. “I chose that path—”
“No, it’s not your fault,” she said softly. “You had no idea what would happen when you became a protector.”
He exhaled roughly, then lowered his brow to hers. “I guess every decision I made back then led me to this moment. If it comes down to it…I would endure Tartarus again just to have you, because you are all that is right in my life.”
Her eyes crowding with tears, she rose onto her toes and pressed her mouth to his. “Then I’m glad my path led me to you…” She grimaced a little. “But I’m not as brave as you, and I hate that you suffered Tartarus.”
Nik shook his head. “You are braver than you think, my mate, incredibly so. C’mon, no more talk of all this doom and gloom, let’s get outta here. There’s something I want to do.” He grasped her hand.
“Wait-wait, where are we going?”
His gaze went down her overlong t-shirt, to her short skirt and black tennis shoes. “The village. You need clothes.”
She frowned. “I don’t need anything. Maybe Hedori can bring my things over?”
“He has.” Nik nodded to one of the mismatched chairs near the wall where her backpack sat. “But you are my mate, and I want to do this for you.”
A lump clogged her throat at his thoughtfulness. In the five years, all she had were the clothes Aba had bought her when she’d stayed with him.
Trying to get her emotions under control, her focus settled on the rune tatts on Nik’s pecs. “Now, while I love this sexy, muscled chest and want to lick it,” she teased, petting his pierced nipple, trying to lighten up the somber atmosphere. “You’re going to need a shirt. I don’t think I’d like women staring at you and getting ideas.”
He dragged her hand from his tiny hardened nub, his heated stare making her heart trip. With a low growl, he flashed, vanishing from the kitchen.
Shadow scrubbed her face with both hands. Hearing about Nik’s past made her want to find the bastards who tortured him and slaughter them. Inhaling a deep breath, she crossed to her backpack, got out her hair grip, and fastened her hair into a topknot. Then she retrieved her cell. Spidery cracks splintered the display, courtesy of a demonii throwing her against a wall. Good thing she’d killed the cur.
The door opened. Nik stood framed in the entrance. Wow, he’d changed super-fast. Dressed in boots, black jeans, and a t-shirt that hugged his wide chest, her man appeared downright deadly. But the way he watched her—like she was all he saw—made her heart skip several beats. It unlocked a part of her she’d shut off, dragging out deep-seated feelings for him. If he ever walked away, it would shatter her.
“You look at me like that, and we’ll be heading back to bed. Or, maybe I’ll just have you here on the kitchen table.”
She couldn’t resist. “It wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
“Is that so?” He prowled over, his booted feet barely making a sound.
Grinning, she darted around the table, but the darn man flashed and grabbed her. He sat her on the wooden surface. “You shouldn’t taunt me, mate.” He pushed his handsome face into hers, like that would scare her. “I won’t just take you on this table. I’ll tie you to it first.”
At the sensual threat, she blinked. Heck, two could play this game. Biting back a snort, she set her cell down and grasped his unshaven face with both her palms. “Who says I’m taunting?” She nipped his kissable lower lip.
Deep laughter rumbled out of him. “A female after my own heart. Good to know.”
He kissed her deeply, possessively. Then he eased back with barely a hitched breath while she panted like she’d run miles. Gah.
His mouth twitched into a smile, desire glimmering in his light eyes. “You have a way of distracting me, my mate. C’mon.”
He helped her off the table and headed out to the stone courtyard. Sunlight drenched the place, brilliant and blinding.
Shadow shaded her eyes, studying the looming monastery. “I like this building.”
“Good to know.” He glanced up. “It’s centuries old. We had another place but preferred the isolation of this one, so we convinced the noble monks who resided here to move into the building we’d acquired elsewhere.”
“Really? Do they know what you are?”
“Probably. But those good souls have long passed.” He drew her into his arms. “Now, the history lesson’s done. Let’s go. I still have a training session with Race later.”
“The guy with the stunning silver hair?”
His eyes narrowed.
“What?” She smirked, enjoying teasing him. “He has fabulous hair. We mere mortals appreciate things like that. But I bet I’d like yours better. You know, if you had any.”
His single dimple appeared. “Nice try.”
“Well, you buzzed it all off, so—eeek!” The air around her spun, and she clutched Nik tight, face buried in his neck, eyes shutting as he dematerialized them.
“You can look now.”
At his teasing tone, she opened her eyes and glowered into his gorgeous, taunting face. “Really?”
He shrugged one shoulder. “You’ve just made me look forward to my training session.”
“What? You plan to clobber Race because of what I said about his hair?”
“Yeah.”
She rolled her eyes as she followed him through the dense forest, the cool air soothing her heated face. But it eased her mind helping him have a little fun—
Whoa! She stumbled to a halt as they cleared the forest, eyes widening at the view in front of her.
Late noon sunlight drenched the village, highlighting the pretty shops and buildings. Cobblestone streets sported genuine wrought-iron lampposts along the pavements.
She shaded her eyes, studying the vibrant, colorful profusion of flowers in the window boxes. “This is so lovely.”
“Buy whatever you want.” Nik put on his black shades. “Anything they don’t have here, we’ll get once we’re back in New York.”
As they headed up the street, Shadow felt like a child, her gaze darting about, taking in all the sights. Then she stopped, spying the unlit Club Samhain sign further up the road. “Wow, there’s even a nightclub here.”
Nik’s mouth tightened.
Aw, crap. His thoughts undoubtedly went straight back to Club Anarchy and what had happened there. So she shut her trap and grasped his hand. When his thumb stroked her skin, her heart settled.
Three hours and several stores later, they exited another shop. Nik carried her shopping bags and appeared a little more relaxed, but she was also aware that he never let his guard down. Those shaded otherworldly eyes probably kept watch on everything.
The sun had slipped over the mountains, and looming shadows stole over the village.
“You done?” Nik asked.
She rolled her eyes. “A long time ago, after the first store. But yes, I’m all d—”
Someone bumped into her, and Nik hauled her against his side with a low growl.
“Sorry.” The guy lifted a hand in apology.
Despite the man’s fresh laundry scent, Shadow detected a trace of sulfur. A local demon. “It’s alright.”
He smiled, giving her that up-down stare she so often received from demons as if trying to figure her out. Ugh, he no doubt sensed a taint of darkness in her considering she’d just consumed those malevolent souls from Nik.
“Get away from her.” The threat in Nik’s tone had the fine hairs on her arms rising.
The demon hastily stepped back, giving Nik a wide berth, and scurried away.
“Nik, he did nothing wrong. He probably senses I’m a little different.” Faced with his stony expression, she bit off a sigh. More, she understood why he was upset. “Nik—”
“Not now. We need to get back to the monastery.”
At his curt tone, a sliver of hurt slid through her. But he wasn’t paying her any attention, seeming to focus on the ar
ea around them. His grip on her hand tightened as he strode for the back alley leading to the forest beyond.
Shadow glanced about her. Even though nothing dinged her heightened senses, and she couldn’t see anything dangerous, unease trickled through her as they entered the forest.
A few minutes later, they rematerialized on the monastery courtyard. An incredibly tall stranger—an immortal—rose from the bench. He wore his hair in a half ponytail, and it gleamed in the evening sunlight like obsidian stones. His striking features were set in stern lines, and dark aviator shades concealed his eyes, but Shadow picked up the swirling energy coasting through him. He didn’t possess the kind of darkness her symbionts needed.
“What’s up?” Nik asked him. “Sensed you were here.”
The warrior’s gaze lowered to their joined hands. Shadow tried to pull free, but Nik didn’t let go. “Michael, this is Shadow. My mate. Michael is our leader,” he told her.
With that aura of deadliness and power, how could he be anything but the Guardians’ front-runner?
“Hello…” The word rasped through her dry throat.
“Shadow.” Michael nodded at her, then his focus shifted back to Nik. “It’s good to see you about. We need to talk.”
Whatever it was, it sounded serious.
“Shadow, do you mind giving us a moment?” Nik’s tone was quiet, but his expression remained hard.
“Yeah, sure.” Shadow took the packages from him and hurried into the abbey, heading upstairs to their bedroom. She tossed the bags down on the floor and dropped heavily onto the wooden chest near the window, her stomach knotting.
If Nik couldn’t tolerate a demon even looking at her, what would happen when the time came for her to feed? A wave of dread surged.
Her feeding would drive him to hate her. And that she couldn’t bear.
Feeling as if the walls were closing in on her, she leaped up and hurried out onto the balcony. The crisp air did little to wipe away her apprehension.
I need to get out of here. Need space to think.
Her heart pounding too hard, she grasped the pillar, scrambled up to the roof, and sprinted across, in the opposite direction from the courtyard.
Chapter 18
His mouth tightened. Nik stared at the doorway Shadow had disappeared through, aware he’d messed up badly. She’d practically run from him to escape his shitty mood. But the hurt in her eyes replayed in his head like a fist to the heart. He wanted to go after her…and say what?
That the thought which never strayed too far from his mind was fucking killing him?
For her to live, she had to keep her symbionts thriving, which meant seeking out demons. Touching them. Feeding off them—theós. He wanted to strangle the bastard, Nate, for what he’d done, but it would be like damming himself. Then he would never have known Shadow.
“You good?” Michael asked, dragging Nik’s attention away from the door.
“I’m fine.” The urge to rub his chest took hold. Instead, Nik removed his shades. Best to find out what the Arc wanted first, then go find Shadow.
“I need a drink.” Michael swiped his sweaty brow, pushed his aviators to his head, and strolled to the kitchen door. Nik followed.
Michael got out a Coke from the fridge and popped the tab. Bracing an arm on the open fridge door, he took a deep swallow of his soda. “We have a situation. My contact down in the Dark Realm informs me there are rumblings of a hellhound sent to this world. No sense of it in New York and my warriors stationed in other parts of the realm haven’t picked up anything, either. I spoke to Race, and he hasn’t felt anything here.”
Nik frowned, setting his sunglasses down and leaning against the counter. Was that what he detected down in the village, that feeling of unease? “Hellhounds usually go after a target. Or hunt souls that belong down under.”
“Yes…” Michael rubbed his red-rimmed eyes. “And you usually have your psychic shields melded tight. None could discern your curse, either. But those things would.”
Nik gave a terse nod. He knew better than anyone the agonizing truth of being hunted by those creatures. But Shadow had taken those dark souls from him, and they no longer existed, not after her symbionts consumed them.
“I’ve alerted the others.” Michael knocked back more of his soda like it was a life-giving liquid, his splintered blues contemplative as he studied Nik.
Shit, he didn’t need the interrogation coming.
“The blood moon’s still oppressively strong, and you appear in control.” Michael shut the fridge door. “The souls?”
“No longer a problem.” He hoped the Arc didn’t push for the hows and whys, not when he had to get back to Shadow and see that she was okay. Nik straightened from the counter.
“Good. But be prepared for the law-keepers. Shadow is human.”
As if he could ever forget the damn Absolute Laws, which forbade a mating between immortal and mortal.
Had Shadow been his destined mate, it would have been a transgression. Their lives forfeited. Because only a destined pair could bear offspring—bear a babe who could end up with the powers of gods or angels—it was something no mortal should ever possess, according to the shithead law-keepers. Yeah, death would be his and Shadow’s end. The asses.
“While Blaéz might have asked The Morrigan to revoke that law for the Guardians,” Michael said, “nothing is set in stone until we’re dead sure they won’t darken our doorsteps again.”
“I will kill anyone who comes near us.”
“It is your right. Now, we have to keep an eye on this new problem. Hell…” Michael hooked a hand around his nape and rubbed as if it would lighten his burden. “Shit doesn’t seem to end with us. We not only have the Narakas to deal with but a damn hellhound on the loose. Just as well both plagues only trawl at night, or else this entire realm would erupt in chaos.”
“You want me back in New York?”
Michael exhaled wearily. “If I knew where those damn plagues would turn up, it would make everything much easier. No, remain here for now. Stakeout this place tonight, and I’ll send another to assist Race tomorrow.”
A sliver of pain swept through Nik, stealing his breath. Shadow?
“Later, Arc. I gotta go.” He dematerialized and sped off in a scatter of molecules to his bedroom. Empty. The door to the balcony stood open. He coasted outside. She wasn’t there, either. Dammit!
Picking up her floral scent, Nik followed her trail up the building. He found her seated on the pitched roof, chin braced on her raised knees, and staring at the view, strands of her purple-streaked dark hair spilling free from her the hair coiled on her head.
Of course, she’d find the most dangerous place to take refuge. One slip and she would plummet right down the damn mountain. Not that he’d let anything happen to her.
Nik reformed near her, and her head shot up. She eyed him warily. He hated this distance he’d unintentionally caused between them. How could those few hours of peace—of happiness—vanish so fast?
“What are you doing up here?” he asked quietly, sitting next to her and brushing his thigh against hers, needing the contact. “It’s chilly, and it’ll be dark soon. Besides, this sloping roof’s hazardous.”
“It’s tranquil…” She lifted a shoulder in a little shrug, back to staring at the vista. “I don’t feel cold.”
He frowned, but her cloud of melancholy tugged at him, and he wanted her smile back. First, he had to get her to a safer place. Since she didn’t appear to feel the cold… “Do you want to see the mountain plateau?”
And there it was, the smile he adored, brightening her starburst irises. “I’d love that.”
“Come.” He drew her up into his arms and dematerialized them to the mountain mesa so she’d have a better view from a safer seat.
The moment they reformed on the granite surface, Shadow pivoted, her head snapping one way then the other, taking in the vast expanse of the rugged plateau where he and the other Guardians often trained. The t
all peaks at her back offered a buffer against the heavy winds. She glanced up at the low hanging clouds. “This is beautiful.”
No, you are.
Her gaze rushed back to him, faint color tinging her cheeks…as if she heard him?
Nik frowned.
She tucked back her hair and sat down on the wind-eroded step in the granite edifice.
Nik lowered to his haunches in front of her, forearms braced on his thighs. “I’m sorry about earlier. I’m a possessive bastard, and…and I have no excuse.” Even though she’d told him she’d stay, being human, she could still walk away any time she wanted because of free will.
At the thought of losing her, his gut twisted, and he had to force the words out. “I can’t blame you if you want to leave.”
“What?” Her brow creased. “I didn’t say that.”
“You’re thinking it.”
“Nik, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I said I’d stay.”
“For how long, Shadow? A day? Two? A week?” he demanded.
“For as long as I can,” she whispered, eyes dark with distress. “Nik, the demon merely glanced at me, and you wanted to kill him. When the time comes, I’m afraid of what you’ll do. I care too much to ruin your life.”
“Sure, you do.” Bitter laughter escaped him, and he shoved to his feet, her words like a dagger gouging his chest. “They too cared, so fucking much, it’s why I—what the fuck does it matter?” He shook his head and stalked to the edge of the plateau, staring down into the valley far below, not really seeing the forest but the abyss of emptiness that lay before him.
She’d shown him a moment of joy, only to snatch it away and drop him into hell again.
Shocked at his outburst, Shadow stared at Nik, where he stood right at the mountain’s precarious edge. Then she leaped to her feet and dashed across to him. Good thing vertigo wasn’t a problem for her…much.
Shoulders hunched, he continued staring down into the gorge below.
Shattered Dawn (Fallen Guardians Book 5) Page 21