by Ford, Lizzy
“Just tracking Others.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh?” She faced him. “Why not?”
“You can’t kill them. I can.”
“If I remember correctly, you were about to die when I rescued you from them.”
Darian smiled faintly.
“I haven’t had a decent shower in a week,” she said, tossing him her knives. “They like to creep up on me when they think I’m unarmed. You mind waiting a few minutes?”
“Go for it. I won’t say no to being so close to a naked woman.”
Two weeks ago, she’d have laughed. After the strange exchange outside, the joke fell flat. Jenn eyed him. Darian flipped a knife in the air then sat down on a chair in the corner.
“Want me to clean up your bed?” he asked, gaze going to the animal heads.
“I sleep on the floor.”
“After a zillion years sleeping on the floor, I won’t waste another night outside a real bed.”
“You’re not sleeping in my bed.”
The awkward silence fell again. Darian’s gaze was intent and shadowed. Jenn shook her head and turned away. She entered her bathroom and locked the door, leaning against it.
Things were getting weird. She suspected part of it was the knowledge that Xander—and Sofi—believed her to be Darian’s mate. She found it impossible to act normal around him with a potential fate that would put both of them at risk. Like Darian, she’d lost all she’d ever loved long ago. Since that fateful day, she’d sworn never to share herself with anyone. Her path as a spy for the Guardians had been lesson after lesson in how to fuck and walk. She’d built up a callus around her heart, one that got stronger and easier to maintain as she manipulated evil men.
Resolved to behave as naturally as she could, she stripped and turned up the shower as hot as she could tolerate. Her skin felt like it was melting, and she sighed deeply. She didn’t mind sleeping on the floor, but she did mind not getting a regular hot shower. Too afraid to take more than a quick rinse-off with the vamps around, she even bathed within reach of a knife or two.
After a lengthy shower, Jenn exited and pulled on clean leggings, sports bra, and socks. Her muscles felt relaxed for the first time in weeks. She yanked the door open, spirits lifted.
“What happened to you?” Darian demanded. He crossed to her and touched her side, where a long bruise wrapped around her hip. His touch sent fire through her, and she shivered at the sensation.
Jenn glanced down. She didn’t even feel the bruises and scrapes covering her body, but she felt Darian’s scorching fingers. The wounds healed as she watched, his magic caressing her from the inside in a way that—she was embarrassed to admit—was arousing. She pulled on a shirt.
“That’s the price you pay for being surrounded by vamps,” she said, unconcerned. “I get in skirmishes almost every day. If it’s not them, it was Xander kicking my ass in the gym. Sometimes I think he was trying to improve my skills. Other times, I know he was just fucking with me.” She stepped away from his warmth in the cold room, gaze sweeping over his broad shoulders and whiplike frame.
“You didn’t tell me this, either.”
“I’m doing my job, Darian,” she replied. “I didn’t get to my position as the head of Dusty’s intel networks by backing down from assignments that even most male Guardians wouldn’t take.”
“This is where we’re different. People who hurt me end up dead.”
“I wouldn’t be a good spy chief if I killed my sources.”
“I always liked you, Jenn.”
She glanced at him. The small smile was on his face again as he watched her. He had his brother’s intensity. She instinctively assessed him for weaknesses the way she did everyone. Claire was his only pressure point. He had no sense of his own mortality and fighting skill that rivaled Xander’s.
It was a dangerous combination. If he had Damian’s temper, he’d be in trouble. But he seemed calmer than the White God, more driven. Darker.
“You keep looking at me like I’m the vamp that ate your cat,” Darian said.
“I’ve watched you and Jonny change from people I know into people I don’t,” she replied.
“You know me, Jenn.” Darian retreated to the hallway.
Not anymore. Jenn finished arming herself and followed. “You have a plan that involves more than dropping into a secret meeting of Others?”
“I thought we’d try to find their portal this time.”
Jenn rolled her eyes at his back. Darian walked through the fortress, retracing their steps from earlier, until they reached the foyer. He led them into the cold morning, looked around then held out his hand. She gave him a long look, imagining them Traveling to a bustling train station populated only by Others.
“Trust me,” Darian said. “There’s only one of us I’ll risk getting killed, and it’s not you.”
With a sigh, she placed her hand in his and closed her eyes.
Chapter Four
The Oracle Sofia descended the stairs to the main floor of her mate’s Texas ranch, one hand on the railing and the other on her stomach. Her head spun from the visions she’d been having since Ireland, and she’d fought with herself for days before coming to the conclusion she’d have to break one of her Oracle vows. If she didn’t help put her mate on a certain path, she couldn’t tell if any of them would survive.
“Oracle.”
The low growl of the Original Vamp they’d inherited interrupted her thoughts. She turned to face him, arms crossed. Xander had promised Jule to behave, an oath Jule said he couldn’t break, since it was Original-to-Original. She still didn’t like having him in the house.
Her tall, blond bodyguard, Pierre, stepped closer to her, hand moving to his weapons.
“Got time for a lost soul?” Xander asked.
“Don’t mock me, Xander,” she replied.
“You have no sense of humor.”
“You’re not the first to say so,” she said. “What do you want?”
“You showed me something a week ago, a vision on a path I cannot see myself.”
“And?” she prodded when he fell quiet. The exchange a week ago was the first time she met the nightmarish Original Vamp, when he’d offered to help Jule in exchange for asking her a question.
“I want to know how that comes to be.”
“I don’t know that answer,” she replied. “Even if I did, I’m bound by some limitations in what I can share.”
“Are you as powerful as I think, or are you good at making it look that way?” he asked, studying her intently.
“I should ask you that question,” she retorted.
“If this place is standing, it’s because I allow it to be.”
“I’ll keep your secrets, Xander. Don’t mess with me or anyone I love.”
“There will come a time, Oracle …”
“I’ve Seen it,” she said and stepped closer to him. Sofi looked up, meeting his red gaze. “I’ve Seen all your possible fates, Xander. If you knew the one I plan on pushing you down—and I will manipulate the fate of a selfish creature like you—you’d be running out of here screaming.”
He growled. “We’ll see, Oracle.”
Sofi turned and walked away, irritated with him.
“That, my vamp friend, is what we call a smackdown,” Pierre added before following her.
Sofi doubted Pierre would be living if Xander hadn’t made a promise. It was egregious that stores of immense power were wasted on such a creature at a time when Damian needed all the help he could get. Xander would never help another without some sort of leverage. Fortunately, she had leverage, and she Saw she might need it before the week was over.
She took a deep breath to calm her nerves and pushed open the door to the study, already knowing who was inside. Her mate, the White God Damian, sat with his adopted brothers, the assassin Dusty and the Original Immortal Jule. All looked towards the door when she entered, and she smile
d. Pierre closed the door behind her, remaining outside.
“Come in, kiri,” Damian said and rose, motioning to his chair. “We were comparing notes before the boys went their ways again.” He squeezed her arm as she passed him.
“Uh-oh,” Jule said, gazing at her closely. The tattooed immortal with cocoa skin sat forward, his magic vibrating in the air around him. “Spill it, kiri.”
“When a woman looks like that, you really don’t want to know,” the blond Dusty said from beside him. With a complexion like hers, he was often mistaken as her brother, a similarity they’d used in the past to keep people from finding out she was Damian’s mate.
Damian planted his hands on her shoulders, and she looked up at him for a long moment, feeling sick for more than one reason. The pregnancy had not been an easy one, especially not with the excitement of the past few months.
Now this, a fate where she knew something was going to happen to the man she loved.
“Something bad is coming,” she started.
Jule and Dusty grew serious while Damian sat beside her.
“Potentially bad,” she corrected herself. “There are a lot of different paths I’m following.”
“How bad?” Dusty asked.
“Darian needs a mate, or it’ll be catastrophic.”
“Darian?” Dusty shook his head. “No way. If the fate of the world depends on him finding a woman, we’re fucked.”
“I have a bit more faith in him,” Damian said, sharing a smile with her. “He’s had another of his evolutions. You’d hardly recognize him. I gave him free rein to do what he needs to.”
“How long does he have?” Jule asked.
“I think a better question is how long do we have,” Sofi said, growing restless. “I’ve Seen some things … and there are some things so up in the air right now, I can’t figure out what it means. What I know is that our fates will end up in Darian’s hands.”
“That doesn’t scare me as much as I thought it would,” Jule said.
“Scares the shit out of me,” Dusty replied. “Does this have anything to do with the Watchers stalking Jule and me?”
“I’m afraid so,” Sofi said.
“Combined, we might be able to escape from one. Could never defeat one,” Jule said.
“Darian can. He’s killed his first Other,” she said with pride.
“Do the Watchers know this?” Dusty asked.
“Probably.”
“It’s a good skill to have, until he pisses off someone,” Jule mused. “I’m still digging out souls imprisoned in the ground by the Other in Ireland. I don’t need a pissed Watcher or Other sneaking up on me.”
“So it’s Darian against all the Watchers and Others in the universe,” Dusty summarized. “I’d put my money on him, only because he’s got no sense of his mortality. The rest of us might be hosed, though.”
“Maybe not,” Sofi said. “If he finds his mate …”
“We can find her,” Jule said.
“We already know who she is,” Damian volunteered. “Sorry, Sofi, but they need to know.”
She hesitated, aware she never should’ve told Damian, let alone allowed Xander to pry the answer out of her when they’d met. Xander had gone so far to tell Jenn. The damage was done. Damian didn’t keep secrets from his brothers. She nodded her permission.
“Jenn,” Damian said.
“What?” Dusty stared.
“We talking about the same Jenn?” Jule asked.
“She’s got too much sense to …” Dusty trailed off. “She would balance him out.” He grew thoughtful.
“They’d make good partners,” Damian said. “Jenn knows. Dusty, she’s fighting it.”
“No shit. That’s what she does,” Dusty said. “If the future relies upon her accepting him, I’m not sure it’ll happen.”
“It must,” Sofi said. “So when she comes to see you, Dusty, tell her whatever you must.”
“You want me to convince her?”
“You won’t have to. Just reinforce.”
“Tricky,” Jule commented. “In the meantime, do I have to worry about any immortal assholes stalking me down?”
“You all do,” Sofi whispered. “They will come for us all.”
The men fell silent around her.
“Are you saying we’ll all die?” Jule asked.
“No,” she said. “I can’t See that far. What I can see is that we will all be taken. I can’t see where, but I know Bianca and Yully need to stay here.”
“We’ll all stay. I’m not leaving my Bianca alone,” Dusty said.
“You’re the … bait, Dusty,” Sofi continued. “And you, Jule. And you, Damian.” Her heart hurt at the words from her vision. The images passed through her thoughts again. “I know if you all stay with us, we will have less of a chance than if we’re separated.”
There was another long moment before any of them could talk.
“Sofi, this is insane,” Dusty said. “You can’t expect us just to leave.”
“It won’t happen,” Damian said firmly, golden eyes flashing. “I’m sorry, Sofi, but no.”
“It must, Damian,” she replied. “If it doesn’t, we are all lost. This much I can See.”
“And if we do leave?” Jule pressed. “We all live?”
“I don’t know.”
“We could be dead either way,” Dusty pointed out. “One way definitely, another way, maybe.”
“It’s all dependent on Darian. And Jenn,” she said. “Darian has to leave his past behind, or we’re all screwed.”
“There’s nothing we can do?” Jule asked.
“No,” she replied. “Except to pretend like you don’t know what’s up and go on about your duties.”
“I can’t believe there’s nothing we can do,” Dusty said and rose. “I can’t leave Bianca knowing she’s in danger!”
“She’s in more danger with you here,” Sofi said. She turned to Damian. If her mate went, the others would follow. “Damian, please. Trust me.”
He studied her features and touched her face with tenderness. His hand went to her belly, where their son grew. She saw the emotion in his eyes, even as he nodded slowly.
“I trust you, kiri.” His husky voice sent shivers through her body. “If you believe this is the only way …”
“I do,” she said and took his hand, squeezing. “It’s not something I’d ask of you otherwise. I can’t See any other solution. If you three stay, you’ll bring us all danger.”
“Then I’ll go.”
She smiled, honored he’d listen to a message that went against every part of who he was while desperately wishing she could be more assured about the outcomes she Saw. There were too many paths and factors, though all seemed to lead to one of two futures. Neither was ideal, but one would see them all surviving.
Dusty sighed.
“Should I pretend this is the last day of my life?” Jule asked, frowning.
“Not the last. Unless things go wrong,” Sofi said. “It all depends on Darian.”
“No offense, but I’m spending it with Bianca,” Dusty said. “Damian, you need me for anything?”
“Nope,” the White God replied. “You guys go. Leave at dusk.”
“Sofi, any reason why I shouldn’t take Xander with me?” Jule asked. “I don’t think any of you want him around here anyway.”
Sofi shook her head and met each of their gazes again, wishing she could offer more assurances. When she said nothing else, the two left. Damian crouched in front of her, his hand on her stomach.
“Pierre needs to go,” she added. “Send him on vacation.”
“You’ll be vulnerable.”
“We’ll survive.”
“You’re not telling me something,” he said.
“Aside from the fact that I’m terrified?” she whispered.
“Yeah.”
“There is more. It scares me. I …” She stopped, panic rising within her. She wanted to tell Damian everything, but she’d broken his
rules by telling them what she did. If she told him more, he might influence the paths she saw in a way that would make their slim chance of survival even slimmer. Her chest felt too tight to breathe deeply.
“Let’s just spend the day together,” he said and cupped her face in his hands. He gave her a long, lingering kiss. “Anything you want to do.”
“Milkshakes.”
He laughed. “I meant me.”
Sofi raised an eyebrow. Her cravings had taken on a new life the longer she was pregnant.
“Fine. Milkshakes.” Damian held out his hands and helped her to her feet. “Who taught you to make those anyway?”
They stepped into the hall, and Damian signaled for the awaiting Guardian to leave. Pierre trotted away.
“Darian and I were experimenting in the kitchen. I miss food so much, Damian,” she said with a sigh. “And my cravings are just brutal. We started tossing stuff in the blender with frozen blood. I can keep down a milkshake.”
Damian grimaced. He’d never outright told her it grossed him out, but she suspected it did.
“The rest of the day, I’m yours.” She wrapped her arm around his waist as they walked to the kitchen. His power flowed through her, making her shiver. He squeezed her against him, and her eyes went over his perfect body.
A sense of loss filled her. If her vision wasn’t right, she wasn’t sure what she’d do, for the lives of all three brothers would soon be suspended in time.
Sofi fought back tears. She squeezed Damian harder, praying Darian did what he was resurrected to do.
Chapter Five
Darian took them to an area where he’d felt a consistent, high level of Other activity. The area was free of Others now, but so many had come and gone from here, he knew it was something special. He opened his eyes to find them off a dirt road in the high desert somewhere. The air was clear and dry, the sand dotted with small shrubs.
He saw nothing that might indicate a cave similar to where the Watchers entered the mortal world, not even boulders. Jenn pulled her hand free from him, and he glanced at her. She’d been acting standoffish since he sought her out at Damian’s direction. The bruises on her body confirmed what she’d never say: she was barely making it through this assignment.