by Anne Hope
Emma’s hand shook as she reached for them. Dread and anticipation invaded every chamber of her heart. The thought of looking at those pictures, of seeing Angie’s face staring back at her, terrified her, but she needed to know. Needed to see her past self and remember.
Inhaling sharply, she willed herself to glance down.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Emma wasn’t sure how long she sat there staring at the familiar face in the picture. A face that was practically the mirror image of her own. “She looks just like me.”
“I know.” His hand reached for hers. “I didn’t understand the resemblance until now.”
Her fingers crinkled the corners of the photograph as another memory fought to assert itself.
She’d stood beneath a tall maple, fidgeting. “Don’t you have enough pictures of me already?”
Adrian had smiled that killer smile of his. “Never.” He’d snapped the shot.
“Why won’t you let me take one of you?”
He’d grown silent for a second. “No point. I never change.”
She’d understood then. Understood that his compulsion to capture her on film had stemmed from his fear of losing her. He’d known that one day she’d go to a place where he wouldn’t be able to follow, and these pictures would be all he’d have left of her.
That memory was quickly followed by another, and then another, until a pounding headache threatened to fracture her skull. She gripped her head, and a thin, mewling sound escaped her lips.
Adrian seized her by the arms. “Emma?”
His voice bounced through her thoughts, a distant echo, hard to hear and even harder to grasp. Her soul was being split in two. Her pulse quickened. Dampness sprang from her pores, and a leaden feeling settled in the pit of her stomach.
Someone shook her, hard. “Emma, breathe.”
Inhaling a few tempering breaths, she fought to focus on his face.
“That’s it. Come back to me.”
The room spun, then settled. His eyes filled her line of vision, blue and glittering with intensity. “Are you all right?”
She nodded meekly. “I need to see more. What else do you have?”
“No. You’re pushing yourself too hard. There’s no telling what’ll happen if you tear down the wall—”
“Adrian, you have to help me.” Desperation strangled her voice. “I’m almost there. I can feel it.”
“You practically blacked out on me.” Worry carved deep grooves around his mouth. “Maybe this angel of divine intervention knew exactly what he was doing when he erected that wall in your mind. Maybe we shouldn’t tempt fate.”
“I have to remember who I am.” It was as if a part of her was locked away in a box, buried deep inside her, begging to be set free. She needed to reassemble the broken pieces of her psyche, to glue herself back together, and Adrian was the only one who could help her do that.
“No, you don’t. Not for me.”
For the first time, she believed him. He’d accepted her for who she was, didn’t expect her to be anyone else. He was finally ready to move forward, but she couldn’t. Not yet. Not until she made peace with her past. “I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for me. I need to know who I used to be. I’ll never be whole if I don’t.”
His resolve faltered. If anyone understood what it felt like to lose a part of your soul, it was him. Exhaling a gruff breath, he stood and walked to the dresser, where a small jewelry box rested. He ran his fingers over the box’s shiny surface, hesitating.
Emma rose and went to stand beside him, struggling to rein in her anticipation. “What’s in there?”
“Something very special.”
It still amazed her, the way he could speak without saying anything at all. Unable to withstand the suspense, she snatched the box from him and flung the lid open. Inside, a pair of golden wings shone against a black velvet backdrop.
Her breath caught. “This is the necklace I saw in my dream.” With reticent fingers, she scooped it up and cradled it in her palm. Pain cleaved her brain as another flood of memories assailed her—her mom fastening the chain around her neck, Adrian stroking the gold, his enthralling gaze locked on her face.
Then the chain snapped, and the pendant traced an icy path between her breasts. A man with dark hair and pale blue eyes hypnotized her with nothing more than the lyrical sound of his voice, and she followed him helplessly to the door.
Suddenly, she was thrust back to the dream. A dark purple river yawned beneath her, beckoning her, begging her to jump…
Emma spread out her arms, prepared to fly.
“What are you doing?” Adrian’s hand closed around her shoulder. “Emma?”
At his touch, something inside her gave way. Wave after wave of glorious energy flowed through her, gathering at her core, spreading outward.
A blast rent the air. Dazzling light inundated the small space and sent Adrian catapulting through the room. She parted her lips to call out his name, willed her legs to move, but her body refused to cooperate.
She was bound by invisible threads of energy, a prisoner of the light…until blackness swept in to release her.
Adrian cursed as he lifted himself off the ground. Broken bits of plaster clung to his clothing from where he’d hit the wall. Across the room, Emma lay sprawled on the floor, blind to the world. The sight of her delivered a sharp uppercut to his midsection, and he breached the distance between them and crouched beside her.
“Emma?” His voice cracked. “Damn it, Emma, wake up.” He gathered her in his arms and rocked back on his heels, pain ripping through him.
What had he done? Why hadn’t he listened to his gut and stopped before it was too late? He knew how dangerous it was to mess with the human soul, but he’d been unable to resist her pleas.
And now she was hurt. Because of him.
“What did you do to her?” Tina’s tone rang with accusation as she tore into the bedroom.
Adrian said nothing, welcoming the blame. All he’d wanted to do was piece Emma back together. Instead, he’d gone and broken her.
Tina fell to her knees beside her daughter, panic contorting her features. “Baby, can you hear me?” The gold chain hung from Emma’s flaccid fingers, and her mother scooped it up. A lifetime of memories scrolled across her face as she examined it.
“Why did you show her this?”
“She asked me to help her remember.”
The woman veered on him, looking as fierce as a lioness defending her cub. “And you listened to her? Didn’t you hear a word I said earlier? Micah put up that wall for a reason. To protect her, the same way he did with me. Why do you think those creatures failed to break me?”
She stroked Emma’s hair with a mother’s tenderness. “The wall serves as a shield. Now it’s gone, and there’s no telling what impact it’ll have on her psyche.” She crushed the pendant in her hand and skewered him with an acidic stare. “I always knew you were selfish.”
His gaze slid away from her face. He said nothing in his own defense. How could he, after what he’d done?
“You didn’t do this for her.” Hatred bled from every word. “You did it for yourself. You wanted her to remember, no matter the cost to her.”
Was she right? He wasn’t sure anymore. He hung his head, finding reassurance in the steady beat of Emma’s heart. She was alive, and that kept his hope from dying.
He rose and carried her to the bed, where he stretched her over the comforter.
Tina trailed behind him. “If you damaged my girl in any way, I swear—”
“Enough!” His voice held the right amount of menace to silence her. “Leave us.” Tina opened her mouth to challenge him, but he cut her off. “Now.”
She must’ve seen a flicker of the old Rogue in him, because she stopped arguing, though she made no effort to leave.
Ignoring the woman’s grating presence, Adrian leaned over Emma, cradling her head in his palms. Then he brushed his mouth to hers and invaded her mind.
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Chapter Thirty-Four
Jumbled thoughts and images swam through Emma’s head. Snapshots of her past life dueled with her current one, broken shards of memories struggling to come together and form a coherent whole. The pieces were all there, but no links existed between them.
Adrian focused all his energy on building a bridge between the past and the present. He healed what was broken, mended the seam between the two halves of her soul.
“Angie is a part of you and I’m a part of you, but you are Emma.”
He repeated this mantra over and over again, speaking directly to her thoughts.
“I don’t want to be Emma. Emma is weak.”
Her unexpected response jarred him. “No. Emma is strong.”
“Emma is afraid all the time.”
“That’s what makes her so brave.”
A deep, stifling void consumed him, and he feared he’d lost the connection. Then she spoke to him again, and her words tore a painful strip out of his heart.
“Angie is the one you love. That’s who I need to be.”
A few weeks ago he would’ve agreed. Now all he could think about was getting Emma back, the woman who loved him enough to set him free.
“I loved Angie, that’s true. But I’ve come to love you even more.” His mind stroked hers, encouraging it to wake from its slumber. “Come back to us. The world needs you. Your mother needs you.” The wound inside him bled open. “I need you. Don’t leave me again.”
His head grew stone heavy, and he let it drop forward, his elbows braced on either side of her face. Exhaustion made every muscle in his body ache. Invading someone’s thoughts took a lot out of him, especially Emma’s. He’d never attempted to breach a soul this powerful before. The more he pushed, the more it resisted the intrusion. Fatigue fought to take him over, but he forged ahead anyway.
“Follow the sound of my voice. It will guide you to me.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes, you can.”
“No. I’m tired. So tired. I just want to rest.”
He nearly roared with frustration when he sensed the connection slipping away. “Stay with me.”
“You need to let me go now.”
Everything inside him rebelled at the thought. How the hell did she expect him to do that, when he no longer knew how to exist without her?
But he had to. For once in his pathetic existence, he had to put someone else’s wishes before his own. Not that he had a choice. Emma had expelled him from her mind, barring access to her thoughts.
Crying out in frustration, he vaulted from the bed and stormed out of the room, leaving a flustered Tina to gape after him.
The sky glittered with a million stars, but for Adrian the night held no beauty. He stood on the front porch, his elbows propped on the railing, gazing blankly ahead. The roar of a motor pierced the blackness, drowning out the distant howl of a coyote.
Adrian barely heard it, trapped in his thoughts, as lost to the world as Emma. He was furious with her for asking him to let her go. But most of all, he was furious with himself for the part he’d played in Emma’s injury. If it could be called an injury.
Physically, there was nothing wrong with her. Why then did she refuse to wake?
“What are you still doing up? It’s nearly two in the morning.” He heard Eddie speak, but his words were no more significant than the chirp of the crickets in the neighboring woods. “Trouble in paradise?”
“Emma had a breakthrough.” Irritation blistered his insides, and he willed himself to stay calm. “The wall in her mind is gone.”
“No shit. How is she?”
Adrian balled his hands into fists.
“That good, huh?”
“She’s been out cold for five hours.”
“Maybe she’s busy processing everything. Her mind might need some time to heal.”
Adrian exhaled a harsh breath, finally meeting Eddie’s gaze. “No. You were right. All those memories, they’re too much for one person to handle.” Regret soured his mouth. “I had her back, and now—” He lapsed into silence, unable to voice the fear gnawing at him.
Eddie placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. “You did the best you could.”
The words, coupled with the friendly gesture, only served to fuel Adrian’s anger. The last conversation they’d had still weighed heavily on his mind. “Don’t pretend you’re not happy about this. You wanted her gone. Looks like you may have gotten your wish.”
“I never meant Emma any harm,” Eddie shot back. “I’m just looking out for this community. She’s dangerous. Rumor has it she can destroy us all.”
This captured Adrian’s attention. He’d never given Eddie the details. So how did the Rogue know about the threat Emma posed? “Where did you hear that?”
Eddie shrugged. “I’m a cop. I’ve got my sources. Turns out the Kleptopsychs aren’t the only ones who are after her. The Watchers want her, too. I’ll give you one guess why.” When Adrian failed to reply, Eddie went on to tell Adrian what he already knew. “Her soul is some kind of weapon against us.”
Eddie waited for a reaction that didn’t come. “Did you hear me? If the Watchers get their hands on her, they’re going to use her to wipe out our entire race.”
“Not unless it’s the only way to stop the coming flood. Marcus reassured me—”
Eddie’s face hardened as realization sank in. “You talked to Marcus?” The words dripped with hostility and a sense of betrayal. “Does he know about Emma?”
“Yes. He found Christina Russo. Coming to an agreement with the Watchers was the only way to reunite Emma with her mother.”
Disbelief slackened Eddie’s jaw. “So let me get this straight. You struck a deal with the Watchers so you could bring another human here. Does that about sum it up?”
Adrian heard the accusation in Eddie’s voice and said nothing in response.
“Did you ever stop to consider that it could be a trap? That the Kleptopsychs purposely released the woman so they could track her every move?”
“Of course, I did. That’s why I’m working with Marcus. He’s helping me keep the Kleptopsychs away from Emma.”
“To hell with Emma!” Eddie’s violent reaction startled Adrian. Their kind didn’t have emotional outbursts. Not unless they’d recently fed, and Eddie didn’t go around stripping humans of their souls. Or did he? The way the Rogue had been acting lately, Adrian couldn’t be sure. “What about the rest of us?”
The coyote howled again, the sound low and mournful. “The women are both cloaked. It’s impossible for our enemies to track either one of them.”
“Except for one minor detail. The Watchers are our enemies, too, and you’ve all but given them the keys to the kingdom.” The fury in Eddie’s voice had faded, replaced by bitter disappointment. “What do you think will happen if Emma wakes up?”
“When.” Adrian needed to believe that more than he needed to breathe. “When Emma wakes up.”
Eddie ignored him. “The Watchers will take her away. That’s what. Then they’ll use her to exterminate us all.”
Adrian wished he knew the right words to say to convince his friend that they were in no imminent danger from the Watchers. But he was physically drained and emotionally battered, and the only thing that escaped his lips was, “You need to trust me.”
The cop’s shoulders slumped with defeat, the fight going out of him. “I used to.”
The knife twisted low in Adrian’s gut. He’d never meant to let Eddie down, but he couldn’t just stand by and watch while the Kleptopsychs wiped out humanity. “I’m sorry, Eddie. I know you don’t agree with my decisions, but I have to do what I feel is right.”
A deep, impenetrable silence followed. Then Eddie nodded, his expression oddly serene. “Yeah, don’t we all.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Three days passed and Emma remained unresponsive. Adrian kept vigil over her, but she didn’t seem aware that a man sat at her bedside, losing another strip of
his soul with every second she spent beyond his reach.
Just as he had done when Angie fell ill, he held her hand and prayed to the very God who had cursed him. He raged and bargained and lost himself to despair. He paced and kicked at the floor and swore up a storm, but nothing did a damn thing to help.
He’d called Marcus, hoping the Watcher could provide some insight, but his father had been as stumped by Emma’s condition as Adrian was. The only explanation he’d offered was that Emma simply didn’t want to awaken, which was insane. Why would she purposely will herself into a coma?
On numerous occasions, Adrian had attempted to breach the boundaries of her mind again, but she refused to grant him access to her consciousness. Sometimes he found himself wondering if perhaps she was truly gone, then just as quickly crushed the thought before it could spread and infect him.
He sat beside her now, his fingers clutching hers, because it was the only thing he could do to let her know he was there. He had no idea what time it was, if it was morning or close to dusk, and he didn’t care. For him, time had stopped, trapping him in this one moment with Emma, freezing him in a state of suspended animation that felt about as real as the angels who’d spawned them.
Her skin felt cool against his, like silk. He’d owned a roll of fine silk once, ages ago. He recalled how smooth it had been, almost intangible. Each time he’d tried to grab hold of it, the material had slipped from his grasp.
The door hissed open, but he didn’t bother to look up, his gaze riveted to Emma’s expressionless face.
“You look like hell.” Tina shuffled into the room.
Adrian had no desire to deal with Emma’s mother right now. Although the woman had stopped cutting into him each chance she got, tension still loomed between them.
To his surprise, she deposited a tray on the nightstand. It held toast, a few slices of cheese and a cup of orange juice. He finally glanced up at her, his brows riding high on his forehead.
“Don’t read too much into it,” she groused. “You haven’t left this room in days. I can’t remember the last time you ate anything. Can’t have you passing out on me, too.”