His eyes widened, and he stopped moving. I leaned in to brush a kiss on his lips. Gentle and sweet, I pulled away before he could make it anything else. Because if I were being honest, Doran had the kind of pull on me that could easily tumble me under his spell. And right now, I had to focus on stopping Orion, not finding a new lover.
“I will wait for you,” he said, his voice husky.
“I know, and I don’t want you to.”
I wouldn’t look at him, didn’t want to have this conversation anymore. He adjusted his hold on me and climbed the last few feet up the side of the building. As soon as we were on the roof, we ran for Blaz. He had a full load of riders, but that was no difficulty for him. Alex rode in Blaz’s curled claw, howling in the wind like a maniac.
“Blaz, you know where we’re going?”
Jack’s. Are you going to tell Doran that Liam is still making an appearance now and again through Faris?
His words were for me alone. “You noticed that, too?”
The wolf is strong and hard to miss when his spirit shows up. Faris knows it too and I think it scares him.
“He’s not the only one,” I grumbled. Thinking about my body’s reaction to Faris’s proximity I turned in my seat, searching for the enigmatic vampire. He was strapped into the very back of the leather rigging, as far from everyone as he could be. His eyes fluttered open, solid gold.
“Holy shit.” I unbuckled myself and pushed my way past everyone else to get to him. “Liam.”
He bobbed his head, blond hair fluttering in the wind. “Rylee. Faris is dying.”
“I know. We’ll fix it when we land.”
“No time.” He shook his head, eyes dull. I grabbed his face and held him, staring into Liam’s eyes, feeling his soul as if it were a tangible thing.
“Then I guess we better hurry this up.” I straddled him, cinching my legs around his waist so I wouldn’t fall. “Berget, spot me.”
“You got it.” Her hands clamped onto my shoulders as I pulled Faris close, tipping my head so he could get at my artery easily. My stomach surged with anxiety. “And pull him off if he gets going too strong.” I’d done this before, and a vampire high on my blood was a dangerous thing.
“Let him die,” Doran said. “He’s not predictable.”
“I can’t,” I said and then Faris buried his fangs into my neck. I gasped, the pain gone in a flare of familiarity. I squirmed in my seat, tried not to think about Liam, but it was impossible. His fangs slid into me, like other things had slid into me, and I had to bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from moaning.
A slow building pressure started way too low in my body and I wanted . . . things I couldn’t have. Faris didn’t have any such qualms, the rumble of pleasure in his chest all too audible. His arms locked around me, pinning me to him. He was no longer drinking from me, but his tongue worked a trail of magic up the bare skin of my neck to my jaw and then he was kissing me.
I’d forgotten how good he was at this part of things. Fingers dug into my shoulders in an attempt to pull me away, and someone called my name. But I didn’t want to go. I tasted Liam on his lips. My wolf. I buried my hands into his hair, holding him close, my mouth hungry for what he offered. My body recognizing the grip of his hands. I opened my eyes. Gold eyes stared back at me.
His voice was husky and deep. “I’ve missed you.”
A sob ripped out of me, as I touched his face, and then those eyes shifted to blue. Faris licked his lips, a slow smile curling across them. “Well, that was more than pleasant.”
Hang on, storm cloud. Blaz shouted and there was no question of me moving. Faris held me tightly, our bodies breathing in sync as the rain and wind lashed at us, sweeping across our skin. His eyes never left mine, and my breath caught. Rain slicked his hair back, trickled down his face and dripped from his jawline.
Fuck, this was a bad idea. So very wrong. But I couldn’t let go, it wasn’t safe.
Not really all that safe to hang on, either, as evidenced by the way he looked at me.
Fuck. No, not fuck. Not fuck. Faris burst out laughing. “Your face, gods, you should see the horror on your face. Would I be all that bad to bed?”
His chest shook with mirth against mine, which only caused friction of my wet shirt on parts of my body that hadn’t had a man’s touch in a long time. A gust of wind hit us, pressing me against him even harder. His mouth was on the edge of my ear, sending shivers through my body. “Really, Rylee. There has always been chemistry between us, why deny it?”
“Because it’s Liam. You hold his soul, even now, and my soul responds to that,” I said, pushing against his chest, but finding my fingers digging into the fabric and pulling him close.
“Not possible.” He spoke with certainty, but I knew differently.
“We took a vow, no one knew,” I whispered. “No one knew, and now I feel him in you. And it makes this . . . difficult.”
“He’s not in me.” He pushed me away but didn’t let go. His eyes narrowed. “Liam is not in me.”
My eyebrows climbed. “Really?” I reached up and ran a finger down his jaw. “Liam, you want to inform him?”
Faris tipped his head and then his eyes went wide. Like fall out of his head wide.
“No.” He breathed the word. I didn’t hear it, but I saw his mouth form it. And then he let go of me to grab his own head. I let out a yelp, a gust of wind snapping me to one side. If I hadn’t been hanging on with my legs, I would have been blown off.
What are you doing back there? It feels like when you and Liam mated. Tell me you aren’t letting Faris into your panties?
“I am not,” I bit out. There was a dip in the air currents, which threw me once more against Faris who wrapped his arms around me. But it wasn’t his eyes. Liam spoke. “He doesn’t know how to get rid of me. He invited me in, and now we seem to be more than a little bit stuck. ”
That was Liam through and through, and I lifted my head. “Don’t push him, please, Liam. I need his help. You know that.”
Golden eyes fluttered closed and when they opened they were blue. “You told him to go easy on me?”
I nodded. Faris swallowed, his throat bobbing with the effort. “This is every necromancer’s worst fear—that a spirit they let in will . . . stick.”
I no longer wondered if things could get weirder or worse. I knew they would. Like waiting for a change in weather, I figured I had to wait only ten minutes.
Nope, fewer than that.
CHAPTER 7
Rylee
Blaz tucked his wings and dove, hard and fast. My stomach rolled and I closed my eyes, but I wasn’t sure that it was all due to the movement. He landed on the roof of Jack’s mansion as the sun kissed the edge of the horizon.
“Everyone, inside.” I pointed to the door and no one argued, though I noticed Faris didn’t let go of me, his hand on my lower back a heavy weight. Ushering me ahead of him. Like Liam had done how many times? Shit, this was going to be hard.
“If you can let go of your boy toy, perhaps we can get inside.” Doran’s voice was icy cold and it snapped my eyes to him. Blaz curled his head around, his voice loud enough that everyone heard what he had to say.
Doran, you are being a jealous prick. Liam’s soul resides in Faris and it is pulling on her. So suck it up and put on your big boy panties.
Doran’s jaw dropped and Berget leaned around him to look at Faris. “That explains what I’ve been feeling.”
I pointed again at the door, this time with one of my swords. Just in case anyone wanted to argue. “Inside.”
They filed in, Faris and I last. And the bastard took advantage of it.
“Just once, without him,” he said, slamming the door closed while we were still on the roof.
He spun me around and his lips were on mine, kissing me hard, ferocious and hungry for something I couldn’t give him. I jammed the handle of my sword into his sternum, knocking the wind out of him. “Shit, not today, Faris.”
He grinned at
me, totally unrepentant. “You kissed me back, that’s all I wanted. You want me too, Tracker. Remember that.”
I flushed, the heat rising fast under my skin. I flung the door open and was tempted to slam it shut behind me. But not with Liam out there. Fuck, this was messed up.
We congregated in the library, the place we gravitated to when things got shaky. So pretty much every day we were here.
A silence hung as we looked at one another. I strode to the table and grabbed an empty wine decanter. “Deanna, would you rinse this out for me?”
She raised her eyebrows but took the decanter and left the room.
“Look, I don’t want anyone else getting sick. So whether you like it or not, you’re all getting some of my blood. And I mean everyone.” At least the vampires wouldn’t mind. I wasn’t worried about that.
Wrong.
“You can’t be weak right now,” Doran said.
Faris nodded his agreement. “He’s right. All of us could die, and it wouldn’t matter. As long as you make it to Orion.”
“Fucking hell it matters to me!” I slammed my hands on the table, the reverberation stinging my palms. “I will not stand by while my family dies off if I can do something about it. Something simple.”
Deanna came back and handed me the wine decanter, sparkling and clean. I put it on the table. “Anyone have any good reason for me to not do this?”
Doran held up his hands. “Just wait a minute. You’re rushing things and that’s when you get ass deep in trouble. What else are we dealing with here? Anything? You have any number of supernaturals coming for your blood. You can’t be left alone. Ever. And you are planning to leave again, aren’t you?”
“I have to find the Destroyer. She is the final key to facing Orion.”
Berget stepped forward, her eyes clear and focused. “I’m going with Rylee. I’ll watch out for her.”
Doran’s eyes flicked over Berget. “The problem is that while your parents very well may be subdued at the moment, how long will it last this time? How do you know they don’t want to kill her and are biding their time?”
Her lips trembled and her eyes filled with tears. “You don’t know. But I do. They understand finally that if I die, they are truly gone. If I walk into the sun, it won’t just be my soul that crosses the veil, but theirs too.”
I put an arm across her shoulders. “I trust her, Doran.”
“I can’t. And I can’t go with you.” Now his eyes went to Faris. “And you? What do you want from her this time?”
Faris gave a roll of his shoulders, slumping into a chair. He sprawled his legs out in front of him, so relaxed I would have thought he was completely unbothered by the fact he almost died.
“I want to keep her safe.”
Doran snorted. “And I’m the queen of England.”
Faris spread his hands in front of him. “What can I say that will convince you?”
“Tell them about Liam,” I said quietly.
His jaw twitching, he stared at me and I stared back. “It’s none of their business.”
“It will convince Doran that you have nothing but my best interest at heart and you aren’t just trying to get your fangs into me again.” I tightened my grip on Berget.
Faris flexed his jaw and finally, he spoke. “I seem to be carrying the wolf’s soul somehow. And he is . . . influencing me when it comes to Rylee.”
I kept my mouth shut. Faris’s secrets were his to share in his own time, if he wanted to.
“This has something to do with your arm, doesn’t it?” Doran leaned toward Faris who squirmed in his seat.
“Yes.”
“I told you not to attempt it. I told you something like this would happen,” Doran bit out, then scrubbed his hand through his hair. “Fine. If Liam is with Faris, then I trust him to look after you.”
I cleared my throat. “There is one other problem. When I Track now, the demons can pinpoint me. I’m hoping someone might know a way to throw the fuckers off.”
Will let out a laugh, reminding me he was there. “Nothing is going to go right with you involved, is it?”
I shrugged. “Really, no one here should be surprised that shit just keeps getting tougher. That’s the way the world rolls.”
Alex let out a jaw-cracking yawn and lay at my feet. “Blocking demons, Rylee needs to hide. Wear a costume.” After dispensing his advice, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. A slow hissing of air escaping his back-end had me and Berget putting distance between him and us.
“Seriously, what have you all been feeding him?” I blew a sharp breath of air out my nose to clear the fumes.
“Wait,” Berget froze in place, and her eyes went distant. Before I could ask her anything, Doran shoved me behind him and Faris caught me, his arms snaking around me.
Berget seemed to be seeing something and then she shook her head, coming back to herself. “My parents . . . .” she looked for me, and saw that Doran and Faris had put themselves between us. Her lips tightened, but she said nothing about their sudden change in positions. “They said the werewolf has a point. The demons are tracing Rylee’s essence. If we change her essence, then the demons can’t trace her.”
“Essence?”
She shrugged. “Someone has a portion of your blood. That has to be how they are tracing you. If you change the makeup of your blood, then they can’t find you anymore. Nice and simple.”
“I can’t become a shifter, or a vampire for that matter.” I wormed out of Faris’s grip and moved closer to her. The boys didn’t trust her, but I did. I’d seen the edge of death with her, and her parents had spoken to me. They really did understand their best interest lay in letting Berget live her own life without their interference.
Berget smiled. “True, but that doesn’t mean the process wouldn’t work.”
I frowned, and rubbed a hand over my face. “Spell it out for me. I’m too tired to be smart.”
“If you exchanged blood with a vampire, it would change the essence, your blood, for a period of time before your immunity kicked it out. It’s not a perfect solution, but you could do it whenever you needed to Track someone.”
Shit. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. “It would have to be you or Faris then.”
“Not you,” Doran snapped, looking at Berget. His face softened along with his tone. “I’m sorry, Berget, but we can’t risk her. You know that.”
Berget gave a slight nod, but her posture said it all. His lack of trust hurt her. And I knew she secretly, or maybe not so secretly, loved him. That was the other reason I would never turn his way, despite what I’d said.
“Faris would be better anyway.” She didn’t give a reason, but Doran nodded in agreement.
Doran glanced at Faris. “Are you willing to exchange blood with her?”
I was surprised he didn’t jump on the table and dance. A blood exchange is what he’d been jonesing for as long as I’d known him. A way to bind us together. Fucking hell, and now it seemed I was giving him his wish. The blond-haired vampire inclined his head slightly. “If that will help, then yes.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please.”
Those blue eyes fucking sparkled when they looked my way. They said a number of things. One of which was “I’m going to make you love this.” Damn me and my ability to read people.
“It might be best,” Faris said as he stood, and motioned to the empty decanter beside me, “if you’re going to offer your blood to everyone else then this would be a good time to test the theory.”
Berget’s lips tightened. “We don’t have to test it, this will work and you know it.”
“What are you really up to?” My hands twitched, itching to have a blade in them. Just in case.
Faris was far too sly for this to be anything but a ruse to get what he wanted. I took two strides and shoved him—hard. He stumbled back, totally caught off guard. “You’re up to something, vampire, and you’re damn well telling me before I agree to anything with you. Doran might think you’
re the safer bet, but that doesn’t mean I agree.”
He ended up against the window ledge, leaning his ass against it. Still, he wasn’t angry and that made me believe he really was up to something. Something I wouldn’t like.
Fucking vampires.
Alex grumbled in his sleep. “Fucking vampires.”
It seems you’re connection to Alex has grown. I sense him through you without you Tracking him, Blaz said softly to me.
Fantastic. I slid a hand through my hair. “Everyone out.” Faris made a move to stand and I pointed at him. “You keep your ass glued.”
Berget passed close by me. “I’ll be right outside the door.”
Doran looked at Alex. “You’ll keep him in here, for what good it will do.”
I nodded, but kept my eyes on Faris.
The room emptied and the silence that fell was weighted, heavy with emotions and possibilities. “You are going to come clean with me, Faris, or it won’t matter that Liam’s soul is in you. I know he’ll move on, and I’ve grieved him once.”
He pushed off the window ledge and strolled toward me, touching things as he went. The table, the edge of a chair, the spine of a book. My eyes followed his hands, like watching a cobra slide through the air. “Rylee.”
Just my name, and fuck, I almost went under his spell, felt it curling through my blood. I did the only thing I could. “Liam.”
Faris shook his head. “He’s tucked away for the moment. Once I realized what was happening I made sure he couldn’t come forward. But”—he lifted those mesmerizing hands to my face—“his soul still calls to you, doesn’t it?”
I nodded, unable to move. My brain screamed that Faris was taking advantage of the situation; the rest of me didn’t give a flying fuck. He was Liam, Liam was in there.
And I wanted him.
He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I want you too, but not like this. I want you to want me for me, or not at all. Do you remember what I told you, about my past?”
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