It’s why he didn’t like being touched.
Her stomach dipped, her hurt and anger fading. She wanted to go to and wrap her arms around him, take away those ugly memories.
“Your client’s here,” Reynner muttered, the lines of his face rigid.
She’d almost forgotten about her appointment.
A car door slammed.
That got her moving. She cleared up the bloodied cotton pads and stored the kit in the cupboard then washed her hands. As she hurried back, she sensed the tension in Reynner, even if she couldn’t read much from his expression. And wondered if he was in pain.
“Why don’t you sit down while I deal with this?” Then she headed for the door.
***
Sit down? Reynner couldn’t move to save his life.
His body vibrated with need at being so close to her. She had to go and touch the filthy brand on his chest. He didn’t want her tainted with that shit. And she thought he didn’t want her touching him. Yeah, he usually loathed when anyone got too close or touched him—but not Eve.
The sound of feminine voices drew him back. Reynner got his first glimpse of Aethan’s mate. She wore a sleeveless, flowing white top that skimmed the waist of her jeans. The color offset her light honey-gold skin. A shallow dimple dented her chin. A little taller than Eve, her black hair was cut in a spiky style.
She smiled at something Eve said and came to an abrupt halt when she saw him.
Her gaze widened, the mismatched eyes unexpected, one a light gray and the other amber. The otherworldly light glowing in them while she studied him made him uneasy. Then her entire manner changed as if awareness filled her.
Oh, shit, she sensed him. Knew what he was. How was that even possible? Hell, he should have left—no, he couldn’t leave Eve unprotected—especially not with those emotionless fuckers sniffing about.
“I didn’t know you had company, Eve,” Aethan’s female said, her voice held a hint of a rasp.
Eve came over to him and introduced her. “Reynner, this is Echo. Echo, Reynner.”
Reynner nodded. If this female mentioned his name or her suspicions to Aethan—fuck. Too late now.
“I’m so pleased to meet you.” A smile lit her attractive, angular features. Then her gaze lowered to his chest and her brow furrowed. “What happened? Was there a fight?”
Shit. Shirt. He needed his damn shirt!
Where was the bloody thing? A quick search, and he found it on the floor near the foot of the stool. He picked it up and yanked it on, ignoring the sticky blood plastered on his skin once more.
“It’s nothing. All sorted out now,” Eve said, surprising him at her discretion. “Come. Let me show you the sculpture. It’s almost completed. Another week or so and it should be done.”
Echo’s gaze settled on the metal figure that Reynner never in a thousand years would have guessed was a depiction of his friend. She stared at it for so long, Eve gave him a nervous glance. Reynner nearly asked the female to say something.
“It’s amazing!” She grasped Eve’s arm. Eve flinched. The female didn’t notice the way Eve immediately stuck her hands into her jeans pockets.
Echo let Eve go and circled the sculpture then ran a reverent hand over the metal.
The thought that Eve had done the same, hell, it was stupid, but he didn’t like it—didn't like her touching his friend, even if it was just a damn sculpture.
“I love it. You’ve captured exactly what he is. All that wildness, that power,” Echo said in delight. “He’s going to be so—”
“So what?” An amused voice asked from the doorway.
Reynner froze as three thousand years melted away. He stared at his old friend.
Aethan had changed. He appeared older, harder, tougher than the male he’d once been. All the shit he’d suffered through for so many millennia would do that to a person. Hell, Reynner knew more than anyone how life could change you. But that teasing tone remained the same.
The urge to walk over and say hello grew so strong, it took all of Reynner’s willpower to plant his feet and remain where he was.
“Oh, there you are.” Echo hurried over to him. “I want you to see this. It’s supposed to be a surprise, but I was too excited and couldn’t wait.”
“You called me, me’morae.” Aethan smiled at his mate and brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “It’s not like I’d ignore your summons.”
Called him? Reynner frowned. How? She didn’t use her cell—dammit! How could he forget? If theirs was a soul bonding, she must have mind-linked with him.
“Summons?” Echo snorted. “You follow no one’s rules but your own.”
A smile ghosted his mouth. Playfully, he tugged a lock of her hair, and she laughed.
The tender moment had Reynner looking away. His chest hollowed out. There was no redemption for one such as him. No mate.
Yet, he was aware Eve had moved closer to him. He wanted to hold onto her. Instead, he clenched the table edge he leaned against.
“What do you want me to see—” Aethan turned. Shock and utter disbelief crossed his old friend’s face. As if in a time warp, Reynner was hurtled through the millennia to the last time he’d seen Aethan in Empyrea. His expression held a similar look, except it had been shock at the atrocity that had occurred, one Reynner had caused.
The phantom of his careless words rang out in his head.
“Is that all you have?” he taunted Aethan. “You fight like a female.”
Aethan growled, looking pissed. His sword flashed, his deadly ability powering his weapon to a lethal white glow. He flew at Reynner, his blade swinging in a dangerous arc.
Laughing, Reynner evaded the attack. Whatever was troubling Aethan, a good fight would soon take care of that since neither one of them would accept defeat.
It was always about outdoing the other.
“A’than!” A childish voice swept through the arena. “Here, for you.”
No, no, no! Reynner’s heart slammed against his ribs in horror.
Aethan spun around, his sword slipping from his sweaty hand, went hurtling across the field in a blaze of his deadly power light. “Ariana, no! No! Get back!”
Reynner tried frantically to shield her. Too late.
The sword struck the little girl, the power of the sword dragging her several meters before she fell.
Blood flowed profusely out of her small body to pool where she lay still on the ground.
“No!” Aethan’s anguished roar reverberated the arena.
Reynner stood there, unable to move, frozen in shock as they fought to save Ariana...
Breathing hard, Reynner struggled for calm. He waited for Aethan to grab his mate and storm out from the studio instead of looking into the face of the person responsible for his little sister’s death.
If he hadn’t taunted Aethan into a stupid fight, Ariana would still be alive.
The next minute, Aethan strode over. He grabbed Reynner in a hug he’d never expected. “Urias, I never thought I’d see you again!”
Reynner stood still, unable to move. He had no words.
Aethan pulled back. His expression held no recrimination, which made things worse. How could Aethan look so happy to see him?
“What are you doing here?” he asked, seizing Reynner’s biceps in a painful grip. Pleasure lit his gunmetal gray eyes. “When did you get here?”
It was then that Reynner realized Aethan had no idea of how bad things had gotten in their realm. Or the farce his life had turned out to be.
“I’ve been searching for the missing Stone of Light.” Yeah, that was safe to talk about since Aethan wouldn’t know that the scroll and Stone had disappeared.
Aethan froze. “What—how?”
Reynner shrugged. “War, strife—the usual political crap. It vanished two thousand years ago.”
Aethan lowered his gaze to the floor as if assimilating what he’d just heard. Then he glanced at Reynner and nodded. “You need my help, let me know. Look, come over to the castle, w
e can talk. There is so much to catch up on.”
He had to be joking. Go to Aethan’s home, when he could barely live with himself? Reynner shook his head. “I can’t. There’s much to do. Time’s essential.”
Finally, his cool, unresponsive attitude pierced through Aethan’s pleasure. He stared at Reynner for a long moment. “We were best friends once. I understand why you can’t see past the unforgivable sin I committed.”
When Reynner said nothing, Aethan nodded and stepped back. His jaw tight, he strode back to his mate. “Echo, I’ll wait for you in the car.”
The pain on his friend’s face was exactly like the one he’d seen eons ago when Ariana lay bleeding on the fields. It cracked through Reynner’s walls.
“You did nothing!” The words tore free. Rage, guilt, and self-loathing ate at Reynner like acid.
Eve stepped closer. But he couldn’t look at her. She’d seen enough of his hideous past, now she’d know more. Yet he couldn’t stop. “Did you not think if I hadn’t taunted you into a damn useless fight, that tragedy wouldn’t have occurred?”
Aethan dismissed his verbal deluge with a shake of his head. “How could you have known that I’d had an argument with my sire when I met you on the training fields? I needed an outlet, it’s why I accepted the challenge.”
Urias, his friend was still so fucking honorable and godsdamn blind. “I started that fight, I should have been the one banished.”
“Why? Ariana died by my sword—”
“Because of me—me!” Reynner swallowed hard. Unable to look at Eve and see the condemnation in her eyes for being responsible for the death of a child, he said in a voice gone numb, “Eve, call me when you’re ready to leave.”
Then he stalked past his friend and left the studio.
***
Eve had no idea what had happened. It was obvious Reynner and Echo’s husband knew each other. But the pain from both men, their emotions, overwhelmed her.
She had to go find Reynner, see if he was all right. How much more could one person take? Being captured by a vicious demoness and tortured. Then meeting a friend after so many millennia, who, by all she’d seen, mattered very much to Reynner. And she’d seen, too, the gut-churning anguish beneath the guilt. He’d looked as if his heart were being ripped apart.
“I’m so sorry,” she told Echo. “Can we do this another day?”
The younger woman nodded, her bicolored eyes clouded with anxiety. “I think it’s best. Aethan, let’s go.”
When he didn’t respond, she stroked his arm and said softly, “He’ll come around. He just needs time after seeing you again.”
The tall man pulled his gaze from the empty doorway through which Reynner had vanished. He reached out, brushed a hand in a tender gesture over Echo’s hair. “He blames himself,” he said. “I didn’t expect that. I know better than anyone what self-hatred can do to one’s soul.”
Echo stroked his chest as if easing old pains then she hugged him.
A pang of envy struck Eve, a longing for what the couple had. She pushed her yearning aside and walked out into the stifling heat. Stopping on the sidewalk near the sleek, black Lamborghini parked there, she searched for Reynner. Up the street, few people were about. She glanced down, and there in the shadows of a narrow thoroughfare she saw him standing, head lowered.
She sprinted across. “Reynner?”
His looked up, his hunted expression shutting off. “Not now, Eve. Go back inside.”
As if she’d let that stop her. She was coming to understand this complicated man. He was hurting, he could hide it all he wanted, but she knew. He needed her.
“No. You shouldn’t be alone.”
“You shouldn’t worry about me. I’m not worth it.”
She didn't agree. He’d walled up his emotions—retreated again, showing the world the cold, hard man she’d first met.
Well, she refused to stand by and watch him further destroy himself.
“You may be all big and strong, terrify demoniis and Darkreans, but you need someone right now. Let me be there for you.”
Reynner shut his eyes at her words, then with unerring accuracy, he reached out and hauled her to him and held on tight, as if afraid she’d disappear. He buried his face in her hair. “You know what I am—what I’m responsible for. Why aren’t you running?”
“How could I when you’re hurting?” she whispered. “Besides, from what I’ve heard, it was an accident.” Eve pressed her face into his neck and hugged him back, breathing in his intoxicating scent and soaking in the sheer wonder of being in his arms.
After a short blissful moment, she asked, “Who is he?”
His hands stroked her back. “Can you not see the similarity?”
Eve stilled. Her heart nearly kicked out of her chest at the truth. She thought the man had tinted his hair in that varied blue. She pulled back, eyes wide. “Is he related to Aerén?”
“His brother.” Exhaling roughly, he let her go. “Aethan was banished eons ago for the death of their little sister. It would have never happened had I not dared him into a useless fight. Ariana died. He was exiled. And I…”
“You did what? Did your family disown you?”
Derisive laughter left him, haunted blue eyes met hers. “No. The blame wasn’t mine, or so my sire insisted. I was to carry on like nothing happened…”
“But you couldn’t,” she said in understanding.
“No. I couldn’t live with that. I left.” He glanced at the studio. The pain in his eyes was like a clamp around her heart. The man in there meant a lot to Reynner.
“You left Empyrea to search for him, didn’t you?”
His lack of response told her what she wanted to know. And right then, Eve decided she would do what she could to help him.
“Reynner, you can tell me it’s not my business, but give him a chance—”
“Eve, stop.”
She pinned him with a firm look, determined to knock some sense into his rock-hard male skull. “No, you listen. Not often in life do we get second chances. Some people are afraid of what they might find if they delve too deep into themselves, so they build walls. But Reynner, you have to open old wounds to discover the truth. Once the bleeding stops, the healing begins.”
For a length of a breath, he simply stared at her. “Not for me, Eve. There can never be absolution for me.”
“I don’t believe that. But, you have to forgive yourself first. And I know you’re not a coward,” she said softly, accepting his scowl. “You will do the right thing. Or else you’ll leave another scar on your friend. He’s lived with the memory of killing his sister, but he’s made peace with himself. You’ve blamed yourself for something no one could have foreseen.”
“You have blood on your shirt.”
She glanced at the smears on her blue top, then back at him, refusing to let him distract her. “Reynner, to have a friend like him is rare. I have few, and I treasure them since…” She blew out a breath and pushed on, “Since not many like me because of my abilities.”
“Then it’s their loss—” He stopped when he realized what he’d said. “How is it that I’ve lived so long filled with self-hatred, and you make it all sound so simple?”
“Because you’ve been hurting for far too long. It’s time to let go and heal. Besides,” she added drily, “I’m sure most are far too scared to try and talk to you with that aloofness you wear like armor.”
He snorted, a rare smile tugging his mouth.
A low purr of an engine resounded in the alley. Reynner looked past her.
Eve turned to find the Lamborghini heading up the road. She shot a quick look at him to find the mask of remoteness back in place. She sighed.
Chapter 14
Sebris eased off his shirt. Blood seeped from his wound and dripped down his abs. The lesion scored deep in his stomach ran parallel with the pain eating at him. His hands shook as he rested them on the countertop. He glanced at the enormous mirror above the porcelain sink in his
bathroom and took in his injuries. If he hadn’t used the last bit of his ability to dematerialize, the Empyrean would have had his head as a trophy.
He hadn’t lived this long to die because of carelessness. Displeasure resurged when he thought about why he was in this state.
Taegér. Observe and report had been his orders. Not draw attention to them. But the warrior couldn’t resist getting closer when a female was involved, and the Empyrean had sniffed him out. If it weren’t for the fact that the warrior was one of his most trusted men, Taeg would meet Urias face-to-face sooner instead of later.
Sebris snagged a fresh towel and held it against his wound. It didn’t heal quickly like it would have if he were on Empyrea. Nor could he use his powers since his had all but flatlined. He wouldn’t die from his injuries, but it just hiked his pain levels. And ignoring the damages wouldn’t make them go away.
He dampened another towel in water and washed the blood seeping from the gash, but the thing just wouldn’t quit. He gushed like a slaughtered animal.
Sebris glared in annoyance at the disaster of his wound.
He yanked open more cupboards, found several rolls of bandages, a small skein of silk thread, and a stitching device. He threaded the needle, pinched the wound closed, and pushed it through his flesh. The sticky mess of plasma made the needle slippery. Teeth clamped, he sutured. Sweat beaded on his skin. Pain rose, adding more to the rioting deep within his bones.
One, two, three, he continued sewing, his molars crushing down on the agony saturating him until the last stitch was in place. He knotted and snipped the ends.
Cotton pads, gauze, and three Band-Aids later, he covered the wound. He sucked in a deep breath and braced his hands on the counter.
Damn, too much pain—too much! He needed to heal faster.
Sebris glanced up and encountered his reflection in the mirror. More black bled into his eyes, he could barely see their pale color anymore. Harsh lines creased his face, while his mouth held a cruel twist.
Well, he was in a shitload of agony.
One good thing had come out of this, though. Satisfaction spread through him. Reynner had sent the female away before he confronted them. That alone told him everything he needed to know. She was the foretold one.
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