“We will save you from the consequences of your actions, Genevieve,” Tau states. “I don’t relish the thought of entering Sheol to search for your languished soul! Forget your daydreams of Hell because anything that you can imagine will not measure up to the horror of the reality.”
“I can suffer for my own sins. I never asked you to save me,” I reply, unwavering.
“You’ll never have to—you’re my daughter,” he retorts. “I’ll do what I can for Reed and you’ll stay out of it, if I have to gag and bind you myself.”
My fingers clench tighter as the ache in my chest grows to an almost unbearable level. “Yeah, good luck with that,” I say with dark sarcasm, adopting a defensive posture and backing away from him toward the balcony door.
Normally I’m in command of the energy surrounding me, but now I have to strain to collect it. My chaotic emotions are hindering me, refusing to hold onto it. As the energy leaks haphazardly from me, the walls around us freeze with the crackling-creak of an iceberg. Sparkling-cold crystals of ice prowl up them.
“She will use her magic to immobilize us,” Phaedrus advises Tau with his coal-black eyes focusing solely on me. “She plans to go to Brennus alone—in the Knights Bar—”
Swinging an anguished spell at him, Phaedrus leaps out of its path with the agility of a bird. The chair behind him shrinks to dollhouse-size when the spell makes contact with it.
Xavier materializes in front of me, blowing into the palm of his open, gloved hand. A pixilated swirl of dust colors the air around me like shiny, silver foil as it engulfs me in a super-fine cloud. Black spots swarm in my eyes as my legs weaken and buckle beneath me. Xavier catches me in his arms; his mismatched eyes swim above me while I try to clutch the soft fabric of his shirt. In a panic, several of my clones tear from my skin, glowing and rushing in different directions.
One sorrowful clone enters Xavier, disappearing into the contours of his broad chest. His eyes widen in agony, while all of my crazed emotions from the past few hours assault him. The fiery glow of another of my clones swamps Tau before disappearing within him. His face blanches as he bends forward with a feverish grimace. Cole and Phaedrus have similar reactions to the clones that hit them and dissolve away.
Xavier shifts his arm beneath my knees, lifting me up while whatever he blew at me makes me as docile as a favored pet. He coos in my ear, “I’m sorry, but you’re safe now.”
My numb cheek rests against his chest as I slur, “Never…forgive…” but I can’t continue.
As I stare hazily at my father, Tau addresses the room in Angel, presumably giving orders and instructions to those assembled. My focus slips again while the chemicals continue to press down on me. When my eyes readjust, Tau is by my side. Reaching out to me, he strokes my hair gently. “This is for your benefit, Evie,” Tau murmurs in an appeasing way.
“Liar,” the word falls from my lips in a whisper, causing Tau’s eyes to darken before mine shut against him.
**
My eyes open slowly to the dim light of dusk. Shadows stretch and pull over the elegant side table next to the carved poster bed in Brennus’ room. Sluggishly, I try to move my aching muscles, but I can’t stretch my arms because they’re twisted together by a downy, supple cord behind me. So too, my wings are locked in one position by a rope wound around them near my back, refusing to allow them to bend or move much. I groan. The pounding ache in my head forces it wearily forward onto the soft pillow sham.
Straightening my bent knees an inch, the silken rope tied around my ankles tightens. Linked to the ropes at my wrists, the cord locks me in a hog-tied position on top of the coverlet. A gag cuts into the corners of my mouth, stifling my gasping breaths of panic.
I still, willing myself not to be sick when frigid memories of Reed’s dull, drugged expression comes to mind, causing a surge of adrenaline to jerk me fully awake. Then I realize what the shadows mean; they indicate that several hours must’ve passed and the sun is again setting on the horizon. I struggle to tear the ropes binding me, feeling sure that they’ll be shredded at any moment and I’ll be freed, but they hold firm, biting into my flesh.
Breathing hard, I stop struggling for a second, trying to think.
Shapeshift, I think. I concentrate, trying to imagine myself distorting into the swirling mass of wings.
My wings make a lurch to retract and I begin to feel the shift from mammal to Lepidoptera, but then searing pain stabs me near the base of my wings where they connect to my back. It feels like someone tried to sheer them from my body with an axe. The rope wrapped there is cutting into my wings with vicious intent and I’m sure that I will lose them if I try to shapeshift again. With a pathetic whimper, I cry weakly before struggling some more. Managing to flip onto my back, I look up at the ceiling and freeze instantly as the gag in my mouth silences the scream that erupts from me.
Levitating above me, Brennus clings to the ceiling just like a spider stalking his prey. His handsome face studies me as his mouth slowly forms a sensual smile. I stare back at him while broken thoughts of Reed make my heartbeat triple, threatening to smother me in darkness again. Reed needs me—appease him, I think, while I inhale raggedly through my nose, trying to calm my erratic breathing so I won’t faint.
Brennus’ fingertips let go of the ceiling, but he doesn’t fall; he slowly descends to hover only a few inches above me. Cold, prickly air reaches out to me, caressing my skin, while I gaze into the fire in his light green eyes.
“Da way ye struggle…’tis a torment ta me,” he says as he comes closer with a quiet laugh. He reaches out to tuck my tumbled hair back from my forehead before he sinks further to lie beside me on the bed facing me. He leans his cheek against his hand with his elbow against the mattress. The bed sags a little under his weight while he bends down, kissing a tear that falls near my bound lips.
A sultry smile twitches his mouth when I shiver. He asks, “Did I na tell ye dat ye could na trust da aingeals?”
I nod feebly, while more bitter tears cloud my eyes. He wipes them away for me with his thumbs. He is so gentle, it makes me want to cry harder, but I resist the need to do so.
“When ye did na come ta me right away, I tought ye had betrayed me again,” Brennus says in a whisper, like he’s telling me a secret. His fingertips are softer than a shadow when he trails them down my shoulder.
Something within me responds to it and I ache for him to touch me. More venom...I want him more—he’s under my skin—inside...Wintery coldness creeps through my veins as dread and desire mix to make my legs feel heavy, but I use them to try to force the ropes from me again.
“Och, do na struggle, mo chroí, dat aingeal rope only gets stronger if ye do,” Brennus says with a soft intake of breath. His head tilts a little as he adds, “Or...do struggle. I can na decide. Ye’ve made yerself bleed.”
Brennus touches my wrists, coming away with a smear of blood on his fingertips that he touches to his tongue. Closing his eyes, he savors the taste of me. When he opens them again, he traces his finger lightly over the silken threads of the cord binding me. Gently, he nudges me over, examining my tethered hands closely.
Shifting me back, he says with an edge in his tone, “’Tis na a knot dat I know. Finn is da one who can unravel even da most complex hitch.”
In the gathering darkness of the room, I try to ask him what he’s talking about with my eyes. He notices, bringing his hands to my neck, he unties the silken scarf in my mouth. The corners of my lips throb painfully. I move them gingerly, grimacing as the bottom one cracks and splits. Feeling like I have a desert in my mouth, I croak, “Untie me, Brennus.”
He brushes my hair back, exposing my neck. My arterial pulse beats harder as he touches his cool lips to my throat. “Did ye na hear whah I told ye?” he asks, his teeth scratch my skin lightly. I inhale as a shiver trails through me. “I do na know dis knot.”
“Then break the rope,” I suggest in a breathy voice as I look toward the door. I could scream for help, but
then Reed is dead. If an angel walks through that door, I will never see Reed alive again. I need to keep Brennus safe now. He has Reed.
Brennus toys with the ruby-colored silk strap of the nightgown I’m wearing. The thin fabric falls over the round curve of my shoulder. He uses his finger to follow the strap down and trace the edge of the silk that rests over my heart. “I can na break da rope. ’Tis aingeal hair— " he pauses when I bite my lower lip to stifle the soft gasp that threatens to spill from me. Seeing my reaction to his caress makes his eyelids close a little with desire. “’Da rope is called dat because ’tis made from a special tree in Paradise. I can na break it wi’ magic and since I do na know dis knot, one wrong turn would render it undecipherable—ye’d be tethered to it ‘til da one who tied it sets ye free.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I breathe in shallowly, as my cheek rests against the pillow again.
“I am na,” comes Brennus’ reply. “Do dey na tell ye anyting?” he asks with a frown. His hand reaches behind my back. I feel him tug gently on the rope; it tightens it, causing my shoulders to pull back. The jewel silk nightgown slips lower, exposing more of my skin as it makes my breasts strain dangerously against the fabric. It also pushes me forward so that I’m pressed against Brennus’ chest. “We’ll need to get some of dis rope, mo chroí, for da future.”
“Brennus! Just pick me up and take me with you then,” I whisper. “Someone can figure it out later.”
A wicked smile reaches his eyes as he shakes his head slowly, “Ye want me help ta escape da aingeals?” he asks.
“Is that too dangerous a precedent to set for you?” I counter with my eyebrow arching, knowing that brashness is like an aphrodisiac to him.
“Are ye finally willing ta let it all go, mo chroí?” he asks, while his stone-white finger traces my swollen lips, soothing them like ice.
“What?” I ask shallowly. “My life?”
“Yer life,” he nods in agreement.
I look away from his eyes. “Since I’ve met you, Brennus, my life has not been mine,” I say with more honesty than I like to admit to myself. “Time with you is visceral…white-knuckle moments that make me know that I’m alive. I think I have become addicted to the rush of fear and desire you create…the uncertainty that I was once forced to endure has now become a need, like those pills that people keep in their medicine cabinets.”
“Ye’re a hallion,” Brennus breathes with a grin. “Anyting less den ye is tedious ta me now—’tis nap-inducing.”
“You never sleep,” I point out.
“See whah I mean, den?” he inquires with a raised eyebrow. “Ye’re too ideal for yer own good.”
“And you’re too vicious for yours,” I reply with no qualms about what I say because he gives another low laugh. He tugs on the rope binding my hands again just enough so that I let out a low exhale of pain as my breasts press firmly against his chest. Feeling his body against mine is confusing, bringing pleasure with pain.
Brennus sees my confusion and his smile grows a little. “Ye’re beginning ta discern between da essential and da nonessential moments of life, mo chroí,” Brennus replies. “Ye’re na meant for a tepid existence, so maybe ’tis time ta leave da sandbox.”
“I would, but you said you can’t untie the knot,” I reply sarcastically. He tugs harder on the rope and I grimace. He nuzzles my skin above the fabric of my nightgown until I want to cry out.
“Ye’re resourceful,” Brennus murmurs against my skin, before his eyes lift to meet mine, “and ye are, after all, a prototype weapon with a wicked aftertaste…I’ve every confidence dat ye’ll find a way ta free yerself,” Brennus intones, stroking the contour of my cheek with the back of his fingers.
He lets go of the rope behind my back; it slackens a little, creating space between our bodies again. “What?” I ask him breathlessly, like I haven’t heard him correctly. “You’re not going to help me?”
“I am na,” he agrees softly.
“Why not?” I whisper-yell at him, and then look anxiously at the door to see if anyone is coming.
“Because I know dat ye’ll come ta me as soon as ye can—I have whah ye want most in da world: yer aingeal. He is ta ye whah Finn was ta me: da tie dat binds…” he trails off, watching as my face turns white.
“Is he still alive?” I ask Brennus.
Brennus shrugs noncommittal, saying, “Ta find dat out, ye’ll have ta come ta me.”
“What difference does it make if I come to you?” I ask in frustration.
“Da difference is that ye’ll na be alone. I want ye ta bring someone wi’ ye,” Brennus says with his eyes fixed to mine.
“Who?” I croak, but I already know the answer.
“Da other,” he replies as his jaw clenches. His fingertip moves over the silk as it trails down between my breasts to my abdomen, and then his hands shift to my hips to rest there.
“Russell,” I choke.
Brennus’ nostrils flare at his name as rage enters his eyes, but his voice is cold when he says, “He is da price, mo chroí, for yer disobedience…for Faolan and Declan.”
“Russell didn’t mean to kill Faolan. He was just trying to save me,” I try to explain. I struggle against the ropes binding my wrists again in a desperate attempt to free myself. “I can’t bring you Russell,” I pant, “you have to ask me for something else.”
Brennus’ hands slip to my bottom as he pulls me to him again. I come to rest against his tall frame. As I struggle, his hands tighten on me, holding me to him. When I wear out and still to catch my breath, he says, “’Tis impossible ta change me mind. Ye’ll bring him ta me or I’ll kill yer aingeal.”
“I can’t give you that kind of revenge,” I whisper, shaking my head weakly and wanting to sob my heart out against his chest, but I refuse to give in to it.
“’Tis na entirely revenge,” Brennus replies as he pulls back from me enough so I can see his calculating-look. “Ye see we’ll need him. He’s strong and one day he’ll be powerful. He can control magic dat affects aingeals, jus like ye.”
“So?” I reply, feeling sick.
“Russell will be one o’ us—he’ll be me sclábhaí. I’ll groom him,” Brennus reasons. “We’ll have many enemies. He’ll be useful.”
“I thought you wanted Russell dead!” I object because I’m unable to stop myself.
“I did,” Brennus agrees, “but dis is a much better revenge. He loses his soul ta Sheol and he’ll be me slave for eternity.”
“Russell will never agree. He’ll die first,” I state.
“He’ll agree,” Brennus says without a hint of doubt. “He’ll do anyting for ye. He already agreed ta die in yer place when I gave ye me blood.”
Scrambling desperately for ways to alter his plan, I ask, “Wouldn’t it be better if you turn me first and then we hunt Russell together?”
Praying that Brennus will agree, I think that I might have a chance to save Reed without involving Russell at all.
Brennus shakes his head. “He would na submit if ye were already turned or I’d take ye now and turn ye, regardless of yer binds. He has ta believe dat ’tis da only way ta save ye…and I want it ta come from ye.”
“Why?” I whisper-shout as my eyes open wide.
“Because betrayal cuts deep,” Brennus’ lips form a sensual smile. “’Twill be like a death blow ta him for eternity.”
“I was so blind,” I murmur. “You’re completely evil.”
“I am,” Brennus agrees as his hands tighten on my bottom again, and he pulls me to him so that there is no doubting his desire for me. “And ye’re completely naïve. Did ye believe dat I’d na make ye suffer, as I’ve suffered? I know more about pain den ye can imagine and I intend ta teach ye everyting I know.”
“Then teach me,” I gasp from the pain I’ve already learned. “It’s all my fault.”
“’Tis,” Brennus agrees. “’Tis all yer fault. But, I know from experience dat I can na stay angry wi’ ye for long—’tis me weakn
ess for ye. So, da other will be me sclábhaí and ye’ll be me queen,” Brennus pronounces with a determined look. “Den, let our enemies come and dey’ll all fall.”
“I won’t kill for you,” I whisper.
A rueful smile grows on Brennus’ lips. His mouth finds mine and as he kisses me, I have no way to stop him. I can’t bite him because he’ll bleed. I can’t push him away because my hands are tied. He’s controlling all of the energy in the room; I can’t gather enough to light a candle.
It becomes apparent as he tugs on my bottom lip that he is not going to stop until I respond to his kiss. Tentatively, I kiss him back, but passion quickly ignites between us. I feel him smile before he leans away from me. “Ye’ll kill, but ye’ll na be killin’ for me. Ye’ll be killin’ ta survive. ’Tis da only way dat ye will. Ye’re in the middle, do ye not see dat? Do ye na see where dis is headed? Da aingeals will tear ye apart in deir struggle to own ye.”
My eyes narrow, “That’s what you’re doing!”
“’Tis,” Brennus admits, “but I do it because I love ye. Dey do it because dey want ta crush ye.” He lets go of me completely before he glances down at the exquisite watch on his wrist. He shakes his head. “Ye’ve almost no time left. Yer aingeal grows weaker by da moment. He may na last much longer.”
“Then…he’s alive,” I breathe with a sick sort of relief.
“He is…deliciously so,” Brennus replies and I blanche, knowing that Brennus has been feeding on Reed.
“What are your plans for Reed?” I ask with a painful contraction of my heart.
“I’ll allow ye ta turn him…he’ll be an excellent bodyguard for me queen…jus as long as he understands dat he can never, ever touch ye again. If he does, I’ll make ye end him,” Brennus promises me.
I close my eyes against him and turn my head away. “And, if I don’t come to you?” I ask with a hitch in my voice.
“Den, I’ll turn him meself and we’ll hunt ye together,” Brennus replies.
Incendiary (The Premonition Series (Volume 4)) Page 37