Dark in You 04 – 01 – Embers

by Suzanne Wright

  “You’re only suggesting that Asher remain at home because you don’t feel confident that you can fully protect him,” Knox accused. She didn’t deny it. He framed her face with his hands. “You didn’t fail him the other day, Harper. You protected him.” Knox needed her to believe that. Needed her to let go of her senseless guilt and remember just how strong she truly was. If his faith in her didn’t do that, he wasn’t sure what would.

  “He protected himself.”

  “He shielded himself,” Knox corrected. “He didn’t get rid of the incorporeal. You did that. And I am absolutely certain that you could do it again if need be. You’re strong. Powerful. You can call on the flames of hell, which means you can destroy the incorporeal. It doesn’t know that, which gives you a major advantage.”

  Harper swallowed. “That incorporeal is damn powerful.”

  “But not invincible,” Knox reminded her.

  “If I’m forced to call on the flames in front of other demons, it could cause us a whole other set of problems, couldn’t it?”

  “Potentially, yes. We’ll deal with that bridge if and when we come to it. There’s no sense dwelling on something that may never happen—that’s just borrowing trouble.”

  Harper inhaled deeply, taking in the comforting scents of clean linen, fragrant oils, and Knox’s dark sensual cologne. “Can we talk about something else now? My head feels close to exploding.”

  “How about we go spend some time on the balcony and get some air?” His mate didn’t do well with being cooped up indoors when stressed.

  “That is not a balcony. It has a pool. An infinity pool, to be more precise.”

  His mouth curved. “We could take a dip in it now if you want.”

  Harper recognized the roguish glint in his eyes and stilled. “Don’t you dare.” But he held her tight as flames engulfed them both again. When the fire died down, she and Knox were suddenly submerged in water. She swatted him. Bastard.

  The next morning, as she watched Asher chuck his spoon on the floor for the tenth time, Harper sighed. “I can’t even be mad at him. I mean, look at that face. You can’t be mad at something that cute.”

  Slicing into his omelet, Knox glanced at their son. Sitting in the highchair with his legs propped up on the tray, Asher grabbed his foot and started trying to shove it in his mouth. Everything went in the mouth. “At least he ate most of the porridge before he slung the bowl virtually across the room.”

  Harper humphed. Asher did the same thing pretty much every meal time. Of course, the bowl and spoon would initially be in her hands. But Asher would at some point pyroport them to himself and then proceed to paint his face and tray with what food he had left before then tossing the plastic dishware away. He’d often then pyroport the spoon back to his hand, only to throw it again.

  Bracing her elbows on the dining table, Harper spooned some of her cereal as she asked Knox, “Has Dion responded to your letter yet?”

  “No, but I expect he’ll do so soon. Last time I wrote to him, he responded within a week.” Knox studied his mate over the rim of his mug. She seemed better this morning. The lines of stress had smoothed away from her face, and he suspected it was because they’d agreed on how they would proceed. Now that she knew they’d be working together and had a plan of sorts, she probably felt more in control.

  “Don’t forget that the meeting with the other Primes will take place tomorrow,” Knox continued. “Keenan and Larkin will stay at the mansion with Asher, so don’t tense up and start panicking. He’ll also have Dan and Meg with him—neither are weak in power. They’ll all be under strict instructions not to allow anyone to step foot on the estate.”

  “Do you think Jonas will go to the meeting?”

  “No, which is probably for the best.” A grieving demon was an unstable one. “Especially since I know you’d like to—”

  “Snap off his dick and shove it down his throat? Yes, I would. If he hadn’t been so intent on dealing with Alethea himself, the incorporeal might not be free right now.”

  “You’re not alone in wanting to see him hurt for that, but that will have to wait. We need to take care of the Horseman and the incorporeal first.” Knox forked some of his omelet. “What are your plans for today?”

  Harper snorted at his attempt to calm her by changing the subject to something mundane. Still, she went with it. “I thought about going to the studio to check how things are going.” It was something she did once every two weeks.

  “Good idea. Seeing you up and around, doing normal things, will stop people from panicking about the Horseman.” Still, anxiety squeezed his heart at the idea of her off the estate while there was a threat at large. Of course, the very last thing he could do was let her see that anxiety when she’d lost a little faith in her ability to protect Asher. She needed to see only the confidence Knox had in her.

  She reached for her coffee mug and took a sip. “I doubt it will stop them from panicking, but it might put some people at ease.”

  Knox went to speak, but then he paused as her gaze went inward and he felt the echo of a telepathic conversation. When her eyes once more focused on him, there was a hint of exasperation there.

  “A skyscraper,” said Harper. “Jolene flattened a skyscraper last night, according to Martina.”

  “You’re honestly surprised?”

  She sighed. “No, not really.” Hearing that Heidi was meant to be sacrificed during a dark magick ritual was obviously going to infuriate Jolene. It only enraged the woman more that Alethea was dead and, as such, couldn’t pay for her part in that plan. Jolene had a habit of demolishing buildings when she was pissed. “She sounded deceptively calm and rational last time when I told her about the incorporeal situation, but that’s something she’s good at, so I hadn’t bought it. Still … a skyscraper? Good thing it was old and empty.”

  Knox gave her a pointed look. “Although you have the power to take down the incorporeal, I trust that you’ll call for me if you come across it.” The statement held a question, because he needed that assurance. It also held a warning. The past few times she was in danger, she’d called for him, but that had been when she was pregnant with Asher. Knox suspected that she never would have pulled him into a dangerous situation if it weren’t for her determination to keep their son safe.

  When she didn’t respond, Knox narrowed his eyes. “You long ago made me a promise that you would call for me if you ever needed help. I know you hate the thought of drawing me into dangerous situations—I also understand it, since that works both ways.” Not that he liked or approved of her habit of dealing with things alone. He respected her need to fight her own battles and to do her part in protecting their son, but he wouldn’t agree to her going solo whenever it suited her. “We agreed to work together, remember. That means relying on each other.”

  Harper exhaled a heavy sigh. “I’ll keep my promise and call out to you if I need you. But the same goes for you—if something happens, you don’t tell me later just so that I can have an enjoyable day.” It was something he’d done in the past. “You tell me instantly.”

  He inclined his head, though he didn’t like it. Resting the cutlery on his empty plate, Knox pushed it aside. “What time are you leaving for the studio?”

  “I’ll probably head out in a few hours. Maybe I can have lunch with the girls while I update them. They need to be warned about the incorporeal.”

  “You don’t think Jolene will have already told them?”

  “If she had, they’d have called me by now. She’s probably having a lair meeting later to reveal all. I’d rather the girls heard it from me.”

  “Fair enough.” Knox sipped his coffee. “Keep Tanner with you at all times. The incorporeal can look like anyone. If somebody comes close who has no scent, he’ll know and he’ll pounce.”

  She cocked her head. “You think it will come for me?”

  “No. What it did the other day, turning up at Jolene’s house and making its move among all those demons, was arro
gant. It will have known in advance that you were strong and could cause soul-deep pain. But now that it’s been on the receiving end of such pain and knows exactly what it feels like, the incorporeal won’t be so cocky. Especially since you overpowered it. Besides, it’s bound to the conditions of the bargain. You’re not the target. Still, I won’t take chances.”

  Hearing a distinct fart, Harper looked at Asher. He glanced around, as if unsure where the sound came from. She snorted, turning back to Knox. “The idea of leaving him makes my stomach churn.” She stilled as Knox’s eyes bled to black and the room temperature lowered.

  “You worry too much, little sphinx,” the demon told her. “The boy will be fine.”

  The sheer confidence in that statement made her frown. “What are you keeping from us?” Because it certainly seemed to believe that it knew something about Asher that she and Knox didn’t. “I can’t properly protect him if I don’t know the entire truth.”

  “That is my point … he doesn’t need you to protect him,” said the demon, voice flat and low. “Do not worry for the boy. Instead, pity the person who tries to harm him.” With that, the entity retreated.

  Rubbing her chest, Harper asked, “What did that mean?”

  “I don’t know,” said Knox. “The demon may think it knows what Asher’s other abilities will be.”

  “Maybe.” It would be another couple of months before all Asher’s abilities truly surfaced, and Harper wasn’t at all sure why Knox’s demon would believe it knew what those abilities would be, but she supposed it was as good a theory as any. “Your demon can be damn cryptic.”

  Knox nodded. “But it’s never been arrogant. If it believes that Asher doesn’t need our protection as much as we think he does, I’m inclined to trust its judgment.” That didn’t mean Knox wouldn’t still worry or be as overprotective as ever.

  As Knox’s phone vibrated on the table, Asher blinked. “Ooh.” And then the phone disappeared in a spurt of fire and reappeared in Asher’s flaming hand. The ooh sound usually meant he’d seen something he liked, and that same something often appeared in his little hand.

  “Asher,” Knox gently complained as he pried the phone out of his son’s grip. Asher frowned but then just shoved his foot back in his mouth.

  “At least he didn’t dump your phone in his porridge this time,” said Harper.

  “He probably would have done if he hadn’t already flung the bowl away.”

  “Yeah, probably.”

  But she was right—it was hard to be mad at anything that cute. Knox ruffled his hair. “It’s the Wallis in you.”

  Harper frowned. “You can’t blame my family’s blood every time he misbehaves.”

  “Sure I can.”

  At that moment, Meg walked in, shook her head at the sight of the spoon on the floor, and picked it up. “Did you enjoy your porridge?” she asked Asher, who was too busy gnawing on his foot to pay her any attention.

  “Thanks for the omelet and toast, Meg.” Standing, Knox shrugged on the jacket of his black suit. “Unfortunately, I have to leave now.” Crossing to Harper, he kissed her. “I shouldn’t be home late, but I’ll let you know if I will be.”

  Harper plucked Asher out of the highchair. “Come on, let’s go wave bye to Daddy.” With Asher balanced on her hip, she followed Knox to the foyer. As he curled an arm around her, she melted against him and smoothed a hand down his shirt. “I’ll miss you.”

  “Good. It’s only fair, since I’ll miss you.” He kissed her again, indulging in a long, thorough taste of her. “Stay safe.” He planted a kiss on his son’s cheek. “Be good for your mom.”

  Predictably, Asher blew bubbles at him.

  Harper walked out onto the stone step and tipped her chin at Levi, who opened the Bentley’s rear door for Knox. Noticing that Asher was waving, she smiled. But then she saw that he wasn’t waving at Levi or Knox. He was waving at something much higher up. “What is it, little man?” She tracked his gaze and grimaced. “Oh. More crows.” There were at least five perched on the branches of a nearby tree. “Delightful.”

  Harper spent the next few hours with Asher—bathing him, dressing him, and then feeding him a slightly early lunch … after which she needed to change him again, since he’d gotten puree all over himself.

  Shortly after that, Tanner and Keenan arrived, just as she’d arranged.

  In the living room, Keenan took Asher in his arms. “Wipe that anxiety off your face, Harper, he’ll be fine here with me.”

  She forced a smile. “I won’t be gone long.” She pressed a long, noisy kiss to Asher’s cheek and then waved. “Bye. Be good for Uncle Keenan.” He didn’t wave back. His little face scrunched up in a way that made Tanner chuckle.

  With one last wave at Asher, Harper turned and followed Tanner out of the room, down the hallway, through the foyer, and—

  Something yanked her wrist, making her stumble backwards so fast she lost her footing. Landing awkwardly on her ass on the foyer hardwood floor, she hissed.

  Tanner blinked down at her. “Damn, you okay?”

  “No, I’m not,” she clipped, scrambling to stand up. She spun, scanning the foyer, her heart pounding. Surely the incorporeal hadn’t managed to get inside. Not with the amount of preternatural security measures in place. “Something just fucking grabbed me.”

  “Grabbed you?” echoed Tanner, muscles bunching.

  At that moment, Keenan came striding toward them with Asher still in his arms. “What’s the hold up?” He frowned at Harper. “Why are you rubbing your butt?”

  “Get Asher in the living room, someone just—”

  “What’s that?” asked Tanner.

  Her head whipped to face him. “What? What do you see?” He was looking at her wrist.

  Gently, Tanner lifted her hand to study it. “What is that?”

  “What’s what?” Because she didn’t see anything. But then he angled her hand a certain way so that the sunlight shone right on it … and she frowned. “What is that?” It looked like partly translucent string was wrapped around her wrist. She touched it, half-expecting not to feel anything. But it was like she’d skimmed her fingertip over cold metal. “No, seriously, what is that?”

  Tanner released her and stepped back. “Try leaving.”

  Moving more slowly this time, she stepped outside. No problem. She kept walking, descending the stone steps nice and slow. One. Two. Three. Four—

  And then she was pulled backwards again. No, not pulled, she realized. It was more like she was straining against a leash. Stomping back into the foyer, she shut the front door. “Is this supposed to be a cuff or something?” If Knox had done this to keep her home, she was so going to kill him.

  Rubbing his jaw, Tanner replied, “I think so.”

  Keenan stepped forward to get a good look at her wrist. “The question is … what are you cuffed to?”

  “Or who are you cuffed to?” Tanner made a speculative noise and then turned to Asher, who was chewing on his thumb while studying the pretty, freshly cut flowers on the circular table. “Let’s take a look at those wrists, little man.”

  Harper snickered. “You can’t think he did it, Tanner, he’s just a—oh, my God.” She felt the blood drain from her face. On his little wrist was a thin cuff identical to hers. Holding his chubby hand, she touched the cuff. Cold metal. “Asher,” she drawled, pointing at her own cuff. “Take it off.” He didn’t; he tried reaching for her hair instead. She gave him her stern, “I mean business” look, and he mimicked her perfectly.

  Tanner pointed at the other side of the foyer. “Harper, stand over there. I want to walk between you and Asher and see if anything tangible is actually linking the cuffs.”

  She did as he asked and then watched as the sentinel easily strode between them.

  He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  Crossing to him, she pursed her lips. “So the cuffs don’t have any links?”

  “No,” he replied. “I’d say the only thing linking them is powe
r.”

  “Meaning they’re psychic constructs. It’s more that he’s linked our psyches than that he’s linked our bodies.” Harper shook her head at Asher, but he was too busy twisting Keenan’s nose to even notice her look of reprimand.

  “I don’t think he meant to shackle you to him,” said Keenan, eyes dancing with humor. “I think he just doesn’t want you to leave him. Couple that with all the power that lives in him and, well, this was the result.”

  Thrusting her hand into her hair, Harper blew out a breath. Knox, our son has cuffed me to him. And no, I’m not kidding.

  Knox’s psychic taste poured into her as his mind touched hers. Cuffed how?

  I don’t know. But we’re both wearing thin, barely visible cuffs that feel like metal. There’s nothing physical linking the cuffs, but I can’t move far from Asher without being yanked back toward him.

  She had the impression of pure male amusement and even a hint of pride. Apparently, he doesn’t want to be left behind.

  Her lips thinned. How can you find this amusing?

  If our positions were reversed, you’d be laughing your pretty little ass off.

  Yeah, okay, she would. How do I get them off?

  He’s just a baby, so he doesn’t have the psychic strength to make the binding last long. They’ll probably disappear in a few hours, maybe sooner.

  With a sigh, Harper gave the sentinels a too-quick smile. “Well, it looks like you had a wasted journey. I can’t go out now.”

  Keenan frowned. “Why not?”

  “I can’t leave Asher as long as I’m psychically cuffed to him, and he can’t leave the estate.”

  “You’ll only be gone a few hours.” Keenan raised a hand when she went to argue. “Look, I understand why you want him to stay home. But there’s no way someone can snatch him from you, thanks to these cuffs. And it will be good for him to get out, if you’re intending to keep him confined to the estate for a while after this.”

  Tanner stuffed his hands in his pockets. “Keenan’s right. It’s just a few hours. The three of us are pretty powerful, especially as a unit. No one will get near Asher if he doesn’t want them near him anyway.”