by Cynthia Eden
For an instant, Luke wondered if he’d truly been duped by Leo. Had his brother been working with the humans all along, waiting for this one moment when Luke had been distracted? Because it wasn’t an ordinary bullet that had burrowed near Luke’s spine. He didn’t think it had been a bullet at all.
There had been a blast when it fired but…
He reached around and yanked the arrow from his back. An arrow, not a bullet. Slowly, he turned to face the threat.
He saw Leo, eyes wide with shock. Leo had one of his hands on Garrick’s throat and his other hand was around Madeline’s shoulder.
He didn’t fire. Leo had been too busy with the humans.
Luke looked to the left, to the little stairway that led below deck. A man stood there, a man with dark hair and bright green eyes. A man holding a crossbow. A loaded crossbow.
“Do you remember me?” the man asked.
No, Luke had no fucking clue who the guy was. He was about to reply, but the poison in that arrow had seeped into his spine. Luke’s legs gave way and he fell to his knees.
Leo didn’t fire, but the arrows are his. They are poison itself, death to dragons.
As Luke slumped, the mysterious man turned the crossbow on Leo. “I came to you,” the stranger continued, voice almost wooden. “Begging for your help. You were supposed to give my sister back to me, but you said there was nothing you could do.”
Leo stared at him in shock. “Michael? Michael Kinley? Y-you’re Rose’s brother. She was a vampire. Dark, so I had no dominion over what happened to—”
“I begged you, but you wouldn’t help her. And soon I realized what had to be done. You were right. She was no longer the woman I’d known. She was dark, a weapon to be used.”
Fucking hell. Luke clenched his teeth against the agony rolling through him. He had to push the poison from his system. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the fastest process. It literally had to bleed out from his pores.
“I’ll use her, I’ll use Mina James, I’ll use every paranormal that I find. They will be my weapons.” The dark-haired man smiled. Michael. Leo had called him Michael. “I will be the one to rule. You and your twisted twin? You’re both done. Hope you enjoy hell.”
And he sent an arrow hurtling toward Leo.
Leo shoved Madeline aside and he yanked Garrick in front of him.
Luke roared his fury as the arrow sank into Garrick’s chest. That kill should have been mine!
Garrick sucked in a deep breath, then his body stiffened. He was dead instantly. No human could ever last against that paranormal poison.
In the next moment, Michael had another arrow cocked and ready to go. He fired even as Leo lunged toward him. This time, the arrow hit Leo in the shoulder.
But it didn’t stop him.
He lurched forward.
Michael sent another arrow straight at him. At the last moment, Leo dodged and that arrow sank into his side.
His brother fell then, slamming into the deck, taken down as the poison seeped through his body.
Michael laughed. “I know your weakness.” His gaze slid to Luke. “Same weakness for both of you. When I was begging Leo for help, I took the liberty of stealing some arrows from him. Since he wouldn’t help me, I knew I’d be paying him back.” He shrugged one shoulder. “It took some time to get my group of agents up and running. Took some time to get all of my game pieces in place, but I found I could be patient.” He aimed another arrow at Luke.
Luke was still kneeling on the deck. The poison held him immobile. He would stay that way for a few more moments, until his body pushed the nasty brew out of his system.
Provided I don’t take an arrow to the heart in the meantime, I’ll survive.
Leo hadn’t even noticed a human had stolen the most powerful weapons imaginable from him. Why? Because the guy was too damn trusting where they were concerned. He’d always been so convinced that Luke and his kind were the darkest threats out there. How does it feel to be wrong, brother?
A glance at his slumped brother provided Luke with the answer. Not very good.
Luke huffed out a breath and tried to keep Michael’s attention focused on him. “You…used your own sister…”
“Don’t look at me like that. You’re the one who made Rose into a monster. She was a human before. You should never have touched her.”
Luke remembered Rose all too well. She’d been a human once before, that was true. But she’d been a human loved by a very powerful supernatural.
Julian had loved her. And even then, Julian was beneath the waves, searching desperately for her. He was—
“You fucking bastard.” Julian’s voice. He’d just climbed onto the boat and water poured off him. He held Rose in his arms, but she didn’t seem to be moving. “Michael. You did this?”
Michael jerked the crossbow toward Julian. “No, you did this. By taking something that never should have belonged to you!” He fired. Julian held Rose in his arms so he twisted his body, turning to protect her.
The arrow sank into his shoulder. He bellowed in pain.
“Time to kill you all,” Michael shouted. “Good thing I have the perfect weapon.” He smiled. “Patience is truly its own reward.” He advanced toward Leo.
***
Mina sank beneath the waves. The water surrounded her, comforted her. Her tail swayed beneath her and a slow joy began to seep through her veins.
She should swim, fast and far away.
She should…
She had something in her hand.
Mina’s fingers unfurled, just a bit, and she saw the ring.
Big and heavy and oddly warm.
Luke.
His name flashed through her. She saw his image in her mind. She looked back up, seeing the bottom of a boat above her head. Luke was up there. He’d been hurt right before she sank beneath the waves.
Mina shoved the Eye of Hell onto her ring finger, and, strangely, it seemed to fit. The band tightened around her finger and Mina swam straight up, heading for that boat. She wasn’t leaving Luke. The Lord of the Dark needed her, and she was going to be there for him. She would always be there for him.
She broke through the surface. “Luke!” She grabbed the edge of the boat and hauled herself up. Her tail was dragging her back down. Dammit. “I need legs.” She pressed the Eye to her tail. “I need legs. Take away the tail. I don’t want to be this way.” Luke had said the Eye wouldn’t work for her, but a desperate woman would try anything and—
Her tail vanished. Pain lanced through her, white-hot and electrifying as her scales seemed to melt away. The agony was excruciating and tears poured down her cheeks.
But…
Then the pain turned into only a throb. Her legs were back. I’m back. Mina laughed, even as she cried, and she heaved herself up over the side of the boat. “Luke, Luke, I’m back—”
And she was apparently in the middle of a stand-off.
Mina froze. She still had on the long shirt that she figured Luke had conjured for her before, a shirt that fell to the middle of her thighs. Luke was on his knees, his gaze desperate as he stared at her. Quickly, her eyes swept the scene, taking in everyone and everything.
Garrick was on the deck, not moving. Dead?
Madeline was huddled near the ship’s wheel, her eyes massive and her face frozen in a mask of fear.
Julian was slumped near an unmoving woman. The woman who’d been in the glass box. The box that had sank in the ocean.
And Leo—Leo was on his back. Some guy with a cross-bow stood over him, ready to fire.
“Stop!” Mina yelled.
The guy’s head turned toward her. He blinked. “You should be gone.”
She had no idea who he was.
“Mina James.” He smirked at her. “Failed experiment. Too weak. Too soft.” His head cocked. “Guess what, Mina? I’m the man who gave the order for your capture. I’m the man who ordered all of that wonderful pain inflicted on you. I’m Michael Kinley, and I’m the man who created Op
eration Night Switch. I’m the man who—”
“You’re the man who is going to die.” Mina sucked in a quick breath. Her voice wasn’t hoarse any longer. Her throat didn’t ache from Garrick’s hands. She felt powerful. Stronger than ever before. Because of the Eye? Maybe. Right then, she didn’t really care why. “Listen to me, and listen well…”
He blinked. His gaze seemed to go hazy. “What…? Stop!” He was raising the cross bow and trying to aim it at her.
Mina wasn’t going to let that happen. “You won’t fire the weapon.”
He froze.
“You won’t shoot at me. You won’t shoot at Luke.” She braced her feet. “You’ll surrender to us. Then you will never hurt any paranormal again.”
He was sweating. “You…bitch.”
“Drop the cross-bow.”
She saw the strain on his face, but he was helpless. She was injecting every bit of power that she had into her voice. Every single bit and for once, she wasn’t afraid of her magic. She gloried in it.
This man had hurt Luke. He’d hurt her. He’d hurt countless others. But he wouldn’t do it any longer. He’d stop.
She’d stop him.
He dropped the cross bow, but then he laughed. “You think I’m the only one? There are others out there, others who are helping me. You might stop me, but they’ll keep going. We have dozens of paranormals imprisoned right now. Shifters, muses, witches…we will use them all. It’s bigger than me now. Bigger than anything. It won’t be stopped. I won’t be stopped.”
“Yes, you will.” Mina eased out a slow breath. “Jump into the water.” She pointed to her side. “Come here and jump in.”
He walked toward her. She saw the sweat on his brow. He was right at her side, almost at the edge of the boat, when he yanked a knife from the holster at his hip. He swiped it right over her throat. Her eyes widened in shock because—no, she hadn’t seen that coming.
She’d never expected…
Blood flew and Mina’s hands shot up, trying to cover the terrible wound.
“I’m not Garrick,” the man snapped. “I’m not obsessed with you. And I’m not that dumb ass over there…” He jerked his thumb toward Luke. “I don’t love you. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a waste of space.”
Her gaze flew to Luke. She needed to see him, just one more time. Her Luke. Her—
He was changing. Shifting right before her eyes. The boat rocked and swayed beneath his weight because the dragon was immense. He opened his mouth—
“Hell is hot, Michael.” The dragon spoke with Luke’s deep, dark voice. “Ready to feel the flames?”
And he let his fire loose, sending it right over Michael. The human screamed and Mina closed her eyes, not able to bear that terrible sight as he burned.
Her throat hurt. Her body shook, and Mina knew her end was coming, too. Strange, but she wasn’t afraid.
She was sad, though.
There were so many things that she wished she could have done. A whole life that she wished she’d been able to lead.
She heard a terrible crack. The boat shuddered beneath her. She tried to open her eyes, to glance around her. She saw that fire was everywhere and the vessel seemed to literally be breaking apart beneath the weight of her massive dragon.
Boats weren’t made for beasts that size.
Her lips curled. He’d be her last sight, right before death. Because she was drowning right then, no, choking on her own blood.
“Get her!” Leo bellowed. “I’ll get the others! Hurry!”
Why hurry? There was no time left. Mina knew that.
But the dragon lunged toward her. Its talons reached out for her, but it was Luke’s hand that touched her. “You will not die.”
There were some things that even the Lord of the Dark could not control.
“You will not, Mina.” He scooped her into his arms and then they were flying, going high above the sea. She looked back and saw the boat sink beneath the churning waves. Smoke drifted up in the air.
The monsters were gone.
And she was dead.
***
“Heal her!” Luke roared.
Mina was in his bed, her beautiful throat sliced open and her blood soaking his sheets. His useless dumb ass of a brother just stood beside him, a lost expression on his face.
“Don’t just stand there!” Luke snarled at him. “Heal her! She can’t hold on forever!” It was a miracle that he’d gotten home with her.
But then…Mina was a miracle. His miracle. His life. His everything.
And she won’t die. I won’t watch her die.
“I tried to heal her.” Leo put his hands on Mina’s throat. “I’m trying again now, but it’s not working. Something has changed. I can’t fix her.”
“She’s a mermaid! That makes her one of yours—you have to be able to heal her!” Shit, shit, shit! She was too pale. She was ice cold to the touch. And in moments, she’d be gone.
Leo pulled back his blood-stained hand. “There is nothing I can do.”
No, that wasn’t true. “You hold dominion over all the creatures of the light.”
Leo’s mouth thinned. “Perhaps she isn’t light, not any longer.”
“What?”
Leo pointed to Mina’s slender hand. “I thought you were the only one who could wield the Eye.”
He…was. But the Eye was on Mina’s delicate ring finger. When had she gotten it? He struggled to remember. He’d been putting her back into the sea. She’d grabbed his hand. Tricky Mina, did you finally steal my Eye?
“You used the Eye on her?” Leo asked, shaking his head. “If you did, you know that changes things. It will change her.”
He hadn’t used it on her. But…
Luke shoved Leo out of his way. Luke put his hand to Mina’s throat and he poured every single bit of his power into that touch. “You will heal.”
And he felt it. The transfer of power, of magic, from him to her. A dark shadow hovered over his hand and then sank down into Mina’s neck. Her eyes flew open as she gave a desperate gasp.
“Holy fucking hell,” Leo said, stunned. “That worked.”
Mina stared at Luke with—with love in her eyes. Not fear. Not pain. Not shock.
“I’ve been…looking for you,” she said, her voice husky and weak. “For a long time.”
And I’ve been searching forever for you, love.
Carefully, he lifted his hand from her throat. The wound had closed. His head sagged forward and his eyes squeezed closed as relief swept through him. He felt wetness on his cheeks. Dammit, dammit. “You will not come that close to death ever again.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his wet cheek. That was when he felt the Eye of Hell, hot with power against him.
Stunned, he eased back. His eyes opened and he stared down at the ring. It grew hotter only when it was wielded.
“Mina, did you use the Eye?” Afraid again, he looked up at her.
“I had to get to you.” She smiled at him. His beautiful Mina. His every waking dream. “I know…you said it wouldn’t work…but I had to try…”
“What did you try? What did you do?”
“I couldn’t get on the boat with my tail.” She frowned, a faint furrow between her brows. “So I wished that I wouldn’t be that way. I wished the tail would go away.”
He felt Leo’s hand clamp down on his shoulder. The guy squeezed him, hard. “She traded her tail for you.”
Just like the mermaid from legend. She’d traded for a man who didn’t deserve her. And the damn Eye of Hell, it had greedily accepted her trade.
But why? Only Luke should have been able to control the Eye. It did what he wanted, and only him and—
And the Eye knows what I want. It’s part of me.
He wanted Mina. He wanted her with him, always. And when he’d been putting her back into the water, hadn’t he thought that? That he wanted her to stay?
I wanted it to be her choice.
“What did I do?” Luke whispered, n
early hating himself in that moment. He’d tried to do the right thing, but deep down, he was just a selfish bastard. He’d wanted Mina with him, forever, and now she’d lost her chance to be free. If her tail was gone, then she would never be able to transform again. She would be trapped forever as a…
As what?
On the boat, her voice had still compelled. She’d made Michael do just as she’d bid. And Luke had just been able to heal her.
Only two beings could control with their voices. Mermaids and sirens.
Mermaids were of the light. But sirens…
His eyes opened. He stared into Mina’s eyes.
She is mine.
He was the Lord of the Dark. He ruled all within his dominion, but Mina…He bent to his knees beside the bed. He would bow to her. He would do anything for her.
Even spend eternity making up for his selfishness. His dark powers had turned her into the one thing she’d feared being.
“Luke, what’s wrong?” Mina asked him, her words tight with worry. “Tell me what’s happening.”
And he told her, not because of any power or compulsion but just because there was nothing he would not give her. “The ring is tuned to me, Mina. I told you that before. It’s a ring of darkness. You couldn’t have wielded it, not on your own, but selfish bastard that I am…my deepest desire was for you to stay with me.” He stared into her eyes and knew she’d see him for the monster that he was. “The ring knew that. So when you made your wish, when you said you wanted the tail gone…it transformed you.”
“Into what?” Her voice was a whisper.
“I think you know.”
Her long lashes lowered. “A siren.”
“Yes.” Pain knifed through him.
“I won’t be able to go back to the water.”
He shook his head. “I’m…sorry.” It would have been easier to just cut out his own heart because—
“I’m glad.” Her lashes lifted. She smiled at him. Smiled. “The water made me forget who I was. The way it felt down there—that wasn’t real. That wasn’t what I wanted.” Her smile dimmed. “If being a mermaid means the only joy you really know is in the ocean, then I don’t want to live that way. My mother forgot her own daughter—how is that joy? That…that’s hell to me.” Her hand lifted and her fingers smoothed over his cheek. “Want to know what heaven is?”