by JoAnna Grace
A yawn escaped Avery’s mouth and Nikki hopped off the couch. “Come, take your bath so that you can relax. It’s been a long day for you.”
NEARLY AN HOUR later, Avery found herself alone in the palatial suite and unable to sit still. Nikki’s apartment was next door. As promised, Castor and Pollux were delivered to her in pristine condition. She was happy to see her boys looking so good. They sniffed every inch of the room while Avery did some exploring of her own. Everything she could need had been provided. The dressers and cabinets of the bathroom were full of essentials.
“These people put Wal-Mart to shame,” she mumbled to herself as she closed the final cabinet. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she examined the new tint of red in her hair. At least it had kept its curls. Twisting one of the locks around her fingers, she left the impressive bathroom.
The wall of windows that drew her attention. Beyond, the world outside was not what she thought any longer.
“How are you feeling?”
Avery was startled by the voice that greeted her. She hated how jumpy she was. “Ryse!” She clutched at her chest and closed her eyes, wishing the sight of him didn’t flutter her heart. “What do you want?”
“I thought I would check on you.” He leaned against the alcove wall that housed the double doors to her chamber. She stayed across the room by the warmth of the fire.
“I’m just looking around.” Her arms crossed over her chest, Avery let her hair fall to shield her face, and her blush.
“Do you like it?”
It’s magnificent. But she wasn’t about to admit her awe. “It’s nice,” she whispered.
“You should rest, Avery.”
“I can’t.” She stepped away from the fire and sat on the arm of the couch closest to her. Ryse walked over and took a seat on the other couch. “You said something that bothered me.” She recalled the orders he was barking out when they first arrived. “Something about watching the footage of my café and my house. What did that mean?”
The look that Ryse gave her made her want to go stand in the fire. It was stone cold, matter of fact. “We bugged your house and your café. You had a tracer on your car and taps on your phones.” His words were a swift punch in the gut. Without batting an eye, he continued, “It was necessary to watch over you. I won’t apologize. It was an appropriate invasion of privacy.”
Avery stood up and paced in front of the seating area. “An appropriate invasion of privacy? You’ve been stalking me? What in hell’s name gave you the right to do that? Is all this about Jerry? Because he was some sort of crazy voodoo-wielding killer? Why didn’t you just come tell me straight up instead of spyin’ on me? I still don’t understand why me? What the hell did I do that you’d go through all the trouble?”
Ryse leaned his elbows on his knees and interlocked his fingers against his chin. “I had to learn about you and the people around you. Brenden was sent in weeks ago. I couldn’t come until we knew for sure—”
“You bastard. Don’t you have any limits? How could you invade my life like this? You lied to me, manipulated me into trusting you.”
“Avery, I was planning on telling you that night. I was going to come to explain everything, get you out of town. That was the plan before we realized the sentinel we were after was Jerry.”
“So you were gonna kidnap me?” she clarified.
“The plan was to get you to safety—one way or another.”
The air left her chest. “Oh yeah? Well, this little plan of yours has unraveled so nicely as is.” It was a low blow, but she was so angry her body was beginning to shake. “No one has explained anythin’ to me. No one can explain why I’m even here—beside the obvious Avery’s-a-blowtorch incident.”
“Be realistic, Avery.” He stood to face her. “If I had come up to you and started talking about what powers you had or if you say, burst into flames when you get angry, you would’ve had Frank serve me with a restraining order.” Avery flinched at the mention of her lost friend. “I admit, things have not gone smoothly, but I can’t help that now. What’s done is done. All that matters now is your safety and happiness.”
“Happiness?” She let out a snide laugh. “Is that your idea of a joke?” Ryse pressed his lips together and said nothing. “Do you think all of this,” she waved her hands around at the immaculate room, “will make me happy? Is it all a bribe? Is that what it is? A gilded cage is still a cage, Ryse. Am I your captive and this is my consolation prize?”
“Absolutely not.” His brows furrowed in insult.
“What’s in it for you, Ryse? What do you get by having me here?”
He pursed his lips and dug his hands in his pockets. “That’s not a simple question and there is not a simple answer. But I promise you will get just as much if not more benefit from being around your own people.”
Avery ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. He couldn’t answer her question and that let her imagination roam to all the worst of possibilities. Thankfully, before she could dive into the thoughts of being some sort of concubine, Ryse spoke.
“Avery, you must understand, there are some truths that I had to protect you from until the time was right. You have a whole new life ahead of you.” Ryse stood and touched her cheek. “I can’t wait to show it to you—if you will allow me.”
A whole new life. The words seemed to resonate deep within her. A small spark, a flame no larger than that of a match flickered to life. Hope. It was hope she felt. Once the emotion named itself, things changed. She looked into a pair of eyes so deep and rich she dreamt of their beauty. In that moment, the sting of his deception didn’t hurt as badly. He had made a valid point. If a strange man had come up to her in her café and began talking about the things she had seen in the last couple of days, she would’ve considered him crazy.
Yes, she thought it was going overboard, a complete invasion of her privacy and it had made her mad. But buried deep within the grief and loss was the hope that what he was saying was true.
“Get some sleep, baby. I’ll be back in the morning.” He bent to press his lips against hers. Avery instantly felt the electricity. From the first time he’d kissed her, when she believed him to be a normal guy, until now, knowing he was a powerful warrior, nothing had changed. Currents of heat and desire rippled throughout her body. Warmth flooded her extremities and her heart fluttered in her chest. This was what confused her most, this unexplainable, undeniable magnetism that connected her and Ryse together.
When he pulled away and left her standing by the fire, she looked around the spacious room and felt more alone than she could have imagined. After everything that had happened, the thought of being left without protection scared her more than the thought of being with him.
“Ryse!” she called to him as he walked down the hall from her room.
He turned to look at her, his face illuminated by the moonlight coming through the windows of the hallway. “Yes, love?”
“I—I um, I don’t want to be…” She stopped, looking at the floor, ashamed of her weakness. “I’m sorry. Never mind.” She rubbed her temple.
The warmth of him flooded her senses. She’d felt this warmth before. It was familiar to her, comforting in the most intimate of ways. It was the sensation of swimming in a cold river, then basking on the bank in the sun, the slow gentle heat chasing away the water’s chills. “I’m here for you, Avery,” he whispered in her ear.
“What is that? That warmth?” Her eyelids became heavy and her shoulders relaxed.
“My aura. Every Olympian gives off energy based on their powers and gifts. I’ve been shielding mine so that you don’t get overwhelmed. This is but a taste of it.” He picked her up and cradled her in his arms. “Come. I’ll help you rest.”
Ryse set Avery in the bed and helped her get comfortable. Warmth radiated from his hand where he touched her cheek. She welcomed the coming peace. But there was one thing she had to know before she drifted off. “Did you really want me, Ryse? When you a
sked to stay the night with me, did you want me or was it just part of the job?”
“I want you more every moment I’m with you, even when you are hitting me.” He chuckled at her quiet gasp. His smile would be her undoing. It made her stomach twist. “Go to sleep, Avery. I’ll watch over you—forever.”
Avery drifted off to sleep and Ryse watched her body relax into the pillows. Her beauty was staggering. In his eyes, the gods had created perfection. The new color of her hair glistened under the soft lights. Flecks of copper and strands of brown mixed together, giving it definition. He couldn’t resist the urge to move one soft curl from her delicate face. She didn’t stir. All of her features fascinated him: the curve of her ears, the lines of her chin and cheek bones. Much like her father’s people, her skin was slightly brown, as if she had a beach tan. Her lips arched in the middle a bit higher than most. The bottom lip was plush and silky, bitable. Long, dark lashes fanned out over her cheeks. There was movement under her eyelids and he wondered what she was dreaming about.
The sensation of her touch was still so new to him. Never in his long life had he allowed another person to make such contact. Touch in general was personal, warm, and affectionate. For a Thracian Master, this was not allowed. Had Ryse been born to a typical family and possessed only the Thracian genes, touch would have been limited. But knowing that Ryse, a Deity and Master of the Thracians, would need touch to ground him, his mother kept him from becoming a cold, hard stone. It had worked to some extent. Ryse favored his mother’s attention but no other. Handshakes were acceptable from most, but nothing more. Touch meant forming attachments. Attachments caused problems, especially since part of his job description included the title of Executioner.
Giving in to temptation, he leaned down and put his face in the mass of curls that spread out on the pillow. Her intoxicating scent filled his head—it was pure ambrosia. The sensation washed over his body, wreaking havoc on his restraint. It took all his control not to crawl into bed, lock his hands on the curves of her hips and pull her tight up against his arousal. By the gods, if this was how her scent affected him, what was he going to do when her aura was unblocked? How would he keep his composure when her full energy and power was released? Even more, how was he going to keep every other Thracian male in this Haven from jumping her?
Technically, until he marked her as his own, Avery was free game. The thought of her denying him for another was dreadful. What worried Ryse even more was that he was not the only Prince in the running for a mate. His younger brother was also a contender, though Hayden would never go after a woman that Ryse had claimed. Ashton, the European Prince, was already trying to pry his way into court. Last night, Ryse had learned that the sister of the Prince had already arrived at the Palace. A spy and distraction, Ryse had no doubt.
Caressing the cheek of his angel, he feared for her. He might have rescued her from the jaws of the enemy, but there were still sharks in the water.
AVERY’S FINGERTIPS NUMBED due to the ropes shackling her wrists. They rubbed her raw as she struggled to free herself. The wad of cloth crammed into her mouth captured her cries for help. Hot tears streamed down her face. In front of her knelt Jerry, staring at her with an evil grin. Thick, red blood dripped from the knife he held. The knife he had used to repeatedly stab Frank. Frank choked on the blood clogging his throat and she longed to help him, to stop the pain. Pooling blood spread beneath his body.
Avery screamed into the gag and fought against her bonds. Her ankles throbbed under the rope that tied her to the chair.
Why was this happening? What had she done to deserve this? And why Frank? What had he been doing wandering around her house at night, anyway? Now he was dying.
“He’s here.” Jerry smiled and faced the front door.
Wood splintered as a great force knocked it off the hinges and sent it flying into the other room.
Crystals of terror froze in her veins, rendering her motionless. A creature in a black cloak floated across the threshold with an army of men in red military-style uniforms. She couldn’t see its face, but she could see the red flesh of its claw-like hands. Black talons stretched out like daggers. There was nothing human about it. Behind him, touching his cloak, was a short bald man in long robe.
“She’s done nothing so far.” Jerry spoke to the demon. “But she’s one of them. Otherwise the Thracians wouldn’t have come.”
“I sssenssse their Massster,” hissed the demon. “Ssshe must be ssspecial.” He approached Avery and she squirmed to get away. His solidity waivered, as if he wasn’t completely whole, or perhaps he would disappear with a heavy wind. Evil surrounded him in a thick cloud. He reeked of acid and her stomach revolted. “Sssuch a wassste.” Lifting a talon to her cheek, he scored a thin slice into her flesh. Then he leaned in to flick out a serpent like tongue across the bleeding cut. “Deliciousss.”
“May I have her first?” Jerry asked. “I’ve been waiting for two years to screw her.” He reached down and grabbed himself. “Doesn’t matter if it’s before or after she’s dead.” He leered at Avery. “But I do like it when they fight back.”
How could she have been so wrong about him? She’d cooked this sick bastard dinner, for heaven’s sake. Now his words made her choke down her own vomit.
The cloaked head tilted as it studied Avery. She tried to make out a face, but he was nothing but shadows in the dimly lit house. “I think I would enjoy watching that.”
She fought harder against her restraints, dreading what those talons might do to her. No! This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real. Deep inside the core of her body, something stirred. At first it felt like the roil of stomach acid, but then it spread out into the rest of her body.
“What’s up with her eyes?” Jerry pointed at her, his eyes narrowed and darted back and forth between his master and Avery.
“Ah!” said the demon. “She’sss awakening.” He took a step back but not in fear. He was observing.
Something was wrong within her. Liquid heat flowed through her veins until she felt like a volcano ready to erupt. The world began to spin and shadows crossed her vision. She clamped her eyes shut. Every nerve ending in her body raged hot. Smoke tickled her nose. Something was burning. Something familiar and organic, like wood or fabric. When she opened her eyes, the world had taken on a red tint. The gag fell out of her mouth and she roared like a beast.
Raw power invigorating her body. When she pulled against the ropes this time, they gave way and fell to the floor.
“Fire Keeper.” The demon said with an awed tone. “Incrrredible.”
Avery looked down at her body. Flames licked up her skin. Her clothing disintegrated, eaten by the fire. Every inch of her body glowed yet she wasn’t burning. In fact, Avery had never felt more alive, liberated even.
Jerry’s brows rose to his hair line. “You never said anything about fire, boss.”
“Kill her.” The demon hissed to his men.
There was a tickle in her thigh. A bullet melted against her leg. Avery brushed it off and without a second thought, tackled the demon.
He clawed at her and fought against her hold, but his talons went right through her. When his black cloak caught fire, he pushed away and reached for a small bald man. The instant they touched, the two disappeared.
Jerry advanced on her. She glanced down at Frank’s body. Jerry had done that, and now he was trying to kill her. Avery reached out on instinct and grabbed Jerry by the throat. His eyes bulged out of his head. The fire that licked up her body spread to him. But she didn’t let him go until he was fully consumed. Then she watched him scream with satisfaction.
“No, Avery!”
“Avery!”
Her eyes popped open and she saw Nikki on the bed next to her, her hands on Avery’s shoulder. The poor woman was about to have a panic attack. Her red hair was loose about her head. Avery had disturbed her sleep.
“Are you alright, milady? You cried out.”
Nikki helped her prop he
rself up in bed. “I—I think so. It was just a bad dream.”
“Do you wish to talk about it?”
Avery offered a smile. “You don’t want my nightmares, Nikki.”
“I am your Shadow Lady. And sometimes, that means walking with you through dark places.” Nikki crossed her legs. Then she closed her eyes and held out her hands. Avery didn’t think now was the time for meditation. But then she saw the steaming cups of hot chocolate Nikki had conjured. “Please, tell me. Perhaps speaking out loud will make them seem less real.”
Avery thought twice before recounted her nightmare. This woman was a stranger and she worked for Ryse. Why trust her? There was something in her eyes, something that begged for trust, for the right to bear her burdens. The sad fact was Avery had no one else and she needed to unload on someone like she would’ve vented to Izzy.
Nikki held her hand, kept her hot chocolate cup full and stayed attentive. The problem with this nightmare was that it wasn’t simply something her mind conjured to scare her. They were memories of the night her life shattered around her. When she told Nikki about how Frank died, her voice cracked. By the end, Avery’s head was laying in Nikki’s lap. She sobbed and Nikki stroked her hair long into the morning hours.
“Milady, if you wish, I can fetch Master Ryse. I know he can ease your mind and—”
“No!” Avery blurted out before she realized she was protesting more than necessary. “I mean, he’s had a long day. No need bothering him.”
Nikki’s lips pinched together and she said nothing else of Ryse.
EVEN AFTER NIKKI left, Avery couldn’t shut her eyes. The demon in the black robe still haunted her thoughts. Instead she pulled a chair over to the wall of windows and stared out at the gardens. They were so beautiful in the light of the rising sun. Whatever this world was, at least it held some beauty.
Castor and Pollux played at her feet. They acted so naturally it made Avery feel at home.