by J. S. Scott
“Since he was taken against his will, I don’t understand why he’s feeling the toxins at all,” Hunter questioned.
Athena shrugged. “The Evils have been ignoring the rules for a long time now. But you’re right. I don’t understand exactly why he seems so sick either. And it annoys me that I don’t know the solution.”
Zach wanted to laugh, but didn’t. The goddess wasn’t happy unless she had all the answers. Unfortunately, her powers didn’t work that way. “He’s not conscious at all?”
“He won’t communicate, even to me. Although he’s in an unconscious state, he should be able to talk to me telepathically now that he’s back in the human realm. He either can’t or won’t. I’m not sure which.”
“Those evil fuckers messed with his head,” Hunter growled.
“Quite possibly,” Athena conceded. “His injuries might be healed, but he’s still weak from the torture, and for some reason he isn’t able to wake up.”
“What can we do?” Zach asked urgently, not wanting to see his sister crushed or Kristoff’s demise. Although they looked around the same age, his king was like a father figure to him, and his mentor.
“Nothing right now. I’ll let you know if there comes a time that we need you. Take your wives home and give them a rest. Sophie will be here, and I’ll make sure she can reach any one of us if she needs to. You all fought well and hard. You all need rest.”
Zach felt so edgy that he wasn’t sure if he could even sleep. But he knew Kat had to be exhausted. She’d used everything she had today to get them into the demon realm. Athena was right. They all needed to sleep. But leaving his sister here wasn’t going to feel right. She should be with him and Kat. Yeah, maybe she was Kristoff’s radiant, but Zach still thought of Sophie as a child and probably would for a while.
On the other hand, Kristoff did need somebody to be with him while he was vulnerable.
“We can go see Kristoff and see if he’ll listen to us, and then we’ll take our women home,” Hunter answered, giving Athena a warning look.
Athena held up a hand in defeat. “I’ll go with you. If nothing else, I’ll make you rest.”
Zach watched as Hunter smiled at his goddess bride. He still couldn’t believe that Hunter had finally found happiness. Hell, he still wasn’t used to seeing Hunter smile.
His head turned toward the stairs that Sophie had raced up when she’d left, still stunned that she’d turned up alive after all these years.
I have my sister back.
It was difficult not to feel remorse over what she’d suffered, but he was going to enjoy the discovery of his only sibling being back where she belonged. Her life had been horrible, but he’d make it up to her. Eventually, her emotional scars would heal. And he had all the money in the world to take care of her. She’d want for nothing.
“I’ll go, too,” he told Hunter. “I want to say good-bye to Sophie and make sure she can contact me if anything changes. Then I can take Kat home. I think everybody is drained from fighting with the Evils.”
All of them disappeared from the room to go look in on Kristoff, leaving the king’s living room silent once more.
Kristoff felt his hand being lifted and someone, who he assumed was Drew, slipping his heavy ring back onto his finger. With the ancient symbol of the Sentinel king back in place again, it momentarily distracted him from the continual torture his mind was experiencing.
Having his symbolic ancient ring back on his finger felt right. It felt real.
But it didn’t help much. Seconds later, he was plunged back into another nightmare, a place where he could easily forget everything, lapse into the experience as though it were real.
His hallucinations were mostly about his early years, but there were some that tormented him even more: the ones where his daughter was beheaded while he was rendered helpless. He had the same nightmares about Zach, Drew, and Hunter.
One right after the other.
There was no time to recover from the previous atrocity before he was experiencing the next.
Kristoff? Come back to us. We need you.
It was her, the woman who had saved him from insanity—or in his case, she’d tried to rescue him. He wasn’t quite certain he wasn’t crazy.
Her voice broke through the barrage of horror that was playing out in his mind for a moment, and he was able to reply.
Can’t come back right now. Too many Evil toxins.
In his lucid moments, he knew what he was experiencing.
She answered.
I thought you were immune. Athena didn’t think it would affect you this much since you have some immunity and were there against your will.
Her sweet but sultry voice wrapped around him, just like it had when they were in the demon realm together.
Are you out, too? He hoped to hell that she was.
Yes.
Relieved that she was no longer suffering and at the mercy of the demons, he explained why he was still expelling demon toxins.
Athena failed to remember that I wasn’t exactly there involuntarily. I struck a bargain and agreed to remain with the Evils in exchange for the release of Drew and Talia. I broke a vow.
The woman paused, probably to explain to the other Sentinels if he was hearing correctly. The other voices were nothing but garbled sound, barely recognizable as belonging to his Sentinels. The only voice that was clear was hers.
Refusing to give in to the Evils’ mind fuck, he fought back. He was back in the human realm. Trying to stay coherent, he reached out to the woman again.
Talk to me. It helps.
As long as the woman kept sending him mental messages and he fought hard for the connection between them, it kept the demon images at bay.
What do you want to know?
He didn’t hesitate in responding.
Is everyone safe? I could feel Drew returning my ring. But what about the others?
She responded quickly.
All of your friends are here. The Winstons and their mates are safe. What else do you want to know?
He felt a weight lift from his chest just knowing that his daughter and friends had gotten through their crazy rescue plan.
Tell me about you and why you were in the demon realm.
Kristoff didn’t much care what she said now that he knew that none of his friends had perished. He just wanted her to talk to him.
My name is Sophie, and I’m actually Zach’s sister. He thought I was dead, but I was in the demon realm all this time. Since I knew I was going to die anyway, I tried to bargain for his life. I didn’t realize until much later that what I’d done was foolish. The Evils don’t keep promises. You had already saved Zach, and I would have much rather died.
What she was saying was almost unfathomable. Zach had sacrificed his humanity for Sophie, and she’d given her life to try to help her brother? Didn’t the two of them realize how extraordinary they were, both of them so willing to give their life for their sibling? Zach had to be happy to see his sister, and it was a reunion Kristoff felt sad that he’d missed. He knew that although Zach was happy with Kat, there was a part of him that had never quite healed from Sophie’s demise.
He’d had the feeling that one of the radiants being held was somehow connected to the Winstons, but he’d suspected the Evils might be harboring Hunter’s mate. Obviously, his suspicion had been right about her being connected to the three brothers, but the reason was all wrong.
However, the fact that she hadn’t died at the hands of Goran meant Sophie had to be a special radiant, one with an incredible dormant talent. For some reason, it bothered him that she was meant for another Sentinel.
She stopped talking, so he encouraged her. What of the balance? Why is Athena here now? How did I manage to cheat death and escape from her hidden prison?
Kristoff heard the background noise of ot
her Sentinels talking in the background before her reply came.
Athena is Hunter’s radiant. He found her location and freed her from her imprisonment. Zach says she was the missing piece of the puzzle they needed to launch an attack. They’re happy that the balance is almost equal again. Zach, Drew, Hunter and their radiants are fine. But they lost a few warrior Sentinels, and some will need much rest because of their injuries. Athena was able to revert Goran to his previous state, and take away the power he gained from sucking me and other women dry.
Fuck! He’d been gone too long and had missed so much. It was very hard for him to believe that Hunter, of all people, was mated to a goddess. How in the hell had that happened? But Athena must have known or sensed something when she’d sent for his disturbed Sentinel. And he’d missed the entire battle, not to mention his own rescue. He took the death of any of his Sentinels hard, but he was grateful that his friends had made it through.
So the balance is restored?
Sophie was silent for a moment before she answered.
Almost. We need you back, Kristoff. You and Goran still need to remain in your original states or things will continue to be slightly unbalanced.
His body jerked involuntarily as he felt the butterfly touch of her fingers on his arm. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to wake up. He couldn’t open his eyes. But the feel of Sophie touching him jolted at least part of him to life. He struggled to open his eyes, see the face connected to her sweet voice, but he knew that seeing her wouldn’t be enough. He had to fucking feel her. Now!
Kiss me! He needed her warmth, her compassion, anything she’d give him right now. His previously cold body was suddenly heated to almost an excruciating heat.
Sophie was quiet, hesitating. I’m not sure you’ll be happy when you awake.
Why?
Again, she was slow to answer. I’m scarred from my smallpox, and scarred from my time in the demon realm. I’m not very attractive.
He instantly hated the fact that she’d just belittled herself. I don’t care what you look like. I need you right now. Kiss me. Touch me, dammit! He knew his tone was demanding, but if she didn’t connect with him, he was going to lose his damn mind and spontaneously combust from the flames licking over his body.
Christ! It rankled for him to need anybody. But for some unknown reason, he did need Sophie. She’d kept him sane when he thought all hope for his mental state was gone. Because of her, he would eventually live in the human realm again, feel the sun on his face.
He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt her weight depress the mattress. He tensed, waiting for her to touch him.
Wanting…
Needing…
Angry because he couldn’t reach out and take what he wanted
himself.
Then, it happened. Her lips brushed against his lightly before she centered them and gave him a gentle kiss, one from lips so sweet that Kristoff felt his greedy demon rising inside him, wanting more.
Not enough. It’s not enough. More!
Suddenly, he opened his eyes, wrapped a palm around her neck and deepened the kiss, devouring her mouth with a need so strong that the embrace went on and on.
The toxins were forgotten as Kristoff became consumed with something stronger than the demon mind fuck: the desire to own the woman he was holding, be the only one she’d ever need. All reason left him as he became obsessed with making her his, fucking her until she begged for mercy.
Mine! Mine! Mine!
Possessiveness like he’d never known flooded through his being as he speared his tongue into her mouth, and all he could think about was the animalistic urge to absorb this female into his very soul so no one could ever touch her again.
It made him crazy when he felt her answering need as her arms went around him, her tongue pushing back in an attempt to feel closer to him.
Closer. More. More.
He flipped her onto her back, trapping her beneath him, letting out a growl of satisfaction that she purred her approval and threaded her hands in his hair.
Both of them needed the same thing right now, their minds focused on one objective: for them to somehow merge. Kristoff was downright obsessed with the compulsion.
“Kristoff! For God’s sake, let the poor girl go,” Athena spoke as she stepped forward and removed Sophie from his grasp.
Closing his eyes because the pain of having Sophie so close, then separated from him was so damn painful, he let out a snarl of disapproval. He was panting from the deprivation of what he needed, what he wanted.
When he opened his eyes, the only thing he saw was his…radiant. Athena was standing next to her beside the bed, but Kristoff’s eyes were riveted on nothing but Sophie.
His possessive instincts hit him hard even as he felt his soul grow slightly lighter as a small part of her soul drifted into his, and a minimal amount of darkness entered hers.
Covetous, greedy instincts slammed through him in that instant, and it was even worse than it had been a few minutes ago. Probably because he’d finally realized what Sophie was to him.
He grunted, the sound low and dangerous as it sprang from his throat. “Mine!”
Athena stepped forward and pushed him back onto his pillow. “She’s an innocent, Kristoff, taken by Evils when she was a child. I know this is going to be difficult, but you can’t just take what you want right now.”
Oh yeah, he could. He needed to, and Sophie needed it, too. But he struggled to contain his demon instincts, concerned that he might alarm his mate. He was being driven by animal instincts, and he somehow needed to pull himself together.
His amber eyes slowly returned to a silvery blue as he stared at Athena angrily because she was blocking his vision of what belonged to him. “She’s my radiant,” he rasped, barely able to believe that he’d finally found his mate.
And Christ! It was as painful as it was surreal. Her light warmed him, but the need to make her his was nearly killing him.
His Sophie was beautiful, her long dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes mesmerizing him for the brief moment as their gazes met and held.
“He looks worse off than any of us ever were,” Zach observed from his position closer to the door with the rest of the Winston crowd. “But I don’t think I like seeing him manhandle my sister.”
Kat elbowed Zach in the stomach. “You have no room to talk. As I recall, you “manhandled” me plenty. And it’s obvious that Kristoff is hurting. When have we ever seen him like this? He doesn’t have fits of anger, and he never loses control. He has to be in pain.”
“He is,” Athena informed them in a somber voice. “He’s a demon king, the first of your kind. He’s been without his mate for thousands of years. Take what you all felt and multiply it by a thousand.”
“Shit!”
“Christ!”
“No way!”
Athena nodded her head. “That’s what he’s feeling right now.”
The three Winston brothers were all shaking their heads and shooting Kristoff a sympathetic glance.
Zach stepped forward and put his arm around Sophie. “I won’t tolerate him hurting my sister.”
“She’s Zach’s sister?” both Talia and Kat asked in unison.
“She is,” Drew affirmed. “Zach and I will catch you and Talia up on things later.”
Athena turned and shot Zach an irritated look. “He’d die before he’d intentionally harm her. You know that.”
“But unintentionally?” Zach pushed.
“I’m more afraid his intensity will frighten her,” Athena admitted.
“I’m not afraid,” Sophie said forcefully, pushing her way in front of Athena. “I feel him. For some reason we’re sharing emotions. We’re sharing thoughts. No matter what his reaction is, I don’t think I could ever be afraid of him.” She reached for Kristoff’s hand, as though they both needed the c
onnection.
Careful not to squeeze too hard, Kristoff clasped her small, delicate hand in his, feeling some of his anger slip away as she lit a part of his soul that had long been pitch dark. “You’re as beautiful as your voice,” he told her hoarsely, once again mesmerized by her gaze, and the determination he saw in her eyes.
She lowered her head. “I’m dirty, scarred, and I’ve been used by the demons for almost two centuries. That’s not the mate for a king.”
He missed seeing her eyes instantly, her hair cascading around her downturned face. “Don’t ever look down in my presence,” he demanded.
Her head popped up immediately. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, either,” he insisted. “Athena, can you clean her up and dress her appropriately? My powers are weak right now. Her state of disarray obviously disturbs her.”
With a wave of her hand, the goddess cleaned Sophie up and changed her into a pair of jeans and a soft, fuzzy, red, short sleeved sweater.
Kristoff’s radiant ran a hand through her newly-repaired, silky dark hair, over the lightweight sweater, and finally brushed her fingers across the soft denim. “I’ve never worn pants before. I noticed the other women dressed like this. Times have changed?”
Athena snickered. “Honey, they’ve changed enormously. At least I had a TV to watch the changes. But you only have two hundred years to catch up with. I had eons. And you’ll get used to wearing jeans. It took me a while.”
“What is TV?” Sophie asked curiously.
Athena snatched the remote on Kristoff’s bedside table and pushed a button. Sophie jumped as sound suddenly erupted from the television mounted on the wall.
As she handed Sophie the remote control, Athena proceeded to explained how to change the channels, and the difference between documentaries, reality TV, and fictional shows.
Kristoff’s eyes never left his radiant, captivated by every little graceful motion she made, every word she said. The human realm was a strange new world for Sophie right now, but her curiosity would have her acclimating quickly.