by JL Madore
Before he had a chance to answer, the hair on his arms stood on end. The sudden charge in the atmosphere made his neck itch. “We’ve got company, my brothers.”
The reach to the small of his back was instinctual. Kyrian cursed when he remembered he’d surrendered his weapons to Dougal upon his arrival. The echoing barks of male voices had him leaning to see what was happening in the courtyard. “Fuck me, it’s an invasion.”
“Cassiane!” Devious shouted. “Surrender yourself, and no harm shall fall upon any of our kind.”
Demons poured through the open Bolthole, like stagnant water gushing through a busted sewer pipe. “Seth, give me one of your guns and take Cassi. Phoenix, you’re with me. That fucker dies for shooting Austin, we clear?”
Phoenix nodded.
Seth unsheathed a Glock from under his slicker and handed it over. “I’ll deliver her and be right back.”
Kyrian nodded. “And bring your friends.”
Cassiane didn’t know what was happening. With Kyrian and his warrior brothers blocking her way, she couldn’t see into the courtyard, but she’d heard Devious’ threat. Before she had time to argue, one of the two hulking Nephilim who’d arrived grabbed her by the arm and they’d dematerialized.
With her feet firmly planted in some kind of sandy sawdust, she turned on the warrior. “Take me back. If Devious is threatening my people, I need to be there.”
The warrior turned a bright blue glare on her as he retrieved his phone from his long, red jacket. “I listen to Kyrian, not you, Shedim. If I had my way, you’d all kill each other, and we could just come in and burn the bodies, but here you are.”
“And why is that?” She looked around the large oval structure and inhaled the pungency of horse. Was she to pay for her transgressions? No. Kyrian wouldn’t have offered her up so easily to slaughter. Would he?
Approaching from the far end, Zandros of Kish walked with the human woman from the video she’d seen, and a brown animal at her side.
“You so much as breathe on Austin and you die, feel me, bitch? And if Zander doesn’t finish you off, there are five more of us waiting in line.”
The venom in the warrior’s threat stung. Who was this human, that these men would kill and die for her? “I have no interest in harming her. I was misled and owe the woman a sincere apology.”
“You owe her a fuck more than that.”
“Seth?” Austin said, as they joined them. “Where’s Kyrian? I thought he’d be with Cassi.”
The massive warrior finished with his phone and slid it back into his pocket. “He’ll be along in two shakes, cowgirl. Just had a bit of Nephilim business to sort out first. Don’t worry.”
He kissed her cheek and unsheathed a gun. “Gotta run. Be back before the dinner bell rings.”
And with that, he was gone.
Zander glanced at a message on his phone and frowned. When his gaze met hers, his disposition didn’t improve. “You are here against my better judgement, Shedim. My wife is too compassionate for her own good. If you so much as step on Austin’s toe—”
Cassi raised a hand. “Be at ease, Watcher. I assure you, as I have Kyrian and that large warrior who brought me, I regret the action taken against your wife. She is in no danger from me now that I know the truth of things.”
“See, Zander, nothing to worry about. Now, you go join in whatever battle has been unleashed, and leave the girls to talk.”
Zander laughed. “I will do no such thing.”
Austin stared up at her mate and pressed a gentle hand to his cheek. “If Kyrian didn’t come, there is serious trouble. I heard the text come through and Seth draw his gun before he left. Go save the world, angelman. Cassi and I will chat and get to know each other while you’re gone.”
Cassi shook her head. “I’m sorry, Austin. As much as the idea of speaking with you intrigues me, I must go back. Will you take me Watcher?”
“No.” Zander frowned and started typing on his phone. “When Xxan arrives, I’ll leave him to guard you both.”
“Am I your prisoner? If not, I demand you return me to my castle.”
Zander stiffened at her words. The energy the male gave off tingled under her skin and made her stomach churn. “You are here because Kyrian wanted you here. His beast needs you safe to focus. You’d only put him in danger there.”
“But those are my people fighting. I won’t have him fighting in my place.”
Austin chuckled and laid her palm against her husband’s chest. The charge in the air dissipated, as if being drained away by some magical force. “You’ll have to get used to that, Cassi. Nephilim are insanely protective and kill, without remorse, anyone who threatens the people they love.”
She was about to argue when Austin nodded to Zander. “We’ll be fine, love. Off you go. Bring everyone home whole.”
The idea of leaving Austin in the company of that Shedim bitch practically liquified Zander’s bowels. He’d given Xxan orders to slaughter first and explain why later. If the Seraph had an ounce of self-preservation, he’d take that shit seriously. If Cassiane even frowned at his beloved, he wanted her put in the ground. That would be the end of him and Kyrian, no doubt, but it wasn’t like the guy had fully accepted her and transitioned anyway. The Greek always was the smart one of their little band of hotheads.
Zander followed the energy signatures of his brothers-in-arms. Since his transition, he’d been able to sense his brothers anywhere in the three realms. He couldn’t help but think, if he’d had that ability before, maybe Tanek might still be alive, but there you have it. Survivor’s guilt sucked ass.
Zander took form in the middle of a Shedim on Shedim cluster-fuck and withdrew his dagger. “Howdy, fellas. Mind telling me what’s going on?”
Seth pointed to a till-death-do-us-part between Kyrian and the Hulk they’d all grown to know and despise. A scarlet veil fell over Zander’s vision as he locked in on the bastard who’d shot Austin . . . who’d kidnapped the Cherub from his club. Control was a losing battle. His eyes stung with Hellfire’s burn.
“Heads up, my brothers,” Seth said, in the distance. “Jackson has arrived, and he’s lit to blow.”
Zander mowed through the demons in his path as he zoned in on his target. He grabbed the hilt of a sword sticking up from the corpse of a fallen soldier and broke into a run. Distracted as the asshole was, he didn’t even see the blade swinging at his fucking neck.
“Greek, drop!”
Zander vaguely noted the distance he scored with the head of his enemy. Arcing into the night sky, the thing end-over-ended across the courtyard. Black ichor pissed down upon all within its trajectory before it fell with a hollow clunk on the cobbled stone.
A primal cry tore from his throat as he stretched his wings to the heavens. “Who here stands with Devious? Who shall join the bastard in Hell’s void?”
The fighting fell silent as the masses opened and Stryker’s half-breed daughter Emma crouched, dripping in blood. She swiped a wrist across her cheek and snarled. “You monster. You have no business here. This is a species conflict and you’re out of line. I’ll have your fucking head for this, Zander.”
“Zandros avenges his mate,” Kyrian said, brushing himself off. “Devious shot her—an innocent, in full view of humans. Zander notified the Dark Prince that justice would be served. To that end, Emma, you owe us blood for your part in Austin’s exposure, kidnapping, and torture back in August.”
The terror in her piss-yellow eyes was fuel to Zander’s vengeance bonfire. “I did nothing that gives you the right to kill me. You do and my mother will rain Hell’s fury on all of you.”
“She has a point, Adolphos, but you could torture her a little and still be good.”
Zander dropped his head and locked his gaze, the sweet-fire burn of retribution pumping through his veins.
Cassi found it much easier to like Austin than she thought she would, considering her feelings about humans. True, she’d never met a human before, but she’d been
brought up to regard them as cattle or sheep. Austin wasn’t livestock. She was a strong, intelligent woman, who had been terribly wronged by her, her father, and her father’s illegitimate daughter.
“Why do this for me?” Cassi asked, stunned by the plan Austin had put in place to help her and her people.
Austin shrugged, her smile genuine and at ease. “Because I want Kyrian to be happy. He won’t find any peace until his two worlds reconcile.”
The two of them walked side by side, going over the details of Austin’s plan. It seemed impossible that she might have found a way to eliminate the starvation of Shedim and species like them. To think, she’d almost had her killed.
Cassi shivered and changed the subject. “You cannot see your own world, yet you can see mine? Why is that?”
Austin laughed. “No one has any idea.”
Her dog trotted along at her side, physically guiding her movement inside the perimeter of the large horse training ring.
“At first, I saw Nephilim silhouettes when Zander and his brothers spoke. Members of the Darkworld triggered nausea in me, and I saw violent clawing, white swipes in the air as they spoke. After Zander brought me back from death and Lady Divinity blessed our union, I saw the auras, silhouettes, and features of people—depending where they fall within the Otherworld hierarchy.”
“Astounding.” The woman had lived most of her life sightless, yet functioned and excelled as well as anyone around her. “And did your mother aid you?”
Austin’s face showed no sign of her emotions shifting, but Cassi smelled the bitter tang of sadness in the air. “My mother drowned in a terrible flood when I was a child. My father raised me on his own.”
Cassi rubbed her hands together, suddenly chilled. The Human Realm had seasons and was currently experiencing a cold one. “I lost my mother as well. She grew ill from one of the nutritional ailments my people suffer from. She passed unto the void when I was very young.”
They rounded the oval end of the arena and continued their walk back the other way. “You see, we’re not so different. Human, Darkworlder, Nephilim . . . we’re all just people doing our best to survive hostile worlds.”
Cassi’s blush warmed her cheeks and she wondered if Austin could see it. “I admit, when Kyrian spoke of you, I grew jealous of his affection. I see now, though, why he and the others hold you in such high regard. You are lovely, Austin. I am truly, wretchedly, sorry for my transgressions against you.”
“And Kyrian,” she said, looking suddenly serious. “I wasn’t the only one you hurt. He almost died from the gunshot wound he received shielding me. It was only by the grace of the heavens that they were able to save him. Raphael came down to work on him personally.”
Shock and regret hit Cassi harder than she would have thought possible. The space grew foggy and she blinked to clear her head. “He never mentioned that.”
“Why would he? He’s working to reduce tension between the two of you, not create more.”
Cassi toed the soft footing and sighed. “That is what I fail to understand. Why does he care? What keeps him coming back to me, when a relationship with me offers both of us nothing but conflict and pain?”
“He can’t help himself. You are the one for him.”
Cassi laughed. If only that were true. “In truth, I hardly know him. There have been a few stolen moments over a few days with weeks and months in between.”
“Believe me, I know how sudden it feels—but for Nephilim and their inner beasts, it happens that way.”
She studied the woman, more questions coming to mind moment by moment. “Kyrian said he didn’t know what was happening.”
Austin licked her lips and exhaled. “That was a half-truth. He knew the cause, he just didn’t know how to handle it or what to do about it.”
Cassi glanced around to ensure that they were still alone. She touched Austin’s arm and they stopped walking. “Will you let me in on the secret? I think I have a right to know why my life has gone to the hounds.”
“I don’t like to tell other people’s stories, but it wasn’t long ago, I was the one flailing, trying to understand what was happening. You, at least, know about the Otherworld, so you’re already ahead of where I was.”
Austin spent the next ten minutes explaining to her about Nephilim mating heat. How it affected her, anyway. “So, when the Dark Prince allowed your father’s red-metaled weapons to negate Watcher immortality, his sister, Lady Divinity, balanced the scales by allowing Nephilim the ability to mate, reproduce, and grow stronger by being whole.”
Cassi liked the idea of being Kyrian’s mate far more than she should. Nephilim were no friends to Shedim. Her people would never accept a union between them and still respect her as their leader. “And I am to be Kyrian’s female, e’ermore?”
“Surprise.”
Cassi shook her head. “He knew this, and didn’t tell me?”
This time, Austin’s expression did show her emotions darken. “When exactly should he have mentioned it? After you had him shot, poisoned, and tortured, but before you dragged him to the block for execution? This is not all on him, Cassi. He should have told you, no argument, but the two of you haven’t been riding the smoothest of trails together.”
That was the understatement of the century. Cassi crossed her arms and tucked her hands tight against her body. “Perhaps I might have done things differently had I known the truth.”
Austin shrugged. “Welcome to the world of alpha males. As Nephilim go, Kyrian is the most cultured and level-headed, but he’s still a man. Add to that, he’s afraid you’ll learn the truth and run screaming.”
“Why would he think that?”
“He killed your father, took your virginity, and then took your future of choice from you too. He’s terrified you’ll hate him, and that his brothers will refuse to accept you. He’s torn between those he loves most.”
Cassi brushed her hair back from her face and laughed. “There is something undeniable between us, absolutely, but if what you say is true, Kyrian hasn’t had any more choice in this than I. It’s biological manipulation, not love.”
“You’re wrong,” Kyrian said, taking solid form behind them. “But that must wait.” Covered in black demon blood, he rushed to Austin’s side and took her elbow. “Come on, cowgirl, let’s get you ladies someplace safe. Hell’s breaking loose.”
He glanced over and handed her his Crystalline dagger. “You said you could handle yourself. Was that true?”
Cassi flipped the dagger, slicing the air and manipulating the lethal blade over and around in a graceful show. “My father was Master of Shedim. All his children were trained to be among the sharpest weapons in his arsenal.”
“That gives me the quakes but is super-hot.” He turned to the purple-haired Seraph guardian in the tiered seats outside the ring. “Xxan, getcha ethereal ass down here. We’re about to have unwanted guests.”
“Who?” Austin asked. “Where’s Zander?”
Kyrian squeezed the human to his side and she ran in pace with his long strides. The two moved as one in a practiced coordination that made Cassi’s insecurities sting.
“Zander’s alter ego showed up during battle. Jackson took one look at Devious and lopped off the bastard’s head. Shot it across the courtyard like a cannonball. Cassi’s half-sister totally lost her shit. She wants the Shedim throne, love, and she’s coming for you with all her friends.”
Cassi scoffed. “And some of mine, no doubt. Many of my men defected with Devious, thinking him better suited to defend their lives. I suppose they’ll have to rethink that allegiance now.”
Kyrian waited until Xxan whistled from outside the horse arena before they followed. Their feet crunched over the small gravel stones of the driveway as the four of them headed for a large building further down the lane. “Xxan will guard you two in the panic room I built in the house. You’ll be safe, and there’s enough supplies in there for weeks.”
Cassi had no intention of being locke
d in a vault like a precious piece of jewelry while her slighted sibling called for blood. She needed to hit this head-on, whether Kyrian approved or not. As the four of them arrived at the steps to the massive house, Kyrian opened the way and ushered Austin inside. Xxan took the dog and they followed without hesitation.
Perfect. Cassi turned toward the open grounds and bolted in the other direction. She knew the moment the Bolthole opened, and headed toward the arriving forces. She’d have her moment with this supposed sister of hers. There were things that needed to be dealt with.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Kyrian realized, too late, that Cassi had ditched them and gone Lone Ranger. Damn, he needed things to go according to Hoyle for once. Fighting wars on all fronts was exhausting. And though his beast assessed the situation otherwise, his first priority was securing Austin and the baby in a safe place.
“Through here.” He pointed the way to Xxan, and they raced Austin through the industrial kitchen of the old clubhouse and into the pantry. Stetson barreled along beside them, his tail wagging against the stainless-steel appliances as they went.
“Once you lock it from the inside, the outer controls are overridden. You’ll have monitors to see what’s happening in the building and across the grounds. Don’t come out until we give the all clear.”
On the side wall, Kyrian unlatched the shelves and swung them to reveal the hidden door. It was the work of a moment to key in the code and secure Austin and Stetson into the room with Xxan. “You good?”
The purple-haired behemoth nodded. “Lady Austin will be secure, I swear it.”
“Be careful, Kyrian,” Austin said, tugging Stetson closer to her. “I love you.”
“You too, cowgirl. Take care of my niece.” Kyrian closed the metal door and waited until he heard the metal bolts slide into place. After locking the selves back into position, he shut off the lights in the pantry and closed the door.
Running back the way he came, he outed his twin SIG’s and sent up a prayer to Lady Divinity to keep Cassi safe until he got to her. The door was still open when he made it back to the open foyer. He would have launched off the thing if Austin and Xxan weren’t hiding inside. Instead, he took the added seconds to close the door and lock it before heading across the track.