Seducing Death

by Cassandra Lawson

  Eleanor nodded to the vampires from Claire’s settlement. “You may escort Claire home. We will spend the night here and return to Fangri La in the morning.”

  Ian inwardly cringed, hoping he didn’t get stuck with hospitality duty. Shelby looked just as thrilled with the idea. Everyone had to wait around until Connor directed the representatives from Fangri La to temporary housing and Claire was escorted out of the settlement. Jack, Carla, and Simon ended up getting stuck taking care of the council members.

  When they were finally alone, Ian breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “I hope some of what we said to Claire makes a difference,” Danny said in a tired voice. “Then again, it might be safer for her if she thinks we’re all liars.”

  “Yeah, she might be in more danger if she trusts what we said,” Shelby agreed.

  “She’s not quite sure what she believes at this point,” Cam said as he approached them. Obviously, he’d been close to the training center the entire time, and with his excellent hearing, he likely knew most of what had happened.

  “I’m not sure whether I’m hoping she’ll believe us or not at this point,” Connor admitted. “Believing us might get her killed.”

  “You heard Eleanor,” Shelby said. “She’ll come after them if anything happens to Claire.”

  “They could always blame us if anything happens,” Ian reminded her.

  “Claire’s smart,” Cam said calmly. “She may not trust everything you said at this point, but she’ll look into it, and she’s smart enough to keep Roger from finding out what she’s up to. Just let her do her thing.”

  “I’d think you’d be panicking about this,” Ian said as he studied Cam.

  Cam just grinned. “I’d only be worried if Claire couldn’t take care of herself.”

  “Well, I suppose we need to decide which of us are going to Fangri La,” Connor said.

  “Why the hell are they waiting so long to meet on this?” Ian asked. “The meeting is eight weeks out, and that’s only if they don’t delay it again. Seems like a long time to wait when they believe there’s a possible war coming.”

  “You know the answer to that,” Connor said. “Most of them don’t care if we destroy Roger’s settlement, and they’re hoping we do it before the meeting. Sure, we’ll get our asses handed to us if that happens, because they can’t admit that they don’t want this new type of vampire to survive.”

  Ian nodded. “You’re right. If there weren’t council members like Eleanor, they would have turned Roger’s people away and let us destroy them.”

  “Exactly,” Connor said. “It’s been a long day. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

  “Before you go, there’s something I need to tell you,” Ian said.

  Everyone waited expectantly, and he was pretty sure they knew what was coming. “Tomorrow is my last day here,” he finally said. “I’m going to spend it with Mitchell.”

  “Fuck,” Danny said and Ian laughed.

  “Well, Danny summed up what we all want to say,” Connor said, and he clapped Ian on the back. “Hopefully, you can visit us again, but if not, I understand.”

  Ian nodded. The rest of the emotional goodbyes blended together. As much as he hated leaving his friends, his place was with Kyleigh, and she wasn’t safe here. It was time to let go of his past.

  Chapter Fifty-Two

  Ian’s suggestion that she spend the day with him and Mitchell had surprised Kyleigh. Since Ian had the day off patrol, and Mitchell was out of school, she’d assumed Ian would want to spend time alone with Mitchell. The day was perfect, but she knew their time here was coming to an end.

  At the moment, they were watching a movie, but Kyleigh had no idea what it was about; she was far too distracted. Thoughts of taking Ian away from Mitchell haunted her.

  “Are you okay?” Ian asked, leaning in to whisper in her ear.

  Kyleigh just shook her head.

  Mitchell turned off the movie and looked at them. “This is your last day here, right?”

  “Why do you think that?” Kyleigh asked.

  “The sleepover tonight, spending all day together,” Mitchell said with a sad smile. “I understand, so you don’t have to be afraid of telling me the truth.”

  Kyleigh was always surprised by how level-headed Mitchell was. She could easily see why Ian was proud to claim him as his son. “We don’t have to leave tomorrow,” she insisted.

  “Yes, we do,” Ian said and looked at Mitchell. “Every day I delay leaving, I’m putting Kyleigh in danger. Staying longer would be selfish of me.”

  Kyleigh swallowed hard, wondering how she could possibly live with herself if Ian were forced to leave his home. Mitchell might say he was okay with losing Ian, but he’d already lost so much. This seemed too unfair.

  “I don’t want to leave you,” Ian said to Mitchell. “If I could find a way for us to stay, I would.”

  “It’s okay,” Mitchell said. “I thought you were dead. Never in a million years would I have guessed I’d get to spend even a minute more with you, Dad.”

  “Leaving you is tearing me apart,” Ian said.

  Kyleigh looked away. Coward that she was, she couldn’t witness Ian and Mitchell’s pain. As they continued to talk, Kyleigh stood and tried to quietly leave the room, but Ian caught her hand.

  “Where are you going?” he asked.

  “Upstairs,” she said softly. “I’m really tired.”

  Ian squeezed her hand. “I’ll be up in a little while.”

  Kyleigh nodded and started to walk away, but Mitchell’s voice stopped her at the foot of the stairs.

  “Kyleigh,” Mitchell said from right behind her.

  She turned and pasted a fake smile on her face, because that’s what everyone needed right now.

  “You don’t have to leave,” he said.

  At first, she was confused, and then she realized he meant she could stay downstairs. “I really am tired,” she insisted.

  Mitchell hugged her. Tentatively, she hugged him back. “I don’t blame you,” he said quietly. “In fact, I’m grateful to you for saving my dad and giving me this time with him.”

  “I want to give you so much more,” she said as sadness enveloped her.

  “We can’t always have everything we want,” Mitchell said. He pulled away but kept his hands on her shoulders. Once more, she was surprised by the wisdom she saw in his young eyes. “At the moment, I’m just trying to be grateful for what I have, and I don’t just mean this time with my dad. I’m also grateful for meeting you. Promise me something.”

  “Anything,” Kyleigh said without hesitation.

  “Make him happy,” Mitchell said, gesturing toward Ian with one shoulder.

  Kyleigh was silent as she considered the weight of that promise. She knew what she had to do to make Ian happy. Fear made her hesitate. If Mitchell had any idea what she had to sacrifice, he wouldn’t hold her to the promise, but she loved Ian. As much as she’d tried to avoid that emotion, it had snuck up on her gradually.

  Her gaze shifted back to Mitchell, and she swallowed hard. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make him happy.”

  “Thank you,” Mitchell said and gave her another quick hug before walking back over to Ian, who was doing his best to pretend he hadn’t heard a word they’d said.

  Chapter Fifty-Three

  Ian stayed up much later than he’d planned, but he couldn’t seem to tear himself away from his son, knowing it was their last night together. That night, Mitchell was sleeping in his old room. Ian’s heart broke a little, realizing it was truly the last time that would happen.

  Before heading to bed, Ian went to Sarah’s room. For some reason, he felt the need to say goodbye to her memory. He’d already talked to Connor about moving another family into his home. It didn’t make sense to have this place sitting here like a shrine. There had once been laughter and love inside these walls, and there should be again.

  “I miss you, Sarah,” Ian said to the empty room. Even Kyleigh di
dn’t know if his words could reach the souls of those he’d lost. Maybe he was just talking to himself, but he needed to say it anyway. “Not a day has gone by where I haven’t thought of you. I’m sorry for using you as an excuse to hate. You never would have wanted that.”

  Running a finger along one of the butterflies on the wall, Ian smiled. “You wanted me to paint over these, but they always remind me of you. When I’d see them before, they only brought sadness and anger. Today, I saw one, and it made me smile because my memories of you no longer center on your death— they’re all about your life. Kyleigh kept her promise to you and saved us both.”

  After one last look at the room, he walked out, shutting the door behind him. He had one last ghost from his past to deal with. Walking past the room where Kyleigh slept, he headed into the bedroom he’d shared with Kate, a room he hadn’t slept in for days. Looking around, he didn’t see quite as many memories to haunt him. Ten years was a long time. The bedding was new. Even the mattress was new. Still, there were touches of her around the room. There was the furniture she’d picked out, including the overstuffed chair in the corner that she’d liked to read in. There’d been many days that he’d sat in that chair with Kate curled up in his lap.

  Ian smiled at the memory of his time with Kate, a first for him. “You would have been really pissed off at the way I’ve acted. I’m certainly not the man you married any more. Some things just change a person forever. Some days, I try to remember the scent of that soap you used to like so much. They don’t make it anymore, and there have been days I wished I’d picked up another bar. You were my first and only love for so long, and I wanted to die when I lost you. In fact, I tried really hard to get myself killed for a long time. Guess I was too much of a coward to do it the direct way. I’m finally doing what I should have done long ago- I’m living. First, there was Mitchell, and now Kyleigh. You’d like her,” he said with a smile. “She would have been a terrible choice for the man I was before I lost you, but she’s perfect for the man I am today.”

  Ian gathered up the belongings he wanted to take with him from this room. This was his final goodbye to the past, one that was long overdue.

  Kyleigh was curled up on her side, sleeping soundly, when he entered the room. After setting an alarm on his phone, Ian crawled into the bed beside her and wrapped an arm around Kyleigh, pulling her close. There was no hesitation from her; there never was. Scooting closer to his body, Kyleigh sighed in her sleep. He knew she was sad about leaving, though whether it was because she didn’t want to leave her friends or guilt over making him leave, he wasn’t sure. It didn’t matter now. When they got back to her realm, they’d comfort each other. That’s what mates did. While this might have started off as a way to save her from punishment, Kyleigh was truly his mate now. No marriage was needed to cement the bond between them.

  Ian drifted off to sleep, both happy and miserable.

  Chapter Fifty-Four

  Kyleigh stood, watching Ian sleep. Obviously, he’d gotten to bed pretty late if he hadn’t woken when she’d started to move around the room. That was to her advantage. If Ian woke up, he’d talk her out of it. Coward that she was, it wouldn’t take much to convince her to give up this plan. Even knowing leaving was the right thing to do, she really wanted to stay with Ian and love him. No, that wasn’t true; what she wanted was for Ian to love her in return, something that would never happen.

  As quietly as possible, she walked down the stairs and into the backyard. First, she tried to flash herself to Arawn’s realm, but it didn’t work. No surprise there; she was still tied to Ian. She couldn’t leave this realm without her mate. She wasn’t sure she could even flash anywhere. Her powers had been fading, likely due to her time here.

  Focusing, she tried summoning Arawn. “Come to me, Arawn,” she called out and then waited. Nothing happened. She waited nearly twenty minutes.

  “Damn,” she muttered and sat down on the damp grass. “Seriously, Arawn, you’ve stalked me for hundreds of years, and now you’re avoiding me? If you wait too long, Ian will wake up and I won’t be able to make this offer.”

  “Offer?”

  Arawn’s voice directly behind her made Kyleigh scramble to her knees and spin around. That obviously amused Arawn because he laughed and pushed his silvery hair back over his shoulder. “Did I frighten you?” he asked, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

  Kyleigh quickly stood and took several steps back, never taking her eyes off of Arawn. “You just surprised me,” she said.

  “Why?” he asked, moving close to her. “You summoned me.”

  “And you ignored me,” she reminded him.

  “You just had to use the right enticement,” he said. “Now, tell me about this offer.”

  Kyleigh could hear the sounds of people moving around in the streets. The settlement was waking for the day, and soon, Ian would be too. Ian would stop her because he felt an obligation to protect her.

  “We can’t talk here,” she said urgently. “Can you take us somewhere else?”

  “Why didn’t you transport somewhere else to meet me?” he asked, studying her. “In fact, why didn’t you just come to me instead of forcing me to come to you? Is this a game?”

  “No game,” she insisted. “You know I can’t flash myself to another realm and leave Ian here.”

  “Ah, yes,” he said, turning away. “You can’t leave your mate behind, can you?”

  “No,” she said. “I also can’t flash myself anywhere right now.”

  That got Arawn’s full attention, and he spun with an unnatural, almost feminine, grace. “What do you mean, you can’t flash yourself anywhere?”

  “I helped a soul cross a couple of days ago, and since then, I haven’t been able to use most of my abilities,” she explained.

  “Have you had other summons since then?” he asked.

  Kyleigh shook her head.

  “Now, that is interesting,” he said thoughtfully. “Not to worry, I can take you to my realm even with your mate here.”

  Kyleigh cringed when his hand slid around her upper arm, knowing she’d have to get used to his touch very soon. Ian’s home faded as she flashed out of his realm, out of his life.

  Chapter Fifty-Five

  It wasn’t Ian’s alarm that woke him; it was a sudden sense of loss, like part of him was missing. No, it was like a piece of him had been violently torn off. Looking around the room, he wasn’t surprised to find Kyleigh gone. There was nothing in her absence to make him panic. While she wasn’t normally an early riser, she did on occasion get an early morning summons. Still, his sense of dread grew as he slipped on a pair of pants and headed downstairs.

  There were no sounds of movement in the house, save Mitchell’s quiet snoring. The note sat on his coffee table, but instead of picking it up, he eyed it wearily. That note could simply be telling him she’d gone to release a soul. None of what he felt made sense, but Ian’s gut told him something was very wrong. Lifting the note with shaky hands, he unfolded the paper and read her messy scrawl.

  ‘Dear Ian,

  First, know this was not a decision I made lightly, rather something I’ve been considering these past few days. Saving your soul should have never amounted to holding you prisoner. Your life is here, and I love you too much to force you to leave. Yes, I love you. I know it’s crazy, and we haven’t known each other long, but my heart has belonged to you for longer than I care to admit. I’m going to deal with the Fae and free you. Don’t worry about me.

  Love,

  Kyleigh’

  Ian clutched the paper to his chest as he tried to get his panicked breathing under control. There was no way Kyleigh would be okay after dealing with the Fae. They would destroy her for their own amusement. Then he turned his anger on himself. Why hadn’t he told Kyleigh how much she meant to him?

  Mitchell padded down the stairs. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  Ian looked over his shoulder at Mitchell. “She’s gone,” he said desperately.


  Mitchell moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t panic,” he said. “You’ll get her back. Where do you think she went?”

  “The Fae realm,” Ian spat out, each word sounding like a curse.

  “Oh.” Mitchell sounded just as hopeless as Ian felt.

  “There has to be a way to get there,” Ian said.

  “There is,” said a deep voice from the entrance to the kitchen.

  Ian recognized Oriel’s golden beauty immediately but didn’t trust the Fae. While Oriel seemed to be on Kyleigh’s side, Ian remembered all of Kyleigh’s warnings about the Fae.

  “What are you doing here?” Ian demanded.

  Oriel raised an eyebrow, giving Ian a condescending smirk. “I’m trying to find out why you were foolish enough to let Kyleigh bargain with Arawn. Or, are you just too selfish to care what happens to her?”

  Ian wanted to snap at Oriel, but the man was right about him being selfish. If he hadn’t been, Kyleigh never would’ve believed this was in his best interest. “I didn’t know she was leaving,” he said.

  “Now that you know she’s with Arawn, what do you plan to do?” Oriel asked with a smile.

  “Whatever it takes to get her back,” Ian said.

  Oriel grinned and clapped his hands together. “Excellent!”

  Ian turned to Mitchell. “I have to go,” he said, hearing the crack in his own voice.

  Mitchell hugged him. “I love you, Dad. Tell Kyleigh I’ll miss her too.”

  Ian nodded and backed away from Mitchell. “I’m proud of you, and I’m grateful I got to be part of your life.”

  Oriel picked that moment to slap a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “Enough of this stupid sentimental human nonsense. We need to hurry before something bad happens to Kyleigh.”

  Just like that, the world faded away, and Ian got his last glimpse of his son.