Then something new touched her senses. A taste—sweet, light, satisfying in a way nothing had ever been. It defied her to describe it. Eli’s voice murmured softly in her mind, sending her strength, encouraging her to swallow, and although it was a bitter struggle, she managed it at last. At once a spoon touched her lips again and she instinctively opened for more as a burst of strength rocked her body.
More sensations slowly returned. Warmth surrounded her. Her body tingled. Again that sweet something slipped over her tongue and she swallowed, the effort coming easier this time. Electricity arced through her, each cell swelling with power, the strange feeling chasing away the pain the poison had inflicted on her. Floating in half-consciousness, she opened her mouth again for the next bite, and the next. She heard her heartbeat stabilize and her breathing became easier. The poison’s hold weakened.
For the first time since the Outcasts cornered her in the alley, she dared to hope she might live through this. What was this sweetness that strengthened her? Slowly, with great difficulty, Renee forced her eyes open.
Eli’s face filled her vision, his dark eyes filled with worry and determination. At her movement, he pulled her tightly to him, shuddering hard and stroking her hair with a trembling hand. Only a moment later, he pulled back and searched her face anxiously. She tried to smile for him but it was too difficult. His frown returned.
“You’re still far too weak. You have to finish the rest,” he ordered, lifting the spoon to her lips again.
She swallowed obediently and as he lowered the spoon to scoop up another bite, she tried to turn her head to see what he was feeding her. She didn’t yet have the energy, but she was feeling stronger by the second. “What is it?”
He brushed a kiss over her lips. “A gift from my mother. Now eat and save your strength.” And he lifted another bite to her mouth.
Renee swallowed again and was opening her mouth for more when his words finally sank in. She gasped, suddenly knowing what he fed her. What it must be. Life and power, he’d described it, and she felt her body filling with both. “Eli, no!” she protested. “You need it—”
“—less than you do,” he interrupted, taking advantage of her open mouth to slip the spoon in again. “Don’t even think about defying me in this, little one. At this moment, I feel more than capable of pouring it down your throat whether you want it or not.” A shiver ran through his body again and he pressed his lips to her forehead. “Do you have any idea how close you came to leaving me?”
She finally accomplished the almost overwhelming task of turning her head and saw a heavy crystal dish on the blankets beside her. Only a few mouthfuls of a creamy, sparkling substance remained in the bottom of it. Its color continually shifted through every hue in the rainbow and some she had never before imagined. It was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen, but when he tried to give her another bite, she pressed her lips together and turned away.
She didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that she wasn’t supposed to touch this stuff.
Eli grasped her chin in a gentle hand and brought her back to face him. “You will finish this,” he growled. “Fight me in anything else, everything else, but not this.”
She didn’t make the mistake of opening her mouth to argue with him. This is for you, not me, she thought to his mind. You told me how you suffer without it. When will you ever get any more? I won’t take it from you—it’s not right!
Instead of replying, Eli cupped her chin in his hand and kissed her, his mouth soft and possessive on hers. He tugged at her lower lip with his teeth, his tongue tracing the sensitive inner flesh, and without hesitation she opened to him.
He pulled away abruptly, his warm mouth instantly replaced with another cool bite of ambrosia. Renee choked in surprise and swallowed out of reflex before glaring at him. That was a dirty trick, she accused, coughing.
He didn’t look a bit sorry. “You will finish all of it,” he repeated, his voice infused with steely resolve. “Every single drop.”
I thought you only fought battles you could win, she reminded him, making no move to open her mouth again.
He raised the spoon, his eyes narrowing when she clenched her jaw. “I will win, little one. Make no mistake about it. Now do we do this the easy way or the hard way?”
Renee glared at him for another long moment before sighing. There really was no hope of resisting him until she was stronger and they both knew it. Bully, she grumbled as she gave in. I don’t know why you’re insisting on this foolishness.
He pulled her closer, his lips brushing hers again with infinite tenderness. “Don’t you?”
His tone made her heart turn over. She couldn’t think of a thing to say that wouldn’t betray the yearning in her heart. Even though her memories were blurred from the effects of the poison, she clearly remembered him saying he loved her to stop her from going to Apollo. She remembered the nightmare of the day and his refusal to leave her and save himself. She closed her eyes to hide the tears suddenly filling them.
For the first time since he’d left her alone, hope welled in her heart.
Finally she heard Eli drop the spoon in the dish. He leaned back against the headboard and drew her close, stroking her back and running his fingers through her hair. All the lingering aches and weakness of her ordeal melted away in the warmth of his embrace. It was the closest thing to heaven she’d ever felt.
“Thank you,” she whispered, knowing what he had given up for her. The enormity of his sacrifice humbled her. “And don’t you dare do that again. Do you understand me?”
He laughed softly at her command. “Agreed,” he murmured. “As long as you promise never to come so close to death again in return.” There was a long pause and Renee sighed, loving the feel of his arms around her and the beat of his heart beneath her ear. At last he spoke again. “How do you feel?”
She shifted, feeling the strength returning to her body. Every cell tingled with a power she’d never before possessed. “Better,” she said hesitantly. “But strange.”
He lifted her chin and looked into her eyes for a long moment before smiling down at her. “Do you feel up to going home now?”
Home. The word made Renee’s heart leap and her stomach clench. She looked up at him and tried to hide the turmoil in her heart. The only place that felt like home was in his arms. She closed her eyes, wanting to pray that he didn’t intend to take her back to the house he’d given her and leave her there again, but unable to form the words.
She was cradled in a god’s embrace right now. To whom should she pray?
Chapter Fifteen
His fingertips caressed her cheek when she didn’t reply. “Come with me,” Eli urged. “There are things I must tell you, things I should have told you long before now. If you decide to throw things at me, I don’t want Diego and Sian around to witness it.”
She couldn’t help but laugh at a mental picture of Eli cowering in the corner as she pelted him with books and trinkets. She knew the crazy image came from him and she appreciated his attempt to ease her foreboding, but anxiety still gripped her. Every time he had told her he needed to tell her something, it had been something she would have rather not heard.
“If I decide to throw things at you,” she teased to hide her fears, “I’ll make sure and yell at you so loudly that they’ll hear me anyway.”
Eli groaned in mock-resignation before rolling out of bed and pulling on his jeans. Renee was about to follow suit when a tall, gorgeous woman materialized from the shadows. Renee clutched the blankets to her chest, awe-struck. Black hair tumbled in a silken waterfall past the woman’s hips and her dark eyes twinkled with light. Those lights mesmerized Renee, swirling like galaxies caught in endless black depths. Renee couldn’t hold back her fearful gasp as her power swirled through the room.
Just like Eli’s.
The woman barely looked at her before turning her eyes to Eli. Renee glanced at him and took comfort when he didn’t seem alarmed to see the newcomer at a
ll. When the woman spoke, it was in a dialect Renee had never heard before, but when Eli touched her mind, she understood every word.
“You sacrifice much for this one, my son.”
Renee fought to keep her jaw from dropping. My son? This incredible beauty was Eli’s mother? Renee stared in disbelief at Nyx, unable to believe she was looking at the real, live, honest-to-goodness goddess of night.
Eli merely shrugged and pulled his shirt over his head. “It was the only way,” he replied in the same language. “Was I to let her die when you left me the means to save her?”
Nyx shook her head, that secretive smile still teasing the corners of her lips. “I would not expect you to do such a thing.”
When she looked at Renee, her dark eyes seemed to see straight into her heart and soul. When she spoke again, Renee was surprised to hear her use English. “You knew you were dying and yet you tried to reject his gift when you realized what it was. Why? Do you wish for death?”
Renee fought the urge to shift uncomfortably under her gaze. She knew now exactly where Eli had gotten his penetrating stare. “No, of course I don’t.” The goddess didn’t look satisfied with her answer and Renee tried again. “I didn’t want to take it from Eli. He needs it. He was hurting—he still is.”
Nyx nodded. Her smile lit the room as she waved her hand and the crystal dish at Renee’s side suddenly filled again. “You wish for him to receive this. It is a good wish and I grant it.”
Then she turned her penetrating gaze on Eli. “You think to give this to her as well and I will not allow it,” she said sternly, clearly hearing his thoughts. “Once I can forgive, but this you will keep for yourself or receive no more. Your woman is healed and will have no further need of it. Do not reject my gift again, Eli.”
Eli’s eyes widened as he realized what she’d called him. Nyx’s stern look faded and she gazed at her son with undisguised pride. “Eli,” she repeated, reaching out and touching his cheek. “The name you have chosen for yourself is perfect, my son. The most high. It is fitting for a god. No longer will I call you what Apollo decreed.” And with that she vanished.
Renee lifted the crystal bowl carefully in the sudden silence that fell over the room and held it out to him. He took it slowly, looking from the bowl to Renee, thinking of what Nyx had said. He wondered if she was still watching.
Renee narrowed her eyes, clearly discerning the direction of his thoughts. “Oh, no, you don’t. I won’t touch a drop of that. She said I don’t need it. You do, and if you give me any attitude about it, I’ll force-feed you!”
He laughed and sat on the bed beside her. “You sound like you would enjoy it far too much,” he teased, shaking his head.
Renee wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek against his back as he ate the ambrosia, shivering when she felt his ever-present aura of power swell and grow. Soon every hair on her body was standing on end and she had to lock her jaw to keep her teeth from chattering, but she didn’t release him.
This was what he truly was, and she couldn’t help being awed by him.
And her doubts crept in on the heels of that thought. How could such a powerful being truly love her?
Eli set the dish aside and closed his eyes for a long moment, savoring the relief surging through his veins. Blood was an adequate substitute, but nothing compared to the real thing. He lifted his hand and the curtains billowed with his movement, reminding him to pull in his power a little, before he turned and pulled Renee into his lap.
Here was something even better than the ambrosia, and he was dying for a taste.
Her lips were sweet with ambrosia and he devoured her, needing her in a way that should have terrified him but instead left him feeling exalted. She gasped when he pulled away to nuzzle her ear, giving her earlobe a little nip. The feel of her bare skin against his arms sent a wave of desire through him and he couldn’t resist skimming his lips down the side of her throat. He growled when she shivered in his arms.
Oh, yes, he knew exactly what he wanted to do first now that he was back at full strength, but he forced the too-tempting thought away and rested his chin on her head. He had to speak to her before they made love again. There was no way to put it off any longer. “Ready to go?” he asked, trying unsuccessfully to keep the husky note from his voice.
Renee nodded against his chest and he clothed her with a thought before standing with her still cradled securely in his arms. She raised her head and grinned at him. “I’m not an invalid, Eli,” she said, glancing down at the jeans and snug button-down blouse suddenly replacing her nightgown. “I’m perfectly capable of dressing myself, and I’m pretty sure I still remember how to walk, too.”
“You take all the fun out of it. I was looking forward to making you blush in front of Diego and Sian.”
He carried her as far as the door before reluctantly lowering her to her feet. He couldn’t make himself release his grip on her hand, though, and laced his fingers more tightly through hers.
She glared and poked him in the side. “You really are trying to get things thrown at you,” she said, but she couldn’t hide the laughter in her voice.
It sent relief spiraling through his entire body. He didn’t think he would ever recover from this scare. He gave in to the need to pull her into his embrace again, holding her tight and hoping she didn’t feel how badly he was shaking. He shuddered as he relived the horrible moments when he had been certain she would die and leave him. She squeezed him back as though she understood.
He almost laughed at the irony. After thousands of years of fearing nothing, he had finally found something that terrified him, and it was a woman so small, he could break her with one hand. He smiled ruefully even as he clung to her. The life vibrating through her body made him grateful enough to weep. If anyone had told him this little fledgling would bring him to his knees in a few short weeks, he would have laughed in their face, but there was no denying it.
And he’d wronged her, and now he had to find a way to explain himself. Eli finally forced himself to let her go and lead her down the stairs, though he couldn’t give up his hold on her hand. The last thing he wanted to do was see Diego and Sian, but they had been almost as worried for Renee as he had been and their help had been invaluable. They deserved to see her recovery for themselves before he took her home and tried to explain what he’d done.
Diego stood as they descended the stairs, Sian dropping what she was doing in the study and hurrying to join him. Eli’s tight grip on Renee’s hand did not go unnoticed by either of them. Diego draped his arm around Sian’s shoulders and breathed a silent sigh of relief to see Renee walking on her own, seemingly fully recovered.
But it was Eli who made their jaws drop. The man almost seemed to glow with power. Those black eyes swirled like a dark whirlpool and the very air around him was charged like the atmosphere right before a lightning strike. The chandelier above them rocked gently when he moved. Diego had never felt anything like it and drew Sian a step back in spite of himself.
Who was this man?
Eli smiled at him and Diego felt the electric atmosphere lighten considerably. He glanced at their linked hands again, trying to get over the strangeness of Eli actually allowing someone to touch him, before he returned the smile. “We are glad your Chosen is well, Eli.”
Instantly he knew he had misspoken. The air thickened as Eli’s eyes flashed. He shook his head sharply once, cutting off any further comments, before leading Renee toward the front door. Renee looked as confused as Diego suddenly felt and he edged forward, putting Sian behind him despite her resistance. Eli was still acting strangely.
“Thank you for your aid,” Eli said, but his tone was cool.
And then they were gone.
Sian laid her hand on his shoulder. “Didn’t you tell me they’re bonding?”
Diego nodded, and Sian’s frown deepened. “But she didn’t know. You saw her, you know it’s true. How can she not know?”
Diego took her hand and
raised it to his lips. “Don’t worry about her, querida. She’ll be fine.” And he wasn’t about to question Eli, especially after he’d felt the intense power he possessed.
Eli gathered Renee close as soon as the door closed behind them and launched them into the sky. He didn’t like her silence. Damn Diego for that comment! He felt her confusion and wanted to reassure her but he didn’t know what to say. Whatever she feared, it was very likely true. He tried to gather his thoughts and plan what he would tell her, but his own fears kept getting in the way.
If he failed, she would leave. If he couldn’t convince her, he’d spend the rest of eternity alone. The thought of returning to his empty existence was agony.
He brought them to his underground home rather than the house he’d given her without conscious thought. Only when they stood in his entryway did Renee speak.
“Why did Diego say that?” she asked, looking down at the hand he still held instead of at his face. “Why did he call me your Chosen?”
Eli cursed Diego again as he drew Renee gently into the den. A fire flared to life in the fireplace as he settled her on the couch and knelt at her feet. “What do you know of bondmates, little one?” he asked, not knowing quite how to begin.
She bit her lip and shrugged. Her eyes found the fire and lingered there. “Only what Sian told me the first time I met her,” she replied slowly. “She said it’s like being married, but more.”
“That’s right.” He searched her face for a reaction, and found none. He tried to touch her thoughts, but she was blocking him. “Do you know how the bond is created?” Eli asked, trying to fight down his foreboding. No one had ever been able to hide their thoughts from him as totally as Renee, and all he sensed from her now was a sudden, intense turmoil. Why wasn’t she looking at him?
She shook her head, her teeth still worrying her lip. “Isn’t it what Kalen tried to do to me? In the alley, after they—I mean, after I was weak, he drank my blood and tried to make me take his.”
Amelia Elias - [Guardian's League 02] - Outcast Page 26