by Lizzy Ford
"Gabriel, who was the woman they fought over?" she asked. "Daniela said this was what spurred their fighting."
He was quiet. She thought he’d refuse to answer until he said slowly,
"A truly unworthy woman. She was the first Ancient's mate born and should've been Kris's mate, if she hadn't first promised herself to the Dark One. She played them against each other and betrayed them both to Sasha. Rhyn killed her to protect Kris and his brothers. Kris never knew and never forgave him for killing the woman he meant to take as his mate. Rhyn probably saved humanity by doing so but was sent to Hell and nearly lost his mind."
"Why didn’t he tell Kris she was evil?"
"Rhyn’s not a talker."
She stared at him, astonished. "So he’d spend eternity in Hell because he couldn’t sit down with Kris and tell him what happened?"
"It’s complicated," he said.
"No, it’s not!"
"There’s more to the story. The woman, Lilith, was pregnant with Kris’s heir. No matter what Rhyn would’ve said, the damage was done. To be quite honest, he was so abrasive anyway, even if he hadn’t killed the woman, they’d have broken paths. Though all seven were constantly fighting, Kris and Rhyn were always at each other’s throats."
"That’s dandy, but it doesn’t sound like he deserved Hell!" she insisted.
"He’s not exactly a pure angel, Katie. He did a lot of bad things, and his mother was a demoness, a powerful one who seduced his father. After they mated, she killed him. The brothers on the Council were looking for any excuse to expel or kill him, and Andre was his only advocate. Despite his demon powers, despite his wildness, despite his struggle to remain dutiful to their cause, he was a danger to anyone around him."
She couldn’t imagine an upbringing with no parents, a clan of brothers who hated him, and no ability to change his nature.
"Gabriel, he’s protected and helped me more than once since the dungeon and done it out of some sort of sense of duty. Even if he’s done bad things…I don’t know. I don’t think he’s the lost cause you’re making him out to be," she said, disturbed.
"You saw what he did in St. Louis."
Her gaze shifted from him to the dark form seated on a boulder. She assumed…she hoped…all of the dead were bad guys. Even so, she’d seen what he could do to a human-esque body in a few seconds.
"Are you saying I should go with you?" she asked.
"I believe your choice to be the right one."
"Do you think…why do you think he chose me as his mate?"
"Daniela seems to think it was preordained. You're an Ancient's mate, and maybe you were meant for him and only him," Gabriel said.
"He told me he chose me."
"You didn’t ask why?" he challenged, amused again.
"Of course I did. He said he wanted me. He’s not a man of many words, Gabriel."
"Maybe that’s the truth of it."
"I know there’s more," she said.
"Maybe you stabilize his wild power, though he doesn't know it yet."
She considered the new possibility. Rhyn certainly didn’t seem to have much control, as far as she could tell. He’d massacred every human she’d run across to date.
"You mean he was worse than this before?" she returned, surprised.
"Much. Would’ve wiped out the island by now and half of Cuba without realizing he’d done so."
"He’s using me."
"He needs you and wants you,” Gabriel said. “He needed his brothers and still left them. As much as he’s done wrong in his life, he’s not a liar."
The information filtered through her skepticism until she admitted he spoke too logically to be anything but right. Her disbelief that Rhyn had chosen someone like her over a supermodel was softened by the rationale that he would also innately recognize his intended mate, even if he didn't recognize her ability to help him control his power.
What a horrible life he’d lived, if this was the best it’d ever been for him! Yet he didn’t seem too affected by a life of pain, exclusion, and conflict. If anything, he seemed absolutely sure of himself and what he wanted, even if his nature didn’t allow him to control his own wild talents.
"Kris may want to come here to talk to you," Gabriel added. "He knows he can’t take you anywhere, but if he asks…"
"I don’t care if he comes to me. I can’t trust him enough to go to him. And he comes alone, Gabriel."
"Understood."
He was gone before she could tell him goodbye. She leaned against the wall, eyeing the distance from her position to the rock on which Rhyn sat. She doubted he’d come if she called.
The conversation with Gabriel turned over in her thoughts as she descended the stairs and left through the opened gate. She felt bad for Rhyn, though she suspected the emotion was wasted on someone who didn’t have a drop of self-pity. She crossed her arms as she neared. Rhyn watched her, unmoving, like a predator watches its prey.
"You don’t have anywhere else to be aside from sitting here day and night staring at the wall?" she asked.
"I’m immortal. I have time."
She drew a deep breath. Instead of retorting, she said, "That’s not how I wanted this conversation to go. I came out to thank you for bringing me here and saving me more than once from those things."
He stared at her.
"So, thank you. If you’re hungry, just let me know."
He said nothing, his tense frame never relaxing. At the silence, she turned away and started back to the compound, irritated.
"What did Gabriel want?" he asked before she’d gone more than a few steps.
"Kris sent him to fetch me," she replied without turning.
"And you said what?"
"I said no."
She didn’t hear his silent step. He gripped her arm hard and stepped in front of her, his size sending a tremor of unease through her.
"Why?" he growled.
"He can’t make me, and I don’t want to go," she said archly.
"Until he offers you something you want."
"He did. He offered me my life back."
He bristled more.
"You’re the lesser of two evils," she said at the unspoken command. She pulled her arm away and returned to the Sanctuary. As she walked, she began to wonder how to train a wild animal. She’d had cats before, but she’d never even owned a dog. She couldn’t imagine potty training one let alone training some ancient creature to contradict his nature. She didn’t realize he was following her until he spoke.
"You turned down returning to your life to stay with me," he stated with one of his low, evil chuckles. "Foolish human."
"Maybe I know he’s promising more than he can deliver. Really, why do you all think we mere mortals are all idiots? I’m so sick of this whole better-than-thou attitude you all have!" she snapped, facing him with her hands on her hips.
"I never said you were stupid."
"Whatever, immortal overlord of the universe! Every time one of you opens your mouth, you patronize me. It gets old and I think I’ve done damn well in this sick world of yours."
He said nothing, and she raised an eyebrow. He was impossible to read. He wore all black, though he was dressed more simply than she’d seen him, in dark jeans and a black long-sleeved T-shirt and heavy boots. His hair was tied back, his jaw and chin scruffy from a couple days’ growth of hair. His liquid eyes were assessing but not flared, his large frame still imposing.
"No smart-ass comment about your blood monkey?" she challenged.
"Nope." He looked amused, if a statue could look amused.
"What are you waiting here for?" she asked.
"Nothing a blood monkey could understand."
"Son of a bitch!"
She marched back to the Sanctuary, wearied by the exchange. Daniela stood just inside the entrance, and her normally calm face took on an expression of sudden irritation as Katie passed her.
"Oh no you don’t!" Daniela cried, and flew out the gate toward the rocks. "Sacr
ed ground!"
Katie couldn’t imagine what Rhyn had done and hesitated to look. Curiosity drew her to the gate again, where tiny Daniela was animated and angry as she stood between Rhyn and Kris. Katie couldn’t help but pity the woman; it was her fault they were both there. She felt beat already but forced herself to once again leave the confines of the Sanctuary.
Kris’s white hair, fair complexion, and amber eyes were at odds with Rhyn’s darkness and glowing pewter gaze. Both were outwardly calm, though tense enough that a hair landing on their arms would make them snap.
Daniela finished her lecture on the Sanctuary's rules and waited. Neither spoke. Katie approached uneasily.
"What do you want, Kris?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I came to talk to you. Alone."
"You’re not allowed in the Sanctuary, and I doubt Rhyn will agree to disappear. He’s a stubborn jackass like that."
Both looked at her. Daniela paled.
"It’d do you well in our world to learn some respect, especially for the Ancients," Kris snapped.
"What do you want, Kris?" she repeated.
Kris looked at Rhyn, who refused to take the hint. Kris lifted his chin at Daniela, and the woman offered a curtsey before hurrying back to the Sanctuary.
"I couldn’t believe you wouldn’t want your life back and wanted to hear it from you," Kris replied, facing her.
"You don’t have the power to offer me that."
"Of course I do."
"Obviously one of us is confused,” she said. “I haven’t lived for millions of years in your world, but I believe Rhyn here would have to die permanently so his claim on me was nullified. And then you’d have to find someone older than Andre to wipe my memory and put everything the way it was. All of this would assume that you’ve decided you have no further use for me."
"You’ve learned a lot but not everything. There are ways of releasing you from Rhyn’s claim, and there are ways of erasing your memory," Kris replied, agitated.
"But are you done with me, Kris?"
He didn’t respond. She frowned.
"You don’t seem to understand how important you are," he said at last with barely restrained impatience. "You can right the imbalance of our world so that evil is held in check. Do you want humanity to go down the toilet because you didn’t feel like helping?"
"You had no intention of returning my life to me."
"Eventually, yes."
"Kris, you can’t use people!” she exclaimed. “Do I want to help you save the world? Yes, I do. But I don’t trust you. If you lied to me about everything so far, why the hell would I trust your word about anything, even saving the world?"
He wiped his face, and she sensed again he was unaccustomed to being challenged. Andre had claimed Kris was highly combustible. She didn’t want to find out, but she wasn’t following him blindly.
"You used Jade, too, didn’t you?" she accused. "Look where that gets you!"
"I trust Jade with my life! You think I believe the word of some stupid mortal?"
"I know what I saw, Kris!"
"So, what is your solution?" he ground out between clenched teeth. "You stay here with him while the world falls apart around you?"
"He’s the only reason I’m alive, Kris," she reminded him. "You dropped me into this world, and he’s kept me alive."
"How noble of the beast that nearly destroyed the world once!"
"You didn’t come here to talk. You came here to do the typical immortal thing and boss me around."
They stared at each other. His gaze turned from amber to fire, and she wondered if she’d pushed him too far. Rhyn, for once, was quiet. She’d never seen his attention stay any one place for long, but today, he was actually calm. His arms were folded across his chest, his frame growing more relaxed as his brother grew tenser. With effort, Kris drew a deep breath and blew it out.
"I am one of the leaders of the immortal world,” he said. “Yes, I am used to giving orders, orders that everyone follows. I understand that you don’t know our world, and that you have the disadvantage of having been through some truly awful things since being thrown into our world."
Despite her anger, she recognized the physical effort he put into his words.
"For what it’s worth, I apologize for treating you like you were subhuman. I need your help for the sake of humanity."
She softened at his obvious struggle. Her gaze went to Rhyn, who looked almost amused again, then back.
"And how can one puny little human save humanity?" she returned.
"Sasha and the Dark One will destroy everything they can. Ully is experimenting with your blood to find a way to create a sort of antidote we can inject into our immortals to render them immune to the powers of Sasha’s creatures. He’s close but needs more time and more blood."
She took in his words, surprised he’d admit to needing a human.
"Thank you, Kris. I’ll help you on two conditions."
"Name it."
"You take the bounty off Rhyn’s head and readmit him to whatever weird immortal society you belong to AND I get to leave whenever I want."
"You gave me three conditions, not two. I’ll allow you one in the name of compromise," he said with distaste.
She sensed a brick wall and hesitated, considering. She really did want to help humanity, and she really did want her freedom from stupid immortals bossing her around. Her gaze settled on Rhyn, who was waiting as tensely for her response as Kris.
"Remove the bounty on Rhyn," she said with some effort. "No more hunting, tracking, targeting, hurting, killing, or anything else. He’s your brother, for God’s sake."
Kris’s gaze flared again, and she assumed he’d expected her to ask for her freedom. She heard him grate his teeth, then say, "Rhyn, bring her to the compound."
He turned and stalked away, disappearing with a puff of cool breeze.
"Foolish human," Rhyn said more quietly.
"Everyone deserves a second chance, even you, you jackass," she responded. "I’m going to get my things."
He was silent as she turned and walked away. He was watching her, a predator who’d either figured out his prey wasn’t edible or needed more study to kill. His penetrating gaze gave her a different kind of chill, one that made her blood quicken as well as her step.
She gathered her things and searched for Daniela--or anyone--but no one was around. She left the Sanctuary one final time. Rhyn stood in the same place she’d left him, unchanged in any way. She stood before him and waited. This time when he reached for her, she knew it was for blood. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, anticipating the pinch. He drank long, until she was swaying and leaning against him. When he released her, he touched her arm. Warmth shot through her, energizing her.
She looked up at him. She hadn’t noticed his pallor beneath his copper skin, but she saw it now. He returned her gaze, steadying her with a possessive hand on her hip.
"Were the guys you killed in St. Louis all bad?" she asked in a measured tone.
"More or less."
"What does that mean?"
"Trust me."
God help me, I think I do.
As if hearing her thought, he gave a slow smile. Before another insult could leave her lips, he kissed her, a commanding, intense kiss. One arm looped around her and she braced herself against his chest, vaguely realizing that--by not refusing him the day before--he’d taken her response as a blank check. The familiar warmth, his intensity--both lit her blood afire, and she couldn’t help but imagine what his hot, talented tongue could do to other parts of her body. The vision in her mind made her bones too weak to hold her on their own.
He drew away with a satisfied growl. She wanted to be angry at him but was too dazed, too surprised at the sensations running through her. He’d pursue her like a predator its prey, and he’d consume her. All of her.
They gazed at each other for a long moment. She sensed he was reading her thoughts, and she wondered what he was thinking.
/>
"You’re not wearing any underwear."
Then again, maybe she didn't want to know.
"Aren’t you supposed to take us somewhere?" she snapped, face hot.
He bared his teeth in a grimace, then turned her so her back was to him. She didn’t know why until she felt the fog of the underworld followed by the warmth of wherever it was they went this time. He tensed as they stepped through the portal, clutching her against him with one arm, and she blinked.
Only to find herself staring at the bubbles of blood forming from within his fist, which was clamped around the blade of a knife a few inches from her face.
"Jade, no!" Kris shouted too late.
Silence surrounded them, not the good kind, but the heavy kind that made her want to hold her breath lest she break it and all hell erupt. There were many still forms around them, with only Kris moving. She saw Ully, Jade, Ileana, Gabriel…and a dozen more she didn’t know. The walls were made of uneven, massive stones, the same kind beneath her feet. The air was chilled, still and damp, like she imagined a castle dungeon would feel.
"Rhyn is our…guest," Kris said, as if eating glass shards. "And Katie."
Rhyn tossed the blade back to Jade, who caught it with a look that made Katie want to hide. The tension in the room ratcheted up a notch.
"Katie," Ully hissed, as if they were kids hiding under the porch and not in the obvious line of sight of everyone in the room. "C’mon."
He held out a hand, motioning toward the door. She went. Rhyn refused to release her, and she sighed, leaning her head back against his shoulder in defeat. His arm loosened, and she hurried to Ully, who grabbed her hand and pulled her from the room.
He shoved the massive oak door closed.
"I do not want to see what happens next!" he said, breathing out hard. "Kris told us you both were coming. I think they have some things to discuss with your…" His gaze went to her neck as he fell silent.
"As long as he’s okay," she said with a frown.
"You don’t know much about us yet, do you?" he asked. He gave her an odd look and started down the hall, waving for her to follow.