Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade)

by Stephanie` Rowe

  The grief, the horror, the revulsion was every bit as wrenching and raw as it had been in that moment. “My God, I killed my family.” Elijah fell to his knees, reliving the scene again and again, hearing their screams, seeing himself thrusting his throwing stars into their bodies over and over, his inhuman shrieks ripping through the air as their blood dripped down his arms…

  “Elijah!” Anguish ripped through Ana as Elijah’s memories filled her mind.

  He crawled away from her across the floor of her bedroom, his body shaking, deep moans emanating from him. The images were real memories, not illusions, God help him. But she could see all that he didn’t. The people around him spurring him on with their macabre cheers designed to disorient him. She saw the thinness of his arms as he killed his sister, and she knew he’d been a young boy when it had happened. He’d been tortured by Illusionists, forced to murder his own family.

  There was no sanity, no humanity in his memories, just confusion and a soul-destroying terror that had shredded his mind. She could see the demons that were chasing him, beating at him, stabbing him with their talons, sinking their teeth into him…all in his mind, but so very, very real. The fact that the demons had been an illusion didn’t matter. A hundred years of hell he’d suffered in that Illusionist torture chamber. No wonder he’d snapped so quickly when the illusions had come again.

  And now it was back, and it was trying to take him away from her. She would not allow it. They didn’t get to have him again! “Elijah!”

  He lunged to his feet, ducked out of her reach, and staggered toward the hallway.

  The door swung open and Gideon strode in, his body covered in wounds. He caught Elijah by the shoulders, his arms going around him, holding him tight, his muscles rigid with the effort of restraining Elijah as he fought to get free. “It’s over, mate, it’s over.”

  Ana ran after him, throwing her arms around Elijah’s waist and pressing herself up against his back as Gideon continued to hold him. Elijah. You have to let it go. Put it back wherever it’s been.

  Then Quinn’s arms went around all of them, holding them tight, and she felt him touch Elijah’s mind, offering him quiet strength. It doesn’t matter, Elijah. It was a long time ago, and it doesn’t matter what you did. We’ve all done shit like that. It’s okay, man. It’s really okay. It doesn’t matter.

  Elijah’s body shook, and his struggles ceased. Ana hugged him tighter, weaving her mind around those of the three males, astounded by the tightness of the bond she could feel between them. It wasn’t simply the blood bond. There was an unbreakable bond of friendship, a love she never would have expected between three stoic Calydon warriors.

  Quinn and Gideon’s internal strength was astonishing, the way they held tight to their emotions, and they shared it with Elijah, rebuilding the partition that Elijah had used to keep the memories at bay so his mind could function.

  Elijah shuddered as the memories began to lose their grip on him. Ana.

  I’m right here. She squeezed between Gideon and Quinn, sandwiching herself between the three muscular bodies so she could wrap her arms around Elijah’s stomach. She pressed her lips to his chest. One of his arms went around her, and he pinned her tight against him, while the other went around the shoulders of his friends. She could feel the retreat of his torment as the trauma subsided to a more distant place in his mind, but the residue was powerful, and his body was still trembling.

  It matters. Elijah’s voice was exhausted in her mind, and she knew he was talking to all of them, responding to Quinn’s statement that the past didn’t matter. He rested his cheek on the top of her head, as if he couldn’t support it himself.

  No, it doesn’t. Gideon replied first. I’ve learned my lesson about dwelling on the past. Let it go.

  Can’t. Elijah took a deep breath, his body shuddering as his chest expanded. Did I do it, Ana? Can you tell the difference between the memories and illusions? Did I really kill them? God, it feels real.

  She hesitated, as Gideon lifted his head to look at her. Yes, Elijah. It was real.

  Gideon made a noise of frustration that she’d told Elijah the truth, but she ignored him. But so were the demons chasing you. You were insane, Elijah. Really and truly insane. I don’t know how you ever got your mind back after that.

  His grip tightened on her, and she could feel his efforts to control his emotions. If I was able to kill my family, nothing will stop me from killing you.

  We will, Gideon said. We won’t let you hurt anyone you don’t want to hurt.

  You try to stop me, and I’ll kill you, too. Elijah’s voice was grim, but Ana could tell he was in control again. Gideon and Quinn had succeeded in helping him partition the memories in his mind so he wasn’t feeling the trauma of them anymore.

  He lifted his head, and his friends dropped their arms. The three warriors exchanged serious looks. “I’m a time bomb,” Elijah said. “If I can do what I did in the past, nothing will stop me from going after you.” He pushed Ana away and strode to the other side of the room, putting distance between himself and the others. He met Ana’s gaze. “Because of our bond, I’m a split second away from succumbing to the insanity again, and if I do—”

  “No.” She walked over to him. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

  But he shifted away from her when she went to touch him, shaking his head. He knew she was wrong. So very, very wrong.

  ***

  The pain woke Vaughn. The pain, and the absolute certainty that something was so very, very wrong. He lurched back to consciousness, his body screaming with agony as he peeled his eyes open.

  His gaze fell on the rubble surrounding him and he instantly recalled what had happened. “Drew!” He lurched to his knees, then his stomach heaved from the pain and the aftermath of using his powers, and he vomited, his body shuddering.

  The minute the spasm was past, he hauled himself to his feet, surveying the destruction around him. “Drew!” There was nothing stirring around him, no life forces at all. Not even an insect. His mouth pasty dry and caked with dust, Vaughn reached out with his mind over the connection Drew had built between them, but there was nothing.

  He had no idea how to access that connection without Drew to hold it.

  His heart aching with grief, Vaughn knelt beside the indentation in the sand where Drew’s body had been, the blood still caked in the granules. Some of the sand was disturbed, swept aside by the hands of whoever had picked him up.

  Vaughn laid his palms on the tracks left by his assailant and closed his eyes. The energy level was frenzied and high, vibrating at a frequency he recognized. He knew that energy signature… it was a Calydon, but which one? It was someone he knew, he was sure of it. He concentrated more closely and tried to relax, but he couldn’t identify it.

  He finally gave up, unable to get a read, but the only Calydons he knew were Order members. An Order member had taken Drew from him…again. They would pay for that mistake. Dearly.

  He hauled himself to his feet and turned around. His truck was still there, and he shoved his hand in his pocket. Still had the keys.

  Vaughn worked his way across the rubble, holding his left arm immobile with his right so as not to jar his injured shoulder. No one had been at the mansion when he’d left, and he had a feeling he knew exactly where he could find the bastards.

  No more mercy for the Order.

  No. More. Mercy.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  The door to Ana’s bedroom opened, and Ryland charged inside, followed by Ian and the rest of the Order. They were all bleeding and wounded, but they looked satisfied. “Sixty dead on their side, none on ours,” Thano announced, flexing his wrist as if testing to see if it was broken. “When will Ezekiel learn we’ll kick his ass every time?”

  “He wasn’t trying to kill you.” Elijah tried to shake off the residual memories from his past and pull himself together. They were at war, and there was no time for him to lose it. He took a deep breath and straightened up. “He wante
d to distract you so he could visit with us.” He glanced at Ana, and her face was worried. “With Ana.”

  A few heads turned to look at her, and she tensed. The looks they were giving her weren’t particularly friendly, and the fact that they were still in battle mode didn’t exactly make for a warm welcome. They’re rude bastards with no manners. Forgive them, sweetheart.

  Ana glanced at him, and a smile flickered across her face. Thanks.

  Elijah winked at her, relieved by her smile. His need to make her feel safe was as powerful as his drive to destroy Ezekiel. Weird, but he liked it. He got off on protecting her. It just felt damn good.

  “What’s going on?” Gideon asked.

  “Ezekiel just paid a visit.” Elijah filled them in quickly, and more glances were shot in Ana’s direction, wary now. Concerned. Suspicious.

  “So, are you bonded enough with her that it’ll bother you if she bonds with another male?” Ian’s arms were folded and he was leaning against the door frame, barely in the room. He looked even more gaunt and haggard than before. There was no hint of satisfaction in his voice; he was too good of a warrior for that. But Elijah could sense it under the surface, a personal satisfaction Ian was trying very hard to suppress. He wanted Elijah to suffer the loss of his sheva as payback for the fact Elijah killed his.

  “Hell, yeah.” Elijah admitted, meeting Ian’s gaze. “Yeah, it will.” Even though he and Ian didn’t have a blood bond, they could still communicate at close distances. If I could change the past I would. In a heartbeat. He’d do it so differently if he had the chance again, especially now that he had a sheva.

  He couldn’t imagine the hell he’d put Ian through when he’d killed Ian’s sheva five months ago when they were almost fully bonded. If someone killed Ana now…he swore and decided he wasn’t quite together enough to deal with that thought right now.

  Ian’s face darkened, and he turned away, giving his back to Elijah.

  No forgiveness.

  Elijah ground his jaw against the urge to pursue the topic and make peace with his teammate. Now was not the time to deal with Ian. Not for either of them. But he couldn’t stop looking at Ian as a new idea occurred to him. That night he killed Ian’s sheva was the night his mind had first started to fragment. He’d killed thousands of innocents before he’d killed Ian’s sheva, and it had never bothered him before, even when he’d killed other shevas.

  But that night had been different, and it had snapped something inside Elijah that had continued to unravel once Frank had gotten a hold of him. What had been different about that night? What about that night had triggered everything?

  Ryland raised his brows and drew Elijah’s attention back to the room. “You’re not holding onto Ana, but you’re sane. What gives?”

  “I’m recovering.” Unsure of exactly how far the Order’s new tolerance for shevas went, Elijah opted not to give the details of how tight the bond was. Ana pulled her sleeves down over her arms. To hide his marks, or Ezekiel’s? No need to give a visual reminder of how dangerous the situation was becoming. “But Ezekiel is stronger than I am,” Elijah admitted. “Faster, stronger, a better warrior.”

  “He’s better than all of us put together,” Quinn said.

  Ryland scowled. “How can he be stronger than you? You’re the chosen one.”

  Elijah ground his teeth. “I think I’m the chosen one because he doesn’t want to kill me. He didn’t want to kill Caleb, and he doesn’t want to kill me.”

  “So? How do we work that if you aren’t strong enough to take him out?” Ryland challenged.

  The rest of the Order was saying nothing, allowing Ryland to ride Elijah’s ass, which made Elijah suspect the others were as frustrated with him as Ryland was, so they were going to let Ryland push at him until he got the answers they all wanted.

  In Dante’s day, the Order hadn’t been like this: fragmented, secretive and divisive. It had been open, honest and tight. We need a new leader. He sent his thought to Quinn and Gideon, who both nodded.

  You know anyone capable of pulling us together like Dante did? Gideon asked.

  Elijah scanned the room, inspecting the team, and his gaze came to settle on Thano. He was only thirty-five, a kid compared to the rest of them. He didn’t have the hang ups about Dante’s death because he’d known Dante for only seventeen years, instead of five hundred. And he had an irreverence to the crap people hung on him. He seemed to have a knack for easing Ryland’s aggression. Thano. He needs to be our new leader.

  Gideon snorted. He’s a kid. We’ll beat the shit out of him.

  Yeah?

  Gideon and Quinn both turned to look at Thano. He was tossing his halberd up in the air, acting oblivious to the tension in the room, but his eyes were sharp as he watched the old guard. One eyebrow went up at the look they gave him, and he caught his weapon, growing still under their scrutiny.

  Yeah. There was a note of satisfaction in Quinn’s voice. Yeah, it has to be the kid.

  It’s not up to us. The weapons need to choose him, Gideon said.

  They will. Elijah felt certain of it. We’ll perform the ritual as soon as we have time. They’ll pick him.

  “What the fuck are you guys talking about now?” Ryland interrupted. “How are we going to take Ezekiel out?” Tension was radiating from his shoulders. “We don’t even know where he is.”

  “I think I know.” Thano’s voice was quiet. “There’s a town further up on the coast called Cat’s Cradle where there have been six murders in the last three hours. Those are the first murders in fifty years. Eleven women have gone missing over the last few days.”

  Ryland scowled. “How would you know? You’ve been fighting for the last hour.”

  Thano held up his iPhone. “It’s called technology, old man. Breaking news email alerts. Welcome to the twenty-first century, big guy.”

  “So, if he’s there, then what?” Kane paced the room, limping badly. “We go there with our weapons out, hoping to find him before he takes us down? How’s that going to work? We need a plan.” He turned to face the team. “We’re running around aimless right now. For hell’s sake Ezekiel relocated directly into the mansion and brought his army with him. He could kill us at any moment, and he’s letting us know that. I’m not sitting around waiting for him to take us out, and I’m not interested in hauling ass to some distant town, only to have him kick our ass because we’ve got no strategy. He’s stronger than we are. He has more weapons. He seems to have acquired an assortment of Calydon talents, like relocation and throwing off the tells of his physical presence. What, did he pick up the talents of every Calydon whose weapon he owns?”

  “There is only one Calydon I know of who can redirect the tells of his physical presence,” Ian said. “Dante.”

  Kane and Ryland both stiffened. “Dante is dead,” Kane said. “Ezekiel never had access to Dante’s skills.”

  “His son isn’t dead,” Elijah pointed out.

  “His son has become Ezekiel,” Gideon said. “I saw it happen. That’s why Ezekiel has his talent. We need to research all the other Calydons whose weapons were used in the rite to find out what talents Ezekiel has. Before he uses them on us.”

  “Before he uses them on me.” Elijah knew what he had to do. “I’m the only one who can get close enough to Ezekiel to kill him. I’m the only one who he will relax around enough that I could do it. He’ll kill the rest of you before you can even get close. It has to be me.”

  Quinn raised his brows. “Even if you get close enough, how are you going to kill him? You grievously wounded him with your throwing stars, and he barely even reacted.” He gestured at Elijah. “He’s helping you heal, and look at you. You’re fine already. He’s that powerful.”

  Elijah didn’t need to look at his body to know every wound was gone. He felt strong, and he felt great, and that meant Ezekiel healed at least that fast, if not faster. “I don’t know how to kill him, but I’m not going to find out hanging out here.” He looked around the room at the t
eam who had stood by him for so many centuries. It was his turn to step up, and it felt good. He was ready, and he was psyched. “I’m going to him. I’m going to go on the premise that I am considering his offer to work alongside him and rule the world.”

  Ian cocked his head. “And share your sheva? From what you’ve said, he wants both of you.”

  Elijah glanced at Ana. She was standing by the dresser, quietly listening to everything people were saying. Her eyes met his, and he saw the dark fear in them.

  Then she nodded once.

  Yeah, screw that. He wasn’t handing her over. “No. I’m going to leave her here.”

  Ryland cursed, but before he had a chance to argue, Ana stepped forward into the middle of the room. “I’ll go.”

  Elijah shook his head. “No. If you go, he’ll try to tighten the bond.”

  She met his gaze. “I know.”

  She knew and was going anyway? Elijah’s brands began to burn with aggression. “I can’t handle that.”

  She looked at him, her silver eyes haunted. “Yes, you can. You’re stronger than you realize, Elijah.”

  He looked at the woman who had taken his soul and given it life again, and he knew there was no chance on earth he would ever be strong enough to handle her bonding with another male.

  Gideon cursed under his breath. “Actually, Ana, I’m with Elijah. The sheva bond is some heavy shit. He wouldn’t be able to handle it. No Calydon would.”

  Ian made a small noise of disgust from the doorway. “You would be surprised at what you can handle.” His voice was quiet.

  The energy in the room shifted, and Elijah felt a stab of guilt. He looked right at Ian. “I believe our rules regarding shevas are wrong. I’d never kill her if I had a chance to do it again, Ian.”