“Surprised, Grey? You shouldn’t be. The ability to control others is part of the whole Dame package. But either way, your little friend there isn’t going anywhere. Not until Kerry takes her place.”
He sensed Piper fighting against the wards. It might be wishful thinking on his part, but he was pretty sure she’d just snapped one tentacle of Adele’s web. Good. Adele wasn’t the only one with hidden talents. Maybe Piper could actually make it to the door if he kept Adele occupied.
“Kerry won’t be coming, Adele. We both know that.”
Another broke. This time he was sure of it.
“She gave me her word. I knew she wasn’t up to the job of Grand Dame. It’s nice to be proven right, isn’t it, Wes? The taint of human DNA she carries weakens her. That’s why the purity of the race will be my first priority. There will be no more diluting our heritage with genes from an inferior species. I will seek my Consort from among the strongest of our race.”
She gave Grey an assessing look. “Too bad that you’ve eliminated yourself from the competition, Grey.”
From Wes’s expression, he didn’t appreciate being considered her inferior. Grey could work with that. “So, Wes, I guess we’re both out of the running.”
“Shut up!” Adele snapped.
He offered the fool a commiserating smile. “I’m betting you were the one behind the pyrotechnics and all that fancy hacking?”
Wes nodded and set the lantern down on the table. “Yes, it was all me.”
Adele’s eyes narrowed. Clearly she didn’t like sharing the spotlight. When her focus was split between Grey and Wes, the bonds were further weakened. She might have the gift, but it was nowhere near as honed as Kerry’s. He used some of his own energy to deplete it further.
Grey broke his feet free and sidled over to stand more solidly between Piper and Adele. He was hoping that Piper would be able to tear herself free in the next few seconds. Time to fan the flames a bit more.
“Well, I’ve got to tell you, Wes, it took Sandor Kearn and me hours of damn hard work to figure out how to back trace your e-mails. We’re not without our own talents in that area, so that’s quite a gift you’ve got. Kudos.”
He stopped to look from Wes to Adele and back. “With all the work you’ve put into this operation, I’m guessing you were hoping to end up Adele’s Consort.”
He was right on the money. Grey recognized the same powerful emotions that he himself had for the woman standing beside him swirling behind Wes’s eyes.
“But it sounds like the best you can hope for is Chief Lackey. Must be hard to sacrifice everything for such an ungrateful bitch.”
“Adele? What’s he talking about?” But Wes knew. It was there in his desperate expression.
The soft squeak of the hinges on the kitchen door set Grey free to finish this once and for all. He sensed Sandor adding his own pull to break the last of Piper’s bonds. They needed only a few seconds more to clear the danger zone. He’d buy that time for Piper even at the cost of his own life.
“Go ahead, Adele. Tell him. Or better yet, let me.”
Rather than respond to Wes’s questions, Adele went on the attack, throwing another bolt directly at Grey. Suddenly, her jaw dropped in surprise. Piper had slipped free of her bindings.
“Where did she go? How did she break free?” The woman was actually shocked that someone would disobey her.
“Guess what? Piper is Kerry’s sister and shares some of her abilities, but you weren’t clever enough to figure that out.” He countered her blast with one of his own as he taunted her. Not expecting the backlash of energy, Adele stumbled sideways.
Wes caught her arm and jerked her upright. She tried escape his grasp. “Get your hands off of me, Wes. I have to go after her!”
Wes hang on with surprising tenacity. “You’re not going anywhere until you answer me. Is he telling the truth? Were you only using me?”
Adele sneered at him. “Did you really think I would marry someone like you? Could you possibly be that stupid? Me, marry a loser whose entire ambition consists of playing with computers and fireworks?”
“I just wanted to hear it from you.” Wes looked almost at peace as he held up the detonator for Adele to see.
Adele’s eyes flared wide in panic. “Wes, no! We can work this out! Please!”
“Show me, Adele,” he demanded and pulled her up against his chest.
“I’d do anything for you, Wes.” Adele kissed him with a considerable amount of heat. “Tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”
Wes smiled down at her tenderly and whispered, “I want you to die for me.”
Then he pushed the button.
Piper’s image filled Grey’s mind and his heart as he dove through the kitchen door, throwing every ounce of his Talion energy into controlling the wave of destruction that rolled through the room. It was a lethal explosion that shattered everything in sight, including Grey.
• • •
With no warning, a wave of molten energy picked Piper up and slammed her to the ground. She and Sandor bounced across the yard, finally coming to rest at the back edge of the property. There, they held on to each other and waited for the world to come back into focus. They watched in horror at the clouds of smoke that poured out of the house.
“Grey!”
She lurched to her feet, determined to find him, to save him, just as he had come for her.
“No, Piper! It’s too dangerous.”
“Let go! I won’t let him die in there.”
“At least wait until help arrives. The last thing he’d want is for you to get hurt because of him.” Sandor was already punching keys on his cell phone.
She waited until he was busy barking out orders to take off running for the back steps of the house. It might be more sensible to wait, but Grey was in there.
At the top of the steps, she yanked open the door. The room inside smoldered with thick smoke that left her choking. She dropped to her knees where the air was clearer and started forward, hoping that she would find Grey before she passed out from lack of oxygen. On the other side of the kitchen, the refrigerator had fallen over at an odd angle, blocking the way into the living room. She was about to climb over it when she realized she felt a body.
“Grey?”
He moaned softly as she pulled him away from the fridge. Moving Grey was probably not the right thing to do, but if she didn’t get them both out into the fresh air, they’d die from the smoke. She dragged him across the floor in fits and starts, coughing to clear her lungs and then straining to gain another few inches.
“Here, let me help.”
Sandor shoved past her and picked up Grey by his shoulders as she grabbed his ankles. They maneuvered him through the door and into the yard, both choking on the smoke they’d inhaled. Grey was unnaturally quiet.
Sandor placed his hand on Grey’s chest. “I can’t tell if his heart’s beating.”
She knocked the Talion’s hand out of the way to check for herself, burrowing her hand under Grey’s torn shirt. As soon as she settled it over the warm brand on his chest, she was rewarded with a slight flutter of movement.
“It is, but barely. Where’s Kerry? He needs her.”
“On her way. Before Grey went in for you, he ordered everyone to pull back if the two of you weren’t out in five minutes. He figured something like this would happen.”
Piper gathered Grey closer, keeping her hand centered over his heart.
“Grey, come back to me. Please.”
She felt a soft vibration where her hand connected to the symbol of his power. As she focused her full attention on that small sensation, it rapidly increased in intensity.
Grey’s eyes fluttered open long enough to recognize her. “Piper?”
That small whisper was all it took to open the floodgates. She poured everything she had into their connection, using her own life force to restore his. Nothing mattered except dragging Grey back from the darkness.
Suddenly, Piper
was no longer kneeling in the damp chill of the grass. Instead, she floated in a heavenly glow of warm light. Maybe it was heaven because Grey was there with her, unharmed. She took his hand.
Grey looked sorry as he tried to tug free of her grasp. “Let me go, Piper. It’s not your time.”
“Not without you, Grey. I love you too much to go back alone. I need you to live for me.”
He cupped the side of her face. “And I love you too much to let you die for me. When I thought you were dead—”
She kissed him, letting him feel her desperation. “Then we’re at an impasse, big guy, because whether we stay or we go, we do it together.”
“You’re one stubborn woman.” He smiled and shook his head. “But that’s just one thing I love about you.”
Then he pulled back, this time successfully breaking their connection. Her eyes burned with grief as Grey started to fade away.
“Please, don’t—” Before she could finish, she screamed as she was ripped away from the warmth and tossed back into cold reality. When she opened her eyes, she was wrapped in a pair of flannel-clad arms right next to Kerry and Sandor as they knelt over Grey’s body.
Kerry looked up long enough to bark some orders. “Get the next donor over here. Ranulf, keep her hand on his. Her touch seems to be helping.”
Piper blinked up at the Viking warrior, glad for his warmth. “What’s she doing?”
“Finishing what you started.” Ranulf stared down at her. “Somehow you stabilized Grey long enough for Kerry to get here, but you almost killed yourself in the process. She nearly sucked me dry to give you back some of what you gave him. Now she’s using Sandor’s energy to heal Grey. The rest of the Talions are all waiting to donate energy too.”
Ranulf looked at Grey in awe. “He saved more than just you. We have no idea how he did it, but somehow he contained the explosion Adele and her boyfriend set off. The neighbors may have heard the rumble, but the damage stayed inside the house.”
She wanted to ask Kerry if Grey was going to make it but didn’t want to interfere with her sister’s fierce concentration. Two more Talions came and went, staggering away in exhaustion before Kerry finally sighed and moved back.
“Kerry? Is he—?” She couldn’t even finish the question as fear warred with hope inside her.
The Dame finally turned her dark eyes to Piper. “Give him another minute or two to absorb that last batch of energy and then you can fuss over him all you want. Sean is bringing the car around for both of you. I’m guessing Grey will be back on his feet in a couple of days.”
Piper looked up into the night sky and smiled.
“Piper?” Grey twisted his head around until he spotted her. She looked like hell—but so beautiful to him.
“I’m right here.” She leaned in close, her gentle fingers soothing him with their touch. “Don’t try to talk yet. Your body is still absorbing the energy it needs.”
He struggled to say one more thing, something she needed to know. “Together. Us. Always.”
Her smile lit up the night. “That’s right, Grey. Together. Always.”
Satisfied he’d gotten his message across, he settled back and watched as the two sisters fell into each other’s arms and cried.
Epilogue
Grey eased down on the swing in the Dame’s rose garden and pushed off with his right foot. It had been a long two days since he’d died, and he was still coming to terms with it. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could almost feel the comforting warmth that had greeted him on the other side. Not that he had regrets about coming back. This world held the one person who loved him enough to offer up her life for his.
But now came the hard part. He’d spent the past forty-eight hours rebuilding his strength and weighing his options. He stood poised at the crossroads of a difficult decision, one he couldn’t make alone. For the first time in his life, his future was entwined with someone else’s. He wouldn’t make a move of this magnitude without consulting her first.
And that someone had just stepped through the door. Piper smiled and headed his way.
“Ranulf said you were out here. How are you feeling?”
He stood up. “Better now that you’re here. Would you mind if we walk a bit? I’m stiff from sitting so much.”
“Sure, as long as you don’t tire yourself out.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, breathing in her scent. He waited until they’d reached the far end of the rose garden before speaking.
Turning to face Piper, he gently brushed a lock of her hair back from her face. “I’d like to talk about where we go from here. I’ve been giving it a lot of thought.”
He felt a shiver of apprehension ripple through her and he hated it. After everything that had happened, her fear would take a long time to fade.
Her dark eyes were worried. “What’s the matter, Grey? Having second thoughts already?” she asked.
“About us? No, never. I can’t imagine my future without you.”
Judging by the sudden tension in her body, his words, the ones meant to reassure her, had failed miserably. “Okay, then what are you having second thoughts about if it isn’t us?”
“My job.” He put several steps between them, needing space in order to say what had to be said. “I wanted to tell you first, but I’ll be offering my resignation to Kerry, effective immediately.”
He held his breath, waiting for her response. It didn’t take long.
“Okay, what’s really going on?” She put her hands on her hips and stared at him as if he’d just sprouted a second head. “My sister needs someone she can trust to be her Chief Talion, and don’t try to deny that it’s what you’ve trained for your whole life. Why are you doing this?”
Okay, time to roll the dice. “Because, Piper Ryan, I love you, and I’m asking you to marry me—to be my wife. What I won’t do is ask you to spend the rest of your life living in fear.”
There, he’d said it. All he could do was wait.
What an amazing, sweet fool. There he was, offering to give up everything that he’d ever lived for just to be with her. No wonder she was head over heels in love with the man. She reached up to cup his face in her hands.
“Greyhill Danby, yes, I will marry you, but only if you promise to keep your job. I fell in love with you as you are—a man born to serve and defend our people. Yes, it will take some getting used to being the wife of a Talion warrior, but I’m strong, and your love will only make me stronger.”
Drinking in all the emotion shining there in his handsome face, she said, “So here’s the way I see it. I love you and you love me. All that matters is that we cherish each other and make the most of every day we have. God willing, we’ll grow old together. If not, no regrets ever, no matter what.”
Grey’s amazing blue eyes lit up with enough heat to melt her bones. His voice grew thick as he answered her. “Piper, your love is my life, and every day I live is yours to share.”
Then he took her hand in his and held both of them over his brand. “Always together, luv. This I vow.”
They sealed the oath with a kiss.
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BOUND IN DARKNESS
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“Are you hurt?”
He reached out to brush her hair back from her face, but jerked his hand back when she flinched. Fine. Her reluctance pissed him off royally, even if he understood why she felt that way.
The sooner he got her back topside the better. “Come.”
“You’re one of them, aren’t you?” Sasha shrank away from him.
He ignored how much her reaction hurt. “Right now, what I am is your way out of here.”
She backed away another step. “But where are we going? The elevators are back that way.”
He snagged her arm before she could take off and glared down at her. �
�So is the fighting, Sasha. Too many from both worlds are already bleeding and dying, and I’d rather not kill any more of my people because of your foolish behavior. Now, follow me or not. It’s your choice.”
He let go of her, hating the fear in her eyes and hating himself even more for his part in putting it there. Then he walked away, stopping to retrieve his knife before moving on. Surely she’d show the good sense to stick with him. If not, he’d force the issue. But he really hoped she’d find it in her to trust him enough to get her to safety.
Sasha stared at the four bodies scattered nearby. So much blood. Too much blood, its bitter copper scent filling her head, overloading her senses. Her stomach churned and a foul acid burned the back of her throat. God, would this nightmare never end? She leaned against the wall for support and retched dry heaves.
Please, let it stop. She needed to follow Larem even if he was one of them. Kalith, Other, the name didn’t matter. If she lost sight of him, her life might very well end right here in this hellish passageway. She tried to straighten up between heaves, but that only made the pain worse. After stumbling forward only a few steps, she had to stop and close her eyes to ward off the dizziness.
As she did, she felt someone beside her and panicked. “No, please no! Get away!”
“Sasha, calm down. It’s me.”
She sagged in relief at the sound of Larem’s deep voice. Despite everything, he hadn’t abandoned her.
“Hold still and don’t fight me.”
His accent was more pronounced, but his voice was far gentler than it had been before. His hand, cool and soothing, rested softly on her forehead, and his arm slid around her waist, supporting her weight.
He murmured something softly. The words were unclear, perhaps his native tongue, but their effect was immediate and miraculous. The nausea disappeared almost immediately, as did the cramping. When he removed his hand, she looked up at his pale gray eyes.
“Better?”
She nodded. “Much.”
The chill came flooding back into his gaze as he stepped back and picked up his sword. “Let’s get out of here.”
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