We walked for hours, until finally we saw the city opening up before us—all ruins. The roads and bridges broken, the buildings and houses crumbled to the ground.
As we stepped into the city, Micah took a sharp inhale.
“What is it?”
“We just crossed through a barrier.” His expression hardened. A knot formed on his forehead and his jaw tensed. “I can sense demons all around us.”
“Damn it,” I whispered.
“We better hide.” He grabbed my hand—again, I felt the zing—and pulled me to the debris of two fallen buildings. “We’ll need to be extra careful.”
We stayed in the darkness and I wondered why we weren’t moving—with caution, of course. I opened my mouth to ask him when I heard it. The heavy footfall of several demons.
Micah, still holding my hand, pulled me even deeper into the debris.
“What about my aura?” I asked in a low whisper. “I know they can’t sense it, but what if Imha or Omi are around?”
“I’m hiding our auras,” he said simply.
I didn’t see them, but I heard the demons growing closer and closer, and then getting farther and farther away.
“I don’t understand,” I said, once it seemed okay to talk again. “Why is there a barrier and demons in Rome?”
“Perhaps there’s something here that Imha is after.”
I gasped. “Do you think she knows about the ladies of Diana and the spear?”
“I don’t think so. Or, at least, I hope she doesn’t.” He finally let go of my hand and moved to the edge of the crumbling buildings. He looked out—side to side, up and down. “It’s clear. Let’s go.”
And just like that, he marched ahead of me as if he couldn’t stand to be near me.
28
Nadine
I had never been to Rome before or Europe or even outside the United States. But Micah had. Before he had come to New York City and found me, he had traveled around the world, looking for people like him, and Rome had been one of his destinations.
Even though it was hard to tell where anything was among the ruins, Micah had assured me he had a pretty good idea of where the Coliseum stood—or used to stand—so I trusted him and let him be our guide as we walked and hid from the demon patrols.
The hiding, the walking through the debris, the crossing broken bridges and roads went slowly. I had no idea how far we were from the Coliseum, but it certainly didn’t look like we would arrive there today.
However, we couldn’t stop for the night either. What if we let our guard down and were surprised by demons? Or Imha and Omi? No, thank you. I preferred to keep going and be done with this, even if it meant not sleeping, even if I was tired and my legs ached from walking so much—I would compensate later.
It was getting late—though with the sun hidden by endless black, there wasn’t much difference between day and night anyway. We slowed down as we passed through an intact cemetery behind a burned down church. I didn’t want to, but it was like there was a force pulling my eyes to look at the tombstones. I read all the names, all the dates, and little, special messages. Why had these people died? Because of Imha? Because of the darkness? Or had they died of some illness or old age?
Suddenly, Micah stopped. “Darl—um, Nadine?” he called me.
I halted beside him. “Yeah?”
“I can’t sense any demons. Maybe we should rest for a bit now.”
I looked around at all the tombstones. “You want to stop here? No way.”
He scanned the area. “Why not?”
“You may be the god of death, but sitting around a bunch of dead people makes me uncomfortable. No way.”
One corner of his lips tugged up, and I could swear I saw a bit of the old Micah, the cocky one, hiding behind the one in front of me. “All right. Let’s find somewhere to sit down as soon as we’re out of here.”
A few minutes later, we found a small park across the street from the cemetery.
“Is this place okay?” Micah asked, his tone teasing.
I rolled my eyes and didn’t answer him. Instead, I plopped down on a broken bench, crisscross applesauce style, and pulled a bottle of water and snacks from my backpack.
Micah sat down on a patch of dead grass a couple of feet from me. “Do you have any beer?”
“Of course. I have beer, scotch, tequila, and vodka. What do you want?”
He smiled. Not a full, touching-the-eyes kind of smile, but a small smile. One that made my heart pitter-patter. I didn’t know what he saw in my face because he lost that beautiful smile a couple of seconds later.
He sighed. “You know, I need to tell you a few things—”
I shook my head. “Please, don’t.”
“But I need to. Please, darling, just listen to me.”
I glared at him. There was that damned nickname again. “We’re past this, Micah. You don’t need to tell me anything.”
“It doesn’t matter. You can’t run from me right now, so if I talk, you’ll have to listen.”
“Don’t you dare.”
He ignored me and commenced his speech. “I’m sorry about Keisha. I never meant to kill her. I swear I probably felt her death as much as you did.” I averted my eyes because I couldn’t take the intensity, the truth in his stare. It didn’t lessen the pain of her death, though. “As for siding with Imha … you know that’s a facade, the only way I found to be useful after making so many mistakes. And it was better if our spy thinks Levi and I had a real argument and I left on bad terms. More importantly, I need you to know it disgusts me to be close to Imha again. It physically hurts and makes me sick. I’ll never be with Imha again. Even if we really live forever, I won’t be with her. I promise you that.” Why was he telling me this? Did he think I cared? Did he know I cared? I willed my expression to be blank, careless. I failed big time. He cleared his throat. “The last thing I wanted to tell you is I volunteered to come with you on this mission because I don’t trust your safety to anyone else. I wanted to be here with you.”
I snapped my head back to him and saw in his dark eyes he was telling the truth. Why, gods? Why was he torturing me like this?
Pushing aside my feelings, I stood. “We should keep going.”
“But we just stopped. You need to rest a little more.”
“I’m fine,” I said, picking up my backpack from the bench. “I don’t want to rest.”
I did want to rest. I was tired from walking all day and sleeping so little at night. I kind of needed some rest—not that I would ever tell him.
As soon as I started walking, I realized I didn’t really know the direction we were heading, but I was too stubborn to stop.
“Nadine, wait,” Micah called me. I heard his fast footsteps, catching up with me. I walked faster. After a few seconds, Micah’s hand closed around my upper arm.
I glared at him. “Hey!”
He put a finger over his lips. “Shh. I sense demons coming this way, fast.”
That shut me up.
Micah slid his hand down my arm until my hand was safe in his. He tugged my arm and pulled me back to the broken bench in the middle of the park. We looked around—there was no good place to hide, so we crouched behind the bench and prayed that it was enough.
The demons appeared from the other side of the park in an organized fashion, with four demons side by side and six rows—just like a battalion ready for battle. I shuddered, remembering the many times I had been too close to them.
They continued down a stone path across the park and seemed not to have noticed us. Until the Akuma—the bat-like demons—swooped in the dark sky. With their bird’s-eye view and their great night vision, they spotted us.
With a shriek, the Akuma swooped toward us—I counted four. The other demons—a mix of the Ornek and Arak—stopped their march and turned their attention to us.
“Fuck,” Micah cursed.
29
Micah
We stood and pulled out our swords as the twenty-
eight demons rushed us. The Akuma lunged at us, their talons ready to pierce, slash, massacre. I threw my power at them, causing two to stagger and another to fall back. The other twenty-three demons surrounded us. I searched for the twenty-fourth and found him running away. No, not running away. Running to warn other demons of our presence here.
“Shit,” I muttered. As fast as I could, I threw three black bolts at the demons right in front of me, making them move, and then channeled my power and sent one big, powerful bolt at the demon in the distance. The bolt hit it square in the back and he went down.
I sighed in relief for half a second before the other demons lunged at me.
Behind me, Nadine engaged the two remaining Akuma that had attacked her. I couldn’t watch it, but I sneaked a few glances every few seconds to make sure she was all right, and every time I was in awe of how beautifully she moved, how deadly she held herself, how precisely she used her sword. It was incredible how she had grown as a warrior in the last few weeks.
She dispatched the two Akuma, just to have five other demons pounce on her.
“Can you feel your magic?” I yelled at her, hoping she would hear me over the growls and the sword clanks.
“What do you mean?” she asked, her tone equally high.
“Now would be a good time to use your magic, if you can.”
I heard her groan. “I don’t know how to call it or control it.”
A demon made a swipe at my head and I ducked out of the way. Damn, too close. I created a shield in front of me to gain some time, and threw bolts at the demons on the side.
I wasn’t sure since I couldn’t turn around and waste time counting, but I would have guessed we were already down to half the demons we started with. Nadine and I kept on fighting, as if it was as easy and normal as breathing, until one of the Akuma that had fallen back rose in the sky, its chest singed by my previous bolt, and then dove like a bird of prey.
“Nadine!” I shouted, turning to her.
She was parrying the attack of another demon and didn’t see, couldn’t see, the Akuma diving at her. I pushed her out of the way, but the Akuma still got its talons deep into her shoulder. Nadine screamed but didn’t stop. She jerked aside, making the Akuma release her, and sliced its claw with her sword, severing its limb. The demon let out a shrill shriek, chilling my spine. In that moment, I placed my hand on its back, right between the crown of his wings, and let out my power. The Akuma burned to a crisp in seconds.
Blood flowed from Nadine’s shoulder as she killed another two demons. I fought the urge to drop everything, run to her, and kill the last four.
Then she turned to me, her uniform ripped, her shoulder and chest bloodied, and her face pale. Her green eyes locked with mine, but I doubted she saw anything as she fell to her knees.
With my heart in my throat, I ran to her.
30
Nadine
Micah helped me sit down on the bench. “Let me see,” he said, reaching for my shoulder.
“It’s nothing.” I raised my arm to push his hand away, but flinched from the pain radiating from the wound when I moved. I had almost fainted after the battle was over. Almost. I had felt the strength seeping out of me, and hit my knees hard on the concrete ground, making it all hurt more.
As he knelt on the ground in front of me, Micah tsked. “Darling, you’re not a very good liar.”
I groaned and let him pull the ripped piece of my armor aside to look at the wound. I hissed, and cursed, and hissed some more.
“Here.” He offered me his left arm. “You can hold on, squeeze, dig your nails in. Do whatever, as long as you let me clean this up.”
I waved him off. “I can take it.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Okay.” He ripped the cloth around the wound some more, and then grabbed supplies from my backpack—water, antiseptic, gauze, and tape. “I need to clean it first to see how bad it is.” He uncapped the water bottle. “This is going to hurt.”
I looked away, trying to focus on anything but the wound on my shoulder, or the fact that his face was mere inches from mine. “I’m fine. Do it.”
Micah poured some water over the wound, and I suppressed a cry as the burning pain increased tenfold. Mindlessly, I reached for his arm and squeezed it.
I pretended not to see the corners of his lips tugging up.
“It’s not too bad.” His voice dripped with relief. “I thought the demon had gone deeper. And when I saw the blood on your chest …” He shook his head.
“It was just a little blood from my shoulder,” I said.
He sighed. “It’s just an ugly scratch. You’ll be fine if we clean it every few hours.” He dropped the water bottle and grabbed the antiseptic. “This is going to hurt too. Ready?”
I didn’t feel ready, but I nodded. Better get this over with. Not caring about wasting it, Micah poured the antiseptic over the scratch.
“Oh my God,” I muttered, losing my voice to the burning pain. I squeezed his arm, digging my nails on his tee.
“Sorry, darling, but it’ll get infected if we don’t clean it well.” He poured some more of the antiseptic, and I cursed everyone I knew and didn’t know while holding on to his arm for dear life.
When the pain subsided a little, Micah open up the gauze and started taping the squares on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated.
“It’s okay. The pain is manageable now.”
He shook his head. “That’s not what I meant.” He stopped working on my wound and looked at me. “I came on this mission to make sure you didn’t get hurt. And here you are. Hurt.”
I watched him. The heavy set of his brows, the sharp lines of his jaw and chin and cheekbones, the fullness of his lips, the perfect line of his nose, and his black eyes—his eyes that revealed too much. Dread, worry, relief, caring.
A sharp pang cut through my heart. “It wasn’t your fault. And, regardless of any injuries, I’m …” I paused and took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here with me.”
Surprise registered in his eyes, but only for a second before being replaced by hunger, by wanting. The hand working on the scratch slid to my neck and cupped my face as he stretched his frame, leaning over me. I didn’t think. I just met him halfway. His lips touched mine and I let out a sigh. My lips parted, molding to his and allowing him free pass. His tongue teased mine as if he was afraid that if he pushed too far, I would pull away.
And I should. Pull away. Right now.
This instant.
But I couldn’t. I was too drunk on him to do anything else other than take more. Ask for more.
I spread my legs open and Micah scooted between them, coming closer. He wound one of his arms around my waist and pressed on my back, bringing my chest to his. He shifted his weight, aligning his hips with mine, and I could feel how much he wanted me. Letting my hormones and feelings speak louder, I just acted. I held on to his shoulders and ground my hips against his. He groaned and nipped at my lower lip. I moved against him again and this time he cursed under his breath. Slowly, his lips slid down my neck, leaving a searing mark whenever they touched me. He ran his hand up my arm and over my shoulder.
I gasped as a shock of pain spread from my shoulder, down my arm, to my fingertips.
Micah pulled away immediately. “Fuck, I forgot about your scratch.” He rested his hands over my knees. “Did I hurt you?”
I just stared at him, too shocked to reply. How did I let this happen? One second we were being attacked, the next we were kissing? When and why did I let my guard down? It didn’t make any sense. I knew better than this.
“No, um, I just felt it when you touched it.” I reached for my backpack on the ground.
“I’m sorry, darling. I—”
“It’s okay.” I stood, causing him to take his hands from me and scoot back. “I’m fine.” I stepped around him and put some distance between us. “We should …” I looked down at the gauze on my shoulder. He hadn’t finished closing the scratc
h. “We should get going.”
Slowly, Micah stood and a deep knot appeared between his brows. “Why are you doing this?”
I pulled at the ripped fabric around the scratch, but no matter what, my armor was ruined. “Doing what?”
“Pretending nothing happened.”
“But nothing happened.”
He crossed his arms and stared at me. “And now you’re acting like a teenager.”
“What?” I stared at him, appalled. “I am not!” He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow at me. “We don’t have time to argue, okay? Let’s just get going.” I turned my back to him, intent on marching away from the park, but I remembered I didn’t know the direction we should go. “Please, can you tell me which way we’re going?”
He sighed and soon walked past me. “This way,” he said, taking the lead. I let him walk a few steps in front of me. It was easier than standing side by side with him where it felt too awkward not to talk. But it seemed he didn’t want not to talk. “Why are you avoiding me?”
Rage, sadness, disappointment, frustration. All of those feelings mixed and made for a heavy ball lodged in my chest. I could continue pretending nothing happened and act like a child, or I could be honest and hope he understood and left me alone after that.
I sighed. “Why do you care if I’m avoiding you? You’re the one who always leaves me every time we kissed. You’re only upset because this time I was the one who put some distance between us.”
“That’s—” He shut his mouth, as if considering, as if remembering. He knew I was right. “Believe me, darling, I never wanted to leave you.”
I scoffed. “Great way of showing it.”
Micah halted and stepped in my way. I almost bumped into him.
He towered over me, his stare intense, decisive. “I have never been more honest in my entire long life. I never wanted to leave you. Still don’t.”
I gulped. “Then why did you leave?”
The Everlast Series Boxed Set Page 69