His midnight blue eyes peered down at me and his brows drew together. “What do you mean you’re not wounded? I just saw you yesterday—”
“Right. When you dumped my ass. Put me down.” I struggled, and he set me down just outside the halo of broken glass.
“Clay explained—”
“Only because you wouldn’t give me an opportunity to do it myself.” I shoved him back and he let me. “You arrogant ass. Did you think to give me a minute to explain before jumping to conclusions?” I stormed away from him, the robe flapping in the breeze of my righteous fury, and I spun to storm back. “ No, you didn’t. Instead, you called off the engagement and left me to be abducted.” And to get a personal message from a god. My chest was heaving and my heart hurt. I knew this was unfair but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.
Sensing a cataclysmic fight in the making, Clay jumped between us. “Maddy? Maddy.” He grabbed my shoulders and shook me, and Bahlin growled. “Listen. It was my fault you were taken. I wasn’t, uh, doing my job when Hellion broke into the room. Where did he take you?”
“Is no one going to ask if I’m okay?” My question was met with total silence. “Nice. Very nice you arrogant, overgrown, winged geckos. He took me to the twenty-sixth floor. You never think to check your own house first, do you?”
I wrenched myself out of Clay’s hands and stalked into my suite, intent on getting some clothes on.
“Maddy?” Clay called. “Before I forget, there’s a message for you.”
I paused, looking over my shoulder. “Yeah?”
“Gaitha, Queen of the Fae, would like to speak to you about the Council vacancy.” He looked disturbed.
“I’m sure she would.” I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. “Not today, though. I’ll send a messenger…how? How exactly does one get in touch with the fae, Clay?”
“I’ll make sure she knows you’ll be in touch.”
Bahlin followed me into the suite and turned to the other man. “Get everyone out,” Bahlin said softly but firmly. “Clay, arrange four men on the door and elevators, six men in the lobby. Someone watch the window. I need some time alone with my…” He paused.
I looked at him over my shoulder. “Your what?” He didn’t answer so I turned to face him head on. “Am I still your fiancée? Your trékkar?”
He scrubbed his hands hard over his face, then clutched his temples with his eyes closed. He stood that way for a lifetime before he finally opened his eyes and dropped his hands to his hips. “What do you want from me, Maddy?”
“Nothing more than you’re willing to give.”
“I just don’t know,” he admitted, staring at me intently.
“Fair enough. When I thought you wanted me, all I wanted was you in return. Now I’m not so sure either.”
“I thought you were—wait, what do you mean you’re not sure?”
I laughed but it was a bitter sound. “Don’t like the sound of that, do you? So it’s okay for you to decide you might not want to be married to me, but I don’t have the same luxury? You and your damnable prophecy, Bahlin. It’s going to ruin what would have been a good thing.”
He paled in front of me, swaying so that I thought he might actually fall down. He staggered to the sofa and sank into the cushions, all his normal grace gone. “You’ve met him, haven’t you? You’ve met the third leg of this cursed triangle.”
“We’ve known him all along, Bahlin.” My back was now to him, and my voice carried on little more than a whisper. “Think. With Tarrek gone, who is the only other male member of the Council? It’s been that simple from day one. We just didn’t see it, didn’t want to see it.”
“Hellion,” he snapped, leaning his head back on the sofa’s headrest. “Damn it, it’s Hellion.”
“Give the dragon a prize.”
I left Bahlin stewing on the sofa, gathered up some clothes and headed into the bathroom to grab a quick shower. The hot water sluiced over my skin but I still felt cold. Hellion. Just the name evoked a strange feeling in the pit of my stomach. I thought back to the first time we’d met at the sithen. It had felt like, at the very least, we’d met before. But I’d dismissed the feeling, taken it for a fluke. Now I wondered if past lives were coming into play. And did I even believe in past lives? I wasn’t sure. What I was pretty sure I did believe in was free will versus destiny. Difficult as it was, the choice between men had to be mine. The concept of destiny seemed like a cop-out, a chance to blame every poor choice as inconsequentially preordained by the Fates. That made me, in effect, nothing more than a thread in their greater loom. No. I was Madeleine Niteclif, and I had an unchangeable history and a future of my own design.
I have choices to make, I thought, scrubbing at my skin with a vengeance that left it glowing pink. I am no one’s pawn, and I don’t accept destiny as an excuse.
The dark voice in my head said, Ah, but then how did you get here?
There was no easy answer.
I shut the water off and stood there dripping. The room outside was quiet. Running my hands through my hair, I shook like a dog emerging from a deep body of water. I grabbed my towel and dried off, dressed, and brushed my hair into some semblance of order. I was stalling. I didn’t want to face Bahlin. Knowing that pissed me off, and I hurled the brush across the bathroom. It hit the door with a bang and a clatter, and I heard movement in the room beyond.
“Maddy?” Bahlin’s voice was muffled through the door but the concern rang loud and clear.
I sighed. I couldn’t put this off any longer. Opening the door, I moved past him and grabbed my sneakers. “Sorry. I’m just having a small temper tantrum.”
“Your socks are in the top right dresser drawer.”
I pulled it open and, sure enough, there were my socks. Someone had kindly unpacked my belongings. Apparently I’d be here instead of living with Bahlin. One more nail in the coffin of our relationship. Good to know.
I sat on the floor to put them on, not wanting to sit next to Bahlin on the bed.
He perched on the edge of the mattress, watching my every move. “We need to discuss this.”
I hunched my shoulders at his words. Maybe I could convince myself destiny was responsible after all because I sure as hell didn’t want to tell him what had gone down in the room upstairs.
“I agree.” I finished tying my shoes and got up, walking into the living room and sinking into one of the sofas. “But not in the bedroom.”
“Uncomfortable?” he asked, menace weaving effectively through the five syllables of that one simple word.
“Maybe. Why are you being an ass when you’re the one who left me?” I fidgeted with the decorative pillows, straightening tassels and fringe. I froze. This had been a nervous habit of my mom’s. I put my hands in my lap and watched Bahlin walk to the big picture window, his back to me.
“You’re right. I did call off the engagement.” He turned to me, his face grave. “I want to take it all back, Maddy. Even the part where I killed my da and sister. But what’s done is done.”
It sounded like he meant it as a whole. The engagement was off. My guilt over Hellion eased just a bit.
“Do you believe in free will or destiny?” It was out of my mouth before I could stop myself. In for a penny and all that, I continued. “Because here’s what I think. If you believe in free will, you chose to save me at the cost of their lives. If you believe in destiny, your actions were preordained by the Fates or your goddess or whomever you hold to that higher power. So which is it?”
Bahlin was shocked into silence. He walked over to the opposite end of the sofa I sat on and sank down, some of his grace returned—or forced—and he leaned back, lacing his hands behind his head. “There’s no real right answer, is there?”
“I don’t know. I’m asking what you believe.”
“I’m not sure. I don’t feel like there’s a right answer for this conversation.”
I sighed. “It’s not about right or wrong, Bay. It’s a matter of personal belief
, of what you believe to be true.”
“What do you believe, Maddy?” His voice was rough, and he cleared his throat. “Because if it’s a matter of free will, then you’ll choose either Hellion or me. If it’s a matter of destiny, then what I say or do doesn’t matter, and the prophecy stands.”
I hadn’t consciously thought of it in such a basic way, but there it was. “I don’t know,” I answered, shaking my head before dropping it into my hands and closing my eyes “I think you do have a strong opinion but you’re afraid to acknowledge it because either way you’re stuck between us.”
Bahlin turned his head and looked at me, his eyes heavy with knowledge. “What happened between the two of you that you don’t want to tell me, Maddy?”
Oh crap. Here we go. Once again, give the dragon a prize.
Chapter Five
“Why do you ask?” What didn’t happen would have been a better question. I sure as hell wasn’t telling him about the little visit from Odin or my shift in feelings toward Hellion. Not now and maybe not ever.
Bahlin snorted and stood, walking over to the fireplace. “You’re working too hard at avoiding this conversation. You have little tells yourself, lover.” The last was said caustically.
“No need to get nasty, Bay.” Sitting made me feel smaller and more vulnerable so I stood, sticking my fingers in the back pockets of my jeans to keep from fidgeting.
“You actively avoid every question I ask, Maddy. That’s the biggest clue.” He leaned against the mantle, all cultivated nonchalance. “Did you screw him?”
“Get out. Now.” I turned and walked back to the bathroom and slammed the door, locking it behind me. I closed the lid to the toilet and sat, shaking with fury.
The lock snapped open, and I belatedly remembered Bahlin’s skills with telekinesis. Shit.
The door crashed open, bouncing off the counter so hard he had to throw out a hand to keep from having it hit him in the face as it rebounded. “Did you?” he asked, his voice no more than a breath on the air.
“No, I didn’t.” I put my elbows on my knees and my face in my hands. “Jeeze, Bahlin, what do you take me for?”
He dropped to his knees in front of me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, but I was stiff and unyielding. “I’m so sorry, Maddy. It makes me nuts to think he might have had his hands on you. You can tell me anything, okay? Anything.” He rubbed his hands up and down my back and sides gently, trying to convey support but only further rubbing in my guilt with every pass.
“Give me some space, Bahlin. Please.”
He sat back on his heels and, thankfully, stopped touching me. “What is it, love?”
I shook my head and stood, brushing past him to walk out of the room. I stopped in front of the picture window, not missing the irony of our switched places.
Bahlin followed me out and stood behind me, not touching me but still invading my personal space so effectively that I felt his aura cross into mine.
“I will say this once,” I murmured, “and then I need to talk to you about business. Are you okay with that?”
He briefly set a hand on my shoulder before turning and walking to the nearest sofa. He propped a hip on the back and said, “Go ahead.”
“I kissed Hellion. It was definitely more than a peck and barely less than foreplay. It was voluntary, Bahlin, so no retaliation. I feel something for him that I can’t explain, but I’m nobody’s bitch, particularly not Fate’s.” Or Odin’s. “So I’ll make my own decisions in this, and the universe can kiss my ass.” I turned to look at him, my arms wrapped around my core. I was cold, and his gaze did nothing to relieve me.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes. But if it’s any consolation, I stopped myself because of you, even though you’d kicked me to the curb. I don’t know where I’m at in all this, Bahlin, but there’s work to do, and we don’t have the time or the luxury of letting this control our lives.”
He nodded tersely and swallowed hard, his throat convulsing around the emotion he forced down. “Fine. But it won’t be long before we have to talk about this in detail, Madeleine.”
“Fine,” I echoed. We could argue definitions of ”it won’t be long” some other time.
“Are you aware of the woman who was murdered yesterday in the park near your apartment?” I moved to sit across from him.
“She was only the first.” He held up a hand to stop me from interrupting him. “There was a second woman murdered on the Tube near the hotel’s stop early this morning, and no one saw a thing. The victim profile was nearly identical. She looked suspiciously like you, Maddy. In fact, if we’re going to practice honesty, I have to tell you that hearing about it is what brought me back here. I had to know for sure it wasn’t you.”
I ignored both the invisible stab to my heart and the creeping fingers of fear that stroked my spine with sharp nails. “Method?”
“The same. Her throat was cut deep enough to nearly sever her head. The press picked up this tidbit and is clamoring for more information. They’re speculating the killer is a modern day Jack the Ripper targeting tall, shapely women with short, dark hair, age twenty-five to thirty.”
I closed my eyes and shuddered, feeling a great deal of empathy for the women who had died because they looked right—or wrong. I heard Bahlin move closer then felt him sit down next to me. “Both victims had their throats cut from the back, left to right, with a fair-sized blade.”
“Serrated or non-serrated?” I asked in a flat voice.
“Non.”
“Bahlin, what are the odds, do you think, that the victim profile is a fluke?” Those sharp fingers of fear skittered up and down my spine with increased speed and pressure, and I broke out in goosebumps.
“I’d say slim to none.” He shifted closer and put an arm around me. “Your take?”
“I agree.” I sighed and leaned into him, but the original comfort that had existed between us was gone, replaced by wariness and hurt and a freshly wounded love that might not survive the injury. “I’d have to assume, again, that the killer is someone I might recognize. Why else attack from behind each time?”
He hugged me tight and kissed the top of my head. I sighed again, and he pulled me in even closer, tilting my chin up with his free hand. We stared at each other. He dipped his head to kiss me, and I turned in to the kiss. His lips sought an answer I couldn’t provide, but I’d try to offer what comfort I could.
I went to my knees beside him and cradled his face in my palms. He followed where I led him, and I recognized it for what it was. Insecurity. I withdrew from him, unsure how to reassure us both that the prophecy was simply a suggestion and not a firm future. Remembering the feel of Hellion’s lips on mine and my body’s response to him, I realized I couldn’t offer any guarantees. The world was too full of what ifs right now. What if the killer was seeking victims who looked like me? What if the prophecy was firm and not to be influenced? What if Hellion was my heart’s match? What if I failed as the Niteclif? What if I didn’t survive my legacy? What if I broke my dragon’s heart? What if he broke mine?
A grief-laden sob broke from my throat, and I buried my face in Bahlin’s chest, breathing hard and trying to hold it together. My life was out of control.
He wrapped his arms tight around me and held on. The only indication of his heightened emotion was his whispering nonsense into my hair in Gaelic, not English.
I nodded quickly and moved to sit on my side of the sofa again. “Will you turn on the TV? I want to see if there’s any more information, maybe some new stories, about the murdered girls.”
Bahlin silently moved to grab the remote and fetch a small foot blanket from the bedroom. When he sat back down he was close enough we could have held hands, though we didn’t. Instead, we surfed the local channels looking for morbid news about murder.
The sun had just set in a cloud-muted blaze of oranges and pinks on the metropolitan horizon when the sound of conflict in the hallway reached us. Bahlin and I stood, and he ph
ysically set me behind him toward the corner of the room. Irritated, I moved to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. Without looking, I reached across and pulled the dirk from the top of his boot. It helped knowing each other as well as we did.
There was a sharp knock at the door and the guard, Jenks, called out, “Glaaca. You’ve got a Council member here to see the Niteclif.”
I rolled my eyes. I had no illusions about who was at the door. “No one makes those decisions for me, but me, Jenks,” I called back. Do it? Don’t do it? To hell with it. “Let him in.” I moved in front of Bahlin, and it wasn’t lost on me that I was physically putting myself between the two of them for the first time.
The door opened and Hellion stood there, fierce in his arrogance. Bahlin moved up behind me and put his hand on my hip. Hellion stepped inside and casually waved his hand at the door, slamming it in Jenks’s face.
“What can I do for you?” I looked down and saw the bandage on his hand and the blood crusted around his fingernails. I knew Bahlin scented it because he stopped breathing for the briefest second.
“I actually came to give you my new number, just as you asked.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew a cell phone.
“Stay here,” I muttered to Bahlin. More loudly I said, “Both of you behave.”
I walked quickly into the bedroom and retrieved the pad of paper and pen by the phone. “You could have called,” I said to Hellion as I jogged back into the living area. Nervous? Me? Distrustful of the angry dragon and indifferent magus was more like it.
“Sure, I could’ve. But where’s the joy in that when I have the opportunity to see you again?”
At this point Bahlin was breathing hard through his nose. Without any further warning than that, he charged at Hellion. The two began pounding on each other, grunts of pain coming from the fray when one or the other made contact with ribs or a kidney. The guards rushed into the room with the first crash, but they couldn’t seem to get the two separated. An unidentified guard stumbled back, holding his bleeding nose. The group of men tumbled over the back of the sofa, knocking the lamp to the floor with a crash. Bahlin was on his feet first and landed a particularly vicious kick to Hellion’s side. Hellion absorbed it and, grabbing Bahlin’s foot, wrenched his knee. The sickening crunch convinced me he’d probably destroyed the joint. Bahlin bellowed and went to the ground. Hellion grabbed him by the front of his shirt and threw him against the picture window and it cracked.
Wrath: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 2 Page 5