Spent, he simply rested his head on her shoulder to get his breath back. Her chest heaved, and puffs of her breath drifted over his skin. She held him quietly, her palms slowly sweeping over his back.
By the stars, every time he made love to her, something inside his soul eased, grew lighter.
After several seconds, he reluctantly eased away from her warm body and lay on his back, drawing her to him. She settled in the crook of his arm and sighed, but remained quiet.
Týr ran his palm down her spine and hips to gently squeeze her butt. No words were needed because, for the first time in his long life, he felt at peace. He did not fear closing his eyes to sleep.
What seemed like seconds later, Týr’s eyelids snapped open at the sheer power abrading his psyche. He quickly took stock of where he was, recognizing the high ceiling and black girders of his quarters.
At the warm body lying over his chest, a smile started as he recalled Kira sleeping on him like this at the cabin because her back was hurt.
Hell, he hated having to leave her. He wanted just one day with nothing to do but laze about with his mate. Better yet, for them to go to their cabin for some quiet time. But the Arc had projected too fucking loudly, and there was no way for him to ignore the call.
Unable to avoid the shitstorm about to erupt—and there would be one since he’d sort of gone AWOL—Týr eased away from Kira. She snuggled into his pillow. He sat up, his feet hitting the cold tiles.
Be down in ten, he mind-linked with Michael.
At the sight of the jambiya lying on the floor, he picked it up and slipped it free from its case to study the slightly curved blade. The weapon was a little smaller than his obsidian dagger. His jaw tightening, Týr sheathed it, then set the thing on the nightstand and made his way to the bathroom.
A quick shower later, he changed and walked out of the dressing room, only to stop and stare at the huge bed where his mate slept. His heart thumped painfully against his sternum, unable to believe that she was his. Finally. Hell, he’d let an entire year waste away. Guess when the torment of his past dominated his every breath, shit like that happened.
Running his fingers through his damp hair, he penned a quick note to her and forced himself to leave and make tracks for the ground floor.
A short while later, he rapped on the door and entered the Arc’s small study. A huge desk ruled in one corner of the room with an L-shape bookshelf set against the wall behind it. The two armchairs opposite the crackling flames in the hearth didn’t offer welcome right now. And the room’s only occupant stood at the open French doors, arms folded, staring out at the snow-covered grounds. Insipid, morning sunlight seeped between the dark storm clouds.
As he neared his leader, the archangel pivoted. His fist shot out, sending Týr several feet back. Pain erupting through his face and into his cranium as light exploded in a prism of brilliant colors.
“You deliberately disobeyed a direct fucking order, jumping into the Dark Realm! Alone!”
“Are you freakin’ kiddin’ me?” Týr snapped, not surprised by the punch. “It’s not like you didn’t know what I’d do. Wait…” A grin started, and then he grimaced, his face hurt too damn much to continue smirking.
“For heaven’s sake—” Michael tunneled his fingers through his fastened hair, disarraying the strands, his expression one of pissed fury. “We had no idea where in the Dark Realm you were. Why in the blazes didn’t you take Aethan with you?”
“You care. If only I’d known.”
“Don’t fucking go there.” His splintered blue irises burned in irritation.
Damn, Michael was really going hardass on him this time. With a shrug, Týr dropped the blasé facade. “I refused to have the mated warriors with me on this—”
“What the hell is Nik?”
“Screwed in the head.” The Arc looked ready to explode. Before his ass got benched for life, Týr said, “I had…backup.”
His face like a thundercloud, probably seconds from another punch, Michael growled and leaned against his desk, appearing to reel in his ire. “So, she is your destined?”
Týr pinned the Arc a cool stare. “Never cared about that shit. I love her. She’s mine.” Then, he tacked on with a smirk. “Man, I can’t wait to see what you do when you meet your mate—”
“I’m not like you hardheads. I was bred for war.”
“Rrright.” Týr snorted
It sure would be something if the Arc did fall—and hard, too.
Lady Gaia, since you messed-up with me, I sure hope you put that mate crap on Michael’s dagger. Hope she gives him a helluva hard time—
But thought of the Arc’s blade made Týr pause. It wasn’t obsidian, but a pewter blade.
Footsteps echoed, and the other warriors strode in seconds later, putting an end to the convo.
“Sonofabitch, you’re back,” Aethan growled.
Dagan’s yellow eyes flared in relief. “I’m damn glad to see you.”
They both slapped Týr on the back, making him grimace at the pain in his protesting muscles.
“Good to see your ass is in one piece,” Nik grunted.
The Celt said nothing.
Týr cocked an eyebrow. “Bored already? Cut short the honeymoon?”
“With your stubborn ass nowhere in sight, there wasn’t much choice.” Those cerulean blue lasers looked Týr over as if checking that he really was in one piece and not held together by paperclips.
Man, didn’t these mofo bastards make him want to bawl? Yeah, right.
“So, what the hell happened?” Aethan demanded. “Nik and I tailed you when you lit outta here, but you disappeared like a damn wraith.”
Týr pushed his hands into his jeans’ pockets, the icy winter air sneaking beneath his sweater. “I went to the alley where Kira vanished. Then things got a little crazy there. An old crone appeared and activated a portal.” He shook his head, still unable to believe his luck. Then recalled her shimmering into a younger female. Of course, it could have been his imagination with that damn swirling portal and his mind in chaos. “No idea who she was. She said to jump if I wanted to rescue Kira.”
A growl rumbled low in Michael’s throat. “Did you stop to think it could have been a damn trap?”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Mattered little. The portal led straight into Stygia.”
That got the Arc’s attention. “The realm of the Sins?”
Týr nodded. The warriors stilled, their gazes drilling holes into him as they waited for him to continue. Because he was a bastard and couldn’t resist, he murmured, “I think I’ll fill you all in later. It’s been a harrowing couple of days. I need sleep—”
“Not one damn foot forward, Norse, or it’ll be the last step you take,” Aethan warned.
Týr grinned.
The Celt narrowed his eyes. “Stop fucking around. What the hell happened?”
Týr shut the French doors behind him, the cold too damn much to take in after the heat of Stygia. He leaned against the door. “The portal spewed me out into some dingy town, and I use that word in the loosest sense. Anyway, after trawling several taverns, I finally overheard some demons talking about a human female they’d sighted in the black fortress. I checked it out. That fucking place was warded to the hilt. Damn hard to break through, but I eventually gained entry. Major burns were my reward.”
Someone snorted. Týr merely grinned. “I found Kira and was ready to haul her out of there when she dropped the bomb…” He rubbed his jaw as his fellow warriors narrowed their eyes, looking ready to hurt him at his delaying tactics. Chuckling, he continued, “Told me her father was a demon—”
The warriors cursed.
“Yeah, my feelings exactly. But she wouldn’t leave. Couldn’t. So, I met up with her sire, except he wasn’t a fucking demon. He’s the Sin of Wrath.”
Aaand cue the silence. Even the flames stood still. Then, the ruckus started.
“You gotta be fuckin’ kidding me.” Aethan nailed him a shocked stare as if he’d ordained
this occurrence or something.
Blaéz smirked. “No shit.”
Nik just snorted. Dagan shook his head, but a smile tugged at his mouth as if to say, “only you.”
“A Sin?” Michael narrowed his eyes.
Týr nodded. “Quite an experience meeting an ancient one like him. Man, I’ve never felt power of that caliber before. Arc, you know him, right?” He couldn’t resist. “It’s okay if you’ve forgotten, considering you’re both old as dust.”
Michael didn’t react to his baiting, but those shattered blues gleamed eerily as if in glee. “At least I don’t have to deal with this any longer. You do anything to Kira…yeah, good luck there. I presume her mother’s human?”
“Yeah. But she died when Kira was one. Wrath’s enemies executed her.” Týr’s expression turned grim, realizing just how brutal the woman’s death would have been.
“That must have been hard,” Dagan said quietly.
“More like suicidal,” Michael countered. “Probably wish they could rethink their actions now.”
Yup, no one in their right mind screwed with the Sin of Wrath.
Týr glanced at Aethan. “Your informant, Riley?”
“Hell—tell me he still breathes.”
“I’m not a savage—” The others snorted. Okay, maybe he was. “He’s Wrath’s heir and Kira’s kin. Did you know?”
“What?” Aethan gaped. “No. Not even an inkling. Riley isn’t one to talk.” The Empyrean rubbed his nose, those gunmetal grays glinting in humor. “How did Kira take it? You trying to kill her brother, I mean? I assume you came clean?”
Asshole liked rubbing that in, but he nodded. “I’m glad she only just met him. If she’d known him longer, she definitely would have given me hell.”
“You bastards don’t do things by halves when you take a mate, do you?” Michael grunted.
The mated warriors snorted. Týr shrugged. “We were never normal.”
“The children?” Michael asked. “The demon Nik interrogated said there were over a dozen taken.”
Týr could barely bolt down his anger, his gut roiling at the loss, and knowing more kids would likely be abducted and taken to the demon world. “We lost two during the retrieval. We managed to get the others out. Godsdammit!” He rubbed his eyes like it would take away the memories of the demon siphoning the life from those kids.
A tense silence thickened the air. Shuffling sounded as the others moved about.
“The demons running the human trafficking,” Michael asked, “anything on them?”
Týr dropped his hand. “We dealt with the ones guarding the cells and those that wanted the young. But there was an older one, judging from the power vibes I picked up anyway. He vanished during the ruckus.”
Michael’s mouth tightened and his stare lowered to his booted feet. A vein throbbed on his brow. Yeah, Týr was all too familiar with that helpless feeling. “They’ll be back.”
The Arc looked up, the silver cracks in his splintered, blue eyes flashing like lightning in a brewing storm. “And we’ll be waiting.”
Chapter 25
A towel wrapped around her shower-wet body, Kira shuffled into the dressing room, cutting off another tired yawn. Exhaustion was a pain in the ass, along with acclimatizing to Earth hours again. In an odd way, she missed Stygia, but she was darn happy to be back home.
Týr had gone off to meet Michael, and she loved that he’d left her a note so she knew, considering that this was her first night here as his mate.
Kira opened the closet, and a smile touched her lips when she found the few things she had left in the guest room whenever she stayed over. They were now stored next to his stuff.
That reminded her, she had to get her clothes, along with her grandmother, and bring them to the castle. Man, that was another hurdle to cross. She straightened her spine in determination as if she would ever let Gran stay alone at the brownstone. Or spend Christmas by herself. It was a time of joy, and she wanted the people she loved in one place.
As she changed, her gaze drifted to the weapons closet at the back wall. As if her feet had a mind of their own, she found herself near the twin doors. She opened it. The obsidian dagger lay on the shelf where Týr had tossed it, amidst the other weapons.
Another thought struck her, stealing her breath. With Wrath being her father…
Kira grabbed her cell, hit speed dial, and started pacing the length of the dressing room.
Riley answered on the second ring. “Kira?” His warm voice coasted down the line. “What can I do for you? If you’re checking on Tomas, he’s fine and asleep.”
“That’s good to hear. So, he likes New Orleans?”
“Early days still. He’s here with Saia and me at her parents’ mansion. We’re leaving tomorrow to go back to the Quarter, so we’ll see. Kira…?” At his quiet tone, her fingers tightened on her cell. “You should be aware, a blood demon fed on him. Some of the venom from the bite still lingers in his blood. It could fade, or it could cause Tomas to be drawn to the one who marked him. I’ll keep an eye on him and let you know.”
“God, I hope it’s not so…” She bit her lip. With Tomas unaware of what his future could be, here she was, worrying about the stupid length of her existence.
“So, why the frantic phone call?” Riley asked.
She sighed. He must have picked up on her anxiety. “This feels so pointless now—”
“Kira, what is it?”
“I was wondering…” She pushed back her damp hair and grimaced. “Wrath’s immortal, so what does that mean for me? I mean, about my lifespan.”
“It’s not pointless to be curious.” She heard the smile in his voice. “It simply means you’ll have a longer life—”
“How long?”
“I’m not really sure. Maybe the next time you’re in the citadel, ask him. However”—he paused as if contemplating—“with demons who mate humans, I do know their offspring tend to live around two hundred years or so, depending on how powerful their sire is. But a Sin isn’t a demon, so it’s hard to say.”
“No…” Her knees buckled. She collapsed on the chest near the weapons closet.
“What’s wrong? I thought you’d be happy.”
“I-I am,” she whispered. “Tell Tomas I called, okay? I’ll talk to you later.” She rang off and stared at her cell. A few decades she could get by and have a life with Týr. Now, what the hell did she do?
Týr could cross paths with his destined mate. And what if he couldn’t fight the compulsion and was drawn to this nameless person?
Feeling as if she couldn’t breathe, Kira leaped to her feet and slammed the closet shut. The doors bounced back open, and the weapons went crashing to the floor.
With watery eyes, she stared at the obsidian dagger lying amidst the other blades, hating it with everything in her heart. “Why couldn’t it have been me?” she whispered.
Before Týr saw her abusing his weapons or witnessed her torment, she scooped up the iron daggers, along with the obsidian blade, and put them back on the shelf. She shut the doors and leaned against it, rubbing her damp eyes. The tingling in her hands hiked. Dammit, not now. She fisted her fingers—God! She couldn’t deal with her roiling emotions and her stirring powers.
Týr loved her! If he found her like this, he’d be upset. She had to calm the heck down before she met her friends and accidentally hurt one of them. She still couldn’t believe the ability she’d always considered the bane of her life could be so perilous.
Sighing, Kira rubbed her hot face. Maybe after she’d eaten something, her dizzy head and churning stomach would settle.
With no idea how long Týr’s meeting would take, she made her way downstairs to the kitchen to wait for him. Her friends would probably be there. And she wanted to see Gran as soon as possible. And only hoped she didn’t shock her into a heart attack with the news of her parentage.
The decadent aroma of something delicious wafted in the air as she opened the kitchen door. Hedori walked
out from the pantry and halted, a smile crinkling the corners of his pretty, orangey-green eyes. “It’s good to see you again, Kira.”
Her friends who were seated at the table with coffee mugs scattered about looked up and froze.
Kira smiled and gave Hedori a little wave.
Then, a commotion exploded, and chairs dragged as her friends jumped up.
“Ki!” Echo screeched, darting across to her. “OhmyGod, ohmyGod! I’m so happy to see you! We didn’t know you were back!” she cried, squeezing Kira tightly, almost cracking her ribs. “We were so terrified when Jenna sensed that you were in danger and you disappeared. Aethan told us what happened. And we missed your birthday, but no worries, we will have cake today,” her friend’s runaway words ended on a promise, and she kissed Kira’s cheek.
Shae and Ely hugged her. At least they didn’t squeeze the air out of her lungs.
“It’s really good to see you,” Ely said. And Shae nodded as Darci pulled her into a warm embrace.
“You’re back early?” Kira blurted, easing back. Her friend appeared rested. Her sunflower-hued eyes glowed with an almost otherworldly light.
“Yes.” She stepped back. “Blaéz was convinced something was terribly wrong. He called Aethan, and we heard what occurred. Are you all right? Trapped in the Dark Realm must have been really frightening.”
Before she could answer, Jenna hurried into the kitchen, her auburn hair pulled into a single braid, a frown marring her smooth, pale brow. A smile lit her dove-gray eyes. “I’m happy you are back,” she said softly. “And safe.”
Man, Jenna was breathtaking when she smiled.
These people truly were her family, Kira realized. “Thank you. I’m fine, really.” She couldn’t believe that almost a week and a half had passed since Nicor took her.
“What happened?” Echo demanded as they all sat again.
Where to start?
Darci poured coffee and slid the mug to her as Kira relayed everything that had occurred from her first meeting with Riley a year ago, to him reappearing a few weeks earlier, to being taken to the Dark Realm, and about Wrath. “And we found Tomas,” she ended with a smile. “My brother took him to his house. Can you believe I have a brother?”
Heart's Inferno (Fallen Guardians 4) Page 28