Storm and Fury

by Armentrout, Jennifer L.

  Probably should’ve thought about that.

  Too late now. I pushed open the stairwell door and stepped in the wide second-floor hallway, right into the path of Nicolai and Dez.

  “Whoa.” I drew up short with a little laugh. “Sorry. Wasn’t expecting to see either of you.”

  Nicolai immediately stepped forward. “What are you doing out of bed? How are you feeling? Should you be—?”

  “I’m fine,” I said, cutting off his rapid-fire questions. “Just a little sore. Thank you so much for helping last night.”

  “No need to thank me at all,” he replied, concern pinching his brow as I glanced at Dez. “I’m glad to see that you’re up and moving about.”

  “I feel the same.” Dez smiled. “Dez. I don’t think we’ve met.” He paused. “I’m also glad to see you’re up and moving about.”

  “Thank you.”

  The smile on Dez’s face kicked up an inch. “This is the part where you shake my hand.”

  “Oh. Sorry.” Flushing, I looked down and, sure enough, Dez had offered his hand and I hadn’t seen it. I shook it. “I’m actually here to, um, thank Zayne. I didn’t get a chance last night. Do you know if he’s in his room?”

  “I believe he is.” Dez looked over his shoulder. “His room is the fifth on the right.”

  I smiled, thanking the little dose of serendipity. “Thanks.”

  Both men nodded, and just after I stepped around them, Nicolai spoke. “Trinity?”

  I turned. “Yes?”

  His gaze searched mine as he stepped forward, lowering his voice. “Zayne told us that he offered you the opportunity to leave with us if you find that necessary. I just want you to know that I completely support his offer.”

  The shock I’d felt when Zayne made that offer returned as I looked between the two Wardens.

  “As do I,” Dez said. “We know you said you were safe here, but if that changes, even after we leave, you have friends in DC that can help you.”

  A knot formed in my chest. “Thank you,” I said, meaning it. “I’ll...I’ll remember that.”

  Nicolai nodded and then both men left, disappearing down the stairwell I’d just come up. I stood there for a moment. They were... They were good people.

  Smiling, I walked down the hall, squinting as I counted the doors. I stopped in front of the fifth on the right and the smile faltered and then failed.

  What was I going to say to Zayne? Hey, there may be a creepy peeping ghost in your room? Well, I did need to thank him, but it could’ve waited.

  “Damn. Damn. Damn.” Taking a step back, I started to turn—

  The door opened before I could move an inch. “Trinity?”

  Turning back as I desperately tried to come up with a good reason for being there that had nothing to do with him, I came to a complete, utter stop.

  Zayne was naked—naked and wet.

  My eyes widened. Okay, he wasn’t completely naked. He did have a dark blue towel wrapped around his lean hips, but that towel hung indecently low. There were indents on either side of his hips, and I had no idea how he got muscles there.

  Misha was ripped, but he didn’t have those. I knew. I’d seen him half-naked a million times.

  There was also this very interesting fine dusting of hair a little darker than blond that trailed from his navel and farther down...

  Heat blossomed in my stomach and flushed my skin. It felt like it was the dead of summer, not early June, and I was wearing a turtleneck and a jacket.

  And a blanket.

  God, he was... He was stunning, and I needed to stop gawking at him, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. I also knew, deep in my bones, it was more than a visceral reaction. But he wasn’t the first guy I’d ever been attracted to, so I didn’t understand why he affected me so much.

  Those hips shifted and he seemed to spread his thighs. “I’m starting to feel a little violated over here.”

  “Huh?” I blinked, dragging my gaze to his face. “What?”

  Fresh from a shower, his wet hair was slicked back from his face. “You’re staring at me.”

  Warmth flared even hotter in my cheeks. I was just as bad as Peanut. “No, I’m not.”

  “You’re staring at me like you’ve never seen a guy before.”

  “I am not! And I’ve seen guys—lots of them.”

  One eyebrow rose perfectly. “So, you see a lot of naked guys?”

  My eyes narrowed. “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  “That’s what you implied.”

  Truth was I’d never seen a guy completely naked...or this undressed. “Why are you almost naked?”

  He cocked his head. “I just took a shower.”

  That much was evident. “So, you always open the door like this?”

  “I heard footsteps and thought I’d better check it out.”

  “But you have a towel on,” I pointed out. “And how in the world did you hear me? I wasn’t out here stomping around.”

  “I have really good hearing,” he replied. “You should know that, as you live with a bunch of Wardens.”

  He was right. Wardens had astonishingly good hearing and sight. Hated them.

  “Do you always answer the door in a towel when you hear someone?”

  “Not typically.” He reached down, curling his fingers around where the towel folded together. “But you were standing outside my door cussing, so I figured I should see what you needed.”

  What I needed? Mouth suddenly dry, I swallowed. I wasn’t sure what I needed.

  “And I thought to myself, when I heard you repeatedly muttering damn under your breath, surely that could not be Trinity.”

  I refocused. “Why not?”

  “Because I was thinking that after nearly bleeding to death—”

  “On you?”

  “Yes, thanks for the reminder. I thought after what happened last night, you’d be in your room resting and not roaming around by yourself.”

  Annoyance flared. “Well, it is me out of my bed and roaming around, which I’m allowed to do.” Not exactly true. “And what happened last night isn’t going to make me hide away in my bedroom.”

  “Apparently it also doesn’t make you use common sense.” Zayne sighed. “What do you want, Trinity? I’d like to dry off and put some clothes on.”

  Just because he had to point out that he was in nothing but a towel again, I had to look. This time my gaze ended up on his chest, and we were close enough that even with my vision I saw the bead of water coursing between his pecs, down the tightly packed muscles of his stomach.

  “You’re staring again.”

  “I wasn’t...” Okay, at this point lying was stupid. “Whatever.”

  He stared at me for a moment and then bit down on his lip. “Hold on a sec.”

  Zayne didn’t give me a choice. He stepped back, opening the door the rest of the way. I didn’t see Peanut, but it wasn’t like I could see the whole room. Zayne turned, giving me a glimpse of his back before he disappeared from view. In under ten seconds he returned, having donned a pair of nylon workout pants. That was measurably better than just a towel, but if he had found a shirt, that would’ve been a hundred percent better.

  “What’s going on?” he asked, still standing inside the room.

  “Nothing’s going on. I just wanted to thank you for last night, but I’m reconsidering that.”

  “Why would you thank me for last night?”

  “Because you helped me. Made sure I was okay and got back to Thierry and Matthew.” And you waited to see if I was okay. But I didn’t say that.

  “You don’t need to thank me,” he replied. “I was just doing what was right.”

  He was.

  But was it more?

  Ugh.

  That was such a stupid thought. Of cours
e it wasn’t more.

  “Why are you reconsidering it?” he asked.

  “Huh?”

  “You said you were reconsidering thanking me.”

  “Oh. Yeah.” I shrugged my uninjured arm. “Because I’m annoyed at you again.”

  Zayne chuckled, and I shivered, hating and loving the sound all the same.

  “It’s not funny,” I grumbled.

  He sat down on the bed. “How are you feeling?”

  “Almost perfect,” I answered truthfully. “My arm barely hurts.”

  “That’s surprising.” He was far away enough now that his face was a blur. “Those claw marks were pretty deep.”

  Crap on a cookie.

  “Well, Matthew did give me some good meds, so that’s probably why it doesn’t hurt so badly.” Shifting my weight from one foot to the next, I shook my head. “Ask me again when they wear off.”

  He was quiet for a moment. “You were lucky last night.”

  I wasn’t lucky.

  I was just powerful, but I nodded nonetheless. “I was.”

  “Have you heard anything about who could’ve been behind it?” He leaned back on one elbow and the sight of him twisted up my stomach.

  I nodded.

  Zayne stared at me from his reclined position. “You know, you’re welcome to come in here. You don’t have to stand out in the hall.”

  “I know.” I didn’t move.

  “I mean, you’re more than welcome to stand out there if that’s what you like to do. Just figured you’re be more comfortable coming in here, since you want to talk.”

  Did I want to talk? I’d come here looking for Peanut, but was that the only reason I came here? No. I was woman enough to admit that, but I was also here to make sure Peanut wasn’t peeping.

  I didn’t know why I was still standing in the hall. Zayne was just a guy. Okay, he was also a Warden and he was mind-blowingly beautiful, but he was just a guy who annoyed the living daylights out of me.

  He’d also told me about his father and offered to take me with him if I wasn’t safe here.

  I walked into the bedroom and studiously looked away from Zayne, because the closer I got, the more I noticed that the muscles in the arm he was leaning on were doing interesting things.

  I looked around and found a certain pain in my behind.

  Peanut was in the corner of the room, sitting on top of the dresser with a huge grin on his stupid face.

  “You okay?” Zayne asked.

  Lifting a finger to his mouth, Peanut winked.

  My eyes narrowed on him. “Yeah. I’m fine.”

  “Oh, so scary,” Peanut said, shaking his arms and legs.

  “Oooh-kay.” Zayne drew the word out. “Is there a reason you’re staring at the dresser?”

  “Good question,” Peanut chimed in.

  I dragged my gaze from Peanut. “I thought I saw a bug.”

  Peanut gasped. “Are you calling me a pest?”

  “Do you guys have bug problems?” Zayne asked.

  “Sometimes,” I muttered. “But if the bug knows what’s best, it’ll be gone from here.”

  Peanut snorted.

  Zayne blinked slowly. “You...you are so very odd.”

  “This is awkward to listen to,” Peanut commented.

  I ignored Peanut.

  “So, what did you learn about who attacked you?” he asked.

  “It was Clay,” I said with a sigh. “Or at least that’s what they think.”

  “The guy from the Pit?” he asked, and I nodded. “Do you know why?”

  Part of me didn’t want to go into it, but I did. “Clay was always...nicer to me than most here. I mean, the Wardens aren’t rude or anything, but they don’t pay attention to me. Last week I was hanging out with him...and we kissed.”

  “Okay, this is more awkward,” Peanut said.

  I shot him a dark look. “Anyway, I was cool with it at first, but he got supergrabby, and when I told him to stop, he didn’t at first. I mean, I made him stop. If I couldn’t have done that, I don’t know if he would’ve...” I stared at the beige carpet. “I told Thierry, and Thierry delayed his Accolade for a year.”

  “Well,” Zayne said after a moment. “That would definitely piss him off.”

  My gaze flew to his.

  “You did the right thing by telling Thierry. Clay needed to know there were consequences for his actions, to learn not to do something like that again.” His shoulders lifted with a deep inhale. “I knew a guy like that once. He’s dead, too.”

  I hadn’t been expecting him to say that.

  Zayne continued. “You know, people think that Wardens are above evil because of the purity of our souls. Even other Wardens think that, but the one thing no one takes into consideration is that, just like humans, we have free will, too. Wardens aren’t above acts of great evil, and what we are shouldn’t protect us from consequences.”

  I stared at him for what felt like five minutes. “I’ve never heard anyone say that.”

  “Yeah, well, it needs to be said more often.”

  He was right. “Who killed the Warden you knew?”

  “A demon,” he answered. “A demon killed him for what he tried to do to someone.”

  “I have no idea what to say to that.” Which was true. Especially when Misha claimed Zayne worked with demons.

  “Most wouldn’t. I have a question for you. How did you kill Clay?”

  “The blades,” I lied. “I got him...in the neck.” A vulnerable spot, even for Wardens. “It was quick.”

  “Yeah,” Zayne murmured, studying me.

  I lowered my gaze. “I...I killed him, and I don’t feel bad, because I was defending myself.” I didn’t know why I was telling him this, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “But I’d rather not have had to kill him.”

  Zayne didn’t respond for a long moment and then he sat up fluidly, resting his arms on his legs. “You did what you needed to do. That’s all you need to tell yourself.”

  Being a Warden, he’d killed many times. All demons. Not the same as killing a Warden or a human, though. “Have you...?”

  “Have I what?” he echoed, splaying his fingers against his knees.

  I shook my head. “Never mind. It’s stupid.”

  “Let me decide if it’s stupid.”

  Crossing my arms, I drew in a shallow breath. “You’ve killed demons. Probably hundreds if not thousands of them, but have you ever had to kill a Warden or...a human?”

  Zayne stared into my eyes. “I haven’t, but I’ve come extremely close, and there have been times that I wanted to.”

  “Really?” I thought about the Warden he knew, the one killed by a demon.

  He nodded. “If I’d succeeded, I wouldn’t have felt a damn moment of guilt over it. Wardens aren’t inherently good,” he repeated. “That was something it took me a long time to realize, but obviously it didn’t take you that long.”

  “No, they’re not,” I whispered, feeling like I was committing an act of treason.

  “I like him,” Peanut spoke up, reminding me that he was still there.

  I remembered what Misha had told me, about the half-demon girl and him working with demons. “Can I ask you something?”

  Zayne leaned back again, and once more, the muscles across his shoulders and stomach did interesting things I wished I could see more clearly. “Sure.”

  “Is it true...that you’ve worked with demons in the past?”

  Something flickered over his face, but it was gone too quickly for me to decipher what it was. “Someone has been whispering in your ear.”

  “Perhaps.”

  He tilted his head to the side. “What would you think if I said it was true?”

  Good question. “I don’t know. I would think it was unbelievable.
”

  “Most would.”

  “But?”

  “But I guess most would think seeing ghosts and spirits is also unbelievable,” he said.

  My brows knitted as I glanced at Peanut, who flipped me off. My lips twitched. “Seeing ghosts and spirits is not the same as working with demons.”

  “It’s not, but to some people, ghosts and spirits are demons.”

  “How dare they!” gasped Peanut.

  “But that’s not true,” I argued.

  “I’m not saying it is, but there are humans out there who believe that.”

  I frowned at him. “What point are you trying to make with your Chewbacca argument?”

  “Chewbacca argument?”

  “Yeah, you’re just saying a bunch of nonsensical words and stringing them together like they mean something.”

  He looked like he was fighting a laugh. “What I’m saying is that Wardens are not pure and innocent just because of our birth. The same could be said about some demons not being evil and corrupt.”

  My mouth dropped open. He was saying there were some demons that weren’t evil? That was utter crazy pants with a side of dangerous sauce.

  “Do you think that because of the half demon your clan took in?” I asked.

  Everything about him changed in an instant. His jaw hardened and those eyes turned to frost. “That’s none of your concern. Is there anything else you need? If not, I have stuff to do.”

  I jerked back, stung at the unexpected shutdown and obvious dismissal. “Okay, then. There’s nothing else I need.” I moved to leave, then stopped. “By the way, there’s a ghost sitting on your dresser,” I told him, and smiled evilly when I saw the blood drain from his face. “He’s name is Peanut, and he’s taken quite a liking to you. Have fun with that!”

  13

  The conversation with Zayne lingered in my mind the rest of the morning and into the afternoon, making it hard to focus on anything else.

  The way Zayne had shut down after I’d brought up the half demon was telling, but so was the fact that he’d insinuated not all demons were evil. I couldn’t even process that.

  Just like I couldn’t process that I’d actually talked to him about how I felt after killing Clay. It made me feel scratchy and uncomfortable in my own skin, because I shouldn’t feel anything after what I’d done last night other than acceptance. After all, Matthew and Thierry were right.