by G. K. DeRosa
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to hug him for providing the directions to Thax’s new subterranean hiding spot or strangle him for keeping the truth from me.
“Thanks,” I muttered, digging my heels into the soft snow.
His smile dissipated, and a flash of regret darkened his impossibly obsidian eyes. “It’ll all work out in the end as it should. You’ll see. Then you’ll truly thank me.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but the dark cloud of smoke reappeared. It crawled up his long legs and enveloped his torso. As quickly as it had come, both the magical fog and my devilish grandfather disappeared.
Talon and I remained silent for a few moments. I was trying to wrap my head around what Luci’s veiled comments could possibly mean, and I had no idea what was swirling around the dragon’s mind but whatever it was had his tendon twerking double-time.
Finally, Talon cleared his throat. I glanced over to find his gaze locked on the mountaintops. The sun had begun to set turning the snow-covered peaks a brilliant orange. Vibrant pinks and purples illuminated the darkening sky. It was magnificent. I didn’t say a word, I barely breathed, too scared to ruin the peaceful, ethereal moment.
For a brief time, I stared at the brilliant colors dancing across the horizon and allowed its beauty to wash over me. Talon must have moved closer at some point as the heat of his body began to warm my chilly one. His arm was only a few inches from mine, his shoulder towering over me.
I shifted my weight toward him, and my arm brushed against his. Even through the fabric of our jumpsuits, his warmth seeped through to my skin. Every nerve ending flared to life at the casual touch. My heartrate skyrocketed, and it was all I could do to keep my hands from touching him. “I’m so sorry, Talon,” I murmured. “I’ll do whatever I have to do to make it up to you.”
He didn’t say a word, didn’t spare me a glance. He only nodded.
When I shifted my weight another inch so my shoulder leaned against his bicep, he didn’t move. We stayed like that for a while, in a comfortable silence, watching the radiant sun dip behind the towering peaks.
And that was progress.
Chapter Twenty
It was D-Day—or maybe more accurate, A-Day. The day before open season on Azara. I eyed the passing inmates around my bodyguard’s bulky form as we marched back to our cell.
After an all-night planning sesh with Logan and the guys, we’d come to the only logical conclusion. We had to make a move on Thax’s underground castle tonight. Time had run out and it was our only option, despite how risky Talon kept reminding everyone it would be.
We crossed the atrium, and a familiar dark form appeared from the crowd. Delacroix raised a clawed paw and ticked his head down one of the corridors.
“I think he wants us to follow him,” I whispered to Talon.
He grunted. “We don’t always get what we want.”
I shot him a sidelong glare.
“Sorry.” He huffed out a breath and followed my gaze to the hellus demon.
This time, Delacroix pointed in the direction of the mess hall. Talon must have understood what he was insinuating because he nodded and followed the demon mob boss down the passageway, tucking me behind him.
We turned the corner, and Delacroix had vanished. “Where’d he go?” I scanned the empty hall.
“This way.” Talon motioned to a door marked Janitor and something flickered across my mind.
He pulled the door open, and a shower of mops and brooms poured down. Talon yanked me back. My shoulder blades slammed into his hard chest, and his arm came around my waist to steady me as a metal bucket crashed to the floor instead of on my head.
“You okay?” His warm breath skated over the shell of my ear, and a million goose bumps sprang up across my arms.
“Yeah, thanks.” A barrage of memories flew across my mind as I scanned the small dark space: Talon’s body pressed against mine. Our tongues entwined. An earth-shattering release of pleasure.
I teetered against him, the images so vivid heat swelled in my core.
Clearing this throat, he slowly released me, and my knees wobbled. “You sure you’re okay?”
I clapped my hands to my head, trying to hold onto every last image, every sizzling feeling. “I remember this place.”
The ghost of a smile lifted the corner of his lips. “I’ll never forget it.”
My breaths became shallow as my heart pounded against my ribcage, frantic to break free at the sudden onslaught of heated memories.
“Are you two coming or what?” Delacroix popped his head in from a mystical entryway, and I nearly jumped out of my skin.
Ah, yes. Now I remembered that part too.
As I followed Delacroix down the dark tunnel, a swirl of hope lit up my insides. My memories were returning. Sure, they were coming back at a snail’s pace, but at least it was something.
The demon led us into a large chamber, the odor of damp earth and moisture thick in the air. He folded his towering frame into a high-backed chair at the head of a long banquet table. “Please—” He motioned to the two seats to his side.
“Just tell us what’s going on and cut the theatrics, Delacroix.” Talon pulled out the chair farthest from the demon mob boss and held it out for me.
The demon’s dark eyes narrowed as he scratched the long scar splitting his brow. “If you prefer I don’t share the information my men have discovered, that’s fine by me.”
I slapped my arm across Talon’s chest and gave Delacroix an appeasing smile. “Of course we do. Please, continue.”
“A few of my loyal followers have found their way into Thax’s inner circle. While they were gleaning information for my purposes, they stumbled upon news about your little demon.” His bottomless onyx irises locked on mine, and a chill slithered up my spine. My inner demon perked up and steeled my vertebrae. We’re not scared of you.
“And… what did they find out?” Talon hissed.
A smirk pulled at Delacroix’s dark lips and he sat forward, steepling his fingers. “Unless Azara turns herself in, Thax’s men will make their move tomorrow.”
Talon muttered a curse, stiffening beside me.
“But the deadline is tomorrow,” I squeaked.
He shrugged, sitting back in the massive chair. “Perhaps he’s planning to strike at midnight.”
“Do you know who his men are in the prison? What their plan is? Anything of more value?” Talon slammed his palms on the table, and the old timber shuddered.
“Relax, dragon. I have my crew working on it. If I hear anything else, you’ll be the first to know.”
“Why are you being so nice?” My gut told me Delacroix was not doing this out of the kindness of his heart.
His head swiveled to Talon as he folded his hands on the table. “I may need a favor in the future, and I’m hoping you’ll remember my benevolence.”
Talon grunted. “The favor only holds if Azara remains safe.”
“Alive, you mean.” A wicked chuckle escaped his lips. “Yes, I assumed so. And I swear I’ll do everything in my power to keep it that way. But there is only so much I can do from behind these obsidian walls.”
Was Delacroix planning on breaking out? Was that what he wanted the Triad’s help with?
“Listen, Balthier, you make sure your men watch Azara’s back until tomorrow, and I’ll help you with whatever you need.”
“Wonderful. I was hoping you’d say that. Vander’s word wasn’t exactly as promising as yours.”
Talon’s jaw clenched at the mention of his brother’s name. Heat seeped up my neck, blossoming across my cheeks. Oh gods, when would the awkwardness go away?
“Vander’s gone for now, but I’ll make good on his word and add in my own. Do we have a deal?” He extended his hand to the hellus demon, and my mouth formed a capital O. I couldn’t explain how I knew, but Talon making a deal with Delacroix was huge. With the SIA agent’s unwavering morals, this couldn’t be an easy decision for him. Not to mention keeping my presence hidd
en from the agency for the past couple weeks.
My heart clenched as I watched Delacroix’s hand wrap around Talon’s. Guilt ate at my insides, threatening to swallow me whole. What would this pact really cost Talon?
A pleased grin etched into the demon’s grisly face. “We have a deal, dragon.”
“I’m not worth it.” I muttered the words gnawing at my guts as Talon and I moved silently through the corridors.
“What?” Talon slowed his unrelenting pace to peer down at me.
“You shouldn’t have made that deal with Delacroix. Who knows what he’s going to ask for in return.”
He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Yes, it does. I may not remember much about you, but I know you’re as strait-laced as they come. Am I really worth the hassle? You’ve been lying to your SIA bosses for weeks and now this? What if Delacroix asks you to do something illegal?”
He snorted on a laugh. “I’m pretty sure illegal issues are the only matters the demon bastard would need me for.” He spun on his heel and continued down the hall.
I sprinted to catch up with him and grabbed his arm—his well-muscled arm. Heat blasted my fingertips at the touch, and I nearly jerked my hand away. “Stop,” I gritted out.
His eyes locked on mine as he rotated back to face me. Molten pools of silver seared into me, his pupils thinning to reptilian slits. “What?” he growled.
“Why are you doing this? I’ve done nothing but screw up since I returned. Why are you risking everything for me?”
“Because.”
“Because why?”
He dragged his fingers through his hair and muttered a curse. “Because I still love you, damn it.”
My jaw snapped shut, and it was all I could do to keep it from crashing to the floor. I swallowed hard as a knot of emotion tightened my throat.
“Gods, Azara, I’ve tried not to. I’ve tried so hard not to love you, but despite everything, I do. First, I thought you killed my best friend and murdered an entire village of Fae, but still I had to know you, to protect you. Then you disappear, let your demon loose, soul-suck gods’ knows how many more people, you hook up with my best friend and I still can’t give up on you. You’re like a drug, and I’m desperately addicted.” He huffed out a breath, leaned against the wall and slid to the floor.
I gaped at him, my heart like a battering ram in my chest. I love you. I love you. I love you. His words echoed in my mind, and another memory swirled to life.
The first time I’d been at the brownstone in Manhattan. The sound of battling demons, the stench of burnt corpses in the air.
I love you, Azara. I meant to say it earlier on the subway, but somehow you managed to distract me. I could almost hear the smile in his voice as his words boomed across my mind before he disappeared around the corner.
Was I imagining things or had he spoken those words directly in my head?
I sank down beside him, but he kept his eyes trained straight ahead. Frustrated, I grabbed his chin and forced his face toward mine. “Can we communicate telepathically?”
Something unreadable flashed across his burning gaze. “We used to be able to, yes.”
“So I wasn’t imagining it. It was another memory.”
He crossed his arms against his chest and blew out a breath, wiggling free of my hold. His head bounced against the hard wall for a few beats before he answered. “I guess.”
The scowl carved into his strong jaw pierced my soul. His pain hurt me so deeply it was as if it were my own. I’d felt a connection to Talon from the first moment I saw him—no memories and all. My she-demon might have had other plans, but I’d known it from the start. “I love you too,” I whispered.
His eyes met mine for an instant, and fury blazed beneath the silver depths. “Don’t say that.”
“What?” I choked out.
“You don’t even remember me!” He leapt to his feet, but I jumped up after him.
“I don’t have to remember to feel it. Don’t you get that?”
His head whipped back and forth as I chased after him. We reached the bustling atrium, and he weaved between the hordes of inmates making their way to the mess hall.
“Talon!” I shouted, not caring who heard anymore. “Talon, come back!”
All eyes swirled to me, dark gazes boring into every angle of my face. Screw you all. A tendril of dark energy uncoiled in my depths and spread through my veins like wildfire. The darkness swept over me, energy sizzling over my skin. “I said, stop!”
The entire room froze, each and every inmate halting midstride, their curious gazes frozen in time. All noise evaporated in an instant. With all the distractions gone, my eyes settled on Talon across the room. His eyes were the size of full silver moons as they scanned the motionless figurines surrounding us.
“Shit, Azara, what did you do?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Hayden snickered as Dallas proudly recounted his tale of glamouring a third of the inmate population of Darkblood Prison. After my little magical show, Logan had called on the vampire for damage control. The other prisoners knowing I had access to my powers wasn’t a good thing for anyone.
Thankfully, Dallas had no problem compelling dozens to forget all about it. Too bad he couldn’t work his cool little trick on Talon and me. I wish I could forget that entire terrible conversation. He still hadn’t spoken to me since my mad declaration of love. Which stung. Big time.
Logan and Talon marched into the warden’s office where the three of us had been not so patiently waiting for the past twenty minutes. I’d survived the night at Darkblood, but my chances of surviving another were slim. My time was up.
With Luci’s intel, we had to move on Thax tonight, which meant a last-minute planning session before the assault on the dark lord’s second underground fortress.
“It’s about time,” Dallas snarked as Logan folded into his chair across the massive mahogany desk.
Talon lingered by the doorway. His eyes refused to meet mine; instead, they were intent on something on the other side of the door. Approaching heavy footfalls shifted my gaze to the entry, the nearing shuffle eerily familiar. Still when the dark shadow filled the doorway, my jaw unhinged. Delacroix and his elfin henchman, Dembrat, strode in.
“What are they doing here?” Hayden leapt to his feet, his angel sword lighting up the room.
Logan flashed his palm, a calm smile on his face. “They’re here to help.”
“Believe it or not,” Talon muttered.
“Sit down, gentlemen.” The warden motioned to the two chairs opposite the couch that Hayden, Dallas and I occupied.
As the pair trudged over, Talon zipped ahead of them and plopped down between Dallas and me. The vampire grumbled as he shifted, scooting to the edge of the couch. I felt like an angel-dragon sandwich, now squished between my reluctant bodyguard and my angel cellie.
I glanced at Talon from the corner of my eye, but still he refused to meet my gaze. His steely glare was fixed on our unlikely allies. Tense stares filled the quiet, and I squirmed in my seat. “So how exactly are they helping us?” I finally asked when no one said a word.
“Delacroix has his own plan when it comes to Thax,” said Logan. “We figured the more distractions the better.”
My inner demon surged to the surface, and it took all I had to keep the darkness from eclipsing my vision. “He doesn’t get to kill him,” I snarled, my thundering heartbeats beating across my eardrums. “He’s mine.” I barely recognized my own voice.
“Easy, little pumpkin.” Hayden squeezed my shoulder and soothing angel healing filled my veins. “We don’t want your demon coming out to play just yet.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and took a few deep breaths to slow my racing heart.
“I don’t care who kills the dark lord, as long as it’s done,” Delacroix chimed in. “I’d be happy to keep him entertained while you draw his sniveling soul out, little demon. I’ve heard your power is quite effective. In fact, I�
��d love to see it in action.” His dark eyes twinkled, and a sinister sneer curled his ebony lips.
Talon’s fists struck the coffee table between us, and a crack raced down the center of the chipped mahogany. “Stay away from her tonight, Balthier. I don’t care if we happen to have the same enemy or not. I don’t trust you.”
Delacroix threw his hands up and gave Talon a placating smile. “As you wish.”
My eyes bugged out. Since when did the hellus demon play nice?
“Now that that’s settled…” Logan stood and unrolled a map across the fractured table. “We’ll portal in over here.” His thumb ran over the old blueprint—the basement, first floor then upper levels—and again my thoughts swirled to the past.
An icy chill skittered up my spine, inciting a wave of frosty goosebumps. I was so cold. I tried to wrap my arms around myself but sharp metal cut into my wrists. My head pounded, sharp spikes drilling into my temples. Then a pair of milky white orbs appeared. “Drink up, Azara.” Remy pried my lips apart and poured a vile liquid down my throat. I coughed and spluttered but he held my jaw shut until I was forced to swallow. “That’s a good girl.” The potion slithered down my throat, leaving a scorching path in its wake. I gagged, but the concoction still made it to my stomach where it writhed like a venomous snake. A sharp pang stabbed into my skull, and I screamed as the pain consumed me.
Another voice whispered in the background, but it was too low to make out, and my brain was too foggy to care.
“Who is Talon Firestarter?” Remy’s low, raspy voice brought me back from the brink of oblivion.
That name. I’d never forget it no matter how much of that shit they poured down my throat. “Eff off, Remy!” I hissed.
His eyes widened, highlighting endless white globes. “Give me another one,” he said to whoever the other person in the room was. A second later, Remy shoved another vial in my face, forcing it to my lips. For an ancient seer he was freakishly strong. I choked down the liquid and again the searing pain tore through my head.
“Who is Talon Firestarter?” he repeated.
