Guardian Unraveled

by Georgia Lyn Hunter

  The grief on his chiseled features morphed into stone. “Enki, my sire, was a whoring son of a bitch despite being soul-joined to my mother. After one of his many indiscretions, he was killed—”

  “Wait, I thought once soul-joined, you never strayed?”

  “You usually don’t.” He stared into the night as if lost in the past. “Finding one’s bonded mate is rare among the gods, and treasured. Many want it, very few find it. He hated the Fates tying him to one female and was determined to do as he pleased. Being the progeny of the ruling god An, no one dared stop him. Even in death, he had the last laugh, sealing my mother’s fate.”

  “What do you mean?”

  A vein throbbed on Dagan’s brow. “Once soul-joined, if one mate dies, so does the other. Before she succumbed, she begged me to keep Inara safe. And I failed her. I godsdamn failed them both!” He slammed his palms on the metal balustrade, and the thing shuddered.

  “Dagan!” Shae grabbed his arm.

  He pivoted. “It’s why I won’t let harm come to you. You are my mate, Shae. Maybe I should have told you about my suspicions regarding your mother, but I didn’t want to worry you or get your hopes up if I was wrong. I made you two promises. I’ll find Jenna, and the one who wielded that dagger.”

  A thought struck her then. “Wait. You can see a person’s thoughts when you touch an item of theirs, right? If I gave you something of Mom’s, would you know why she left?”

  “Depends on what she touched last. You have anything here?”

  Her heart slid to her feet in disappointment. “No, but at the penthouse…”

  He shook his head. “We can’t draw undue attention to ourselves, not with a Fallen having access to your kin’s place and possibly waiting for you.” He pressed his lips to her brow. “We’ll find another way. Come. Let’s go down and see if Hedori found out anything else.”

  Shae sat at the giant oak dining table in the kitchen, her anxiety growing while Hedori reiterated all that Dagan had revealed. She forced herself to eat one of the two sandwiches he’d made for her.

  The last bite sticking in her throat, she pushed her plate away and picked up her cell from the table. “I have to call Harvey.”

  Dagan nodded and leaned a shoulder on the jamb of the French doors leading out to the small, herb-scented terrace.

  Harvey answered after a few seconds. “Hey, Shae.”

  “Any news on my mom?” She put her cell on speaker and set it on the table.

  “No, nothing yet. But the demon I told you about goes by Luka. He’s as tight-lipped as a closed porthole with his cronies around. I tried following him a short while ago, but the bastard took me on a wild goose chase. He was highly amused when he cornered me, and I had to freakin’ pretend I had an itch for him.” His surly tone made her smile. “Said I ruined his fun. The butthead was trailing after some human girl he had the hots for—”

  “Wait—” Hedori stepped closer to the phone. “This Luka, is he a little on the thin side? Dark hair, average height, with an eight-point star tattoo on the side of his neck that goes up to his jaw?”

  At the silence coming down the line, Shae hastily said, “Sorry, Harvey, I should have told you, the Guardian, Dagan, and Hedori are here.” She’d tell her friend the truth about her and Dagan later. “They’re helping me with this, too.”

  “Okay,” Harvey muttered. “Yeah, it’s the same asshole.”

  Hedori nodded at Dagan. “I trailed him to the Bronx last night, but then he did a turnabout and vanished. Probably sensed he was being followed.”

  A light, ocean-scented breeze with a hint of amber swept through the kitchen from the open French doors. Frowning, Shae looked up as Michael took form on the night-darkened terrace and strode into the kitchen, his shaded gaze sweeping over them.

  “I’m assuming there’s been a change in your situation and you’re not here for the briefing before patrol?” he drawled at Dagan.

  “As if there were any doubt,” he countered.

  “Harv, I’ll call you back.” Shae hurriedly ended the call. She had no idea what they were talking about, but she had the distinct impression that Michael was amused.

  He pushed his shades to his brow, revealing eyes like shattered blue gems. Shae gaped. The silvery light seeping out of his cracked irises gave him an otherworldly appearance. No wonder he wore dark shades all the time.

  A moment of surrealism hit her square in the face. Hell, she was in the presence of a being most humans thought a myth—the leader of all the archangels. Her gaze skipped back to her own immortal.

  Dagan lifted a brow in question. She shook her head and slid her cell into her jacket pocket.

  The kitchen door opened, and Týr and Aethan entered.

  “Nik and Blaéz took off to check out a disturbance in the Bowery,” Týr said, dropping onto a chair at the end of the long table. Aethan took the one opposite him.

  Michael nodded. Then Dagan filled them in. “We may have a lead on Shae’s mother. If it pans out, then the demons have her.”

  Unable to sit still, Shae jerked to her feet and paced the short side of the table. “Why would they take her? She’s one of the gentlest people I know.”

  “We’ll find her, Shae—” Dagan broke off, tiny vertical lines creasing between his eyebrows. “Damn, I should have asked you this. Is your mother psychic?”

  She slowed to a halt. “Yes. She has flashes of precognition, and she senses Others like I do.”

  At the sudden stillness in the room, she glanced at the silent men. Her gaze darted back to Dagan. “What? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “It’s about those murdered men I first asked you about.” He explained about the psychic killer he’d been tracking for several months who’d left a trail of Fallen and human bodies. “Whoever’s killing them, is doing it by turning their insides to liquid. We thought at first a demon or Fallen could be using you to do that, but your powers aren’t like those of the killer.”

  “You thought I was the killer?” she whispered, feeling as if he’d slapped her.

  “Shae—”

  “No.” Then shook her head. “It doesn’t matter—”

  “It does to me.” He dropped his hand, his irises flaring in frustration. “Nothing like this has ever occurred before. Fallens don’t possess those kinds of powers after they fall, but the rising psionics would.”

  She understood their caution. Heck, she was aware she could destroy them, too, with her new ability, and she had killed. But illogical as it might be, the fact that he’d thought, even for a second, that she could deliberately harm anyone…it hurt her. “My mother is what matters. I have to find her.”

  “I’m going to meet Shae’s demon friend,” Dagan told the others, his tone flat. “And get a location on this Luka.”

  “He’s not going to say a word to you,” she countered.

  His hard gaze met hers—yeah, he was still upset. “I have my ways.”

  “Yes, bloodshed always solves everything. Dagan, he dies, we have nothing. But I know a sure way to find out where she is.”

  He folded his arms over his chest. Waited.

  That stance didn’t bode well at all. It didn’t deter her, though. Ignoring the stares of the silent warriors—damn, they’d most likely be of the same mind as Dagan—she said, “I’ll be bait.”

  “Absolutely not!”

  At his unequivocal veto, she pressed on. “How can you say no? It makes perfect sense.”

  “I won’t heedlessly put you in danger, even if you can’t see straight in this regard,” he bit out. “And especially not with that Fallen after you.”

  “Dammit, Dagan—”

  “I don’t think they’ll readily spill their secrets,” Hedori said quietly, glancing between her and Dagan. “At least not without some incentive.”

  “No, they won’t,” she agreed. “Not to you guys, anyway. But to a woman they wanted to impress or hook up with? Why not?”

  “It’s not happening!” Dagan’s eyes
burned with suppressed fury. “You aren’t placing yourself in danger.”

  She notched up her chin. “You know it’s the best way.”

  “Hold on a sec…” Michael slowly rubbed his chin. “Perhaps another female.”

  “Ely,” Aethan added, leaning back in his chair. “We should call her in for this meeting.”

  Shae had no clue who this Ely was, but she detested the idea. For months, she’d been in several dangerous places, underground clubs, following leads on her mother. Now, when she was so close, Dagan would deny her this?

  “No, Ely won’t work,” Týr said, tipping his chair back on its two back legs. “Those demons will know she’s immortal—and a Guardian to boot since she already took her pledge. They’ll sense a trap, and if they do have Shae’s mother, well, they could disappear with her for a really long time.”

  Much as elation coursed through her, dread followed sharply on its heels. She glanced at Dagan, her biggest obstacle, and held his gaze. “That leaves only me.”

  The twitch was back in his jaw. “We might be going into a place that could just be a cover-up and drop us straight into Hell.”

  Did he enjoy scaring her? But at the thought of her mother being held in such a place, she straightened her backbone and met her mate’s frustrated gaze dead-on. “Dagan, I’ve done this enough times while searching for my mother, playing bait. Besides, you know if trouble comes, I can take care of myself.”

  He shoved away from the door crossed the short distance to her, hand fisted as if trying to keep from dragging her off and locking her up. He slowed. Expression flat, eyes hardening. “On one condition only.”

  He agreed? Shocked, she nodded. “Anything.”

  “When we get the information we need, you will remain behind and let me handle the rest.”

  Remain behind? Ugh, she didn’t care for his terms one bit, but he’d agreed, and that was all that mattered. She’d find a way around his codicil when the time came.

  “Call the demon back and arrange this for tomorrow night,” he said.

  She nodded. Much as she wanted to march out there now, she didn’t want to risk antagonizing him further and have him change his mind. Besides, knowing Dagan, he’d probably want to stake out everything first.

  As Shae left the kitchen, the other warriors rose. Týr’s voice drifted to her. “Ely’s ready for her duties, Arc. She fights with more power and skill than we expected. Hell, she dropped me on my ass a couple of times. Don’t you think she’s ready to go out on patrol with us?”

  “She’s still ruled by emotions. And that can be deadly for her—”

  The door shut on the rest of Michael’s response. She stood there for a second, inhaling deeply. The door opened again.

  “Shae?”

  She turned to find Dagan behind her. The words burst out, “Did you honestly think I was the psychic killer?”

  “Not even for a minute, but it’s my job to check out everything, no matter what.” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. And the churning inside her eased. “I’m going out on patrol. I’ll see you in the morning. You need me for anything, I don’t care how small, even if your abilities take hold, call me.”

  At his grim demeanor, she sighed. “You’re still upset that I want to do this?”

  “How can I not be? Shae, you are my mate, I just found you. Now, you’re planning to go out there, alone—”

  “I’ll be fine.” She caressed his chest, trying to win him over. “Besides, I’ll have my big, bad warrior close.”

  His expression didn’t change. “I’ll be invisible and with you.”

  Invisible? Well, she didn’t know about that ability.

  Not liking this distance between them and needing the comfort of his touch, she grasped a handful of his shirt and pulled him down—God, she loved that he was taller than her—and put her lips on his. A groan escaped him, he deepened the kiss. His tongue licked inside her mouth, his arm banding around her waist, every inch of his hard, delicious body aligned with hers. The tips of his fangs grazed her lips—a perilous kiss—one she relished. Desire coiled low in her stomach. Moaning, she ran her tongue over his extended incisors.

  He jerked back as if burned.

  “Dagan?”

  Breathing hard, lips tight, he paced a few feet away from her. Her heart sank, realizing she hadn’t imagined it. “You made love to me last night, you kissed me, but not in the way you first did outside the club in Romania,” she whispered. “Even outside the church today.”

  He scrubbed a hand over his shadowed jaw and pivoted to her. His gaze burned fiercely, his fangs still visible, revealing just how close to the edge he was. “Yes, I was careful with you. I’m always careful with you. You know this.”

  Right. Struggling to stop the widening pit inside her, she countered, “Then I guess I’ll have to expect less than I thought I’d get in a committed relationship.”

  He growled. “I give you everything—”

  “But one!” she cried. “Even though Nik promised he’d be close to stop you if things went wrong, you refused. But then you have her, right? You don’t really need me.”

  He stiffened. “That’s a low blow, Shae, and you know it. I have to go. We’ll talk when I get back.”

  Emptiness seeped through her. She cast her gaze down the long corridor, knowing he wouldn’t change his mind. “Do you know where Echo is?”

  “Library. I’ll show you—”

  “I’ll find it.” She walked away, feeling as if she were plummeting into an abyss with nothing to break her fall.

  After several minutes of wallowing, she slowed to a halt and dashed the blurriness from her eyes. She wasn’t going to let this pull her down, finding her mother was all that mattered.

  Shae looked around at the elegant but unfamiliar corridor with abstract paintings on the walls. Okay, she was lost. Besides, if Echo were this all-powerful Healer, then she’d pick up on Shae’s distress.

  How could she explain her messed-up life? Explain she was mated to a man she was half in love with, but she wasn’t what he needed. No, she couldn’t bear anyone’s pity. She pivoted to head back the way she’d come when laughter reached her.

  Feminine laughter.

  Like a hypnotic pull, it lured her. She pushed open a huge, black door and stopped short, just inside the entrance of what appeared to be an enormous, two-level library with countless towering bookshelves and a stunning ceiling mural.

  Four women were in the seating area, each going through a magazine. Two reclined on the couch in front of the huge, lit fireplace, and one lounged in an armchair. Echo sat on the floor near the coffee table that held a tray with an assortment of cookies and cake, and a few more magazines.

  “Darci, everything in here looks so wonderful,” the redhead sporting a headful of skinny braids, a glimmer of gold flickering through her hair murmured. “Did you decide on the flowers and cake yet? What about a venue?”

  The curvy brunette sighed and pushed back her curly bangs. “No. Blaéz gave me two weeks to get everything organized. Two! Now, all I see is a huge number two, and no time to pull off anything.”

  “Don’t worry,” Echo said, flipping a page, “we’ll help any way we can—” She glanced up and her gaze flickered toward the doorway. “You’re back!” Her smile widened, and she jumped up.

  All eyes turned to Shae. Echo waved excitedly, beckoning her inside. “Come. Meet the rest of the gang. You guys, this is Shae Ion. She could be like me, but I can’t read her aura yet, so we wait…”

  Shae slowly crossed to them, pulling her shields tighter around her, not wanting to reveal even an inch of her despair to anyone.

  “Shae, that’s Darci.” Echo pointed to the tall, curvy brunette with the pale caramel skin and long, curly, honey-brown hair seated on the couch. Her eyes reminded Shae of sunflowers. “She’s mated to Blaéz. They’re getting married soon.”

  Now the bridal magazines made sense. “That’s wonderful. Congratulations.”

  �
��Thank you.” Darci smiled.

  “And that’s Elytani, another Guardian.” Echo pointed to the slender, six-foot, blonde goddess next to Darci—because, really, there was no other way to describe just how beautiful she was with her lightly tan skin and pale, moonlit hair, which she’d pulled back in a high ponytail.

  “A Guardian?” Right. Aethan had mentioned her.

  Echo laughed. “Yup. We lowly humans aren’t strong enough.”

  Elytani rolled her bright, copper-hued eyes and snorted. “Yes. It’s why I’m still stuck at the castle and not out on the streets yet. Shae, lovely to meet you.”

  “Oh, stop complaining, you know the big guy wants you safe.” The redhead shot Shae a grin. “I’m Kira, by the way.” She jumped off the armchair, her movements making the black beads on the ends of her multiple braids jangle. Her hazel eyes sparkling in delight, she grabbed a plate piled high with mouthwatering, chocolate-coated biscuits off the coffee table. “Have a cookie. And welcome to this dangerous world.”

  Feeling a little overwhelmed, Shae selected one, aware she hadn’t eaten anything for a while and took a bite. She didn’t understand Echo’s sympathetic look. She chewed and almost choked at the dry, cardboardy taste that not even the chocolate could save.

  “Sorry,” Echo mouthed, handing her a soda. Shae quickly popped the Fanta and gulped some, washing away the awful taste.

  “It’s good, huh?” Kira asked, setting the plate down and plopped back on the couch. “I made them—it’s a new recipe.”

  “Er, yes, love the chocolaty taste,” she croaked, consuming more soda.

  “Did you find whom you were looking for?” Elytani asked softly, dragging Shae’s attention back to her.

  She frowned. “What?”

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you when I walked past the kitchen earlier.”

  And that brought her right back to the friction between her and Dagan. The knot in her stomach tightened further. She briefly told the women about her missing mother and the plans for tomorrow night.

  “And they agreed you can be bait?” Echo asked, her bi-colored eyes bright with shock.