by Lexi C. Foss
The compulsion wrapped around Jayson’s heart and soul, forcing the response from his throat. He didn’t want to say it, didn’t want to think about what it meant.
Fuck…
It resembled a betrayal, a broken vow that was millennia old.
But deep within, he knew it to be true. As much as it hurt, he couldn’t lie.
“Anything,” he rasped, bowing his head in defeat. “I would give anything for her.”
Because he loved her. More than anyone else in existence, including those he called his best friends and brothers.
A tear slipped from his eye as an ancient bond tying his blood to theirs splintered. For the first time in their existence, someone else had risen above their sacred connection.
“Fascinating,” Osiris murmured. “Absolutely fascinating. I may just let you keep her after all, at least for now.”
Jayson couldn’t lift his head or say a word. What was there left to discuss? He’d failed his friends in the worst way, for a woman he cherished more than life itself.
It defied logic and all his principles, but Elizabeth Watkins was his to protect. And he would do everything in his power to fulfill that oath.
Even if it meant dying for her.
For she would forever be his heart.
I love you, Red.
27
And So It Begins
Subject’s roommate has applied for an internship with the CRF. Benefactor informed of potential addition and has given approval for hire.
—Entry Log 121.05.4-7
“This is a terrible idea,” Tom stated.
“Maybe,” Stas agreed. “But it’s happening.” She handed him a new earpiece meant for their team alone.
Several Hydraians, as well as Issac, Tristan, and Mateo, stood around them, dressed for action. Dark colors mingled with camouflage and a variety of weapons. Issac had worn dark jeans and combat boots, two items she didn’t even know he owned. She’d donned long sleeves and pants, both forest green.
The plan was pretty simple. Send Stas in as a diversion, converge on Osiris and his minions while they were distracted, and free the Elders.
Aidan predicted their success to be around sixty percent. Better than all the other ideas, which were closer to forty.
Tom inserted his new comm unit. He’d muted the other one but kept it in his opposite ear to listen for any chatter between Jayson and Osiris.
“I have no idea where Ezekiel took him,” Tom started, his words showering Stas in ice.
“Ezekiel?” she repeated, her voice hoarse. “He’s here?”
“Yeah.” He frowned. “Sorry, Stas.”
She swallowed and shook her head. “No problem.” Except anyone who could hear the frog in her throat would see right through that.
Issac raised a brow, silently asking, Can you handle it? He knew her reaction to Ezekiel the first time hadn’t been favorable. The man murdered her parents—brutally. She sensed the others weren’t as sure of his guilt, but Stas remembered that night vividly. Those ebony eyes were forever ingrained in her nightmares.
“Astasiya,” Issac murmured.
Everyone was staring at her.
She shook her head again. “Yeah, I’m good.”
Her demon didn’t look so sure. This was usually the part where he would hug her, but he maintained a polite distance.
Already pushing me away, she thought sadly. Not that she could blame him. One drop of her blood would kill him instantly, and they both valued his life more than their relationship.
Stas would rather see Issac every day and not be able to touch him than to never see him at all.
Hurt and loneliness wrapped around her heart, solidifying her resolve for the task ahead. She would focus on her inner frustration and devastation, and not on the fear Ezekiel evoked.
I can do this.
“I’m good,” she repeated, stronger now.
Issac held her gaze for a moment longer before nodding. “Where did they go, Thomas?” he asked, his attention shifting to the plan.
“They disappeared into the underbrush.” Tom gestured to the tree line. “I tried to track them but lost sight right about there.” His finger lifted to a cluster in the distance.
“And that’s where I come in,” Brian, a Hydraian with decent tracking abilities, informed. Stas had seen the tall, lanky male wandering around Hydria but hadn’t been formally introduced until tonight. His gift was the least defensive—being only able to track a scent, similar to a hound dog—however, their choices were limited.
“Hold on, mate. I sense something,” Mateo said. “What happened there?” He nodded to the field beside what appeared to be a demolition site.
Tom followed his gesture. “That’s where Ezekiel met Jayson.”
Mateo grinned. “Brilliant. He left a tracker.”
“You can sense that?” Tom asked, shock evident in his tone. Stas felt the same.
“I have a knack for technology,” the blond replied with a wink. “Jacque?”
“Yep.” He disappeared with the word and popped back not five seconds later with a silver rectangle in his hand. It’d happened so quickly that Stas didn’t even see him appear and reappear.
Impressive.
Mateo plucked the device from his hand and started tinkering with it. Stas understood basic electronics, but she had nothing on this Ichorian. He flipped open a screen and grinned. “Now we have a location.”
“They’re still here,” Issac said as he eyed the position. “That confirms my suspicions. He’s waiting for us.”
Tristan stepped forward to study the map. “Do you feel it’s a trap, Issac?”
“I believe he wishes to issue a statement of sorts, though I fear what that may entail.” Issac ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, “As for a trap, there is only one way to find out.”
“On it.” Jacque disappeared.
Issac looked to the spot the teleporter had just vacated, and shook his head. “Not what I meant. We have no way of knowing what wards Osiris has constructed to capture us or—”
“Scouted,” Jacque announced as he materialized beside Issac. “Elders are alive, and only Ezekiel and Osiris appear to be on site. I popped around in a few places with no interference, and I have a good place to drop Stas now.”
Everyone stared at him.
“That was a dangerous maneuver,” Issac noted dryly.
“Then you would be really displeased to know that I almost teleported to Luc’s side just to see if I could nab him, but I chose to come back here and report instead. Shall I go try now?” The sarcasm in his voice would have earned a grin from Stas any other day, but not now. She agreed with Issac on that being a cavalier move, though she’d done several of her own these last few months.
“You’ve grown quite insolent in your short years.” Tristan grinned with the words, clearly meaning them as praise. “I’m impressed.”
Issac cleared his throat. “We need to focus.”
“Yes, and we need to relocate,” Tom said as he started to pack up. “Time for the distraction.”
Stas nodded and reached for Jacque. “I’ll meet you all there.”
Issac grabbed her wrist before she could touch the teleporter, his sapphire gaze blazing as he said everything through those two smoldering orbs. Her heart skipped a beat at the familiar intensity.
He didn’t want her to go. She assumed as much—even as she agreed—but it was predicted as the most successful option.
And she could do this.
With his support.
“Issac,” she whispered, aware of their audience. “This is what Aidan suggested.”
“I am aware,” he replied, moving closer. “That doesn’t mean I’m thrilled by it.”
She dared to lay her hand over his heart, her touch tentative. “You’ll be right behind me.”
Emotion flared in his pupils as he cupped her cheek.
Fear, she realized.
“I’ve trained for this,” she reminded him.
“It’s sooner than we expected, but I can do this.” She needed his faith, and she let him see that with her eyes. “Please, Issac. You have to let me go.”
The words stabbed her in the heart, and his expression said he’d felt it too.
God, it hurt.
She hated this.
Hated fate.
Hated her cursed immortal blood.
Hated everything.
But most of all, she hated the broken way he nodded in acceptance. It felt like the beginning of the end. They both knew it was inevitable, but to have the choice ripped out of their hands seemed so unfair.
It will always be you, her soul promised. Always.
“Be safe, Aya,” he whispered.
Issac took a step back, his eyes glistening with unsuppressed emotion.
“Thank you.” She would forever cherish his unfettered confidence in her to see this mission through. He hated it, but he also had faith in her success. And that meant more to her than anything in the world.
“I’ll be waiting for you,” she said as she held out her hand for Jacque again. “Find me.”
“Always,” Issac replied.
Her environment changed as Jacque moved her deep into the forest about a hundred yards from the tracker signal. “Be back in a jiffy,” he whispered.
Stas faltered as her emotions warred.
Focus, her brain demanded.
Cry, her heart begged.
There will be time to do that later.
She took a steadying breath and observed her surroundings from a crouched position. Their original plan had been to rely on Brian to point them in the right direction, but the tracking device worked much better.
The goal was to distract Osiris long enough to give the others a chance to take him and his minions down. It put a lot of the weight on her shoulders.
She shivered. I can do this.
It didn’t help that she felt no different from before. Tom had mentioned the same when he awoke immortal. The others said it was “perfectly normal.” Her gifts would trigger as she needed them.
Or so she hoped.
“We’re in position,” Issac murmured through the earpiece, his voice calming her in a way no one else could. “Give us a good show, love.”
The endearment touched her soul, emboldening her.
He always knew what she needed.
She cleared her throat and grinned despite the dire circumstances. “That I can do.”
All four Elders were kneeling at Osiris’s feet in a clearing beyond the trees. Ezekiel stood beside him, hands clasped behind his back.
Where are all your minions? Jacque may not have found them, but Stas knew there had to be more.
Although, a man of Osiris’s skill and power didn’t really need an army.
Stas slipped between the trees, her boots silent over the forest floor. Stark had taught her a lot these last few months, especially about stealth and combat. He called her a natural in training, something she attributed to her inhuman birthright.
And then there were the sessions with Issac. So many evenings spent honing her gift and practicing the art of compulsion. She learned that her commands weren’t attached to a definitive time frame but remained in effect for as long as she held the thread of control. As soon as she dropped the link, the persuasion ended. That would be the trick to remember with Osiris.
“…do I choose?” His ancient voice slithered through the air, dampening her skin.
The same feeling of familiarity swept over her as it did the first time she met him. So did the sense of dread.
Pure evil lurked beneath his formal facade. She’d witnessed his proclivity for torture from the front row in his amphitheater.
Sick fuck.
“You’ll have to compel me again for that response,” Jayson growled as Stas stepped out into the clearing.
“Or I could use Alik.” Osiris smiled. “Inflict pain on…” He trailed off as he noticed Stas’s approach. She was surprised it took him this long. It indicated he might be alone after all. Minus the assassin standing beside him.
“Oh, don’t mind me,” she said, her voice boasting a confidence she didn’t feel. “I’m just wandering.”
Jayson’s head whipped around, his mouth falling open, while the remaining Elders remained bowed and unmoving.
Victims of control.
“Well, well,” Ezekiel said, grinning. “Welcome to the party, Astasiya.”
Osiris cocked a brow. “Astasiya?” He studied her. “You’re familiar to me.” He sounded almost curious, if a little bored. “When have we met?”
“You don’t remember?” she asked, feigning disappointment. “I suppose you were busy preparing yourself for an evening of torture-filled fun.” She stopped ten feet away and let her hands hang loosely at her sides.
Ancient green eyes looked her up and down, his expression indicating he found her lacking. “Your insolence is boring me. I’ll deal with you when I’m finished. For now, stay—”
“Stop talking, Osiris.” Three words, casually said but underlined in power. “It’s rude to dismiss someone so quickly, especially when you know nothing about them.”
His lips parted, but no words came out, causing his eyes to widen in apparent shock.
“See what I mean?” she asked as she wrapped all her mental faculties around that command and held it in place. If he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t persuade.
“Beautiful,” Ezekiel murmured. “But, oh, don’t mind me. I’m only here for the show.” He displayed his hands in an I surrender pose and remained very still beside Osiris. “Please continue.”
Stas considered muting him as well, but he appeared far more entertained than threatening. Osiris also appeared more amused than violent, his lips curling into an exuberant smile that nearly unsettled her resolve.
Apprehension prickled her nerves even as she forced herself to focus. She needed to free her friends. Then run far, far away.
Jacque had informed them all that Osiris had commanded the telepathic Elder to unleash his mental torture ability on the others. That seemed the appropriate starting place.
“Release your persuasive hold on Alik.”
The tension in the air dimmed, but all three remained kneeling. Stas guessed all of them had been sent to their knees by vocal force.
She immediately dropped her command regarding Alik since it no longer held purpose, and tightened her mental grasp on the one forbidding Osiris to speak.
He appeared even more impressed now as he took her measure again. The bastard even applauded, which sent a tremor down her spine. She’d wanted to avoid his interest for as long as possible, but now she held his undivided attention.
He waved a hand as if encouraging her to do more.
And she had no choice but to comply if she wanted to save the Elders.
“Free Balthazar, Lucian, Alik, and Jayson from your persuasion.”
Luc and Balthazar fell to the ground, their bodies trembling, while Alik sat back on his heels with a dead expression.
Jayson, however, stood. He’d obviously not experienced the same torture as his friends. “You shouldn’t be here,” he said in greeting. “Not that I’m complaining.”
She ignored his remarks and unleashed her latest command, reaffirming her grip on Osiris’s ability to speak.
The monster’s grin widened in approval.
He spread his arms in a gesture that asked, What are you going to do now?
She’d expected more of a fight, but either the others had removed all the remedial threats or he really was here alone.
“Ezekiel, tell me where your backup is hiding.” It took more effort than she expected to speak to her parents’ murderer directly, but she managed with only a slight quiver in her voice.
The assassin smiled smugly. “You’re looking at him, but I’m under strict instructions not to harm anyone.” He glanced pointedly at his master.
Osiris shrugged, unconcerned. He still appeared to be far too amused for Sta
s’s taste. She tested the speaking demand and found the binds strong and unbending.
“Are we ready to continue the show?” Ezekiel continued, his gold-flecked irises flickering to his left for approval.
Osiris nodded but kept his attention on Stas. He almost seemed delighted. Such a creepy emotion she never wanted to see on him again, especially in relation to her.
“Excellent. To the Ichorians on site, I have been instructed to inform you that your betrayal of your kind will not go unpunished, but for today, you are granted temporary amnesty.” His gaze lifted over her shoulder. “And if you’re thinking about shooting us, Thomas, I would advise against it. The seer predicted it would not end well. Besides, Astasiya seems to have Osiris well contained. Not bad for a pretty little angel.”
The ancient one gave a subtle nod of acknowledgment, his eyes sparkling.
“How does that bastard know my name?” Tom growled through the earpiece.
“It would seem they expected this outcome,” Issac replied. “Which would explain why Osiris merely tortured the Elders and didn’t kill them. He wants us all alive, at least for now.”
“And so, what, that means we should return the favor?” Tom asked incredulously.
“I am curious to understand the purpose of this meeting, so yes, I believe we should grant them the same reprieve. And as Ezekiel has insinuated, Osiris already knows we are here, which only intrigues me more. Besides, I’d say Astasiya has the situation under control.” The pride in Issac’s voice caressed her broken heart.
But that didn’t mean she agreed that these two men should live.
They were murderers.
Evil, vile creatures who should be removed.
Kill them, a part of her encouraged. It would be so easy.
She could command the assassin to stab himself.
No.
She could force him to remove his own head.
A gruesome sight flashed behind her eyes, and her lips flinched upward.
A few words were all she needed.
Remove your head.
Monstrous.
It would satisfy my need for revenge.
And you would never forgive yourself.
