by Adrian, Lara
He lowered his head. “Jesus Christ. My little sister is alive. I never thought I’d see her again.”
“Then let’s get out of here so you’ll have that chance. We both want to see you come home where you belong.”
Home. He hadn’t known the meaning of that word for a long time. If he ever really had. But now it burned in front of him like a beacon in the dark, lighting the way.
And as he looked at Carys, he knew that path would always lead to her. She was the only home he would ever need.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead, then threaded his fingers through hers. “Let’s go, love.”
He stepped away from the support of the stone wall and her sharp intake of breath made him pause. She was looking down at their feet. At the dark pool of blood that had collected beneath him where he’d stood.
“Oh, my God. Rune . . .”
“I’m okay,” he told her. But she saw through his lie. He knew that for the rest of their time together, whether it was measured in minutes or centuries, Carys would always see through him to the truth. And he didn’t want to hide anymore. “I’ll be all right once we’re out of here. I can heal when I’m home.”
“No, Rune. You can’t. You won’t heal, not from wounds like this. Not unless you get blood right now.” Her Breed instincts were already responding to the fresh red cells on the ground. Amber light sparked in the blue of her eyes. The tips of her fangs now glinted behind her parted lips. “You need to feed, Rune. The only thing that can heal this is the bond. My blood.”
Even as he growled in denial, everything Breed in him ached for what she offered.
In his heart, in his soul, Carys already was his mate. In all ways except this one. And he wanted it with her more than anything. But not now. Not like this.
He shook his head, scowling furiously. “I’ve never wanted to bond with anyone. Not until you, Carys. I sure as hell never wanted it to happen in this hellish place. With you offering your vein out of worry for me, or, fuck . . . out of pity.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Anger gave her voice a sharp edge. “I love you, Rune. And if drinking from me now, in this place—under these fucked up circumstances—saves your life, then I can’t think of any better time or place to do it.”
He blew out a low chuckle in spite of his pain and doubts. “You are a stubborn female.”
“Goddamn right I am. You said you love me.”
“Christ, yes. More than anything in this world.”
“Then drink, Rune.” She didn’t give him another second to refuse.
Bringing her wrist up to her own mouth, she sank her fangs into the flesh. Blood pumped from the twin punctures, red and sweet and powerful.
The fragrance hit his senses more intensely than any drug his father or Opus Nostrum could ever hope to concoct.
He took her hand and forearm in his grasp and lowered his head over her wrist. The instant her blood hit his tongue, the rush of power was so swift and immense, he staggered back as if he’d been punched.
Holy hell.
He’d had no idea what to expect. Nothing could have prepared him for the astonishing roar of liquid energy that coursed down his throat with each hard draw of his mouth. Carys’s strength poured into him, feeding his injured cells and tissues. Nourishing him the way no human’s blood had even come close to doing.
His veins lit up as his bond to her took root.
She had been his from the moment they’d first met.
Now, she was his forever.
He only had to prove to her—and to himself—that he could be worthy of her gift.
CHAPTER 37
Carys sucked in her breath in amazement as Rune’s mouth settled over her wrist and he took the first few pulls from her veins. Seeing him feed from her was more intimate than she could have imagined, more profoundly sensual than anything she’d ever experienced.
It felt so right, her blood nourishing him, bonding him to her.
And, oh, God, it was erotic too.
The suction of his mouth, every tug of his lips and tongue, stoked a powerful heat in her core. It bloomed outward, into her veins and arteries, into each crackling nerve ending.
Her eyes were burning with desire, even as contentment poured through her while she stroked Rune’s dark head and watched him drink his fill.
She moaned when he finally stopped sucking and sealed her wounds closed with a swipe of his tongue.
He was panting as he drew away and met her gaze, his own eyes blazing like hot coals too.
“Jesus Christ,” he hissed thickly. His fangs were deadly sharp, glinting as bright as diamonds in the dim light of the tunnel. “Carys, holy fuck. That was . . .”
He didn’t seem capable of describing it. Nor did he seem to have the patience to try. With a possessive growl, he wrapped his palm around the back of her neck and pulled her to him for a fierce, hard kiss.
Love and desire swept through her like wildfire, and it was all she could do not to bury her fangs in his neck and complete their bond.
“I want that too,” he murmured against her mouth. He lifted his head and stared at her, his hot gaze filled with awe. “I can feel you inside me, love. I can feel you in my veins, in all of my senses. God, Carys . . . you’re a presence in me now that’s as bright and strong as lightning.”
He licked his lips, his amber eyes drifting to her throat. His grin was purely male and so primal it made her sex clench with yearning. “I can’t wait to do this again when I have you in bed with me.”
“Neither can I,” she said. “So let’s get the fuck out of here.”
He nodded. “Yeah. The sooner, the better.”
He was still bleeding from his many bullet wounds. They would need tending as soon as possible, but his color was better already thanks to her blood. As they resumed their flight through the tunnel, she couldn’t have been more relieved to see him moving with renewed strength and stamina.
He was alive and her blood would keep him that way. At least, long enough for him to get help once they were out of this place. They had their whole future ahead of them now, and it waited just on the other side of this hell.
We will make it out of here together.
We have to.
It was her mantra as she ran with him, deeper into the darkness.
“There’s an old tower stairwell up here that’ll take us to the main floor,” Rune told her, glancing over his shoulder at her as they hurried along. “With any luck, we can make the climb before the guards think to block it. Promise me you won’t let me slow you down.”
“No,” she replied, refusing to even consider the thought. “We do this together. No matter what.”
She knew what he was telling her. Normally, with their Breed genetics, it would take no more than a few seconds to speed from one location to another, but Rune’s injuries would not permit that now. He was too depleted, and she wasn’t about to do it without him.
They reached the entry to the tower stairs. “This way, Carys.”
Rune went in ahead of her, holding his gun vertical in the confines of the narrow stairwell. The worn stone steps spiraled upward, around and around and around, one blind turn after another.
Low voices sounded from somewhere above now—urgent shouts coupled with the heavy pound of boots across the floors.
“Be ready,” Rune cautioned her. “We’re coming to the main floor now.”
“Okay. Let’s do this.”
No sooner had they reached the archway that opened out from the stairwell than they saw a pair of guards heading their way.
“There they are!” the men shouted, opening fire the instant they saw Rune and Carys.
“Get back!” Rune pulled her behind him as gunshots chewed into the stone beside their heads.
Flying shrapnel exploded, biting Carys’s cheek. She felt blood run in a warm trail down her face, just below her left eye.
Rune saw it too. Now, through his blood-bond to her, he would also feel her pain. Ra
ge ignited in his eyes. On a bellowed roar, he returned a spray of gunfire.
“You have to run,” he growled at her. “Flash past the guards. I’ll cover you from here. Use the shadows, Carys. You have to make it through the great hall to get to the kitchens and the carriage house outside.”
She swiped at the streak of blood that dripped off her chin, peering around him as he continued to volley shots with the advancing guards. “I’m not leaving without you.”
“We only have one gun, Carys. Both of us can’t hope to make it past these two men. More will be coming any second. You have to try to get away, damn it!”
She didn’t answer him. He wouldn’t want to hear it anyway. No matter how bad their odds, she had no intention of leaving him behind to save her own life.
But maybe there was something she could do to help them both.
With Rune and the two guards alternating bursts of gunfire, Carys looked to the shadows around her and in the gloom of the tower. She gathered them close, concealing herself.
Then she slipped out from behind Rune and charged their assailants.
CHAPTER 38
She was gone even before he realized what she was doing.
“Carys!” Rune felt her whisk past him like a cool gust of air. He saw the formless drift of shadows move swiftly, stealthily, avoiding the gunfire. She was difficult to track, but Rune kept the gunmen busy dodging his bullets and drawing theirs to him instead of her.
Not even an instant later, one of the two guards was thrown across the room by invisible hands. His startled comrade pivoted around with his assault rifle to find the attacker.
Rune seized the opportunity. His bullet flew, nailing the guard in the back of the skull.
The gunmen dropped, lifeless.
Rune redirected his aim and shot the other one too.
Carys materialized that same moment. She quickly retrieved the fallen weapons, giving Rune a fangy smile as he ran over to meet her.
He couldn’t decide whether to kiss her or chew her a new one for the stunt she’d just pulled. While she was cool as could be, his heart was banging in his chest like a fucking jackhammer.
“Now we have two more guns,” she said, handing one of them to him.
He slung the backup rifle’s strap over his shoulder. “We’re gonna talk about this later,” he snarled, but he could hardly hold on to his anger when the fact was they made a damn good team.
But they still weren’t home free.
Not even close.
The commotion had drawn a lot of unwanted attention. Now, more guards started pouring in from other parts of the fortress. Amid the thunder of rushing boots and the jangle of weaponry, he heard his father’s furious voice, shouting kill orders to his men.
“This way. Hurry!” Rune grabbed Carys’s hand and led her through another antechamber that would skirt the main corridor and take them into the great hall. They barely made into the huge room before Riordan and half his garrison were on their heels.
Rune pulled Carys with him behind a stone alcove. They ducked as far as they could into the meager shelter as a fresh hail of bullets ripped through the air all around them.
Rune shot back, but only squeezed off a handful of rounds before his magazine emptied. He threw the rifle down and swung the backup into his hands to continue shooting at the dozen men now advancing into the great hall with his father.
“Give it up, boyo. You’re rats in a trap.” Riordan’s voice boomed over the staccato spurts of gunfire. “What’s it gonna be? You want us to shoot you like vermin, or take you alive and then lay waste to your woman while you watch?”
Rune glanced at Carys, neither of them acknowledging the threat. Their gazes locked in determination. They had their plan of escape. They had each other. All the rest was simply noise and obstacles to overcome.
“Flush them out of there,” Riordan commanded his men. “We can have just as much fun if we take them captive in pieces.”
The guards opened fire again, moving into new positions around the great hall.
“They’re going to corner us,” Rune whispered. “We need to get across the room if we can. The exit to the kitchens is that door to the left of the fireplace.”
Carys glanced that way, then gave him a nod. Rune knew she wouldn’t do it without him, even though her speed could take her there twice as fast than if she waited for him. So, he had no choice but to lay down heavy gunfire and try to take out as many guards as possible if they were both going to make it across.
Carys held her weapon at the ready too. No fear in her eyes, only a steely determination that galvanized his own.
There was a lull in the barrage. Rune gave her a signal. “Go.”
They ducked out from behind the wall. Both of them spraying rounds, they hustled across the wide room as swiftly as they could. A number of guards cried out as they were hit, several going down for good.
The return fire came at them hard now. Rune felt a bullet rip into his thigh. He stumbled, nearly brought down by the crippling impact.
He refused to let it slow them down—not when Carys’s life was on the line.
With rounds still zinging at them, they made it into the mouth of the room’s central hearth. The ancient fireplace, with its heavy walls made of massive stones, was tall enough for them to stand upright in it and deep enough to hold a dozen men. But there was less cover here than where they just been. Though now they were just steps away from where they needed to be.
Carys looked down at his fresh wound in horror. “Oh, shit, Rune.”
The hole in his thigh was gushing blood. Not good. On top of all of his other injuries, it was catastrophic. Her blood was still a vibrant force inside him, but it wouldn’t stop him from bleeding out.
And as the feeling started to fade from his leg, he knew he wouldn’t be able to run now. Hell, at this rate, he’d be lucky if he managed a slow hobble.
Damn it, no!
“I can smell your blood, Aedan.” His father’s gleeful voice rang out over the straggling shots. “You may not know it yet, but you’re dead, son. Gonna be a shame you won’t live long enough to see me and all of my men rape your Breed bitch until she’s begging for us to kill her too.”
Rune gently lifted her chin and held her gaze. “That’s not going to happen,” he told her firmly. “I’m not going to let them touch you. Not ever. We’re going to get out of this.”
“I know.” She nodded, but he could see the flicker of fear in her eyes now.
Her doubt nearly killed him. Far more than any bullet could.
Even he had to acknowledge that things didn’t look good for them. More guards poured into the great hall now. His father’s personal army was closing in, diminishing their chances of escape with each second that ticked by.
“We have to make a break for it,” he told her.
She shook her head. “You’ll never make it.”
“But you might.” When she parted her lips to protest, he cut her off with a kiss. “Please, Carys. I love you. Do this for me.”
Misery swam in her gaze. “No. No, I won’t! Rune, we’re staying togeth—”
Her words cut off as a sudden explosion rocked the fortress.
Dust fell from the heavy rafters of the hall. Outside the room, a sudden, frantic commotion kicked up.
Fineas Riordan shouted to his men, “What the fuck was that?”
A panicked voice answered. “The main gate, sir. Holy shit, they’ve taken it out!”
Carys swung a wide-eyed glance at Rune. “The Order. Rune, they’re here!”
In the middle of the great hall, Riordan was barking commands to his guards. “Get out there and push them back! All of you, look alive—hold this keep! Whoever’s at our gates, blow them away! And kill these two right fucking now!”
Chaos and gunfire erupted.
But apparently, his father had no intention of sticking around to lend his own blood and sweat to the battle. Rune saw him grab a weapon from one of his men, then he fl
ashed across the great hall to an archway leading to the east tower of the castle.
Carys saw it too. “He’s getting away!”
When her body tensed with purpose, Rune felt her fury emanate through his bond to her. She was pissed as hell and ready to kill.
“Don’t even think it, love.” Rune grabbed her arms and ground out a curse. “Forget about him.”
But his woman was Breed, and her power coursed through her as ferociously as it did him. As it did in any other of their kind. Her blue eyes burned bright amber in an instant. She tossed her head in defiance, fangs bared. “I can’t forget about him until I know he’s dead.”
She pulled out of his hold. Then she vanished into shadow and was gone.
Rune bellowed her name as he pushed to his feet behind the shelter and opened fire on his father’s guards.
CHAPTER 39
Carys flashed up the tower stairs only seconds behind Riordan.
There was a small chamber at the top, and a door that appeared to open out onto the battlements. Riordan had his hand on the latch as Carys caught up to him. He yanked it open—then shrank back on a cry as the early morning sun’s rays reached for him.
He slammed the heavy wood panel on a curse and wheeled around.
Carys stood there, her assault rifle aimed on him. “Like a rat in a trap,” she said, throwing his own words back at him.
But Riordan had a gun too. He raised it on her. “You think you’re man enough to take me on?”
He fired.
She dodged the shot with ease. Her Breed speed took her to the left side of the small room. Riordan pivoted and fired on her again. Another dodge, and this time instead of letting him see where she ended up, she gathered the shadows and taunted him into wasting more rounds. She zipped and zagged, taking far too much satisfaction in his wild, ineffective aim.
His panicked shots ricocheted off the stone walls.
Then his rifle jammed.
Carys felt a cold smile spread over her face as she let the shadows fall away. She stood directly in front of him now. “I’m not man enough to kill you. But I am woman enough.”
