Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2)

by Morgana Phoenix

  The look of surprise on Magnus’s face didn’t register until the film of rage lifted and Gideon realized what he’d done. He hastily shoved away and brushed a hand back through his hair.

  “Sorry,” he muttered.

  Magnus only nodded that he understood before he went to get his stick.

  Gideon hesitated before turning to the woman behind him. He could feel her eyes on him, feel her heat as though she were pressed against the full length of his back. He wondered if this was all some sick joke being played on him by the universe, bringing the object of his obsession so close, but forbidding him to touch. It certainly seemed like something fate would do, just to be a bitch.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her voice unusually soft.

  “I need you.” He hadn’t meant for the words to come out choked with longing, desperation, and all the desire pent up inside him.

  He thought he heard her inhale sharply, but when he dared himself to meet her gaze, she was watching him with a brutally blank expression.

  “For what?”

  What could he tell her? What could he possibly say that wouldn’t make her turn away from him? Certainly not the truth.

  “I need you to talk to Riley,” he willed himself to say at last. “She refuses to come out of her room unless you assure her you’re not angry with her.”

  Her finely arched brow lifted. “I am angry with her.”

  Gideon sighed. “It was an accident, Kyrie. Can’t you let this one go?”

  She continued to study him a long while, her bamboo stick gripped firmly in one hand. Her gaze flickered over to Magnus who was standing a ways back, waiting. She looked back to Gideon.

  “Fine. I’ll go see her, but I don’t promise it will work.”

  Thanking her, Gideon led the way back to the house. They walked in silence all the way back to Octavian’s room. He knocked this time. Octavian opened the door. His brows drew together when he spotted Valkyrie ... with a stick.

  “What’s this?” he demanded, not letting them pass.

  Valkyrie rolled her eyes. “I’m being forced to talk to your mate.”

  “And you brought a stick because...?”

  Valkyrie frowned. “I was sparring with Magnus.”

  Octavian didn’t seem convinced, but he shifted uneasily aside and let them in. Valkyrie handed over the weapon when Octavian held out a hand. She did so grudgingly.

  Riley got to her feet off the bed when she saw them. Her gaze went from Octavian to Valkyrie to finally settle on Gideon questioningly.

  “You two need to talk,” he told her. “Valkyrie isn’t angry.”

  He shot Valkyrie a warning glare when she opened her mouth to argue.

  She snapped it shut, exhaled, and replied in the driest, most robotic tone Gideon had ever heard, “I am not angry.”

  It was a lie. An idiot could hear it.

  “I am so sorry,” Riley burst out. “I would never normally do that, not to you ... or anyone. I just feel awful. You can stab me back if it will make you feel better.”

  “No!” Octavian snapped.

  “No!” Gideon muttered when interest sparked in Valkyrie’s eyes.

  It vanished and she pursed her lips with annoyance. “No, it’s fine.”

  Riley offered the other woman a small smile. “Friends?”

  For an instant, Valkyrie looked absolutely horrified by the request. “What?” She darted an almost panicked glance towards Gideon as though to say, this was not part of the plan!

  “It’s fine,” he assured her. “Friends are good. We like friends.”

  Valkyrie looked appalled. “Look, we’re good, okay?” She began edging backwards towards the door, as if worried whatever disease Riley had might rub off on her. “We don’t need to push it.”

  The smile melted off Riley’s face and was replaced with hurt. Her shoulders slumped. “Oh, okay.”

  Valkyrie growled through her teeth. She glared at Gideon like this was all his fault before she threw open the door and marched out, muttering something about hippies.

  “You don’t want her as a friend anyway,” Gideon assured Riley. “She can’t even keep a goldfish alive and they’re pretty much self-sufficient ... like cats.”

  Riley chuckled weakly. “It’s okay. At least she’s not angry with me.”

  Gideon crossed the room and slung an arm around her shoulders. “Does this mean you’ll grace us with your presence over dinner?”

  She cringed before glancing at Octavian. “I don’t—”

  “She’ll be there,” Octavian said for her.

  “But—”

  “You can’t always hide, baby,” he murmured. “Staying in the manor is one thing, but I’m not going to let you lock yourself up in this room forever.”

  “Not to mention Mom won’t let you,” Gideon added. “Trust me, it’s better you walk out of here on your own.”

  Riley sighed. “Okay, but if anything happens...”

  “I will personally put locks on that door,” Gideon promised, and grinned at Octavian when the other man shot him a scowl. “Kidding. Maybe.” Planting a noisy kiss to the side of Riley’s head, he stepped back and snatched up his boots off the floor by the bed. “I’m off to celebrate my awesomeness by taking a shower and getting ready for supper.” He winked at Riley. “I’ll see you there, squirt.”

  He walked to the door and was over the threshold when he heard Riley say, “Did he just call me a squirt?”

  Grinning, he shut the door behind him and walked to his room.

  True to her word, Riley was next to Octavian at the dinner table when he arrived. His mother was practically euphoric at the sight of her. She kept asking if Riley needed anything, to which Riley kept shifting uncomfortably and assuring her she didn’t. Gideon took his seat between Reggie and Magnus. Imogen sat across from him, watching his mother and Riley with a sad little smile on her face. His father had his head bent close to Reggie’s as the two murmured almost conspiratorially together. Valkyrie was the only one missing.

  “Gideon, can you go see where Valkyrie is?” his mother abandoned her fussing long enough to ask.

  Gideon had no delusions that her decision to pick him out of everyone at that table was coincidental. If his mother was anything, she was a hopeless romantic and probably thought if she cajoled enough, they would succumb to their feelings and give her grandbabies. And while the idea of dark haired babies with their mama’s blue eyes and his mischievous grin was tempting, Gideon wasn’t so sure Valkyrie would feel the same.

  Nevertheless, he rose out of his seat and left the room in search of the Harvester warrior.

  He found her in the parlor, standing at the window, arms folded under her breasts. She wore her usual leather pants but had a thick, red sweater that hung to her knees and off one shoulder. Her hair was down, a dark cascade of shiny waves down the small of her back to graze her backside.

  Stupidity and lust propelled him to close the distance. He moved as though he were in a trance. His heart pattered loudly in his chest as he stopped just behind her, close enough to smell the fresh, clean scent of soap and woman.

  In the dark windowpane, their gazes met. Neither spoke, but the ripple of electricity that crackled around them was undeniable. It sizzled with such intensity he was sure they would burn from it.

  He was so preoccupied by the swell of desperation coursing through him that he had no recollection of raising his hands until they were touching her, fisting in her sweater on either side of her waist and he either drew her back, or moved himself up, but she was pressed into him. His face dropped an inch, not enough to break eye contact, but just enough to let the silky strands brush his cheek.

  I love you, he wanted to murmur into the heavy locks by her ear. He didn’t say it, but he felt her shiver all the same. His fingers unfurled and slid forward to splay across her abdomen, tucking her more firmly into his front.

  No! Another voice shouted inside his head. Let go! You need to let go!

 
; But her every breath had captured him. The moment had become a golden web weaving them into every second. He never wanted to let her go. Then she turned her head and her eyes were drowning him. Her lips, soft, red and inviting, were parted, a blatant invitation he couldn’t refuse. He didn’t want to refuse.

  One hand lifted. It ghosted inches from the curve of her jaw, so close her lashes fluttered closed. His fingers curled and the knuckles hovered a moment before he let his hand drop.

  “We can’t.” The words left him without any permission.

  Her eyes opened. In them, he could see the pain, regret, and yearning brewing in the pit of his own gut. It was there for a full second before the spell holding them shattered and realization dawned across her face.

  She jerked out of his arms and sidestepped around him until she had put as much space between them as possible without physically leaving the room.

  “Kyrie, wait...”

  With a shake of her head—whether in denial or refusal he wasn’t sure—she hurried out, leaving only the sound of her heels cracking on hardwood as she ran from him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  In the weeks that followed, Riley returned to the land of the living, figuratively speaking. She started helping around the diner once more and made an appearance at dinner with her glass of synthetic blood. While she was present, it was clear the effort was costing her. Each time Gideon saw her, she seemed infinitely worse. The others saw it as well, but they were all careful not to say as much in front of Octavian, who had become surlier than usual, barking at anyone who so much as breathed a little too loud.

  By the fourth week, Gideon’d had enough.

  “Get dressed,” he told Riley. “We’re going on a field trip.”

  Slumped forward in her seat, Riley looked up. “What?”

  Gideon rose from the chair across from her and motioned for her to do the same. “Come on. All this moping is giving me a headache.”

  “What are you doing, Gideon?” Octavian demanded.

  Gideon met his brother’s gaze unflinchingly. “I’m taking her to feed,” he said evenly. “I’m tired of you babying her and I’m tired of her stubbornness and I’m tired of everyone acting like it’s okay. She needs to feed on human blood, so unless you want her to die...”

  Riley’s jaw dropped. “I thought I couldn’t die.”

  “You can’t,” Magnus supplied. “But you can become so weak that you’re virtually dead.”

  “And from the looks of you,” Gideon added, “that won’t be too long now.”

  “I can’t—”

  Gideon cut her off. “You need to stop that. You’re not human anymore. You will never be human again. You need to learn to start acting like the predator you are.”

  “But I don’t want to be a predator,” she snapped back. “You told me I had time to decide—”

  Magnus shook his head. “No, I said you had to make the transition quickly.”

  Gideon softened his tone when a look of panic and misery clouded Riley’s face. “Look, you can still drink the synthetic stuff and take blood from animals, but at least once a month, you need fresh human blood.”

  Riley looked to her husband. “Why aren’t you saying anything?”

  Octavian sighed. “You know my thoughts on this matter. I’ve told you a million times that you need to feed. You refuse to listen.”

  “Think of Daphne,” Gideon prompted when no one said anything else.

  Riley stiffened. “What about her?”

  “Well, you want to see her again don’t you? You can’t do that unless you learn to control yourself, which you can’t do unless you start feeding regularly.”

  With her lip caught between her lips, Riley looked from Gideon to Magnus. He noticed she never glanced in Octavian’s direction. Maybe out of anger, maybe out of guilt, or uncertainty, but she took a deep breath, rose out of her seat and faced them with her shoulders squared and a very determined look on her face.

  “Okay, but this is going to happen on my terms.” She looked to Magnus, her eyes narrowed. “That means no throwing me in a cage with the first human you get your hands on.”

  “What?” Octavian shot his brother a sharp glower.

  Magnus shrugged. “It may have been one of my suggestions.”

  While Gideon snickered, Riley snapped him up in her radar. “And you.”

  Gideon stopped instantly. “My cage is a sacred place and you are not killing anyone in it. Besides, blood is impossible to clean.”

  Riley’s nose wrinkled. “I can never tell if you’re kidding.”

  “There are three things I never kid about, my baby is one of them.”

  Riley laughed. “You call your cage your baby?”

  Gideon scoffed. “What else do you call something that gives you such unspeakable joy?”

  “Why do you have a cage?” Riley put her hands up, stopping him before he could answer. “Don’t answer that. I have a feeling we’re about to reach the realm of no return and I already know way too much about your sex life.”

  Magnus barked what could only be a laugh. “I didn’t realize your left hand was considered sex.”

  Gideon flipped him off. “I’m right handed, asshole. And her name is Danielle.”

  Riley visibly cringed. “You named your right hand? That is a whole new level of disturbing.”

  “Hey! Danielle was really good to me during my teenage years, okay? And she has feelings and you guys are hurting them.” He bit back his grin. “Now, can we focus on the task at hand?” Noticing the arched eyebrows from his brothers, Gideon cleared his throat. “No pun intended.”

  “So what’s the plan again?”

  They stood in a clearing behind the manor, away from the main road, away from any human. As plans to catch an unsuspecting human went, it was a lousy one from where Gideon stood, which was by a tree, away from the group as Magnus ran through the plan a third time for Riley.

  It was a curious thing to watch. No one knew Magnus like Gideon and Gideon knew that his brother was the least patient man on earth. Heck, he was the most impatient man in hell, heaven, and any other realm. Magnus was more likely to stab a person in the eye than repeat himself. Yet there he stood with a pint sized woman that barely came to his chest, repeating himself. And Gideon knew it had nothing to do with the fact that Octavian stood a few feet away from them, or that Magnus was somehow afraid of Riley. He might not admit it, but Gideon knew his brother, in his own special way, loved the redhead. It was the only explanation why Magnus bothered coming out in the woods with Riley every day for months, training and helping her learn to hunt. Why he was there now, doing whatever it was he was doing to help her feed. Gideon knew that for their family, Magnus would without a doubt break every law, which meant that he wouldn’t hesitate locking Riley in a cage with as many humans as Riley needed to stay alive. It didn’t even matter that they were forbidden to harm humans. Riley needed blood. End of story.

  Gideon knew he would do the same. There was very little he wouldn’t do for his family. Sacrificing a few humans, as terrible as that may have seemed, was not beneath him if it meant Riley would be okay.

  “You’re going to try and sneak up on us,” Magnus was saying when Gideon focused on the conversation. “You’re going to do it without making a sound.”

  Riley squinted at him. “You mean like the stealth thing I use for animals?”

  Magnus nodded. “Exactly. That is the first step. Your prey can’t know—”

  “Can we not call them prey?”

  A muscle flexed in Magnus’ jaw, the only sign that he was beginning to lose his patience. “The meal...” he ignored Riley’s grimace, “can’t know you’re coming up on them. You’ve been doing very well with animals and they’re harder to trick than humans so you’re already ahead of the game.”

  Riley nibbled on her lip. “But you already know I’m coming.”

  “Which is the challenge,” Magnus said. “If you can get past us when we’re already prepared, you’
re ready for the field.”

  With deep exasperation, Riley sucked in a breath that she really didn’t need and let it out slowly. “I’m not sure how I’m going to sneak up on a trio of immortal warriors, but okay. What do I do first?”

  Magnus shrugged. “Whatever you think you should do.”

  Scowling at his zen approach, Riley turned and hurried deeper into the woods until they lost sight of her. Gideon had a feeling she was circling around, hoping to come up from behind. Magnus was thinking the same because, while he didn’t say it, he kept watching the direction she’d gone, giving her a fair shot.

  “So does anyone know where Reggie is?” Gideon asked, breaking the silence. “I haven’t seen him since Dad’s lecture about family and teamwork.”

  “He’s with Daphne,” Magnus said evenly. “He’s become her personal stalker, parking outside her house, and watching her through the windows.”

  “How do you know?” Octavian wondered.

  Magnus shrugged. “Because he’s not as stealthy as he likes to pretend. Also, because I followed him a few times.”

  Octavian and Gideon exchanged baffled glances.

  “Uh, why?” Gideon asked.

  “Because if Reggie’s right and Daphne becomes the next target, he’s going to need backup.”

  Inwardly, Gideon grinned at the response. His brother may have been a tough ass, cold and callus at the best of times, but there was a soft, gooey center that reared its head when no one was expecting it.

  “Well, you have to give the guy credit.” Gideon folded his arms and dropped a shoulder against the trunk of the tree. “He certainly cares about her.”

  Octavian tilted his head in Gideon’s direction. “Wouldn’t you for Valkyrie?”

  Gideon twisted his face in a grimace. “Have you met Valkyrie? She ever finds out I was following her around for her own protection, she’d probably stick those heels of hers up into places that I personally wouldn’t enjoy.”

  Magnus raised a brow. “You? Not enjoy a kinky twist? I don’t believe that.”

  Gideon sighed. “Shocking, I know, but there it is. I like my exit hole to remain an exit hole.”