Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade)

by Stephanie Rowe

  Kane didn’t hesitate. He swung his flail into the side of Gideon’s head. The blinding pain was instant and then there was blackness.

  *

  When Gideon woke up, Kane was pacing the small clearing, his hands clasped behind his back, his body rigid.

  Lily. Gideon jerked upright and looked wildly around for Lily.

  She was lying right beside him in the sand. Her eyes were closed now, no longer gazing blankly. Her skin had returned to its normal shade, and her body was no longer rigid.

  The music was gone from Gideon’s mind. It was over. “I’m so sorry, Lily.” Gideon gathered her in his arms and pulled her against his chest, rocking her gently as he felt his insides begin to unclench. Her body was limp, but warm, and he knew she was going to recover. Relief coursed through him and he rested his head against hers.

  Kane stopped pacing and turned to face him. “You almost killed her.”

  “No shit.” Gideon understood now what Lily had been talking about, her fear of tapping into her magic. He’d heard the tales about how it was impossible for a Calydon to resist the siren call of Satinka magic, but he’d never understood the true intensity of the power.

  The grim reality of what he’d done settled on him. Lily had trusted him, and he’d failed her. Two women he’d failed—

  Gideon suddenly noticed her sweatshirt was back on. Darkness swirled through him at the realization that Kane must have dressed her. Kane’s hands must have been on Lily’s body, touching her skin. Gideon slowly turned his head toward Kane, lethal danger taking root inside of him. “You put her shirt on?”

  Kane was watching him intently, his flail in his hand. “Yeah. I did. Does that bother you?”

  Gideon narrowed his eyes at Kane’s challenging tone, his hackles rising in aggression. “What are you talking about?” He kept his voice even, trying not to let Kane know how badly he wanted to rip his head off for looking at Lily half-naked. “Is she your sheva?”

  Kane’s brows went up. “If she were, would you kill her?”

  Gideon instinctively shifted Lily so his body was between Kane and her. “It would be my job.” But it was a lie. He knew it was. There wasn’t a chance in hell he’d kill Lily if she were Kane’s sheva. He would kill Kane. The realization that he’d turn on his Order teammate so readily shocked him, but he managed to keep his face expressionless, not revealing the traitorous turn of his thoughts.

  “That’s not what I asked.” Kane walked over and squatted beside Lily, his eyes dark with challenge. “I asked whether you’d be able to kill her.”

  Gideon’s brands began to burn, his battle axe reacting to the threat of Kane too close to Lily. “What’s your problem, Kane?”

  “Look at her arm.”

  “Her arm? You’re claiming her?” If Lily was Kane’s sheva, Kane’s brands would appear on her forearms once they began to bond. Aggression churned inside Gideon, and he wanted to shove his axe through Kane’s throat. “She wouldn’t carry your mark yet,” he ground out. “You haven’t done any of the stages—”

  Kane grabbed Lily’s wrist and shoved her sleeve up. “For hell’s sake, stop being such a thick-headed ass. Look.”

  Gideon jerked his gaze down to her arm, and then his whole body tensed at the silver lines on her skin. “That’s impossible.” He grabbed her wrist from Kane, holding her arm out for a better look. But there it was. Thin silver lines on the skin. Intricate designs.

  The lines didn’t match Kane’s brand.

  They matched Gideon’s.

  Numbly, Gideon turned his arm over and laid his arm next to hers. The lines on her skin were a perfect match for the outline of one of the blades on his brand. The first stages of bonding between a Calydon warrior and his sheva—his brand beginning to appear on her arm.

  Lily was his sheva.

  “This is wrong. It’s a mistake. A joke.” Gideon rubbed his palm over her marks, as if he could wipe it off. Her skin became red, but the marks didn’t fade. Even as a cold dread claimed him, intense satisfaction pulsed through him, a deep-seated possessiveness that made him want to claim her like some ancient cavemen. His.

  Shit. He was screwed.

  Kane inched closer, watching Gideon carefully. “Did you kill to save her when you guys plucked her out of Nate’s?”

  Gideon swore. “Yeah, I knocked off a couple Calydons who were trying to take her out.”

  Kane nodded. “It’s one of the stages of the bond. Killing to save the other.”

  “I know what the damn stages are,” Gideon snapped. “This can’t be happening. It’s impossible. I had my sheva. She’s dead. Dead!” He gently set Lily back on the ground and jumped to his feet, pacing a small circle around her, not willing to get too far away in case more of Frank’s men showed up, but needing space.

  Kane sat back on his heels. “Theoretically speaking, I should kill her.”

  Gideon whipped around and had his axe at Kane’s throat before the other warrior could move. “Don’t. Touch. Her.”

  Kane’s eyebrows went up. “Five hundred years ago, you stood there when Dante killed your sheva, and it didn’t bother you. It’s never affected you since. What’s different this time?”

  Gideon had to work hard to keep his face impassive, to not correct Kane’s assumption. His sheva’s death had haunted him his entire existence; it was his motivation for everything he did.

  He wasn’t interested in going through that again. Couldn’t go through it again. He couldn’t let another sheva die because she was unlucky enough to get paired with him. The guilt he’d been holding for five hundred years coursed thick and deep, breaking free of the dark place he’d kept it locked up in for so long.

  Kane didn’t move away from Lily, carefully watching Gideon for any indication Gideon was going to try to attack him. “I’m not going to kill Lily,” Kane said.

  It was part of their Order oath to kill the sheva of any Order member before the bond could turn him rogue. Order members were deemed too valuable, so their lives were always honored over their shevas. It was a brutal choice for warriors driven by their need to protect innocents, but they all did what they needed to in order to ensure the survival of those who could protect the world from rogues.

  Gideon couldn’t keep his gaze from sliding back to Lily. She looked so vulnerable lying in the sand. Beautiful. Like an angel sent from the heavens to claim his soul. How in the hell had this happened? “Why are you willing to let her live?” Gideon had to know how much he could trust Kane.

  “Because Dante’s dead. I’ll do whatever it takes to avenge his death.” Kane slowly stood up, his eyes blazing with rage at the mention of their downed leader who had been murdered by Nate less than two weeks ago. “If Lily can help us find those responsible for Dante’s death and stop Ezekiel from escaping, then I’m not killing her. Avenging Dante and protecting innocents from Ezekiel is what matters. If you and Lily want to destroy each other by succumbing to the bond, do it after I avenge Dante’s death.”

  Gideon felt the intensity of Kane’s words, and knew Kane was telling the truth. He wouldn’t kill Lily as long as she could help them.

  Gideon knew why Kane had been able to make that choice: Quinn’s sheva, Grace Matthews, had changed things for the Order. For the first time in the two thousand year history of their race, Quinn and Grace had managed to bond without succumbing to destiny and destroying everyone around them. Grace had been instrumental in taking down Nate, and the Order had been forced to adjust their views of her as a sheva. Between Dante’s death and Grace, Kane had new priorities other than killing Lily for being a sheva.

  Lily was safe from Kane, for the moment. Gideon let the axe fall beside his thigh, and then he crouched beside her again, studying her closely, with the eyes of a man who was looking upon the woman destined to be his.

  Her hair was golden and soft, tangled, but beautiful. Her face relaxed in sleep made her look even younger. Younger. Hah. He was over five hundred years old. Five hundred years of war compared w
ith what? Twenty-six years of life?

  Gideon noticed the faint yellow on her throat, and he hooked a finger over the collar of her sweatshirt and tugged down slightly to reveal an angry yellow and purple bruise. Anger roared through him, but he placed his palm over the bruise, forcing himself to remain calm.

  He needed her to tell him who made every single mark on her body, and he’d kill each and every asshole who’d touched her.

  Shit. That wasn’t the cool, collected warrior he needed to be, was it?

  “Are you going to kill her for being your sheva?” Kane asked.

  Gideon traced his thumb over her bruise, trying to rub away the pain that had caused it. “She’s suffered enough at Calydon hands.”

  “So?”

  Gideon glared at him. “No. I’m not going to kill her.”

  “Me neither.” Kane spun the flail restlessly, the spiked balls singing through the air. “So, I guess we better figure out how to keep her alive, then, huh?”

  Gideon brushed stray grains of sand off Lily’s cheek. “What are you talking about?”

  “I may be willing to forego my Order oath to kill your sheva, but I doubt the others will feel the same. Just because Grace and Quinn are doing okay doesn’t mean that the curse is lifted. One win out of two thousand years isn’t exactly enough to bring confidence. If I bring you guys back to the Order, someone will take her out.”

  “No one will touch her.” Gideon tightened his grip on his axe.

  Kane’s hand fell on his shoulder, his fingers digging in. “You’d really fight an Order member for her? What the hell, man? You’re ice.”

  Ice. Ha. Gideon was a seething cauldron of anger, possessiveness and heat right now.

  But Kane was right. He had to find his way back to the cold, focused warrior who had triumphed for five hundred years. Gideon sheathed his axe, rapidly assessing how to handle the situation.

  They still needed Lily to help them with the inscriptions on the stone. He had to take her back so she could do that. “The plan was to keep her isolated from the other Order members in case she’s someone’s sheva.” The word stuck in his throat. Sheva. How in hell’s name was it possible that she carried his brand? It was impossible. Impossible.

  But as Gideon ran his fingers over the brand on her arm, he knew it was the truth. Somehow, some way, destiny had come back for him. “We keep to the plan,” he said. “We’ll take her back long enough to check out the knife and pick her brain about everything she knows. We’ll keep everyone else away while we’re there. Then we take her home—”

  But even as he said it, Gideon realized he was wrong. Frank was still sending Calydons after her. Until the Order stopped Frank, Lily would be at risk. She had to stay with Gideon until Frank was dead.

  His skin chilled at the risk of staying with her, of risking her by tightening that bond, but at the same time, he knew there was no other option. He would not leave her to stand alone against the nightmare she was facing.

  “What about Ian and Quinn?” Kane asked. “They’ve both met their shevas so they’ll be safe with her. They’ll want to talk to her, and the minute they see you two together, they’ll know what’s going on.”

  “If I can meet a second sheva so can Ian. He’s not safe with a woman either.” Ian’s sheva had been killed by Elijah less than six months ago, and Ian still hadn’t recovered. Gideon wasn’t sure he ever would.

  “Shit. You’re right.” Kane frowned. “Ian would lose his mind if he met another sheva. He’d never survive. We need to warn him to be careful.” He looked at Gideon. “But we can’t tell Ian he’s not safe, not without revealing Lily’s status as your sheva. What excuse are you going to use to keep them away?”

  “I’ll think of something.” Gideon knelt down and scooped Lily up. “I have to get her out of the woods. Let’s go.”

  Kane set his hand on Gideon’s shoulder. “You aren’t going to turn into Ian when this one dies, are you?”

  “She isn’t going to die.”

  Kane raised his brows. “Of course she’s going to die. You’ve met each other. Your destiny is sealed. I’ll let her live because we need her right now, but someone has to kill her before she takes you out.”

  “What about Grace and Quinn? They survived the bond.”

  Kane snorted “You really think they beat fate? Look at you. Your sheva already died, and destiny gave you another one. As long as Quinn and Grace are alive, they’re not safe. Destiny’s just gearing up for another attack. There’s no way to beat it, Gideon. Lily dies, or you die. It’s the only way.”

  Gideon tucked her more closely against his chest, her body so light and fragile in his arms. He shifted her so his sword arm was free, ready to defend her if needed. “So I won’t bond with her.”

  Kane snorted. “Now you sound like Quinn with all that denial crap. You’d be better off if you’d just acknowledge what you’re facing and deal with it, instead of living in denial—”

  Gideon grabbed Kane by the throat and yanked him close. “I stood back and watched an innocent woman be slaughtered for no other reason than she was my sheva. She didn’t do a damn thing to deserve it, and she died anyway. I know exactly what I’m facing right now, so back off.”

  Kane’s eyes narrowed, and Gideon could see the realization in Kane’s eyes that Gideon wasn’t the cold, unfeeling machine he’d presented to the world for the last five hundred years. Not by a long shot.

  Shit. Gideon couldn’t afford to be reacting like this. He had to pull his shit together. Now. He had another sheva to be responsible for, and this time, he was getting it right.

  Kane flicked Gideon’s hand off his neck, his eyes flashing. “I’m all for keeping Lily alive because I think she’ll help us find Dante’s killer. But the minute I sense she’s turning you rogue, I’m taking her out. So don’t grab me by the throat again because I won’t wait to strike.”

  Gideon nodded in acknowledgement, realizing that Kane was right. He needed to pull himself together and fast. How had Quinn managed to stay sane when he’d met his sheva?

  Not that he could ask.

  Gideon was on his own, and the first time he’d been through this, he’d failed completely.

  He wouldn’t let it happen again.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Lily frowned at the murmur of voices penetrating her sleep. They were soft and feminine, not the familiar harsh tones of Nate and his Calydons. She cracked her eyes open cautiously. She was in a bedroom with beige walls, white crown molding and towering bookshelves loaded with hardcovers. The room felt light and airy, not dangerous. The sheets were soft and silky against her body, and they smelled fresh and clean. Confused, she looked around, trying to understand where she was. Not at Nate’s. Not at her home.

  Two women were standing by the door whispering in low voices.

  Lily realized she recognized one of them. “Ana?” She tried to sit up, but her body ached too much, and she sank back down in the bed as both women turned toward her.

  “Lily!” Ana ran across the room with an obvious limp and pounced on the bed, hugging Lily tightly. “I’m so happy you’re okay!”

  Dear God. She was safe. It was real. Tears filled Lily’s eyes as she clung to Ana, holding tightly to the one friend she’d had in the last two years, even if their connection had been for the briefest moment in time. “I can’t believe you’re alive, Ana. Gideon said you were but—”

  “The Order came after Nate.” Ana released her and bounced in place, her eyes brimming with warmth. Her dark hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, and her silver eyes were glistening with life that hadn’t been there when they’d met at Nate’s, after he’d beaten Ana so severely. Ana was wearing jeans and a pale pink cotton tee shirt. A thin gold chain hung around her neck, and she was even wearing some mascara. She looked beautiful, a woman with an indomitable spirit who was already recovering from her ordeal. “They kicked his ass the way he deserved.” Ana crossed her legs, and Lily saw a cast around her ankle.

 
; Empathy filled Lily. “Nate hurt you again?”

  Some of the light left Ana’s eyes. “Who else?” Then she grinned with forced cheeriness and tugged open a drawer in the nightstand. She found a red marker and handed it to Lily. “Sign it. Write something happy.”

  Lily hesitated. “Happy?” God, she didn’t even know what that was anymore.

  “Happy,” Ana said firmly. “We’re moving on. My bruises will be gone in another week or so, the cast will be off shortly after that, and I’m never thinking about him again.” She lifted her leg and set her foot on Lily’s lap. “Happy.”

  Lily inspected the cast, surprised to see Gideon’s name on it. He’d drawn a goofy smiley face next to his name, with the eyes crossed and the tongue sticking out, as if the happy face was giving her a raspberry. He’d even used a pink marker.

  Gideon. She suddenly recalled everything that had happened in the clearing. How he’d almost killed her. She’d thought he was going to. Where was he? Clearly, he’d managed to get them both back here, so that had to be a good sign, right?

  “Lily,” Ana urged. “Sign my cast.”

  “Yeah, okay.” Lily scrawled her name under his and then wrote something about looking to the future, but her mind was too scrambled to think. What had happened after she’d passed out? “Do you know where Gideon is?”

  “He’s been with you the whole time, but had to run downstairs to talk to the rest of the Order,” Ana said. “He asked me to stay here in case you woke up.” She smiled. “I would have offered to stay with you anyway, of course. I was so happy when he brought you back from Nate’s.”

  Lily sensed the pain underneath the surface of Ana’s cheerful persona, and felt an answering weight swell inside her. Nate had forever changed both of them. “He’s really dead?”

  Ana nodded. “Dead as a cockroach under a hammer. My sister saw him die.”

  Relief filled Lily at the confirmation that Nate was truly gone. It felt so right, so perfect to have Ana sitting beside her, alive and healing. Lily felt hope, real hope, that the future could be okay. “When you didn’t come back for so long, I didn’t think you’d made it,” she admitted. “I was afraid you’d died.”