The scarred warrior next to Quinn swore. “Where the hell did he come from?”
Vaughn met Quinn’s eyes and nodded back, then he started down the hill toward the bastards he didn’t trust, couldn’t afford to trust, and was doing it anyway.
***
Elijah paced the small room Ezekiel had locked them in. The walls were thick with a foul coating that made him not want to touch it. Even the floors felt dirty, although they were immaculate to the eye. It was as if there was a taint over everything, making his skin crawl. Every time he got near the off-white wall, he got painful flashes of blinding light in his head.
Like bombs exploding…or mental partitions crumbling, allowing him to think of the hell his life had been…his sister…all the people he’d killed…not knowing what was real…
He swore and swung away from the wall to face the room.
There was nothing in their cell except a bed and a bathroom. Ana was sitting on the bed, rubbing the brands on her arms. Her tension was eating at Elijah, making his stomach turn with acid. Her worry and fear was making his head pound, and he knew the stress was getting to him. He was so fucking worried about her he couldn’t think straight. He could barely concentrate on getting them the hell out of that room before Ezekiel came back for them…for her…
Fuck!
Pain shot through his skin, and Elijah looked down at his arm, expecting to see one of Ezekiel’s blades cutting him.
There was nothing there. His skin was intact. But he could still feel the sharp cut of a blade.
He was feeling a knife that wasn’t actually there. Oh, shit. Illusion or reality? He didn’t know.
Ana’s head snapped up and she looked at him, her eyes wide with knowledge. “Elijah?”
“It’s nothing. I’m fine.” He carefully eased up his shields so she wouldn’t be able to sense what was going on in his mind. It would worry her even more, knowing that he was losing it again. Hell, it was worrying him.
She frowned. “You’re not fine.”
He finally stopped pacing and looked at her. At her black curls falling over her shoulders, the golden tint to her skin, the healing cut on her face, and the cast still around her ankle. God, she was beautiful. And she was his. He knew it in his core, and it humbled him. It also ate away at him because he was failing her. “I was supposed to keep you safe, and I brought you here. I allowed him to brand you. Hell, I haven’t even healed you yet.”
Her silver eyes were haunted, yet determined. “We can’t sleep at the same time, so you can’t bring me into your healing sleep.” She rapped her knuckles on the cast. “It protects me anyway.”
His skin prickled again, and he walked over and sank to his knees in front of her, sliding his hands up her hips around her waist and dropping his face into her lap. His body nearly sagged with the relief of touching her. She gave him peace, on every level of his being.
Her arms went around his head, her fingers entwining in his hair. “I can feel Ezekiel in me now.”
He ground his jaw. “I can, too.”
“He’s lonely.”
Elijah lifted his head to look at her. “You’re bonding with him emotionally?” Just saying it made him pulse with anger. The idea of Ana feeling affection for Ezekiel made his forearms burn with the need to call out his weapons. It made his body throb with the urge to throw her down on the mattress and stake his claim to her. It made the ache in his head worse.
Shit, he had to stay calm. He had to stay focused. He could not snap now. If he did, it would be the ultimate betrayal of his responsibility to keep her safe.
Ana made a noise of protest. “Oh, God, am I going to want to have sex with him? I can’t. The thought of it—”
“No!” Elijah grabbed her and hauled her against him, his grip hard. “No! You won’t!
“But that’s what the bond does, isn’t it? Brings a couple together so they can’t resist each other?” She shook her head, her fingers gripping his biceps, her jaw jutting out. “No, no. I’ve bonded two and a half stages with him, but I still recoil from him. The bond isn’t making me want him in that way.” She met his gaze. “How I feel about him is nothing compared to how I feel about you.”
Elijah’s chest tightened, and his soul vibrated in response to her declaration. “I could hear you say that a million times and never get tired of it.”
Ana ran her hands over his arms and shoulders, as if she needed to touch him. Hell, he needed to touch her, so why wouldn’t it go both ways? Her touch chased away the darkness Ezekiel’s presence left behind. It subverted the thickness of the air in the room, in the house, everywhere Ezekiel had been. And it helped his mind—
“Oh, no!” Ana went rigid, then she shoved him away from her and spun away, clenching her hands to her forehead.
“Ana?” He reached for her and felt the shift in air pressure in the room. The hair on his arms prickled and he grabbed her. “You’re doing an illusion?”
“No.” She had her eyes clenched shut and her fists balled. “Trying not to.”
“What’s going on?” A breeze began to pick up in the small room, a breeze that could not actually be present inside closed walls, and yet it was there. Real. Brushing across his skin. No, not real, not real. But it felt real, his mind wouldn’t believe him that it wasn’t. Elijah felt a trickle of sweat slide down his back, and he swore, tightening his grip on her.
“Ezekiel’s in my head,” she said. “He’s trying to force an illusion.”
“Trying to? Why?”
She shook her head once. “I don’t know. How would he know they make you crazy?”
The wind got stronger and the air pressure dropped even more, and Elijah’s skin began to prickle. “Fuck,” he whispered. “He knows.”
He grabbed Ana and yanked her close, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tight. Merge your mind with mine, sweetheart. Let me give you peace. He knew the only way to stop the illusion was to override the fear that Ezekiel was creating in her.
“I can’t. You’ll sense the illusion—”
Let me make you feel safe. Merge with me. Let me in.
The wind grew stronger, and Elijah felt his mind start to unravel. The first tendrils of panic begin to creep over him. Now, Ana. Now!
With a shudder, she dropped her shields and he was in her mind instantly. He nearly went down at the intensity of what he felt from her. Death, torture, brutality, a darkness of such caliber he felt it blacken his soul all the way to his heart, and his mind froze, consumed by a terror so debilitating—
Elijah?
The raw terror in her voice broke through his panic like a violent burst of sunshine.
He bent his head and kissed her fiercely, keeping her wrapped in his arms, using his body as a shield to give her the feeling of safety and protection. The instant her lips parted under his, he felt his panic ease and his strength return. He knew that the whirring in her mind was nothing but an illusion, teasing him, unable to hurt either of them. He felt Ezekiel’s presence in Ana, trying to fuel the illusion with feelings of pain and torture. Elijah realized that Ezekiel was filling Ana’s mind with moments from her time with Nate, when he was beating her so fiercely and endangering her very life.
Renewed fury raged through Elijah, and his kiss grew fierce and dark, as if he could cleanse her of those memories through his kiss. Let them go, sweetheart. You’re here with me, now. No one is hurting you, not anymore.
But Ana’s panic continued to escalate, and he felt each blow as Nate beat her. The illusion was her body’s natural defense system, a weapon used to distract her assailant long enough for her to escape. It was rising hard and fast to protect her from the threat, unable to tell that her terror was based on the past and not the present. Ana’s screams beat at his mind and he set her on the bed, crawling up next to her as she moaned, her body writhing under the memories, so real and strong the illusions were rising hard to protect her. It was what Nate had done repeatedly to force the dark illusions out of her, and now Eze
kiel was doing it again by making her relieve the experience.
The illusion was getting stronger. Son of a bitch. They had to stop it!
The hairs on the back of Elijah’s neck rose again, and he felt the sharp prick of knives on his skin. The air pulsed around him as the demons rose from their sleep, their claws sharp and their teeth bared, preparing to attack.
No. Elijah concentrated on the feel of Ana’s mouth under his, on the heat of her body, and the demons abated slightly. Enough for him to concentrate on her. You’re safe, Ana. Safe. Nate’s dead.
Ana felt the tremendous strength Elijah summoned to beat back his demons, and it penetrated the memories assaulting her. And suddenly she wasn’t at Nate’s mercy, rolling on the forest floor, trying to escape his assault. She was in Elijah’s arms, and his hands were gentle, his body hard and strong, protecting her, not hurting her, his voice whispering words of support in her mind. She felt the rigidity of his body as he fought to maintain control in the face of her building illusion and her hellacious memories. Elijah.
I’m here for you, sweetheart. His voice was so beautiful, a ray of hope, joy and light piercing the darkness that was trying to consume her.
Ana threw her arms around his neck and kissed him as hard as she could, reaching desperately across their bond. His body shook with relief when she slipped her hands beneath his shirt and flattened them over his chest. She felt him regain control as she ratcheted the illusion back down. Their souls met, weaving around each other, filling her with the pure beauty of their connection, the powerful truth of what he meant to her.
Tears burned in her eyes, and she pulled back, overwhelmed by the intensity of emotions raging through her. She knew in that moment that there was no one else in her heart or her soul but Elijah. He was her world, her everything, her entire heart. His green eyes were burning with passion, and her spirit swelled in response. She clung to him, desperate to put her emotions into words, to tell him how much he meant to her. “Elijah, I lo—”
There was a howling rage in her mind and Ezekiel’s fury beat at her. “Oh, God. I think we pissed him off.”
“You think?” Elijah cupped her face, and kissed her again, deeply, passionately, with all the intensity of a man who had given his soul to his woman. We need to shut him out. Concentrate.
She merged her mind with Elijah’s, and together they rebuilt their mental shields, even as Ezekiel’s anger pulsed at her. Elijah’s warm strength and beautiful courage filled her, weaving its way through her mind until all she could feel was the intensity of his passion for her, his calm protection, his determination to keep her safe. Ezekiel was gone, and all that was left was the man she loved.
The man she loved? Did she really? She knew the answer deep inside, so completely, so fully—
“He knows how to break me, Ana.”
She opened her eyes and saw the torment in Elijah’s dark green eyes, the grim realization of his vulnerability. “We beat him though.”
“No.” Elijah shook his head and rubbed her shoulders. “He backed off. I felt it. He was showing us what he could do, and then he let us go. Why?”
Oh, God, he’d let them go? They weren’t even powerful enough to resist his manipulations from a distance? “Because he hasn’t given up that you’ll stand by his side? Be his partner?”
“Maybe.” Elijah dropped his hands from her and paced the room. He swore softly. “He’s manipulating us, Ana. I have a feeling he’s been playing us all along.”
“You mean, since he got out?”
“No.” He held up the medallion. “I think he’s been playing us for a hell of a lot longer than that.”
She stared at the medallion. “He’s been in prison—”
“He had Nate working for him on the outside. Don’t you think it’s a little too convenient that I’m so vulnerable to illusions, and that you’re an Illusionist? That I can be controlled like that and that he knew about it?” He shook his head. “There’s more going on, Ana. I know it.”
She leaned forward, fighting against the despair, refusing to give up. “So, what do we do?”
“Get out of here before he destroys us both. I don’t think we can pull off a recovery like that too many more times. We came here to get answers, not to be toyed with until he takes us down.”
She stared at him, hope dying in her heart as she realized Elijah wanted to give up. “You think we should leave? But we have no answers.”
He snorted, and fierce determination blazed in his eyes, making her realize she was wrong, so very wrong that Elijah was about to give up. The warrior was alive and focused, ready to take on the war. Excitement pulsed through her, gaining strength from Elijah’s aggressive warrior stance.
“I meant leave this room, not this building.” He studied the walls, his gaze rapidly assessing every detail of their prison, gathering data at lightning fast speed. “The answers are in this place somewhere, and we’re not going to find them being locked up.”
“Oh, great.” She was so relieved they weren’t abandoning Ezekiel, but also terrified beyond words. Or she would be, if she had time to freak out.
She looked around the windowless room. Elijah had already tried to break down the door and go through the walls, and it was too strong even for him, which meant the walls were probably made of steel and a solid foot thick. “But how are we going to get out?”
“Same way we got here. We’ll teleport.” He fell silent, and she felt him reaching out with his mind for Quinn, using the blood bond that would connect them over any distance. He looked at her and opened his mind to her, letting her into the conversation with his blood brother.
You kill the fucker yet? Quinn asked.
Need a ride ASAP.
Where are you?
Hell if I know.
Quinn snorted. You can’t make this easy on us, can you?
The air in the room began to get heavier and thicker, and Ana stiffened. Ezekiel’s presence was getting stronger. She could feel his raging anger and hostility. “Um, Elijah?”
He strengthened the link with Quinn and she realized he was trying to help Quinn hone in on their location. “Will that work?” she asked.
“Doesn’t tend to.”
She stared at him. “Doesn’t tend to? What kind of response is that?”
“Tracking each other isn’t the purpose of the blood bond between warriors. Not like the sheva blood ritual…”
The air in the room began to close in on them, so much threat, danger and evil. He was coming for them, and fast. Ana leapt to her feet as an illusion begin to stir inside her, responding to the threat.
Elijah swore as a wind began to pick up. Quinn! We’re running out of time.
I can’t get a lock on your location. I need a sheva bond.
Ana pressed her hands to her head, trying to will away the rising terror, the fear, the pain…it was beating at her, like when Nate had hurt her badly enough to force an illusion to rise in self-defense…the air was so thick… Ezekiel’s satisfaction pulsed at her, and she knew he was trying to force the illusion. “No!”
Elijah grabbed her arms, his forehead beaded with sweat. “Lock onto my mind, Ana. Quinn’s going to try to use his sheva bond with your sister to connect to you. Since you and she have the same blood running through your veins, it might be enough.”
Ana dropped all her shields without hesitation, and instantly felt Quinn’s strength as he caught her location and zeroed in on it.
But without her shields, she had no defense against Ezekiel either, and he swept into her mind with utter male satisfaction and possessiveness. His voice was thick with pleasure, consuming her mind with its power. Ana, my dear, sweet Ana. Welcome to my world. It is time. Are you ready?
No, God no, she wasn’t. And she knew it didn’t matter.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Ana cringed as Ezekiel intensified his assault on her defenses, ripping down the barriers blocking her memories until she was back on that forest floor, Nate’s knife lodged
in her thigh—”No!”
“Ana.” Elijah grabbed her and shook her gently, his voice urgent. “Come on, sweetheart. Focus on me.”
Ezekiel pressed deeper into her mind, trying to make her so terrified she would call out an illusion and doom Elijah. I need you, sheva. Don’t lock me out.
“Help me, Elijah.” Ana stared desperately into his green eyes, focusing on him, and still she couldn’t fight the pull of Ezekiel’s presence. She felt his pain, his loneliness, his need for her to heal his soul.
“Ana! No! Stay with me!” Elijah’s warmth flooded her mind, his caring, his fierce desire to protect her, sliding in alongside Ezekiel’s darkness, both males raw with need for her, calling to her. Two men, both needing so much from her, both demanding her response so potently.
She wanted them both. Needed them both. Couldn’t separate them in her mind. She stumbled back, pressing her hands to her head. “Stop!”
“No.” Elijah pulled her close to him, his gaze so intense. “I’m your mate, Ana. Accept no other.”
Elijah was her mate. She could feel her soul pulsing with the truth of that statement. But Ezekiel was pulling her, too…he was so strong…his need so great…his pain so virulent… Her forearms burned, brands pulsing in response to his call…to his unbearable need for her…he could protect her from Nate…from the beatings…the wind became faster and stronger…the illusion gained strength in its quest to protect her… “Elijah.” She gasped, terrified that she was losing, that she was falling into a chasm she’d never escape.
He tightened his grip on her “Stay with me—”
“I can’t—” Ezekiel’s voice rang in her mind. Tell me your darkest secret, Ana. Give me the power to destroy you. Trust me with your life.
“Trust is one of the stages,” Elijah snapped. “Don’t talk to him!”
“I know!” She could feel Ezekiel pressing at her mind, and felt her rising urge to confess—
“Ana—”
Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade) Page 31
