by Marie Hall
“Cian, you dirty bastard.” Bezel chuckled. A dark-green mist sheathed the demon. The snap and crack of bones reforming sounded. “You knew how to stop me.” He shook his head. “You’re either incredibly stupid or just plain screwed in the head.”
Cian licked the corner of his mouth, tasting the drops of pooling blood, the spreading ache of his wounds a constant throb. “Both.”
The demon snorted and hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Mortally wounded my bindsman. He’s in the Dumpster, I’m sure praying for your services right now.”
“I’m sure.”
“Anyhow”—Bezel frowned and shoved a fist through his close-cropped hair—“sorry ’bout this. Lost my head. All that blood, then she showed up. Couldn’t stop myself.”
Cian shook his head. “She’s safe, that’s all that matters.”
“Yeah.” The demon shook his head and walked off, hands shoved deep into his pockets, appearing yet again as nothing more than a harmless frat boy on his way home from a late-night binge.
Cian couldn’t contain a sigh of relief; she was safe for now, at least from Frenzy. The Morrigan could still choose to send another. He fervently hoped that Dagda could somehow get her to agree to the terms. The fae god had sent him back to his dark witch after all. Surely he had some vested interest in protecting her as well.
For now, he’d bought some time, and that was all that mattered.
But it was not enough. Not nearly enough.
* * *
Eve groaned. Did I die?
Pain flared through her head like a nova about to burst.
Probably not. I hurt like hell.
All she could remember was demonic purple eyes, the taste of sulfur on her tongue, and finally, darkness.
She shivered, feeling cold. But this wasn’t a normal chill. This was a marrow-deep, soul-sucking abyss.
Eve wanted to scream, rage, and cry all at once. Tears welled in her throat. A hollow, mind-numbing void consumed her.
Sharp bursts of pain came lightning quick and stole her breath. It was like an ice pick ramming through her brain.
She hissed through her teeth. Panic and fear for her sisters hammered at her heart. Were they okay? But she couldn’t open her mouth to speak when every breath hurt so badly.
Eve whimpered, on the verge of hysterics.
“Shh. You’re okay. Demon bespelled you. Rest. You are safe.”
The voice wrapped her in a pool of silk. Warm fingers ran gently across her forehead. The touch comforted, anchored her to the present and away from the hellish nightmare of a stalking demon. The needle-hot pain slowly subsided down to a low throb.
She relaxed into the warmth, the touch. The last of the lingering ache faded away like mist over rolling waters. Finally able to take a breath without the flare of pain dulling her senses, Eve opened her eyes.
Frost-blue and gold eyes collided, along with a wicked sense of déjà vu, though she wasn’t given much time to think about that odd prickle.
Instead she was sucking in a breath when the reality of who held her finally seeped through her sluggish mind. His gaze was a soft caress that seemed filled with hunger. The kind that promised danger and lust and dark nights.
A hot shiver ran down her spine and filled her with liquid heat. The quick glimpse of him at the bar had not done the man justice. Not a blemish to mar the sculpted beauty of his face. He seemed made of marble, every feature chiseled and clearly defined.
For a split second, she wondered whether the body under the clothes was just as carved, and a warm curl of desire tied her gut in knots. His breath tickling her neck made her aware of other things. The rise and fall of his chest. Her arms wrapped around his thick neck. She was filled with a sudden need to run her fingers through his hair and see if it felt as silky as it looked.
The stranger gently sat her down but she didn’t back up or move away. For some reason the thought of putting distance between them never crossed her mind.
“Are you okay?” he asked, grazing a finger down the side of her neck.
Goose bumps trailed a fiery path across her flesh. She winced when his fingers ran over two hard bumps. “What is that?” she asked, a bit breathless and dizzy.
“Demon’s kiss. Befuddles the mind. Makes it easier to dominate.”
“Eve.” Tamryn’s voice broke her trance. Eve jumped and turned, nearly bowling her sister over in the process.
“What?” she snapped with embarrassment.
Tamryn narrowed violet eyes, her gaze sharp and assessing. Celeste crept up behind Tamryn, groaning as she rubbed her left temple.
Both sisters were scratched and banged up. Tamryn wore a nasty gash over one eye, while Celeste had a long vertical cut up one cheek. Otherwise, they looked to have fared the fight in one piece.
“You okay?” both sisters asked at once.
She nodded, knowing by the glint in their eyes that she’d been projecting again.
For once can I just lust in private?
Celeste gave her a small smile, then turned her attention to the stranger with a raised brow.
“Oh.” Eve turned toward the man, his blue eyes threatening to hold her captive again. “This is…”
“Cian,” he said, his gaze never leaving her face.
Her cheeks burned. The man was intense. Oh, but who cared. He was totally hot.
Lame, Eve. So lame.
“Cian,” she repeated slowly, tasting the vowels.
Harry grunted in the background as he fell out of the Dumpster to the unyielding pavement below.
Tamryn rushed to the were’s side.
Celeste, the most curious of the three, held out her hand in welcome first. “Well, thanks for the rescue. That demon went totally ape. No way we could have handled that without your timely rescue.”
Cian nodded. “Glad I was around to help.” He bit his bottom lip and glanced back at Eve.
She wanted to squirm under his hot gaze. Carnal thoughts knocked at her door.
Tamryn shuffled up, her shoulder braced under Harry’s arm. Harry leaned against her heavily, looking slightly worse for wear with his cracked lips and swollen eyes. That was going to be one hell of a mug tomorrow.
They each glanced at each other, an uncomfortable tension growing between them.
Finally Harry blurted out, “I’m going home.”
“Wait,” Tamryn said and turned to Eve. “You gonna be okay if…”
“Yeah.” She nodded, knowing her sister felt a need to tend to the sickly. Though if you asked her, Harry was really milking it with that ridiculous woebegone expression on his face. Pathetic. Men. Catch a little cold and it was like doomsday; their world was thrown into a tailspin.
“Go. Go.” She shooed Tamryn and Harry off. “Just be safe and call me when you get there. K?”
Tamryn nodded and walked off, murmuring soft words of encouragement.
“Oh brother,” Celeste said in an aside. “That bear’s begging to get a poor-baby lay. Well, I hope Tamryn’s smarter than that. He’s not gonna stick around after tonight, if you ask me.”
Eve nodded, not really paying much attention to her sister. She couldn’t stop herself from repeatedly glancing at Cian. It was more than just the good looks. There was something about the quiet, unpretentious stranger that beckoned her. Somehow he seemed so familiar. Yet she knew his face was not one she’d ever have forgotten. What was it? The nagging thought teased at the back of her mind.
And yet the memory just wasn’t there. Infuriating. She wasn’t going to be able to go to bed until she put the mystery of the man out her mind. She sighed. Nothing for it; she was in for a long night.
Cian was quiet, watching the alleyway warily. With a gentle grip he held her elbow and steered her and Celeste in the opposite direction.
“I’ll walk you both back. Death still walks amongst us.”
Chapter 7
How dare he commit to that oath?” The Morrigan growled her disgust into hers and Dagda’s chambers.
Dagda hooked his thumbs together, quiet and contemplative. The Morrigan stalked through the room. Her black gown trailed behind her agitated march like shadow.
She whirled on Dagda, pointing her finger directly at his chest. “How dare he?”
He shrugged. “I couldn’t say.”
She flared her nostrils, the ivory of her skin mottled with anger, her eyes a glowing red. Dagda inhaled her rage with each breath he took. It stretched inside him, powerful and malignant, spreading its poison throughout his body. He was immune to her sorcery, but the mortals had never been. This was how his queen incited her wars.
She looked like a warrior priestess, her multihued hair crackling around her head as a charmed cobra. “I’ll obliterate Frenzy for this.”
He took a deep breath. These were icy waters and he needed to tread lightly. “And what would that accomplish, Chaos?”
“Why do you care?” she snapped. “Is that any concern of yours?”
He cocked his head, feigning disinterest.
She narrowed her eyes, stalking toward him, slowly, methodically. “Why do you continue to involve yourself in these matters? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Nothing that concerns you, dear queen.” His tone was velvet edged in steel.
A wicked grin curved her lips. “So, we are once again at an impasse, fighting on the opposite side, it would seem.”
He inclined his head.
The Morrigan licked her lips, now only mere inches from his grasp. Every nerve in his body was aware of her, the energy thrumming through her veins, the fire of fury in her eyes.
“A wager?” Her black brow cocked in challenge. “I get to the human first, she dies, as do Cian and Frenzy.”
Dagda grabbed her wrist, yanking her into his lap. She was stiff, but only for a minute. Then she relaxed and began to rub her nose down his neck.
“What makes you assume this is about the mortal woman?”
She bit his left earlobe. Gentle at first, then hard enough to get his attention and make him wince.
“Don’t play the fool, Dagda.”
Shifting, he moved her directly over his cock. Her eyes widened and she wiggled her bottom on him, making him groan in response.
“Fine,” he said, voice husky and full of desire. “I win and they live. Those are the terms.”
“What about the week Frenzy committed to?” Her warm breath, spiked with mint, tickled his nose.
Digging his fingers into her waist, he strained against the desire to rip off her clothes and have her now.
“We let them have it and begin in earnest six days hence.”
She nipped the corner of his mouth. He tittered on the brink of an explosive violence.
“Maybe. Then again, maybe not.”
“Six days. Minimum.”
She inhaled. “Three.”
“Chaos,” he growled, “that is not acceptable.”
She sucked on his bottom lip. “Five. But that is all I’m willing to pledge.”
Clenching his jaw, he knew bargaining for more would be futile. When his queen set her mind to something, she was as unshakeable as stone. “So be it. It is sealed. I bind you to your oath.”
The air quickened with a hot rush of fire. Wind howled through the room, knocking books from shelves and glass containers from desks. Gradually the gale died and an unnatural lull filled the chamber. The pact had been sealed. To break it now meant eternal damnation.
She smiled, a delighted glint in her royal-blue eyes. She looked happy, ready to gloat. That didn’t bode well. The queen hid a secret. He could almost see the cogs in her head spinning. She’d already formulated her method of attack. The Celts called her the goddess of war and strife for a reason: rarely could anyone outmaneuver The Morrigan in strategy.
He frowned, only guessing at what she might be thinking. Knowing his queen, it would be something ingenious and devious. It was now up to him to figure out a way to thwart her. For now, his thoughts were of other things. With an animalistic growl he claimed her lips for his own.
* * *
The Morrigan sat up, clutching the sheet to her breasts and watching the slow rise and fall of her king’s chest. She slipped on her robe and tiptoed out of the room. With silent steps she walked down to the rack room, Frenzy’s flogged and bloody body still hanging from the chains.
She smiled, admiring her handiwork, and walked up to him. His breathing came out in short, shallow gasps.
“Listen to me,” she leaned in and whispered in his ear.
He turned bloodshot eyes to her. Even after all this, fear did not glitter in their depths.
“I’m releasing you. Find the witch”—she cocked her head—“don’t take her soul.” She paused, leaving the rest unsaid. By the question in his eyes, she knew he caught her meaning. Not taking one’s soul had nothing to do with not harming. There was a difference. She lifted a brow and nodded, then continued, “Follow her. Gain her trust if you can, and when these five days are up, kill her.”
“I vowed a week,” he said through clenched teeth.
She grasped his chin, pulling his face toward hers. “Five days,” she hissed, “that is all. Follow her, then kill her. Is that clear?”
He ground his jaw and yanked away. “I’ll do as you say, my queen.” The words lacked warmth. No matter. What did she care whether death groveled at her feet, so long as they were loyal. And Frenzy was very loyal.
The Morrigan narrowed her eyes. “See that you do. I’m offering you penance, Frenzy. Don’t make me regret it.”
His nostrils flared. He reminded her of a caged panther: incredible power and deadly grace.
“I want no contact except for the day before her death. Come to me at the witching hour. I’ll make sure I’m alone.”
He nodded.
“Good.” She tipped her chin and ran her hands down his back, doing something she rarely did. Heal.
A black mist flowed from her palms into him, sealing the lacerations and stitching the flesh together. She was not of the great healer bloodline, but what she had was good enough. Within hours he’d be whole, for now, this would do. She reached up and released his bonds.
He rubbed his wrists. Hair like a sea of fire crackled around his head.
“Here.” She shoved a pewter amulet against his chest.
He trapped her hand between his, yanked the chain from her cold fingers, and looked at it, then at her.
She pulled her hand back and growled, “So that Cian does not detect you. If you are to be around his mortal, your mark will be all over her. Cian cannot detect the subterfuge. Keep it on at all times. You’ll remain cloaked by the charm within.”
Silver eyes narrowed, a dangerous gleam of madness burned in their depths. Grinding his jaw, he slipped it over his head. Muted blue light flared from out the amulet, covering him. He shone palest blue and then the light faded, swallowed into his flesh.
Frenzy was now undetectable to any fae. They could look at him but all they’d sense was the mark of mortality. Warm satisfaction seeped through her veins. Everything was going according to plan. There was no way she’d fail.
Who’d suspect the treachery she was about to put into motion?
She smiled.
“And how am I to get close to her?” He yanked on the amulet, gruff voice full of displeasure.
She patted his cheek, a mocking smile tilting one corner of her mouth. Impatience built inside her chest. The heaviness of budding anger settled in her gut. “Have you forgotten all your skills, Frenzy? Perhaps I was wrong in keeping you in my court so long.” He fingers trailed up the ridged scars of his bare back. “I could always find another if you don’t feel up to it.” With a deft flick of her wrist she sank one of her nails into his flesh, not deep, but enough to draw blood.
He growled low in his throat and pulled out of her grasp. She laughed and licked the stain of blood off her nail.
Silver eyes swirled. Frenzy was so unpredictable, so animalistic, on the verge of insane. With no
ne of Cian’s weakness toward mortals, he was the perfect scout.
“Wait out the night. You’ll know what to do on the morn. And for your sake, do not fail me again.” Then she turned and fled back to her chambers and the warm body of her consort.
* * *
Eve’s heart was in her throat. Fire scorched her lungs as she ran barefoot through a wild thicket of trees. She gasped as sweat poured freely down her forehead.
The footsteps were gaining on her, crashing through the trees, swishing aside the blades of grass. Stones bit into her feet. She felt the sticky wetness and knew she bled, but she couldn’t stop. She had to keep running.
She pushed herself harder, her arms pumping, her muscles screaming in protest.
It was so dark, the sliver of moon the only light around for miles.
The footsteps were close.
An icy chill swept down her spine. She glanced behind her shoulder, ignoring the stinging pain of tree branches slapping against her cheeks.
A dark silhouette followed, a barrel shape ripping through the woods with purpose.
A paralyzing fear gnawed at her brain. Keep running. Don’t stop.
She twisted around trees, jumped over fallen branches. She slipped on a pile of dead leaves, her bloody feet making it slippery and wet.
She scrabbled for purchase, her nails clawing at the dirt until she stood upright.
Breath on her neck.
Oh goddess.
Fingers grazing her back.
She tried to run away. Hard hands clamped onto her waist, pulling her down. Eve screamed through her teeth, her ankle twisting out from under her as she fell hard and wrapped her arms around her head.
Her heart was like the toll of bells, pounding in her throat, her head. A whispering wind riffled through the woods. Crickets chirped. Owls screeched and wolves howled.
Nothing happened. The breathing was still heavy, lungs grasping for air, but nothing was happening. Curiosity was a burning thing. Who was this? She had to see. Cautiously, she dropped her arms and opened her eyes.
“You,” she whispered, her fear turning to shock.
