Igor brushed the front of Neo's pants.
Neo gasped. Sweat rolled down his chest.
Igor breathed. “Lean into your desire for her, don’t resist it.”
Heat coursed through Neo’s veins. And pain, so much pain. He allowed his body to take over, to respond to Igor. All the time he made sure his heart, his soul, would only belong to her. He was hers.
“Her lightness, her scent, that delicate essence of her… You want it, don’t you, dragon?” Igor’s voice was soft, soothing, and comforting.
Neo could trust it.
He found himself nodding. “Yes. No.” He shook his head. “I will not let you use me to get to her. I will not!” A ball of emotion clogged his throat, and a tear rolled down his cheek. “Why are you doing this?” He growled. “Why do you want to break me?” He hated himself for sounding helpless, even though it was all an act. He wanted to understand what Igor was after.
“I don’t want to break you. I want to redeem you, the both of you.” Igor leaned in and licked the teardrop from Neo’s cheek.
Neo forced himself to stay where he was. Forced himself to look into Igor’s dark gaze, to allow his body to go pliant and his muscles to relax; even though everything inside him simply wanted to get out of here.
Igor’s breath bled over Neo’s lips. “I thought mating with Trinity would make me powerful, but I was wrong. The purity of love I sense between the two of you? I want that. I want all of it. When you forge the mating bond with her, when your fire combines with her light… That strength forged in heat and passion between the two of you? That is absolute power.” His voice was calm, his gaze steady. “The ability to love without reserve. That’s what the two of you have. That’s what I want. I must have the darkness, the light, and all the fire in between.”
His voice was matter-of-fact.
That was when Neo realized that the Fae wasn’t driven by just a thirst for emotions like the Elysians. Igor was driven by cold, hard logic, by the need to control, to make everything and everyone bend to his will.
The cold hollow in Neo’s chest tightened.
The Lord of Darkness was not someone to be toyed with. He wasn’t someone who could be destroyed easily. He was an enemy far more powerful than anything the Alliance had ever encountered.
Igor wanted to wipe out every last sliver of light in this world and return it to darkness, where he could rule unchallenged.
“You’re right.” Neo tried to match the cold logic of the Fae with his own.
His dragon strained to understand what the human part of him already knew. Any sign of weakness, and Igor would use it against him.
Everything inside him told him this Dark Fae would not stop, not until he’d taken what he wanted.
Igor wanted the part of Neo that was untouched; that part that was only now coming into its own. He needed Neo’s dragon, his strength and passion; his pureness of heart.
“Call to her, she needs you, dragon shifter. She needs your strength, your protection, she will die without you. As you will without her.” Igor raised his hand and pushed the sweat damp hair from Neo’s forehead. His caress was gentle, almost fatherly. It made his action seem all the more menacing.
Goosebumps erupted on Neo’s skin. He shuddered and once more tried to draw back, but there was nowhere to go. He couldn’t evade Igor’s touch.
There was a painful lump in his throat. His chest hurt. In his heart he only had her. His dragon writhed against the psychic barriers placed on it. His beast wanted to reach for her, but he wouldn’t allow it. He had to close himself off, limit his very existence to just the physical plane.
Igor hummed under his breath. “Stubborn, shifter. You are going to regret not doing as I said.”
Fear slid under Neo’s skin, keen as a knife. The cords of his neck tightened.
Igor held up his hand; the nails glistened, then the tips ignited.
The scent of sulfur was so strong that Neo gagged. Panic was a living, breathing thing that shoved at his chest. He felt the fears he’d pushed aside to a corner of his mind, the hate he’d buried inside him when was but a child. All the helplessness and hatred came rushing to the forefront.
Then Igor dug his fingers into the old scars at Neo’s side and raked his nails down.
It was like a hot sword had been plunged into him and gone right through, into his guts, tearing them out, opening the old wounds, opening the scars inside him that had been festering for so long.
Trinity was right. The scars inside him were deeper and more serious than the ones he wore on the outside.
It was like Igor had unleashed all the fears he’d spent a lifetime hiding from. Like a thousand worms had crawled out and were burrowing their way down his skin.
Igor’s fangs dropped, and he leaned in close. His claws hooked into Neo, and he twisted.
The agony was so strong that it ripped through Neo. He wanted to plead and beg and ask the Fae Lord to stop, but he wouldn’t. To do so would only show his weakness.
He had to find a way to push back, to overcome the Fae and take revenge for everything they had done to him as a child. For what Igor was going to do to his mate.
Rage slammed through Neo, overcoming any last thoughts he had. Something inside him, deep inside he’d shied away from all this time, shattered. He’d do anything it took to protect Trinity from Igor.
Igor’s darkness slashed through Neo, through his veins.
Neo didn’t need to look at himself to know his own blood vessels would be black and pulsing under his skin.
And still Igor didn’t stop. Another burst of darkness, this time tinged with a burning red, rained on the dragon. The hellfire ate into the dragon’s energy while on the physical plane he felt it eat through his flesh.
The pain slashed through him. His stomach heaved.
He wouldn’t let this man get to Trinity. He’d stop this evil right here, even if it meant he had to give up his physical self to Igor.
His body seemed to crumple in on itself.
Neo couldn’t…didn’t stop the groan that welled up.
His dragon writhed inside, torn with the need to reach out to the silver bond, that fledgling bond which was the only thing that stood true in this world gone crazy.
The only light in the murkiness that pulled at him.
“Reach for her, dragon shifter, connect with her through the mating bond.” Igor breathed against his skin.
Neo’s body shuddered.
Never. He’d never put Trinity at risk. Even if it meant he had to let go of her before his dragon overcame his restraints and reached out to Trinity.
A calm bathed his mind.
He realized his true destiny. He had to stop Igor for the sake of his dragons, his species, his family back in Mauritania.
He had to stop Igor before the darkness he was bleeding into him tainted Trinity and destroyed his mate. Before Igor tainted everything Neo held dear.
Before his body weakened and he gave in to the need to complete the mating bond.
Reaching inside, he snapped the fledgling connection.
26
Trinity
One moment he was there—she felt his heartbeat pounding with hers, felt the energy of his dragon so close that she was sure he was flying to her through the psychic plane—the next he was gone; it was like every part of her mourned his loss.
A sense of bleakness washed over her.
Her knees trembled. Her heart…it was as if her chest was hollow. She cried out.
White blankness swept through her mind. Time seemed to slow down. She reached for him through the thin fledgling bond between them.
He was gone.
There was nothing, not even darkness. There was only an emptiness. It seemed so absolute, so final. She shuddered.
How could you lose something you didn’t have? Yet in just that little time, he’d become a part of her like nothing else before.
Silver flashed. Arjun brought the sword down toward her.
Her head fell forward, and her hair cascaded over her face. She was ready to die. Without Neo, she didn’t want to survive.
She’d pushed him away earlier thinking she had put him in danger. She was right.
She’d brought him here; she hadn’t been able to stop reaching for him as Tibor had transported with her. She deserved to die.
The sword flashed past her. A light breeze slashed against her cheek. The next instant there was a scream, cut off with a gurgle.
There was a hiss of a blade on flesh…then a slurpy plop.
Tibor’s head hitting the floor and rolling away.
The scent of copper hung heavy in the air, twined with the fading scent of bitter almonds.
Tibor’s headless body toppled to the floor.
The wire that was looped around Tibor’s wrist, and which stretched to Arjun’s neck, pulled tight.
She sensed wetness streaming down her face. She raised her hand to her cheek. It came away stained red. “You killed him?” Her throat hurt as if she had been screaming for the longest time.
Arjun watched the body a second longer. It was if he was making sure Tibor was really dead. When he raised his eyes to hers, they were vacant.
He bent, his movements smooth, and wiped the blade on Tibor’s white shirt. Straightening, he held the blade to his own neck.
Her breath rushed out. She flung out a hand. “Wait. What are you doing—”
He slid the blade under the slim wire that was around his neck. With a twist of the blade, he snapped the thread.
The wire fell to the floor. The sliver thread writhed as if it were alive then dissolved.
Arjun flung the sword aside as though he couldn’t bear to hold it for a second longer than necessary.
The sound of the blade hitting the hard floor rattled around the gaping hollow that filled in her chest. Neo! She had to find Neo.
What was she thinking giving up so easily? She wasn’t ready to die. She wasn’t going to give up what Neo and she had without a fight.
Trinity darted past Arjun. She rushed out of the door of the cell into the corridor.
Neo may have cut the bond between them, but the echoes of it pulled at her. She dropped into herself and reached for her light, allowing it to tug at her and lead her forward.
There was a sound behind her. She turned to find Arjun had followed her out. “Do you know where he’s imprisoned my clan?”
He paused, and his forehead furrowed. There was a look of uncertainty on his face. His gaze darted to a corridor that led away at a right angle, opposite where she wanted to go.
“Are they down that way?”
He nodded, then signed to her, pointing in the direction she’d been headed in.
She pursed her lips. “You want me to go to Neo?”
His eyes were still vacant, but the skin around them crinkled. He thumped his chest then indicated he’d go to where her people were imprisoned.
“So, you’ll rescue them, while I find Neo?”
He signed a ‘Yes’ to her with his right fist.
She hesitated. She had to get to Neo, fast, and yet the fact that the rest of her people were in danger gnawed at her. She had to make sure they were rescued. “How...how do I know that I can trust you? You did save me earlier, but still, what if you leave without taking them with you?” She raked her fingers through her hair, and her broken nail snagged on a knot. She winced.
He walked to her.
She raised her chin and frowned. What was he up to?
He held up the pinky finger of her right hand.
In reflex, she held up her own.
He knotted his finger around hers.
“Oh!” She blinked. “You give me your pinky promise?”
He nodded, and a slight smile curved his lips. It was amazing how that lightened his features. She could have sworn she saw those blue eyes grow stormy with emotion, just for a second.
He peered down at her. His jaw hardened.
She sensed he was worried for her. Besides, he’d saved her life once already. She could trust him to keep his word. “Go.” She jerked her chin in the direction of her clan. “Save my clan, get them to Bombay. Ask for Mayor Leana, she’ll make sure you are taken care of. I’ll meet you there.”
He nodded then turned and ran the other way.
She swallowed. Now she was really on her own.
Another wave of nothingness poured over her, and mixed with it was a flavor of such intense suffering it engulfed her skin, and she almost blacked out. She doubled over, going blind with pain.
She put out a hand and clutched at...nothing. It was that which made her crack her eyelids open.
She wasn’t alone—she’d never be alone, not as long as Neo was alive. She had to save him.
She reached for where she’d last felt his presence. There. That way, toward the end of the corridor, then up the stairs. The sound of footsteps coming down reverberated.
Her pulse thudded.
She slid her body flush against the wall next to the landing and waited for two men to walk by.
They were tall, each more than six feet, all in black. Their scent was earthy, deeper than that of the Fae. She sniffed lingering dragon smoke on them. Dragons? That couldn’t be. Was Igor recruiting them? More importantly, why were shifters joining him in the fight to subdue their own kind?
She squeezed her eyes shut. Sweat trickled down her temples. The men walked past. When they turned the corner, she rushed to the landing, then ran down a flight of steps to the floor below.
A scream echoed down the corridor.
She took off toward it even before her mind cautioned she couldn’t be sure it was him. Her unicorn energy streamed toward the sound. It had to be Neo. Igor was punishing him.
Her limbs shook, but she pushed herself to keep moving, to run toward it.
Then she caught a scent. It was faint, almost fading away; drops of the indigo trail bled out into the psychic plane.
She followed it to the heavy iron door in the center of the corridor. She leaned on it. It didn’t budge. She gritted her teeth and put all her weight behind it. Her muscles trembled. Sweat popped out on her brow. It swung open, and she slipped through the opening.
The scent of blood and dry frost hit her at once. Her eyes watered.
She paused. Every muscle in her body tensed. It was so dark it took a while for her eyesight to adjust. Then a sound, a groan drew her attention to the two figures in the middle of the room.
Neo’s head had fallen forward; blood trailed from the edge of his lips.
The man standing in front of Neo raised his head and wiped his mouth.
That’s when she noticed that Neo’s chest was covered in welts.
Neo had been bound and tortured by Igor. The bonds were holding him up. His back was straight, as if he was still fighting back.
Blood pounded in her head; rage roared through her veins. A haze of red descended in front of her eyes. Something inside her broke.
The last of the barriers around her light dissolved. White brightness poured out of her, through her pores, her ears, her eyes. She raised her arms wide, opened her mouth, and let the power surge through.
27
Neo
He blinked sweat out of his eyes and raised his head in time to see the light pour out of her. It gushed from her pores and streamed from the tips of her fingers. A pulse of illumination flowed from between her eyebrows and swirled forward in an inverted vortex.
She looked powerful, mystical, and so out of this world.
He wondered how he’d even thought he could take her for a mate. He was a scarred monster, a dragon who had been sullied by darkness. She was light, goodness, and everything that was pure in this world.
Her eyes, those pools of mirrored brightness, shined at him.
There was so much grief in them, so much agony. For him? For her? For what they could have had? He couldn’t be sure, and it didn’t even matter anymore. He wanted to warn her to get out of there, away from
Igor, away from the darkness that surrounded him.
She deserved more, so much more than he could offer her. He knew then he couldn’t let her sacrifice herself for his sake. With a roar, he pulled free of the chains that he had been working away at.
Igor straightened and looked up at him.
Neo linked his fingers together and brought his folded fists down on Igor’s head.
The Fae moved at the last moment, jerking back, so Neo’s fists swept close to Igor’s skin, close enough for the hair on his head to flutter.
Then Igor turned on her. He glided forward, so fast that he left sparks of black and red in his wake. Once again, Neo was reminded of the power coiled in his body.
With a hiss that was sensuous and deadly, Trinity’s power rushed out from her third eye through the inverted vortex. It leaped across the space and pulsed toward the Fae and missed him.
Igor streaked across to the edge of the room.
Using the wall for purchase, he flipped over to stand on his feet and faced the two of them.
Trinity flung out a hand. The power streaked from her fingertips in a flash of light to cut though the straps that had bound Neo’s feet to the floor.
Neo yanked his feet free and pushed his body forward. He thrust himself between her and the Fae. “You’ll never hurt her, not as long as I am alive.”
“You’re right. I should have killed you when you were a boy. But I let my little obsession with you get out of hand.” Igor cricked his neck from side to side. The crack of his bones echoed loudly in the small space. “You’ve served your purpose. I used you to bring her to me, knowing that was the only way she would come willingly. Knowing the only way to get her to show her true form again was if you were in danger. Question is, should I kill you or make you watch as I claim her?”
Anger roared through Neo. Next to him he felt her tense. Felt her reach for the power inside her and direct it at Igor. Saw Igor’s lips widen in a grin.
He knew whatever she was going to do was going to hurt her. “No!” Neo yelled.
Seduction Page 12
