by Kiersten Fay
While Darius was running the business end of a blade down Ethan’s face, slicing the skin to the bone, Cale called out, “Hey pirate, that looks like fun. Can I have a turn?”
Darius hadn’t hesitated to oblige with a succession of hard knuckle-filled jabs to Cale’s face.
When Darius had backed off to focus on Sebastian once more, who was still recovering from his earlier attention, Ethan asked Cale, “How was your massage?”
Cale spit out a mouthful of blood before commenting, “Almost tickled.”
Cale had no idea about Ethan’s ability to heal—a detail he couldn’t afford for Darius to learn now—and that it would be in his best interest to allow Ethan the brunt of the beatings. Still, Ethan was surprised by the tenacity with which Cale would bait Darius.
Ethan had been using his magic to heal Sebastian and Cale just enough to go unnoticed. He couldn’t heal them completely unless he was physically touching them. But he could send out tendrils of magic that kept their wounds from festering or bleeding out.
He could have easily healed himself. Instead, he kept his inconsequential wounds open to keep from revealing the nature his gift. Darius had already noted his pointed ears with a keen eye, but that didn’t stop the asshole from torturing Ethan with the same enthusiasm he showed the demons.
However, something told him that if Darius ever grew tired of his newest toys, Ethan would be the only one to survive for future study.
Aside from the physical abuse, sleep was deprived of them. If any of them nodded off, an electric current would run through their bindings, choking the air from every cell in their bodies and reopening old gashes. Each of them was coated in a generous amount of dried and fresh blood.
Ethan didn’t know how many days had passed, but his exhaustion told him it had been more than a mere few. He worried what had become of Anya. They had not been given any evidence that she even lived.
He found his mind drifting to Sonya with increasing frequency. Fatigue-induced stupors brought on figments of her large violet eyes, flashing with imagined concern—the way she would regard her kin if she were here to see their pain.
The fantasy vanished. Sonya hated his guts, and if her brothers weren’t with him, she wouldn’t bother with his predicament at all.
Darius entered the room with a threatening gleam in his eyes that brought them all to attention.
“I’ve got a little treat for you,” he muttered.
Ethan stifled a curse. He could read Darius loud and clear, and was instantly aware of the plot. Darius was going to add a new player to his game.
Anya.
Darius smiled at them. The lunatic was practically giddy over the prospect of showing her what he’d done to them, as though she would applaud his work.
Ethan’s mind reeled. How could he spare her the pain of seeing them like this? And Sebastian? What special kind of torture would the Edge bring him when he laid eyes upon his mate? When he was unable to reach her, to keep her safe? A demon could go mad from something like that, and Sebastian had already been on the Edge for days.
Ethan spotted a dagger in Darius’s hand and mentally cursed. Without even the slightest change in expression, Darius sank the blade into Sebastian’s gut. Sebastian didn’t flinch. He just continued to meet the bastard’s unwavering gaze, as if giving some unspoken guarantee that Darius was looking into the eyes of death itself.
A hint of fear etched its way across Darius’ expression, eradicated a moment later.
Ethan couldn’t help but to indulge in a taunt. “You do realize you’ve just signed your own death note.”
Darius focused on him. Then, with a blindingly swift movement, he slammed the hilt of his blade into Ethan’s temple. A deafening ring vibrated his skull before he blacked out.
When he came to, muffled sounds echoed through his head. He opened and closed his eyes a few times and shook away the vertigo. His vision was blurry, but he got the sense that Anya was now in the room and was fighting Darius.
Sebastian and Cale were madly struggling against their bonds. Adrenaline spiked in Ethan’s bloodstream, and he tried to pull free, but it was no use. All he could do was hope Anya was able to fend off the much larger male.
Ethan’s vision dimmed again. He called up a bit of his magic to heal himself. He looked up just in time to see Darius stab Anya with the same dagger he’d used on Sebastian. Despair ate away at him, darkening his mind and carving out a place in his chest.
I couldn’t even protect one girl.
The dagger plunged again. Anya’s expression was pained, exhausted. She lifted her arm toward them as if reaching out for something. Then she gave them each one last sorrowful look before closing her eyes.
The bindings that held them began to shake. Magic pulsed through the metal, and he realized what she was doing. Their restraints were mechanized, and Anya could manipulate them just as she had the lock to the cell on Ethan’s asteroid.
A tiny clink was all that declared their release. Ethan leapt at Darius, but Sebastian beat him there, tearing into his flesh with unhindered hostility.
The screams escaping Darius were gratifying. Ethan wanted to join in and take a bit of his own revenge, but Cale motioned him back. “Sebastian will kill you too if you get in his way now,” he explained.
Ethan moved toward Anya, crumbled to the ground, but Cale once more stopped him.
“Don’t get near her either, pirate. Not while Sebastian is like this.”
Ethan ground his teeth. There could still be time to save her. But if Cale was right, and Sebastian killed him without thinking, he wouldn’t be able to help her anyway.
Sebastian threw Darius’ remains to the side and rushed to Anya’s side. He pulled her close to him and bellowed, “Please, Anya! Open your eyes!” His gaze flashed between Cale and Ethan. “Someone get a doctor! A healer! Now!” He turned back to Anya. “I will follow you, Dammit! You hear me? I will follow!”
The sight of Sebastian openly weeping for his mate took Ethan by surprise. Never had he felt such emotion for another.
“Anya, don't leave me!” Sebastian choked, running a bloodied hand down her pale cheek.
Ethan approached, reaching for Anya.
Sebastian snarled at him. “Get away from her! Find a doctor!”
“No.” Ethan made his voice grave. “Give her to me!”
“Do you want him to kill you, pirate?” Cale growled.
“I can help her, if it's not too late already! Give me her body!”
Sebastian’s desperate gaze met his. “How can you help her? Tell me!”
“My ability. The root of my power lies in healing.”
Sebastian seemed to digest this information for only a split second. “Then do it! Heal her, now!”
“I have to touch her body, so don't kill me. Okay?”
With a clipped nod, Sebastian relinquished Anya, though his eyes still mirrored that of a beast ready to attack.
Ethan pressed one hand to her wound and the other to her heart, drawing magic through his body and into hers. Instantly, she began to heal, but Ethan sensed her soul had already drifted away, leaving behind nothing but a shell. He could heal her body till not a blemish remained, but did he have it in him to call her soul back?
With all his strength, he gathered his magic into the cage of his heart, letting it build until it practically overflowed. The longer it was forced into submission, the stronger magic became. However, magic didn’t like to be caged. It liked to run free, and holding on to it for any amount of time would cause it to push back and resist. When it became too much and he could no longer keep his grasp, he unleashed the magic down his arms, over his palms, and through his fingertips it into Anya. Soon he was siphoning more magic than he ever had before.
He glanced up to see both Sebastian and Cale looking dumfounded. Scraps of torn cloth and drops of blood hovered midair as magic charged the room. Anya’s body became illuminated by the coursing power. Her wounds were fully knitted, but still there was
no soul to fill Anya’s shell.
Desperate, Ethan reached out toward Sebastian. “Give me your hand!”
Sebastian did as asked, and Ethan placed Sebastian's palm over Anya's heart and held it there.
“Call her back!” Ethan commanded. When Sebastian gaped at him blankly, he continued. “If you are truly hers, then your souls are linked. She will hear your call.”
Ethan had never attempted to reel a soul back from the afterlife, but if anything could aid such a task, it would be the pure devout love Sebastian harbored for his mate.
“What do I do?” Sebastian’s voice was gravely.
“Just keep your hand here and imagine her with you. The connection will help my magic.”
Ethan closed his eyes and blocked everything out. The pain of his own marred body faded to the furthest depths of his mind. Magic was like a second pulse inside him, surging life into Anya. When he began to grow weary, he called upon his last bit of energy, forcing a blast of power into the lifeless form below his fingertips.
Sebastian leaned over to whisper something in Anya’s ear. It sounded both private and intimate. Moments later, Ethan felt something he’d never felt before. An energy that felt like pure life itself.
Then, ever so slightly, Anya inhaled.
Ethan pulled his hands away. Drawing in a deep breath, he swiped a sheen of sweat from his forehead.
Cale slapped his back and let lose a hearty laugh.
Ethan sat back on his heels. “It's not over yet. She's healed. Her soul is in place…for now.”
“What do you mean for now?” Sebastian barked.
“Her soul had left her body, her vessel. Her body is in great shock. Her soul is once again connected to this body, but…that doesn't mean she'll wake up.”
Sebastian gazed down at Anya, who appeared as though she were only in a sound sleep. “She'll wake up,” he said it as if he had no doubt.
Ethan wasn’t so sure.
“Let's get back to Marada.” Sebastian glanced at Ethan. “Don't suppose you have enough juice left to heal us too?”
Ethan shook his head. “Sorry, I'm tapped out.”
Cale pushed his shoulders back. “I'm fine, anyway. In fact, I'm ready to do some damage.”
“Good.” Sebastian stood with Anya in his arms. “You take the front, Ethan take the back.”
Cale nodded and dove out of the room. A guard called out in surprise but, by the gurgled sounds that followed, Cale had subdued him easily enough.
Cale peeked his head back into the room and tossed a stolen gun to Ethan. “Here, you'll need this, pirate.”
Ethan caught it, and Cale winked before disappearing once more through the door.
“Typical demon,” Ethan shouted, following after him. “Wanting all the action for yourself.”
“You called it,” Cale hollered back.
Together they fought their way back to the shuttle. The element of surprise swayed luck to their side.
When they reached the docking bay, they took out the overseers and were soon jettisoning away from Extarga. As soon as they were safely away, Cale sent Marada an encrypted signal, hoping the ship was in range.
Ethan didn’t want to bank on it. As he glanced at the flight panel, checking the state of their fuel—not great—he said, “We should head to the nearest station or planet. What’s close by?”
Cale charted their position and then a three-dimensional map displayed on a small screen at his front. “The closest planet is Undewla. Nothing else is within reach.”
Ethan cursed. The inhabitants hadn’t been welcoming, and any fuel to be found on Undewla would be covered by layers of ice and frozen bedrock. But it didn’t look like they had much of a choice. If Marada didn’t come for them, they could either drift aimlessly through space till they ran out of air, or take their chances on Undewla.
Cale set their course, muttering, “Gods, I hate that planet.”
Chapter 9
“Sonya,” Aidan pleaded from his station. “Eat something and go rest for a few hours. I’ll call you the moment something appears on our radar.”
“Aidan, I’m fine. Quit harping,” she chided.
Aidan’s concern was not unfounded. She hadn’t left the control room but for a few useless attempts at sleep, and still she could not eat. The churning of her stomach made the thought of food unappetizing.
It was difficult to think of anything else but poor Anya, back in the hands of that bastard, Darius. Her brothers, possibly dead. The pirate likewise.
Unless…
Could Ethan have set them up from the start?
The thought snaked through her mind like a disease taking root. He was a pirate, after all. They’d known him for all of two seconds, and in that time they’d been drugged, locked up, and now separated. Practically gift wrapped and handed to their worst enemy. Ethan had been the one to lead them to Undewla.
“Aidan?” Sonya hesitated before continuing. “Do you think Ethan betrayed us to Darius?”
Conversations from other crew members died down to listen in as Aidan took a moment to contemplate her question. “I don’t want to start throwing accusation around until we get the others back and can question them about it.”
His answer was far too democratic for her liking. “Do you think it’s possible, or not?”
“Of course it’s possible. He did admit to having contact with Darius on the asteroid. But Darius had been tracking us long before then.”
She felt her fangs descend. “If he did, I will not rest until I’m sure he has suffered ten times what my family may have gone through.”
She clamped her teeth together. She was speaking as if they were already dead. But what else could she think? Too much time had passed already. Her brothers would have sent word by now, unless they’d indeed been incapacitated.
Just as the tormenting thought swirled through her mind, Aidan snapped to attention, focusing on his console.
“A distress signal,” he announced to the room. “It’s from the shuttle”
Sheer elation nearly made her dizzy. Then she grew pensive. “How far out?”
“Not far, a few hours maybe.” He didn’t wait for Sonya’s orders and pressed the ship’s engines hard.
As they drew near the shuttle, Sonya inquired as calmly as she could, “Is anyone on board?”
Aidan tapped a sequence of buttons. “There are four life signs.”
A smile broke across her lips. She slumped back in her chair, overwhelmed by the wave of relief. “And what of Extarga?”
“Our sensors aren’t picking anything up, but that doesn’t mean much. It didn’t show last time till it was too late.”
“There aren’t any boulders to hide behind now,” she discerned. “Alright, let’s make this a quick retrieval and then get the hell out of here. Divert power to the shields and bring all weapons online. Any sign of Extarga, don’t wait, start firing. Open transmission to the shuttle.”
Cale’s voice echoed through the speaker. “For once, little sister, I’m glad you’re such a disobedient pain in the ass.”
“Missed you too, Cale. Is everyone okay?”
Pause.
“We’re alive,” he said in a languid tone.
“I feel like that should have sounded better than it did.”
“Anya will not wake. She was hurt badly.”
Pain laced a rope around Sonya’s throat. “I’ll have Doctor Oshwald meet you in the docking bay.”
A few stressful moments later, the shuttle docked without incident. She had Aidan set a course in the opposite direction, then added, “Take over command for a while. I’m going to go check on them.”
Aidan nodded. “If they’re not too banged up, give ‘em each a good smack in the face for me.”
“Will do.” Sonya raced to greet her family, arriving just as the docking bay finished pressurizing. The doctor, who had already been waiting, stepped through the doors first, seeking his patient.
Sebastian gripped Anya’s
limp body to his chest as though someone might snatch her from him.
And the blood! They were all covered in massive amounts of blood, their clothing stained and torn, but the skin underneath appeared unmarred.
“Follow me to my quarters, Doctor,” Sebastian said. “You can examine her there.” Before he left, he offered Sonya a tight nod in silent approval.
Cale approached and clasped her on the shoulder—his way of saying she’d done well—and then continued past her. To Ethan, he said, “Come on, pirate. You’re buying.”
“Next time, demon. I’m done for at least two days. I’m surprised I’m still standing as it is.”
“Don’t be a pansy. Come take the edge off with me.”
Sonya glanced between the two, confused by their unusually chummy exchange.
When Ethan refused to relent, Cale grumbled, “Suit yourself.”
She watched as Cale disappeared through the hatch, no doubt on his way to The Demon’s Punchbowl to help himself to her liquor. Speechless at the lackluster reunion, Sonya threw her arms wide in a baffled gesture.
“Thanks for not giving up the search,” Ethan said from behind her.
Sonya didn’t bother to look at him. “It wasn’t for your sake.”
“Of course, but I’m no less grateful,” he responded in that aloof timbre of his.
“Care to explain what went on while you were gone?”
“It’s a long story. Perhaps at a later time.”
Sonya’s rounded on him. “Odd, don’t you think? That Darius shows up right as we arrive at Undewla.”
Ethan stilled, his eyes narrowing. “What are you getting at?”
“Just that it’s quite a coincidence. Almost as if Darius knew where we would be.” She didn’t hide the accusation in her tone.
He bristled. “Are you kidding me with this?” At her glare, headed, “You’re really suggesting that I had something to do with it?”
“Did you?”
He took a menacing step forward. Sonya held her ground, somewhat amused by the idea of his attempting to threaten her. Her smirk seemed to infuriate him further.
Then he paused, his demeanor changing, as if he were disgusted by her. Something in that response grated, and she lost her smile.
