“Are you coming back with me?” Ryder asked.
I lifted my gaze and saw Ryder’s expression twist from regret to alarm. Something in my eyes had him tensing in his chair, his body freezing, muscles locking, ready to react. His glance at Stefan’s gun resting on the bedside indicated he was worried. Not just worried, but afraid of me, and I couldn’t blame him. I’d told him I had everything in check, and I did. I was more level, more stable, than I’d ever been, but that didn’t change his memory of seeing me go nuclear and kill thousands of demons in one terrifying moment. He hadn’t left my side since guiding me away from the battlefield. I’d had to convince him I was a big girl and could pee alone. Otherwise, he’d have hovered over me in the bathroom too. He was afraid of me, for me, for those around me. He was my mentor, my guardian, and if need be, my executioner. I’d never hurt Ryder. He was my failsafe.
I forced a smile across my lips. “Don’t get your panties in a twist. I’m all good.”
Ryder relaxed, but not entirely. He sat back and angled himself away from the table, giving himself room to spring out of the chair and lunge for the gun if he had to. “You know why Adam has my kid, right?”
“Leverage. He wants you to hand me in.”
“Yeah, that’s what I reckon. I won’t do it.”
“Go back. I’ll be fine on my own.”
Raking a hand through his hair, he chewed on his reply, obviously unhappy about leaving me. He settled his gaze on me, and his eyes narrowed in assessment. I stood demon-still and watched him watching me. “You’re one scary-ass demon, Muse.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“You should come back.”
Boston. Akil. I turned my head away. “Maybe.”
“The netherworld still bleeds through there. Forget the Institute, Boston could really do with you. If not for what’s right, go back for Stefan? Adam still has a termination order out on his son. It’s personal now, and he has Dawn to do his killing for him.”
There was that damn knot again. I growled low to clear it and hugged Stefan’s coat tighter. There were still unanswered questions from that day on the battlefield. Why wasn’t my father with the princes when they came through? Did the other half bloods survive? The two young kids, Adam’s Projects. Were they out there? Were they dangerous? And Dawn, damn her. She couldn’t be saved. Her young mind had been crushed beneath the influence of her demon. Adam controlled her, but for how long? I did have to go back. I couldn’t run from this. Certainly couldn’t hide. “I’ll think about it while we kick some demon-ass.”
Ryder stood and collected the gun. He checked the chamber, going through the routine as he always did. “Alright, but by the morning, I’m outtah this shit hole.”
A genuine, if fragile, smile played on my lips as I headed for the bathroom. “I’ll be right out.” I flicked on the light and locked the door behind me. My reflection revealed a gaunt woman, cheekbones too prominent and eyes too harsh. I saw more demon in my face than human. Parting my lips, I checked my canine teeth—still blunt. The last thing I needed was demon leeching through into my human appearance. Not that it mattered. People seemed to steer out of my way, consciously or unconsciously. I’d cleared a grocery store a day ago; the customers suddenly had somewhere else to be. People feel the unnatural like wild animals sense a storm coming. The demons too, they saw me coming and ran. I had become the monster my brother so despised and revered. I truly was the Mother of Destruction. Akil would have been proud.
I shrugged off Stefan’s coat, rolled up my sleeves, and splashed water on my face. Beneath the stark light from the single bulb, I didn’t even recognize the woman I’d become. Perhaps that was a good thing.
Warmth throbbed in my chest. I leaned into the vanity unit, hands gripping the edges, and closed my eyes. The tentative exploration of fire gently fed through my veins, radiating from my core. The tingling taste of spices tickled my lips. Lifting my head, I leaned back, and let the familiar embrace coil around me. Akil. I could almost convince myself he stood in the room with me, that it wasn’t the soul-lock playing tricks. It didn’t take much for me to pretend his arms closed around me. He would whisper something infuriating against my neck, his lips brushing my skin like butterfly wings. I missed him. I missed him so much that I gladly lost myself to fantasy. I became simply aware of how the wallpaper gained dark patches, as though fire damaged. Where the paper peeled, embers traced the dog-eared edges. Water in the basin bubbled, but I was too wrapped up in my own mind to care. A demon loomed behind me in the mirror. His muscular bulk brimmed the bathroom, filling the space from floor to ceiling and wall to wall. Slick crimson skin glistened. White-hot piercings rode the edges of his wings and hung from his ears and nose. Obsidian horns spiraled from his head. He closed his huge arms around me and drew me back against the searing touch of his chest. In my mind, he was Akil. I wanted him to be Akil, even if my eyes told me a very different story. My element reached for his. The demon bowed his head as his wings closed in. He said something almost too soft to catch, or perhaps I imagined it. “Amanat.” I understood the meaning of the word, even though I didn’t recognize the language or the voice speaking it. One word to mean something valuable in safe keeping, a debt to be repaid, a trust which must be returned. I knew, instinctively, that was that debt, that valuable item.
Eyelids heavy, I blinked at the obscure picture in the mirror. I’d seen him once before. I knew him. His fire, his blood, ran through my veins. We were kin, he and I. Make her bleed, make her read... I saw the past in metal. My brother saw the future in flesh, and this demon... he had the power to warp it all, to twist my human thoughts around his finger, make me believe anything. Akil’s phantom presence vanished, taking my smoky dream state with it. I came back to myself, clutched against the chest of a demon I’d spent my entire life trying to hide from. Trapped inside his arms, pressed against his chest, his scent so pungent it burned my throat, I couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, couldn’t cry out, and the sordid yellow eyes revealed he knew it. I did the only thing possible when faced with fate. I smiled.
“Hello, Father.”
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To be continued in the final book of The Veil Series. Book 5, Ties That Bind, coming Spring 2015.
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Acknowledgments
The Veil Series wouldn’t exist without the following people. My editor, Karen, for teaching me about the finer points of dry heaving and leaving little smiley face comments as our own virtual fist bumps. My proofreader, Nic, for catching those pesky typos and working weekends. My cover artist, Celairen, because you were there at the very beginning, just like me. My husband, for listening to me ramble on about Amazon bestseller lists, algorithms, BookBub, keywords, while at least pretending to pay attention. And to my little girls, for making me laugh, even when the words fail me.
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And oh, to you wonderful readers. Every single one of you who’s taken the time to reach out to me, send emails, leave reviews, chat with me on Goodreads and Twitter. I love you all, and send you a virtual hug. We’re close to Book 5 (the final book), and I’ve already shed a few tears for what’s to come. Like me, you’ve experienced the highs and lows of Muse’s life. Soon, it will be time to let her go. All good things must come to an end. Thank you so much for reading and I’ll see you for Book 5.
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Pippa.
About the Author
Born in Tonbridge, Kent in 1979, Pippa's family moved to the South West of England where she grew up among the dramatic moo
rland and sweeping coastlands of Devon & Cornwall. With a family history brimming with intrigue, complete with Gypsy angst on one side and Jewish survivors on the other, she draws from a patchwork of ancestry and uses it as the inspiration for her writing. Happily married and the mother of two little girls, she resides on the Devon & Cornwall border.
Get in touch here:
@PippaDaCosta
pippadacosta
www.pippadacosta.com
[email protected]
Also by Pippa DaCosta
Wings of Hope ~ The Veil Series Prequel Novella
Beyond The Veil (#1)
Devil May Care (#2)
Darkest Before Dawn (#3)
Drowning In The Dark (#4)
Ties That Bind (#5)
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www.theveilseries.co.uk
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Get your free e-copy of ‘Wings Of Hope’ by signing up to The Veil Series mailing list, here.
Drowning In The Dark: #4 The Veil Series Page 23
