Katie's Hope (Rhyn Trilogy, Book Two)

by Lizzy Ford

  “Unless …” He drifted off and crossed to the window, clasping his hands behind him.

  “Unless what?”

  “There’s one way to break your bond with Rhyn.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  “You know no one can force the bond to break,” he continued. “But if you and Rhyn voluntarily break it, you’re free.”

  “There’s nothing you say I’d ever trust. Where’s Kris?” she demanded.

  “You aren’t worried I’ll tell him your little secret?” His gaze went to her stomach.

  “You’ll do what you will,” she said and took a step toward the door. “You almost ruined my life once. I won’t stick around for you to do it again.”

  “Just remember, there’s nowhere you can run where we can’t eventually find you.”

  She stormed out, blood pulsing and headache growing. She wiped sweat from her brow with a shaking hand. Sasha’s words echoed in her thoughts, and she tried hard to give them no credence. She didn’t know what he was doing there, but he couldn’t be trusted.

  Even if he had one of her secrets. She felt like crying again. Now more than ever, she had to leave, before Kris and Rhyn discovered her secret and brought down what fragile supports were holding up her world. She retreated to her floor and saw Ully in the hall.

  “Kris has me slaving away,” Ully whispered, looking around as if Kris was around the corner. “I just wanted to check on Toby. He looks better.”

  “He is,” she agreed. “Is Kris with you in the lab?”

  “He was, but he’s prepping for the Council meeting. I’m getting ready to test the immunity blood. I’m also making a special poisoned batch to give back to the demons.”

  She shook her head, not sharing his excitement about his experiments. She entered the bedroom quietly to see Toby awake and trying to get an uncertain Lankha to play with his stuffed animals. Toby would make an awesome older brother, she realized, unlike her flaky sister. He’d need to be if she turned out to be much worse of a mother.

  Grimly, she realized he may never have the chance, if Gabriel was ordered back for her.

  *

  Rhyn watched Ully inject one of the Immortals with some concoction derived from the immunity blood Sasha brought and lowered himself into a fighting stance. The Immortal rubbed the injection spot with a grimace, stretched, and climbed inside the ring in the lowermost basement in the castle.

  Rhyn didn’t wait for him to settle himself but struck first with his long, oak bo, a blow that caught the Immortal by surprise. He struck again, this time drawing blood. Ully, looking exhausted, moved closer, and Rhyn waited as well.

  The wound healed itself quickly. Ully nodded in approval and scribbled notes on his iPad. The Immortal launched himself at Rhyn, and the two sparred as the scientist watched intently. Rhyn enjoyed the feel of a weapon in his hand and facing a decent opponent. He restrained himself as much as possible to keep from injuring Ully’s test subject. Ully blew a whistle at last and motioned the Immortal over to check his wounds.

  Rhyn looked around, agitated again by the sense that something else was wrong. He left the sparring level without saying a word to Ully and followed his instincts up a flight of stairs and down a narrow hall he recognized from his visit to their father’s catacombs with Kris. The door leading to his father’s corpse was locked, and he tested it. Kris had managed to create a barrier around the chamber to keep Immortals from trespassing via the shadow world.

  “Rhyn, the rest of the Council is meeting now in the conference room off my chambers.”

  He turned at Kris’s voice. His eldest brother appeared less frustrated than normal.

  “You’re inviting me to attend?” he asked, amused.

  “Unfortunately, you are a Council member.”

  Kris disappeared into the portal behind him. Rhyn followed. They emerged in a small conference room with one wall made of windows. Their brothers were already there, three of them sitting across the table from Sasha. Sensing the level of tension in the room, Rhyn didn’t sit but leaned with his back against the wall, ready to launch across the table at whoever snapped first.

  “I can guess what this is about,” Kiki said. His turquoise eyes stood out against his caramel-colored Oriental features.

  “Yes, tell us, brother,” Tamer echoed in his husky tone. The largest of them all by half a foot, the giant was based out of Africa. “You have never once invited us here, maybe because we never agree on anything?”

  “Maybe he thinks we’ll steal his things,” Erik, the blond Viking who watched over South America, said with a smile. “I saw a painting I may walk off with.”

  “I had hoped to bring everyone together to discuss the baggage Sasha has brought with him, if you’ll all be reasonable,” Kris said. Everyone’s gaze fell to Sasha. For once, Rhyn was not the sore point.

  “Hell that overcrowded they’re letting murderers walk?” Tamer asked.

  “They’re still accepting prisoners, my dear Tamer,” Sasha purred.

  “Enough. Every meeting we’ve had has been a failure and we’ve not had one since Andre became dead-dead,” Kris demanded.

  “Our last one was about guarding your little meat-cicle, right, Rhyn?” Erik demanded. “She need more help with someone like you as a mate?”

  “Why I called you all here was to finish the discussion we started at our last meeting about the immunity of two certain humans to Immortal powers,” Kris interjected. “Katie, Rhyn’s mate, and her sister.”

  “I seem to have stolen the formula that will grant Immortal or demon this same immunity. I turned it over to Kris, and now the Dark One wants me dead-dead,” Sasha said.

  “You have it?” Tamer sat up with interest. “I’ve heard the rumors through the demons in my territory. It works?”

  “It appears to work. Ully is still working with it to verify,” Kris replied.

  “You’ll grant us access to it?”

  Rhyn smiled mercilessly at Kris’s uneasy look. He took in his predatory brothers, well aware they were as dangerous as any of the creatures he’d spent time in Hell with. He crossed his arms, interested to know Katie’s sister was as special as she was and wondering if Kris had already claimed her.

  She looked like Lilith, the woman Rhyn killed when he discovered she’d plotted with the Dark One to kill the Council. His reward had been being sent to Hell, for what his brothers hoped was eternity.

  “In exchange for your assistance, yes,” Kris said at last. “Sasha’s enemies are here in the forest. I don’t know how far the Dark One will go to get Sasha or his vial of blood back, but I imagine our time is short.”

  “And you want us to do what exactly?” Erik asked. “I’m content to feed Sasha to the Dark One piece by piece if that means we keep the peace.”

  “As am I,” Tamer seconded.

  “Me, too,” Kiki said.

  “Seems practically unanimous,” Sasha said, unaffected. “Except for you, Rhyn. Would you care to feed me to the Dark One in pieces?”

  “I’d feed each one of you to the Dark One,” Rhyn replied. “Starting with Kris.”

  Everyone chuckled but Kris, who levied a glare at him. He wasn’t sure what they expected of him; he’d never been included in any Council meeting.

  “You’re no Andre, Kris,” Sasha said.

  Kris’s eyes flared copper, then amber. “I have no intention of trying to be Andre. What I want is what Andre always tried to get us to do: to work together like the brothers we are.”

  “Andre lost that battle when Sasha defected and Rhyn went to Hell,” Kiki stated. “We’re not a team, Kris. We’re barely allies.”

  “I don’t answer to anyone,” Tamer added. “I respected Andre, but now that he’s gone, you’re lucky I agreed to come at all. I don’t need any of you, especially the headache Sasha is.”

  “If you want the immunity solution, then you’ll work with me to protect our brother,” Kris said.

  No one spoke. Rhyn observed each of hi
s brothers, sensing a silent rebellion that seemed to elude Kris, the only of them to value duty over their own interests. Kiki and Tamer exchanged a look while Sasha seemed to be the only one pleased by the arrangement.

  “No deal,” Erik said. “My part of the world is quiet. I don’t need the solution, and I don’t need the headaches.”

  “You took an oath to serve the Immortals, their cause, and be a member of this Council,” Kris grated. “All of you, save Rhyn, who was never intended to set foot outside of Hell.”

  “I took an oath to my father and then to Andre,” Erik retorted. “You are neither of them. In fact, I say we vote you out.”

  “You can’t vote me out. I’m firstborn after Andre. Our father was second born, as was his father before him. It’s the way things have been for millions of years!”

  “What are you going to do if we refuse to follow you? You don’t have it in you to kill any of us. You’re sworn not to, if I remember correctly,” Erik said. He rose. “Andre at least had that authority. Andre’s gone, and I need none of this shit. I vote the Council split. Anyone second me?”

  “I will,” Tamer said.

  “Very well. The Council is no more. Farewell, brothers, and stay the hell out of my part of the world.”

  Erik disappeared, followed by Tamer. Kris was frozen in place, as if not yet registering what had happened. Kiki rose as well, his gaze going to Sasha.

  “You know they don’t speak for me,” Kiki said. “But I’ll have to agree, Kris. You can have Sasha or you can have the Council. You’re too good a man to see that on your own, so I’m telling you.”

  He left as well. Rhyn looked to Kris, then to Sasha, whose smile had faded.

  “If I were you, I’d beat the shit out of each one of them till they did what you said,” Rhyn suggested.

  “I prefer a more civilized approach,” Kris replied.

  “Look where that got you. No one but Sasha and me left in your Council, and I doubt I was ever really a part of it.”

  “My own brothers want me to break the Code to feed Sasha to the wolves,” Kris muttered. “Does no one take it seriously?”

  “They know you don’t have it in you,” Rhyn said. “You can’t be respected without kicking some ass. I learned that lesson when Sasha tossed me in a pit with full-blooded demons and were-things.”

  “Respect isn’t enough for someone in your position,” Sasha agreed. “They need to fear you, Kris, and thus far, none of them do.”

  “Except Katie. Treat them as you did her, and you’ll find they fall into line.”

  Kris looked up at Rhyn’s low voice, his gaze lingering. “I don’t condone the kind of brute violence you and Sasha do, Rhyn,” he said. “I won’t use force against my brothers. They’ll eventually remember their duty to the Code. Or they’ll soon realize the threat affects us all and be back.”

  Rhyn pushed himself away from the wall. Kris was crushed, and Rhyn wasn’t sure how his eldest surviving brother hadn’t expected the rest of them to walk away. That Kris could attack his brother’s mate but refuse to strong-arm his brothers into fighting demons made his anger boil.

  “Keep telling yourself that. The demons are planning something, Kris, and hoping someone comes to your rescue is stupid,” he returned.

  “You’re one to talk, Rhyn. I wonder if Katie hopes you’ll rescue her every time something happens. You aren’t capable of caring for someone else or keeping her safe. But, if you do as Sasha says and break the bond, I will keep her safe, I swear it,” Kris said. “She’ll be— ”

  Rhyn walked out of the room, furious at his brother. It was all he heard anymore, that Katie would be safe and happy only if he wasn’t around. He forced himself to focus on something else.

  The Council meeting was a bust, and there was more tension in the air than he could understand. For the first time in his life, he felt something akin to pity for Kris. The world needed a man focused on maintaining the balance between good and evil, and none of the brothers had the foresight or vision that Kris did. He was a dick, but Rhyn never wanted to be put in the position Kris was in.

  Agitated, he jogged up the stairs to the level where Katie was. He’d paced in front of her chamber at some point every day for three weeks, wanting to tell her something, anything, to make her want to stay. The words never came, and he’d left frustrated each time. Hell toughened him up, yet this was one challenge he couldn’t figure out. Despite telling her he wouldn’t, he dropped into her thoughts to feel a little closer to her and was surprised to find she was packing to leave.

  Without knocking, he strode into the chamber. She whirled to face him, moving too slow to hide the suitcase laid out on the trunk at the end of the bed in which Toby slept.

  “You’re leaving,” he stated. “Plan on telling me?”

  “You made it clear you read my mind. I didn’t think I needed to tell you anything,” she shot back.

  “You still have five weeks.”

  “Four weeks and five days,” she replied.

  “I don’t give a shit. Your time here isn’t up.”

  “I’m not doing this anymore, Rhyn. I’ve got Toby to think about, and raising him where he’s attacked by demons and subjected to the stupidity of the Immortal world— it’s not happening. I’m fed up with aaaaall of this!”

  “And you really think there’s somewhere safe for you to go?” he challenged. “Where demons and Immortals can’t find you?”

  “The Sanctuary. I’ll become a nun or whatever those women are who live there.”

  “A nun?” he echoed, horrified. “You’d go that far?”

  “Is sex all you think about?”

  “I only get one mate. If she becomes a nun, I’ll have to start fucking— ”

  “Stop there. God, Rhyn. There’s so much at stake, and you just …” She sighed.

  “What’s at stake?” he asked, sensing again there was something important she was keeping from him. A haunted look crossed her face. “Kris doesn’t need your blood anymore. What makes you think he won’t leave you alone?”

  “He told me so. Whatever issue is between you two, it’s too personal for him to forget, and he takes it out on me when you’re not around,” she said. “I realized he has no intention of letting me go even though he promised it. And with Hannah here, I can’t leave the Immortal world with her still in it. I’m leaving you, Rhyn.”

  The words were forced, and he knew she was in love with him as much as she did. He watched as she tossed more clothing into her suitcase, certain what he wanted to say would only make her pack faster. So he stopped to think and pace. Lankha was huddled in a corner with his hands over his head. Katie had been crying earlier. Her eyes were red-rimmed.

  Something was really wrong, and he couldn’t help but think it was more than him this time. She’d been acting squirrelly the past two days. No matter what, she’d be safer at the Sanctuary than at the castle, now that the Council was in disarray and the demons were plotting in the forest.

  “I’ll take you there,” he said at last.

  She paused and looked at him hard. “Really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Just like that?”

  “Just like that.”

  “Why?” she asked suspiciously.

  “If you feel safer there …”

  “And you’ll just let me go,” she said, anger sparkling in her eyes. He couldn’t figure out what the hell the puny human in front of him wanted.

  “Things here are about to go to shit,” he said.

  “How?”

  “The Council disbanded. Sasha’s plotting something, and the demons are going to flood this place soon.”

  “Are you serious?” She paled at his words.

  “You better go soon,” he advised. “I’ll follow.”

  “Rhyn, if you’re serious, then I can’t leave without Hannah.”

  “She treats you like shit, along with that Gio ass.”

  “She’s with Kris now,” she said. “But she’s m
y sister. That may mean nothing to you Immortals— ”

  “It doesn’t.”

  “— but to us lesser beings, family means something!”

  “Which is why you’re doing your damndest to convince us both you’re leaving me,” he said and crossed his arms.

  “Can’t you tell the Council not to disband?” she asked, visibly flustered.

  “Me? Not the way it works, blood monkey.”

  “Then what’re you going to do?”

  “I’m going to watch the world fall apart.”

  Her features darkened, and she turned away, saying, “I thought you had some level of honor or decency.”

  “You’re the only one.”

  “I’m taking my sister and going to the Sanctuary, where I’ll raise our child without you.”

  “I told you, I don’t claim Toby. That little thing is yours.”

  “You’re such a jackass! What was I thinking … it never would’ve worked anyway!” she snapped. Fury turned her face bright red. She flung a shoe at him hard, then a second. He deflected the first, but the second slapped his cheek. A knock at the door distracted his response, which wouldn’t bode well for either of them. She breezed by him and paused at the door to say, “Rhyn, I’m not talking about Toby,” before she wrenched it open.

  Her meaning didn’t click, and he turned to see who had interrupted them.

  “We have to find Sasha,” Kris said, ignoring her to push his way into the chamber. “Katie, take Toby and the healer to the basement with the warriors.”

  “What’s wrong?” Rhyn asked.

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Where’s Hannah?” Katie demanded.

  “I’ll send her down. Go.”

  Katie motioned to the healer, who scampered from his corner to the bed. She hurried to Toby and lifted the sleeping angel carefully before she and Lankha left. Rhyn joined Kris in the hallway and waited until Katie was out of earshot.

  “Let me guess. The demons have crossed sacred ground,” he said dryly.

  “And how do you know this?”

  “I heard them plotting. You really think Sasha came here to throw himself on your mercy without some sort of back-up plan?”

  “I’m doing what I’m obligated to do. Of course I suspected him of something,” Kris snapped. “I didn’t know what.”