Heart's Inferno (Fallen Guardians 4)

by Georgia Lyn Hunter

  Kira stood near the window, staring out at the falling snow. In the distance, two faint black blurs loped along the edges of the trees, then both shapes faded into the whiteout. Her fingers squeezed the half-drunk cup of coffee in her palms. She and Týr still hadn’t discussed what would happen next between them once they left here.

  At the sound of soft footfalls, she pivoted. Týr jogged bare feet down the few stairs, a towel slung low on his lean hips. The red in his damp hair remained despite his shower. He looked so darn sexy that desire unfurled, making her too aware of him. But she put it aside for now, more worrying thoughts swamping her.

  He glanced at her, a brow cocking in question as he headed for the kitchen. She shook her head and set her mug down on the windowsill. Exhaling roughly, she pulled the scrunchie from her hair, scraped back the loose strands, and weaved her unruly mane into a braid.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Startled, she looked up from fastening the ends of her hair with the hair tie. Týr watched her from the counter as he drank his coffee. Perhaps it was better having this conversation here than at the castle.

  Not wanting to just dive into it, she asked, “What did Michael want?”

  “Nothing.” Abruptly, he set his mug down, crossed to the table with the sports bag, and pulled out a change of clothes. He dropped the towel, and of course, that distracted her a little, eye-feasting on an utterly sexy man.

  She forced her mind back to what she’d asked as he pulled on jeans and then put on a gray t-shirt. “Týr?”

  “Let it go, Kira.”

  That set her off. “So, is this what it’s going to be like? Every step forward we make, you take several back when I ask you something? We might as well call it quits right—”

  One moment, he was at the opposite end of the living room. The next, he was in her breathing space. “Don’t threaten me, Kira.”

  She reared back in shock, not expecting him to react so vehemently. The tingling in her palms surged again. Before she opened her mouth, he said, “Answer me this because you sure haven’t said a word about anything since we talked—no, no, since I talked and you protested, never really committing. Do you plan on staying with me once we leave here?”

  Her mouth opened and then shut. Yes, she wanted to see where this led, but she hadn’t thought in terms of moving in with him. Not this fast. His intense gaze remained fixed on her face. “Týr, if you were human, this wouldn’t be a problem at all. But you aren’t.”

  “So, you hold that against me?”

  “Of course, I don’t.”

  “Then you’ll move in with me.”

  “I can’t—”

  “Why not?”

  How did she make him understand this dread that took hold of her every time she thought about what could happen? “I’m not your destined mate, you know this. And I…”

  “You what?” His expression grew darker.

  God, she wanted to be with him every waking hour, wanted to spend every moment available with him, but that wasn’t going to happen. With the Guardians finding their mates so quickly since they started the hunt for the rising psionic females, she didn’t dare let herself feel more than she already did. It was asking for heartbreak. But, she suspected that she was already on the road to despair. “Týr—”

  “I’m only good for a few quick fucks, is that it? Let’s get it over with then.”

  “Don’t.” Pain slashed through her at his bitter fury. “Don’t you understand? No matter how much we may wish to be together, your destiny is already tied to another. When she appears, you’ll be drawn to her, even if you don’t want it. You cannot fight the compulsion. Look at Aethan and Echo. Or Blaéz. And he didn’t even have his soul. What about Dagan and Shae? Need I go on?”

  “So, you’re willing to throw our time together away over a fear of what the future might or might not bring?” he demanded. “Over whether or not I have a destined mate? Or when the hell she’ll show up—which could be centuries from now. You won’t give me a chance to prove that we just might have something that could last a lifetime?”

  Her mouth opened then shut.

  “Fine.” His expression blanked, concealing every bit of emotion and feelings there. He pivoted for the fireplace and put out the fire with a wave of his hand. “Leave everything. I’ll make sure your things are sent back to the castle.” Not giving her time to absorb what he said, he shrugged on his jacket and headed for the door.

  Her stomach hurting, Kira stepped out to where he stood on the porch, the silence excruciating. Before she opened her mouth, he pulled her into his arms. With the emotional distance between them, she might have been standing across the lake for all the notice he seemed to take of her as he dematerialized them.

  Tears burned her eyes. He’d already shut her out, and she couldn’t stop the pain spreading through her as if someone had sliced off a piece of her heart.

  Chapter 13

  “What the hell’s gotten up your ass, Norse?” Aethan growled, counter-circling Týr and keeping a safe distance from his savage attacks. “If this has anything to do with why you vanished for almost eighteen hours or the red in your hair—”

  “Don’t,” Týr snapped, breathing hard. “If you’re testing my temper, you’re going about it the right way.”

  He wanted to break down this place with his hands, flatten every damn thing, but that would piss off not only Michael but also the ancient goddess, Gaia. Instead, he leaped up, flipping in the air, his sword coming down in a deadly blaze.

  “Shit!” Aethan jumped back, swearing a blue streak. His hand pressed to his abs and the bloody slice forming there. “This is training, not a damn fight to the death,” he snarled. “Let’s talk about what the hell’s eating you before one of us gets killed…” His eyes narrowed, expression suddenly thoughtful.

  A look Týr utterly disliked. He suspected the Empyrean knew damn well what was wrong. Aethan lowered his sword, tip pressed to the floor. “Can I help in any way?”

  “Nothing’s wrong. Why the fuck would you ask me that? Every fuckin’ thing’s just fucking fine!”

  Amusement glimmered in Aethan’s gunmetal gray eyes. “Could be the helluva lot of fucks in that sentence. Look, Týr, I’ve been there, too. So, yeah, I get it.”

  Scowling, Týr collapsed on the floor, against the wall, his sword clanging down at his side. He dragged the fingers of both hands through his damp and still lowlighted hair. At the latter thought, his chest constricted.

  Aethan dropped down next to him. “The truth is, when we go after the female we want, the one who completes us, it isn’t easy. But it’s worth it.”

  Týr bit back a sarcastic retort. “At least you knew Echo was your destined.”

  In the process of scrubbing his face with the bottom of his t-shirt, Aethan’s head snapped to him. “What do you mean?” Then his stare lit with understanding. “Hell, that—”

  “Sucks? Yeah, a whole fucking lot.”

  “And Kira knows this? About only a destined mate being able to summon the obsidian blade?”

  “She does.”

  Aethan frowned. “There’s something else. Echo mentioned when she first took my weapon that it glowed as if connecting to her—”

  “Pointless.” Týr swiped his sweaty brow on his t-shirt sleeve. “Kira used my dagger a year ago to attack that fucker who shot Echo in Hell.” He summoned his dagger, flung it across to the far side of the arena to embed in the wooden sword rack, and then re-summoned it. Lips tightening. “Still mine.”

  “Hell,” Aethan muttered.

  “I can’t give her up.”

  “I understand. But Kira will be the one hurt if shit happens. Týr, you have to be dead sure before making this commitment for the long haul. Do you recall what Gaia told you when you chose your dagger?”

  “No.” Týr gritted his teeth, wishing like hell he could remember, but all that remained was a buzzing in his skull. He banged the back of his head against the wall as if it would dislodge what
the ancient goddess had told him eons ago.

  Aethan frowned. “I assume she said the same thing to all of us. Your dagger is an embodiment of your one weakness and your ultimate strength. When it fails to return to you, you have found your salvation.”

  “That doesn’t help me, does it?”

  He didn’t want to hurt Kira. But these hours apart after a fleeting moment of happiness was killing him.

  Silence took up space as they both just sat there.

  Finally, Aethan rose. “It’s probably time to hit the alleyways.” He picked up the sword Týr had dropped, headed for the far side, and put both weapons away. “You back on patrol?”

  “Yeah.” Týr pushed to his feet. Maybe time on the street would give him clarity. But it gutted him that Kira hadn’t sought him out, even after he’d laid it all out for her. He’d never leave her. Didn’t she get that?

  Fine, he’d give her the time she wanted. However, if she thought he’d just walk away, she was very much mistaken.

  Kira hunched on her seat, staring at her cell in her hand.

  Gran was back. Her life was in chaos. And there was no sign of Tomas. Tagg didn’t have any news either.

  Worse, she hadn’t seen Týr since he brought her back yesterday evening and then vanished. She’d heard him once when he passed the TV lounge during the day where she and Echo normally hung out, but he hadn’t come inside. His easy banter with his fellow Guardians made her heart ache, but she couldn’t blame him for avoiding her.

  Was she wrong in wanting to protect herself?

  The Guardians were blessed with their destined mates, and their obsidian daggers made doubly sure of that. But given her situation, and knowing just how faithful the warriors were to their chosen mates once they met, how could Týr expect her to simply walk in, knowing what could happen?

  Kira dropped her head against the backrest of the couch and rubbed her tired eyes. The day dragged like a turtle on a Sunday amble. Now she had to go home.

  She’d barely slept last night, worrying whether that wretched invisible enemy hunting Týr was back. What if he’d gotten hurt again? She shot up from the couch, her stomach heaving because knowing that stubborn immortal, even if he were hurt, he wouldn’t say a word.

  Masculine voices drifted from the corridor through the slightly ajar door. The warriors were probably heading for the rec room.

  “Can’t believe those demon fuckers, thinking they could get away with the shit they thought to pull last night,” Aethan snorted. “Sending human females to distract us. Norse, you handled them like a pro, man.”

  “Gotta do, what we gotta do,” Týr retorted.

  “What about the rainbow?” Nik asked. “Thought you and she were solid.”

  Rainbow? Kira frowned, expecting to hear a barbed rejoinder. All that drifted to her was absolute silence. Her heart tripped. Her knees buckled, and she dropped down to the couch again, not wanting to believe what she’d heard. There was some woman called Rainbow?

  “How about a game of basketball?” Aethan called out, changing the subject.

  “It’s outside,” Nik groused.

  “So?”

  “Snow.”

  “So?”

  “Piss off.”

  “And you’re the ice king?” Aethan laughed.

  “Let’s get the fucking game on the road before it’s time to haul our asses back out on patrol,” Týr snapped. “Bets?”

  The door opened wider. Echo popped her head into the room and smiled. “There you are. Want to go grab a bite to eat?

  “Not hungry…” She found it hard to speak, Nik’s comment still ringing in her head.

  Echo shut the door, crossed to Kira, and sat beside her. “You’ve been so quiet since you came back from the Adirondacks. I’m really worried. Did something happen between you and Týr?”

  Kira lowered her gaze to the cell in her hand. “We talked. He—we—I like him. A lot. And he feels the same way…” She inhaled a choppy breath and looked up. “He asked me to move in with him, but I said it was too soon, and that I couldn’t because…because…”

  “Of the destined mate issue?”

  Kira nodded. “I can fight most things, Echo, but I can’t fight fate. I mean, look at all of you. You left Aethan, but you were drawn back because you couldn’t stay away. Even Darci and Blaéz. It was probably the same with Shae and Dagan. Týr’s angry that I won’t give us a chance. But I’m terrified.”

  Troubled mismatched eyes searched Kira’s face. “What about his dagger?”

  She shook her head. “It isn’t mine to summon.”

  “I’m so sorry, Ki.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She forced a smile. “Besides, I’m human, not meant for eternal life like you—”

  “Don’t say that,” Echo whispered, distress darkening her expression. “I cannot bear the thought of you no longer with me. You’re like my sister.”

  “I’m sorry…” Kira breathed in deeply. Since calming down apparently wasn’t going to happen, she changed the subject. “Did Aethan say anything about Tomas?”

  Echo raked back her overlong bangs. “No. Still no sign of him or the demons abducting the kids. They must be lying low for now. They probably know the Guardians got wind of them.”

  “But they’ll come out soon enough like the cunning snakes they are.” Helplessness tore at Kira. She couldn’t even go out there and deal with this. And her stupid abilities didn’t help much. Maybe she’d just change all their hair color to green and shock them into a stupor. That would show them.

  “Hey, I’ve been meaning to tell you, I’ve resigned from the bar. Got two weeks left.”

  “Really?” Her friend’s eyes widened with shock. “Why?”

  “Because I have no plans to become part of the furniture. I need something different, something fulfilling—who’s the rainbow?” The words burst free.

  Echo’s brow creased. “What rainbow?”

  Kira swallowed, then cleared her throat, lowering her gaze in pretend nonchalance. “I heard the warriors talk about her. Just wondered.”

  “I don’t know, but I can find out.”

  “No. Forget it.” Týr had obviously decided that she wasn’t worth the effort. “Gran’s back. I have to go.” And lick her wounds in private. But the name corroded a hole in her mind.

  “Ugh,” Echo groaned, rubbing her left palm on her jeans.

  Kira dropped her cell and grasped her friend’s hand. She gently traced the red, raised imprint of the angelic rune Echo had recently inherited from her powerful ancestor, Zarias, who’d been the leader of the Watchers. They were angels who had all broken a sacred law and were annihilated after they fell for human females.

  “It still hurts?” she asked.

  “No, not exactly.” Echo frowned. “It just feels a little odd when I touch it…a prickle of sorts. I guess I’ll get used to it soon enough.”

  “At least I know wherever your work takes you, this rune will bring you back home again.”

  Echo smiled, but her expression remained serious. “Ki, you know whatever you decide, I’ll be here for you. Týr’s a great guy.”

  But not even her friend, the all-powerful Healer of Veils, could promise her that he wouldn’t leave once he met his destined.

  Feeling as if the walls were closing in on her, Kira jumped up, nearly toppling her friend over. “Sorry, sorry—” She grabbed Echo then snatched her cell from the couch. “I know, but this is all so damn screwed up. I have to go.” Practically dashing for the door, she called over her shoulder, “Hedori will be waiting, and I have to get to work, also. Talk later.”

  As she ran up the narrow side stairs to collect her backpack, her cell beeped with a message. At the name there, she sighed. Riley.

  Did you come to a decision?

  She hadn’t given it much thought with everything else that had occurred. Maybe she should go visit her so-called father and tell that shirker to his face what she thought of him. Frowning at her cell, she ran up the f
ew stairs and crashed into someone coming down.

  “Sorry—” The rest of her apology died in her throat as she met Týr’s cool stare. Her heart clipped painfully against her ribs, wishing she didn’t have to smell his tormenting scent again. It made the hurt all the harder to bear, the realization that he could never be hers.

  Togged out in sweats, sneakers and a t-shirt, he was probably on his way down for the basketball game. He looked so good. It hurt too damn much. “Excuse me.”

  “This is what you always do, isn’t it?” The ice in his voice startled her. “Three dates, then you run.”

  He knew about her dating rules? Embarrassment scorched her face. But anger and betrayal followed fast on its heels, the tingles in her hands increasing like a crackling livewire. She fisted her fingers. “You’re a fine one to talk.”

  His eyes narrowed dangerously. Whatever he would have said got cut off at the sound of thudding footsteps. Aethan appeared at the bottom stair. “Yo, Týr, a quick word.”

  Kira spun away and marched to her bedroom. She shut the door and thumped her brow against the wood. Christ! What was she doing? Lashing out at him wasn’t helping. She’d chosen to walk away.

  The ache inside her expanded at the mess this was turning out to be.

  You won’t give me a chance to prove we just might have something which could last a lifetime? His words from yesterday reverberated in her head. She longed to be with him. He calmed, soothed, and protected her. More, he filled those lonely, empty parts in her heart. He made her feel like no one else ever had. Yes, she was mortal, and she had a few decades on this Earth…

  Her mind reeling, Kira yanked on her jacket, grabbed her backpack from the armchair, and sprinted downstairs to find the enormous front door open, the winter air icing up the foyer. Her brow furrowing, she hurried out onto the portico and came to a stumbling halt.

  Týr stood there with his back to her, his hands shoved into his sweats’ pockets, the wind playing with his red-streaked hair. Probably sensing her, he said, “Hedori’s busy.”

  Her fingers tightened on her backpack straps, her stomach tying itself into knots. “It doesn’t matter. I have my car here.”