Saving Daylight

by Shannon K. Butcher

“Joseph spoke to you.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Yes,” Serena said. “He made it clear that I must find the source of the demons soon. But that’s not why I called.”

  “Okay,” Sibyl’s tone was hesitant and distrustful, as if she expected the worst.

  “I need to know who to choose to bind myself to. Morgan or Link?”

  There was silence on the line for so long, Serena began to squirm.

  Had she overstepped her bounds by calling the woman? Was there some protocol she should have followed? Did all request to know the future go through Joseph, so he could choose which he deemed important enough for the seer’s time?

  “I can’t tell you that,” Sibyl finally said.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s not my turn to use our gift. And even if it was, there are other more pressing questions that must come first.”

  Serena didn’t know what she meant by it not being her turn, but the rest she understood. “I’m sorry I bothered you.”

  She was about to hang up when Sibyl said, “No, wait.”

  “Yes?”

  “Just because I can’t see that part of your future doesn’t mean I can’t help. We’re family, after all.”

  “Distant relatives. There’s no need for you to feel obligated toward me.”

  “I knew your mother. She was much like my own. I understand how hard it can be to not be told what to do, even when independence is the one thing you crave most.”

  Was it true? Could a woman who could literally see the future also struggle in making her own decisions?

  A tightness blocked Serena’s throat for a moment before she could loosen it. Her words seemed to stick and grow thick and heavy. “I don’t want either man to die. I don’t want to be responsible for their fates.”

  “But you are. There’s no way around that. The power we women wield is a glorious thing, but it comes with a heavy price.”

  “Have you had to choose between men?” Serena asked.

  “I choose between people all the time, though not the way you are. There’s not enough of my gift to go around. I must be careful what I ask of it, but no matter what I choose, someone is always going to suffer.”

  Serena hadn’t thought that Sibyl’s gift was limited, or that she couldn’t use it whenever, however she wanted. To be forced to pick what part of the future she saw...?

  “How do you choose?” Serena asked. “How do you decide who to help and who to abandon?”

  The woman’s voice was heavy and filled with regret. “My loyalty is to my people. All of them. I choose whatever I believe will save the most lives.”

  While simple on its surface, Serena could see how that decision would possibly be the most difficult one to make.

  “Is that why you chose to see my future?” she asked.

  “It wasn’t your future I chose to see. It was all of ours. Your role was simply a large one in saving our race.”

  The pressure of that statement made what little blood Serena had left go cold. Her hands began to shake and her grip tightened on the little black box.

  “I’m not a hero,” she whispered.

  “You must be. Without you, we all die. You must find and destroy the source of the red-eyed demons before the babies are born.”

  Again, that sense of inadequacy bore down on Serena. She wasn’t fit to save her people. She couldn’t even choose a partner. How was she ever going to be strong enough to finish the task Sibyl laid out before her?

  “But how do I do that?” Serena asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sibyl said. “I don’t control what is shown to me any more than you control the weather. All I know is what must happen. What you do with that knowledge is your own choice.”

  Like so many other things.

  Serena sighed. “Sometimes, I wish that we could be human, that we could live quiet lives not filled with monsters.”

  “All lives are filled with monsters,” Sibyl said. “Only some of them are visible, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t monsters all the same. Besides, you wouldn’t be well-suited to being powerless.”

  “You’re right. I’m merely tired.”

  “Then rest, but do so quickly. The child will come soon. We’re all running out of time.”

  Serena pulled in a deep breath and let it out in a slow, silent exhale.

  She didn’t envy Sibyl’s role in the war. To know what the future held but not be able to do anything about it? Serena didn’t think she’d survive that kind of torture.

  All lives are filled with monsters.

  Perhaps that helplessness was Sibyl’s.

  “If you ever feel the need to talk to someone,” Serena said, “please call on me. None of us should have to face our role in this war alone.”

  “Thank you for your kindness,” Sibyl said, and Serena thought she heard the slightest waver in her voice, as if she were struggling not to cry.

  Then the phone’s screen lit up, indicating the call had ended.

  Serena sat on the neatly made bed for a moment as she wished she could go to the woman and hug her. She seemed so lonely, so isolated. Serena’s heart wept for her and all she’d had to endure because of her gift.

  That alone was one more reason to find the source of those red-eyed demons and kill them. Once the threat was gone and the walls of Dabyr were rebuilt, maybe she and Sibyl could become friends.

  The girl could probably use one as much as Serena could. And they were, after all, family.

  She sat for a long time, weighing her options. The men weren’t going to leave her alone until she made up her mind. And she wasn’t going to have the power to kill those demons if she didn’t tap into the power of one of them.

  She had to make her choice. Now. Tonight.

  I’m not the man your mother wanted you to think I was…. All I ask is for a chance to show you that we belong together.

  Link’s words haunted her.

  He’d been controlling from the first moment she met him. Mother had chosen him because of his wealth and status, but also because she saw something in him she recognized—the need to keep everyone in his life exactly where he wanted them.

  Within an hour of meeting her, Link had given her a list of expectations. It covered everything from the way she dressed, to the way she wore her hair, to what she was allowed to eat and who she was allowed so speak to. He’d said that he believed that it was best to teach her how to behave from the start, so that they could deal with her mistakes early and move on with their lives in harmony.

  But was that truly the kind of man he was? Or was that pompous assumption all for show?

  I’m not the man your mother wanted you to think I was…. All I ask is for a chance to show you that we belong together.

  Serena was all too aware of the way her mother manipulated people into doing what she wanted. She’d never liked the way Serena dressed or wore her hair, but had failed to force her to change it. What better way to gain the upper hand but to give her to a husband who would conveniently want Serena to behave the same way her mother did?

  She hadn’t given Link a fair chance to prove the kind of man he was. The only question was, did she owe him a chance?

  Serena’s parents had never loved each other. They’d been an arranged bond meant to aid in the war and produce powerful offspring. Her father had a string of lovers on the side, and Mother allowed it so long as they were only human—her words, not his.

  Their relationship had been cold. Businesslike. Void of any warmth or compassion.

  But they were deadly in battle.

  As poorly matched as they were in love, they were perfect on the field. Countless Synestryn died by their hands and countless lives were saved.

  Serena had always wanted more for herself than that cold alliance, but maybe she was the fool. Maybe Mother had the right idea—find a man to tolerate, rather than love, and put all her focus into her work.

  Serena was never going to love again—not after Iain. The joy of loving
him was fleeting, but the pain of losing him lingered.

  She wouldn’t do that to herself again. The benefits weren’t worth the risk.

  So, if she was never going to love again, what did that leave? She knew if she didn’t partner with one of the male Theronai, she’d spend the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for some man to snatch her away and force her to comply with his wishes. And if one of those men succeeded, she knew she’d lose little pieces of herself every day for the rest of her long life, until there was nothing left.

  She’d rather die than suffer through that.

  In a sudden moment of clarity, she knew that a union with Link Tolland was a mistake.

  The way his power grated on her was proof that he was not the right man for her—not even as a battle partner. If she couldn’t stand his touch, if she hated the feel of his power within her, they would never develop the connection they needed to take their place in the war.

  That left Morgan, or waiting for someone else to come along with whom she was compatible.

  After two hundred years of hoping every day to be freed from her prison, she was so very tired of waiting.

  Besides, there was no way to know how long it would take for her to find another male she was compatible with, or if that person would be any better than Morgan.

  She wasn’t even sure if it was possible for a man to be more patient with her than he’d been.

  When she’d been in the hotel room with him, she’d been seriously considering partnering with him, at least for a trial run. If they bonded, the luceria would give her a vision that would help her better understand him. It would also uncover his true self, so that if he was simply pretending to be kind, she’d know it.

  Serena would use whatever knowledge the luceria gave her to her advantage, and ensure that she took any warnings to heart.

  She was smart. She’d been raised by the queen of manipulation. If Morgan tried to trick her, she’d see it coming a mile off.

  With her decision made, she went to find Link.

  It was time to send him on his way for good.

  ***

  Link knew the moment he saw Serena’s beautiful face that he’d lost her.

  She found him in the kitchen, heating up canned soup the gerai who stocked this house had left behind.

  He paused as he pulled a steaming bowl from the microwave.

  “Tell me how to change your mind,” he said softly.

  “You can’t.”

  “I should have burned that damn contract decades ago. I thought it gave me a right to you over others, but that was never the case. Law or not.”

  “It wasn’t just about the contract,” she said.

  “Then what?” he demanded.

  Her red hair was the color of tarnished pennies when it was wet, and even wearing those sloppy sweats she had on, she was still the most beautiful woman to have ever walked the planet.

  Serena poured herself a glass of water. “What do you feel when we touch?”

  “Excitement. Anticipation. The potential for vast power.” He paused, considering how weak his admission would make him appear. “But mostly, I feel no pain. After decades of growing agony, one touch from you washes it all away.”

  He wanted to feel that blissful pain-free state now, but held his ground. Pawing at her would get him nowhere.

  She met his eyes over the rim of the glass. “When you touch me, I feel something completely different.”

  “What?”

  “Cold sparks. Little jots of lightning. It’s…uncomfortable.”

  The idea that he’d hurt her turned his stomach. “I had no idea.”

  “That’s why I don’t think it would ever work between us, even if we could find a way past our differences in personality.” She pulled in a deep breath. “I can’t stand to touch you, Link.”

  Her words were a hard blow to his gut that drove all the air from his lungs.

  What more was there to say? If she couldn’t stand to touch him, they had no future. They would always have trouble connecting, and the flow of power between them that was supposed to be easy and natural, would be strained and frustrating.

  Still, he didn’t know how to go back to facing his pain every day with no hope of it ever coming to an end.

  “Perhaps the discomfort is because I carry so much power within me. If we were to join and you were to bleed some off, contact might be easier.”

  She shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t believe that. It was the same two hundred years ago, when we first met. I know what it’s supposed to be like. With Iain…” She trailed off, unwilling to speak about him to someone who was practically a stranger.

  “You loved him,” Link whispered. “Of course, it was different. But who’s to say you couldn’t grow to love me? We have all the time in the world. I’d be so very patient with you.”

  Tears welled in her pretty eyes, and he knew the next words she spoke would slaughter all hope.

  “I’ll never be able to love anyone ever again, Link. I can’t be with a man who lives in hope that one day I will. I’m sorry.” She squared her shoulders, decision made. “I think you should go now.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Morgan came out of the bedroom just as Serena declared she’d never be able to love again.

  Relief fluttered through him, but it wasn’t because he now knew she was sending Link packing. No, his relief was due to the fact that he’d never break her heart.

  Like her, he’d had one true, great love. Like her, he’d lost that love. Only someone who’d gone through that kind of heartache could understand it.

  He would never have to explain to her why his dreams were filled with the face of another woman. He would never have to justify why he kept himself at arm’s length. And he would never let her down because she would know his heart belonged to another. Just as hers did.

  They were the perfect union—two people who were scarred in the same way, who could bond over those wounds and develop a deep, abiding friendship and respect for each other.

  It was more than he’d ever hoped to find.

  The front door opened and closed as Link left.

  Morgan stepped into the kitchen to see Serena slumped over the table, defeated.

  The room was brightly lit, showing off appliances that would have been on trend in the mid-eighties. Everything was clean and in good repair, but the mauve countertops and blue tile backsplash covered in geese with ribbons tied around their necks weren’t going to grace the cover of any magazines.

  There was a table for four along one wall, scuffed and worn from decades of use. He could picture the family that might have once lived here, all gathered for dinner, laughing and sharing what had happened to them that day.

  That was what he risked his life for—that simple, happy gathering of humans who knew nothing about the monsters that hunted at night. To him, family was the only thing that truly mattered, the only thing that really made a difference in the world.

  Technology advanced. Trends came and went. Life got filled with conveniences and complications. But people remained the same. They needed safety, love, companionship, family.

  That was why he fought and bled. That was why he suffered.

  And now, with Serena in his life, he had one more reason to fight.

  If she would have him, she would be his family.

  Her head popped up as she heard him enter. Dark red waves of damp hair clung to her head as they dried, framing her perfect face. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with tears, so heartbreaking he could barely stand to witness them.

  Besides Femi, he’d never seen a woman more beautiful, more desirable than Serena. The part of him that was flesh and blood wanted her, craved her. Even now he was having to fight his need to cross the space and touch her.

  He feared that need had more to do with lust than the luceria, though he couldn’t be certain.

  “I hurt him,” she said. “I didn’t want to, but I had no choice. I have
no love left in me for any man.”

  “And me, Serena?”

  “I won’t love you, either, Morgan. You need to know that up front.” Her chin was up, her tone nearly combative.

  “I’m fine with that. I have no interest in love.”

  She blinked in surprise, then relaxed with relief.

  He crossed to her, but didn’t let himself touch her. “What I was asking is, are you going to send me away as well?”

  “No,” she said, the single word hopeless. “I’ll give you my bond, but it’s going to be on my terms.”

  Victory sang through Morgan’s veins. She was going to free him from his pain and allow him to become what he’d been born to be.

  She was going to be his.

  “Name them,” he said, unable to keep the eagerness out of his tone. It almost didn’t matter what she asked of him. He knew he would give her anything that was in his power. So long as her request didn’t betray Femi or the vows he’d already given, he would give Serena whatever she wanted.

  “You have to promise to never try to control or manipulate me,” she said.

  “That’s easy.”

  Her gaze was hard, stern. “That’s not a vow, Theronai. I will need the words to bind you to your promise.”

  “And I’ll give them, once I’ve heard the rest of your terms.”

  She dunked a spoon into a bowl of chicken noodle soup and idly stirred it. “I won’t ever be caged again—at Dabyr or anywhere else. I will go where I want to go, when I want to go there.”

  “I can only promise you that so long as you promise me you won’t be reckless.”

  “I’m not a fool, nor do I have a death wish. But I think about those women who were at Dabyr when it fell, trapped there while they waited for their babies to be born.” She shivered in revulsion. “If we were to ever have children, I wouldn’t allow you to use them to imprison me.”

  Morgan had been trying not to think about her in a sexual way. In fact, he’d been trying not to think of her like that since he’d stepped in the shower.

  Tried, and failed.

  His cock had been rock-hard and throbbing. He’d briefly considered taking matters into his own hands, so to speak, but didn’t. There were too many dangers lurking in the night. If this gerai house was attacked while he was jacking off, he’d never forgive himself.