CHAPTER 16
Anais woke alone. It unsettled her. She stared at the fire for a moment, taking in the fact that Loke had risen before her and hadn’t bothered to wake her with a kiss as he had the last few days they had been together.
Cold tried to fill her and she rejected it, not allowing the whispered poisonous voice at the back of her mind to get the better of her.
He had been acting strangely for the past day, but that didn’t mean she had anything to worry about. She really didn’t.
It was amazing that telling herself that on repeat every five minutes hadn’t done a thing to change her outlook.
Something was wrong, and she wished he would speak with her about it. She knew it was about her. Had he seen her death again?
She shoved that question and fear away. He had promised to tell her if he saw her death again and she believed that he would. He kept his promises.
So what was wrong then?
Part of her wanted to believe it was just another vision that had shaken him, because she felt comfortable with that explanation and it at least provided a reason for his behaviour. Not knowing the reason for it was driving her crazy. She needed to just man up and ask him what was wrong.
She would. When he came back from wherever he had gone, she was going to ask him why he was being distant.
She made herself get up and dress, straighten the furs, and begin her morning routine. She was about to head towards the larder when a noise at the entrance of the cave sent a sudden bolt of fear through her and she whirled to face it, afraid that a dragon had come to snatch her while Loke was away.
Her eyes widened as she took in the impossible sight of Thorne setting Sable down onto her feet.
They had come for her.
Sable drew a short blade from the sheath at the waist of her black leather trousers and advanced swiftly, her light brown eyes quickly scanning the cave. Thorne trudged along behind her, his dark red gaze fixed on Anais, a curious but dangerous edge to it.
Anais folded her arms across her chest, covering her black bra. When Sable’s eyes finally landed on her, taking her in from head to toe, they darkened too, coming to match Thorne’s. Anais knew it didn’t look good, but she could explain everything.
“We’re getting you out of here.” Sable grabbed her arm before she could say a word, the strength of her grip shocking Anais together with how her hand trembled. “Is the bastard still here?”
Anais stared blankly at her, her mind racing as she realised that Sable was going to fight Loke. She couldn’t let that happen. She didn’t want to leave him, but she would if it meant she could lure Sable and Thorne away from him. She would find a way back to him somehow. She just needed to ensure he was safe first.
“The dragon is here,” Thorne said in English, his deep voice gruff and filled with menace as he folded his arms across his broad bare chest. “I sense him.”
Sable looked her over again, the darkness in her eyes increasing. Anais searched for her voice and how to explain what her leader was seeing. She was in her bra but it wasn’t as Sable thought. The whole thing was a huge misunderstanding and she had to make her see that before things got out of hand and Loke was dragged into a fight.
Well, it was sort of a misunderstanding since Loke had abducted her, but he hadn’t done it to claim her as a prize of war like the others.
“Sable,” Anais started.
“There’s only one exit?” Sable spoke over her and flicked her a glance.
Anais didn’t get a chance to answer that question.
A deafening roar filled the cave and Loke was suddenly charging towards her from the tunnels. She shook her head, silently asking him not to do what she could see coming, but he didn’t see it. He took one look at her, and then at Sable where she had jumped in front of her to shield her and Thorne where the immense demon had placed himself between Loke and them, and attacked.
Anais didn’t want to watch as Loke fought Thorne, grappling with the broader male at first before managing to gain some space and land a blow. Thorne didn’t relent and her heart flipped in her chest when he slammed his fist hard into Loke’s stomach and the dragon doubled over.
“Wait… please.” Anais started forwards and Sable grabbed her.
“What are you doing?” Sable pulled her back. “Let Thorne handle the bastard.”
She shook her head and managed to break free of Sable’s grip. “Don’t kill him.”
Sable looked at her as if she had lost her mind and then cracked a smile. “I’m not going to kill him. He’s coming with us.”
He was?
Anais’s heart sank as the true meaning of those words dawned on her and she stared at Loke. Run. She willed him to look at her and see that command in her eyes or somehow hear her. He looked at her and she opened her mouth to shout at him to flee and then flinched away as Thorne dealt a hard blow to his head, sending him crashing onto the black ground.
“Now that our guest is in a fit state to travel, we should get going. We need to get him to an interview room before he wakes up and then we can get the information we need from him so we can find the others,” Sable said and Anais clung to those words, stealing a piece of hope from them and using it to settle her fears.
She wanted to save her friends too and Loke did have information on the other dragons that Archangel could use, and Sable had said he would be their guest. She trusted her leader. They had been on missions before where Sable had captured someone for information, and Archangel had treated them as a guest, returning them once they had what they wanted. Anais looked at Loke and told herself that it would be the same deal this time. Loke would be taken to an interview room, Sable would question him and Anais would be there with him the whole time. She wouldn’t let him out of her sight, not even when they had returned him to his cave and Sable was gone. She would make sure he was safe and unharmed.
“We already saved a few, but their captors fled. None of them tried to fight.” Sable glanced at her but she kept her eyes on Loke where he lay unconscious on the black ground.
Loke had fought because he had wanted to protect her. He had viewed Sable and Thorne as a threat, people who would steal her away from him and possibly place her in danger, and he had wanted to stop them.
He had been keeping his promise.
A cold feeling went through her, rousing a need to rebel against Sable’s idea and stop Thorne from taking Loke to the mortal world. She needed to do something to protect him, but she couldn’t convince her feet to move or her voice to work.
Blood pooled at the corner of Loke’s lips and then tracked down his cheek. Her heart ached at the sight of him, burning with a need to go to him, but the part of her that still wanted to go home kept her feet rooted to the spot and her voice silent.
It told her to trust in Sable. She had no reason to fear for Loke. They only wanted information from him. Archangel would use that information to help her friends. It didn’t matter that Loke had sworn to help her with that mission and that she might be able to convince Thorne and Sable to leave him alone and allow him to help them now rather than at Archangel’s headquarters if she could only find her voice.
The presence of Sable, a woman who had been a good friend to her for too many years to count, and the thought of going back to a familiar and safe place, to her home, overwhelmed her and she couldn’t stop herself from going along with their plans.
Loke would be alright. She would make sure of it. She had faith in Sable and in Archangel. He would give them the information they needed and together they would help the other huntresses. She had to do this. She was a hunter for Archangel. They were her family. She had to help them if she could.
Thorne dragged Loke roughly onto his feet and slung him over his shoulder. More blood spilled from his lips and her stomach clenched, the quieter voice in her heart telling her that she was making a mistake and fooling herself.
“Be careful,” she whispered before she could stop herself and the demon looked across at her, one single russet-brown eyebrow raised.
“The dragon is no threat to me.”
It wasn’t what she had meant. She didn’t want him to hurt Loke any more than he already had.
Sable eyed her, a piercing edge to her honey-coloured gaze, and Anais felt as if she was trying to see right through her and attempting to divine her feelings for Loke. She looked away and her eyes settled on Loke. The voice in her heart said to speak up and explain the situation now before it was too late.
The one that wanted to go home and was holding on to her faith in Archangel overwhelmed it.
She would make sure that Loke was safe. They would speak with him as Sable had said and then they would return him. He would be safe. She swore it. Archangel had no reason to hurt him if she told them why he had taken her and that he hadn’t hurt her. She would clear his name with her superiors, he would help Archangel and they would leave him alone.
As she followed Sable’s lead and took hold of Thorne’s hand, and they fell into a pool of darkness that opened beneath them, a terrible feeling went through her.
She was going to regret this.
Loke was never going to forgive her.
She was going to lose the man she had fallen in love with.