AN HOUR AFTER WALERON TOOK Delara to the Realm, I walked upstairs to find Damien. I unlocked the door and walked into Abby’s room. Fuck, it wasn’t her room. It was her prison.
The heavy air filled with despair hit me, and I shielded my ability while looking around for Damien and Abby.
My gaze hit Damien sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. His knees were bent, head bowed, and his hands were gripping his hair.
Shit. He looked like hell, but at least Abby hadn’t killed the bastard.
I moved toward him, peering in the bedroom for Abby, but all I saw was the bed a mess. No Abby.
Damn it, what the hell had he done? I walked across the room toward Damien. “Where is she?” I stood glowering down at him, because the situation just got seriously fucked-up.
He remained unmoving.
“Jesus, what the fuck did you do?”
The only sign that he even knew I stood in front of him was the slight contraction of his muscles. “She’s gone, isn’t she?”
There was a subtle nod and I swore beneath my breath. I knew better. He was my brother and we’d grown up together. He’d learned our mother’s spells, too, although Damien rarely, if ever, used them or practiced them. But he’d paid enough attention to unweave the spell I’d put around the house and Abby’s room. I should’ve guessed Damien would offer Abby freedom before Waleron made him return to Toronto.
Dropping to my butt beside him, I bent one knee and leaned against the wall. Neither of us said anything.
This was a clusterfuck. A witch vampire on the loose with the ability to change water to blood. She was supposed to be dead, and Waleron and I had been hiding her. The Wraiths and witches were going to love this.
“Last year, she begged me to kill her. Did you know that?” Damien’s head still rested in his hands, his shoulders hunched and his voice barely audible. “So she wouldn’t become a vampire. All those months she suffered and then… then she wanted me to fuckin’ kill her.”
I remained quiet.
“I cried. Begged. I fuckin’ begged, Xamien. Never have I felt so much misery as I did in those months with her Transitioning and in so much fuckin’ pain. Having to watch it. Fuck, the nightmares won’t go away.” Damien paused. “I love her. She changed her goddamn choice of food, but she’s the same woman. I fell in love with who she is, not what she is. She doesn’t get that.” Damien lifted his head and stared across the empty room. “You know why she attacked Max?” He didn’t wait for a response. “So you’d kill her. She thought you’d kill her for it. But you didn’t, and then I showed up….”
There were no words to offer, because fuck, I couldn’t even begin to understand what he was going through. I’d never loved like that before, and this was a damn good reason why not to.
Abby surviving on the outside was unlikely. She was a new vampire and didn’t know how to hunt or about the intricacies of territories, and she had no ancient to follow and help her.
But then maybe Abby had asked Damien to free her so she could die.
“Damien….” Jesus, what did I say? “You always have a home here. And you’re always welcome in my Talde.” Waleron would object, but no matter what, he was my brother and I’d never turn my back on him.
Damien raised his head, arms hanging over his knees. “She never wanted me to see her as a vampire. I had to let her go.” His shoulders dropped farther and he inhaled a jerky breath. “I hate you, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” I squeezed my brother’s shoulder. “Not too happy with you either, bro.” I climbed to my feet. “Jasper is headed to France. St. Tropez. You want time to get your head straight, go with him. Waleron is too busy hunting Tarek to worry about coming after you right now.” I reached out to Jasper. “Jasper, wait a sec. My brother is coming with you.”
“No time for babysitting your fuckin’ unstable brother.”
“Then I’m calling in my marker.”
“Fuck. You’re a bastard. Fine. Tell him to get his ass downstairs. And give him your bike. I’m not riding double.”
“Why are you doing this?” Damien asked.
“That’s what brothers do. Jasper’s waiting for you.” Damien came to his feet. “Bike’s in the garage. It’s a Ducati—be nice to it. Oh, and Jasper kills for fun, so don’t piss him off.”
I had to keep Zurina talking. Eventually a Wraith would feel the tension in the air and Edan had to hear me. “Zurina, nothing can distract Waleron. He lives for the Scars.”
Zurina’s voice rose and her lip curled. “He lives for his oath to you.”
“What oath?”
“To protect you above all else for as long as he walks this Earth.” Zurina tsked, shaking her head. “I like you, Delara, always have. You had guts coming to the Realm and speaking in front of the Deaconry for Balen’s freedom. Using Edan like you did. But my oath to Waleron’s mother is more important than you, as is Waleron’s oath to the Goddess and his mother.”
“So you’re going to kill me? Is that your solution?”
“No, Delara. Of course not. That would be breaking my oath as a Healer. No, I’ll leave that to Tarek.” My heart slammed into my chest. “I’m merely delivering him a… package.”
I straightened my shoulders. “Waleron will find you.” There was no way Zurina would get away with this.
She laughed. “Of course he will. I don’t pretend to think he will let me live either. My sacrifice is a necessity.” Zurina’s stance went rigid and her fingernails dug into my wrist. “What have you done?” She slid her hand under her shirt at the waist. “Stupid. Stupid girl.”
Zurina pulled out a gun and pressed it into my side. I reacted at the same time that Edan appeared. I shoved my elbow into her chest as hard as I could, but Zurina’s grip held. We both fell to the ground as I struggled against her hold.
Zurina’s fingernails ripped at my skin, blood dripping from my wrist.
“Delara?” Edan shouted, running toward us.
Zurina’s arm rose and she pointed the gun at Edan’s head.
“No!” I screamed, and punched Zurina in the side.
The gun went off, the piercing sound echoing in the Realm.
“Nooo.” I kicked Zurina in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her and releasing her grip on me.
“Delara….”
Edan’s tall, lithe form crashed to the ground and I frantically searched for blood on his body, but there wasn’t any. “Edan.” I scrambled toward him, hands running over his body. Then I saw the dart protruding out of his thigh.
No bullets. It was a tranquilizer gun.
“Delara, I can’t… reach….” Edan fell limp.
“He’ll be fine in a few hours. But he’ll have a bruised ego, I imagine.” Zurina pointed the gun at me.
“Time to go,” she said.
I dove to the right, but was too late as a dart impaled my neck.