Dark Awakening

“So you are in trouble,” Bay said.



“Yes,” Lily replied, still unsure which parts Bay believed and didn’t believe but feeling like a weight had been lifted just by telling someone about all of this. “And no. I’m pretty well protected.”



“Hmm. When are you coming back, Lily?”



“I… don’t know. Hopefully once I take care of whatever they need me to take care of. We’re not there yet.”



Bay’s voice went to steel. “Not good enough. I don’t know who these so-called vampires are or what they’ve been doing to you, Lily, but we need to get you out of there. Tell me where you are. We’ll get you protection. We’ll make sure no one hurts you, but you have to tell me where you are.”



“Can’t, Bay,” Lily replied, knowing she was going to wind up hurting her friend but still certain it was better than the alternative, which was Bay thinking she’d died some horrible death. Not that it couldn’t still happen, but so far so good.



“Damn it, Lily, let me help you! I don’t want to lose you again!”



Lily heard the anguish and the fear, and felt guilt and misery twist themselves into a knot in her chest. But there was nothing to be done for it. She’d done what she’d wanted to do when she’d picked up the phone. Bay knew she was alive, and that was the best she could do.



“Bay, you can’t help me. And don’t go looking for me—that would be a great way to get hurt or killed. I’m not even supposed to be calling you, but I couldn’t stand you thinking I was dead somewhere. I will get this sorted out one way or another, and the vampire I’ve been traveling with… he’s really strong, really savvy. He’s not going to let anything happen to me.”



“Oh God, Lily, have you gotten involved with one of these nutcases? Please tell me you haven’t. You know what Stockholm syndrome is—be smart enough to recognize when it’s happening to you. Get the hell out of there and come home!”



“Bay,” Lily said, “I have seen things in the last few nights that would blow your mind. Please, trust me enough to know the difference between the imaginary and the real. This is real. These people are ancient, and powerful, and dangerous. I don’t have a choice in helping them, but in cooperating, I do have a chance to answer questions I’ve always had about myself. Try and understand that.”



“I don’t understand any of this,” Bay said, and once again she sounded on the verge of tears. “I’m scared for you, Lily. I want you to come back.”



“I will if I can. And hey, whatever happens, don’t let my family take my stuff. My will is in the office safe. Everything is yours.”



“Oh, Lily…”



“Yeah, well, I want it all back when I come home,” she said, knowing Bay was now openly crying back in Tipton. Her own eyes began to water and sting, and she knew it was time to end the conversation. Nothing more could be accomplished. All that was left was causing more pain, and she didn’t want to do that. She’d just try to focus on the good. Bay knew she was okay. That was the important thing.



“Take care of yourself, Bay. I love you.”



She hung up before she could hear Bay’s response and wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. Apparently, she hadn’t managed to do that as calmly as she’d thought she could. Still, it was done.



Talking to Bay, and hanging up the phone, had felt like saying good-bye to her old life, like breaking a tie instead of reaffirming it, when the latter had been her intention. But there was no changing what was or what she had to do. All she could hope was that she came out the other side in one piece.



And despite everything he’d said, despite knowing it was probably impossible, Lily hoped that that “other side” somehow managed to include Tynan MacGillivray. Because it was becoming clear to her that she was falling for him, hard and fast, and she had no idea how to make it stop.



Her mind full of impossibilities and burdened with a fresh set of worries, Lily trudged into the coffee shop and hoped she hadn’t just made a grave mistake.



When he awakened, the first thing he noticed was that he was alone.



Following rapidly on the heels of that was the jarring realization that this state of affairs wasn’t at all what he wanted. He’d drifted off wrapped up in Lily’s warmth, in the luscious scent of her. Never, in this life or his last, had he lost himself so completely in a woman. And yet joining with Lily had been like tapping into some lost piece of himself he hadn’t even known he was missing.



It was dangerous stuff, Ty thought, slowly sitting up in the large, empty bed. Lily was dangerous to him in ways he hadn’t even thought possible. And blaming it on the lure of her blood was no longer an option. It would no doubt have enhanced things, but the pleasure he’d experienced with her had already been so intense that after a certain point, biting her had ceased to cross his mind.



Dangerous. And yet… all he could think of was seeing her, being with her again.



Ty dug his fingers into his hair, pulled up his knees, and sighed. Somewhere in all this mess, he’d gotten in over his head. And he was pretty sure he’d been up to his neck at least the very moment he’d first seen her.



Sleeping with her had been an incredibly bad idea.



So naturally, he’d gone right for it.



Jaden appeared like some malevolent spirit at the edge of the screens that hid the bed from view, as though he’d been drawn by all the negative energy Ty was currently producing with his thoughts.



“I never thought I’d say this, Ty, but you’re going to get yourself killed if you keep this up.”



Ty looked up balefully, not at all in the mood to be accosted. “You’d know a lot about that, Jaden, being a deserter and all. That’s having a death wish if I ever saw one. And what, exactly, am I doing that you find to be so bloody dangerous?”



Jaden didn’t crack a smile, though that wasn’t something anyone saw on him very often anyway.



“The woman. If you truly have any intention of bringing her to Arsinöe, which I personally wouldn’t suggest, then you know how futile getting involved with her is. If the Ptolemy even let her live past her shining moment of usefulness, you’ll never be allowed to see her again. Especially not if things stay as they are.”



Ty shrugged, a careless gesture that was forced far more than he would ever let Jaden know. “She has no illusions about me. And I see no reason not to enjoy some aspects of my job while I can.”



Jaden gave an incredulous snort. “Right. I wish you could see the way you look at her, Ty. And she at you. You’re both in far too deep.”



“I don’t look at her as anything more than a job with some interesting benefits,” Ty snapped, hating the way the words sounded, harsh and unfeeling, even as he tried to convince himself they might be true, could ever be true. Especially since the instant they left his mouth he began to worry that Lily was close by, had heard them, and would get the wrong idea about his feelings.



Feelings. Oh, hell, he wasn’t having an attack of those, was he?



Ty’s head began to hurt. Gods, he needed a drink, and it wasn’t even seven.



“Where is Lily, by the way?” he asked, trying to keep his tone casual. But he knew, from the knowing flicker in Jaden’s blue eyes, that his simple question had only confirmed everything the other vampire had just insinuated.



It rankled, even as Ty realized there might be just a bit of truth in Jaden’s accusations.



“She’s having a shower downstairs, so don’t worry, she can’t hear the bullshit you just spouted at me. Lovely girl. Much too nice for you. Shame you ever found her, really, and I’m going to guess you’ve thought the same thing a time or two.”



Ty glared back silently, because Jaden was right, and he knew it.



“And as to how you look at her, you look at her like you want to drown in her,” Jaden continued flatly. “And that’s what you’re doing, the both of you. Drowning. But don’t let my pesky observations spoil your fun. I’m just the guy who had to wait until the sun was headed into the sky before I could safely come back to crash on the couch.”



Ty shifted uncomfortably. “Ah. Sorry about that.”



It was Jaden’s turn to shrug. “Don’t worry about it. I had a few things to see to anyway.”



“Wait,” Ty said as Jaden turned to go, and saw his old friend’s back stiffen. He wondered if they were still friends, and what might have caused things to change so completely.



“Jaden. What happened to you?”



Jaden turned his head to look at him warily, but there was more there now than just the sullen shield he put up for the rest of the world to see. There was a weariness that had never been there before, the same sort of weariness he’d seen in Anura. Ty knew Jaden to be a competent, ruthless hunter when he needed to be, though sometimes frustratingly idealistic. But he’d been plenty cocky before too.



Ty saw none of that old arrogant spark now.



“Why does it matter?” Jaden asked. “You’re going back.”



“You know why it matters,” Ty replied. “I need to know what I’m walking back into. I need to prepare. And I need to know if I can help the others, if they need it.”



Jaden just shook his head sadly, with a wistful little smile that Ty found both infuriatingly condescending and unnerving.



“I don’t think there’s any helping left, Ty. Nero’s brought out all Arsinöe’s worst impulses, things I forced myself not to see for too many years. Not that it would have made any difference, my seeing them, though maybe I would have gotten out sooner, consequences be damned. You think you’re helping, bringing Lily to her.” Jaden’s voice dropped, became urgent. “But all you’re doing is condemning her. The decision has already been made, Ty. The Dracul are going to be wiped from the face of the night. All the rest of us can do is take cover and hope the fallout isn’t too bad.”