Heat flowed through her body, her lungs burned, and the blood in her veins sizzled as she collapsed on top of him, panting, dizzy.
“Hold still,” he said hoarsely, and a mild buzz vibrated her wrist. He was healing her cut.
“Is it over?” she asked.
“Yes. Can you feel it?”
“Everywhere.”
On her skin, in her body, in her soul. She could sense him, could almost touch his thoughts, and she knew exactly what he was feeling.
Peace.
She knew, because she felt it, too.
Tayla and Eidolon’s peace was short-lived. The sounds of battle and screeches of pain rang out in the night. She didn’t even have time to fully explore the way the markings on her arm had darkened and set, shimmering on her skin. Quickly, they dressed. At the door, Eidolon stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.
“You weren’t a last resort.”
Emotion nearly choked her as she reached up to cup his cheek, where no sign remained of the facial tattoo, though there was a new one on his neck, two connected rings circling his throat. “I know. And for what it’s worth, I’m sorry about Roag.”
“Shh.” He made a sound, a near-purr, and his hands came up to hold her palm against him in a gesture so tender and loving she felt it in her soul. “The future is what matters now. Because of you, I have one.”
“Because of you, I feel like I finally belong somewhere.”
He crushed her to him, his mouth finding hers in a demanding, dominating kiss that nearly made her forget where they were. The hold he had on her, a cage of safety and devotion, anchored her love for him firmly in her heart.
This was what being wanted felt like.
“We have to go,” he murmured against her lips, and she nodded.
Reluctantly, they headed for the zoo entrance, where, they hoped, Gem would be waiting with her parents. Instead, they found Lori, arms wrapped around herself and looking lost, standing beneath the gate arch. When Lori saw them, she paled, and Tayla watched the woman who had been her leader, her mentor, as she backed up against the wall of the abandoned gift shop.
“Leave me alone,” she said. “You don’t understand.”
Tayla snorted. “You’re right. I don’t understand how you could cheat on Ky.”
Shame flashed in Lori’s eyes. “I didn’t mean to hurt him—” She blinked at Eidolon as though she’d just noticed him. “You . . . you look like Wraith.”
Eidolon nailed her to the wall with hard eyes. “How do you know Wraith?”
Lori didn’t seem to hear. “Are you an Elder, too?”
“Elder?” Tayla asked. “As in, all-powerful Guardian Elder? A member of the Sigil? You think Wraith is an Elder?”
“He charged me with organizing a team to bring in demons. Our orders came directly from the Sigil. It was to be kept secret . . .” Crimson splotches mottled Lori’s pale skin. “Why am I telling you anything?”
She turned to Eidolon. “She’s a demon. A traitor. She infiltrated The Aegis.” She turned back to Tayla.
“You’ll be executed for that, you know.”
Tension cracked in the air around Eidolon, snapping so she could almost see sparks. “What made you believe Wraith is a Guardian Elder?”
Lori huffed. “He said he was.”
Eidolon and Tayla exchanged glances, and she knew they were thinking the same thing; that Wraith could have used his mental powers to make Lori think he was whoever he said he was.
“Anything else?” Tayla asked.
“You don’t speak to me, demon bitch.”
“Okay,” Tayla snapped. “I’ve had it with you. Eidolon, do you have some sort of truth serum at your hospital?”
“We have something better,” he ground out, but he didn’t finish, because Wraith burst out of the foliage—apparently the roads and walkways were too easy—brushing off his hands.
“Wraith,” Lori whispered. “Thank God.” She moved toward him, shooting a withering glare at Tayla.
“They don’t seem to understand. And someone is releasing all the demons. Were you aware that Tayla is a demon?”
Wraith glowered at her. “What are you babbling about, human?”
A patient, worshiping smile curved Lori’s mouth. She reached for him, and he leaped away from her with a hiss. Frowning, she advanced. He retreated.
“Let her touch you,” Eidolon said.
“What? Hell, no.”
“Wraith! Do it.”
Wraith let loose a nasty curse, but he planted his feet and braced himself, going stiff as a rod, as Lori folded herself against his chest. She seemed to be in an almost druglike stupor, melting into him, as loose as he was strung tight.
So. Weird.
“Is it him?” Eidolon asked quietly, and whoa—thanks to their bond, Tayla felt his fear like an icicle in the heart. He was terrified that his brother might be involved in the black market organization. “Is he the one who enlisted your help to capture demons?”
Lori rubbed her cheek on his chest, ran her hands up and down his body, each touch making Wraith grow even more rigid. “Touch me like before . . .” She sounded intoxicated, and Tayla suspected she was affected by the incubus magic that seemed to emanate from them. Tayla knew the feeling.
“E . . .” Wraith said, his voice a strangled plea.
“Just hold on, bro. It’ll be over in a minute. Lori, is it him?”
God, Tayla hoped not. If Eidolon’s own brother was involved . . .
“Jesus Christ! Is one lover not enough?” Kynan, bruised and bloody, stood behind Eidolon, gaping at Lori and Wraith. Battle-lust burned in his eyes, and Tay wondered what had happened to Jagger. Ky sat solidly in the camp where thought had fled and only rage remained. He lunged for Wraith. Eidolon tackled him, one thick arm going around Ky’s waist, the other jammed against his throat.
They tumbled to the ground, Kynan shouting obscenities, Eidolon doing his best to calm him while pinning him to the pavement.
“We need to know what she knows!” Eidolon said, a few times, and gradually, Kynan grew still, though his nostrils flared and his lips peeled back as if he wanted to take a piece out of Eidolon with his teeth.
Breathing hard even though she’d just been standing there, Tay turned back to Lori and Wraith—and gasped. Wraith’s fangs were buried in Lori’s neck, and she’d gone limp. One of his arms was wrapped around her waist, and the other had dropped between them, his hand working her jeans zipper.
“Uh, was that supposed to happen?”
Eidolon twisted around and cursed. “Wraith. Shit.” He eased his forearm off Ky’s throat and looked him square in the eye. “I’m going to let you up. Don’t make me regret not killing you.”
“You’ve got to trust him, Kynan,” Tayla said.
Aggression permeated the air, and strangely, Tay could feel it on her skin, as though the battle-rage the two males were throwing had raised the temperature . . . not enough to register on a thermometer, but enough to jack up her body a little. It was sort of . . . arousing. She couldn’t wait to get Eidolon somewhere private so she could discover more neat perks of the bonding.
Kynan’s only response to Eidolon was a low growl and a nearly imperceptible nod, but it was enough. Eidolon pushed up from the ground, and after making sure Ky wasn’t going to leap on him, he inched toward his brother. “Release the human.”
Wraith’s gaze shifted to Eidolon, his eyes fierce and golden, his nostrils flaring. As Eidolon drew closer, Wraith pulled back, bringing Lori with him, a feral animal protecting its prey from approaching scavengers.
“Wraith,” Eidolon said softly, “easy. Release the human female.”
That did it. Wraith’s eyes shot wide, his teeth disengaged, and he stumbled backward. Eidolon caught Lori as she sagged to the ground.
Panting, his pupils dilating and contracting wildly, Wraith collapsed against a gate. When Kynan rushed forward, Eidolon handed Lori off to him and went to Wraith. Footsteps and screeches still rang out in the night, so Tayla kept watch while the drama she didn’t understand played out between the four humans and demons.
Kynan settled Lori against a tree, more gently than Tay would have expected, given the circumstances. He said something to her, but Tayla moved away, not wanting to intrude. Besides, she was dying to know what the thing with Wraith was all about.
“It’s okay, bro,” Eidolon was saying. “It’s okay. You didn’t hurt her.”
Didn’t hurt her? Something was seriously off here. Wraith had been perfectly willing to kill Tayla, yet he hadn’t wanted to hurt Lori?
Wraith shivered, rocking back and forth, his expression a combination of shell-shock and horror.
A chuffing sound brought her around, gold-plated dagger in hand. Kynan came to his feet, stang at the ready. Just like old times, they moved in sync toward the noise, and when she saw the demon trotting down the footpath, she sighed with relief. Kynan assumed an attack position.
“No!” She grabbed his arm. “Let it go.”
“What?” Kynan stared at her as if she’d gone mad. “Jesus, there’s nothing left of your humanity, is there?”
“Actually, I think I’m more human than ever,” she said, because ironically, mating with a demon, becoming a demon . . . those things had allowed her to finally feel something other than blind hatred.
“That demon won’t hurt anyone. It’s not violent. It’s even a vegetarian. They’re like, happy Halloween demons or some crap.”
“Even if you’re right, it’s evil—”
God, she’d sounded like that to Eidolon, hadn’t she? “We need to talk. There are a lot of things you should know.”
Though Kynan’s fingers tightened around his weapon, he didn’t make a move. The demon slipped away. They turned back to Lori . . . who was gone.
“Dammit!” Agony screamed from every one of Kynan’s pores, and Tayla fought the urge to console him. Words meant nothing right now, not when his wife had betrayed him in so many ways. Not when the words came from a demon.
Kynan took off at a dead run, heading into the zoo once more. She let him go, and silently wished him luck.
Eidolon was still confused as hell about what had gone on with Wraith and the human female. His gut told him that Wraith wasn’t involved in the black market operation, but shit, the human had been sure of it.
“Come on, bro,” Eidolon said, as he helped Wraith to his feet. “I’m taking you home.”
Wraith swayed on wobbly legs. “No,” he croaked. “I need—”
“Don’t,” Eidolon said fiercely, grasping Wraith’s elbow and swinging him around so they were nose to nose. “Don’t you f**king do it. You come home with me, got it? We need to talk about what happened, and if you’re stoned out of your skull, we won’t get very far. I want to know how involved you are with the Ghouls.”
Wraith hissed. “I’m not.”
“Why should I believe you?
“Because I said so.”
Eidolon fisted Wraith’s T-shirt and yanked him nose to nose. “And you’d never lie, would you?” Eidolon had lost count of the number of times Wraith had lied about going over his monthly limit of human kills, and Eidolon had the scars to prove it. Still, doing something as heinous as what the Ghouls had done wasn’t in Wraith’s makeup, not after how he’d suffered. Though Wraith had no problem with killing, he did it quickly and efficiently.
A growl rumbled from deep in Wraith’s chest. Tayla eased closer, probably intending to pummel Wraith if he so much as twitched.
“What are you going to do, bro? Spank me for fibbing? I don’t think so. The big-brother card ain’t playing today.” He jerked out of Eidolon’s grip. “Happy f**king honeymoon.” He stalked away.
“Lay off the junkies, Wraith,” Eidolon warned, and Wraith flipped him the bird before disappearing into the darkness.
Eidolon looked skyward and counted to ten, ignoring everything around him until Tayla’s hand on his arm brought him back down to earth.
“What was all that about?”
He pulled her into his arms, wrapping her in a firm embrace. He squeezed his eyes closed and let himself feel the opposing sensations of her hard body and her soft touch as he stroked her hair.
“Wraith’s messed up, in case you hadn’t noticed,” he said. “He hates himself, and he does whatever it takes to forget. Remember how he was at the hospital?”
“Hard to forget.” She ran her hands up his back, and he felt the tension inside him ease a little. “What was going on with him and Lori? Why didn’t he want to touch her? And why did he freak after he bit her?”
“Wraith never feeds from human females.”
“Why not?”
Eidolon pressed his lips to her forehead and wished they could stay like this forever, could enjoy their new bond without having to deal with whether or not Wraith had betrayed his entire race. “Because he can’t control his urges. Feeding on females leads to sex, and he’d rather die than have sex with a human.”
“So . . . why did Lori act like they’ve slept together?”
“His mind power. If he wanted her to believe it, she would.” Someone wanted her to believe it, anyway.
“Like he did to me in your living room,” she murmured, and yeah, he still wanted to kick his brother’s ass over that. “Do you think he’s involved with the organ thing?”
“I don’t think so. But the alternative is nearly as bad.” Someone with a grudge against Wraith could cause an underworld of trouble.