Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) (34 page)

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Authors: Eden Ashley

BOOK: Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3)

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“He can help,” the boy repeated.

Chapter 49

It took every ounce of will not to lash out at Wes. He was clearly hurt. Killing him would have been easy, but Bailen had asked her not to. His manner showed a mastery of the same quiet authority Rhane displayed on countless occasions, and he seemed confident in the Builder’s ability to help somehow.

Hugging Rhane close again, Kali leveled a glare at Wes that dared him to take one step closer. “How could you do this? You said you were my friend. Did my disobedience anger you so much?”

Wes swallowed. “Kali, I can make this right. Time runs short, but please let me explain so that you may not see me for a monster. I am mortal. Returning Rhane to you will take the last of what I am. No further punishment can come to me for giving you the truth. After all these years, I owe it to you.” He paused. “I wish I could give you your memory too, and make you what you once were. But I’m afraid I have not the strength to perform both acts.”

Kali didn’t care about her memory. She knew enough of who she was. Builders were powerful, but could he really do what he claimed? Could he return Rhane to her?

“Fine. Give me the truth. All of it.”

“I never lied to Rhane. Everything you know from him is true. Everything we’ve done was to right a wrong committed long ago. You have seen the catacombs—our laboratories. No creation we ever designed was eliminated. Destruction is against our nature.”

“And yet you killed my mate.”

“Rhane’s death was a last resort, and it cost us greatly. Before that we sought a loophole that would not warrant immediate punishment from our masters. We created you to destroy our mistake. Blight is a force that has decimated this world again and again. It must be stopped. Sadly you were not strong enough to do so—even with your full powers. We knew of the immortal’s existence and hoped a pairing with a creature of your sort would produce an offspring with power that could match Blight’s.”

“Are you saying Rhane and I did not meet by chance?”

Wes nodded. “We caused the storm that wrecked his ship. Though your introduction was arranged, that you two fell in love was not. Rhane fell in love with you entirely on his own. When Rhaven died and your life became in danger, we had to act. We took you and your unborn child. We stripped you of your memories once the infant was born and kept you separated through the centuries. We believed that Bailen could be strong enough to face the enemy, but he ran away from that destiny, and so we reunited you with Rhane in order to stop Blight’s awakening. Unfortunately, Rhane failed as our champion, while the Faction only grew stronger. So we implemented Plan B. For that we needed the immortal itself.”

“Why didn’t you just take it? You didn’t have to kill him.”

“It’s not that simple. We did not create the immortal and therefore cannot control it.”

“But you did so with Gabriel. The wolf was stripped from him, and he was left alive.”

“Kalista,” Wes said gently. “The immortal is blood chained. When we broke the bond between Gabriel and the wolf, the immortal passed to Rhane.”

Kali’s heart skipped a beat. “What are you saying?”

“Gabriel is Rhane’s true sire.”

She looked down at Rhane. “Holy shit,” she whispered and suddenly understood the loss she’d sensed in him. “You wanted to give the immortal to Bailen to make him stronger, so he could kill your mistake.”

“He possesses strengths from both of you. Only he can face their champion and stand a chance against Blight when it awakens.”

“Who is their champion?”

Wesley smiled, but there were tears in his eyes. A red glow shone beneath his skin. “I’m out of time.” He looked up at Bailen. “He should, and will, tell you the rest. Be careful, Kalista. Other forces will seek to destroy you.”

The crimson light became him, surrounding them, and then centered over Rhane’s body. Entering into him, Kali saw the strange glow spreading beneath his skin. The wolf’s radiance joined it, making the glow more powerful. Burns that covered Rhane’s chest began to heal and were gone in seconds. Starting as a twitch, his limbs jerked and flailed uncontrollably. As Kali moved to give him room, Rhane sat up and gasped in a huge lungful of air.

His beautiful eyes saw her. “Did you kill them all?”

Speechless, Kali shook her head. Rhane stood up and held out his hand to her. He didn’t ask what happened. Maybe the burns on his ruined clothing told enough of the tale.

Wrapping his arms around her, he buried his face in her hair. Then he pulled Bailen to one side and kissed the top of his head. Bailen started to tremble as tears sprung to his eyes. The words just began pouring out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it—any of it. Dmiri said they were here and I couldn’t let them attack the manor. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. They weren’t supposed to kill you.”

Rhane rubbed Bailen’s back in slow circles while shushing his sobs. “It’s alright now. We can talk about this later. Return to the manor with your mother and do not speak of what happened here to the others.”

Sensing a goodbye, Kali was confused and clung to him tighter. “What? Where are you going?”

“I can’t let them live, Kalista,” he said, stroking her cheek. “They tore our family apart and will do so again if it serves a purpose. This ends now.”

“We can help.”

“If I am to catch them, I will have to move fast. You can’t come with me.” He pressed his lips into hers in the most tender kiss ever shared between them. “Take Bailen and go,” he said, releasing them both. “I’ll return when I can.”

“Okay,” she whispered, as her fingers slipped from his hand. “As long as you come back to us.”

THE END

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR

If you’ve made it this far, then you must be enjoying Rhane and Kalista’s exciting journey!
Primed Son
, the fourth and final book in the series, will continue their story in 2015.