Dark Awakening (23 page)

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.”

“How do you know this?” Ty demanded, feeling a cold sliver of fear slip into his heart. “Did you hear her say it?”

“I didn’t need to,” Jaden said simply. “Nero speaks for her now. And his actions speak more loudly of his intentions than his words ever could.”

“Bull,” Ty snapped. “Arsinöe makes her own decisions. She always has.”

“Then she is more a monster than we had ever imagined. Do yourself a favor, Ty. Go into hiding. If you care at all for Lily, turn her, because we both know she won’t have any chance at a normal life after this. But steer clear of the Ptolemy. They’re thirsty for blood, and you’re not going to get in the way. You’ll go back, and they’ll treat you like any other animal. That’s all we are to them: animals.” His voice turned bitter. “I should know.”

“I can’t believe that,” Ty said softly. “The others—”

“Are beyond help, Ty,” Jaden finished. “You’ve been gone a while. Do yourself, and especially your unfortunate lady friend, a favor and stay gone.”

“That’s a bit hard to do, I’m afraid, with the House of Shadows tailing us. The Ptolemy need Lily. They can protect her.”

Jaden’s dark brows winged up. “And you?”

“I can take care of myself. And I refuse to accept that things are as far gone as you’re saying, Jaden. I don’t know what they did to you, and I’m sorry for it, but the queen will see reason. Once I bring her the key to solving this—”

“Spare me the idealism,” he spat. “You never were big on it before, but you’ve always had too much faith in a woman who would just as soon squash most of us than look at us. Who did, in fact, squash most of the ones who wouldn’t submit. Or have you forgotten we’re an endangered species outside of the compound walls? You bring Lily, and maybe she’ll throw you a bone. Or maybe she’ll smile and then let Nero throw you in the dark with the rest. You’ll be safe enough from the Shades at court, I suppose.” He shrugged. “But a useful pet, Ty, is still a pet. The Cait Sith can do better. You sure as hell can.”

Ty’s temper flared. “The gutter isn’t any damned better!”

“It’s better than a lot of things,” Jaden said quietly. “But suit yourself. I’ll do what I can for you while you’re here. She’s a sweet one, your Lily. But I’m not going back, and I hope, as a friend, you’ll honor that.”

“I’d never turn on a Cait, Jaden,” Ty said with a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He shouldn’t feel such trepidation about fulfilling his mission, not now. But everything Jaden had alluded to only raised more questions for him, more concerns.

“Yeah, I know you wouldn’t,” Jaden said, and for a moment he was the man Ty had known for a couple hundred years now, with half his mouth quirked up in a wry smirk. “We gutterbloods have to stick together, right? It
is
good to see you, brother. Despite everything.”

He turned and retreated without another word, and Ty was left to stew in his juices, which, he imagined, was exactly what Jaden had intended.

T
HE CITY STREETS
were wet with rain when Ty finally left the apartment a little before midnight. Jaden walked slightly ahead of him, while Lily was at Ty’s side. He preferred she stay there, and not just because her presence seemed to soothe some of his ragged edges when he could little afford them. Knowing she’d been out earlier made him uneasy. He hadn’t specifically forbidden it—and in fact, he’d been on the verge of telling her to go ahead and get some air and sun if she wakened too early, as long as she kept fairly close.

She wasn’t the type to screw and run. He knew it, and hated himself a little for being glad of it on a level that was purely practical. But still, there it was. She wouldn’t be running from him now unless he hurt her. And hurting her was no longer an option, if it ever had been.

He hated himself a little for that as well.

In any case, though, something had been nagging at him all evening, something he couldn’t quite put his finger
on, and it had him on edge. It wasn’t exactly like being watched, though he was fairly certain they
were
being watched. It was more a sense of lurking and imminent danger, like something was going to fall out of the sky on their heads and there was nothing he could do about it.

Lily was unusually quiet. It had taken him some time this evening to realize that it was shyness, a marked contrast to the wild thing she had been with him in the darkness. Things had changed between them, and on a level deeper than he’d intended. In the end, Ty knew it would change nothing, could change nothing.

So he let Lily be quiet and slightly awkward, because he had no idea how to deal with it, either, and the relative silence allowed him to avoid having to try.

Nothing, however, could prevent him from being enveloped by her scent, sweet and incredibly female, stronger and somehow even more enticing than before. Ty tried to focus on something, anything, else. Because though she had made him forget all about blood while their bodies had been joined, in the aftermath, his desire to drink from her seemed only to have grown worse.

On a normal night at this time, he’d be hungry.

Tonight, he was damn near starving.

“Are you sure she won’t come to us? It’s her apartment. And she seemed very sincere,” Lily said, managing to keep up with him even though his stride was twice as long as hers. Ty was glad she hadn’t complained—they had little enough time, and he needed as much speed as he could get. He swallowed his thirst for the time being and focused on the situation at hand. He only hoped she didn’t look too closely at his eyes, for fear of what she might see.

“Sincerity doesn’t always equate to a follow-through,”
Ty replied. “Mabon won’t be open for a while, though I’m glad they managed to save the building. She’ll rebuild, reopen. There’s been trouble in the past, and Anura has weathered it. But we don’t really have time to wait. Especially not if she’s been forced underground.”

Lily’s gaze sharpened, and he looked away. But he wasn’t the cause of her concern.

“Forced underground?”

“Possibly.” He cocked his head at her. “You’re awfully concerned about her. You only met her for a few minutes. What does it matter to you?”

He saw right away it had been the wrong thing to say. Her blue eyes flashed fire.

“Oh, I get it. I should only worry about what people can do for me, right? Not the people themselves.”

Ty shrugged uneasily. “It’s a more practical way to live.”

“It’s a sad way to live. How would you treat me if I wasn’t useful to you?”

“I wouldn’t treat you any way at all,” Ty replied. “Because we never would have met.”

Lily blew out a breath, and he could tell she wasn’t pleased with the answer. He was just glad he had an answer that made some sense and wouldn’t cause her to tear him a new one. He didn’t think.

She was tiptoeing perilously close to territory he had no interest in canvassing with her.

Fortunately, her next comment made it clear she didn’t have much interest in fighting right this moment.

“What is she anyway? Anura, I mean. What’s her mark about, the torch and the paw?”

Yes, she was interested. A little overly interested, Ty decided. He thought he had seen it in Anura, too, that
flash of recognition when the women had said good-bye. And he knew he needed to understand it.

It irritated him that Lily hadn’t told him about whatever silent understanding had passed between them. It irritated him more that he couldn’t just pull it out of her head. He concentrated and pushed at her, anyway, trying to at least get a sense of her emotions. Humans were so much easier when he could see what they thought, what they wanted. And what they were trying to hide.

Immediately, he felt her shove him back, along with a blast of her annoyance.

“Don’t do that,” she said.

She was strong, Ty thought. So much stronger than she knew. He had tasted the edge of her power the night they’d left Tipton, and even when his mind grazed hers, he felt the simmering electric charge of the energy she carried in her.

“I wouldn’t do it if you’d just be up front with me. Why the interest in Anura? Something happened,” he said, and saw from Lily’s face it was the correct guess. The woman was as transparent as glass. He hoped she’d never have to lie about anything important. Then he thought of her having to deal with Arsinöe, who was as adept at practicing deception as she was reading it, and felt a sinking feeling in his gut.

“I just… I felt something from her. Saw something. When we touched,” Lily said, not looking at him as they followed Jaden down a seedy street in the outer limits of the city. They passed, in rapid succession, a strip club with blacked-out windows, an X-rated movie and toy shop, and a place that was both a pawnshop and a bail bonds dealer. Lily didn’t see the pair of scruffy men leering at her as
they lounged by a bar on the other side of the street, but Ty did.

Mine
, he thought, pushing it at them with vicious force. They would know it without understanding why, would feel it in their marrow. And so it quickly was, as they scurried back toward whatever dank hole they’d crawled out of, throwing fearful glances back at him as they departed.

It was satisfying. Even if the sentiment wasn’t altogether true. Still, she was his, in a way. For now.

“Saw something,” he repeated, returning his attention to the matter at hand. His temper began to flicker. She was holding back, he thought, hiding things. They always did where he was concerned. It made him wonder what else she hid, what else she would keep to herself because she found him untrustworthy or too damned stupid to understand.

“You might have mentioned it,” he said, barely managing to keep from showing his teeth. Anura was so obviously highblood, despite her fall from grace. Of course Lily would want to wait and speak to her, pour out her heart. But not to him.

Not to a cat-shifter who could only slink among the mighty.

His thoughts were a storm, the dark clouds of them rolling in quickly and threatening a downpour. And it was then Ty realized he was feeling something he hadn’t thought himself capable of anymore. Something that he’d longed to be rid of, that roiled and cut and stabbed: hurt. She had hurt him with her secrecy.

He very nearly stopped walking to turn and run for the hills instead. So quickly he had begun to let Lily in where he’d let no one for centuries. And if she could cut him so
easily, he didn’t want to imagine what she might cause him later….

“I wasn’t sure how to describe it,” Lily said. “I’m still not quite sure it was real.”

He could see how oblivious she was to his turmoil, and that was best.

“You still should have told me,” Ty said flatly. “Every little thing could help us figure out what that mark means. And if there’s more you haven’t said, you’d better do it now. I won’t look like a fool in front of the Cait Sith.”

“Yeah,” she allowed with a nod. “There’s a little more you should probably know.”

Such a simple admission. And yet it floored him completely, taking the wind out of his sails. His anger dissolved as if it had been nothing, replaced by bewilderment. He wasn’t at all used to getting his way so quickly. And when he did, well, he had cause to be wary.

But the same something that was still prickling with unseen danger from an unknown source told him that Lily was being sincere.

She sighed, tipping her head back to look at the sky as she collected her thoughts, and Ty was reminded forcibly of the first night he’d seen her, standing in a moonlit garden. The innocence of her that was so much on display then was still there, but he also saw weariness that hadn’t been there before.