Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) (33 page)
Read Darkness Awakened (Primal Heat Trilogy #1) (Order of the Blade) Online
Authors: Stephanie Rowe
Quinn was the last one to stand before her. He called out his sword and held it before her, balanced on both palms. His eyes met hers, and she saw his duty reflected in them. He wasn’t distracted by lust, or the bond or anything else. He was a warrior with a mission, not her lover, not her mate. A deadly warrior with one goal. “My name is Quinn Masters, and I accept you on this mission.”
Then he knelt before her, laid his weapon on the damp earth and bowed his head.
His weapon remained on the ground, and it didn’t fade. It simply stayed.
The men got restless, and Ryland spoke up from his solitary spot in the shadows. “The weapon lies. He can’t be our leader on this mission. He has broken our oath by teaming up with his
sheva
. Gideon was marked as second in command. It’s he who must replace Dante on this mission.”
Quinn swept his sword off the ground and turned to face the warriors. “The weapons don’t lie. I accept.”
Gabe called out his other hook sword, the bruises on his neck pulsing with hostility as he angled his blade at Quinn. “Ryland’s right. You’re a liability right now.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “The weapons don’t lie. You know that.” He laid his sword at Gabe’s throat. “Make the right choice, Gabe.”
“Yo’ big guys, let’s all chill out here.” Thano walked up and set his hand on Gabe’s shoulder. “With Elijah and Dante dead, we’re running lean already, and we need all eight of us to win this thing. We can have a ‘Kill Quinn and his chick’ party later if we need to, but right now I’m more worried about the bad guy coming out to play than I am about whether we might have to knock off Quinn and his girlfriend later.” He winked at Grace, as if to lighten his words. “In the absence of our leader, we have to follow the weapons.” He glanced around, his face becoming serious. “I know you guys all were really tight with Dante, but we can do it without him.”
Kane gave him a hard look, the scars on his body reflecting the firelight like a maze of carvings. “Fuck off, rookie. You have no idea what Dante was for us.”
“No? I listen.” Thano looked around the fire. “I know most of you owe your life to him.” He looked at Ryland. “Yeah, maybe
you’ll
go insane without him around to keep you under control—” Ryland growled, but Thano didn’t back down. “—but the rest of you have been preaching honor and oath to me since I joined the Order. Dante’s gone, so someone else has to step up now. The weapons picked Quinn, so obviously they know something we don’t. Let him lead, for hell’s sake. It’s just for this mission, right? The real leader has yet to emerge.” He grinned. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll be me.”
Grace saw the seriousness in Thano’s eyes that belied his smile and light tone. Thano might act casual, but he was every bit the warrior that the rest of them were, and he understood the tenuous thread of control hovering over the gathering. “We have to put our faith in the weapons,” he said. “It’s our way.”
Gabe stood his ground for a moment longer, then nodded once and sheathed his hook sword. “We good?” he said to Quinn.
“We’re good.”
Gabe nodded and walked away. Thano followed him, slugging him lightly in the back of the shoulder. There was a ripple of relief, and the men finally relaxed. Greetings were exchanged, shoulders slugged in greeting as the men finally got a chance to bond.
The danger was over. For now.
Quinn caught Grace’s arm as her legs began to tremble. “You did great,” he whispered.
“I need to sit.”
He helped her over to a fallen tree near the fire, and she sank down gratefully onto the damp wood, her body starting to shake. Quinn stood next to her, his hand on her shoulder, his muscular thigh pressed against her for reassurance while he did his male-bonding thing with his team.
As Grace watched the warriors bonding around her, she realized how alone she was. She’d been grudgingly allowed onto the team because she could help them, but that was it. They didn’t want her. They didn’t trust her. And they didn’t care if she lived or died.
Quinn was her only link into this world that was so foreign and unwelcome. God help her, Grace didn’t want to rely on the support of a man whose closest friends were counting the minutes until they could kill her. She wished she could fight her battle alone and not have to put herself and her sister into the hands of this team of warriors who were so grounded in violence and so committed to their mission that both her life and her sister’s meant nothing to them.
But she had no choice. Right now, Grace needed the Order, and she needed Quinn.
Long gone was the fairy tale she’d held onto for so long, a dream of a happy life, of being loved, of waking up in the morning with peace in her heart. In its place was a rising sense of doom, and a race against the clock to save Ana before this house of cards came crashing down around her.
Nate was coming.
Not for Ana. This time, he was coming for her.
Lily swallowed nervously as the lock to Nate’s office creaked, but she stood up and set her hands on her hips, as she’d done every time she’d faced him in the last two years.
She tried to hide her trembling as the lock slid open. He’d stashed her in here hours ago, and she was starving, exhausted and strung out from waiting for him, which was his plan, she was sure. Lately, he’d upped his efforts to break her mentally, and it was starting to work.
She fisted her hands.
No, Lily. He’s not going to win. You’re still in control.
It was getting difficult to believe that, but she had no choice. If she gave up... No. She wasn’t going to give up.
He won’t win.
Lily forced herself to think of Ana down in that cell in the basement. She’d gone to visit Ana to offer some support, but in the end, she felt like connecting with Ana had ended up helping Lily even more.
For two years, Lily had been locked in Nate’s remote house in the Oregon high desert. She hadn’t spoken to anyone except Nate and a couple of his bodyguards. She’d felt like the world had been lost to her, like no one even knew she existed. But now Ana knew she was alive. Ana had looked at her, spoken to her, and given Lily validation of her existence.
Unlike Lily, Ana got to leave the house with Nate. Yes, it was horrible what she had to go through, but every time Ana got outside, there was a chance that she’d get away. If Ana were eventually able to escape, then there would be someone on the outside who knew Lily was here, trapped, unable to get any kind of message to the world.
Ana was Lily’s thread of hope, a shot of adrenaline to revitalize her spirit that had been growing more and more devoid of optimism. She’d seen Ana’s determination to break free, and Lily clung to the faith that Ana would succeed. Once Ana was free, then maybe she could send someone to help Lily, which meant she just had to hang on until that happened.
Lily had survived two years. She could take another minute. And then another. One minute at a time. That was all she had to make it through.
The heavy oak door opened, and Nate strode in. He’d changed out of his bloody clothes. He was now sporting a pair of black leather pants and a red silk shirt open at the neck to reveal several gold chains. With his diamond stud earring and designer loafers, he looked like a fraud, like a nobody who was wearing someone else’s fancy clothes and donning the arrogant airs of the powerful man he would never be.
Underneath, Nate was weak. He wasn’t smart. He was pathetic and needy, and she knew he wasn’t the intelligence fueling his operation, but she’d been utterly stymied in her attempts to glean more information. What kind of academic was she? Two years of research and she had come up with no answers?
“Lily. So nice of you to wait for us.” There was still blood under Nate’s fingernails from the Calydons he’d murdered, and his eyes had that eerie glow they always had after he’d taken a life. “I’d like you to meet my associate, Frank Tully.”
An associate? Her mind leapt into alertness as Lily looked past Nate, hoping for her first chance to learn more about her captor and what his plans were. Information was her greatest weapon, and she had uncovered shockingly little of it since Nate had kidnapped her.
The man Nate had called Frank Tully walked in. His stride was long and powerful, but his body was lean and wiry, almost underweight, with shoulders that were too narrow and a waist that was too thin.
He was dressed with understated power, the kind that he didn’t need to show because it pulsed so thickly from within. His gray sport coat was perfectly tailored to his under-fed build, his white button down shirt was starched to perfection, and the pleat on his black dress pants was crisp. Simple dress shoes were polished to a radiant shine, and his silver-tinted hair was carefully trimmed and styled. Nothing was overdone. No designer labels. No gaudy or expensive watch. Just raw, pulsating presence.
Unlike Nate and everyone else she’d met here, Frank wasn’t a Calydon. He had no violent energy emanating from him at all. She didn’t think he was from a race of aggressive beings, but he was oozing with power. Ultimate, deadly power that needed no violence to destroy.
Lily looked into Frank’s eyes, and she froze, certain she had just met the man who would be able to destroy her.
His eyes were the palest blue, like ice, and utterly ruthless. Lethally calculating and intelligent. The kind of eyes that belonged to a monster who would stand over her and carve the skin right off her body without flinching. The kind of creature who would get off on the pain he could cause others. A man who would spend hours torturing, carefully and precisely, merely because he could. Because he had the power. Because it gave him power.
Two Calydons followed him inside and stood behind him, like bodyguards. To protect him from Nate? Or to protect Nate from him?
Frank’s cold gaze settled on her, and she couldn’t stop herself from shuddering at the speculation in his eyes. His eyes roamed over her body as if he already owned her, as if he was already making plans. This man was about domination, about hoarding power, about crushing for the sake of doing so. No remorse. No compunction. No mercy.
“Lily’s afraid of you,” Nate observed, his voice tinged with jealousy. “She never looks at me like that. How the hell did you get that kind of response within five seconds, when I can’t get it after two years?”
Frank’s gaze slithered to Nate, disdain dripping from his features. “Because you are you, and I’m me.” He glanced over at Lily again, a thoughtful expression in those intelligent eyes. “You said she was difficult. I don’t think she’ll be much of a problem.” His voice was smooth, gliding over her like the sharp edge of a knife. “Hello, Professor Davenport. My name is Frank Tully. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you.”
She swallowed. “You’re here for me?” That wasn’t a good thing. Nate, she was able to manage. Frank? She knew he was different.
He didn’t deign to answer her, a move she knew was all about establishing the balance of power between them. Okay, so she would take that as a good sign. He considered her formidable enough to take the time to try to intimidate her. He certainly wasn’t bothering to do that with Nate.
“So, she’s Satinka.” Frank walked around her, inspecting her like some object in a porn museum. “A rare magical dancer.”
Lily stiffened at his comment, shooting a sharp glance at Nate. That was why he was here for her? Because she was Satinka? But why would Frank care? Her powers were valuable only to Calydons. Nate had tried to access her magic before, but he’d been no match for how thoroughly she had learned to shut herself down.
She’d learned her lesson all those years ago. God, how she’d learned her lesson. Sudden fear flickered through her at the memories of a past long suppressed, and she quickly shoved it aside.
She didn’t have time to be pathetic. She had to focus on ferreting out every bit of information she could, like the fact Frank was interested in her magic. Other than his occasional moments of egoistic experiments with trying to awaken her magic, Nate had never made a big deal of her being a Satinka, and she hadn’t clued in on that as important.
Come on, Lily. Be smarter than they are. That’s your only weapon.
“No sex with her,” Nate snapped. “I’m saving her. She can’t be touched.”
Tension Lily hadn’t even realized she’d been holding released at Nate’s words. The mere thought of combining Calydons, sex and her magic brought back memories she knew would debilitate her in an instant if she gave them any power.
No sex, Lily. It’s okay. Focus on the situation.
Frank laughed. “She’s no virgin, Nate.”
“Doesn’t matter. No sex. He’d be furious.”
Lily looked sharply at Nate. Who would be furious? Who was he saving her for? Despite his affinity for using his Calydon weapon on poor Ana, Nate had never once called it out in Lily’s presence. He’d done his share of other nasties to her, but he’d never used the knife she could see branded on his forearm.
Why?
There had to be an answer there, something significant that she wasn’t getting.
“Make her dance,” Frank said. “I want to see it.”
She sucked in her breath. Frank wanted her magic? But why? Her power enhanced Calydons only, and he wasn’t Calydon.
“She won’t dance. I’ve tried.” Nate paced the room, his eyes black with anger. “I have to figure out how to force her to dance. Beating it out of her doesn’t work.”