Kiss of the Betrayer (A Bringer and the Bane Novel) (18 page)

His lips were searching but not brutal. His embrace cradled but didn’t crush. She slid her arms around his neck and stroked the long black hair that spilled down his back. The silky strands threaded through her fingers, begging her to gently caress his back as she stroked him. Muscles rippled under her touch, quivering with each pass of her hand.

After several minutes of glorious contact, he broke the kiss. The deep timbre of his voice reverberated against her chest.

“There are many things I’d like to do with you.”

Rell noticed he’d thankfully said
with
and not
to
. A minor phrasing that could mean the difference between pleasure and pain. “But?”

He traced the curve of her face with the point of his talon. “But we must prepare.” His gaze lingered on her, his expression almost wistful. “Your sister and the Bringer will be here soon.”

Cold, hard reality sliced into their intimate moment. She let her hands glide down his body to hang loosely at her side, and stepped away. The line had been drawn. She and Jade stood on opposite sides. Would she lose her sister forever?

Icarus strode to the arched doorway and turned to look at her.

Rell drew back her shoulders and followed him. “Yes, we must prepare.”

C
HAPTER
F
OURTEEN

The carved oak door may as well have been a fortress. Jade stood beside Luc as still as stone, offering no objection or encouragement. This should be a happy reunion, but the uncertainty of Jacob’s reaction kept Luc on edge. Would his father think he was purging himself of responsibility for the violence of that night so many years ago?

He took a deep breath and rapped on the door.

Though the wood was thick, his father’s voice penetrated the barrier. “Enter.”

“Stay here.” Luc didn’t look at Jade or wait for her agreement.

The sturdy hinges groaned. He didn’t shut the door behind him, wanting her to hear their conversation and gauge the mood.

“Luc.” Jacob stood. “What a pleasant surprise.” He stepped around the desk and pulled his son into a one-armed hug. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

For once, he seemed to be in his father’s good graces. That position could change in an instant, depending on what debauchery Luc had gotten himself into.

“I needed to speak with you.”

“Sounds serious.” Jacob indicated that he should take a seat.

Luc remained standing. “It is, but happy as well—I hope.”

His father returned to his chair and eased against the seatback, folding his hands over his still-flat stomach. “I’m intrigued.”

A hundred times Luc had played this scene in his mind. Not only did he need to reveal that Jade still lived, but also that he was now at full power. His father had always been supportive of Rhys’s efforts, but when faced with his own son being more powerful, would he continue to be steadfast? “There’s somebody I want you to meet.”

Jacob cocked a brow. “A woman?”

His voice sounded hopeful. He knew it was his father’s greatest desire to have him wed and settled into domestic bliss.

“Yes.” Luc didn’t elaborate. When he introduced Jade, no explanation would be needed.

His father leaned to the side, looking around him. “Is she invisible?”

“Sometimes,” Luc said cryptically. The fact that Jade had followed him for months without his knowledge still grated on him a bit. “But today she waits beyond the door.”

“Don’t be rude, boy. Show the poor girl in.”

His heartbeat quickened, sending a fluttering feeling through his chest and stomach. So long had he hoped for a way to regain his father’s good opinion. With everything he had learned over the past few days about Jade and Rell, the man who had orchestrated the card game, and the immortal daggers, surely the new information would help put their turbulent past behind them. It seemed fitting that their new beginning should start with Jade.

Large, green eyes greeted him when he stepped into the shadowed hallway. She reminded him of a deer with her blazing stare, giving the impression she would bolt at any moment. He held out his hand, silently offering her his support. She took it.

Luc entered first, pulling her behind him. Jacob rocked forward in the chair, his eyes narrowing when she stepped around Luc.

They stopped a few feet in front of the desk. Out of protective instinct, Luc wrapped an arm around Jade’s waist and was surprised when she covered his hand with hers and smiled up at him. A surge of pleasure spread through him. Besides Ravyn, he had never developed anything other than a sexual relationship with a woman. But he and Jade had history and a common cause. He respected her—and she was very beautiful.

He glanced away, overcome by the revelation that he cared for her more than he’d realized.

Before Luc could make an introduction, Jade spoke. “Hello, Lord Le Daun.” She gave a quick curtsy. “It’s been a long time.”

Jacob’s brow furrowed, as if trying to place the face.

“Father,” Luc said. “You remember Jade Kendal, don’t you?”

The older man slowly stood. His eyes bore into her as if trying to reconcile the impossible. “But…” He drifted around the desk, keeping a hand on the edge for support, his head shaking in denial. “But you’re dead.”

She took a step toward him, slipping out of Luc’s hold. “Not dead, Lord Le Daun, just missing.”

His gaze darted from her to Luc and back, seeking more of an explanation.

“It’s as she says, father.”

The confused expression melted and his eyes rounded, softening and growing moist. Jacob launched himself at Jade, scooping her up into a tight bear hug. Tears coated his voice. “I can scarce believe you’re real.”

Jade grunted and laughed, but made no attempt to dislodge herself from the man. A knot pushed against Luc’s throat. It wasn’t just his father who gained from the reunion. A bright smile, one he’d not seen since Jade was a child, spread across her face.

“I assure you I am real.” She grunted again as Jacob hugged her tighter. “And unable to breathe.”

“Oh, my girl…” Instead of releasing her, he set Jade on her feet and clutched her by the shoulders. “Seeing you again has made me the happiest man in the world.” He lowered his hands and sobered a bit. “And what of your sister, Esmeralda?”

Jade’s smile faltered.

“Why don’t we sit, Father.” Luc placed his hand on Jade’s back and guided her to a chair. “I have more to tell you and a favor to ask.”

They took their seats in front of the desk facing Jacob. He settled back in his chair. Lines creased his forehead, making it obvious he thought Esmeralda dead.

Unable to see his father’s pain, Luc said, “Esmeralda is not dead.”

Relief eased his pinched brow. “Thank the Sainted Ones.”

“I doubt that would help,” Luc said. He glanced at Jade and she gave him a reassuring nod. “Father, Esmeralda is a Demon Bane.”

Jacob’s mouth opened and closed several times before forming coherent words. “A Bane? But how?”

That one simple question encompassed a hundred other questions. How was she turned? Why wasn’t Jade made a Bane? Where had she been all these years?

“My memories are vague from that night. I was only six, and had been asleep.” Jade’s gaze shifted to her fingers toying with the lace of her tunic. “Esmeralda shook me awake, ordering me to be silent.” She swallowed hard. “I remember men shouting and the smell of smoke. We raced out the back of the house and hid in the woods for what seemed like forever. Esmeralda kept me clutched to her, blocking out as much noise as possible and not allowing me to lift my head from the thicket that concealed us. She didn’t release me until the screams faded and the flames from our house burned to smoldering coals.”

Jade looked at Jacob, but her eyes seemed distant. “She ordered me to stay hidden until she returned.” Her eyes shifted to peer directly at Jacob. “That was the last time I saw Esmeralda as a human or my father alive.”

“Did the Bane kill Bowen?” Jacob’s voice cracked, betraying the emotion his expression did not reveal. “Were they waiting for you?”

Jade pressed her lips together and slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. Neither does my sister. She said there was only one demon searching through the ashes, but when she turned and tried to run, he captured her. Esmeralda didn’t cry out because she didn’t want me to reveal myself by trying to help her.”

Luc covered her hand with his. “She protected you.”

She stared at their connected hands and then looked at him. “Yes, and after she was changed, she came back for me. I owe her so much for that.”

“But what about Willa?” Jacob asked. “Where was she when all this was going on?”

“I’ve always believed that she was in the house—that she died fighting next to my father. That’s what my sister led me to believe.” She detached her fingers from Luc’s and sat forward. “Obviously I was mistaken, since I recently found out she’s alive and remarried—but I plan on finding out exactly what happened when I see her.”

Jacob’s eyes rounded and he shook his head, as if trying to drink in everything Jade had just told him. “I’m almost afraid to ask how you two met after all these years.”

Luc decided to take the lead with telling the rest of their story. He unfolded the tale, reliving Jade’s attempt to kill him, his encounter with Rell, and Icarus’s attack. Details of how Ravyn had brought him to full power were tempered, leaving out his night of drunken debauchery. Jacob said nothing, only listened as he always did before forming an opinion.

Finally, Luc sat silent, waiting for his father’s reaction. Jacob exhaled and rubbed his hands over his face. His shoulders sagged from the weight of the information, laying his forearms limply on the thick brocade pads covering the carved wooden arms of the chair. Luc could see his father struggled to take in the tale.

“Your sister’s fate is a tragedy indeed. One I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.” Jacob sat forward and folded his hands on the top of the desk. “But your mother’s arrival is a source for great joy.” He looked at Luc. “And you.”

The thick censure in his father’s voice had Luc sitting straighter in his chair.

“A full Bringer.” Jacob’s face split into a wide grin. “I never thought it possible.” A tremor shook his last words. “What Ravyn and Rhys have discovered will truly benefit the Bringers and hopefully even the odds of battle.” The corners of his mouth relaxed a bit, pride filling his eyes. “You’ve made me very proud.”

Words he’d so desperately wished to hear for so long filled Luc’s ears, but they sounded hollow. He was not the man his father perceived him to be. Though it was a miracle that Jade was alive, he hadn’t brought her back from the dead or even found her. It had all been a bizarre twist of fate. And Ravyn bringing him to full power was more embarrassing than brave. He had ranted and accused her of taking his free will, never once considering that he might be worthy of his fate. The reality of how his life had unfolded was a far cry from heroic.

“You give me too much credit, father. Jade found
me
and Ravyn discovered the secret to bringing us to full power. I had
no
choice in the matter.”

His father nodded. “Perhaps not, but you haven’t run from the challenge, but instead have embraced a new destiny. No man could do more.” Jacob placed his palms on the desk and stood. “Now, what was this favor you wish to ask?”

Something shifted in Luc. His father’s words, though simple and direct, spoke volumes about Jacob’s patience and wisdom. He saw beyond past deeds and focused on the good. Luc checked himself. Had his father always been like this while he’d been too wrapped up in his own guilt to see that forgiveness had happened long ago?

He glanced at Jade. Her gaze held steady with reassurance, but her half smile silently teased that she understood his new revelation. Luc looked back at his father and cleared his throat.

“With Siban taking the ship to fetch Willa, we’ll need new lodgings.” He reclined against the back of the chair and crossed his legs, placing his ankle on top of his knee. “I was hoping we could stay here.”

Jacob tilted his head, his lips turning down in a pout. “Luc, this is your home. You don’t need permission to stay.”

“I didn’t want to assume.”

“And I appreciate your consideration, but please know you and your friends are always welcome here.” He looked around the cavernous library. “This house has been empty for far too long. It will be nice to fill it with old friends and family again.”

“Thank you, Lord Le Daun.” Jade stared at her hands folded in her lap. “I never thought I’d hear those words.” She looked up. “I’d hoped, but never believed I’d once again have friends and family.”

“It looks like it’s a new start for many of us.” Jacob glanced at Luc. “A truly joyful day indeed.”

Luc clenched his jaw, trying to stem the wave of emotions coursing through him. The appropriate words escaped him. He stood and Jade followed him to her feet. “I’ll go tell Rhys and Ravyn the happy news.”

Jacob trailed them out. “How many will there be? I’ll get cook on preparing a light evening meal.”

Luc stopped, counting up the growing group in his head. “Eight, I believe. Ten once Willa and Siban return.”

“Excellent.” Jacob clapped and rubbed his hands together. “Finally, some excitement.”

Jade shifted uncomfortably on the straight-backed settee. Luc and Jacob Le Daun’s bodies crowded against her, their thighs taking up most of the space and pinning her knees together. She gazed longingly at Delphina’s son, Hayden, playing on the thick wool carpet at her feet.
Lots of room down there
. Perhaps she could slide from between the two men without appearing rude.

“Thank you for opening your home to us, Jacob,” Rhys said.

The older man smiled and waved a hand. “It’s my pleasure. This house needs people.” He laid his arm across the back of the settee, wedging Jade in tighter. “It’s nice to hear the laughter of children in the halls again.”

She glanced at Jacob and noticed how his eyes lingered on Delphina. Could it be that the lord of Le Daun Manor was smitten with the woman? Delphina glanced up from the sleeping baby in her arms to Jacob and back at her child. The gaze had lasted a second longer than appropriate.