Pleasure of a Dark Prince (45 page)

“I’m not! I’m safe here with you.” She sidled up to him on the end of the pallet.

“You’re no’ real.” He ripped at his chest again. “You
died
.”

She clutched his arm. “Please stop hurting yourself! I’m real, Garreth. I’m here.”

He reached out to touch her face, yet then he closed his hand in a fist. “Nay, I hurt you… with that sword. I-I…
killed
you.”

“You did no such thing!” She caressed his wet cheek. “You could never hurt me. Cruach infected you—made you see things. He made you believe you’d harmed me, but you
couldn’t
. The Instinct wouldn’t let you.”

“How do I know I’m no’ seeing things now?” He shook his head hard. “How do I know I’m no’ still there?”

She could tell he so desperately wanted to believe. But he would have to doubt his own mind, his own memories. “You’re not there. What you thought happened was nothing more than the trick of an evil god.” She grasped his face. “You’re here with me in Kinevane. Believe this, believe in us.”

He heard her words as if from a distance, had dreamed that for hours they’d spent their lust together. Harried, aggressive sex over and over. Until this last time, when he’d made love to her.

And then had come her tears, each drop like a slap, waking him from some murky twilight.

Now Garreth couldn’t distinguish what was real or illusion. For days, he’d slipped deeper into the abyss, convinced he’d murdered the only woman he’d ever loved—as she’d begged him to spare her life.

Now he was supposed to believe that Lucia was in his arms, warm and safe. She expected him to accept that the woman he wanted more than life had come here
for him
and was in this dark cell right now.

He yearned for it with everything in his being, wanted it so much he was probably deluding himself. “I saw your… body. How can I no’ believe that was real?”

“Choose
me
, Garreth. Right now, choose me and believe this.” She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his neck. He buried his face in her soft hair.

Choose her?
Could he be imagining how warm she was? Imagining the exquisite scent of her hair or how she trembled against him?

If this is a dream, then I never want it to end….

He clasped her shoulders, holding her before him. “Lousha, I’ll always choose you.”

“G-Garreth, your eyes… they’re turning golden.” She gave him a watery smile. “You’re really back?”

“Ah, gods, I thought I killed you.” He hugged her tight to him again. “I thought I’d lost you forever.” He held her for long moments, shuddering against her, rocking her in his arms. “I have to have you—canna live without you.”

“I’ve got you back now, Scot.” He felt her shuddering, too. “And Cruach’s dead. He’s gone forever.”

Garreth barely remembered the god, had only brief flashes of memory. That was more than enough. “How? The dieumort… he destroyed it?”

She pulled back to face him. “The quiver you gave me came in handy. Of course, now we have a slight problem.” When he frowned, she explained, “It’s replicating the dieumort. Now I understand why the gods were so resistant to this. Annika will have to decide what to do with it.”

“You should have told me about Cruach.”

She curled her knees to her chest, sitting against the cold cell wall. “I was… ashamed. You saw him—he’s a monster. Only Regin and Nïx knew.”

He moved beside her, rubbing her arm. “How did it happen?”

“He disguised himself, becoming everything I thought I’d ever wanted. I was so young, and I believed I was in love.”

A spike of jealousy burned in Garreth’s gut—
I want her love. She should love
me!

“I wouldn’t see reason. I left Valhalla with what I thought was a young man named Crom.”

“Why would your parents no’ help you? They’re gods, right?”

“They forbade me to wed him and forced me to make a covenant that I would never see him again. Once I’d broken the covenant, they were forever unable to help me.” Her eyes were stark. “Even after I was trapped with Cruach in that lair.”

That had been the vilest place Garreth could ever have imagined. And for her to be a mere girl, captive to that monster? How terrified she must have been. “How did you escape him?”

“At the back of that cavern is a high cliff overlooking the ocean. I… jumped. I hit the water, mostly, but was tossed upon the r-rocks.”

Jumped.
Which meant she’d been driven to kill herself.

Lucia was studying his reaction. Could she tell how his rage was building? Or how badly he yearned to punish that fuck for ever laying a finger on her? Garreth’s claws flared—to slash through his neck once more. Slowly….

“Garreth, your eyes are turning blue.”

“Go on, Lousha.”

“But—”

“Tell me!”

After a hesitation, she said, “Regin had followed me out of Valhalla—at twelve years old, she’d given up everything to go after me, because she’d sensed Cruach was evil. She rescued me from the ocean, refusing to let me die.”

“She saved you?”

Lucia nodded. “For days, she dragged me across dimensions. Then she basically dropped me on Skathi’s altar and commanded the goddess, ‘Fix her.’ Though Skathi knew she’d bestow her archery skill with the life force necessary to save me, she ultimately agreed to heal me. In return for those gifts, I had to make concessions. Just like the rest of her followers, I was to be as untouched as she was. And I was to become Cruach’s jailer.”

“What did he do to make you jump? You had to believe you were going to die. Lousha, what did he do to you?”

I’m losing him again
, Lucia realized with dread,
and just when I’ve gotten him back.
Everything in her rebelled against burdening him with this tale. And she knew in this critical time, the pain she’d impart might drive him directly back to the solace of the beast.

“I have to know, Lousha. You canna keep secrets from me any longer!”

“I’m not saying I’ll never tell you, but right now, with all that’s happened—”

“I must know. Everything!”

After a hesitation, she gave him a firm nod. “Then I’ll tell you everything, Scot. It was bad. I’ve never been more frightened. I jumped, Regin saved me, Skathi healed me. And I lived a very long time until I met this Lykae, who was everything I should fear, and yet I wanted him more than I’d ever wanted anything. Though I still had to run from him, I secretly thrilled every time he chased me.” Lucia knelt before him on the pallet. “Together he and I found a weapon to kill my nightmare. And together we did just that, freeing me forever and saving the world. Yet now, when all my trials are done at last, and I can finally look forward, he wants to look back.”

MacRieve moved to kneel before her as well, cupping her face in his palms. “Because he feels if you were strong enough to face those trials, he should be strong enough to hear of them.”

“But he doesn’t know that I plan to spend eternity with him.” She leaned up to kiss his stubborn chin. “He’ll have plenty of time to learn everything about me, and eventually I will tell him everything. At this moment, I just want to start my life with him.”

“Life with me,” he rasped, his voice breaking low. “You said for eternity?”

“Absolutely, Garreth.” She laid her palm against his stubbled cheek. “I’m in love with you. And I can’t lose you again.”

His eyes were warming to that intense gold once more. “This is like the deal you offered in the jungle— the sex or secrets deal,” he said. “Except now it’s eternity or secrets?”

“Basically, yes. I
need
some happiness. I need
you
to help me find it.”

“You will tell me everything? Every secret you hold?”

“I will, in time.”

Yet he dropped his hands, sitting back against the wall. “You canna know how much I’ve wanted to hear you tellin’ me you love me.” He stared at the ground, looking lost. “And I want to make you happy,
crave
to. But now that I’ve gone under like this, it’s possible I will again. If you were ever endangered… I’ve got to be more susceptible to reverting.”

She clutched his shoulder. “Then I won’t let you.” He was still shaking his head when she said, “Garreth MacRieve, you’ve gotten your way with me again and again. Now it’s my turn! I want you to be my man—you and no other. Are you going to deny me?”

After long moments, he exhaled and faced her once more. “Nay, I canna. I love you too bluidy much.” He gazed at her with so much yearning in his eyes it staggered her—as if now he would no longer hide it. “Tell me you love me again,” he said, pulling her into his lap, holding her against his chest.

“I love you, Garreth. With all my heart.”

“Then I’ll take your eternity. You’re tae marry me in the morn.”

She gave a wry grin. “I thought you’d never… dogmatically order it.” Then her smile faded.
To wed him without Regin there for the assist?
“Wait, I-I can’t. Not yet.”

“Why the hell no’?”

“Garreth, my sister’s missing.” She bit her bottom lip. “Regin’s been gone for days—it’s not like her to disappear. And I can’t get married without her there with me.”

“If she’s missing, then we’ll find her.” He tipped her face up, gazing down at her “Especially if you will no’ wed me till then. Love, we’ll get her back, I swear it.” He gently brushed his lips against hers. “But first things first. Do you have a key to our cell?”

FIFTY-TWO

“What’s happened here, lass?” Garreth asked the next morning when he returned to their suite after a half-hour-long absence. Earlier, Lucia had been in high spirits, optimistic about finding Regin. She’d wanted to fit in a quick visit with Emma—and a Valkyrie raid on the queen’s notoriously extensive wardrobe—so Garreth had fled to share a farewell scotch with Lachlain:

“You’re off again?”

“Aye, afraid so, brother.”

“Garreth, one thing before you go… you marked her hard, no?”

Now, Garreth found Lucia pensive. “What’s got you upset, love? Is it because you’ve seen how pitiably Lachlain spoils Emma? Know that I’ve planned the same for you,” he said, studying her face.

The faint smudges under her eyes had vanished, erased after a single stretch of dreamless sleep. Last night, as soon as Lucia and Garreth had been released from their cell by a delighted Lachlain and Emma, they’d begun recuperating in Garreth’s old rooms—talking about the future, soaking in a bath together, talking some more—then she’d slumbered in his arms.

With no nightmares….

“There’s been news,” Lucia said, beginning to pace. “I just talked to Annika.” Also not one of Garreth’s favorite Valkyrie. “She told me Regin’s not the only one missing.”

“What do you mean? I thought some berserker had her.” Garreth and Lucia had planned to head out for New Orleans, interrogate Nïx for leads, and find the berserker. Then Garreth would teach the male how ill-advised his actions had been.

“All morning news has been flying in from every corner of the Lore,” Lucia said. “Creatures from across all factions have been taken. Which means it’s not Aidan the Fierce who’d abducted her.”

“Who else got grabbed, then?”

“Who hasn’t? So far there’ve been confirmed reports of a siren, one of the fey, an arch fury—”

“Arch? You doona mean…”

“Yes, the ones with wings. They don’t often rise from their nests, but when they do…” She gave a mock shudder. “A witch called Carrow Graie, also known as Carrow the Incarcerated, was taken around the same time as Regin. Carrow’s best friend to Mariketa the Awaited—and Mari is
displeased
. The entire House of Witches is up in arms, yet they can’t locate Carrow or Regin through scrying.”

“So it’s some contingent taking out the Valkyrie and their allies?” Which now meant the Lykae as well. Over the past year, Lachlain had made sure that all Loreans understood his clan was a steadfast ally to the Valkyrie—whether the Valkyrie wanted them to be or not. All the Lykae were in full support of this, especially since their queen and princess were from that faction.

Lucia shook her head. “That’s just it.
We
were accused of taking out players from the other side. A couple of Sorceri, some fire demons, a centaur viceroy, even one of the Invidia are all missing, too.”

The Invidia were female embodiments of discord, purely evil. The centaurs and fire demons had warred against the Valkyrie in Accessions past. The Sorceri were unknown entities who could slide either way on the evil scale.

Lucia added, “There are rumors that even Lothaire has gone missing.”

“Now, that vampire could’ve been tagged by La Dorada, looking for payback—and a thumb,” he pointed out. “Does Nïx have any ideas?”

“She hasn’t been lucid. Annika told me she’d screamed like a banshee right after I spoke with her last. She’s been muttering gibberish for days.”

“Doona worry. We’ll unravel all this,” Garreth said. “And we’ll find your sister.”

She bit her bottom lip. “We’ve just finished one mission, and now we have to go searching again.” She crossed to the balcony that overlooked the gardens.