“Do not touch me,” she warned him. “Don’t ever touch me.”
The venom in her tone shocked him, but not as much as it confused him. Had someone hurt her? Or was it simply a case of her not wanting one of his kind to touch her? “Why not?”
“I don’t like it. You keep your hands off.”
Joseph shoved his hands into his jeans in the hopes it would appease her. “See. No hands. Now tell me why you suddenly changed your mind when you found out I was going.”
“Maybe I find you abhorrent.”
“Maybe you do, or you do?”
“All of you Theronai think you’re so much better than us. It’s disgusting. I wouldn’t sit in a car with any of you.”
“Not even if you got to visit your family?”
A hint of sadness flashed through her golden eyes before being replaced with anger. “It’s not worth the stench of your kind.”
“Wow. And here I thought you were all about making peace.”
“Andreas wants peace, and he always gets what he wants.”
Joseph knew it was a mistake, but it was one he was going to make. Her behavior was too suspicious, and he was going to find out what she was hiding, one way or another. A few hours trapped in a vehicle might be enough to get her to spill her secrets.
“Is that so?” he drawled, feeling a smile curve his mouth. Anticipation trickled through him, and for the first time in a long time, he was actually enjoying himself. “Well. I bet he also wants to see that you’re safe and sound. Pack your bags, kitten. You’re coming with me.”
Lyka should never have opened her mouth. She knew it would get her in trouble.
She’d been so good, too, keeping to herself for weeks, coming out of her room only to eat and play with the kids. They were harmless. They couldn’t ruin her world the way the Theronai could.
The way Joseph could.
But she missed her family, her sisters and brothers. She wanted to see them again and let them know she was safe and sound.
The ring-shaped birthmark on her arm burned, reminding her of the mistake her Slayer mother had made. One night. One single sexual encounter with a stranger, and Lyka had been cursed to straddle two worlds. She didn’t fit in either one, but she’d chosen the one she’d wanted. And the one she disdained.
Andreas knew her shame. He knew what their mother had done, what Lyka really was. That’s why he’d sent her here. He knew, in the end, they’d never kill her, even if they chose to break the peace treaty he believed in so desperately.
All it would take was one touch from one of these men to give away her secret, and she had to keep that from happening at any cost. None of them could know what she was.
None of them could know that she was a Theronai, too.
Chapter 25
For the first time in his life, Iain knelt to meditate without his sword gleaming in front of him. The concrete floor of his cell chilled his knees, distracting him and making it harder to slide into the peaceful quiet.
His monster was growing stronger by the moment, ever since Jackie had left. It knew it was to be put to death soon, and it did not want that. It wanted to be free, to roam the earth and kill and fuck and eat until it was too exhausted to move. Knowing Jackie was out there, alone and unprotected, inflamed the beast, making it more vicious and angry.
Meditation usually helped calm his monster, but right now, Iain was having trouble slipping into that quiet state where his body fell away and he simply existed, floating and numb.
Jackie was upset. Angry. Sad. Afraid. So many emotions were sliding into him, it was hard to concentrate. And while her emotions were uncomfortable, they were part of her, and he cherished them because of that alone. He’d find the bliss of nothingness soon enough. For now, it was best if he didn’t waste the few moments he had left, even if that meant risking freeing his monster.
Without thinking about it, he reached out for her, working to send her what comfort he could. He felt her sink into that comfort, wrapping it around herself as if she were cold and it were the only thing that could warm her.
She was planning something. He could almost hear the wheels of her scheme grinding away.
Something bad had happened. He didn’t know what it was, but it churned up old memories of her time in the caves. Every few seconds, he got another glimpse of a memory—a mere flash in time, when things for her were dark, cold, and terrifying.
Hours passed. He wasn’t sure how many. Every few minutes, he could feel a tug on his power as Jackie pulled it into herself. He could feel her wearing down, growing tired, but her resolve was firm and unwavering. He didn’t even think it would be possible to stop her.
A huge rush of power left his body, though he had no idea what Jackie was doing with it. In her current state of mind, it could be anything.
Stand still, he heard her order, as clearly as if she’d been in the room.
He froze, more in shock than obedience, and a second later, there was a string of light dangling down one side of his cell. It widened, growing fatter and fatter until Jackie stepped out of the portal.
Surprise rattled him, and he stood still, unable to believe his eyes. Most women had to work for years to learn to wield that kind of power, and yet Jackie had executed it perfectly, landing exactly where she wanted, rather than lodged inside a wall.
Fear and protective instincts rose up, crashing into one another, making his voice come out hard. “Do you have any idea how fucking dangerous that is?”
She bent at the waist, panting and holding her stomach. A moment later, she reached out her hand. “Don’t care. Come on. I can’t keep this up for long.”
“I can’t leave,” he told her. “I’m a danger to you and everyone else.”