Did he have a woman waiting for him in Budapest? A wife?
Gwens hands fisted, the nails digging deep, cutting. She was no longer pleased. This doesnt matter. You shouldnt want him.
Gwen. Will you?
The way he said her name was a slap and a caress at the same time, jarring her, making her shiver. She liked that he sought her cooperation, though she suspected he would try and force her to his will if she declined. Maybe I should have run.
To what? A life of regrets? A life of wishing you had acted against the ones who hurt you? Im offering you a chance to help me kill Hunters. And just so you know, killing them wont be the only benefit, he said.
What do you mean?
I can help you control your beast the way I control mine. I can help you channel it for a good cause. Dont you want to be in control?
All her life, shed wanted only three things: to meet her father, earn her familys respect and learn to control her Harpy. If Sabin could deliver on that promise, she would finally, after all these years, have achieved one of the three. He was probably overreaching and destined to fail, but it was a temptation she couldnt resist.
Ill go with you, she said. Ill help you as best I can.
Relief pulsed from him as he closed his eyes and smiled. Thank you.
That smile relaxed the stark edges of his face, making him appear boyish once again. As she drank him in, the plane jolted abruptly. Sabin was pushed back; she was propelled forward. To her delightdismaythe distance between them never widened.
On one condition, she added when they settled.
His relief hardened into something cruel. What?
You have to invite my sisters. Maybe not right away. She was embarrassed by her circumstances and didnt want her sisters to see her like this, to know what had happened to her. But she missed them like crazy, and knew her homesickness would soon outweigh her embarrassment.
Invite your sisters? You mean you want me to have to deal with more of you?
That had better be happiness in your tone, not disgust, she said, offended. My sisters have castrated men for less.
Sabin pinched the bridge of his nose. Sure. Invite them. Gods save us all.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PARIS SLOUCHED in the backseat of an Escalade, Strider at the wheel and completely unaware of speed limits. Though the sun was shining on downtown Budapest, you couldnt tell it from where Paris was sitting. The windows were tinted so thickly the interior was cast in gloomy shadows. Anya, Luciens lover and the minor goddess of Anarchy, had stolen the vehicle from gods knew wherealong with a matching second and a Bentley for herselfjust before theyd left for Egypt.
You dont have to thank me, shed said, smiling beatifically. Your horrified expressions are gift enough. The cars are very upscale gangster, if I do say so myself. And lets face it. You guys were in serious need of a makeover and these wheels do the job.
Unfortunately, Paris had gotten stuck in the same car as Amun, who was gripping his head as if it was about to explode; Aeron, who couldnt stop gloweringdude needed his little demon friend, Legion, like, statas well as Sabin and his Harpy.
Sabin couldnt keep his eyes off the dangerous, throat-eating woman, and hadnt lost his hard-on since kissing her on the plane. Understandable, sure. She was incomparably lovely, with golden eyes almost diamondlike in their purity, lips as red as Eves apple had probably been and a body that defined the word temptation. And that strawberry hair was a miracle all its own. But she was a Harpy whod been found in the enemys camp and therefore not to be trusted for any reason.
Maybe shed been abused like the other prisoners. Maybe she despised the Hunters as much as he did. Maybe
But maybe wasnt good enough to earn his trust. Not anymore. She could be Bait, a pretty trap the Hunters had set and the Lords had welcomed with open arms.
Paris didnt want Sabin ending up like him: craving an enemy with every fiber of his being but unable to have her.
A minute, an hour, a month, a year agohe didnt know, time no longer mattered to himhed been ambushed by Hunters and imprisoned. Because he played host to the demon of Promiscuity, he needed sex to survive. Sex every day, at least once, but never with the same woman. In that cell, strapped to a gurney, hed grown so weak opening his eyes had become a chore. Not wanting to kill him before they found Pandoras boxwithout it, the death of his body would have freed his demon, allowing it to wander the earth, crazed, unfetteredtheyd sent her in. Sienna. Plain, freckled Sienna with her elegant hands and untapped sensuality.
Shed seduced him, strengthening him exponentially. And for the first time since his possession, Paris had gotten hard for the same woman twice. In that moment, hed known she belonged to him. Known that she was hishis reason for breathing. The reason hed been spared death all these thousands of years. But her own people had shot her down as Paris absconded with her.
Shed died in his arms.
Now Paris was still forced to bed a new woman every day, and if he couldnt find a woman, he had to find aman, even though hed never been attracted to his own sex. A fuck was a fuck to the demon of Promiscuity. A fact that had long since plunged him down a spiral of shame.
Yet nowadays, no matter who his bed partner was, he had to picture Siennas face to get hard. He had to picture her face to finish the job, because every cell in his body knew the person underneath him was wrong. Wrong scent, wrong curves, wrong voice, wrong texture. Wrong everything.
Today would be the same. Tomorrow, as well. And the next day and the next. For an eternity. There was no end in sight for him. Except death, but he didnt deserve death yet. Not until Sienna was avenged. Would she ever be?
You didnt love her. This is madness.
Wise words. From his demon? Himself? He didnt know anymore. Could no longer distinguish one voice from the other. They were one and the same, two halves of a whole. And both of them were at the breaking point, ready to snap at any moment.
Until then
Paris patted the bag of dried ambrosia in his pocket and let out a sigh of relief. Still there. He now carried the potent stuff with him wherever he went. Just in case he needed it. Which, more often than not, he did.
Only when the ambrosia was mixed with human wine did the alcohol do what it was supposed to do and numb him. If only for a little while. Every day, though, it seemed like he had to add more to achieve the same buzz.
Hed just have to ask his friend to steal more. Gods knew he deserved a few hours of peace, a chance to lose himself. Afterward, he would be refreshed, stronger, ready to fight his enemy.
Dont think about that now. Soon as he reached the fortress, he had a job to do. That came first; it had to. He forced his eyes to focus on his surroundings, his mind to blank. Gone were the multihued palaces, humans traipsing from one side of the streets to another. In their place were thickly treed hills, abandoned, forgotten.
The SUV popped a rocky ledge and ascended one of those hills, dodging trees and the little presents he and the others had left for any Hunter stupid enough to come gunning for them. Again, that is.
About a month ago, theyd stormed inside and blasted the hell out of his home, a home hed lived in for centuries, forcing the warriors to patch up quickly before heading out on another trip, another battle. New furniture had been needed. New appliances. He didnt like it. Thered been so much change in his life latelywomen in residence, the return of an old frienemy, the eruption of the warhe couldnt handle much more.
The fortress came into view, a towering monstrosity of shadow and stone. Ivy climbed the jagged walls, blending home into land and making it nearly impossible to differentiate between the two. The only thing that set them apart was the iron gate that now surrounded the structure. Another addition.
Eagerness suddenly saturated the cool air. Bodies tensed, mouthfuls of oxygen were held. So close
Torin, who watched them from inside the fortress on monitors and sensors, opened that gate. As they meandered toward the tall, arching front doors, Aeron squeezed his armrest so tightly it snapped.
A wee bit excited, are you? Strider asked, glancing at him from the rearview mirror.
Aeron didnt reply. There was a good chance he hadnt even heard the question. His tattooed face registered determination and anger. Not the usual indulgent expression he wore when about to see Legion.
When the vehicle stopped, the entire group jumped out. Glaring sunlight beat down on his body, making him sweat under his T-shirt and jeans. Gods, was it even this hot in hell?
Soon as she emerged from the car, the little Harpy stepped to the side, delicate arms around her middle, eyes wide, face pale. Sabin tracked her every movement, not even looking away when he jerked out a bag and another toppled to his feet.
How could something as vicious as a Harpy be so timid? It just wasnt possible; it didnt fit. She was like two pieces of two different puzzles, and now Paris was thinking the girl should have been blindfolded on the way to the fortress.
Hindsight. They could always cut out her tongue to keep her from talking, he supposed. Maybe cut off her hands to keep her from signing or writing.
Who are you?
Before Sienna, he would have been the one fighting to protect the female. That he wasnt now, that he actually wanted her injured, should have filled him with guilt. Instead, he was angry that he hadnt done a better job of guarding his friends against her. All possible threats had to be eliminated. Throughout the years, the other warriors had tried to convince him of that but hed always resisted. Now, he understood.
It was too late to do anything to her, though. Sabin wouldnt allow it. Guy was wasted. Even before the rift that tore Luciens group from Sabins, Paris didnt recall ever seeing Sabin this intent on a woman. Which wasnt necessarily a good thing. If the girls timidity wasnt an act, then Sabin would destroy her, one bit of her self-esteem at a time.
Maddox emerged from the second Escalade, a dark slash in Pariss periphery. The keeper of Violence didnt bother grabbing his bag but pounded swiftly up the porch steps. The doors swung open and his pregnant female flew outside, laughing and crying. Ashlyn leapt into his arms, a blur of gold, and he swung her around. They were locked in a heated kiss seconds later.
It was tough to imagine the savage Maddox as a fathereven if the baby ended up half demon like the Lords.
Next came Danika, who halted in the doorway and scanned the crowd for Reyes. The lovely blonde spotted him and squealed. As if that squeal was a mating call of some kind, Reyes palmed a dagger and stalked to her.
Possessed as he was by the demon of Pain, Reyes could not feel pleasure without physical suffering. Before Danika, the warrior had had to cut himself twenty-four/seven to function. During their stay in Cairo, he hadnt had to injure himself once. Being away from Danika was pain enough, he said. Now that they were reunited, hed have to cut himself again, but Paris didnt think either of them minded.
With a growl, Reyes swept her into his arms and the two disappeared inside the fortress, Danikas giggling the only remaining evidence theyd been nearby.
Paris rubbed at a sudden ache in his chest, praying it would go away. He knew it wouldnt, though. Not until hed had his ambrosia. Every time he was around these couples so obviously in love, the ache sprouted and stayed, a parasite that sucked the life right out of him, until he drank himself into a stupor.
There was no sign of Lucien, who had flashed home rather than endure the long plane ride. He and Anya were probably locked inside their room. One small favor, at least.
He noted that the Harpy had watched the couples as intently as he had. Because she was fascinated or because she hoped to use the information against them?
No other females were in residence, thank the gods. No one Paris could seduce and eventually hurt when he screwed her over for someone else. Gilly, Danikas young friend, now lived in an apartment in town. The kid had wanted her own space. And theyd pretended to give it to her, not telling her that her home was wired to Torins surveillance systems. Danikas grandmother, mother and sister had left, as well, and were now back in the States.
Come, Sabin said to the Harpy. When she failed to comply, he motioned her to his side.
Those women she whispered.
Are happy. Confidence layered every syllable. Had they not been so eager to be reunited with their men, they would have greeted you personally.
Do they know? Once again, she had trouble finishing her sentence.
Oh, yes. They know their men are possessed by demons. Now come. He waved his fingers.
Still she hesitated. Where will you take me?
Sabin pinched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. He was doing that a lot lately, it seemed. Come inside or dont, but Im not waiting out here for you to make up your mind. Angry footsteps, the slam of the door.
Anyone else he simply would have picked up and thrown over his shoulder, Paris suspected. Her, he allowed to choose. Smart of him.
The Harpy glanced left and right, and Paris braced himself to give chase. Not that he thought he could catch her if she decided to kick it into hyperdrive asshed done inside that cavern. But he was prepared to fight her if necessary.
Another red flag started waving in his mind. She could get away, here and now. Even earlier, before theyd boarded the plane. Hell, she could have escaped while they camped in the desert. Why hadnt she? Unless she was Bait, as hed suspected, here to learn everything she could about them.