She didnt know he was a Lord, he realized. She thought he was aHunter?
Likeher? All that disgust, all that anger directed at the Lordsthe notion seemed likely. But, if she knew him, why didnt she know whowhathe was? And if she was a Hunter, why would his friends have placed her inside his room?
His gaze skidded to the hole in the wall. Maybe his friends didnt know she was here. But
She thought she knew him, and he definitely recognized her. At least somewhat. He knew her name. Haidee. Could picture her face softened by sleep, so lovely. He knew theyd met somewhere, interacted in some way, but not where or when.
For once, his demon wasnt spewing out answers.
This was so damn confusing, and his weakened condition wasnt helping. Maybe she had tricked him into thinking theyd met, so hed be more inclined to help her. But again, how? Why? The artifacts? Would anyone except a Hunter be after them?
His stomach twisted into little knots. There was only one way to find out the truth about this beautiful woman whose presence alone both muddled and cleared his brain. That way was dangerous, the possible consequences severe.
He didnt want to go that route, but he didnt feel he had any other choice. Normally he could read the thoughts of those around him; so far, hed heard none of hers, despite the fact that she could hear his. Therefore, he needed to deepen the connection between them, push past any mental shields she might possess and peek into her mind, glimpse her memories.
Amun would be careful. He wouldnt let his demon wipe her brain cleanthe biggest complication of all. Secrets liked to play, to steal memories and leave the victims with nothing but static. Amun would pull away the moment the fiend tried to do so. Unless she proved to be a Hunter, of course; then all bets were off.
Gritting his teeth against the pain he knew hed feel, Amun lifted his arms. Gods, the sharp lance, the burn, worse than hed expected. When hed reached high enough, he allowed his hands to fall onto Haidees shoulders.
Stop whatever youre doing, she admonished. Youre hurting yourself.
Just that small action caused him to moan and groan inside his head. Needa moment. Must
Must? What do you need, baby? Tell me, and Ill take care of it.
Baby, again. Shed take care of it, of him, as if she cared. Truly cared. He couldnt soften, no matter how much he liked the way she treated him. Touch yourtemples, he said, guilt suddenly flooding him. Hed just requested her aid for her possible downfall.
Did she have any idea what he could do?
You getting kinky on me? she asked with a chuckle. She probably meant to distract him from his pain. She did, just not the way shed intended. Her jest had his gaze fastening on her lips, imagining the thrust of her tongue inside his mouth.
His body reacted, blood heating, pooling between his legs. Damn it! Justneedtemples.
Okay, okay. Ill help you.
No, she didnt know. Her fingers wrapped around his wrists, so cool, so welcomeso steadyand lifted without any hesitation. No questions about his motives, his intentions. She trusted him absolutely. When his hands reached her temples, she flattened her palms, pushing his closer, providing skin-to-skin contact.
Like this?
Yes. Such faith. Too much. He told himself he was disgusted by that, not delighted. It was a trick to distract him, surely.
Her lashes fluttered closed, and she nibbled on her lush bottom lip. Such straight, white teeth. Once again his body reacted. He wanted those teeth on himlowermoving up and down on his shaft. He wanted her hands reaching out, tugging at his balls. He wanted her tongue flicking over the slit of his erection, tasting.
I need to get laid, he told himself darkly.
The corner of Haidees lips quirked. Do you now? Im invited, I hope, she said with husky entreaty.
Shit. Shed heard. And she wanted to join him. Wanted him deep inside her, rocking them both to satisfaction. Dont think about that now. Hed forget he needed to learn about her and simply drag her on top of him. Besides, she could be lying, purposely distracting him as hed suspected.
I wont if you wont, she said with a warm chuckle.
What?
Think about having sex.
Damn it. He had to stop talking to himself. She heard every unshielded thought.
How did his friends stand him? He constantly read their minds, knew their every privateand mostly pornographiccontemplation. They rarely chastised him, however, and never made him feel like a nuisance. Hed always figured they didnt care. They must have found a way to hide their true feelings from his demon, though. No way they liked his ability.
He owed everyone in this house an apology.
Amun forced his mind to quiet and his own lashes to close. Hed done this a thousand times before, the process as ingrained as breathing. Hed done it for Sabin, his leader. For their cause. He blanked his mind and darkness enveloped him, then he concentrated on his senses. Her skin, cool and soft. Her scent, so earthy. He could hear the rasp of her next exhalationfocused on the chilly breath wafting over himallowed his demon to reach out
Colors exploded, chasing away the black. Suddenly images began to take shape. He saw a sky of the brightest azure, a lush green meadow, untouched by time. A scattering of silver stones. Trees missing their leaves, but with sleek, twisted branches. Two little girls running and laughing, playing chase, both wearing lovely pink linen robes, flaxen curls streaming behind them. Sisters. Both possessed hearts practically bursting with love.
Secrets purred in delight.
The reaction struck Amun as odd. Such an innocent memory, and not what the demon usually favored. Why did the fiend even care about this?
The image suddenly shifted, day replaced by night in an instant, leaving only one of the girls. Older now, her gray eyes sparking with tentative joy, as if she was afraid to hope but couldnt help herself.
Her skin was sun-kissed and glowing with health, her cheeks rosy with vitality. She wore a linen robe of lavender this time, flowers of the same color pinned through her hair. Those curlslike ribbons of the very moonlight surrounding her.
This was a past version of Haidee, Amun realized as a gentle, spice-laden breeze caressed her. She stood at the edge of a veranda, looking down into a dappled, crystalline pond. She bore no tattoos, no streaks of pink in her hair, no piercings; she was innocence and optimism wrapped in an utterly stunning package.
Are you nervous, my sweet? a female voice asked from behind her.
Haidee turned, startled from her reverie. I love when you call me that, she replied sincerely. Especially since you did not like me at first.
No. But that soon changed, did it not?
It did. And yes, yes. Im nervous, but excited, too.
They spoke in Greek. Ancient Greek.
Hed heard the language before, Amun thought, and recently. When? Where?
The scene continued to play on, and Secrets continued to rifle through Haidees memories, dabbling here and there, the girl completely unaware. Then there was a purr, and Amun knew. Answers. His demon had found the answers.
No new images sprang up, not yet, but what the demon learned, Amun learned, too. Always. So, between one heartbeat and the next, he knew that Little Haidee and Sleeping Beauty Haidee were one and the same. They were this woman. And this woman was
Responsible for Badens murder, he realized.
In a flash that lasted no more than a second, Amun saw Baden, hair soaked with blood and plastered to his scalp. Bodiless. He saw HaideeHadieeas shed once been, golden hair streaming down her back, naked, tanned skin luminous in the moonlight despite the hate radiating from her and the crimson-splatter all over her. He saw her friends, Hunters, swarming, battling his friends.
Horror blanketed him. The woman hed lusted after had helped kill his best friend. The woman hed thought to defend had helped snuff out the kindest soul hed ever known. The woman hed cradled at his side had destroyed the one man whod stood between easily broken mortals and feral, foaming-at-the-mouth immortals still consumed by the evil of their new demons. The man whod said, Save the humans, do not hurt them.
Baden had been the first to find himself in the darkness. Baden had been the one to help the others do the same. Baden Baden Amuns chest constricted so painfully, the barest hint of a gasp left him. He hadnt made a single noise as the new demons had ravaged him, over and over again, but now he was helpless to hold the sound inside. Baden. Gone forever, because of this woman.
Each warrior had loved Baden like a brother, and each had felt as if they were his greatest confidant. Thats where the true beauty of the man had lain. His ability to captivate everyone around him. Which had been a miracle, considering the nature of his demon, Distrust.
Now, Amun held one of Badens killers in his hands. Cupped her temples as hed once cupped Badens.
Are you okay? Haidee asked him, all concern and sweetness. Her grip on him tightened.
His horror was followed by a quick burst of confusion. How was this possible? Shed died. Hadnt she? Yes. Yes. She. Had. Died. Hunters had used her as Baitdressed her up like a pretty, helpless doll, sent her knocking on Badens door, begging for help. She had lured him straight into slaughter. The rest of the Lords had arrived just before hed lost his head; theyd attacked. But even if they had arrived a few minutes sooner, they would have been too late. All the pieces of the game had been set.
Amun remembered the blood, the screams. Remembered Strider victoriously lifting Haidees head when the battle had finally ended, and like Baden, shed been without a body. Not even an immortal could recover from that. Otherwise Baden, more alive than anyone hed ever known, would have risen from the grave long ago. Instead, the mans soul was trapped somewhere in the heavens.
The horror intensified to a shattering level. Amun couldnt bear to remember. Not this. Because the longer he wallowed in the past, the more likely he was to lose his tether on the other deep, dark emotion buried inside him. Rage. He would destroy the fortress in a way Maddox, keeper of Violence, never had, ruining their home stone by precious stone.
His hands fell away from Haidee and flopped to his sides. Her past faded, as did his own, and he could only stare at her, this present version, hate blending with his horrorthen completely overshadowing it. Yet even with that earth-shattering hatred flooding him, the lust remained undiminished.
His body simply didnt care what shed done.
The pink tip of her tongue swiped over her mouth, leaving a sheen of moisture. Dust motes sparkled around her, and with the pink streaks in her hair and the haze of his vision, she looked like an X-rated fairy-tale fantasy come to dazzling life. Her shirt hugged her breasts, and her nipples were pearled into decadent peaks. What was that? she breathed, unaware of the change in him.
What do you mean? The question snapped like a whip, lashing out before he could reason what to do, how to proceed.
Thememories. Of me as a child, then as me as an adult, on the veranda.
Shed seen what hed seen, then. That had never happened before, either. And yet, she made no mention of Badenbut then, Amun hadnt truly pictured his friend, had he? No, not true. He had. Thered been a split-second glimpse. She just hadnt noticed, then, the other memories holding her attention captive.
Therefore, she would have no warning, no way to prepare herself for his retaliation. And he would. Retaliate. He needed to punish her, needed to hurt her. So very badly.
Still she didnt seem to notice the darkness of his emotions. Gray eyes wide, she shook her head. Ive never remembered the good parts of my lives. Those memories are always taken from me.
Lives. As in, more than one. Had she been reborn more than once? Was she here to finish the job shed started all those centuries ago? To cause the destruction of everyone he loved?
How had she gotten here? Why hadnt she tried to kill him already? Why did she treat him with such affection? Hed never had to wonder about someones motivation before. He knew the truth, always. Knew what those around him most wanted to hide. This uncertainty was maddening, increasing the depths of his rage.
Answers first, he decided. Except, he had no idea how to urge her in that direction.
Whatever you didhowever you did it Wonder consumed her expression, lighting her up. Thank you. With a shaky hand, she brushed a budding tear from the corner of her eye. Thank you. I knew Id once had a sister, but I hadnt known what she looked like.
And the other vision? Could he trust a single word out of her deceitful mouth?
I have an idea, but Im not sure. Slowly she smiled, a vibrant smile of white teeth and untamed joy. Maybemaybe when were safe we can do this again? I can find out if Im right.
The smile hed seen before, that barest hint of delight, should have warned him of the devastating impact a full-on smile would cause. It hadnt. He sucked in a breath, lost in herand never wanting to be found. The gray of her eyes lightened so much he could see tiny flecks of blue. The rose in her cheeks deepened, his fingers itching to discover if the color warmed her flesh, or if those cheeks were as deliciously chilled as the rest of her.
He couldnt soften, he reminded himself darkly. Couldnt crave her in any way.
What? she asked, suddenly unsure. Shed finally noticed the change in him. Youve never looked at me like that before.
How am I looking at you? Like he wanted to stab her? He would. Soon. For Baden. For the others who still mourned the loss of their friend.
Like Imedible. She leaned down, her breasts rubbing his chest, her breath fanning over his ear. I like it, she whispered.
He could only sit there, wanting desperately to grab her, hold her thereto choke her, he assured himselfbut unable to make his useless body cooperate. Then, as if she hadnt just sent a thousand bolts of white-hot needto choke herthrough him, she straightened, returning them to the business at hand.