Except, when he focused, he saw that it was Legion who loomed over him, and he fought a wave of disappointment.
It worked. She smiled, all pearly whites and happiness. It really worked.
Though he badly wanted to ask about his fallen angel, he couldnt. Not without causing all kinds of problems. The others? His voice was rougher than usual, and not because of damage from the smoke inhalation. The water had healed him. But thoughts of Olivia always filled him with need.
Who cares? You know, Legion added, tracing a finger down the line of his breastbone. Her lashes dipped to half-mast, though he could still see her eyes. They werent glazed with desire. No, it was determination that swirled in their depths. Now that youre healed, we have some unfinished business to attend to.
He grabbed her wrist and held her hand at bay. The others, Legion? How are they?
With a sigh, she waved away his concern. Theyre still sick. Okay? All right? But theyll get better on their own. Im sure of it.
Not with those bullets spurting poison into their systems. Youre telling me they havent been given the River of Life? Perhaps thats where Olivia was now, seeing to his friends well-being. How like her. Caring, helpful.
No, they werent. There was a growing rigidity to Legions features. Now, about that unfinished business
Damn her. She was going to make him ask. Does Olivia have the vial?
Finally giving up her attempts at seduction, Legion looked away from him. At least she hadnt erupted into a rage because hed mentioned thatbeautiful, perfectname. No, she said. Because we ran out. Sorry.
Hardly. Last time hed used it, thered been enough to save an entire army. Aeron sat up and scrubbed a hand down his face. So. If Olivia didnt have the water, that meant Legion did, since it had just been given to him and she was the only one here.
But why would Legion The answer slid into place, and he scowled. Of course. She was saving the rest for him.
Why dont I change into something more comfortable, she suggested.
Not done with the seduction, after all. He shuddered. Give me the water, Legion, and stop trying to sleep with me. I know we have to, just not now.
Wrath stirred inside his head, stretching and yawning.
No, I
Legion. Im giving up my life to save yours. The least you can do is give me the water.
Frowning, she crossed her arms over her ample chest. You make it sound like ImI dont know, ruining you.
He cocked a brow, his silence answer enough, and her anger increased. Any life without Olivia would indeed be a ruined one. Legions your bratty kid. Baby girl no longer seemed appropriate. You cant hate her. Fine. Give me the water or Ill finally give you the spanking you deserve.
Now Wrath purred.
The demon liked the idea of punishing her? He never had before.
Fine, she grumbled, and tugged the vial from between her breasts. They only get one drop each. No more.
Because no more than a drop would be needed, he said, I promise, and grabbed the glowing blue vial, the glass so cold it seemed refrigerated. He pushed to a stand and gazed down at himself. He was still blood-soaked and soot-covered from head to foot. His jeans were ripped and he wasnt wearing a shirt. Good enough.
Stay here. With every step toward the door, his blood flowed faster and his strength intensified.
If youre going to look for the angel, Legion called tightly, you should know that she left.
The purring faded.
Aeron stopped and turned. Left? As in went to another room?
Nope. She left the fortress.
No. No. She wouldnt have done that. Shed promised to stay until he returned and theyd spoken.
Wrath remained deadly quiet.
You dont believe me, I see. Legion sighed and flopped back against the mattress. She jumped from the balcony and flew away. She didnt even tell me to tell you goodbye. Which is rude, if you ask me, but I doubt you will, she added with a grumble.
No!
His own protest echoed the demons. He pounded out of the room and down the hall. Legion must have followed him, because she was suddenly beside him, her hand resting in his, trying to drag him to a halt.
His steps never slowed. Olivia! he called.
Heaven!
I told you. She left. Shes gone forever.
He jerked free from her hold and his hand curled into fists. Olivia wasnt a liar. Despite the fact that her voice no longer possessed that ring of truth, she wouldnt have lied to him. It wasnt in her nature. He knew that. He knew her. Something must have happened. What, he didnt know, but he would find out.
Olivia!
Wrath whimpered.
Well find her. He stopped the first warrior he foundStriderand tossed the vial of water into his hands, tossing instructions, too, but not slowing in his quest to find his angel.
Aeron, Legion said, a desperate quality to the word. Please. You were going to lose her anyway. And you better give me back that bottle the moment youre done, Strider, or I will ensure you never have children!
Aeron stormed back into his room and weighed himself down with weapons. Doesnt matter if Im losing her or not. Olivia, the one woman he realized he would always chase after, pride and circumstances be damned, was out there. Shes mine. Ours, he added before Wrath could protest. And we wont rest until shes returned.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
SLAP. Her lip split.
Punch. Air abandoned her lungs.
Crack. A hard fist slammed into her lower arm, shattering bone.
Olivia remained mute through it all, enduring, but she couldnt help the tears that swam in her eyes. The torture had begun an hour ago. An eternity. Her wrists were tied to the arms of a small, wooden chair; she was bruised, bleeding and broken.
Her hair was soaked from the many times the man called Dean Stefano had held her head underwater, preventing her from breathing, forcing her to suck in mouthful after mouthful of liquid. Now those ice-cold droplets covered her, keeping her awake, ensuring she felt every bit of pain.
Not as bad as hell, she told herself. Youll survive. You have to survive.
Galen left me in charge of your care, Stefano said, his face streaked with soot and patches of his skin blistered, specifically asking that I interrogate you. And I will. I promise you. Your friends did this to me, you see. They burned me and what had become my home. I barely escaped, and owe them one. Or two.
She looked away from his wild eyes. She was in a warehouse of some sort. A warehouse with a concrete floor and metal walls. The room she now occupied was small. There was a table piled high with knives she fully expected the bastard to begin using any moment now. There was a basin of water deep enough to drown her in, which shed already gotten up close and personal with more times than she could count, and the chair she sat upon.
Ready to talk now, angel? How calm he suddenly sounded. Not at all like the cruel man he was.
If only shed tell him what he wanted to know, she would be saving the Lords the agony of losing a war, she thought, then bit her tongue. No. No! Galen must be nearby. His demon, Hope, must be playing with her, for that thought had not belonged to her.
Stay strong.
All you have to do is tell me where the Lords have hidden the Cage and this stops. Stefano offered her a kind smile. Surely you want that.
Did she want it to stop? Yes. Who wouldnt? But once she told him what he wanted to know, he would kill her. Dont forget that fact. She pressed her lips into a mulish line.
He plucked a feather that had fallen to the floor when Galen dumped her here and caressed the tip along her jaw. The Cage. Where is it? Tell me. Please. I dont want to hurt you anymore.
You know what you have to do, a voice suddenly growled through her head. Not Lucifer, not Galen. The third that day. This time, she fought back a sob of relief. Lysander. He was here. She couldnt see him, couldnt sense him, but she knew he was there.
She wasnt alone in this any longer.
Angel, Stefano snapped. Directly in front of her, he curled his hand into a fist, preparing to hit her already-shattered arm. The feather had floated to the floor and now mocked her with its softness. Talk.
I dontI dont know where it is, she rasped. A lie. Shed never thought she would be grateful for the ability to tell them, but she was now. Of course, that meant the human could choose not to believe her.
Olivia. Say the words, and Ill take you home.
Oh, she knew she could leave. Knew she could return to the heavens as planned and escape this. All of it. The pain, the humiliation. But shed made a promise to Aeron, and it was a promise she intended to keep. She had to tell him goodbye. She would tell him goodbye.
You do know, Stefano said. You traipsed that fortress for weeks without anyone knowing you were there. You had to have seen it.
Olivia, please. Return with me. I cant stand to see you like this. I cant stand this sense of helplessness, of knowing I can save you but being unable to act.
I cant, she told him.
Stefano punched her arm, just as shed known he would, and a small cry finally found its way free. Stars winked over her vision, and dizziness rushed through her head, slamming from one temple to the other.
Olivia!
I cant, she said again, gasping for breath.
Slap. You can, the human replied, thinking she had spoken to him. Youre not giving me enough credit for what I can and will do to you, and that hurts my feelings.
The sting inside her already-cut mouth spread.
Olivia, Lysander snarled again. This is madness. Nothing is worth this. Come home. Please. I cant help you any more until you do.
Your wifewould not havewanted this. This time she was speaking to Stefano and ignoring Lysander. She was glad he was here, yes, but she wouldnt cave in this matter.
Through her spying, Olivia knew that Darla, the wife in question, had committed suicide. Because of Sabin, keeper of Doubt, and Stefanothe two men who had loved her. Shed been locked in a tug-of-war between them, death her only escape.
Stefanos eyes narrowed, shielding the darkness of his irises. She was tricked. The demons tricked her into liking them. He leaned down, flattening his palms on her bound armson her broken boneand pressed. If shed been in her right mind, she wouldve wanted me to do more.
Another cry escaped her. The pain was so sharp, it traveled through her entire body before collecting in her stomach and burning.
Olivia!
Aeron will hate me more than ever, as well, when I send him one of your fingers, Stefano said, as calm as when hed caressed her with that feather. Then hell come for you. Hell end up dying for you. Is that a price youre willing to pay? Tell me where the Cage is, and Ill spare his life.
There it was again. That hope for a better future. If she told Stefano what he wanted to know, she would go free, return to Aeron, and they could be together forever. They could make love again, and even start a family.
Did Galen know what his man was doing in a bid for the answers he sought? Did he care? Did he realize what his nearness was doing to her?
Olivia, damn you. You dont have to tell him and you dont have to endure. Just come home.
In and out she breathed. Fighting herself, her desires. Fighting that silly hope. Fighting the pain. She opened her mouth. What she planned to say, she might never know. Stefano hit her and she couldnt form a single wordwas fadingsinkingblessedly lost
ITS GOING TO TAKE A WHILE and could yield no results.
Aeron studied his friend, barely able to stop himself from latching onto those massive shoulders and shaking. Luciens mismatched eyes, one brown, one blue, were regarding him with grim resolve. I dont care how long it takes. Just do it.
He wanted to shake himself for not thinking of this sooner.
Everyone here thought that Olivia had returned to the heavens, as Legion had claimed. Hell, theyd all watched the video Torins camera had recorded. The one of her jumping from the balcony in his bedroom.
The scene played through his mind constantly. Shed been standing inside his room, staring out at the night. Shed stiffened, turned. Then shed turned again, walking outside, her mouth moving as if she were talking to someoneLegion said shed been mumbling about her excitement to rejoin her friendsbut it had been terror that had bled from her expression. Then shed leapt. Fallen, fallen, begun to soar. Without her wings.
How could she have flown without her wings? Why had she been afraid?
The others assumed that terror stemmed from the unknown, of wondering how the angels would receive her. Aeron knew better. Olivia wouldnt fear that. Shed told him the angels were forgivingpatient, had been her wordand that they would welcome her with open arms.
The only rational conclusion was that Legion was lying. Again. Which meant Olivia had been taken, as hed first assumed. And there was only one way that couldve happened. Galen. Galen had used the Cloak of Invisibility.
Save her. Punish him.
That the demon wished to save first and punish second proved the depths of his affection.
Aeron had scoured the entire city of Buda. He had raided buildings, terrorized citizens and killed. Oh, had he killed, and happily, too, no trace of guilt, having discovered many Hunters still lingering nearby. He might never be able to remove the blood from his hands. But thered been no sign of Olivia. No hint of her scent. No rumors, no sightings. He. Was. Desperate. And only growing more so.
Come. Theres no better time to begin. He led Lucien down the hallway to his bedroom, where he threw open the door.
Legion, who was once again lounging on the bed, sat up. The sheet fell to her waist, revealing bare breasts. Finally. Are you ready to do this or what?
He ignored heras he had since tossing that vial at Striderso angry with her he no longer knew how to treat her, and stepped aside, allowing Lucien deeper inside the room.