Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (41 page)

“Poison,” he muttered. “I can feel it.” He glanced over at the now-dead demon. “Fucking saber. I’m lucky he didn’t come at me with his godsdamned teeth.”

Dani leaned over her man. “Can I help?”

He looked at her
, his eyes raking her slowly as she knelt next to him. With a painful snort he said, “Is it bad that all I can think is that I’m jealous that everyone can see you topless?”

She blinked at that
unexpected comment
before
glancing
at her bared breasts. It was still shocking to see
the ashen color that covered her skin whenever the Harpy overtook her. “You get to see me topless, too,” she offered.

“I know they’re only seeing what I am, but…” He raked a hand over the back of his neck, wincing from the pain. “It’s just that you’re mine. Only I should get to look at you.”

She
chewed her lip, knowing full well that she blushed from his admission. He wanted her. Or, maybe he just didn’t want anyone else to want—

A demon came in, hard and fast, and looked as pissed as all hell. He fell on them both, and Dani spun around Garrick as quickly as she could, planning to remove him from the demon’s path.
S
harp
pain lanced
through her neck and erupted throughout her, reaching every limb of her body at once.

The last thing she heard was the sound of Garrick’s cry before she faded into darkness.

There were no more thoughts of the pain that spread from his back. The agony in his heart overshadowed all else as Garrick scrambled to his feet and barreled into the demon that had attacked Dani.
No matter tha
t
he was weak from gifting a part of his strength.
His teeth gnashed together as they rolled over her body in a twisted heap of flying limbs.

No way would he let the fucker live.

He fought him, careful to avoid getting stabbed by one of the blades the demon wielded. They rolled gods knew how many times before Garrick ended up on top and quickly slammed the demon’s arm onto a protruding rock, effectively exhausting it of one of its weapons. He turned his head sharply, hoping to avoid contact with the dagger that came at him, but the hilt still crashed into his skull, causing blood to pour from the wound. He shook his head, trying to clear the stars that clouded his vision, and set back to action. He’d never encountered a demon like this before; he was fast and brutal in his fighting techniques. On any given day, he might have relished in a fight like this, but today
…
today he wanted nothing more than to deliver justice for what this bastard did to his female.

And that meant he would hold nothing back.

He focused fully on his own strengths, ignited a part of him he’d thought long lost.
Using the gifts born to him, Garrick traced off the demon, causing it to look around in confusion. He reappeared, kneeling just above its head
. H
e reached out, gripped its arm and twisted. The demon held on for longer than he’d have guessed, but finally, it released
it
s hold on its dagger when
it
s arm cracked. Garrick quickly grabbed it and then traced, appearing where the demon had dropped
it
s other blade. With another quick trace, he was on the
bastard
again, plunging the daggers into its body. One was aimed straight for
it
s heart, the other sliced through
it
s neck. He spotted Dani on the ground between two
of his friends
. Draven fought on one side of her, Ethan on the other. The two fought to stave off any other attacks on his female, and Garrick wasted no time in reaching her.

“Dani,” he whispered. Her eyes were closed, but she was still breathing. That was enough for him at the moment. It had to be. He wrenched off his shirt, covering her as best as he could. Draven turned toward them as his demon fell lifeless to the ground. All around, the battles were quieting as
all
of the Guardians felled their enemies
—or as others ran away
. A huge part of him wanted nothing more than to get Dani out of this place. To take her somewhere safe. But another part reminded him of so many other lives that were in danger. People he’d grown up with
,
people he’d loved and cherished.

He had a duty to them. He had to find the other Harpy.

The others slowly made their way to where Dani, Garrick, Draven, and Ethan were, their battles over and won.

“Did any of you see another Harpy?”
he
asked, looking each of them in the eyes. “There’s another one here and I need to reach her.” His eyes finally clashed with Nitro’s and she hastily looked away.

Garrick rose to his feet, standing nose-to-nose with the warrioress. “What do you know? Where is she?”

Her jaw tightened, but she returned his gaze. “I don’t know anything.”

“It’s not just our lives at stake here
.
Ekhart has captured a Harpy from
my
realm and brought her here. If I don’t return her to her clan in time then my people will be slaughtered.”

Muttered curses slipped from the Guardians.

“We saw her,” Ash offered.

Nitro
pegged her brother with a glare and
sighed. “Fine. Yeah, we did. She was chained to a bed in a room down one of the hallways.”

Garrick
gazed
down at Dani, a pang of sorrow and regret rushing through him. He didn’t want to leave her, but he had no choice. She still lived, so he had to try to complete his mission. He met Draven’s eyes and approached the vampire. “Warrior to warrior. I’m asking you to watch over her if she has need of it.”

Draven gripped his shoulder. “On my Guardian’s oath I vow to you that I’ll protect her as my own.”

Garrick clapped the vampire on his shoulder before lifting Dani into his arms.
He would keep her with him as long as possible. Facing the twins, he said,
“Take me to her.”

****

“Is that the one?” Nitro asked, pointing in through the window of a locked door.

Garrick approached the window,
and peered into
the darkness within. “Let’s hope so.”

Raider dropped to his knees and set to work on the lock, working faster than Garrick had seen as of yet. Within seconds the lock sprang free.

“Hold her,” he said, handing Dani over to Draven as carefully as possible. “Stay out here in case anything happens.”

He nodded
and Garrick shou
ldered his way through the door. He approached
the Harpy
, mindful of the shackles that bound her
.

“Who are you?” she asked in her Harpy tongue.

“My name is Garrick.”

“
Blue blood
,” she hissed, her eyes narrowing at the blood that seeped from his head.

He nodded. “That I am. I need to know your name.”

“What does my name matter?”

“It matters because I was sent to rescue a certain Harpy.”

She growled at that, but Garrick couldn’t seem to care. Harpies didn’t take charity, and her Instinct wouldn’t appreciate the rock and hard place Garrick was stuck between. “What is your name?”

“My clan wouldn’t send someone after me,” she growled back. “
Especially
a Fairy
.”

He bent down low, placing his face mere inches from hers. “What is your fucking name?”

She sighed, glaring up at the rocky ceiling above. “Sarah.”

He stepped back, crossing his arms despite the poisonous sting that still radiated through his back. “
Queen
Sarah?”

“I am.” Her chin rose ever so slightly, even though she was bound to the bed.

Without another word, Garrick worked on her binds, and with Raider’s help they had
her nearly free
. “Do you swear you will not cause harm to me or any of my friends?”

S
he
turned her head,
eyeing
the Guardians who still stood in the hallway before returning to meet Garrick’s gaze. “Your friends are protecting a Harpy?”

“They are,” Garrick replied after some hesitation.

“Why would you protect her?”

“My reasons are my own
.
”

She glanced over at Dani and the others again before focusing her eyes on Garrick. “Then I agree not to harm any of them, or you.”

He nodded at Raider, who continued to work on her binds.

“Where are you taking me?” she asked suddenly.

“Home.”

Raider succeeded in releasing the last clasp, and Sarah sat up, stretching her wings and limbs as if she’d just woken from a long nap. “And I assume you are taking my sister home as well?”

Oh holy gods in heaven, there was another? “What do you mean ‘sister
’
?”

She pointed at Dani. “Her. I’ve never met her before, but I can tell she is of my blood.”

“She is not your sister.”

Sarah
took on a calculating look as she focused
on Dani’s unmoving form in Draven’s arms. After a few seconds of silence, her mouth dropped open. “
They succeeded.
They made another. From me.”

Garrick
folded his arms.
“How did you know that’s what they were doing?”

“I’ve been here a long time. I started to learn their language, and picked up conversations.”

His jaw tightened. So not only had the Harpy reached this realm, but she
had
also learned English. Her being her
e
was growing more dangerous by the minute. “Listen, we need to get you back to your clan so we can get out of here.” He took a few steps toward the door and Sarah was in front of him in an instant.

“She
is
of my blood,” she said, her eyes boring into his. “She was made from me.
That makes her mine.
”

“She was
changed
because of you. She isn’t yours.”

“I should suck you dry for your insolence—”

“Not the first time I’ve heard that this week. Besides
,
you promised.”

“Harpies lie. Everyone knows that.”

“Garrick,” Draven said. “She’s waking up.”

Sarah whirled around then, approaching the others at a fast clip. Draven tensed to flash out of there, but he quickly realized that the Harpy didn’t mean to harm Dani. She
peered
at her
curiously
, the backs of her clawed hands trailing over Dani’s skin, touching her hair. “She is of me,” Sarah breathed. “She is mine. I claim her as my own. My
…
daughter.”

“She is not your daughter.” Garrick pushed her hand away from his female’s face. “And she is not yours. She’s
mine
.”

Sarah turned then, her lips peeling from her fangs. “You have claimed her? Harpies and Fairies do not live in peace
—
we live to fight.”

He
shook his head, not backing down from the Harpy’s anger. “Not us. I
f
she’ll h
ave me then we will be together, and
damn
the rest of you.
”

The Harpy snorted, her eyes alight with humor. “You two? Together? She’ll take your essence, Blue Blood
.
S
he won’t be able to stop herself. And when she does she’ll reunite with her sisters and eradicate your entire clan.”

“Oh, did I forget to mention?” Garrick asked, his own anger rising with hers. “In exchange for me rescuing you, your clan has vowed to leave my people alone.”

Red eyes swirled with malice as an angered hiss escaped
her
. “Who in the…” She let out a long exh
ale.
“Is this true, sister?
” she asked Dani.
“
Does the Fairy speak the truth of your relationship?” This
was said with enough revulsion
that he thought venom would actually seep from her mouth.

Dani looked up at the Harpy. “It is,” she whispered.

“Fine,” Sarah said,
facing
Garrick once more. “You can keep the girl. Show me the way back home and my clan will honor the vow.”

“I thought you just told me that Harpies lie.”

Sarah narrowed her eyes again. Garrick got the distinct feeling she liked to feel strong; it had likely been a long time since she’d done anything on her accord. “This, I vow on my own life.”