Sacrifice (38 page)

“Okay, not over. Maybe we can go under.” Karayan slid back down and tried digging her Lilitu-strengthened claws into the stone floor at our feet. Her nails shredded against the ground and she gave a low hiss of frustration—we wouldn’t be digging our way out of here without some heavy construction equipment or dynamite—

I felt a hand on my shoulder.

“This time, there isn’t another way.” Lucas’s voice travelled across the opening of the cave.

Karayan froze. Gretchen turned from the bars. Her eyes shone with tears of frustration. Even Cassie looked up, her sobs dying down with a few ragged breaths.

I couldn’t face him. “Lucas. Don’t.”

“I know this has to happen.” He turned me toward him, holding my shoulders in his hands. I met his eyes, expecting to see fear or grief. Instead, I saw determination and hope. “You can stop Lilith from returning.”

“I can’t—”

“
Yes you can.
” Lucas smiled, that beautiful lopsided grin of his. His dark hair fell forward, framing those hazel eyes—the same way that had so captivated me the first time I saw him.

“Lucas is right, Braedyn.” Gretchen’s voice broke. This was costing her almost as much as it was costing Lucas and me. “You can do this.”

Lucas never took his eyes off my face. He just waited, trusting that I would come to the same conclusion. I bit my lip, but they were right. A tear slid free and snaked a trail down my cheek.

Karayan saw the change in my demeanor. “Ladies.” She turned to Cassie and Gretchen. “We should give them some privacy.”

I made the mistake of looking at Gretchen. Her face was a study in pain. Was she reliving the night she’d found the Lilitu killing her young husband Eric, Lucas’s older brother? Is that how she would see me, after tonight? Gretchen realized I was watching her. She did her best to control her features. She turned to help Cassie to her feet, and together, she, Cassie, and Karayan retreated down the entrance tunnel until they were out of sight.

Lucas took my hand, then lifted it to his face. He bent and kissed my fingers. Then, in a voice too soft to carry, he said, “turns out this is our night after all.”

Lucas was standing so close that the warmth of his skin radiated out to me. I took a deep breath, picking up the scent of him, both clean and musky.

Lucas took a step closer, bringing our bodies just inches apart. He reached up, catching me under the chin and tilting my face toward his. I met his eyes, and saw his naked desire. Something within me responded. The deep, powerful Lilitu storm rose up, as if it could sense willing prey.

I panicked, stepping back, but Lucas caught my hands.

“Not like this,” I whispered. “Lucas, I love you.”

“I know.” Lucas pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me in a fierce hug. For a moment, we just stood there, clinging to one another. “I love you, too. I’m not afraid.”

I took a shaky breath, almost unable to articulate my fear. “What if I go too far?”

Lucas cupped his hands on either side of my face and drew back, laying his forehead against mine. His eyes were closed. “This is our moment, Braedyn. Don’t think about what comes next.” He opened his eyes, regarding me with a calm intensity. “Just be here with me, now.”

I nodded.

Lucas kissed me. I felt my eyes flutter closed, lost in the sensation of the moment. His lips were warm and firm. He slid a hand through my hair, cradling the back of my neck. The gesture sent little fireworks cascading over my shoulders.

As our kiss grew more heated, I forced the Lilitu storm into the back corner of my mind. I ran my fingertips down Lucas’s chest. I felt him react, shuddering with longing. I curled my fingers under the edge of his T-shirt. Reading my mind, Lucas stepped back and slipped the shirt up and over his head. He let it drop to the floor beside him.

My eyes raked over Lucas’s chest—I felt my heart stutter. Lean muscles bunched and strained under his smooth skin with each breath he took. I could see the throbbing pulse of his heartbeat at the side of his neck. I reached toward him, hesitant. Lucas caught my hand and pressed it to his chest, over his heart. The heat of him, the sudden contact of my palm on his skin, added fuel to the Lilitu storm within me.

It raged, battering against the walls I’d thrown up around it—but still, I kept it contained. I looked up into Lucas’s eyes. He waited, a question unspoken between us. Nervously, I pulled my own T-shirt up and over my head. As it slid free, I shook my hair out. The glossy brown waves fell down over my bare shoulders. I’d worn a simple, blue-lace bra in anticipation of our evening together. Lucas swallowed, letting his eyes drop.

Gingerly, I caught his hand and guided him closer.

I kissed him again, but when his hands made contact with the skin of my back I gasped. His touch shot through me like a spray of gasoline, igniting the Lilitu storm in an explosion of power. It thrashed inside me, desperate to break free, focused on connecting with Lucas. I gritted my teeth, battling against it, unwilling to give it what it wanted—Lucas’s life energy.

Lucas’s brows knit together. “Don’t fight it.”

I looked up, unable to spare the concentration it would take to answer him. It took all my focus to cling to the Lilitu storm, to keep it from attacking him.

“Don’t fight it,” he said again. And then he caught my jaw in one hand and pulled me into another kiss. Our torsos connected, skin-to-skin, the only thing left between us my lacy bra. Lucas’s kiss was hungry, insistent. I couldn’t help but respond.

The Lilitu storm broke free.

Something wild and feral moved through me. I gripped Lucas’s arms, pushed him back into the bars of the gate with more force than I’d intended. My lips fastening to his, urgent, hungry. I heard Lucas moan with desire. His arms curled around me, pulling me closer. One of my hands slid down his chest while the other gripped a bar behind him, locking him in this embrace. As my free hand slid around his chest to his back, I felt the marks
she’d
left behind.

A swell of irrational rage tore through me.
How dare she?!
He was mine.
The thought coursed through me—followed by the urgent need to claim him. I felt the tips of my fingers tingling. I drew my nails across Lucas’s back. He arched into me, this time his gasp was a mixture of pleasure and pain.

I surged closer to him, pressing him against the bars of the gate—my every thought fixed on
joining
with him. The storm within me surged toward him, forcing a connection our bodies were too slow to make—

Like a catastrophic dam failure, I
felt
something crack within Lucas—and then a glorious, brilliant wash of energy was flowing into me. I pressed myself closer to him, our kiss growing in intensity until I had to break free to breathe—

Once the connection was broken, the wild tempest within me started to recede. Not because I was pushing it out. Because it was
sated.

Before me, Lucas’s eyes were heavily lidded. His head lolled back against the bars of the gate. He managed to meet my gaze.

“Did you get what you need?”

Before I could answer him, he collapsed in my arms.

I caught Lucas, easing him to the cold stone floor. His eyes fluttered closed. His breath sounded shallow, raspy. I moved to pick up his shirt, only noticing as I reached for it that my fingers were covered with blood. A sick horror took root in my stomach.

“Lucas?” I leaned over him, suddenly afraid to touch him. “Lucas?!”

Lucas did not respond.

“Braedyn! Easy. He’s just unconscious.” Karayan pulled me off of Lucas. I fought her, but she hauled me away, pushing me against the bars of the metal gate. “Give him a minute.”

I tore my gaze off of Lucas. Karayan was studying me, concern etched into every contour of her beautiful face. Dimly, I realized I’d been clinging to Lucas, screaming his name over and over, trying to get a response.

Gretchen dropped to her knees beside Lucas. She covered his bare chest with the shirt he’d tossed aside just minutes ago. Her head was bowed. Her shoulders shook with grief. But then she looked up, her gaze spearing directly into me.

“I tried,” I said numbly. “I tried to hold back—”

Gretchen shook her head, cutting my apology short. But it wasn’t rage I was reading in her eyes. It was something else. “I know,” she said, her voice coming out harsh and low. “You’re stronger than anyone I’ve ever met.”

I stared at Gretchen, unsure I’d heard her correctly. She bent to look at Lucas, stroking the side of his face with maternal care. Then she sat back, turning to me once more.

“Go. Stop Seth. You’re our last line of defense, Braedyn.”

Numb, I felt my eyes shift to Karayan, who still held me, pinned against the gate. She growled softly, “Damn right you can do this. Go get that son of a bitch.”

Cassie edged into the cavern, her eyes picking me out against the golden sunset beyond the mouth of the cavern. I saw a desperate belief in her eyes. She had to believe; I was the only hope Royal had of surviving the night.

I nodded, putting a hand over Karayan’s. Karayan released me. I stepped away from the gate, aware of the blood still coating my hand, the ache in my back from the gate, the cold air on my bare stomach. Karayan bent and retrieved my shirt off the floor. I took it from her wordlessly and pulled it over my head. When I straightened, Gretchen stood before me, offering up Hale’s sword. I took it from her wordlessly.

Then I turned away from my friends, closed my eyes, and sought out Royal. I could feel the energy I’d taken from Lucas snapping just under the surface of my skin.

It was the fastest connection I’d ever made.

Terror. Pain. An awful understanding of what lay ahead
—

Royal writhed under Seth’s hand.

The Incubus had him pinned down on some kind of table. Almost casually, Seth laid the edge of the ancient sword against Royal’s side and sliced, adding one more thin wound to the dozen or so he’d already cut into Royal’s vulnerable flesh. Royal choked back a growl of agony.

“Such a waste,” Seth muttered. “I like you, Royal. You were a lot of fun. If things had been different, you would have made a very nice pet.”

“That’s funny. I kind of hate you.” Despite the fear roaring in his ears, Royal managed to summon up an anger that made Seth smile.

“See? This is exactly what I mean. The spirit of a fighter. Infinitely more interesting than most of your brethren.” Seth sighed with faux-regret. He drew the sword lightly across Royal’s arm, leaving another crimson line behind, and earning another hoarse scream of pain from Royal. “Unfortunately for us, the time has come for me to bring this little party to a close. I promised your friend I’d make you suffer before killing you. I think we’ve succeeded on that first front, wouldn’t you agree?”

I reeled, stunned by his off-handed cruelty.

Royal twisted in Seth’s grip. Beneath him, I spotted the distinctive carvings of the altar. I felt the hairs raise on the back of my neck. I had to move.
Now.

Royal.
I sent the thought into his mind.
Hang on. I’m coming.