The Relentless Warrior (29 page)

“Why?” Terletov’s eyes narrowed and he surveyed his hostage with utter disgust. “You
can’t possibly care about this creature. She’s not even worthy to be called Immortal
and at this point I could hardly say she’s even breathing enough to be called
alive
.”

“You’re wrong,” Liv challenged him. “I can feel her pulse.”

“Look at you,” Terletov grinned at her. “Such a perfect specimen of Immortality and
yet you associate with scum.” His expression turned to disappointment. “I could offer
you so much more than this. So much more than what awaits you with that weak King
and his even weaker Queen.”

“You mean, the Queen that has your Magic?” I demanded. I didn’t really think Liv would
ever be convinced to change sides, but I wanted to make sure Terletov knew that. “I
don’t think she’s interested in joining the losing team.”

Terletov’s Magic exploded from him in a rush of cold, debilitating Magic. Lilly was
thrown with the force of it. I felt my body fly backwards, completely unprepared for
that kind of eruption. Liv went into the air too and Titus who was closest to the
blast, flew fifty feet in the air and didn’t land until his back hit a far wall. I
could hear the snap of his head against hard concrete all the way from here and his
unconscious body slid to the ground limp and lifeless.

Talbott was the only one of us able to hold his footing and that was only by his sheer
willpower and love for Lilly. He managed to work against the angry blast of Magic
and reach out and catch Lilly. She hadn’t moved of her own free will since Terletov
presented her to us and she still wasn’t moving, even after all of that.

“She’s useless to me now,” he sneered at Talbott. “She couldn’t even do the small
job I required of her, her duty to the people she contaminated with her polluted blood.”
Talbott clutched her closer to his chest but Terletov kept taunting him. “Do you know
how hard I tried? Do you know how many hours I spent trying to syphon what little
Magic she has out of those disgusting bones of hers? And yet she gave nothing up.
Which is really just too bad. I would have put her out of her misery much earlier
if she’d given me what I wanted. Instead, I had to do what I thought best…”

His words trailed off and I felt sick to my stomach. How much had Lilly been tortured?
And how had she managed to hold on to her Magic?

Talbott was shaking with an untouched rage that seemed to color every part of him
into a vibrating, glowing mass of hatred and vindication. But he wouldn’t put Lilly
down, and Terletov knew that.

“I’ll let you deal with that mess,” he said gesturing at Lilly. “While we take our
leave.” his cold eyes flashed up to meet Liv’s for just a moment. “Your last chance
to come with us. I will have you one way or the other.” And then to me, he said, “I
would get your animal to medical treatment as quickly as possible. It seems where
I failed to extract the Magic, my blade succeeded. It’s a small leak, but I wouldn’t
waste any time.”

Talbott lifted Lilly’s limp hand where a prick from Terletov’s blade had opened the
smallest gash in her finger, letting her Magic escape.

Damnit.

We had to get her to Eden.
Now.

And it was at least an eight-hour trip, if we landed directly on the private royal
airstrip behind the Citadel.

We had to leave this minute.

“We will find you, Dmitri,” I called after him. “And in the meantime we will treat
your brother with the same respect as you’ve treated our loved ones.”

“Better hurry then,” he laughed at me. “You don’t have much time until I come for
him.”

And with that Terletov and his men disappeared out the back of the warehouse. We heard
tires screech. We had too many problems to follow them now, and that was exactly their
plan. Just as the tides of that battle were turning in our favor, Terletov had initiated
his backup plan with Lilly and given us a new priority.

I ran over to Titus and slapped him hard across the face until he roused. By the time
Titus was up and running, Talbott was already laying Lilly down in his backseat. I
could see the reluctance to leave her, even to drive the car.

At that moment, when I was about to offer to drive, my cell phone rang.

I pulled it from my pocket and answered it before I checked who it was. I needed to
warn the Palace anyway that we were coming and what we would be bringing with us,
and they were the only people that would be calling me.

“Hello.”

“Jericho, Ophelia’s awake,” Eden chattered excitedly in my ear. “She just woke up,
she’s asking for Olivia.”

A relief so strong that it rocked my body washed through me; I met Liv’s eyes with
a smile. I mouthed to her that her sister was awake and her whole face lit up through
the dirt and grime that covered it.

“Amazing. We’re on our way now,” I told Eden. “We have Lilly, but you need to be ready
for her. She has a gash. It’s small, and she should be able to make it back to the
Citadel, but you have to be there as soon as she lands.”

Eden was absolutely silent on the other end and I shouted “hello” into the phone several
times before Kiran talked back to me instead.

“Did you say that Lilly is alive?” he demanded.

“Yes, but not for long if we don’t get her help.”

“Thank, God,” Kiran breathed. “Will she make it here? I want the God’s honest truth,
Jericho. Will she make it?”

I hesitated for a second before I answered confidently, “Yes, if she gets help as
soon as we land, then yes, she’ll make it.”

“Let’s go!” Talbott roared.

“Jericho, there’s one more thing,” Kiran said quickly, clearly hearing Talbott’s anxiety.
“You’re father called here. He said it’s urgent that you head back to Peru.”

“Well, he can wait,” I snapped.

“He called two minutes ago. I didn’t know Eden had called you because I was on the
phone with him. I can’t believe that it’s a coincidence that he would call you at
the same time you find Lilly, but he said to tell you that it’s life or death. He’s
not in danger but your mother is.”

“My mom?” I choked out.

“And my mum,” Kiran said evenly, but I could hear the silent pleading in his strained
voice.

“Son of a bitch,” I growled. “Are they in Rio.”

“Your dad is.”

“Fine,” I all but shouted. “I’ll send Talbott back with the girls and take Titus with
me. I’m leaving the Guard with Liv’s family. Do you have anyone that can meet me down
there?”

“Sebastian will go with you. I’ll let him take Xander and Xavier. Maybe Roxie and
Seraphina if they can get away.”

“Good. Send them.”

“Keep me updated,” Kiran ordered.

“Did you want to come too?” I gentled my tone just a little bit. His mom? That had
to be tough.

“I can’t,” his voice cracked a little before he could recover. “I can’t leave Eden.
Not when she’s like this and not in a time like this.”

“I’ll find Analisa, Kiran. Don’t worry about her.”

“Right,” Kiran answered. “Now go and call me in the air. I’ll give you more details.”

I hung up and then cursed again. I was going to have to fly freaking commercial to
get down there. Goddamn Terletov had planned this very well.

“They have my mom and Analisa,” I explained to Talbott, who cradled Lilly’s head in
his lap and stared down at her unconscious face with such loving intensity I thought
she might wake up just from the sheer force of it. “And Ophelia’s awake. Liv, you’re
going to have to go back with Talbott and help him with Lilly.” I realized that Liv
couldn’t fly a plane and Talbott was in no shape to get her back to the Citadel safely.
“Titus you better go with them too. I’ll fly commercial down to Rio and meet up with
the rest of the team. I was going to take you with me, but Talbott needs a pilot.
Use the back airfield and Eden will be waiting for you.”

Titus nodded and slammed the door shut on Talbott before climbing into the driver’s
seat and shutting his own door. He started the car and then waited patiently for Liv.

I yanked her to me and devoured her mouth in a hungry, desperate kiss. Letting her
go was going to be the single hardest thing I had ever done. I wanted to spend the
next five days alone with her after what we just went through simply checking her
body over and over for any damage. It would obviously have to be a very thorough examination.

But I couldn’t do that now. I couldn’t even afford to kiss her for a second more.

Taking the sides of her head and holding her face as close to mine as I could, I pressed
our foreheads tightly together and whispered a promise. “I will come straight back
to you. As soon as I can.”

“Will you be alright?” she whispered and I could feel how impossible this was for
her, too.

“I’ll be fine,” I swore. “But I’ll be better when we’re together again.”

“Jericho, I…”

“I know, Liv,” I finished for her when she didn’t seem able to find the right words.
“I feel it too. And as soon as we’re together again, we’re going to put a name to
it.”

“I’m scared,” she whispered on a broken voice. Whether it was our combined Magic or
the tone of her voice, maybe the tears falling from the corners of her eyes, I knew
that she wasn’t talking about Terletov in that moment.

“Then let go, Liv. Let go and feel everything that’s between us. I promise, that I
will be there for you. And there will be nothing to be afraid of after that.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Trust me,” I urged her.

She shook her head, unable to form words.

Alright, well, we would work on that later.

“I’ll find you as soon as I’m back at the Citadel, alright?” This time she nodded.
“Now go see your sister. She needs you.”

As she got into the car and left with Talbott and Titus I felt my soul leave with
her. That girl owned me now, body, mind, Magic and spirit.

She was afraid of the future.

I had to prove to her how much our present mattered, how our future would one day
melt into our present and that I would never go anywhere without her.

But first I had to go deal with my parents.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Olivia

Back to where it all began.

Or… almost.

It was bizarre to me that when the small plane touched down, I felt like I was back
home. And I really did feel as though this was the place that marked the beginning
of my journey.

I watched the flurry of Immortals circle around the dying girl and a miracle take
place. This wasn’t my world. I didn’t belong here.

And yet, I was starting to wonder if that was still true.

Eden had been phenomenal the moment the door opened. Talbott hadn’t tried to move
Lilly, who looked sickly pale and as fragile as an egg shell. Her wispy purple Magic
had filled the plane cabin the entire journey. It took us ten full hours to get from
the burning warehouse that Jericho set on fire before we left to hide all the dead
Immortal bodies, to the tarmac behind the Citadel.

Who knew that this was even here?

I didn’t.

And I was very certain we were going to crash the damn plane into the side of a mountain
since there didn’t seem to be a runway
anywhere
. But Titus found it easily enough and set the plane down smoothly.

And then the cabin had flooded with Immortals trying to bring Lilly back to life.

Eden stood over Lilly and bright blue smoke started to pour out of her and fill the
cabin. Amelia sidled up to me and was generous enough to give me a play by play. She
explained Eden’s smoke and that it came from India. She also explained that Lilly
and Eden were best friends and that Eden had been as distraught as Talbott since Terletov
attacked one of their clubs last fall. My heart broken even more for the unconscious
Shifter when Amelia explained that this was not the first, or even the second time
Lilly had been abducted and held prisoner.

I would never feel like I got the short end of the stick after hearing Lilly’s tragic
story.

I prepared myself to choke on the cloying smoke, but the sensation never came. The
thickness of it was cool against my skin and oddly soothing. The blue smoke settled
over Lilly and seemed to breathe life directly back into her. Her skin started to
brighten again and the thin stream of Magic that had been slipping out of her index
finger stopped at once.

Suddenly she sat up with a huge, gasping breath. Our group collectively felt the palpable
relief that Lilly would be alright, but then she immediately fell back down unconscious
and we all let out a disappointed sigh. Talbott had crushed her against his chest
and buried his face in her hair. Huge racking sobs had overcome him and he shook violently
as he held her against him.

I felt tears fall from my own eyes at the heartbreaking sight. I didn’t even know
either of them, but the moment was so deeply touching, I couldn’t stop the emotions
as they overwhelmed me. And I was not the only one. While the other men weren’t reduced
to tears, they were still affected by their distraught friend. They all generously
comforted Talbott and laid gentle hands on his unconscious fiancée. Amelia sobbed
into Avalon’s shirt and Eden collapsed in tears on the floor by Talbott’s feet.

Kiran gathered her close and whispered sweet reassurances in her ear.

The whole scene shattered me. And made me ache for Jericho in a way I could hardly
comprehend.

It wasn’t just that I was surrounded by strangers and couples in love that made me
wish I had my own significant other for the first time in my entire life. But it was
that these were uncertain times and I cared enough about Jericho to want him near
me, at all times. I wanted to know that he was alright. I wanted to feel his skin
against mine promising me that he wasn’t hurt, that he wasn’t lost… proving to me
that we had each other and that was all we needed to survive.

It was weird.

I was equally worried about my parents and Ry, but I didn’t feel this overwhelming
need to stand over them and watch them breathe just to make sure their lungs were
moving properly. I was worried and had been worried about O for months now, but I
didn’t have this same urge to sit by her side for the rest of her life just making
sure she didn’t fall back into her coma.

Nothing had even happened to Jericho and yet I wanted nothing more than to call him
this moment and just double check that he was okay.

And then I wanted to demand he get his ass over here and never leave me again.

What was happening to me?

Oh, hell.

I was falling in love.

I was falling in
love with him
.

“You alright?” Ophelia asked me from the middle of her bed. She wasn’t feeling up
to moving

around yet, but she had wanted to sit up.

“Yeah, of course,” I told her. “It’s just so great to see you up and moving again.
I can’t tell you… I didn’t know if I’d ever get to see you like this again.” My voice
broke with the reality of what could have happened to her, from the hard truth that
I almost lost my sister. I hurried to the bed and sat down next to her, pulling her
into the hundredth hug.

“Alright, I get it,” she laughed and tried to push me off her but she was just so
weak. “Tell me what I missed,” she demanded when I finally pulled back.

I stayed next to her, crisscrossing my legs so that I mirrored her with my knees pressing
into hers. She looked so much better with the feeding tube removed and the IV out.
God, she looked like my sister again, and not some helpless victim in a hospital bed.

“Umm… I’m not even sure where to begin.” I played with the army pattern on my green
cargos. It had been a while since I changed or showered, but I was more than reluctant
to leave O, so I festered in my filth for her sake. “You’ve been out for a couple
months. I stayed here most of the time. Literally right here,” I pointed at the edge
of the bed I used to sit, sleep and think at. “But when you started to improve, I
started to come down with these symptoms of my own.”

“Oh, no, you didn’t slip into a coma too, did you?” she reached for my hands, clenching
them tightly in hers.

I shook my head, letting my short hair whip me in the face. “No, not a coma. But I’m
like… whatever that horrible guy did to us, he changed me. I’m like them now. I have
all their powers and stuff.” I looked up to meet her terrified expression. She looked
utterly horrified at the realization I was like them now, like the monsters that hurt
us.

And I could understand her fear because I had those same feelings not that long ago.

But I would be patient with her, like Jericho was with me. Well, er, for the most
part like how he was with me. And I would prove to her in a gentle, understanding
way that she wasn’t all bad, that she could be the same person she always has been
just… upgraded.

Because even now I could feel the faintest hint of Magic in her blood and in the forty-five
minutes we were alone, I’d already felt it start to intensify.

Terletov changed her too.

At least I had my sister for all this time that stretched out before me.

“It’s not all bad, O,” I promised softly. “Those guys that took us, hell yes, they
were bad. The worst of the worst. But we’re not bad. And these people that saved us
aren’t bad. There’s a lot I have to tell you about who I am now… but it’s kind of
exhausting and I don’t really understand it all myself yet.”

She nodded slowly, trying to reconcile the only memories of Immortals she had, which
were from the lab we were held prisoner in against the promises I was making to her
now. I wanted to tell her that she better start accepting these people as soon as
possible since she was going to soon become one of them, but I couldn’t bring myself
to be so callous. She was just awake. A shock like that could do some serious damage
to her delicate brain.

“Mom and dad are going to call a little bit later,” I told her. “I was just home with
them and explained everything. They’re understandably very worried about us. It will
help if they hear your voice.”

“Right.” Her eyes were big and she seemed even more shaken. I could empathize with
those feelings, too. I practically stroked out from nerves when I told them the truth.
I decided now was not the time to also inform her that Terletov had a hit out on our
little brother and mom and dad were under constant Titan Guard protection.

“What else?” O asked. “What else did you do while I was under?”

“I, uh,” I laughed at myself, unable to stop myself from spilling my latest revelation
even while hating myself for making such a stupid deal out of it. “I think I fell
in love.”

She froze, clearly expecting me to admit something else. Or maybe, expecting me to
admit anything else.

“You did what?” Her voice was as dry as a desert and her eyes challenged me as if
I were calling her an idiot.

I smiled with just a hint of self-deprecation. “I think I fell in love.”

“Are you sure?” She gasped. “I mean, no offense, Livie, but I honestly didn’t even
think it was possible for that to happen. I swear, I thought you were like… asexual.”

“Shut up, Ophelia Jane!” I crossed my arms and pouted. Yes, I pouted. My stupid nineteen
year old sister thought I was asexual. Rude. “I’m not asexual. I’m sexual. I’m very
sexual.”

She snorted a laugh, sounding so much like her old self that my anger melted and I
had the strongest urge to hug her again. “Sure, sis. You’re super sexual.”

A knock at the door made us dissolve into giggles at the thought of someone overhearing
this conversation. We hadn’t even gotten to the good stuff yet but it was probably
for the best we were interrupted. O looked exhausted and while I was hesitant to let
her close her eyes again, I knew that she probably needed to sleep.

The human doctor poked her head into the room and smiled genuinely at us sharing the
bed. Her eyes were almost just as tired as O’s, but her expression was soft.

“I’m just making the rounds,” she told us. That’s probably why she looked so worn
out- with Lilly back and O waking up, plus Eden was still very much pregnant, this
had been an eventful day around the Castle.

“Come in,” O invited her kindly. O had been awake now for almost twenty-four hours.
She said that Sylvia had spent a lot of time with her so far. And probably Sylvia
felt like a safe person to Ophelia. She was human and she was very sweet.

“I just want to check your vitals,” Sylvia waved her stethoscope in the air and in
her white lab coat pocket, an older style blood pressure cuff, or whatever those were
called, stuck out. In her other pocket I could see tongue depressors and a digital
thermometer.

“I’m feeling good, Doc,” O announced. She stretched out and scooted back so Sylvia
could work around me.

“That’s great to hear,” Sylvia smiled down at my little sister and then pulled out
the thermometer. “Sometimes it’s hard for me to know exactly what’s normal around
here. But so far, you’re exactly as I think you should be. That’s nice for you, but
it’s
really
nice for me.” We laughed at that and she went on, “It’s not like anyone gets sick
around here, but this pregnancy has me about ready to pull my hair out.”

“How did you get here?” I asked before really putting together a nice sentence in
my head. “Um, I mean, what brought you
here
?”

“I knew what you meant,” she dismissed my awkwardness with a wave of her hand. “I’ve
spent most of my adult life running in Immortal circles. I once dated one of them.
But I didn’t really understand how deep the rabbit hole went until my boyfriend at
the time asked me to raise his granddaughter. It was kind of a shock. Mostly because
I knew he was older than me, but I had no idea that he was a
grandfather
. I won’t even tell you how old he really was, I’ll just say that it actually made
me pass out. I fainted when he told me his real age, no joke.” She held up her hand
like she was swearing an oath and I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was adorable
in that bubbly, tell-it-to-you-straight kind of way. “Anyway, I agreed to take the
baby and I’ve been involved ever since.”

“Eden?” I asked, remembering Jericho’s story.

“Yep,” she confirmed. “I didn’t permanently move here though until Eden found out
she was pregnant. And then Kiran asked me to help see the pregnancy through. I couldn’t
say no. That’s technically my grandchild.”

Grandchildren
, I thought. But I knew they were still trying to keep that a secret.

The happy moment ended abruptly when Sylvia flew forward from the force of an explosion
outside. The windows rattled sharply before exploding inward. We all screamed with
high-pitched, deafening shrieks of pure, raw fear.

Sylvia covered our backs with her outstretched arms, some maternal instinct that forced
her into protector mode. Her bright blonde hair hung down in my face and blocked my
vision from the rest of the room as the Castle around us continued to shake and tremble.

When the explosive sounds finally died down and the castle settled back down we lifted
our heads slowly until our wide, terrified eyes reflected each other.