The Darkest Night (Lords of the Underworld #1)(78)
Author: Gena Showalter

Reyes relaxed, but only slightly. "Thank you," he said to Kane.

The man nodded, rubbed his temple as if in regret, and stood.

"Where’s your family?" Reyes asked Danika. He could have remained just as he was for all eternity.

"Flying somewhere you’ll never think to find them." She wouldn’t meet his eyes and struggled against his hold. "Now put me down."

Never, he wanted to say. "No. You’re too weak to walk."

Turning to Kane, he switched to Hungarian so that Danika would not understand. He hoped. "How did you save her? And do not answer in English." He only prayed Kane understood him.

"Hunters were on their way to the fortress when Torin and I ran into them," was the reply, also in Hungarian. Of course the man would speak it, Reyes thought. He would not have traveled to Buda unprepared. "We fought, but there were so many… He was cut and I was taken. They made the mistake of putting her in the same van they’d stashed me in. The tires blew and the vehicle flew off the road."

"And the Hunters are now…?"

"Dead."

Good. Though a part of him yearned to kill them all over again. Something painful. Something slow and lingering. His gaze locked on Danika, searching for any sign of Disease’s infection. Her skin glowed healthily and there was no telltale cough. So, she had remained unaffected. For the reason he feared?

"Why did you come back?" he asked her, reverting to English.

"He made me," she said, pointing to Disaster. "Is Ashlyn okay? I heard them talking about – " she choked on a sudden sob " – hurting her to draw you guys out so they could find some stupid box."

"She has been found," he said, tightening his hold. Her pain was like a hot poker stabbing straight into his chest – and for once he didn’t enjoy the sensation. "She’s very sick."

Danika swallowed. "Will she…"

"Only time will tell." Reyes motioned for Kane to go ahead of them. The warrior nodded and leapt into motion. "Death waits in town, Danika. You will stay at the fortress until the Hunters are destroyed and the sickness passes."

"No. I won’t." She struggled against him, trying to push away from his torso and jerk her legs to the ground. "I want to go home now."

"Moving like that simply presses your body against mine."

She stilled, and he was both glad and disappointed. He hadn’t lied. Her body was warm, fragrant with pine, and every time she had moved, his nerve endings had come alive.

He started walking up the hill, taking a different path than Disaster. Just in case. Reyes’s relief at Danika’s safe return was still so vast he shook with it.

"Am I to be your prisoner again?"

"Guest, as long as you stay put." When it was safe, he would set her free, allowing her to live out the rest of her life as she pleased. However long it was. "We’ve had to lock Aeron in the dungeon. You are not to go down there. Ever. Understand?" He let all of his rage, all of his torment, drip from his voice. "He will kill you without blinking."

"Yet another reason I want to go home," she said, shuddering. "Things like this don’t happen there."

"And where is home?"

"Like I’m going to tell you. Kidnapper."

If he had his way, she’d soon tell him everything there was to know about her. They would spend their short time together in his room, in his bed. His c**k jumped to attention as he imagined all that angel hair splayed on his pillow…those lush br**sts pink and ripe…those sweet legs parted…

Perhaps she would never want to leave.

Ha! Women like her never wanted men like him. He cut himself for pleasure, for relief. He had to. Sometimes, he felt he would die if he didn’t. If she knew, she would scoff at him. And that would be for the best. She was better off away from him, away from Wrath.

When the sickness passed, he would let Danika go. He couldn’t go with her to protect her – not that she would want him to – and he couldn’t stop Aeron from doing his duty.

For Reyes, there could be no happy ending.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Ashlyn hovered in a realm of unconsciousness. Shadows were all she knew. Shadows and a single voice, all the voices of the past and present receding in awe of this one. It was one she’d heard before. Ethereal, like a phantom. A very modern phantom who was slightly bored and still sucking on a lollipop.

"I’m baaack." Chuckle. "No need to express your joy. I feel the love. So, hey. Did you think about the fairy tales or what?" that female voice from the cell said. The goddess. "I’ve got, like, a week, tops, before I’m found out so I need to blow this joint el pronto."

"I thought about it," Ashlyn tried to reply, but the words wouldn’t form.

"Good."

Okay, so the goddess heard her anyway. Sacrifice, she projected in her mind. I have to sacrifice something to break Maddox’s curse.

"Ding, ding, ding. And what do you need to sacrifice, girlie?"

I still don’t know. Or rather, still didn’t want to consider. What’s your name? That was a much simpler topic.

"My name is… Anya."

Anya. Pretty. But there’d been a brief hesitation, as if she’d had to think about what to say. Was there a goddess named Anya, or some variation of the name? Ashlyn’s mind came up blank. Are you –

"Uh, discussing sacrifice here. Concentrate. I’m not disobeying direct orders just so you can piss on this sweet little revolt I’ve got going. I asked you a question and I’d like a straight answer."

Sacrifice. Right. Concentrating was difficult when one’s mind was like mush. One thing she knew with clarity, though, was that life without Maddox would be intolerable. Still, she would give him up to save him.

"That’s better," Anya said, reading her thoughts again. "But you’re not thinking big enough. C’mon, did you miss the most important lesson of those fairy tales of yours? Now’s your chance to prove that worthless boss taught you something of value after all."

Value. The single word slammed into her and suddenly Ashlyn knew. Her blood chilled just thinking about it. The best kind of sacrifice is a life for a life.

"There you go. I knew you had the answer. That means yours for his, honey bear. Are you strong enough?"

For him? Anything. Even pain, even death. Saving him was more important than keeping him.

"Alrighty, then." Anya clapped. "Let’s get this party started. Wake up. He needs you."

Maddox’s image rose in her mind and she thought perhaps she felt his hand gripping hers, willing strength into her body. Then… something, a presence, a warmth, invaded her body, sweeping through her and mending the rawness of her lungs, the bruised muscles in her ribs and sides.