Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements 2)

“So we’re back to where we were two months ago?” Zayne said. “Except instead of a lovesick demon, we have a Lilin—a Lilin that can strip a soul from a human—”

“Wait.” Maddox turned sideways, finally taking his eyes off the demons. “If the ritual succeeded in birthing a Lilin, then wouldn’t Layla actually be the mother? The demon was born from her blood.”

“Ew.” I swallowed the sudden taste of blood. “I am so not referring to the Lilin as my kid. So none of you even attempt to put that on me.”

“The Lilin was born from Lilith’s blood, too, so...” Roth sighed, shaking his head. “It doesn’t matter, you heavenly reject.”

Maddox snarled. “Excuse me?”

He ignored the Warden.

“Just what we need to contend with—a Lilin or something similar,” Abbot murmured mostly to himself, and I frowned. What the Hell did that mean? He shook his head. “We have to find and stop this Lilin.”

“We’re sure that Lilith can’t be freed?” I asked, still unsure of how I felt when it came to the fact that my mother was bound to Hell.

“The Boss isn’t going to let that happen.” Roth watched Abbot, smiling tightly.

The tension was palpable between them, and instinct told me it ran deeper than the fact they were enemies. “The thing is, we don’t know a lot about the Lilin.”

I felt like I needed to sit down. “You don’t?”

“No. There might be info in the Lesser Key, but—” Roth inclined his head at Abbot “—you have the Lesser Key.”

“And it will remain safe with us,” he replied.

“Safety is subjective,” Roth murmured.

“We already know what the Lesser Key has to say about the Lilin,” Nicolai said.

“Care to share?” Roth grinned. “Because sharing is fun.”

Abbot shifted his weight. “There’s nothing new. Only vague references to the time they ruled the Earth. Nothing that we don’t already know. This is serious,” Abbot said after a few moments. “Serious enough that we won’t hinder your investigation into the matter.”

Meaning the Wardens wouldn’t go after Roth and his crew, which was huge. Maddox and the other Wardens got their undies in a bunch over that, but Abbot silenced them with a wave of his hand.

“As the leader of the D.C. clan, this is my decision,” he said, casting a fierce look at all of them. “The possibility that we have a Lilin topside is not something we can allow.” He turned that deadly look on the demons. “But if I even begin to suspect that this is some sort of trickery, I will personally hunt each of you down.”

Roth shrugged. “All we need is for you all to be extra vigilant while you’re out on your...hunts.”

“I can’t believe we’re entering into an agreement with demons,” Maddox said, taking several steps back.

Neither could I, but a Lilin was a big deal.

“It’s the way it is,” Abbot said, dragging in a deep, heavy breath. “We will keep an eye out for any suspicious reports. Our contacts within the police departments and hospitals should prove helpful in this case.”

Cayman nodded in agreement, and the fact we all were having a pretty civil conversation was monumental. “We will also keep our ears to the ground. A Lilin will most likely seek out other demons. You know, to bond and make friends. Hopefully, there will be one that it trusts.”

“Good,” Abbot said, shoulders squaring. “But for now, get the Hell off my property.”

A misty cloud of air puffed out from between my lips as my stomach dropped. They couldn’t leave yet. No way. I stepped forward, ignoring the piercing stares of the Wardens. I didn’t care. They could take their bigoted ideals and shove them so far up their—

“We’re on our way, but...” Roth finally turned to me. Our gazes collided, and it was like a punch to the chest. “We need to talk.”

CHAPTER SIX

I almost rushed Roth right then and threw my arms around him, but a low growl rumbled from behind me. At first I thought it was Abbot’s response, but when I realized it was coming from Zayne, I couldn’t move.

Roth tilted his head to the side, watching me as a slow, roguish smile graced his lips. “Are you...seriously growling at me, Stony?”

“I’m about to do a lot more than growl.”

He chuckled. “That’s not very appreciative.”

I turned to Zayne and my heart leaped into my throat, stopping whatever I was going to say. He glared at Roth in a way I couldn’t understand, especially not after what Roth had done for him, as if it... I shook my head.

“It’s all right,” Abbot interrupted, surprising me. “Let them talk.”

Wait. What? He was okay with me talking to Roth? Abbot’s appeasement knocked me into motion. My heart did another leap.

Zayne opened his mouth and then clamped it shut. Our gazes held for a moment and then he nodded stiffly, resigned. “I’ll wait for you.”

I wanted to tell him that it wasn’t necessary, but the oddity of the statement stole my words. Taking a deep breath, I turned to Roth.

“Let’s walk?” he suggested.

There was a coldness laced through his words that left me unsettled. I told myself it was only because we were around so many Wardens, but my knees felt weak as I walked toward him. His unique scent invaded my senses, causing my skin to flush in spite of the chilled air. He turned as I reached his side and started toward the faint path Zayne and I had worn into the ground over the many years we’d traveled to the tree house in the nearby woods.

Skin tingling along the back of my neck, I glanced over my shoulder and drew in a tiny breath. The Wardens were still standing guard in front of the compound, but I didn’t see Abbot anymore. Zayne was sitting at the bottom of the wide steps, leaning against one of the large white marble columns. Cayman and the other demon were gone. It was obvious they didn’t fear for Roth’s safety. Or they didn’t care.

My head swung back around and my breath caught when I saw Roth’s profile. A dizzying amount of relief crashed into me as it struck me once more that he was alive and he was here.

So many things bubbled up the moment we stepped past the crumbled stone retaining wall that surrounded the manicured lawn and under the thick, bare branches that rattled like dry bones in the breeze. But I couldn’t speak. The clog was back, centered right in my throat.

Coherent thought clicked off, and I found myself moving around him. Roth stopped midstep as I did what I’d wanted to do since he’d shown up tonight. Like a mini rocket, I threw myself at him.

Roth stumbled back a step as my arms went around his neck. The moment my body came into contact with his, pressure clamped down on my chest. I squeezed my eyes shut against the violent tide of emotions. They were so tangled together—relief and fear, desperation and resolution, a deep craving that rivaled the need I struggled with every day, and anxiety—that I couldn’t make sense of them, or understand how I was feeling so much.

As I nestled into his chest, I could feel his heart pounding fast and realized then that his arms were at his sides. A cloud of nervousness passed over me as I lifted my head, searching out his eyes in the darkness, but they were closed and thick lashes fanned the tips of his cheekbones. His face was pale in the thin slivers of moonlight breaking through the branches, lips pulled in a taut line.

Another shiver of apprehension slipped over my skin. When I started to pull back, to give voice to the near fear growing like a weed in the pit of my stomach, his arms finally—finally—encircled me. He pulled me tight against him, our bodies flush and pressed together in a way that reminded me of the night we’d found the Lesser Key. The muscles low in my stomach tightened as his hand smoothed up my spine, tangling in my hair. Bambi followed the caress, as if she sought to get closer to her true owner.

There was so much warmth in the embrace that it pushed the shadows away. I squeezed my eyes shut and soaked him up. I didn’t know what his return meant, what it signified for us, but it didn’t matter in that moment.

He dropped his head to mine and murmured something in a deep, guttural voice that I was positive wasn’t anywhere close to the English language.

“You’re hurt,” he said, his voice rough.

All I could do was shake my head as I balled my hands into the back of his shirt. I was feeling too many conflicting emotions. Some of them were mine, but there was also a distant quality to them I couldn’t quite understand.

He slid his other hand to my arm. When his fingers slipped under the sleeve of my hoodie, I bit my lip. “Your arm,” he said, managing to curve his fingers just below my elbow. “How did it happen?”

“A Warden did it,” I said, rubbing my cheek against his chest like a cat with a full belly, ready for a nap. A sigh escaped me. “He said I smelled like a demon.”

Roth drew back and his chin tipped down. Dark eyebrows slashed together. “A Warden did this? Was it iron?”

I nodded, but this wasn’t what I wanted to talk about. “Roth—”

“What about Bambi?” he demanded, withdrawing his hand from my hair. “She would’ve protected you.”

“Bambi’s fine.” I forced a smile, but nothing about his features softened. “She ate the Warden.”

His brows shot up. “Well...”

“Yeah.” I drew the word out slowly. I knew I should ask him about why I suddenly felt like an Upper Level demon to the Wardens, but as bad as it was, that wasn’t at the top of my priority list. “I don’t know where to begin. How are you even here?”

Roth’s golden eyes held mine for a moment and then he pulled away. I mourned the loss of warmth immediately. “Well, there’s these things called portals and I popped into—”

“That’s not what I meant.” Before, his smart-ass responses had grated on my every last nerve, but now there was a relief in being irritated with him. “You were in the devil’s trap with Paimon. You went to the pits.”

“I did.” He folded his arms and took another step back from me. “It wasn’t fun, in case you were wondering.”

I winced. “I didn’t think it was, but I don’t understand. The pits are permanent.”

One shoulder rose gracefully. “They are, but I am the Boss’s favorite and I’d done what the Boss had wanted—stopped a Lilin from being created. Or at least we thought I had.”

“So you were let out for good behavior?”

“After a day or two. The Boss wasn’t in a big hurry. No surprise there.”

My heart squeezed. “But the pits had to be...” My voice cracked as I shook my head.

“It wasn’t a vacation, shortie. Imagine your skin being flayed and burned off for a forty-eight hour period.” He shrugged again, as though it was no big deal to be virtually burned alive, and brushed the dark hair off his forehead. “But it could have been worse. Paimon’s dumb ass is still in there.”

Meaning Roth could still be there. Two days had to be Hell, literally, but if he’d been let out that fast... “Where have you been?”

His gaze flicked up to the bare branches. “Around.”

“Around?” The word rang with disbelief.

“Here and there, up and down.” One side of his lips curled up but it lacked sincerity. “Hanging out.”

I stared at him. “Why didn’t you come see me?” That question came out like the anthem of every pissed-off girlfriend out there but the problem with that—I wasn’t his girlfriend.

Roth arched a brow and opened his mouth, but then he didn’t say anything. I reached out to touch him, but he drew back. A muscle flickered along his jaw. The unease and coldness from earlier returned.

“I’ve been so worried,” I said, pulling my hand back to my chest. “I’ve missed you. I’ve mourned you. But I hoped that you were okay. This...” I pulled out the necklace. The cracked stone was a sad statement. “I found this at your apartment, on the roof. You did put it there, didn’t you? After you left the pits. You—”

“I did. So?”

“So?” I whispered, feeling about as empty as an echo. “Why would you do that and then not come see me?”

He said nothing.

Ice trickled into my veins. “Do you know how upset I was? I felt lost without—”

“You were not lost without me,” he cut in, his gaze suddenly fixed on me once more. “You had Zayne.”

“Yes, but that’s not—”

“You had him,” he repeated, drawing in a deep breath. “Why do you think I took his place in that trap? So you could have him.”

Maybe I was slower than normal, but I wasn’t following where this was heading. “I know you did that for me and I can never express how truly grateful I am for it, but I didn’t want to lose you. I never wanted to.” The words kept spilling out in the worst case of verbal diarrhea known to humankind, angels or demons. “I don’t know what we had, but we had something—something that meant a lot to me.”

He stared at me a moment and an array of emotions played over his striking face before he shook his head. “You’ve been through a lot recently. I get that you’re upset, but like I said, you don’t need me.”

Frustration burned like acid in my blood. “Roth, I—”

“Don’t say it.” He held up a hand. “Don’t say it.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say!” Hell, I didn’t know what was going to come out of my mouth.