God, please, let it be Azriel’s.
A desperate plea that in itself suggested the psychic part of me already knew my fate in that regard.
I opened my eyes. Daylight drifted in from the grimy windows to my right, highlighting a mess of upturned tables, broken chairs, and graffiti-littered walls. It had to be Larry’s, and I wondered if Jak had ever been here. Lucian was much more than we’d ever suspected, and maybe magic wasn’t the only thing he’d become adept at. Maybe he could imitate voices, as well. Right now, I wouldn’t put anything past him.
I pushed into a sitting position. The first thing I saw was the ring of black stones that surrounded me. But they weren’t just any old stones; they were wards. I raised a hand and carefully touched one. Color swirled through its dark heart, but it didn’t react in any other way. Their presence, however, might explain why Azriel—or anyone else, for that matter—hadn’t come to my rescue. Warding stones were generally used to keep things either out or in, but I knew they could also be used to confuse. Maybe no one had rescued me simply because they’d been unable to pin down my location.>“And suddenly Lauren’s presence in your life makes sense.”
“Everything I do, I do for a reason, Risa.” He nodded down at my hand. “You’d better do something about that. I need you fit and able to find the keys later today.”
“So much for being able to read my mind only during sex,” I spat. “Is everything that comes out of your mouth a fabrication?”
“Only when it suits me.” His smile was lazy and arrogant. “That, however, was not a total lie. The only time I can generally read you is during sex—it just doesn’t have to be between you and me.”
My stomach clenched, and I came so close to throwing up that the bitter taste of bile filled the back of my throat. Every time I’d had sex with Azriel, he’d been reading me. God, was there no end to this man’s depravity?
“I’m going to fucking kill you. You know that, don’t you?”
He laughed softly. “Keep believing that if it makes you feel better, Risa. However, you are no more capable of doing that than I am of sprouting wings—and not even the banshee you hold in your hand will alter that one fact.”
Banshee not, Amaya growled. Throw. Will gladly eat.
Not until we find Ilianna. To Lucian, I said, “You always were an arrogant sod. I just didn’t think you were stupid.”
“I guess only time will prove which of us is right.” He shrugged, the movement casual and elegant. “Now, as I suggested before, you’d best heal that hand.”
I glanced down. Blood streamed from what remained of my fingers, and the ever-enlarging pool underneath them shimmered softly in the semilit darkness. And just like that, the anger gave way and the pain hit. My legs started trembling, and my head began spinning so badly, it was all I could do to remain standing.
I wasn’t even sure I could heal a wound this bad, but if I didn’t try soon, then I’d be unconscious and in his power again. If he moves near me, I ordered Amaya, slice him up. Just don’t kill him.
Pleasure.
I closed my eyes and called to the Aedh. It came in a trickle rather than a rush, a sure sign the magic that had prevented me from changing in the bedroom still held some sway out here. Either that or I was simply reaching the limits of my strength. And in the end, the result was pretty much the same.
I grabbed at that trickle fiercely, forced it down into my arm, imagined my fingers and hand fading into energy. I felt the burn of power roll down the muscles, and an instant later, the ever-growing throb of pain was gone as my lower arm and hand became particles rather than flesh.
The trembling in my body grew stronger, and my control began to slip. I bit my lip, called up the Aedh again, and imagined fingers that were healed and whole. But this time, the energy was little more than a weak wash.
Then my knees went out from under me and I hit the concrete. Hard. I bit back a yelp and, with some trepidation, opened my eyes. I had four whole fingers back on my hand, but they were still a bloody—and very painful—mess. But the bleeding had at least slowed to little more than a trickle.
I met Lucian’s gaze again. “Now what?”
His gaze slid insolently down my body and my stomach clenched. He not touch, Amaya warned. Will slice.
Her fierce readiness to defend my honor was infinitely gratifying, but I had no doubt that having sex with him would be the ultimate price for setting Ilianna free. He didn’t want just any offspring, no matter how much he’d loaded the bases with Ilianna and Lauren. He wanted our offspring. Wanted a child that was as close to full Aedh as someone like him was ever likely to get.
And if that was the price of freeing Ilianna, then it was one I would pay, however much I—and my sword—might hate it.
“What do you think is next?”
The desire radiating off him was so fierce and strong, it hit like a summer storm. My body trembled under its force, and my nipples puckered, reactions that only increased the strength of the storm.
“If I knew, I wouldn’t have asked.” I continued to meet his gaze steadily, even though my heart was beating a million miles an hour and my throat was dry.
A smile played about his lips. “You lie, Risa Jones.”
I didn’t reply, because there was very little I could say or do at this point. If sex was what he now intended, then it would happen, no matter what. And if I killed him, as I ached to, it would be Ilianna who paid. I was the reason she’d been kidnapped, raped, and impregnated, and that was guilt enough. I couldn’t bear the weight of her death as well.
He took several steps toward me, then stopped. “Get up.”