Embers (Dark in You 4)

She tried bolting upright. And she instantly regretted it as pain exploded in her skull, streaked down her back, and lanced through her left wing-stem. The shock of the white-hot pain made her muscles lock tight. Motherfucker. She clenched her teeth, but a long hiss escaped. The sound caught Asher’s attention.

He looked at her and—unbelievably—a smile creased his face. There were dried tears on his cheeks, but he didn’t appear to be in any pain. In fact, there didn’t seem to be even a scratch on him, thank God. Her body and wings had protected him.

A growl rumbled out of Knox. Harper, you need to—

I’m awake, I’m awake, she assured him. A vibe of relief reverberated against her mind.

How long had she been out? Looking up, she saw snatches of sunlight through the thick, lush canopy. The sky hadn’t darkened. The fact that her wings hadn’t melted into her back suggested that she hadn’t been unconscious long.

Where are you, baby? Knox asked, urgency in every syllable. I need to know where you are.

Give me a sec, I can’t see shit from the floor. Moving slowly, she plastered her hands onto the damp, slick moss beneath her and pushed herself onto her hands and knees. Wooziness hit hard, and her head swam. “I will not pass out again,” she said through her teeth. “I will not.” Because then her baby would be vulnerable.

Breathing through the wave of dizziness that had rushed over her, Harper took stock of herself. Nothing was broken. But she had a few aches here and there, and she could feel little licks of fire on her skin. She suspected she was covered in cuts and scratches.

Standing, Harper glanced back at her wings. She winced. One had a long tear running through it, like it had been raked by the claw of a big jungle cat. It was also numb, so the stem must have taken a hard hit. Her demon bared her teeth, beyond pissed and raring to hunt the fucker responsible.

Where are you? Knox demanded. Tanner will track you, but we could do with a little help here.

If she’d been able to throw fireballs, she would have launched one in the air like a flare. Taking a tentative step toward Asher, she glanced around them. There were no landmarks. Only thick trees, ropy vines, thorny plants, hanging moss, and gleaming leaves of all shapes and sizes. Green, green, and more fucking green.

Beneath the birds calls and the crickets chirping was … Waterfall. I can hear a waterfall close by. And monkeys shrieking. Damn, she hated monkeys.

Tanner says he can hear a waterfall in the distance, along with some monkeys fighting. Stay where you are. We’ll track you. There’s no sense in me doing a flyover to search for you. The foliage is too thick and heavy.

We won’t move, she promised him, swiping her hands together, trying to dust the grit from her fingers.

Tell me you and Asher are okay, Knox urged.

We’re okay. Sort of. The biggest issue was that her wing was fucked, preventing her from flying her and Asher to safety. Thankfully, though, he seemed to be fine.

Who the fuck had shot them down? That she’d really like to know. She had the feeling she’d find out soon enough. It was highly likely that they’d search for her. Her hope was that Knox found her first.

Head still pounding, she made her way to Asher—well, staggered her way to him. The spongy moss didn’t help her balance at all. With a single thought, she made her wings melt into her back until they were once again tattoos. It hurt like a bitch, since the stem was damaged.

Crouching down, she kissed Asher’s head, wishing she could pick him up and hold him tight but not trusting herself not to fall just yet. “Sorry I passed out, sweetie. Thank God you’re okay.”

Smiling, Asher reached out and made a grab for her nose. Taking his hand, she pressed a kiss to his little palm. “Daddy’s coming soon. Daddy and Tanner and Levi. We’re going to be fine.” She skimmed her knuckles down his hot cheek, wishing they had water. Mouth dry and sticky, she licked her lips, tasting salty sweat. Swallowing was almost painful as the air was just so thick on her tongue—

A twig snapped.

She froze, attention sharpening. Her eyes narrowed as a large black cat prowled out from behind a huge tree on Asher’s far right-hand side. Heart pounding in her chest like a drumbeat, she shot to her feet and—ignoring the explosion of pain in her head—rushed to block the animal’s path, having no intention whatsoever of letting it get to Asher.

As it neared them, she realized it was no jungle cat. No, it was a hellcat. One she knew. Betrayal curdled her stomach, and Harper snarled at Drew’s demon as a red haze fell over her vision. “You son of a bitch.”

It curled back its upper lip—the act almost seemed like a taunt.

Before she even thought about it, she was stalking toward the bastard, fingers tingling with the protective power that had rushed from her belly to her fingertips. While her blood roared in her ears, it was a wonder that she heard leaves rustling behind her … but she did.

Twisting, she saw a big black fucking shuck standing in front of Asher. Dread and realization crashed into her, making the blood drain from her face. Oh, God, Drew had baited her. Lured her away from Asher. And she’d fallen for it. Mouth dry, pulse racing, she could only stare as the shuck snarled and snapped its teeth at her little boy.

Her demon hissed, wanting to lunge at the shuck but anxious that it would react by attacking Asher … which the shuck was no doubt counting on.

“You tracked them,” said a male voice. “Well done.”

Her head whipped to the side as two men slowly came into view, halting a good ten feet away from Asher. Every muscle in her body tensed. One of the males was short, gray-haired, and completely unfamiliar. As for the other one … that was another matter. A matter that made her blood boil and her mouth drop open in utter shock.

It couldn’t be him. Really. It just couldn’t be him. Because if it was, it would mean he’d fooled them all. Played them all. Because even though she’d learned from Knox that the guy had in fact smoked on occasion, and even though she recalled once hearing how much the asshole enjoyed attending Vegas shows—which would have made him a likely purchaser of Cirque du Soleil tickets—she just wouldn’t have imagined that he’d truly kill his own sister, especially in such a gruesome way.