2. Blood Past (Warriors of Ankh #2) (25 page)

He smirked as he stopped in front of her, his hands gripping her hips to tug her to him. “He’ll come around.”

“Like Tobe has?” she huffed bitterly, the flare of pain in her chest catching her breath.

Noah sighed and rubbed her back comfortingly. “I heard about that. She’ll come around, Eden.

Just give her time.”

“According to you then, everyone will come around.”

“My dad
will
… eventually.”

“And if he doesn’t?” she murmured, her eyes fluttering closed as he pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

The feel of him enveloped her in an excited contentedness Eden hadn’t known was possible, and she leaned into him, sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck.

“Then he’ll just have to deal with it.”

“It just sucks-”

“Eden.” Noah’s hands tightened around her.

“What?”

“I’ve not seen you in what feels like effing forever, so you wanna stop talking about my dad while I’m trying to kiss you? It’s kind of a mood killer.”

Noah didn’t give her a chance to lash him with the biting retort that was eager to jump off her tongue. He drew her into a kiss so deep, she felt her legs tremble; his tongue flicking playfully across hers and shooting hot sparks to all her good for nothing places.

When he let her up for air, Eden gasped against his mouth and then smiled. It suddenly occurred to her that she had forever and a lifetime to do this with him. “I knew I saved your ass for a reason.”

Noah frowned. “’Scuse me, I think the ass saving was done by me.”

Eden raised an eyebrow. “Technically I think the ass saving was done by Darius.” She shivered just thinking about it and Noah gripped her closer.

“Yeah, let’s not think about it…” he grimaced. “It’s definitely a mood killer.”

“But seriously what was that-”

His lips cut her off as they came down on hers hard, crushing hers with a desperation that had her struggling to draw breath. He pulled back, stroking his fingers down her cheek. “Your choice.

Carnage, death talk, or making out with the boyfriend who saved your butt?”

With a small smile Eden drew onto the balls of her feet to reach his lips. She kissed him softly and made a happy humming noise against his mouth. “We’ll talk about who saved who during intermission.”

He nodded, his eyelids low, his eyes dark. “Sounds like a plan.”

For a while at least, here with Noah, Eden could forget the world outside Cyrus’ sanctuary. But she knew, deep down in those painful, aching places, that Noah’s kisses would only hold it at bay for so long.

Darwin Rice gazed around the sparklingly clean and empty foyer of the Winslow Mansion. He curled his lip, still smelling the tang of blood in the air despite the cleaning products that struggled to overwhelm it. His skin tingled as his feet slapped against the echoing marble of the luxury floor. Eyes narrowing on a little black item on the floor, he sighed, frustrated, as he bent down to pick it up.

The tracking device they’d put inside Teagan.

There had clearly been a massacre here and the little son-of-a-bitch who had promised him Cyrus and Darius was dead. Standing back up, Darwin met his colleague’s gaze and shook his head.

“Unfortunately, not our time, Peter.”

Peter nodded, looking as grim as Darwin felt. “The rest of the Tribunal wish to cease our attempts to destroy Cyrus. They see this as the first of many new failures in that direction.”

Darwin tried to stem the rage that pronouncement fed into his veins. For years Cyrus and his people had hunted theirs even as the Tribunal sought to enforce the laws. They weren’t killing people, for Christ sakes. So they took a little soul here and there; it wasn’t if the race of man weren’t capable of evil all on their own. When Teagan Winslow had opened this door to kicking a hole in the gut of The Circle, a hole that would not heal, Darwin had let himself get caught in the beauty of the promise. Take away Cyrus and Darius, and the Ankh have nothing. The Neith would take control.

The Neith who were so much easier to kill.

He pulled out the photocopy of the old journal Teagan had given him. In it was the key to destroying Cyrus and that little bitch he’d adopted. He looked up from it, searching Peter’s eyes.

Darwin wasn’t surprised to see the same spark, the same need he felt within. Peter was his best friend because they were the only two on the Tribunal who ever sat on the same page no matter the situation. “Then we act without them.”

Peter nodded gravely. “That could have its consequences.”

“Not if we bring them Cyrus and Darius’ heads.”

THE END

Read a Sneak Preview of BloodLet, book three in the Warriors of Ankh series…

COMING SOON!

Prologue

An unrest was growing. Not just within herself but within all her brethren. Cosmina smiled, gazing across the table at the newest additions to her cause. “So you’re going to help me catch my prey, gentlemen?”

They nodded, so stoic and serious. The older of the two leaned forward. “People have a right to know that the Ankh protect one of
them
. It’s what we need to change how things are run.”

Cosmina held up a hand. “Let’s be clear. I want the girl dead. Any political rebellions you want to rustle up in the meantime are fine. But you work for me, you hunt her down first and foremost.”

“Of course-”

Her phone rang, cutting him off, and Cosmina snapped it up, eager for some news. “Yes?”

The familiar voice soothed her. “It’s me, Ms Arcos.”

“Yes, well?”

“I’ve been contacted by someone who knows where she is.”

Cosmina grinned. “Contacted by whom”

“A Scot. Does the name-”

“Ms Arcos!” her door flew open and her second-in-command, Wren, stood eyes blazing.

“What?” She snapped, holding the phone away from her ear.

“Juliet’s abandoned ship!”

Not another one. Cosmina growled. It was becoming more and more difficult to find Neith who weren’t going to get a bad case of cold feet when it suddenly occurred to them they were pitting themselves against the Princeps. “Find her, take care of it.”
Kill her
.

Wren nodded, her psychic order tightening his features. Wren was loyal but he hated having to kill Neith. Cosmina was getting fed up of having to make him.

“Ms Arcos?” the voice on the phone called.

Sighing as Wren walked out of the door, Cosmina put the phone back to her ear and flicked her wrist, using her telekinesis to shut the door.

The eyes of the two Neith in front of her widened as they realised rumours about her were true.

“You were saying?”

“Ms Arcos, the girl… she is back in the States.”

Satisfaction slammed through Cosmina and she replaced the phone on the receiver without saying thank you. For weeks she had stewed in frustration as every effort to uncover Eden Winslow’s whereabouts came to a dead end. Now, she felt energised. The girl was back in Weston. Cosmina didn’t have the equipment to get past Cyrus’ security (a paramilitary group didn’t have the equipment) but she had the patience. As soon as Eden stepped foot out of that estate, as soon as Cosmina had a chance to take her out, she was going to.

Even if she had to do it herself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Samantha Young graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2009, where she studied ancient and medieval history. Sam enjoys incorporating her love of history into her writing, and is currently living in her home county of Stirlingshire, Scotland, doing just that.

Visit
http://samyoungyafantasyauthor.blogspot.com for m
ore info on Samantha’s upcoming novels.