Absolute Surrender (31 page)

“Shoot.” He tossed the small, checkered ball back on the table.

She leaned her hands on the ledge of the game. “You’re all Guardians, right? So you must be like Aethan, an immortal.” She bit her lip, wondered if she’d lost her mind pushing this. Just the thought of Aethan dying—

“You need to ask the question, if you want an answer, gorgeous.”

Right. She lowered her voice. “How do you die?”

“Why? Plan on killing us?” Týr drawled, amusement replacing his surprise.

“Aethan refuses to tell me. We humans can die in so many different ways. Heck, I just came from a breakfast that would guarantee heart disease and an early death for me.”

He stared at her. “Oh, you’re serious. Okay then. The only way is by be-heading. But you have to catch us first.”

Her mouth opened then snapped shut.
Oh God
! She backed away and rushed out of the room.

“You had to tell her. I can’t imagine Aethan being pleased about that.” Blaéz’s voice drifted to her before the door closed.

In the hallway, she braced a hand on the wall, the other on her stomach, and gulped in huge amounts of air. She’d seen death in its various forms, but that?

Dammit, she was over-reacting.
Calm down, calm down,
Aethan’s immortal
...but still, he should have told her—

“Echo?”

At the sound of his voice, her head snapped up. “Beheading? You can die by beheading?”

He sighed. “This is why I didn’t want to tell you. Echo, I’m not the one at risk. The many things that can take you away from me will not hurt me, so let’s worry about your safety, all right? Come on, let me take you to work.”

***

Blaéz picked her up later that afternoon, since Aethan was on rift duty. One thing she knew, they didn’t budge from their schedule of guarding that place unless a dire emergency demanded their attention.

“Blaéz, do you mind taking me to Greenwich Village? I’d like to see Kira.”

As he headed toward her friend’s home, she realized Kira wasn’t the only one she needed to apologize to. “Blaéz, I’m sorry I worried you all last night.”

Winter blue eyes glanced at her. “Don’t trouble yourself over that. Added some interest to the job. You’re important to Aethan,” he said, his gaze returning to the road. “It’s rare when ones like us are blessed with finding our mates. We will do all it takes to ensure your safety, even after the demon that wants you is destroyed.”

Right. She’d already figured that out. Hard as it was for someone as independent as her, she accepted it because she loved Aethan. She glanced back at him. And realized she knew nothing about him, or Týr for that matter. If Aethan was an Empyrean...was he the same?

“Blaéz, where do you come from?”

His gaze shifted to hers again and when she saw the ice swirling in them, she hastily recanted. The man didn’t care for her personal questions.

“It’s okay, I just wondered.”

But he surprised her and answered. “I’m from the Celtic pantheon.”

Irish? She stared at the stark lines of his handsome face. Wait, he said pantheon, which meant like a realm where the gods lived.

“You’re a god?” she said, shocked. She never thought about where the other warriors came from. She’d been too wrapped up in her life.

A long stretch of silence filled the vehicle. Stopping at a traffic light, Blaéz finally spoke. “I am a warrior. My allegiance is to Gaia.”

No emotion, just facts. Which made her more curious, but she let it go. Aethan had sworn his allegiance to Gaia, after he’d been banished. Had something equally devastating happened to these warriors?

Moments later Blaéz parked the Range Rover in front of the brownstone, and Echo saw Aethan waiting at the entrance.

“I informed him of the change in plans,” Blaéz said from beside her.

***

The day had been a long one and relief settled in Aethan when he saw Echo. He’d spent most of it in the gym, working through rigorous circuit training, surprised he could still walk after pounding the treadmill for several hours. Going on duty at the rift and just keeping watch hadn’t helped settle the restless energy growing within him.

After Blaéz had sent him a telepathic message that he was heading to the oracle’s at Echo’s request, the warrior agreed to take his shift an hour early, leaving Aethan free to be with Echo.

Opening the door of the Range Rover, he scanned the street as night crept in. The winds had picked up, sending debris and dust flying around him.

“I thought you were on duty.”

He turned to her. “I was, until a few minutes ago. Blaéz is taking over.”

“I’m not going to be long. I just want to reassure Kira and Gran that I’m fine.”

“Let’s get you inside, then.” He helped her down, trying not to rush her. He didn’t care for her to be out in the open when the
demoniis
could just flash in. Using his body as a shield, he followed her up the stairs.

“You know what’s totally weird,” she said, glancing at him over her shoulder, “is that you’ve known Gran for so long, and I never once met you.”

“We don’t usually go to mortal homes for safety reasons. Lila comes to the castle when we need her.”

“So, she knows what you are?”

“Yes.”

She pushed aside the overhanging creepers and knocked on the door. Then, as she turned back to him, a stray vine swung into her face.

“Darn it!” She brushed the creeper aside and rubbed her stinging eye.

“Let me see.” Before Aethan could examine the damage from the attacking vine, the door opened. Kira grabbed Echo’s arm and pulled her inside. “I was so afraid.”

“I’m fine, Ki.”

Aethan followed them into the house, the smell of crushed herbs and incense adding a soothing ambience to the place. He shut the door behind him.

The kitchen door swung open, and Lila entered the living room. A smile of relief swept over her face when she saw Echo. These two females were her family. Aethan understood that, but witnessing their deep affection for her touched him. It comforted him to know she had people who cared about her before he’d come into her life.

“It’s good to see you again, warrior,” Lila said, then she turned to Echo, concern filling her dark eyes.

“Gran.” Echo hurried over. She kissed Lila’s cheek and hugged her. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

“What happened, child?”

“A bad dream. That’s all.” Echo stepped back, shrugged off her coat, and hooked it on the coat rack in the corner of the room.

“Kira told me what occurred. You shouldn’t have left.”

“I know, Gran, but I had to. I just wanted to find a way to deal with it. I thought if I went there, to the place where it happened, maybe I’d understand why I keep having these dreams.”

“In the night?” Kira snapped.

“Yes. It had to be.”

“And did you?”

Echo shook her head. “No.”

Kira growled. Lila sighed. “Kira dear, let me talk with Echo. Go prepare a tea-tray for us.”

Harrumphing, Kira flounced off.

Echo turned to Lila. Aethan sensed her relief her friend wasn’t there to pick apart everything she said. “Why, Gran? Why am I having these dreams?
Demoniis
, I understand, after what happened when I was young, but Tamsyn? And the man in a navy robe?”

“What man in a navy robe?” Aethan asked her.

She frowned as if trying to recall...a memory? A dream? He wasn’t sure.

“When I was six, my foster brother hurt me and left me lying in a ditch.”

Aethan’s mouth tightened. He remembered what Lila had shown him of Echo’s foster family. He had to force himself to listen and not go out there, find those abusive humans, and make them pay as his heart demanded. This was about her, he reminded himself.

“I don’t remember much,” she said, rubbing her eye. “Just the pain before I blacked out. But when I awoke, I had no injuries. I always thought it was a dream. Except recently, I have flashes of this man, healing me and telling me he’ll take away the pain...”

Aethan felt as if something cold had slithered over him. The only man in a navy robe he knew of was worlds away. The one who’d kicked him out of Empyrea.

No. Way.
That old bastard, Allatus, never left Empyrea.

“Being psychic, you’re always going to touch on the supernatural side of things, even in your dreams,” Lila said as she stroked Echo’s arm, her expression tender. “But Tamsyn, you need to let her go. It’s why she haunts you. Let her soul find rest and you will finally have peace, too.”

After a long moment, Echo sighed and nodded. “It’s hard, but I’ll try.” She blinked and rubbed her eye again. “Gran? Do you have eye-drops? One of your vines attacked me on the porch.”

A smile tugged Lila’s mouth, easing the strain on her face. “Let me have a look.” Angling Echo’s face to the light, she examined her eye. “There’s a rip in your contact lens,” she murmured. Then she cupped his mate’s face. “It’s time, child.”

Echo stiffened. Aethan felt her distress like a huge wave crashing over him. He failed to understand why she was upset over torn contact lenses. Hell, he hated the damn things.

She cast him a quick look and reached for her coat. She withdrew a small case then headed for the mirror hanging in the hallway. A few minutes later, she made her way back into the lounge. Still sensing her unease, he crossed over to her and brushed a hand over her bent head. “I’m glad you’ve taken them off—”

She looked up.

And the world around him stopped. Aethan felt as if someone had taken a vice to his chest. He couldn’t breathe. His lungs seized.

Echo stared at him, pain flashing in her eyes, and then she walked away. He stared after her in utter shock.

No
!

Damn it! No. Not her. Not his mate.

CHAPTER 21

Andras paced around his concealed chambers. No one, not even a smidgen of light, was allowed in this walled-off room, except for the torches he burned while it was in use. He had planned and plotted too long for this and would allow nothing to stand in his way. As for his brother—locked up safe in the outer caverns of the lower Strata of Hell—too bad, really. Couldn’t have him running to their sire with what little knowledge he possessed.

Andras spread out the tattered piece of parchment on the table. Finally, after five years he knew what the scrolls had hidden.

A true souls-joining will set her free.

A whimper at his feet drew his attention. “Is this true, what it says here?” He flicked a finger at the ancient scroll. “I must mate with the
prophesied one
to bind her to me? Lie and you will never see daylight again.”

He smiled at the female. And let his lips peel back from his teeth, baring his fangs. Fear was a motivating factor and one he relished.

The girl, cowering on the ground, nodded, her long, dark hair obscuring her pale face. Her fear filled the chamber.

He didn’t want to have a mortal tied to him. But no matter. He would go after the female himself and do what needed to be done. That way he could complete the joining as soon as he captured her.

During the short test run he made to the mortal realm, he’d gone to the alley in Chinatown, where he’d been five years ago when he’d made a crucial error and took the soul of the blonde female. Now he was thankful for the first time that he hadn’t killed the prophesied one. For five years she’d stayed in his thoughts. Now he knew why. It was meant to be. Great things were destined for him when he finally found her. And she did taste delicious.

The excruciating pain of leaving the Dark Realm had been worth it.

Andras grabbed the terrified female off the floor and looked into her pathetic little face. “Taking on my brother’s image worked the first time. But I don’t care for the short timespan it gives me. I want longer.”