Darkness Unmasked (DA 5) (31 page)

That feeling of dread ramped up several notches. My throat was so restricted, I could barely even say, “How?”

But I knew.

And he knew I knew. That was very evident by the amused glitter in his bright eyes. “Ilianna.”

My reaction was instant. Without thought. In one smooth movement, I drew Amaya free, swept her across the ropes binding my ankles, then lunged at him. But he was even faster than me. He jumped back and fired the gun. The shot tore through my hand, blowing apart two fingers before it hit Amaya’s hilt and ricocheted into the nearby wall. Pain and blood surged, but all I felt was anger. My anger, Amaya’s anger, and the utter need to just rid the world of the man who might well have destroyed my best friend. I attacked him, Amaya raised high above my head and screaming for blood.

Just for a moment, surprise flitted across his features; then he retreated from my onslaught and held up the gun.

“Know that I will shoot you again if I need to,” he said. “And know, too, that if I die, so will Ilianna.”

That
stopped me. Even Amaya muted her screams. “What do you mean?”

“Just that.” He paused, but the tension in his body suggested he was very much ready to react the minute I so much as twitched. “If I do not contact the people holding your friend every hour, they will kill her.”

“You
bastard
.”

Amusement flitted across his features. “All Aedh are bastards, dear Risa, because we seed and leave. We are not prey to the emotions and needs that wreck so many human lives.”

And were poorer for it. “But to rape Ilianna—”

“There was
no
rape,” he cut in, sounding oddly annoyed. “An Aedh’s kiss always ensures that their chosen breeder is more than willing.”

“Ilianna is
gay
. You would have had to force a kiss, if nothing else.”

Though anger kept the worst of the pain at bay, I was bleeding all over the place and would be in very serious trouble if I didn’t do something about it soon. Yet I remained still. To do anything else would not have been wise right now.

“Well, yes, but we both know I was not her first male lover.”

No, because Ilianna
had
experimented when she was young. After the attack on her sister had left her incapable of conceiving, her parents’ desire for grandchildren had fallen solely onto Ilianna’s shoulders. The weight of their expectations had all but forced her to least
try
to have a relationship with a male. But she could no more change her orientation than the moon could rise during the day.

“That doesn’t alter the reality that you forced yourself on her. Whether the magic made her willing or not doesn’t matter in the end.” And I would kill him for it. If not now, then later.

I shifted Amaya to my left hand and tried to ignore the warm slickness covering her hilt. The pain was getting stronger, a monster ready to consume. I clenched what remained of my fingers on my shattered hand, but it did little to stem the tide of blood.

He made a “who cares” motion with his free hand. “It has been done. She will bear my child, no matter what happens to me. The decision
you
have to make is whether
she
actually gets to live or die.”

“And why the hell would you impregnate her if all you intended to do is kill her?”

“Come now, let’s not play dumb, Risa. She is captive to your good behavior. And, of course, she is not the only one I have seeded.” His smile was all arrogance. “The Raziq may have stolen many things from me, but they did not take my potency.”

I wished they fucking
had
. “So does your dark sorceress know she’s about to become a mom?”

“You always did catch on to the inconsequential things faster than most,” he murmured, looking amused. “But no, she does not. It is not necessary. Besides, she has not entirely upheld her part of our agreement, so I see no problem in not entirely upholding mine.”

“That’s a decidedly risky game to play when dealing with a sorceress as powerful as Lauren Macintyre.” But maybe she’d kill him and save the rest of us the trouble.

“Yes, but there is also great pleasure to be found in playing such games.”

I resisted the urge to glance at his body and see for myself just how much delight he was taking in this game. “So what’s next?”

“Why, you find the keys; then we both go to retrieve them, of course.”

“Of course.” Dizziness swept me. I licked my lips and tried to ignore the trembling that was beginning to hit my muscles. “But what the hell are you going to do with them once you get them, Lucian? It’s not like you can get onto the gray fields anymore.”

Again that dark and dangerous energy flashed through him. “Perhaps, but I can use them as a bargaining chip with the Raziq.”

“If you think they’ll agree to restore you to full Aedh in exchange for the keys, you’re not playing with a full deck.”

“They will have no choice.”

I snorted. “They tortured you once for information on the keys. What makes you think they won’t do it again?”

“Because I will have them placed where even the Raziq can’t get them—hell itself.”

I stared at him. He was insane. He had to be to even think
that
was a logical solution. “I’m sure the inhabitants of hell are going to be as happy as all get-out when they discover what they’ve been handed.”

“I am not so foolish as to simply hide them,” he growled. “They will be guarded by the most powerful demons in hell.”

“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.”

I rose slowly and somewhat unsteadily. Lust continued to roll off him in waves, and tiny beads of perspiration began to dot my skin. My damn nipples were so hard, they ached and, as much as I hated it, I couldn’t entirely ignore the desire that slithered through me. And while most of it was undoubtedly the spell he’d placed on me, some of it was not.

I might hate him, but I also wanted him.

But I’d be damned if I admitted it.

Our gazes clashed for several more nerve-racking minutes; then he raised a hand, pressed a fingertip between my breasts, and pushed me backward. Amaya’s screams echoed in my head, and I ordered her to shut up and
not
cut.

My back hit the wall, the wood rough and grimy against my skin. He kept me pinned, not moving, not saying anything, just watching me with that smug, insolent expression I was beginning to hate.

Then he stepped back.

For a moment, hope leapt, but the amusement touching his lips soon killed that.

“Undress me,” he ordered. “Slowly.”

I flexed my fingers, battling anger and the urge to do as Amaya desired, then raised my hands and unbuttoned his shirt. When the last button came undone, I placed my hands on his skin and slid them upward, over the taut muscles of his stomach and chest and then under the shirt. As it slipped to floor, I ran my hands back down his body and played with the waist of his pants.

His warm breath fanned across my skin, its tempo one of expectation. Mine was no better, despite my loathing of the situation. My gaze rose to his. Desire burned in those green depths, but so, too, did warning.

I unfastened his pants. His cock strained against the restriction of his silk boxers, thick and hard and ready for action. I hooked my fingers into the waist of both and slid them down his legs. He stepped out, then pressed a hand against my head, keeping me down.

“Suck me.”

I did as he bid, sucking and licking and teasing until the salty taste of come began to fill my mouth.

Abruptly, he tangled his fingers in my hair and yanked me upright. He spun me around so that I faced the wall, then pulled my head backward, kissing me fiercely as he entered me from behind. What followed was animalistic and hard, and, despite my loathing of both him and the situation, felt good. But I did
not
give voice to my pleasure. There wasn’t much I could keep to myself given the situation, but I refused to give him
that
.

He came with a shout that was as fierce as it was triumphant, pumping hard as he emptied himself inside me. I closed my eyes, my body still trembling with unfulfilled desire, his fluids dribbling down my thighs and hate in my heart.

He withdrew, turned me around, and kissed me fiercely again. But just as quickly, he pulled away.

“Respond like you mean it, dear Risa, or I will not make the call that is keeping your friend alive.”

“You can’t keep either of us forever, Lucian,” I said, my voice edged with the anger I was barely keeping leashed. I could almost taste his death, and god, it tasted
sweet
. “Sooner or later, this will have to end.”

“Oh, it will.” He bent, picked me up in his arms, then spun and walked back to the bedroom. “But the military exhibition does not open until ten, and that gives me five hours to fuck you senseless.”

He threw me onto the bed, but didn’t immediately join me. “By the time you leave here, you will be carrying my child. And
that
will be the greatest revenge I could ever have on your reaper.”

My
flesh-and-blood
reaper. If he could bleed, if he could gain human emotions when in flesh too long, why then would he not also be fertile? If the Raziq
had
taken the chip out, then it was more than possible that I was
already
pregnant.

God, wouldn’t that be the perfect twist? If I had to be pregnant, then I would much rather the father be someone I actually cared about than someone I intended to kill.