Retribution (Redemption Series) (10 page)

His eyes met mine.

"There is no way to release a Demon
from the Seal,"
Marcas
replied. "I'm in
here by choice, Dayton."

It was a bad time to ask, but I asked it
anyway.

"Why,
Marcas
?
Why?
For me?"

I left my hands on his face, the stubble
on his jaw a comforting reminder that despite the fact that he was a Demon, he
was also part man. Immortal man, but a man nonetheless. His jaw tightened
against my palm.

"Once, a very long time ago, I
would have said it was for me."

Marcas
would always
consider
himself
a monster. I didn't know a lot about
his past, about the people he'd killed, about the things he'd done, but I knew
the man in front of me now didn't deserve to be here. He'd saved a lot of
lives, had fallen in love, lost that love, protected me, and then hopefully
fallen in love again. I was banking on the fallen in love again part.

"And
now?"
I asked.

Marcas
' eyes searched
mine.

"All for
you."

It was the most romantic thing he could
have said, and I grinned.

"Then I'm getting you out of here
for me.
For
me
.
I
need
you out of here. Just trust me
on this."

His gaze moved over me, that unreadable,
absolutely aggravating gaze that annoyed me so much one moment then set me on
fire the next.

"My choice,
Dayton."

I narrowed my eyes.

"And this is mine."

With those words, I reached for a
smaller rock on the ground below our feet. It wasn't as sharp as I wanted it to
be, but it would have to do.

"Dayton . . ."
Marcas
growled.

I ignored him, running the rock across
my arm quickly. The blood that beaded up was red and thick and I held it up to
his face.

"Drink," I ordered.

I didn't know if having Angel blood in
him would work, but it was worth a shot. Demon blood had gotten me into the
ring. Why couldn't Angel blood get us both out?

Marcas
just stared at
the cut on my arm, his eyes going redder, his teeth growing.

"This may not work. I'll still have
Demon blood in me, Dayton," he said.

Maybe it wouldn't work, but it was all
we had.

"Take as much blood as you need
then. I trust you to stop before it's too much. With that much Angel blood in
you, the ring couldn't keep you."

Marcas
smiled sadly.

"Maybe," he said.

I used my free hand to push his face up.

"Drink.
For me.
If it doesn't work, then at least I know I tried,
and then when we're out of here, we'll be free. You won't be bound to me
anymore. Your mission is complete. And you will be alive. It's all I care
about.

Marcas
' unreadable
gaze softened, his eyes shining, and I saw an emotion there I never thought I'd
see. It made tears well up behind my eyes, and I fought them back desperately.

"You're wrong. I'll still be bound
to you," he said softly.

My heart would never be the same. I held
my wrist up higher.

"Drink."

This time
Marcas
didn't argue, and I gritted my teeth as he licked the cut before biting me.
Without his powers, he couldn't make it painless, and I was determined not to
scream as he drank his fill. There were black spots building in the corners of
my eyes, and I knew he was taking a lot of blood, but I didn't fight him.

"What do you plan to do once you're
out," I asked slowly, my words slurred as he finally pulled away. The
question was as much a distraction from the pain in my arm as it was curiosity.

 
I
could feel my knees buckling, but I didn't go down.
Marcas
'
body was surrounded by light, and I knew my power was moving over us both,
gliding down
Marcas
' arms to the chains that bound
him. I watched absently as they fell away, and only then did I let myself fall.
His arms went around me. If he was weak from his time in bondage, it wasn't
obvious, my power already healing wounds that would normally take weeks to
heal.

Marcas
' grip was
tight. It was bold, and he leaned over me, one arm going under my neck, the
other under my legs as he lifted me up effortlessly. I had lost too much
weight. His eyes met mine, and even though my vision was blurry, I didn't miss
his smile.

"I plan to start a war in
Hell," he said.

He was suddenly an avenging Angel in the
guise of a Demon, and I felt the corners of my mouth lift.

"That's the sexiest thing I think
I've ever heard you say," I whispered as the world around us began to
shake.

Marcas
leaned against
the rock as the world shifted, and I giggled.

"I'm really woozy," I said as
I laughed.

Marcas
chuckled.

"No, you're lightheaded."

I gazed up at him.

"Then the world isn't moving?"
I asked.

Marcas
' brows lifted.

"Oh no, the world is definitely
moving," he said, his voice tinged with amusement.

Even joking as he was, I saw the serious
glint deep in his eyes, and I knew my time was up. Weak or no, lightheaded or
not, my time was up.

"Dayton . . ."
Marcas
whispered,
his mouth
suddenly near my ear. I shuddered as his breath moved over my neck.
"Remember this. Even if it didn't work, even if the Seal claims me, it was
worth it. Understood?"

I nodded, my eyes moving to meet his. He
was so close.

"I love you."

This time, there was no mistaking his
words, and I had started to say them back, had started to open my mouth when
the shaking grew so
violent,
there was no opportunity
for words. I did the next best thing. I held on for dear life, digging my nails
into his skin to keep from getting separated, and prayed.

Chapter 9

The decisions made now will not only affect the
people involved, it will affect the world.

~
Bezaliel
~

The shaking was relentless, and I
clutched desperately at
Marcas
. I hadn't come this
far to fail now. I wasn't the same anymore. I wasn't the same Dayton that had
started out on an absolutely insane journey with a Demon I had been determined
to hate. I was inside his world now, and the world he belonged to was turning
out to be as prejudiced and complicated as my own world. Memories were wearing
me out, guilt was eating me from the inside, and I had fallen in love with the
same person I was supposed to hate. And, despite this, I was surprisingly happy.

And so I gripped the Demon hard as the
world around us fell apart, torn away until there was nothing more than
darkness. And still I felt him, felt his hot skin against mine as the world
folded in on
itself
and then began to rebuild. It
wasn't until I felt solid ground beneath my
feet,
my
stomach a nauseated mass of butterflies that I realized
Marcas
was no longer with me. It was too much.

"It
was worth it. Understood?"

Marcas
' words echoed
through my head as I went down on one knee, my head in my hands. Light was
expanding around me, my arm was searing back together where
Marcas
'
teeth had cut brutally into the flesh, and I could feel my head begin to quit
spinning. It was too much.

"Dayton?"

It was Monroe's voice, and I looked up,
my eyes wide as she searched my face. I was back in the living room I had
started out in, and I let my head fall back down again, too weary to care who
was there to witness my failure.

A hand settled gently against my
shoulder, and I knew from its size that it was
Conor's
.
He kneeled next to me.

"You did it, Red," he
whispered.

My head shot up.

"What?" I said hoarsely.

Conor's
eyes met mine,
and he smiled.

"Look."

Gently, he lifted my head and turned it,
and I swallowed, the tears coming hard. Keeping them back wasn't an option
anymore.

There hunched in the corner of the room,
Luther kneeling next to him was
Marcas
. His head was
bent, one hand dug into the carpet,
one
knee on the
floor. He was still shirtless, still barefoot, and still burnt in places that
hadn't had time to heal. But the glow around him was no longer white. It was
red. His powers were rushing back, no longer encumbered by the ring, and I
could tell just by watching that the process wasn't an easy one.

Suddenly, Luther looked up, and his eyes
met mine. He nodded, a new respect in his gaze, and I nodded back. This was
Marcas
' brother, and I read the emotions on his face
easily. I had sacrificed myself for the Demon in the corner. What happened now
was still uncertain, but I had built a friendship with the hard men, a pact
that could never be broken now.
A life for a life.

I looked over my shoulder wearily, my
eyes meeting the stoic shapes still standing near the room's entryway
—
my father, Sophia, and Lucas.
They were all silent, their eyes hard. Only Sophia played for the right team.
She was the only one not straddling shaky ground. I held a palm up to
Conor
.

"The Seal," I said quietly.

Conor
didn't hesitate
and when I felt the heavy metal settle into the palm of my hand, I sighed in
relief. I was done with the ring, done with the complications that came with
it.

I stood up slowly, shakily, and moved
toward Sophia with a purpose built entirely from a hard place I had learned to
cultivate inside of me.

"It's yours now," I whispered
as I approached her while holding out the ring.

Sophia's eyes met mine, and I saw
something akin to regret and jealousy in her gaze. She took the Seal.

"And what happens now?" Sophia
asked as her gaze shifted to
Marcas
.

Bezaliel
stepped
forward, his gaze also on the Demon still kneeling next to his brother.

"We recruit,"
Bezaliel
said.

His words took me by surprise.

"Recruit?"

Sophia and I said it together, our
voices
raised
. This seemed to amuse Lucas, and he
chuckled as he stepped next to his mentor.

"It's time we finally find a way to
avoid a war on Earth. Lucifer is angry. There will be no more peace,"
Lucas answered.

Sophia hesitated.

"And how do you propose to do
that?"

Bezaliel's
gaze met mine.

"By
following a new leader.
The Exiles have chosen who they will stand
behind."

The look in his eyes said it all, and I
gasped. The sharp intake of breath next to me alerted me to Sophia's mutual
feelings.

"Her?" Sophia asked
incredulously.

I shook my head.

"No," I said slowly as I
turned to face the corner of the room, the edges of my mouth lifting.
"Him."

And with that, I moved toward
Marcas
, each step causing my heart to soar. He was no
longer trapped by the Seal. We were no longer bound. I didn't know what that
meant for us, for the future, for the roles we would have to play now, but I
was willing to find out.

Luther backed away as I kneeled in front
of
Marcas
, my hands coming to rest on his shoulders.
Pain shot through my system, and I knew his power didn't recognize me anymore.
I almost pulled away, but one of
Marcas
' hands came
to rest over mine on his shoulder, and he didn't let go. His head lifted.

This was my chance. I had gone too long
leaving too many things unsaid.

"I love you," I whispered, my
voice so low the only other person who could have heard was Luther.

Marcas
smiled
crookedly, only one corner of his mouth lifting as his hand tightened on mine.

"It was only a matter of
time," he said.

Luther choked on a laugh, and I narrowed
my eyes.