Shadow Rising (21 page)

“What in the name of the Maker is going on here? Kara’s guards were grounded? When?”

One of the warriors turned his face away, his neck and cheeks flushing. Having one’s wings clipped was only slightly better than having one’s balls cut off. The warriors would be fine once their wings grew back, but for now, they were in pain, and they looked flaming ridiculous.

Liel nodded. “A black-wing came after the men. Lady Kara was unharmed. She’s safe behind a reinforced ward for now, but she won’t come to Mercury Island, and she asked for all guards to be removed from the city.”

Gavin ran a hand through his hair. That sounded like Kara. More bravery than brains when it came to protecting herself. “Aiden said something about Julian?”

“Yes. That’s the strangest part, my lord. The lady swears he’s returned—claims it was a Shadow Rising.”

The frantic beat of wings alerted Gavin to the messenger before he felt him coming. The silver-wing threw open the door and locked eyes with Gavin. “My lord, Lord Aiden is struggling to wake, but he can’t keep his eyes open for long. He says Lady Kara is summoning him with urgent need.”

“Where is she?” he asked.

“Her apartment in the city, he thinks.”

Gavin sucked in a breath.
Kara.
That was all he needed to know. He drew his sword and flashed.

Chapter Thirteen

Kara was frantic, her pulse skipping, and her forehead pounding. When she heard the sound of banging at the door, she threw on a white tank top and pulled up her jeans, then ran toward the front room to let Aiden in.

She cursed herself for not asking for Aiden’s help sooner. Maybe he knew what to do for Julian. She only hoped it wasn’t too late. She twisted the bolt lock and yanked the door open.

“Aide—” Her words stuttered to a stop when she saw another face framed in the entryway. The face of a man who’d haunted her thoughts and broken her heart. “Gavin?”

He held a sword, and his wings were still extended. Kara knew enough about the Demiáre now to know that he would be invisible to anyone who didn’t carry a trace of Aniliáre blood in their veins. It took her a minute to realize that neither one of them was speaking. Gavin simply locked eyes with her as if he couldn’t look away.

“Kara,” he said at last. “Are you hurt?”

She still couldn’t bring herself to say anything—she simply stepped aside so he could enter. He ducked his head slightly and walked into her apartment, scanning the rooms as he went.

“Were you calling for Aiden?”

Kara pulled out a dining chair and sat, hoping it would stop the room from spinning. “I did call Aiden. So why are you here, Gavin?” Why had he come back, and more importantly, where had he been these past nine weeks?

His shoulders were stiff, every muscle rigid, and he held his weapon as if he was expecting an enemy invasion. He usually tucked his wings away when he came indoors, but they were folded against his back. “Aiden is…indisposed. I came in his place. Have you really seen a black-wing in your city?”

“Seen one? I’ve practically been living with one the past couple of days.” Gavin’s brows shot up in response. “It’s Julian. He’s come back. And something’s wrong with him. He doesn’t even know who he is.”

“Kara…” He sheathed his sword and stepped closer to her, reaching his hand out to caress her shoulder. When she tensed at his touch, his face fell. He curled his hand into a fist and stepped back. “It can’t be Julian.”

“Well, it is.”

He shook his head and went to stare out the dark windows of the balcony doors. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but the chance that Julian has risen is almost nil compared to the chance that another Aniliáre has taken his form.”

Kara stood and joined him at the window. She needed to look into his eyes. “It’s him, Gavin. I’ve never been as sure of anything.”

“How do you know?”

“I just do. Can a black-wing access Julian’s memories?”

“No, not now that he’s gone. But that’s why it would make perfect sense to play as though he’d lost his memory.”

If Kara had fangs, she would have bitten the look of pity right off Gavin’s face. “Who the hell do you think you are? I haven’t heard from you in two months, and you think you somehow have the right to show up in my apartment and tell me I’m wrong? I know Julian better than he does right now. He’s back.”

Gavin just stared ahead like he didn’t have any fight left in him. “No one wants that to be truer than I, princess.”

The utter look of defeat in his eyes drained the fury out of Kara. She opened the balcony door and went to stand at the railing. Gavin followed her out. “Where did you go, Gavin?”

He gazed out over the ocean, but the reflection of the rising moon off of the thin swath of water in the distance was barely visible from where they stood. “I was away on business. I would have been here for you if I could have.”

“That’s it? That’s your whole excuse? You might’ve at least put a little more effort into a convincing story.”

“I’m sorry if my leaving hurt you. That wasn’t my intent.”

“No, your intent was to promise me your friendship and then hightail it at the first sign of trouble. You only wanted me when you were competing with Julian. Once he was out of the picture, you didn’t last a week.”

Gavin’s head bowed. “I can see how it must look that way to you.”

“Are you saying that’s not how it is?”

“I offered you my friendship regardless of what became of Julian.”

It was hard to tell Gavin what was on her mind when she couldn’t trust him anymore, but letting things go unresolved seemed worse. “You offered me more than your friendship.”

He’d offered her his love. Not that she needed it. Not that she’d
ever
needed it, she assured herself. But the promise had been a sweet consolation at the time.

His hands tightened on the railing. “Things have changed, Kara.”

Her breath left her lungs in a soft hush. “Okay. Well, at least I know where we stand.”

He turned to her and put his hand over hers. “You still have my friendship. That will never change.”

She pulled away to put some space between them. She couldn’t let the past slow her down, not when Julian was depending on her. “Julian’s weak, and he’s having trouble flashing.”

“The black-wing you saw seemed weak?” Gavin frowned and shook his head. “That must be part of his ploy to gain your sympathy.”

“Gavin! Listen to me.” She wanted to shake him. “Julian comes back when the sun goes down, then he vanishes before it’s up, and every time, he’s in worse shape. He says he’s waking up under a tree, and since it’s not his tree on Mercury Island, I can only assume he’s talking about his mother’s tree. He was trying to eat raw meat at first, but when it stopped working, he needed my blood. Pretend—just pretend—it could really be our Julian. What’s the matter with him?”

“You must be mistaken. Aniliáre don’t remain on the surface indefinitely. Even after sundown, they can’t abide the feeling of being bound by a reality outside of their own will. He must be returning to the Shadowland when the sun comes up.”

She wrapped her hands around her upper arms to fend off the cool breeze. “Not that I can tell. He just sort of disappears until nightfall.”

“How long has this been going on?”

“He says it’s been weeks. But tonight, he didn’t even have the strength to last the night.”

“By Hexa’s hairy ass. It makes no sense. No Aniliáre in his right mind would stay on the surface when the sun comes up for that long.”

“Why?”

“Because they’re vulnerable here. In the Shadowland, they live as gods. But in the land of the mortal, their spirit form slowly begins the Fade. Yes, female blood can extend their stay, but by days, not weeks. If the black-wing really is trapped in this realm and isn’t able to renew in the Shadowland, we may be able to send him to the Abyss.”

Kara grasped the railing and almost choked on her saliva. “Send him to the
Abyss
? Are you insane? We’re talking about Julian!”

“No,
you’re
talking about Julian. I’m talking about an almost omnipotent creature who could bring down our entire clan if the mood strikes him. Kiss the Maker, Kara, there’s a reason those…
abominations
don’t dwell in our realm.”

“So if Julian stays here too long, he’ll die?”

“Please, stop calling it Julian. Even if a Shadow Rising occurred—and I’m not saying it did—if Julian doesn’t remember who he is, and he has the power of the Aniliáre, we must destroy him if we can. He would want us to.”

She retreated to the other end of the railing, running her hand over the peeling paint. How could Gavin be so cold about a man he’d regarded as a brother? “You don’t know what you’re saying. He may not remember who he is, but there’s still goodness in him. And there must be such a thing as good Aniliáre. What about my father?”

“Teras was no saint—trust me. But even so, your father didn’t cut the wings off my guards and stalk a female I’ve sworn to protect. This Julian lookalike is out of control. He’s taking your blood, Kara. How can I turn a blind eye to that?”

“You’ve been turning a blind eye to all your responsibilities these past couple of months. It’s suddenly bothering you now?”

Gavin raised his eyes to the sky and took a deep breath. “I can’t do this. Not with you.”

“Do what?”

“The arguing. The anger. Tell me what you want from me, princess.”

“I want you to help Julian.”

“What if I make you a deal? What if I agree to proceed as though this black-wing is my brother-lord and you agree to forgive me for leaving—no questions asked?”

She could say she forgave him, but she wasn’t sure she could feel real forgiveness. Nevertheless, she steeled her jaw and visualized her heart, mentally packing cement in the Gavin-shaped hole he’d left there. Until Julian was safe in the Shadowland, everything else was insignificant.

“Agreed.” She stepped forward and reached out to shake his hand, but when she felt his skin on hers, it was all she could do not to swipe her palm across her jeans to erase his touch.

He nodded and held her hand in his grip. His soft wings were still folded against his back, and his words were the barest whisper. “Thank you.”

She forced a tight smile, but she was trembling. “Sure. Now tell me how we’re going to save him.”

Gavin’s gaze slowly traveled over Kara’s shaking hands. “How much blood did he take from you? When did you last eat?”

“I’m highborn, right? I can’t die of blood loss.”

“No, you can’t die of it, but you could wish you were dead. We need you strong, Kara, if we’re going to help him.” He held her hand even when she halfheartedly pulled away. “Let’s get you something to eat and drink. We may need all the blood we can get.”

Kara slipped on her brown sandals by the front door and allowed Gavin to tow her out into the hall. When he stopped at the place next to hers, her brows shot up. It had been over two months since he’d stepped foot in his old apartment. “We’re eating at your place?”

“You do realize that it looks as though you’re talking to yourself?”

Kara glanced around the hall and finally pulled her hand from his. He was right. With his wings extended, nobody would notice him, but she’d look like she was having a conversation with his door. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

He smiled. “I need a change of clothes, then I’d like to take you somewhere where we can sit and eat and discuss this.”

“I don’t think you get the sense of urgency here. Julian’s in trouble. We don’t have time to sit in a restaurant and people-watch.”

“If the black-wing is in limbo, he won’t materialize again until tomorrow night. We have all the time in the world. Wait here.” Gavin disappeared, and a moment later, his apartment door opened. His wings were gone, but he was still wearing his leather pants. “Would you like to come in while I change?”

Kara shrugged. “Whatever.”

It was weird entering Gavin’s apartment, seeing the same table she’d eaten at with Julian months before—the same table they’d told her they smashed when they were trying to cover the sounds of their brawl. The wood of Julian’s bedroom door was still shattered where Gavin had punched it in. He’d told her he would fix it, but it seemed that was another thing he’d forgotten.

Gavin’s door was ajar as he opened his dresser and pulled something out. Kara walked into Julian’s room and sat on the bed. It had the same goose down comforter where they’d lain months before, back when he was still just her neighbor. Kara bent and pressed her nose to the bedding, but all she got was a lungful of dust. Any trace of her old lover was gone. She curled up and pressed her cheek to the pillow. Was her Julian really gone, or could he remember? What if he never did?

“Don’t do this to yourself, princess.”

Kara shot up and rubbed her nose, embarrassed at being caught reminiscing. “Are you ready?”

He looked ready. Dressed in gray slacks and a black silk shirt, he was as handsome as ever. His golden hair still curled over his nape, hiding the brand of Brakken underneath. She’d hide the connection, too, if she were him.

Kara frowned at her thin white tank. “I should grab a sweater.”