Darkness Undone (11 page)

A harsh expletive left him. “I could have done you lasting damage.”

She swallowed, tried to brush it off. “No-no, I'm fine.”

“Don’t lie, Eve. Don’t you lie to me. I saw your face—the pain! You experienced
every
thing you saw, didn't you?”

She bit her lip and stared silently at him.

Furious, he pivoted and paced the banks again, the muscles of his back vibrating with each breath he took.

Determined to put an end to his self-recriminations, Eve hurried over and stepped in his path. He glared at her. “Stop pacing for a minute and listen to me.
I
am fine. You can see I’m all right. It’s you who still suffers.”

“I could have hurt you badly,” he bit out. “Don’t ever touch me again. Understand?”

She searched his tight features. Did he mean don’t touch him, period? Or only when he had nightmares? But she had a feeling she knew which. “Yes. I understand.” Then she said softly, “If there was a way I could help ease those nightmares, I would. Who was she, the one who did that to you?”

He went motionless for a second before his expression contorted into a mocking one. “I don’t need
that
kind of help. With females it always comes with a price. Don’t expect anything more from me, Eve.”

Her temper flared. Is that what he thought? Okay, maybe she did want him, but that didn't mean she’d chase after any man.

“Did I ask you for anything?” she snapped, “I don’t have to be an empath to get your ‘keep off’ message loud and clear, Reynner. You wear it like a damn shroud.”

Annoyed, Eve spun away, but he grasped her arm and hauled her back. His taut features a scant inch from hers. “The one who did that to me? Who trapped me in that godforsaken hole? She’s dead. A demoness whom I took great pleasure in beheading before incinerating her. She will never rise again.”

Eve swallowed. The brutality of his words just about stopped her heart. Just about, but it did little to tone down her irritation. “Is that supposed to frighten me?”

“It’d better. I’m not human.”

Yes, she knew that…now. Knew how lethal he could be, too. She shrugged. “I’m not scared of you. Not scared of dying either. I am mortal, I cannot escape that, so your threats hold no substance.”

His gaze darkened at her words. “Don’t push me, Eve. Don’t.”

Unable to bear his touch, she pulled free. “Why are you so angry with me? You’ve painted a clear picture of what you want. So, yes, I got it—you need my help, nothing else. So why?”

His lips compressed. A tick beat hard in his jaw. She wasn't surprised by his silence, it wasn't like he’d open up now and spill all to her.

A movement in her peripheral view hauled her out of her frustration, and she found Aerén heading for them.

“Eve—” His gaze skimmed over her in concern. “You gave me one helluva scare falling off the balcony like that. When Reynner did not come back—” He shook his head as if he expected the worst.

Eve forced a smile when it was the last thing she felt like doing. “I’m fine, Aerén.”

“Take her back,” Reynner instructed Aerén.

He was sending her off with Aerén?

Eve’s heart dipped at how easily he’d dismissed her. She straightened her spine, but couldn’t stop her irritation from spewing out. “Don’t you dare think to shove me off to someone else because you have no answer for me. I’m not some chew-toy for you to toss aside because you don’t like what I say—”

“You sure you want to take me on, little Eve?”

She hated when he called her that in that taunting manner, more that she’d lost her temper. Eve stomped off.

Stopping several feet from the crystal clear water of the plunge pool, she wrapped her arms around her shaky body.

Aerén came up beside her. “You okay?”

She glanced over her shoulder, but Reynner had disappeared. She blew out a ragged breath. “I'm fine.”

“That bad, huh?” Aerén teased.

“I’m sorry. I don’t usually get this mad, but Reynner…”

“No apologies necessary. I’ve been living with him for a few months. This is the most emotion he’s shown, which, trust me, is good.”

And just like that, her remaining anger fizzled out. A pang opened up inside her. If those nightmares were what drove him, no wonder he’d shut down his emotions—shut her out
.

Shut her out?

When had he let her in? The distance Reynner put between them stretched as vast as the universe. It was an expanse he’d never willingly cross, she realized, not after what had been done to him.

“It’s good to have you here, Eve,” Aerén said, pulling her out of an impossible longing, a sudden twinkle in his light eyes.

“Oh, really?”

“Absolutely. Had I attempted what you just did, he’d have drawn his sword on me. To see him faced off by a female made my day. Come, my lady, let’s get you back to the aerie.”

Aerén made her want to smile. It occurred to her then that he was immortal, too.

“How did you get here? I didn't hear you fly down—where are your wings?”

He grinned. “I don’t possess any. Don’t worry, my mode of travel is far safer. You can't fall.”

Can't fall? “What do you—”

Aerén grasped her hand. The next instant, everything around her swirled, spun, and she was sucked into a world of swirling opaqueness, her shriek echoing in her ears.

They took form on the balcony moments later. Eve lurched forward on unsteady feet. Aerén grabbed her before she fell flat on her face.

“Whoa, easy there. Eve, are you all right?”

“Don’t know…when I find my head...maybe.”

“Hold onto me.” He helped her into the living room. She collapsed on the couch, lowered her head between her legs, and moaned as bile fought for freedom.

“Be right back.” Aerén disappeared. Then reappeared a few seconds later. “Here.”

She lifted her head. “What did you do to me?”

“I don’t possess wings, so I had to dematerialize with you. Drink this, it will help.”

A little shaky, Eve took the glass he offered. She sipped the light golden liquid. The sharp sweet taste of ginger tea slid down her throat, making her eyes water. She wrinkled her nose. Ack, she far preferred ginger ale to this horrid mixture.

The queasiness easing, she eyed Aerén. “So you're an Empyrean, too?”

“I am.” He sank on the couch opposite her and propped a booted foot on the pretty, dark wood coffee table, which someone had created from slicing a large tree-trunk in half. “But not all of us acquire wings. Unless one parent is a Fallen from the Celestial Realm. But even that is no guarantee.”

Slowly, Eve set her glass on the table. “What do you mean?”

“When a divine angel and an Empyrean mate, their offspring can be born with wings.”

“Like Reynner?”

“Yes. His father is a divine and consort to his mother, who rules over Ademéras—” Aerén broke off as Lucan walked into the lounge. The air around him shimmered with power.

He stopped a few feet from Eve. “Reynner has spoken to you about the Stone?”

Ugh, she’d far prefer hearing more about Reynner’s life than face this man. “He did, but are you sure I can find this object for you?”

“Yes. It will only respond to a mortal whose blood sings.”

She gave him a dubious look. “Sings? What are you talking about?” She couldn’t even carry a tune without sounding like a dying frog.

“Not literally,” Lucan said, impatient now. “Your lifeblood resonates with the supernatural. It’s a quiet hum that flows in your blood but will vibrate within our psyche if one of us tastes it. Our world fades. We need to find the Stone to restore the balance of magic.”

“I see…” No, she didn’t. She really didn’t. Why couldn’t her blood be like everyone else’s and just carry oxygen to her heart? Eve inhaled deeply, not ready for any of this. She pushed to her feet, needing to keep moving, then stopped. “Wait, does this have anything to do with ‘the mess’ Reynner spoke about? About finding a way to exist in your world? Is your world truly dying?”

Lucan’s turquoise eyes sparked with quiet anger. “It is. The white cliffs of Empyrea have started to fade since the Stone
disappeared over a millennium ago—”

“What he means is that life ebbs from us,” Aerén explained, pulling her gaze back to him. “Children haven't been born in thousands of years. Being who we are, we don’t have many offspring, which only bonded pairs are blessed with. We need to find the missing Stone to strengthen the realm, or our race will disappear.”

“A Stone,” Eve repeated, overwhelmed by all they were telling her.

“Yes,” Aerén said, rising to his feet. “All realms contain magic, even the mortal one. Except it’s not vital to human survival. We require both, magic and light. Our magic stems from the seven mystical Stones of Light, which reside in the white cliffs of Empyrea. With one lost, the link is broken. It’s why we desperately need your aid.”

She stared blankly at him, her mind in a whirl. “How…how can something that important just disappear?”

Aerén’s jaw tightened. “With the ongoing war with the Darkreans’ fight for power, the Stones cannot exist in negative energy.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just have a truce with your enemy, then?”

“Does it work that easily in your realm?” Lucan’s tone dropped to a lovely degree of sub-zero.

Okay, the iceberg had a point. Eve began to pace again, unable to breathe at the sheer enormity of what they were asking of her. “You can’t—you can’t just drop the burden of your dying world on me.”

“So you won’t help us?” Lucan’s expression chilled further.

“Eve.” Aerén touched her arm and stopped her marching. “We’ve searched a long time for you. You are our only hope.”

“I already told Reynner I would help…” She rubbed her cold, damp palms down her dress. “If I don’t find this Stone, if anything happens to your world, I’m not taking the blame for it,” she warned and moved away to stare out the window. God, when Reynner asked for her assistance, she had no idea it would be this immense. Scary. What if she failed?

Then something else clicked in her mind, and she spun back. “You said children haven’t been born in thousands of years…how old are you?”

A twinkle lightened Aerén’s somber gaze. “In mortal years, it’s difficult to determine. Time moves differently for us.”

“Centuries?”

He smiled.

“Millennia?”

A chuckle left him. “So curious. We are a lot older than you are.”

At Aerén’s teasing, Lucan snapped, “If you feel it’s that important to know, we are thousands of years old.”

Eve stopped breathing. These men—agh, immortals, were so old it made her feel insignificant with her few measly decades. Lucan and Reynner appeared to be in their late twenties. But who was counting a few thousand years?

At Aerén’s hint of a smirk, she scrunched her nose. No wonder he’d been amused when she’d so righteously told him that she was older. She must seem a child to him.

“We had no idea which century you’d be born in,” Lucan said, his irritation replaced once more by his glacial demeanor. “So we had to keep searching because the Stone will only respond to you.”

“Yeah, I don’t get that. If something this important belongs to your world, wouldn’t it call to your own kind to find it?”

“No,” Reynner said, striding into the room. “It won't.”

Eve turned, and her heart missed a beat. Dressed in unrelieved black, he took her breath away with that stunning face and shoulder-length sweep of pale hair. Tossing his biker jacket on the couch, his cool gaze met hers.

“It will respond only to the magic in your blood. A safety precaution against it being found by an immortal who would wield it for a purpose other than its original one.”

Bad—evil things, that’s what he meant. Eve rubbed her buzzing temples, surprised she didn’t have a raging headache.

Okay, focus, Eve.
She resumed her stressed walk around the room.

How difficult could this be, finding a Stone?

Eve dropped her hand from her head and discovered all eyes on her. Didn’t that just make her want to run?

“Fine, tell me where it is. I’ll go get it.”

Reynner shook his head. “Searching for the artifact isn’t that simple.”

Artifact
? Wait, that meant it was probably priceless and well protected.
Oh, no, this can't be good.
“For the love of God, tell me I don’t have to break into someone’s home, or worse a…a museum?”

At the heightened silence, her belly rebelled. Of course. Why would it be that easy?

She swung around and stared at the mountains, and just as fast she spun back. “Where am I? Yes, I know you said Exilum. Wait”—she gulped—“are we even on Earth?”

“No,” Reynner answered. “You’re just beyond the veils of the mortal realm, accessible only through a portal.”

The air rushed out of her lungs. “You-you took me away from my world without even telling me?”

“Right, almost unconscious, and in an alley crawling with demoniis is the perfect place for explanations.”

She scowled. “Don’t you dare throw your sarcasm at me. You could have just asked.”

“I
asked—
” A tic worked his jaw. He looked more than pissed. “
You
agreed.”

Aerén stepped between them. “Eve, I promise, it will be okay. I’ll be your protector during the quest if needs be.”

“She’s min—my responsibly,” Reynner’s voice turned cold. Deadly. No hint of the heated fury she’d witness moments ago. “Stay the hell out of this, Aerén.”

“You're upsetting her,” he retorted. “I won't have that.” Aerén turned back to her. “Eve—”

“I'm all right.” Her frustration seeped out, leaving her drained and weary.

When Reynner had asked her in the alley, she had no idea what he truly meant. She realized then even if she had known the facts, she still would have come. He’d been hurt and
that
she couldn’t stomach.

God, what a mess! Rubbing a shaky hand over her face, she turned away, and much to her misfortune met Lucan’s cool, watchful gaze.

“How you came to be here is irrelevant,” he said. “What matters are the scroll and the Stone. Since the artifacts have a symbiotic link, to locate the latter, you must first retrieve the former.”

Eve blinked. “
Scroll?
” Her gaze rushed right back to Reynner. “What is he talking about? What scroll?”

“You did not tell her?” Lucan demanded.

Reynner ignored him. “We know where the damn thing is—”

“Then why didn't you tell me?” she countered.

“Where was the time, Eve?” A growl. “We were attacked by demoniis. I was knocked out, healing. You fell off the balcony—you nearly died!”

When he put it like that. “Fine. Where is this scroll?”

Aerén glanced at Reynner, as did Lucan. No one spoke.

Ack, men! “Please, don’t all answer at once.”

Reynner pushed his hands into his pockets, probably to stop himself from wringing her neck. She folded her arms across her chest, held his stare, and waited.

“The Museum of Natural History,” he finally said.

Her mouth dropped open. “Are you crazy? How am I supposed to steal the scroll from the most popular museum in New York, with a crapload of security, and come out of this without being thrown behind bars for the rest of my mortal life?”

“Stop being so melodramatic. You won’t get caught,” Reynner muttered. “I’ll be with you. Now, we’re leaving.” He snatched his jacket and stalked from the room.

Eve glowered at the empty doorway. The man was maddening, impossible and…and still he drew her like a helpless moth.

She stifled a massive sigh. No matter how mad she was with Reynner, she would get them what they needed… Yeah, break into a museum.

Ugh, she pushed that stomach-turning thought aside.

“Come, Eve, I’ll see you to the front,” Aerén said.

Rubbing a weary palm over her face, she followed him.

***

Reynner stopped at the edge of the balcony and scowled at the forest below him. Eve had to be the most argumentative female he’d ever met. Instead of yelling accusations at him and questioning everything he said, all she had to do was trust him to get her into the museum to take the scroll.

And just how long did it take for her to say goodbye to Aerén?

It sure as hell couldn’t be Lucan who held her attention. His lips thinned at the thought of her being in his prince’s too eager arms. About to go haul her, the sounds of footsteps reached his ears.

“Reynner?”

His gut tightened at the sound of her voice. He turned to find Aerén walking away, and Eve hesitating near the door. He motioned for her to join him with a nod. “Come.”

She bit her lip, her gaze dipping to the ledge.

It hit him then. She was afraid. What the hell was he thinking? She’d fallen off this damn balcony. If he hadn’t been here...
Shit
. Good thing she wouldn’t have to come back here again. Having wings, he needed the balcony railless to take flight and make landing easier.

He crossed to her. “I won’t let you fall, I promise. Take my hand.”

Her chest rose as she inhaled, then barefoot, she stepped out. Ignoring his hand, she clenched the fabric of her dress, instead. “I'm fine.”

Despite her usual “
I'm fine
” answer, he saw the edges of fear in her deep green eyes. The fact she could walk onto the balcony again after this morning awed him.

Well, he wasn’t letting her do this alone.

Reynner untangled her fingers from her dress, grasped her hand, and pulled her close. The bumpy skin from her childhood injuries slid roughly against his palm… Darker memories of manacles restraining him took over—pain slicing through his wrists. The muscles in his shoulders tensed, he forced himself to focus and not push her away. He breathed in her scent, and a calm descended. With his mind, he gathered the light energies of the realm around him. The air shimmered, parted, and the portal opened.

He glanced at her. “Ready?”

Despite her uneasy expression, she nodded, her gaze fastened on the wavering gateway. “Where will this take us?”

“Central Park. From there, I’ll dematerialize us straight to your apartment.” At her strangled breath, he said, “Or I can send you to sleep and do this.”