Kindred of the Fallen (33 page)

“I need a few more minutes.” She grazed his smooth, clean-shaven face with her cheek.

Heat churned inside of his body. He burned with need, having gone so long without being inside of her. “You are exquisite.”

“You’re sweet, but I think love has blinded you.” She turned to go back into the bathroom, but he reached out and brought her back close.

“Quite the opposite, love has opened my eyes to the truth in the world. You move me. Every time I look at you, whether you’re sleeping or eating or the face you make when you have an orgasm, it all moves me.”

She blushed as he folded his arms around her, pressing his body against hers. He ran one hand down her lower back and cupped a supple buttock. With the other, he peeled her robe over her shoulder. He bit the tender, fragrant flesh of her neck, wanting to devour her, to consume her body with the heat of his until they were both on fire.

“We’ll be late,” she said, pulling away and tugging her robe up.

Cyrus snagged her belt, keeping her sensuous body close. “I’ll be quick. I need to feel your warmth, to be inside you.”

Lowering her head, she stiffened. “You said yourself tonight is about us spending time together as a family. Abbadon has been looking forward to it and even Talus is excited to go. It wouldn’t be fair to everyone else if we were late.”

With a stifled groan, he released her belt. Not only was she right, but she was putting the best interest of the family above their own need. She made his life complete, gave his existence meaning. They should be one in every way possible.

“We should be sealed, officially, as mates,” he said, smiling. “When we return to House Herut, I don’t want you to be known as my consort. I want you to be my
uxora
, my wife.”

“Return to Herut?” She drew back. “For what? A visit?”

“No, to live. I’ll be called to serve soon.”

“Live in the Himalayas?” Her eyes grew wide as she inched away from him. “What about my tattoo studio?”

“To serve on the Council means I have to be with our people.”

“You never said anything about leaving New York. I’ve worked really hard to get my studio going. We’re finally at the top of the industry. I can’t walk away from it. And you expect me to trade in Manhattan for the Himalayas?” She gave a shaky chuckle, tightening her robe.

His breath faltered, heart stuttering for a moment. “I hoped you’d trade it all in for me. I’m asking you to marry me.”

Her cheeks sagged and her mouth flattened. Barbed wire sliced through his gut, embedding in his intestines. He wondered if the feeling was hers or his.

“I could give it all up, and I would, if I could be sure.”

“Sure of what?” His whole world hung in the balance on that one question.

“You’re willing to die for the beliefs of Herut. Duty is always calling and always comes first. I can’t help but wonder if you’re proposing as a way to convince me to have a baby.”

A harsh laugh scraped past his lips. Her strange behavior the last few mornings at last made sense. “That’s the reason you pull away from my touch. The reason you make excuses not to lay with me, nothing to do with my well-being and your concern for me to get enough rest.”

“Cyrus, you started out trying to manipulate me and our relationship by becoming Evan’s client, following me to learn my likes and dislikes so you could ensure success in courting me. You’ve made it very clear how important this redeemer is to you and your House. I can’t help but wonder if this is another tactic.”

He shook his head in disbelief. She doubted his love. “I would never trick you into a binding covenant or to have a child.” He staggered back toward the door.

“You’d do anything for Herut.” She spat the words as if declaring him guilty of a crime.

“That’s not true, but I would do anything for you.” The gravity of his statement stole his breath, the profundity of the truth sinking in as he pressed into his heels, moving away.

She reached for him. “I love you, more than I thought possible to love another, but I need to be sure that you love me more than Herut.”

He’d put her happiness ahead of his, her dreams before his, her needs above his own. “I’d die for Herut and for what I believe in. But I’d also die for you.” Adjusting his suit jacket, he ran his hands down the lapels. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” he said, then closed the door.

His heart shrank and hardened as he straightened his posture. Offering to be sealed had been his way of proving his love. To show her how much he wanted her, needed her. Regardless of a child or redemption, he’d asked for her hand in a binding covenant until death.

He had sown the seeds of her misgivings. Now thistles had sprouted between them. Her doubt was his own fault and he’d have to find a way to weed it out.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Wearing a purple chiffon V-neck dress, Serenity entered the great room. The men looked dapper in their dark suits. Cassian had traded in his usual converse sneakers for boots. Talus wore a smoky-silver suit that had a subtle sheen. She even had a matching helmet.

Cyrus drove the Maserati sedan. Serenity sat beside him and Abbadon took a seat in the back. Talus rode a motorcycle that matched her outfit, the one she called the Indian, and let Cassian ride the red Ducati.

They rode out in front of the car, racing each other a little for fun. The Ducati could’ve easily blown the other away, but Cassian didn’t go more than a couple of feet ahead of her.

“It was nice of you to let Cassian ride a bike along with Talus,” she said to Cyrus. He didn’t respond. As she stroked his thigh, he met her gaze for a moment. His feelings receded somewhere in their stream, hiding from her in the current.

He took her hand, kissed it and put it back on his leg. She wasn’t sure if it meant he’d forgiven her for having doubts, but at least he wouldn’t deny her his affection.

A full, orange-red, blood moon glowed in the cloudless sky. The layers of color were spectacular.
 

She shifted in her seat from excitement. Lincoln Center was close to Central Park, where she used to live. After all of her years in the city, she’d done everything Manhattan had to offer, except the Met, the ballet or the symphony. Seeing a matinee Broadway show alone was one thing, but going to Lincoln Center was an event. Evan had always been too busy and she wanted to share the experience with someone. Now, she had a whole family to share it with.

She turned to Cyrus. “You didn’t know I was in New York until Neith told you, right?”

“Yes.”

“Why did you build the house here?”

“Some of us are assigned different sectors of the world from which to operate a company or accomplish a mission. I was given the Northeastern United States and put in command of a Herut team of
vadeletori
, the warriors you’ve met. There are other Kindred from Herut dispersed throughout this region for different reasons. I thought about establishing a residency in Washington D.C., but I was drawn to New York. The landscape in Valhalla appealed to me for the house.”

“If they plan to call you to serve the Council, why did they send you here?”

He smiled. “The Triumvirate gave me this temporary position to appease me. The House of Herut can be…stifling. They wanted to keep me happy.”

“Must be nice to be so special.”

He glanced at her. “Not always.”

“You haven’t accepted the seat yet. We don’t have to go Herut. We can build a life here away from the House.”

Clothes rustled in the backseat, and she recalled Abbadon was in the car.

“We can’t stay here indefinitely. It wouldn’t be safe,” Cyrus said.

“Can someone leave their House whenever they like?” she asked.

Cyrus shook his head. “To live in a House takes discipline for there are rules and politics, but also rewards. The wealth of the House provides for all within it. Some are called to serve and given positions of honor within the House or sent out in the world to serve another purpose. If you’ve chosen to live within a House, you have to get permission to leave. But if someone has already accepted a call to serve, then they don’t ask for permission.”

“Why not?”

“Accepting the call binds you to the House by a blood oath,” Abbadon said from the back. She looked over her seat at him. “To even ask for permission would be an insult. To leave,”—he shook his head—“you forfeit your life.”

She faced forward, regretting her poor timing to question the way of Kindred.

They arrived early enough to have a glass of champagne before heading up to their box seats on the first tier. The bustling murmur of the well-dressed crowd, chatting and getting to their seats stimulated her senses.

“Are you familiar with Mahler’s sixth?” Abbadon asked her.

She sat in between him and Cyrus. “Not at all.”

“It’s quite moving. Mahler said his sixth would pose riddles that could only be solved by a generation that had received and digested his first five. I believe he was right. Pay close attention to the last movement when fate overcomes our hero. It’s nearly perfect. The shattering coda is terrifying. Mahler leaves you with no sense of hope,” he said with a sad smile.

The utility truck pulled up to the front gate of Cyrus’s estate. Evan slipped on the gloves he’d been given. Twelve guys in black gear seated in the vehicle checked their weapons.

“Cyrus must have a sophisticated security system.” Evan wondered how they’d crack it.

“We’ve tested the sensitivity of the system to figure out the right frequencies to get in.”

A loud beep resounded from up front. “Got it,” Jagger said.

The gates swung open and they pulled up the drive.

“How can we be sure how long they’ll be out?” Evan asked.

“This is the one night of the year we can be certain they’ll all be gone for hours. We’ll be in and out, and long gone before they get back.”

The back door of the van opened and everyone moved out. Artemis hooked her arm around his elbow and guided him to the front door. Jagger set up a machine next to the security keypad. A series of red lights flashed as he typed on a mini keyboard.

“Take the truck around back to the rendezvous point,” Artemis said to one of the men.

“What are we doing here?” Evan asked.

With a beep, the lights turned green and the front door opened.

Artemis smiled and shoved Evan inside. Jagger plugged into another security panel and typed using two fingers on the hand with the cast. Evan spun in a circle, taking in the opulent foyer. He knew Cyrus was loaded, but this was a custom-built mansion with refined detailing.

“Why are we here?” Evan demanded, fed up with the secrecy. He’d proven he was committed. He’d even taken a leave of absence, after Rupert had suggested it. His string of sick days from the office already had the partners whispering, from what Sarah could gather from the rumor mill. And when he was at work, only one thing consumed his thoughts: Serenity with Cyrus, Serenity with an evil monster that had to be stopped.

During Rupert’s little talk, he hadn’t been able to pull it together, knowing the possibility of partner had been on the line. The offer to take a leave of absence had been a surprising relief.

Artemis clamped a gloved hand on the back of his neck and directed him to the stairs. “You are going to search each room until you find which one is hers. Scour through her belongings and show us which items are her favorites: handbags, shoes, jackets, clothing. Anything she wears often.”

Evan stopped on the landing in front of a stained glass window. “Why?”

She turned to Jagger. “Hurry up!”

“Almost got it. Almost, almost, done!”

“Good. Now go find the security room, you know what to do and be careful of secondary tripwires.” She looked at the man wearing a neck brace who always carried a sword. “Krieg, find the safe, check walls and fireplaces. And Stone,” she said to the guy in the blazer, “you’re with us. Make sure the others keep a sharp eye.”

With a hand, Artemis prodded Evan to go upstairs.

He stood rooted in place. “Why?”

“The less you know for now”—she tapped his nose with a finger—“the better. You said you were willing to do anything. Trust me when I say this part is easy.” She extended an arm, hand pointed up the stairs. “After you.”

The concert had started with big, heavy strings. Serenity sat through the performance, stealing glimpses of Abbadon’s face during moments she experienced great emotion to see if she could detect any on his. He sat a little straighter or leaned forward ever so slightly at certain parts, but none of it was the reaction she’d hoped to see. Well into the performance, the chords turned eerie. A hint of sadness washed over his face as he scooted to the edge of his seat.

A beeping noise, like a watch alarm, went off behind her. Cassian whispered something to Talus and got up. Talus grabbed his arm, but he managed to make it out of the box. She followed him. A minute later, she came back, took a knee next to Cyrus and whispered in his ear.

“All right, go try to catch up with him,” Cyrus said. “If the threat is real, don’t engage. I want you to observe and wait for us.”