Dark Alpha's Fury, page 6
“Bollocks,” she whispered.
It had been a trap. But she was a Reaper and could get free. Aisling took a breath to steady herself. She wanted one last look around before she teleported out. Suddenly, a hand clamped over her mouth, and someone hauled her back against a hard body.
“It’s me,” whispered a deep, velvety voice. “Aisling, it’s me.”
She stilled when she recognized Xaneth’s voice. He released her, and she spun to face him. “What have you led me to?”
“Led you?”
There were only pinpricks of light, but she didn’t need to see his face. She heard the incredulity in his voice.
“I followed you,” he added.
She shook her head. “That’s not possible. You were ahead of me.”
He took her hand and pulled her toward a doorway she hadn’t known was there. She tried not to think about his warm hand wrapped around hers or how good it felt. His grip was firm but comforting, strong but tender. Her boot splashed in a small puddle. Water dripped incessantly. Xaneth stopped beneath a sliver of light and faced her. “I’ve been following you since you returned to Kilbaha and came to Roscrea.”
A tight knot formed in her chest. She rubbed at it with her free hand, trying to loosen the anxiety that churned faster and faster. “That can’t… It can’t be.”
“I’ve no reason to lie.”
“How did you follow me here?”
“You said the name.”
Aisling searched her memory. Had she? She couldn’t remember voicing anything.
“Why did you come to Roscrea? How did you know Lena would be here?” As if realizing that he still held her, Xaneth hastily released her hand.
Aisling ignored his quick release and the ache it caused. She fisted her hands, letting her nails dig into her palms to help ground her. “My magic found you in Roscrea. It’s why I came. I figured you’d lead me to Lena. None of that matters now. We can leave.”
“Nay!” Xaneth shouted as he grabbed her and stepped close. He winced and lowered his voice again. “No magic.”
Aisling stilled as their eyes locked. Her heart skipped a beat when their bodies brushed. She wanted to reach up and touch him, to feel him everywhere. He jerked as if comprehending how close they were. He released her and moved back.
He had the ability to cut her to shreds, yet somehow she kept allowing it to happen. If only she didn’t crave his touch with such desperation and so much longing it felt as if she might die.
Somehow, she held his gaze and remembered why he had reacted so violently. “Why no magic?”
He glanced furtively to the side. “We’re not the only ones in this place. Every time a Fae uses magic, they’re killed instantly.”
“Well. Fek,” she said, utterly deflated.
A quick smile curved his lips. “Aye. I said the same thing.”
“Wait,” she said with a shake of her head. “If you were following me, how did you get inside before I did?”
Xaneth sheepishly said, “The guards were focused on you. I used that to my advantage and came inside. Unfortunately, I did it at the same time they led another Fae here.”
“How were the guards focused on me? I was veiled. I still am.”
“Apparently, they can see you,” he said tightly.
She tilted her head to the side as she lowered her veil. “Are you going to finally admit that you can, too?”
“Aye.”
“For how long?”
“Since I escaped Usaeil’s.”
She wanted to ask so much about that, but Aisling decided that now wasn’t the time. “If saw me, then they should’ve been able to see you.”
“As I said, they were fixated on you.”
Aisling fisted her hands in anger as the truth slammed into her. “Lena led me here. She knew I would follow you. She wants the Reapers.”
“She wants you.”
“Nay, she wants you.” Aisling was reminded that she was Xaneth’s weakness. After swearing not to put herself in such a position, that was exactly where she found herself. “She doesn’t know you’re here, though, right? That means we have an advantage.”
“For now.” Xaneth ran his hands through his hair as he looked to the side. “It was pure luck that I found you when I did. I had to get to you before you used magic.” His gaze slid back to her.
“Then I owe you even more.”
“Why do you think you owe me for getting you off the battlefield?” he asked, his brow puckered.
She shook her head in dismay. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“I don’t. Please, explain.”
“You saved me. I was dead.”
His face smoothed as he stared at her in silence. He said nothing, did nothing. Simply stood. Finally, after a long minute, he said, “That’s impossible.”
“I breathed my last on that battlefield. I remember every second of it. The pain, the…panic.” She glanced away at that admission. “I tried to call out to someone, but I couldn’t. So, I looked at the stars. Then, everything went black, and the pain left. The next thing I knew, I woke up in a cave alone. Why did you leave?”
He took a step back and ran into the wall behind him. Xaneth kept shaking his head in denial. “I can’t. I didn’t. I couldn’t have…done that,” he said with a wave of his hand toward her.
“You did.”
Xaneth turned away and scraped a hand over his jaw, the sound of his palm rubbing across his whiskers loud. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t really care, but I’m thankful for whatever you did.”
He turned his head to her, raking her with his gaze. “Wouldn’t I know if I had done that?”
“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Why did you leave me there alone?”
“If it was me, Lena can’t know,” he said without answering her question.
Aisling realized that he didn’t plan to answer her. But she had something else to ask. “Why were you following me?”
“There’s a bounty on your head,” he said as if that explained everything.
“I’m a Reaper. I can take care of myself.”
“I know.”
She quirked a brow, wanting more than ever for him to admit why he had trailed her. “Then why follow me?”
“I…” He let out a long sigh. “I didn’t want you harmed.”
That was probably as much as she would get. But it was more than she had before. Aisling decided it was time to turn the conversation before she pressed her luck, and he cut off his words again. “How do we get out of here?”
“I’m not sure. I’ve not explored very much.”
Because he had been waiting for her so he could be here to prevent her from dying. Again. Aisling might wish that Xaneth had done it because he cared about her, but the truth was, he would’ve done it for anyone because he was a good guy. It was just who he was.
Aisling shrugged. “Lena set this trap for me. It might be prudent if we split up. I don’t want her finding you.”
“On the contrary, I want her to know I’m here. It’s time this ends.”
Aisling saw the determination in his silver eyes. Before she could reply, they both heard something or someone headed toward them. Xaneth grabbed her and pulled her with him into another corridor. She found herself between the damp wall and his hard body. Her breath hitched at the feel of him against her. He felt better than she had dreamed. Warm and solid. If only she could run her hands over him, learning every rise and valley of his firm sinew.
She lifted her gaze to Xaneth’s face, but he paid her no heed as he concentrated on the sound—something she should do, too, but she wasn’t about to pass up this opportunity. She put the moment to memory, burning it into her brain so she could call it up again and again. She hadn’t been conscious when he carried her before, but she was very much awake now, and she absolutely planned to take advantage of every delicious second.
The strength in his body, the warmth that encircled her, the power she felt radiating from him. He wrapped one arm around her, holding her firmly against him, his fingers splayed on her back. His other hand was against the wall next to her head. His breathing was even, and his eyes laser-focused.
She studied the hard line of his jaw covered in a day’s growth of beard. His lips were so close she would only have to shift slightly and press hers against his. It was only then that she realized her fingers were splayed across his rock-hard chest. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had protected her—maybe one of her brothers when she was very young.
Yet Xaneth acted as her protector, putting himself between her and whatever headed their way. It made her feel special. Worse, something inside her blossomed. Even as she basked in the realization, she knew she was treading on dangerous ground.
Suddenly, Xaneth’s head swung to her, their gazes clashing. He stared at her for a long moment before his glorious silver gaze dropped to her mouth. Her lips parted instantly as heat and yearning flooded her veins. His fingers flexed on her back. In that instant, she knew he would kiss her. She waited breathlessly.
Someone screamed for help as footsteps pounded against the floor, sounding right next to them. A Fae rushed past, her cries for aid going unanswered. A second later, eerie silence followed a strangled scream.
Whatever had held her and Xaneth vanished in an instant.
He released her and stepped away, looking anywhere but at her as he cleared his throat. “It’s better if we keep our distance from others. Just in case.”
Aisling nodded since she wasn’t sure she could find words. She had never felt as cold as she did in that moment. She’d had his heat, his shelter—even if she didn’t need it—and now, it was gone. She motioned for him to go. It took a moment for Xaneth to pick a direction. He continued down the corridor, and Aisling fell into step behind him.
Neither spoke. It wasn’t difficult to hear others in the underground maze, but their cries for help always ended in screams that were cut short. Aisling had no idea how many Fae Lena drew to the manor, but there was no way Lena was wasting them. No doubt she gathered their magic to use as her own. Apparently, lining them up and taking it was too easy. She wanted to terrify them first.
Aisling had no idea how long they walked or even where they were from where they had begun. She stared at Xaneth’s back and wondered why he didn’t want even her friendship. One minute she thought he desired her, and the next, he cut her to the quick. It had never been her intention to feel anything for someone again. The way she was drawn to Xaneth, sought his friendship, needed his touch…it brought up a past that still clung to her like the misshapen fingers of death.
She knew where this road would lead, and yet she couldn’t stop herself, couldn’t keep from falling for Xaneth. But she was broken. No matter what Eoghan said, Aisling knew there was no way to pick up her shattered pieces, because they were gone—ground to dust and scattered on the wind, long, long ago.
Her fekked-up thoughts and emotions were why she wanted something she couldn’t have, something that had never been offered to her in the first place. It wasn’t as if Xaneth had flirted. He’d done nothing to make her think that he wanted anything from her. In fact, he had gone out of his way to tell her to leave him alone. She was the one who had sought to find reciprocated feelings when there were none.
She flattened her hand on her stomach as the truth made her stumble and reach for the wall with her other hand. What must he think of her? How sad and wretched was she to continue seeking out someone who didn’t share those feelings?
So what if he’d saved her? He would’ve done it with Torin had he been beside Xaneth in the battle instead of her. There was nothing between her and Xaneth other than what she had crafted in her head. In him she saw…she didn’t know what she saw, exactly. A Fae with greatness, a man who struggled to find his way in a world that had done nothing but tear him down. A warrior who battled his demons while tackling evil for others.
She saw a good man that she wanted to help. Whatever fantasies she had needed to stay locked in her head—not bleeding into real life. She could aid Xaneth if and when he required it. She would be the friend he didn’t know he needed. That would be enough for her.
It had to be.
Chapter Nine
Xaneth had no idea where they were or where to go. The screams and shouts had long since faded as they moved farther from the entry—at least, he thought they had traveled away from it. For all he knew, they were going in circles, and there just weren’t any Fae left to die other than him and Aisling.
Aisling.
He turned his head to the side and listened for her footsteps. She remained several paces behind him. They hadn’t spoken since he had found himself pressed against her. It had been torture thinking about cradling her against him on Skye, but that was nothing compared to looking down at her and seeing her lips parted and her focus on his mouth.
As soon as he registered that, he’d realized that he held her as if he had a right to touch her that way. As if he knew her body, and she was his to explore. For half a second, he allowed himself to believe that was true—that she wanted him pressing her against a wall. That she looked at him with desire because she craved his kiss.
Even that half a second was wrong. It had given him a glimpse into something he could never have. And that was an agony worse than anything Usaeil had put him through.
Xaneth had separated from Aisling as quickly as he could. But even now, his body had an imprint where she had been against him. Her softness, her curves. He’d tried to ignore how she fit against him so perfectly. Attempted to look past the way his blood heated at her nearness and the need—the hunger—he had for her. But it was useless. No one could disregard Aisling in any capacity. She commanded attention everywhere she went. It was the way she held herself and took on the world and everyone in it as if she feared nothing.
He was so lost in thought that it took him some time to realize that he walked alone. Xaneth halted and spun around. He searched the dim hallway but found no sign of the Reaper. His heart skipped a beat.
“Aisling?” he called as he retraced his steps, his fear growing rapidly. “Aisling!”
“There’s no need to shout. I’m right here.”
His eyes scanned the corridor until he found her sitting on the floor, her back leaning against a wall. Xaneth drew in a relieved breath as he made his way to her. Once there, he looked both ways down the corridor. “What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?” she replied.
Xaneth’s gaze dropped to her in concern. Something in her voice didn’t sound right. He went down on his haunches to get a better view of her face. “Are you injured?”
“From walking?” She snorted and shook her head. “Nay. I’m just tired. We’ve been walking for what feels like days. We’ve not seen or heard anything in a long time. There hasn’t been a door or a room, just more hallways and dead ends. In case you’ve not comprehended, we’re in a maze. The bitch crafted a maze beneath her manor.”
“There’s an entry. And if there’s an entry, there’s an exit.”
“Sure. By death. When was the last time you went this long without using your magic?”
Xaneth lowered himself to the ground on the opposite side of the passageway and rested his arms on his bent knees. “I can’t remember.”
“Exactly. We’re Fae. We are magic. It’s a part of us from the moment we’re born. It’s natural to turn to magic in any situation, especially ones like this. I can’t even call to my friends because the last thing I want is for them to wind up trapped here with us. We can’t teleport because that’s magic, and we’ll get zapped or whatever happens—the end result being death. Lena gets our magic with little to no effort, all the while getting off on terrorizing her kind.”
He watched Aisling. Her words had little anger, only acceptance. Submission. And that would never do. He needed her fighting. With him. “The fierce Aisling isn’t giving up, surely.”
She didn’t immediately reply. Instead, she sat there quietly for a long moment. “I’m not surrendering. I’m stating our reality. In case you’ve not noticed, there’s no food or water. I might be a Reaper, but I’m not immortal. As far as I know, neither are you. That means we need sustenance, and in order to get that, we need to use magic. Which we can’t.”
“There’s a way out.”
Her head rolled to the side as she looked away. “You don’t need to reassure me.”
Was he doing that? All he knew was that the words Aisling said worried him—mostly because they were true. They needed to find a way out quickly.
“This isn’t the first bad spot I’ve found myself in,” she continued. “I deal in reality. I face the facts. Right now, I just want to rest. I’m tired.”
Xaneth extended his legs so one side of his foot touched hers. He didn’t know why he needed the contact, but he did. She didn’t move away, which surprised him. He’d done everything he could to push her away for so long. He’d ignored Death and the other Reapers. But he hadn’t been able to shake Aisling loose. She had relentlessly tracked him, but never abrasively or forcefully. All she had asked of him was to talk, but he hadn’t been able to give her even that. In many ways, he still couldn’t. But they were stuck together for the foreseeable future.
While she’d said that she wasn’t giving up, her words had an undercurrent that vexed him. He had to get her to focus on something—anything—else. Xaneth worked his jaw, trying to think of something to say that would draw her into a conversation he had rejected time and again.
“What’s it like?” he finally asked.
She rolled her head back to him, no emotion on her face. “What is what like?”
“Being a Reaper.”
Her red eyes regarded him for a moment, then she shrugged. “It’s the best decision I ever made. After so many wrong ones.”
He wanted to ask what kind of wrong ones but didn’t. Couldn’t. He was already delving into dangerous territory by talking to her. “Was it painful? Transitioning into a Reaper?”
