Assassin's Kiss (27 page)

She also knew he didn’t deserve to be punished. He’d lived through horrible years with his family under threat and his hands soaked in blood. He’d already paid his dues. If only the rest of the realm could see that.

What would it be like to run away with him? The thought flickered in her mind for all of one second before she banished it. She had responsibilities. Running away was for witches who couldn’t handle their problems, and she was ready to tackle Vespera on their own turf.

She hoped.

Though it would be nice to have an ally. It would be nice to have
him
.

“Watcha thinking about?” He cracked his eyes open to study her.

“You.”

“Good.” One hand came down to pat her ass. “Keep it that way.”

“I forgive you,” she whispered.

He opened his eyes all the way. “For what?”

“For what you did. All of it. Killing Pennar, killing that mage and his mate. I understand the emotion behind your reasons, even if I wish you hadn’t done it. I know we can’t go back and change the past. You were protecting your loved ones. If you hadn’t, you’d have to live with that guilt. I understand you’re not a murderer.”

“Tessa.” His eyes swirled with emotion. “Just when I think I have you figured out, you surprise me.”

“I surprised myself too.” She traced the thick lower edge of his pecs.

“Let’s keep doing that.”

She gave a small laugh, not sure how they were going to do that when they weren’t going to see each other. But she kept it to herself, not wanting to kill the moment. “Okay.” She stroked a hand across his square jaw. “I feel like such a bitch for the way I judged you when you first got here.”

“I forgive you.” His lips tugged up into a smile that was handsome and sexy and full of hidden promises. “Looks like we’re even.”

“Even.” She lay her head down on his chest. It was a clean slate, a reveal of true feelings. In this moment she felt like she belonged to him, and that made her want to jump for joy…

Until real life split open beneath her feet, tumbling her into a dark abyss of her own making.

Her chance at happiness was over before it had a chance to begin.

C
HAPTER
24

T
HREE NIGHTS LATER,
S
CORPIO CREPT
through the dark woods with Orser, Kharv, and several other Bronwy guards. Talking them into a rare night patrol outside the coven’s wards hadn’t been hard. After patrolling outside during the days and inside during the nights and finding nothing, this was the next logical step.

At least that’s how he presented it to Hallon and the guards.

He hadn’t voiced his suspicions, not even to suggest that some random coven member might be working with Vespera. If he did that, Hallon would demand to know the reasons underlying his conjectures, as any good leader would.

The group moved in a methodical pattern. Scorpio didn’t know exactly where Zeebi’s rendezvous with Damien would take place, but his guess was to hang along the western border. That’s where they had been before.

Every twenty minutes they stopped to wait, listen, and stand stock still, observing as well as their witchy senses would allow. So far, Scorpio hadn’t detected anything unusual. They paused now, concealed in a cluster of shrubs.

Still, nothing. No warnings, nothing amiss. Scorpio gritted his teeth, needing to get this issue resolved. No matter how ugly the outcome. He had to proceed with extreme care, lest Zeebi try to pass the encounter off as if she were being forced. Shit. There had been nothing but eagerness in her voice as she spoke to Damien the other night.

These last few days, Tessa and Zeebi had worked with the children and teens, and also raced to complete more metal work. Scorpio and the men had kept up patrols and inspections so thorough, he could draw a map of Bronwy’s land from memory. The only thing keeping his inner demon sane was that each night, he’d been able to sneak into Tessa’s cabin.

His sexy, tough witch welcomed him with open arms as he’d taken relentless pleasure in her body, while her own demand matched his with a ferocity that slayed him. With every kiss, he fell harder for her. With every sated sigh, his soul craved a complete bond with her. But her stubborn resolve never wavered and she remained hell bent on following through with her plan.

Tonight, with indisputable evidence of Zeebi and Damien’s trickery, Tessa would surely renounce the whole ridiculous agreement. If not…a growl started low in his throat. She
would
change her mind. No other option was acceptable.

Beside him now, Kharv took a drink from his water bottle. “Anything, demon?”

“No.” Scorpio cast a glance to the cloudless sky, where the waning moons still provided a decent amount of light. Didn’t matter to him, but it would help the guards see.

“You know,” Kharv said, “for what it’s worth, I appreciate your help. I know that you’re the one who landed us in this mess, but I can see you’re trying to set things right.”

Scorpio slid the male a surprised glance. “I am. I’ll do anything I can to help out.” Kharv was a thoughtful male, not one who jumped to conclusions. But he was also a good guard, catching things other mages missed. He would be a good second in command for Hallon. Not that Hallon was asking Scorpio’s opinion on anything. He stood and reflexively reached for the knives he usually carried, and came up empty-handed. Those hadn’t been returned to him. The witches were content to have him use his demon fire only. “We should move on again.”

“Yup.” Kharv got to his feet and motioned for the others to do the same.

In single file, with Scorpio in the lead and Kharv on his heels, they moved through the trees. Scorpio ducked low hanging branches, grimacing as the males behind him snapped twigs loudly. Maybe he should offer a training session on stealth.

The wind shifted and he held up a hand, signaling the group to stop. He inhaled and caught the familiar scent of peppermint and the heady smell of cedar. Game on.

He angled to the Bronwy guards. The observations they would make in the next minutes were heart-stoppingly critical. “Up ahead. Someone’s there. One witch, maybe two. We need full and compete silence to hear what they’re saying. Move like you’re walking with bare feet on glass. Got it?”

The men all nodded. Scorpio turned forward and picked his way through the brush. In a minute, Zeebi’s voice carried to him, and he prayed she’d talk loud enough so the guards’ ears would pick it up. He stopped the men behind a cluster of raspberry bushes, dropping to his stomach. They all followed suit.

“What do you mean, you didn’t hear anything today?” a male voice asked, filled with irritation and condescension.

“I couldn’t use your listening device because they didn’t have any meetings. Just patrols all day long.”

“You could have tagged along or hung around when they came back. They must have briefed Hallon.”

A scoff. “I was stuck with Tessa and the brats all day. I couldn’t get away. It would look suspicious.”

The smack of skin hitting skin echoed off the trees. Scorpio glanced to the men, who looked back, some with scowls and some wide-eyed. Next to him, Kharv growled. “I don’t want to see a female get hurt.”

“Wait.” Scorpio said.

Sure enough, a feminine purr, then a pleasured gasp, followed. The rustle of clothing being removed, then murmurs from the male.

“You’ll need discipline if you don’t do what I ask.”

“Yes, I will.” Zeebi’s voice rose breathy and excited.

Smack
! “Like that.”

“Again,” Zeebi moaned.

“Is that…Zeebi?” Kharv’s eyes widened.

Scorpio nodded. “You hear what she said?”

Shock flared in Kharv’s eyes. “Listening device? Wanting to learn what we found on patrol?”

Scorpio grimaced. “Affirmative. Fan out and surround. Move in on my cue.”

The men stepped carefully away, some to the left and some to the right. Scorpio waited five minutes, then stood.

Sometimes he wished he could unsee certain things. Other times, he was glad to have years of shoving his emotions in a box, so nothing bothered him.

Because the sight of a naked Zeebi, leaning forward with her hands braced on a tree trunk, was something he didn’t need to see. And fucking her from behind, a man he guessed was Damien, was another thing Scorpio never needed to see. The man’s hand fisted deep in her hair. He remained fully clothed except for his open zipper, and he used his grip on Zeebi to slam her body so hard that her ass trembled with each thrust.

Scorpio shook his head, fists flexing. He wanted to throw both of them in the damn cage he’d been in. Tessa’s own best friend. Fuck.

He glanced around, searching between the leaves and branches, making sure the other guards witnessed this. His night vision was as good as day, so he caught the looks of revulsion on each guard’s face.

They were all in position. Scorpio stalked forward, not bothering to be quiet. “Get your hands off her.”

Zeebi yelped. The man stepped back and flung out his arm in a wide arc. Blue orbs shot from his hand in continuous stream of witchfire.

Scorpio ducked. The Bronwy guards cursed and hurled witchfire of their own. But the male zipped his pants as if nothing were out of the ordinary. The assault from Bronwy stopped midair and fizzled out, much like it had near the rowan tree.

“Well, if it isn’t the Lash demon and his merry mages.” The male smirked. “I see they let you out to play.”

“What the fuck, Damien? Zeebi?” Orser’s voice cracked with disgust and shock.

Zeebi scrambled to pull a dress over her head. “It-it’s not what you think.” Her normally cheerful tone was shaky and strained.

“You better come with us, Zeebi,” Kharv said. “And Damien. You’re violating our agreement for you and your people to stay off Bronwy land.”

Damien examined his fingernails. “This isn’t your land. Did you forget where your borders are?”

“You’re a fucking pig.” Orser spat. “You’re marrying Tessa soon, for fuck’s sake.”

Damien looked from Kharv to Scorpio. “That’s right.
I
am.”

Scorpio growled.

Damien’s smirk grew. “I can’t wait for her to join me in leading Vespera, and in my bed.”

A roar shook the trees, and Scorpio’s feet were moving before he realized the bellow came from him. He charged Damien, his vision turning red with hatred. He had no words, only the primal urge to eliminate threats to his mate.

Damien summoned a ball of witchfire that started small and quickly grew to a menacing six foot orb. It hurtled toward Scorpio. He flung two balls of demon fire at it, but they only bounced off.

He dropped to the ground. The thing whooshed over his head and smashed into a massive oak tree behind him. The bark hissed and the trunk creaked under the blow.

Scorpio glanced over his shoulder to the blackened tree. Smoke wafted from the impact site. He leaped to his feet and started toward Damien again.

“You don’t like to give up, do you, Watcher?” Damien growled. “Here. These should keep even you occupied.” His mouth moved with rapid words and he gestured to the ground, then swept his hand up.

The hair on Scorpio’s neck stood up as dark magic seethed through the air. He was close, only six feet from Damien, but a surge of blue mist suddenly loomed between them.

The other guards called out curses and spells and warned Scorpio to get back. Fuck, no. He had to get to Damien. He’d snap that asshole’s neck—

A screech pierced the night. The blue mist separated into…creatures. Twenty stick-like, vaguely humanoid things that stood on two legs and fought like devils.

Mist wraiths.

They could be killed, but only with a direct hit to their core. A strike to their ice-cold pseudo limbs would only cause the part to regenerate. And they were insanely fast. One wrapped its hands around a guard, who choked as the deceptively strong hands crushed his throat. But Kharv was on it, flinging a ball of witchfire at the thing’s back, hitting it squarely. It disintegrated with a whimper.

Scorpio hurled demon fire at the two nearest ones and they dissipated in a frosty mist. He dove through the space they left, moving toward Damien. But the mage was opening a portal. Its shimmering ring vibrated before him and he moved closer.

Zeebi lunged for Damien, grabbing a fistful of his shirt. “Wait for me!” she shrieked.

But with a sharp jerk of his arm, he shook her off as if she were a bug. Her body flew backward into a cluster of bushes right next to where he had just been inside her. Then he stepped into the portal without a backward glance.

Scorpio skidded to a halt, unable to get in. The portal ring shrank in nanoseconds, and was gone. He turned to stare at Zeebi.

“It-it’s not what you think,” she whispered again.

She was such a bad liar. “Then what is it?” he snarled.

“He made me,” Zeebi said in a small voice. She even mustered the audacity to force tears. Her eyes darted over his shoulder, his only warning before icy hands grabbed his neck.

He turned with effort, ignoring the subzero burn of the wraith’s touch. The welts it left would heal. He needed to kill it before his air supply ran out. Summoning fire, he shoved it into the wraith’s belly. With a poof, it was gone.

Taking a second to draw a deep breath, he saw the Bronwy guards similarly engaged. Ten wraiths remained. Someone needed to lock down Zeebi.

He stepped toward her, or where she had just been, and cursed. She was gone. He scanned the trees, seeing nothing. And in the next blink, another wraith latched on to his arm.

“Fuck!” The things were tenacious. The point of them was to overwhelm with numbers. He pried it loose and summoned a ball of demonfire, only to have the wraith dematerialize. Cold breath at his back was his only clue that it was now behind him. All around him, the guards were dealing with the same shit.

Scorpio whirled in a fast spin to confuse the thing. The second he stopped, he threw his fire ball at its core. It went down, but another loomed in its place.

Gods, these things were a pain in his ass. Angry shouts from the men mixed with yelps of agony as the wraiths sunk their chilled hands into the mages’ flesh. They wouldn’t heal quickly like Scorpio. They would need Inga’s intervention to prevent loss of limbs from frostbite. Scorpio couldn’t leave them. By default these men were his team now, and they would be at a huge disadvantage without him.