Darkness Surrendered (Primal Heat Trilogy #3) (Order of the Blade) (47 page)

Ana dropped beside Lily. Her friend’s face was ashen, and her skin cold. “Lily!”

Elijah set Gideon down beside Lily. “Gideon’s still alive, but barely.” He set Lily’s hand in Gideon’s. “He needs to take her into the healing sleep, or they’ll both die.”

Quinn knelt beside them, Grace wrapped around him tightly, using her touch to keep Quinn grounded. “I did this. I killed him.” His face was grim.

“Not yet.” Elijah opened the mental links between himself and Quinn, sending his healing power to Gideon through their blood bond. Quinn did the same. Ana could feel the strength flowing into Gideon, but she could see from the expressions on their faces that they weren’t reaching him.

Elijah swore. “It’s not enough. He’s too far gone. He drained Lily’s power to stay alive and there’s nothing left of either of them.”

“Let me help.” Drew hobbled over to them, leaning heavily on Vaughn for support.

Ana tensed, not quite able to see that familiar face as Drew and not Ezekiel...until she looked into his eyes and saw only wisdom and strength. No evil.

Drew knelt beside Gideon. “I’m myself,” he said, his voice heavy. “But some of Ezekiel is still within me.” He braced himself on the floor, and Ana could see he carried so many brands on his arms that they were a jumbled mess. “I think I have his healing power. Let me try.” He looked at Quinn and Elijah, weariness etched on his features. “Take me into his mind through your blood bond.”

The older Calydons didn’t argue for a second, and she felt them both reach out to Drew and connect with him, bringing him directly into Gideon’s mind, into his body, into his soul.

Elijah felt Drew’s power the moment he touched minds with him. It was a good, strong power. He sensed Dante’s presence within him...but he also recognized Ezekiel. A darkness...a loneliness... Drew carried with him more than some of Ezekiel’s powers. He carried Ezekiel as well. Son of a bitch. How much was still in him?

Drew closed his eyes and concentrated. Elijah felt the warmth of his healing strength flow through him and into Gideon.

It was pulsing with life, exactly how it had felt when Ezekiel had healed him. It was good...but there was a darker element in there as well. Elijah looked around the room, and studied those Calydons of Ezekiel’s who were still standing. As Elijah watched, their faces contorted in pain, their wounds opened and more blood poured out. They went down to the ground, writhing from pain from injuries that hadn’t been there before—

Elijah frowned and looked at Gideon. His wounds were healing, color returning to his face. His grip on Lily tightened as Gideon instinctively brought his
sheva
into the Calydon healing sleep to heal her as well.

Elijah felt the moment Gideon’s healing was complete, and he jerked his gaze to Ezekiel’s Calydons in time to see them stiffen in the throes of death and then fall still. One disappeared quickly, an old Calydon, and the others simply died.

Drew broke the connection and grinned. “It worked! Gideon healed!”

Gideon’s body was flawlessly healed. Elijah noticed that Quinn’s was as well. He looked down at himself and saw no injuries at all. Drew had healed all three of them through the mental bond they’d been sharing while he had healed Gideon.

Quinn looked at the newly dead Calydons, and then he raised his brows at Elijah.
Those guys were fine before Drew healed us.

Yeah. I know.

The rest of the Order was struggling to their feet, and Ian was holding the body of the young woman he’d tried to save, the woman who had looked like the
sheva
Elijah had killed. The anguish on Ian’s face was devastating, and he stumbled numbly toward the door with her, not even looking at the rest of the Order, utterly consumed by his grief.

“Ian—” Elijah reached for him, and Ian growled at him, stopping him in his tracks.

Ian’s eyes were the deepest pits of black hell and anguish, the edges of them glowing blood red.

Elijah slowly held up his hands in a gesture of acquiescence. “Okay. I’ll back off.”

Ian snarled again and then stumbled out the door, the woman’s hair dragging on the ground as he disappeared down the hall with her.

Ana slid her arm around Elijah, and he looked down at her. Her brow was furrowed with worry.
Drew robbed the others of their healing power to save Gideon, didn’t he?

Elijah nodded.
His power didn’t come from himself. He harvested the power of others. That’s not how our healing power works. We heal ourselves from within.

Drew’s smile faded and he looked at Elijah, and then Quinn. “What’s wrong?”

He doesn’t even realize what he did to the others.
Elijah set his hand on the kid’s shoulder. “You need a mentor, Drew.”

Drew’s eyes widened. “Are you offering?”

“The three of us are,” Quinn said. “Elijah, Gideon and myself. We’ll train you.”

Drew whooped with delight and turned to Vaughn. “Did you hear that? I’m going to be trained by legends!”

Vaughn’s eyes narrowed in resistance, and there was no look of pleasure on his face as he acknowledged Drew’s jubilation.

Quinn met Elijah’s eyes.
Drew is even more powerful than his father. He could be the new leader we’ve been searching for.

Elijah nodded.
Perhaps
. Drew might be their future leader, but he was also...hell...who knew what he was?
Or he could become the Order’s most powerful enemy. He could be the death of us all.

Ana’s arm tightened around Elijah’s waist, and he threw his arm over her shoulder and tugged her against him. She smiled at him, linking her arms around his waist. “I think you can handle him. He’s just a kid. Easy for the male who just brought down Ezekiel and clawed his way out of hell all on his own.” There was a smile in her voice, but also complete and utter confidence in him.

He shook his head. “No, I didn’t do it on my own. I did it for you. With you.” He cupped her chin as his smile faded. “I swear on my life, Ana, that I will stand by your side forever. Destiny can do whatever she wants to try to pull us apart, and I won’t give in.” He bent and kissed her.
I believe.

Her arms went around his neck as she kissed him back.
In what?

In how much I love you. In how much you love me. I believe in us.
He knew by the rush of warmth and love from her that she did, too, before she even said the words. But he still wanted to leap for joy when she said them.

I’ve always believed in you, Elijah. And I’ll love you forever, no matter how many other men I bond with.

He scowled at her muted laughter in his mind. “I don’t think we need to test it again, thanks so much.”

She grinned. “Afraid?”

“Hell, yeah, I’m afraid.” He caught her face in his hands. “Not of hell or going insane. Been there, done that. The only thing that truly scares me now is losing you.”

Her silver eyes filled with love and she laid her hands over his. “Then you can stop being afraid, Elijah, because I’m not going anywhere. There’s nothing left to fear.” There was a wisdom in her eyes that said she knew exactly how he’d lived the last five hundred years, living in terror of his demons, and he realized she was right.

With her by his side, there was truly nothing left to fear.

His demons were gone, and he saw by the look of contentment in her eyes that hers were, too. She’d accepted her dark side, and she’d learned that it could be her greatest gift. Neither of them were alone, and they’d both faced their worst nightmares and survived. She’d used her illusions to try to kill someone, and she was at peace with it.

She smiled and entwined her fingers with his. He raised their hands and pressed his lips to the back of her hand and knew he had finally found his peace.

***

Ana woke up to the sounds of birds, the scent of the forest, and the feel of a heavy male body wrapped around her. She smiled as she snuggled more deeply against Elijah, basking in the warmth of his strong body against hers. She rubbed her hand over his forearm where it was wrapped around her belly.

She traced the outline of his throwing star, knowing every detail of it, having stared with happy, googly eyes at the brand on her own arm for the last week.

They were camping out in Dante’s fishing shack and had been there for over a week. No more walls and bulletproof glass for Elijah.

Not anymore.

He’d already put his condo on the market, and he was negotiating with Quinn to buy some of Quinn’s several hundred acres of woods, so he could build his own cabin. Freedom for the man who’d lived behind bars for five hundred years.

He stirred against her. “
Our
cabin,” he mumbled. “Not mine.”

She smiled. “Good morning, my love.”

“You sleep okay?” His voice was still heavy with slumber, relaxed and calm. Satisfied. She knew now that when he was sated and relaxed, his voice almost purred with contentment. It was a sound she had a feeling he hadn’t made in a long, long time, but there’d been a lot of it over the last week.

“Yep.” She’d slept for almost two straight days when they’d finally arrived at the shack. Forty-two hours of sleep, and not once did an illusion rise. It was as if facing her illusions, using them to try to kill Ezekiel, and then being able to stop it at will had eliminated her fears. Yes, she had the talents of a dark Illusionist, but she knew now that it didn’t own her. She was still herself, and she always would be.

Elijah nuzzled through her hair and began to kiss her neck. “Feeling rested?”

Heat spiraled to her belly and she smiled. “I’m always rested enough for—”

There was a knock on the door, and Elijah swore. “Go away!” he growled.

Someone snorted and the door opened. Elijah yanked the sheet up over Ana a split second before Quinn poked his head in. He gave them both a cheerful smile, completely ignoring the fact that he was interrupting them. “Drew’s here.”

Elijah scowled at him. “For?”

“For training.”

Elijah groaned. “Already?”

“Already. We need to manage him now, while we still can.” The humor had left Quinn’s gaze. “He’s getting stronger by the day, and Ezekiel’s taint is still heavy within him.” He shook his head, a look of frustration on his face. “We still can’t locate Ian. He has literally vanished since he walked out of Ezekiel’s place with that woman in his arms.”

“Fine.” Elijah swore softly. “Give me a minute, though.”

Quinn’s eyebrows went up. “A minute alone with your
sheva
? No chance. You won’t be out for hours.” He folded his arms and leaned against the doorframe, clearly stating his intention not to leave until Elijah was with him. “Let’s go. Gideon’s already out there, and Grace is pacing outside, wanting some quality time with her sister. The honeymoon’s over, kiddos.”

Elijah hauled Ana to him and kissed her hard and thoroughly, not holding back even though Quinn was waiting.
I love you, Ana. I’ll be back as soon as I can.

I love you, too, Elijah.
It wasn’t his words or his kiss that made her heart soar. It was the way he opened his soul to her and let her feel how much he loved her, the way his heart beat for her, the utter commitment in his soul. The man who’d stood by her that night outside the Gun Rack would always be there for her,
always
.

And she believed it.

He broke the kiss and studied her face, his green eyes intent. “I believe.”

And she knew he did.

The male whose entire existence was based on destiny had had his faith replaced by something else. Something stronger.