Destiny Disrupted (24 page)

When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the cot. I wasn’t sure if I was happy to be alive or not. But I
wasn’t
happy to still be trapped in the damn Underworld.

The guards returned and escorted Sutton from her chamber again to go feed the demon. She waved at me as she passed my cell. “Plan B?”

I faintly smiled. “Yeah. Guess Plan A was an epic fail.”

She nodded, and the guard on her right shoved my sister forward.

Wilting into the cot, I closed my eyes and went back to sleep, dreaming of home, my friends, and my family.

Someone inhaled sharply. “Shiloh?”

I opened my swollen eyes and gazed through the bars. “Hmmm?”

“Who the hell did this to you?” A hazy figure wrenched open the cell door and rushed over to me. He stepped closer with his nostrils flared. “Oh, Shiloh.”

“Are you…real?” I whispered.

Trent nodded grimly. “What did those bastards do to you?”

I blinked and my head lolled to the side. “It was…Caym…he…”

He fell on his knees beside the cot, his eyes wild. The torchlight flickered across his face, hollowing out his cheekbones. “I swear, I didn’t know they’d resort to this!”

“Help me,” I pleaded.

Trent bowed his head, jaw tight. “Of course. Anything for you.” His face leaned close to mine and his warm breath grazed my cheek. “I’ll be back in two seconds.”

Trent shimmered out of existence. My eyes closed and I concentrated on breathing.

In...one...two...three...

Out...one...two...three...

True to his word, Trent returned carrying a small vial filled with a purple substance, and clean clothes draped over his arm. His face hovered over mine again. His palm was a warm pressure on my neck as he cradled my head with one hand. “Shiloh, I need you to sit up and drink this. It’s a medicinal tonic and will heal your injuries.”

“No. No more demon poison.” My voice sounded weak, reedy.

“Dammit, Shiloh. This is
not
demon blood or any type of trick!” His face was in my hair and he was breathing hard. “This isn’t what I wanted. You have to know that. It’s important you understand.”

I had no idea what he was talking about. Nor did I care. He lifted his head and his green eyes were glassy with tears. Good or evil, right or wrong, I still loved him. And equally hated him.

Trent used his fingers to pry my lips apart, and poured the tonic into my mouth. It tasted like spoiled wine. I managed to swallow it, then he gently laid me back down on the cot. The potion worked fast. A chilling fervor engulfed my veins and my body trembled, as if seized by a nasty fever. My bloody and bruised flesh began healing itself. The gashes on my back, thighs, and arms diminished into smooth, unbroken skin. After a minute, the pain had completely left my body.

He tossed a blue T-shirt and jeans on the ground near my bare feet. “Put those on.”

I didn’t bother asking where he’d gotten them. I stood and Trent turned his back, so I could strip off my filthy clothes and slip on the clean garments. When I’d finished dressing, I sat on the cot.

Trent glanced at the ceiling. “Caym! Caym!” he shouted, his voice vibrating with power.

The demon shimmered into the cell. He stood in the entrance, backlit by torchlight, his cloak flowing like the skim of a shark through water. “Yes, my prince?”

“You had no right to disobey my direct orders.” Trent spun on his heal, his stare drilling into the other demon. “You weren’t supposed to harm her!”

Caym was quiet for a moment, then lifted his chin. “I did it for your own good. Your love for this witch is the only thing holding you back. The only thing keeping you from accepting your true destiny.”

A fireball appeared in Trent’s hand, and Caym’s expression went slack and he backed away.

“Shiloh
can’t
die. Otherwise, I won’t help you wage a war against your enemies. And you’ll never get your vengeance on the Forsaken.” Trent’s tone was deadly soft. “I want Shiloh alive and the next time you betray me...” He flung the fireball near Caym’s head and it struck the wall, exploding into a fiery stain. “I won’t miss.”

Caym bowed his head. “I understand, my liege.” He shimmered out of the room again.

“Already having problems with your loyal subjects?” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Guess your leadership skills need some work.”

His mouth pressed into a hard line, and he sighed heavily. “It seems you’re my Achilles heel, Shiloh. Caym and the others think you’re the only thing causing me to hold onto my humanity. And that without my love for you, I’d finally embrace my darker powers.”

“Fight it! You’re headed for big trouble. Let me help you. Shimmer us out of here and let’s go home, and talk to Evans,” I begged.

“I’m already in big trouble.” His soft tone sounded anguished. “I’m in love with a witch, who doesn’t love me anymore.”

I shook my head. “That’s because everything’s changed.”

“It doesn’t have to,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Shiloh. Please. You’ve got to believe me.”

He gazed at me, his eyes rimmed in red. He seemed so helpless. So scared that I wouldn’t forgive him.

“How do I know I can still trust you?” My voice was low, and my eyes clouded with unshed tears. “You lied to me!”

He tucked his hands under his arms. “I told you once that some lies are necessary.”

“Whatever that means!” Hot tears streamed down my cheeks. “Do you even care about me? Or was it just some sick, twisted, demonic thrill?”

“What?
No!
I would never do anything to hurt you.” Trent reached out for me, but I stumbled backward.

“Just keep your distance.” I raised one hand to hold him back. “I wanna trust you, but I don’t.”

He stepped closer until my palm was flat on his chest and the pounding of his heart pulsated beneath my hand. “Then let me prove it to you,” he said. “Stay here with me. Please.”

“No.”

My other hand struck him across the face, a hard slap that rocked him back on his heels. He massaged his cheek, more in shock than pain. “What the hell?”

“I’m not stupid! I know it was
you
.” My blood was pounding in every vein. “That’s for having your thugs kidnap me, torture me, and, oh yeah, for basically ruining my life!”

He moved closer again and kept his eyes fixed on mine, hardly blinking. “Shiloh, please.”

I tried to shove him away. He didn’t budge more than an inch. Stupid demon strength. “I don’t want to hear any more lies, Trent. I want nothing to do with you now.”

He closed his eyes, and a myriad of emotions crossed his face. When he reopened them, his expression was grim. Black eyes gazed back at me. “I don’t believe that.”

“Try. The trust between us has been broken. You’re not a full-fledged demon, so I guess you can lie your ass off,” I said, my voice quivering. “And when I get out of here, I’m gonna do what I should’ve done a long time ago, which is vanquish your sorry ass!”

But my threat was hollow. I wasn’t sure I had it in me to kill the love of my life.

He frowned and a muscle ticked in his cheek. His ebony eyes clouded, and I caught a glimpse of green within their dark depths. His humanity was peeking through.

A flicker of hope—born of a single speck of green iris—began to grow in the center of my chest.

“I’m trying
so
hard right now, Shiloh. I still love you.”

“Your kind of love is warped.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve risked my life for you, Shiloh. I’ve put myself in mortal danger by joining the Nocturne. More than you could possibly imagine because I want to try and figure out how to make this work between us.”

I shook my head and leaned back. “How? It’s not like good and evil can work together.”

“Oh, really? We did before I decided to join the Nocturne.”

“Well, I’ve learned from my mistakes.”

Trent hung his head. “So have I. So why can’t we be together?”

“Because you’re going to rule the Underworld!” I rubbed my temple. “I-I thought I could save you…but it’s too late, Trent.”

He met my eyes with a look so primal, my body shivered. “Don’t
ever
say that! I’m doing all this for you.” His tone was a mixture of booming thunder and darkening power, striking my body like an invisible blow.

My scalp prickled and every hair follicle on my body rose, as I stumbled back a step.

Moving unbelievably fast, he took me in his arms, clinging to me, as if I were a life preserver and he was a drowning man. The brush of his lips was tentative at first, a leisurely caress of his mouth against mine. Every muscle in my body clenched up, but I didn’t pull away, and Trent moaned softly, sending tremors along my spine. He kissed me, brushing his fingertips over my neck in a slow sweep. The rest of the planet fell away. None of our problems disappeared; they were only put on hold while we held each other.

His mouth covered mine hungrily, and my lips parted on a gasp. I leaned into him, hardly breathing for all the desire building in my blood. He deepened the kiss with a nudge of his tongue. My senses exploded, firing in every nerve, and my resolve shattered. The kiss was explosive. My heart fluttered violently, and a yearning so deep, it shook my body to the core rushed through me. I tugged at the hem of his shirt and the kiss intensified into a slow burn. Trent hauled me closer against the solid expanse of his chest, the heat of his skin nearly burning me through our clothes.

When Trent broke the kiss, he leaned his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. “Now…I’m totally confused,” he murmured.

“I, uh, I don’t know why I kissed you back.”

I gazed into his face, searching for the boy I fell in love with. But he was long gone.

His stare was two shiny black orbs, reflecting the torchlight from across the hall. “I know why. You still love me. You can deny it all you want, but you’re only lying to yourself.”

“No,” I whispered. “Please, don’t kiss me again. I can’t think straight when I’m in your arms.” I moved closer to the cot and tried to regain control over my reeling emotions. “Just let me go home.”

“I can’t do that.” He stepped away from me and leaned on the wall. “If I free your sister, will you consider staying here with me? Helping me rule my people?”

“These aren’t
people,
Trent. They’re demons…” My heart pounded high and hard in my throat as I stared at him. “Oh, god. H-how did you know about Sutton?”

“I have my spies. The thing is, Caym doesn’t realize it yet, and we both know that when he does figure it out, he will kill your sister.”

The big question was how
long
had Trent known about Sutton?

“Are you actually blackmailing me?”

“That’s such an ugly word. I prefer to call it shrewd negotiations.” Trent moved incredibly fast. Demon fast. I hardly had a moment to react. His hands tenderly cupped my cheeks. “Make the right choice.”

“Trent. Stop it!” I jerked free of his arms.

He stepped away from me. His shoulders rose and fell as if he was striving to regain control over his raging emotions. It seemed as if we were at war with ourselves and unsure how to express all the turbulent feelings coursing through our veins. I was stuck in the middle of an ancient war between immortals and demons. Love and hate. Dark and light. When it came to picking sides, the wrong choice might cost me my life.

“Believe me, I know what it feels like to have good and evil battling inside you, shredding your insides—”

“No, you don’t,” he said. “Not anymore. You may be released from the
Darkness
, but I never will be.”

I hung my head and let the tears fall.

“Look at me,” Trent whispered, gripping my shoulders. When I managed to lift my head, his lips hovered over mine, our breath mingling. “We belong together.”

“Let me go, please,” I begged.

“Never.” Trent leaned down, his eyes obsidian, and pressed his body against mine. One hand tangled in my hair and the other was gripping my wrist.

“Stop it, Trent. No more kissing, it only confuses things.”

I needed time to sort out the emotions tumbling through me. I pushed him back, but it was like trying to move a cement wall.

Trent loomed over me, his tattoo glimmering in the flickering torchlight. “You’re so damn stubborn! Why are you fighting your feelings for me? It’s stupid!” His hands curled into fists at his sides, as if he was itching to swing out and put a dent in the wall beside him.

“I’m the one who’s stupid? You went and weighed the ups and downs of being a good guy and decided it was more fun being a villain!”

“You know that’s not it.” Those black eyes glowed with tiny pinpoints of emerald. Again, his humanity made an appearance. If only I could…

I reached out with a tentative hand to touch his shoulder, tracing his demonic tattoo with my fingertips. “If you really love me, then take me home.”

“That’s not possible now.”

“Did you know I’d been in this dungeon the whole time? Did you order that demon to kidnap me?”

He turned away without answering. “I will always love you,” Trent whispered.

Those passionate words tore my heart apart. They ripped through my very soul.

“We can’t be together now. Not like this,” I said. “You’ve made your choice. You’ve chosen demons over me.”

He whipped around. “Shiloh, I’m telling you, I’m not evil. Please just have faith in me.”

I stared at him. My boyfriend. My lover. The Prince of the Underworld. Leader of the Nocturne. Everyone had been right about Trent. There was no way to save him. It had to be his choice all along. I couldn’t make that decision for him. And he had made the wrong one.

“It’s gotten too complicated. Maybe you’re not evil on the surface and maybe not even in your heart. But somewhere deep inside you,
Darkness
is lurking, and you can’t ever change that.”

“Keep moving, girl!” a gravelly voiced called out.

We moved away from each other. Footsteps thudded down the corridor. Sutton had returned.

Trent’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Where does this leave us?”

“I have no idea.”

With a slight nod, Trent shimmered out of the chamber. With my heart breaking, I crawled onto my cot and sobbed.