FALL (The Senses) (28 page)

“Where the fuck is she? I swear
to god, I’m going to crucify you.”

“Well, best wait until I show you
where she is.”

Damien’s fingers clenched then
his body tensed as if he was experiencing some sort of pain.

Xamien looked up at Delara. “
I’ll
meet you for breakfast shortly.”

As a Reflection the emotions
pulsating from Damien had to be overwhelming, pushing like a bulldozer at
Xamien’s shields. Even she could feel Damien drowning in rage, sorrow, fear,
excitement. There were just too many emotions going through him. Delara knew
there’d be some kind of repercussion at some point.
“Be careful, Xamien.”

Xamien raised his brows as he
glanced up at her leaning over the balcony.
“Not to worry Kitten, Damien has
only tried to kill me once.”

****

Damien followed Xamien up a
stairwell from the kitchen. He felt as if he hadn’t taken a single breath since
the moment he began to smell Abby’s distinctive scent in the house. It was
different now, more vamp than witch, but still Abby. His Abby.

His nerves vibrated as the click
of the key unlocked her room. He didn’t even wait until Xamien pulled the key
out before he was shoving the door open.

“Damien, be caref—”

He kicked the door closed in
Xamien’s face.

If it wasn’t for his need to see
Abby, he’d have killed his brother the moment he arrived. But the words kept
repeating in his mind, overtaking everything—she’s alive.

Her scent was everywhere. Across
the room on the back of leather couch was her bright-red sweater. It was the
one she’d worn the day he’d met her. Her shoes were lying next to the window,
the heels she wore to Liam’s bar that night he’d taken her to the cottage—in
other words…into hell. 

God, Abby was alive. All this
time. He still had trouble wrapping his mind around it after nine hours on the
plane ripping his hair out.

So much rage swirled within him
since Danielle told him. On the plane, he’d spent half his time in the washroom
throwing up and splashing cold water on his face to try and stop himself from
losing control. One incident on a commercial flight and they’d be landing the
plane before they reached Spain.

His pulse leapt and he closed his
eyes briefly when he heard movement in the next room.

He had so much hatred for those
that deceived him. They told him Abby was dead. Who “they” were he didn’t know
at the moment. Damn it, he thought she was dead. The nightmares. The anguish
and grieving. It was all for nothing.

His Abby was alive. The woman
that tore him apart and yet made him live.

He remembered her smile. Her
pain. There’d been so much pain. Months of her suffering as the vamp blood
tried to make her Transition. The miscarriage. The nights when she went crazy
with blood thirst trying to kill him. The mornings when she lay exhausted and
still as death.

Her begging him to end her life.
The one moment he died inside as she walked away with Waleron.
His
begging. The sound of his voice screaming for her.

The moment he knew he loved her.
The moment he knew he’d lost her.

“Abb.”

A gasp. He recognized the lilt of
her voice, even though it was a mere breath.

Slender fingers curled around the
doorframe. She had beautiful fingers. They rested on his chest so many times in
that cottage. It was months of torture for them both. In the beginning he had
wanted to leave her and her torment, yet he was unable to actually do it. And
in return he got agony that stole his will to take his next breath
every
moment since she’d left him.

A lock of red hair showed in the
doorway.

Then, ever so slowly, she came
into view, her body hugging the door frame as if afraid to let it go lest she
fall. No smile. No movement towards him. But her expression said all he needed.
Her eyes were wide with recognition, her lips were parted as if she’d just
taken a deep breath and then there was the glistening in her eyes. There were
no more moments he could bare to be apart from her.

“Christ, Abby.”

A single tear slid down her cheek
and he swore he heard it land on her bare neck with a light ping. Her nails dug
into the doorframe so hard that the wood splintered into tiny slivers and fell
to the floor.

“Abb.” It took him three strides
to reach her. He pulled her away from the wall and wrapped her into his body;
her cheek pressed against his chest while his hand stroked her head and he
whispered soothing words over and over again.

The relief to have her in his
arms was too much to bear. He slowly brought them to the floor and leaned
against the wall. Their legs entwined as he cradled her against him while she
sobbed. He kissed the top of her hair then rested his chin on her head,
smelling the sweet memorable scent of her as his body relived the time they
spent together.

All his emotions surfaced and he
let go. He let go of the fear of never holding her again, the anguish of being
denied her soft, caressing voice, the fury at having her taken from him just
when he’d discovered her.

He pulled her in tighter, lowered
his head into her neck, and cried.

Chapter
12

“Where is Damien?”

Delara dropped her coffee and the
mug shattered on the ceramic floor. Xamien shoved his chair back and stood.

Waleron appeared in the doorway,
his eyes narrowed and cold as ice. She knew how it looked, her and Xamien
sitting in a quaint nook having coffee together.

“Waleron. I assume you’re here to
settle the misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” Waleron
strode towards them until he was standing so close that if Delara reached out,
she could touch him. “Your friend, an unpredictable rogue assassin Senses who
has no qualms about killing anyone who pisses him off, blatantly told Danielle
that Abby was alive and that she was to inform Damien.”

“There was an incident and—”
Delara began.

Waleron cut her off. “Damn it
Delara. No
incident
surpasses my word. What am I supposed to do now?
Tell me. Because I am at a loss. Now, the whole Talde knows and if Trinity
hears or the Wraiths—” He ran his hand over top of his shaved head. “She is
considered a danger to Senses, humans, witches—she is a liability. She broke the
law.”

The Wraiths finding out Waleron
never killed Abby would solidify them believing he was acting irrationally.
“Then why did you let her live?” Delara asked.

Waleron stood stoic, but Delara has
known him for centuries—intimately—she noticed the twitch in his muscles. And
she also knew he didn’t have an answer, at least not one he’d care to share.

God, why couldn’t she get close
to him again? What would it take to get rid of the barrier that kept them
apart? Damien’s worlds played in her mind and she wanted so desperately to
believe in them. To not give up on Waleron. But it was nearly impossible when
he kept so much of himself a secret. But she had to try. Yes, it was her turn
to
try
.
She would fight for them both. Maybe then the Wraiths
could see that separating them would only cause further damage. Genevieve was
right; Waleron didn’t have anyone to protect him. Well, now he did. She’d fight
the Wraiths. No way in hell they were taking away his Taldeburu.

Xamien said, “Abby remains
unnoticed by the Wraiths due to a spell on the house. They cannot detect her
here.”

“Where is Damien?”

Xamien gestured to the back
stairwell. “With her. He’s been there for hours.”

Waleron strode to the stairs. No,
he can’t take Damien away from her again. Delara scrambled out of her chair and
ran at Waleron before Xamien had the chance to stop her.

“No. Pez, please. Let them have
some time.” She gripped both his forearms and he looked down at her fingers
curled into his black shirt. When his eyes reached hers, she saw the cold ice
barrier protecting him, the steel wall that refused to melt and let her in. He
was pushing her away again. “No, Waleron. Don’t. Please. Not now. I need you.”
His coldness penetrated her skin and she realized that telling him she no
longer trusted him could’ve been the axe that finally separated them. She
dropped her hands and stepped back. She needed another way.
Damn it, Waleron
let me in.

Waleron wouldn’t meet her eyes as
he addressed Xamien, “Is she safe?”

She inhaled sharply. Oh god, no.
That wasn’t fair
.
Waleron wouldn’t.
“Damien, Waleron is here.”

“Good. I can kill him and my
brother at the same time.”

Xamien tensed at Waleron’s
question, he raised his chin and met Delara’s eyes before he answered. “Ask me
that yesterday and I’d have said yes. Today...” he sighed and his shoulders
dropped a minute amount. “She attacked Max. Bit her neck. It’s been the only
incident, but I can’t say she is safe and I don’t know why it occurred.”

Waleron turned to go up the
stairs. No. He might not believe in love but she did and Damien loved Abby. Delara
felt like she was fighting for her and Waleron through what he did now to
Damien and Abby.

“You do this and I will never
forgive you.” She would, but she needed some way to reach him. He was
destroying the love around him as if…as if he had to abolish it.

He paused.

“Kitten, perhaps this isn’t—”

She ignored Xamien and pushed
Waleron more. “There will be nothing left of us.” The muscles in his back tensed,
but he didn’t turn around. “I said I didn’t trust you. What I meant is that I
don’t trust that you’ll never leave me, but I do trust that you will never harm
me. Ever.”

Waleron spun around with fury on
his face. She smelled the scent of rage shifting uneasily in the air and it
took everything she had to remain where she was.

“Waleron,” Xamien warned.

Waleron stepped closer to her
until the bottom of his chest was up against the top of hers. She moved backwards
until her spine hit the edge of the table. Waleron followed, his hand grabbing
the back of her neck to hold her steady. “Like this,” Waleron said.

“Jesus, Waleron. Cool it.” Xamien
came towards them, but stopped when Waleron lifted his hand and a blaze of
energy pulsated from it, ready to be flung.

You won’t hurt me.
Her words repeated as the snake on Waleron’s neck awakened, the red
eyes beaming, the sleek body slithering across his skin. “
I know you. I know
you won’t hurt me.”

“You know nothing about me. If
you did, you’d hate me.” Waleron suddenly let her go, spun on his heel and
walked in the opposite direction of the stairs and Damien. “Xamien, let’s talk.”

Getting beat down emotionally was
the hardest part of fighting. Delara hurt like hell.

****

Xamien led Waleron into his study
and shut the door. He was pissed. Delara didn’t need this shit from Waleron. “What
the fuck was that?”

“Leave it, Xamien.”

“You hurt her, you initiate a
war. With me.”

“I said, leave it.”

“I’ll leave it as soon as you
acknowledge what I’m telling you.”

Waleron nodded then walked over
to the window, parted the curtain and peered out into the garden. “You’re at
risk now,” Waleron said. “The Wraiths and witches are bound to find out she is
alive. Not to mention what Damien might do.”

“As are you. More than ever.
They’re already are trying to find an excuse to take away your Taldeburu.”
Xamien put his feet up on his desk and leaned back in his chair. “But this
might have a positive outcome. I suspect the majority of Senses will be in
favor of Abby remaining alive. If they know, they’ll stand behind us.”

“And if it goes to council?”

Xamien uncrossed his ankles and
dropped his feet to the floor. “The witch Mariana and Genevieve will side with
you and Zurina.”

“I’m uncertain what Zurina will
do. She fought me on Tarek’s execution. He is free today because she believes
he deserved a second chance.”

“Yes, but I understand she stood
behind your decision on Balen’s release. Zurina detests death, just as she
fought against you for Tarek’s death, she will stand beside you on Abby
living.”

“Abby drank the vamp’s blood on
purpose. It was not an accident.”

“What? Are you kidding me? Why
the hell would she have done that? Word was it was a drunkin’ mistake.”

Waleron half-turned towards him,
his expression grave. “It matters little why. But if the council ever finds
out, there will be no judge and jury.”

“Christ,” Xamien said. “I will
also attend council if it comes to that.”

Waleron’s brows rose. “You have
refused to sit on council for centuries. Why is this so important?”