Saven Defiance (The Saven Series Book 4) (47 page)

And I’ve slept with both of them.

I know, it’s the most ridiculous thought to enter my mind at this moment, but it’s what pops up. Now Dante’s earlier taunting makes sense.

Slowly, Ax raises his hand to his face and removes the pink contacts covering his eyes. Stunning, ocean-blue eyes—eyes that are all too familiar—stare back at me, and I gasp.
I’m such an idiot!
I spotted the resemblance when Ax was in “disguise” the day of our rescue from Saven, but I never made the connection. Then again, who would? I thought he was wearing blue contacts when the whole time he was wearing pink ones.

Logan doesn’t know where to look or what to say. His entire system is in turmoil. Channeling serenity, I send a flurry of emotions through our connecting line, trying to calm him down. While the fallout of this revelation is massive, it doesn’t detract from the fact that we’re now caught between two equally unappealing prospects. Both Dante and Rhys want us for their own agendas, and short of splitting us in half, I don’t see how this can end well.

The odds are not in our favor.

A flash movement out of the side of my eye catches my attention. The Tor girl has been slowly edging closer to Dante, and now she stands at his back with her weapon jammed in his spine. “Release Rhys or I’ll kill you.”

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Dante snarls, prodding Rhys firmly in the gut with his weapon.

Rhys oomphs. “How about this?” he suggests. “On the count of three, you back up to your side and I’ll back up to mine, and then we can discuss how best to resolve this situation. I’m sure we can come to some amicable arrangement.”

“Tell your soldiers to lower their weapons and we have a deal.”

Rhys nods at his soldiers and they lower their weapons. “One …” he begins counting, “two, three.”

Both men jump back. The Tor girl sidles up to Rhys as the soldiers line up their weapons again. Behind us, Dante stands with Advisor Mellor surrounded by his guards, who now have their weapons pointed at the Tor soldiers. Unfortunately, for me and my friends, we are now firmly entrenched in no man’s land, surrounded by enemies on both sides. My heart beats erratically in my chest.

“Here’s the way I see it,” Rhys begins. “Ultimately we both want them dead. So let’s shoot them now. Right here. You’re not that bothered about the girl, so give her to me. To appease Griselda.”

“
I
want her dead.” The Tor girl lances me with her murderous gaze. “And I want to be the one to do it. For Alinka.”

So, she’s Alinka’s sister. Go figure.

“Terra,” Rhys says. “You know why we need her alive. I promise you that when she’s served her purpose, you can be the one to end her, but, for now, she needs to come with us.”

“I have my own plans for them. All of them,” Dante replies coolly. “So no deal.”

“I’m sorry you see it like that. I guess I’ll have to take matters into my own hands then.” Rhys narrows his eyes as he raises his hand in some unspoken instruction. “I wanted to bring them alive to Griselda, but you leave me no choice, Dante.”

The blue dot widens on Logan’s forehead, and horror engulfs me. Without pausing for thought, I throw myself in front of him at the same time Haydn does. Ax roars.

Haydn knocks us to the ground as the weapon deploys. His body is heavy on top of me as a crescendo of gunfire breaks out. The hiss of electric shots ping off the tunnel walls as the Tor soldiers trade gunfire with Dante’s guards. We lie huddled on the ground, trapped under a barrage of deadly artillery. Blue beams burn a hole in one side of the tunnel wall as complete chaos descends.

Bits of debris shower us from above. More shots ring out, crisscrossing over our heads. Screams and shouts are bandied about. Fire whips through me, screaming for release. The bands tighten around my wrists as blood pounds through my body.

“Crawl over to the side,”
Logan silently instructs.
“Keep your head low.”
His body moves slightly underneath me.

“I can’t move. Haydn has me pinned.”
I’m plastered on top of Logan, and Haydn’s pinned to my back, his solid weight nearly crushing all the air in my lungs. I try to wiggle a little, but my efforts are restricted.

“Haydn,” Logan hisses. “Move!”

Something wet and warm slicks over my temple, trickling down my face. Logan’s wide eyes and ashen pallor sends shockwaves through me. “Axton!” Logan calls out, twisting his head to the side. “We need your help!” His tone is panicked, and I’m terrified I know why.

All of a sudden, the pressure is gone, and I suck in greedy lungsful of air. Logan rears up on his knees, taking me with him. He shelters me with his body as he lets out an anguished cry. With huge trepidation, I turn around.

Ax is crouched over an unconscious Haydn. Haydn is lying flat on his back, and a sheen of sweat slicks over his forehead as a darkening spread of blood seeps out from underneath him. “No!” I cry, crawling over beside him. My body trembles with barely restrained power. Heat pools in my wrists, straining against the deflective bands.

Creaking, screeching sounds shatter my eardrums as the shaft of the tunnel starts to buckle on one side. There is a momentary ceasefire as everyone looks up.

Bricks pop out of the wall like shrapnel flying out of a cannon. Dust clouds puff a barrage of dense, thick vapor into the air. Debris scatters everywhere, coating us all in a layer of filthy grime. Coughing, everyone runs for cover.

Bending down, Logan carefully lifts Haydn up and over his shoulders. Blood pumps onto his shirt. “We need to get out of here while they’re distracted and before the whole place collapses.” He looks around for the others.

“No, Neve!” Rylan screams, waving his hands about. Dante is fleeing out a side tunnel along with Advisor Mellor and what’s left of his guard.

And Neve is giving chase.

King Coryn is leaning against the side of the crumbling tunnel, supporting his injured shoulder. Blood oozes between his fingers. He looks at his retreating son, utterly dejected.

Neve is shouting insults as she races after Dante. Dread rises in the pit of my stomach. Dante stops abruptly, spinning around to face her, an obnoxious snarl plastered across his mouth. Without hesitation, he raises his weapon and fires off a few rounds. I scream.

Neve pitches forward, dropping down on her knees. Gradually, she falls forward, smashing face-first into the ground.

She doesn’t get up.

Doesn’t move an inch.

Her body is devoid of any life.

“Noooooooooooooo!” I scream inconsolably as something inherent breaks apart inside me. Approaching footsteps advance on us from the other side, but I barely hear them above the blood rushing to my head and a persistent pounding in my ears. Heat licks my inner recesses with ferocious power. My limbs quiver and shake as the beast finally wakes up. Throwing back my head, I let out an almighty roar. Rage and grief battle it out.

Rage wins.

The deflective bands snap, ripping apart in shreds and slivers that free my wrists, releasing uncontrollable power. I wonder if this is what High Elder Jaxa meant when he said to fully trust my instincts and emotions—that it was the key to unlocking the power residing within me
. Has it all been building to this point?
Whatever the explanation, I’m glad to be free of my restraints.

Rhys emits an expletive as I spin around. He makes a run for it with Terra yapping at his heels. Tor soldiers bolt for their lives, stumbling and falling as they race back up the tunnel.

I don’t vacillate.

Flipping my wrists up, I discharge a bright stream of orangey-red fire and aim it at the fleeing Tor. A flaming spurt blasts into Rhys, spreading over his body quickly until there’s nothing left but a charred, smoldering pile of ashes. Extending my arm, I aim my next assault at Terra, incinerating her in mere seconds. Next, I pick off the soldiers one by one until there is nothing left of them.

Silence submerges me. Slowly, I turn around and face my friends. Surging power writhes in my cells. Ignoring Logan and Ax, and Dali and Win, I dash toward Neve. Rylan is bent over her, his body racked with sobs. Huge tears pour down Fern’s face.

As I approach, Neve’s clearly lifeless form reignites the rage inside me. Not stopping, I sprint down the tunnel Dante took, pushing my limbs farther and harder. Logan reaches out to me through our connection.
“Please stop. You can’t take him on single-handed. Come back.”

“He’s dead. I’m going to burn him a little at a time so that he feels every bit of pain. When I’m done with him, he’ll beg me for death.”

“Sadie. Please. That isn’t who you are.”

“He killed Alex and Neve and their unborn child! And Haydn—”

“Haydn is still alive, but not for long if we don’t get him medical treatment. Please come back, Sadie. I want Dante punished as much as you do but not at Haydn’s expense. Or yours.”

My pace slows as I contemplate his words. “Aaghh!” I scream, dropping to my knees and clutching my head in my hands. Gut-wrenching agony ties my stomach into multiple knots. Intense pain viciously whips me. Frustrated, grief-stricken sobs escape my mouth. Logan soothes me through the line, and I force myself up and retrace my steps.

Dante’s punishment will have to wait.

I can’t sacrifice Haydn for him.

We can’t lose anyone else.

Emerging into the main tunnel, I hang my head. Hair drapes around my face like drawn curtains. A rumbling, yawning noise emanates from the tunnel walls as larger chunks of debris start to break off. Flaky particles swirl through the air like pasty confetti. Logan issues coordinates, urging everyone to teleport. Rylan lifts Neve’s body up over his shoulder and teleports with Fern clinging to his side. Ax unties Haydn’s comport and straps it to his own wrist, tapping in the coordinates. His eyes find mine for a quick second before he disappears with Izzy and the king. Logan slings Haydn over his shoulders, and I wrap my arms around him. Dali and Win cling to his other side as the tunnel groans brashly, beginning to collapse in the center, dragging the walls and ceiling into an invisible void. Logan teleports us away just in time.

I plop to the forest floor, exhausted and emotionally numb. Logan places a gravely injured Haydn gently on the ground. He is still unconscious, and a worrying waxen color has invaded his skin. Logan starts pacing, his brain churning at ninety miles an hour as he tries to figure out our next move. King Coryn staggers toward him, and they converse with Dali in urgent, low tones. Fern and I share grief-stricken expressions as Rylan shutters Neve’s eyelids and covers her body with his jacket.

I haul myself to my feet, swaying slightly. The surge of power has withdrawn, leaving empty exhaustion in its place. Ax swings his arm around my waist, helping to steady me. “Thanks,” I say, pawing at his arm. “I’m good now,” I lie.

Slapping his other arm around me at the wrists, he holds me against his solid form in a restrictive embrace. Slowly, he starts backing up. “Ax. Let me go.”

“Never.”

That one word is said with such determination that it immediately freezes the blood in my veins.

“Release her,” Logan commands, stalking toward us.

Something cold presses into my temple, and Logan falters. Ax grips my wrists together, pinching them tight while he keeps the gun poised at my head. “I’d sooner kill her than give her back to you.”

“I know you don’t mean that,” Logan speaks in a carefully controlled voice. “You love her.”

“Yes, brother, I do. And she belongs to me!” His tone is borderline hysterical.

“Sadie doesn’t belong to anyone but herself.”

“You’ve taken everything from me!” Ax roars at Logan. “You are not taking
my
wife
.”

“Ax, please listen to me. It’s t—”

“Baby,” he says, breathing warm air over my skin. “You don’t know what’s best for you but I do. We are going to go home, take care of my mother, and rule Torc together as husband and wife. I’ll look after you forever, and you’ll want for nothing. You’ll see,” he says, caressing my cheek with the side of the weapon, “that it’s what you want after all.”

Redirecting his gaze to Logan, he speaks in a clearer, calmer voice. “I don’t wish to challenge anyone in the galaxy, so if you let me leave without a fight, you won’t get any trouble from the Tor in future.”

“You can’t bargain with Sadie’s future! With her life. What is wrong with you?” Logan’s face betrays his terror and his dismay.

“I can and I will. You think you know her, but you don’t. She’s never been yours, and she never will be.”

Logan drags a hand through his hair. “Axton.” He swallows an anxious lump. “We’re family. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”

Axton’s piercing blue eyes impale Logan. “You’re not my family, and you never will be. Sadie is all the family I need.” He lets go of my hands to push a button on the comport.

My hands are free.

I could end this now.

Logan and I share our thoughts, and they are a perfect match. I can’t use my gift to hurt him because it isn’t right. Ax has lost his way, and we need to try to get through to him.

Using our words.

“You told me you’d never force me,” I say quietly, looking up at him. “But you are. That’s not love.”

His beautiful blue eyes fix on me. “It’s for your own good.”

“No, Ax, it isn’t. Let’s not lie to each other. You are doing this for you. Not for me. Because if you loved me, truly loved me, you would respect my decision, respect my wishes, and you wouldn’t do this.”

“Sadie.” His eyes plead with me. “I need you.”

“And I’m here for you.” I reach up and touch his face. “Always. But I can’t go back to Torc with you, and I don’t want you to return there either. It’s not safe. Stay here.” I cast a fleeting glance at Logan. “You told me you longed for a sibling. Well, now you have one. You are the only real family each other has.”

Ax’s arm has loosened around my waist, enough for me to turn and face him. I peer into his troubled eyes. “This isn’t you. I know it’s only the heartache speaking, and I understand that. But don’t do this. Don’t force me. Don’t leave Logan alone. He needs both of us.”

Ax is silent, his brain clearly anything but. So many differing emotions flit across his face. Everyone is deathly quiet, and you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. A look of determination crosses his face, and everything freezes inside me.