The Darkest Whisper (35 page)

“I'm fine. I'll heal. How are you?” His gaze raked her, taking in every bruise and cut. A muscle ticked below his eye. “I should have taken him down when I had the chance. He hurt you.”

“I'll heal,” she said, parroting him as she threw herself into his arms. “I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?”

He grunted, even as he kissed the top of her head. “I love you. There's nothing to forgive, darling.”

“I wimped out. I let your greatest enemy go. I—”

“No, no, no. I'm not letting you blame yourself for this.
I
let him go.” He cupped her jaw. “Now tell me what I want to hear. What I need to hear.”

“I love you, too.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, his relief palpable. “We're staying together.”

“Yes. If you'll have me.”

“What do you mean, if I'll have you? I told you, you're first in my life.”

“I know.” Slowly her lashes lifted and then she was peering up at him, tears now streaming freely down her cheeks. “You gave up a victory for me. I can't believe you did that.”

“I would give up anything, everything for you.”

“You really do love me. You mean it. Won't grow to hate me, won't let war come between us.”

“Is that what's been worrying you?” He snorted. “Darling, I could have told you those things.”

“But I wouldn't have believed you. I thought winning was the most important thing in your life.”

“No. That's you.”

She smiled radiantly up at him. But that smile faded as the murmurs of the other Lords filled her ears, reminding her of what she'd done. Or hadn't done. “I should have told you to lock him away forever. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. He needs to be stopped, I know that, but there at the end, I just couldn't bring myself…couldn't let you…I'm so sorry. Now he's going to cause even more trouble.”

“It's all right. It's all right. We'll deal with it. We've severely handicapped their army.”

“Not sure how much good that will do us. Galen found Distrust,” Anya said. “He's trying to place the demon inside someone else's body, hoping to create an immortal soldier he can control. He was pretty confident about his success.”

Distrust, once Sabin's best friend, Gwen remembered. If Distrust were on her father's side, would Sabin be able to hurt whichever body it resided in? No matter what kind of destruction that person inflicted. She didn't want her man faced with the same type of decision she'd just had to make.

Sabin smoothed a hand through her damp hair. “I don't know what I'd do,” he said as if he'd read her thoughts. “But I do now understand how difficult your decision must have been. If you need that bastard free to make you happy, then free he'll stay.”

“Hey,” several of the warriors muttered behind him.

“We get a say in that,” Reyes growled, rifling through the pockets of the fallen Hunters.

Gwen sighed. “I'll come to terms with his capture, I know I will. Seeing him for the first time was just too shocking to process. Don't worry, though. Next time I'll do better.”

“Yeah, but worrying is what I do best.”

“Not anymore. Loving me is what you do best.”

“That's the truth.”

“Let's go home,” she said, squeezing him tight. “We've got some kids to soothe, artifacts to find, Hunters to kill and a box to destroy. After you love the breath out of me, of course.”

O
NCE THEY WERE HOME
, their injuries healed, they were able to make love like wild animals. Afterward, Gwen had too much energy to sleep. She popped up and started jumping on the bed, daring Sabin to do something about it. He propped himself against the headboard, watching her through bright, amused eyes.

She
tsk
ed under her tongue. “Look at you. Just sitting there, unable to keep up with a little girl who—ahhhhhh.”

He'd kicked her legs out from under her, sending her tumbling to her back. Grinning, he dove on top of her. “Who's the tired one now, huh?”

She was laughing as she rolled him over, her hair falling around them like a curtain. “Not me, that's for sure.”

“Let me see what I can do about that.”

And he did.

A long while later, she found herself snuggled back into his side, having trouble catching her breath. “So what's next, hmm?” she asked, happier than she'd ever been. Who would have thought Gwendolyn the Timid would hook up with the fiercest Lord of the Underworld, throw herself into the midst of a war, and like it? Not her, that was for sure.

For the moment, though, things were calm. All the
couples were safe, secure and reunited. The women (and Legion) were finding new homes for the children, both the ones Gwen had captured during their Budapest battle and the ones they'd rescued from Hunter High. Anya even had a favorite, the one she called “Ghost Boy,” and Gwen suspected the goddess would place him with a loving family here in Buda, where she could keep an eye on him.

Torin was searching for the people on Cronus's list, and the other warriors were plotting ways to find Galen—and Distrust. Gideon was still healing; that would take a while. Legion disappeared periodically, and both Paris and Aeron were acting strangely.

“What's next with us?” Sabin asked. “Well, after my heart starts beating again, I'm going to crawl my way down your body and—”

“No,” she said with a laugh, batting his hand away as he tickled her stomach. “With the Hunters.”

He sank deeper into the mattress, his arms tightening around her. “Danika thinks Galen is going to try and pair Distrust with the woman in the painting with him. If he succeeds, it's gonna be a free-for-all when it comes time for the next battle. They won't merely try to injure us, they'll go for our heads. They'll
want
our demons free so they can pair them with new hosts of their choosing.”

She'd suspected that, but still shuddered. “Brilliant of my…Galen, to place a piece of your beloved friend inside the body of your enemy.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn't have expected anything less from the man who fathered you. Your sisters wouldn't happen to have come into their powers or whatever it is, would they? If so, maybe we can convince them to stay.” Sabin traced hearts along her spine. “I've heard that every
Harpy develops some sort of ability after living a few centuries. An ability like time travel. It'd come in handy, that's for sure.”

“Only Taliyah. She can shift into other forms, as her own father could.” Talking about her race was becoming easier. She
wanted
Sabin to know about her.

“Even better.” He sighed. “We've gotta find those artifacts before Galen does. If he hasn't already found one. That snake-whip…the more I think of it, the more it reminds me of the creature that was guarding the Cage of Compulsion. The same kind of creature that supposedly guards each of the artifacts. As he's the keeper of Hope, I don't think he'd have any trouble convincing even a monster to help him.”

“If he has one, we'll just steal it. I mean, you've got a Harpy and the goddess of Anarchy on your side. The odds are in your favor.”

He chuckled. “Maybe you and I can visit the Temple of the Unspoken Ones. Something there told us about Danika, the All-Seeing Eye. Maybe whoever—whatever—it was will help us find something else.”

Gwen traced her finger over his chest, loving the contrasting tones of their skin. “And if we find those people listed on the scrolls, we can convince them to help us. You don't have to worry about Doubt causing trouble. He knows I'll spank him.”

“That he does.” He kissed her temple. “But yes, I'll do anything—within reason—to win this war, including convincing criminals I helped incarcerate to help me. And actually, that should be easy. After all, I convinced the fiercest Harpy of them all to give me her heart.”

“And would you do anything—within reason—to keep that Harpy happy?”

“Don't you know it.”

“Do I?” She grinned up at him. “Prove it.”

“My pleasure.”

She was on her back in the next instant, giggling like a schoolgirl, her body and soul Sabin's, just the way she liked it.

Aeron—Keeper of Wrath

All-Seeing Eye—Godly artifact with the power to see into heaven and hell

Amun—Keeper of Secrets

Anya—(Minor) Goddess of Anarchy

Ashlyn Darrow—Human female with supernatural ability

Baden—Keeper of Distrust (deceased)

Bait—Human females, Hunters' accomplices

Bianka Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Gwen

Cage of Compulsion—Godly artifact with the power to enslave anyone trapped inside

Cameo—Keeper of Misery; only female warrior

Cloak of Invisibility—Godly artifact with the power to shield its wearer from prying eyes

Cronus—King of the Titans

Danika Ford—Human female

Darla Stefano—wife of Dean Stefano; Sabin's lover (deceased)

Dean Stefano—Hunter; right-hand man of Galen
dimOuniak
—Pandora's box

Galen—Keeper of Hope

Gideon—Keeper of Lies

Gilly—Human female, friend of Danika

Greeks—Former rulers of Olympus, now imprisoned in Tartarus

Gwen Skyhawk—half-Harpy, half-angel

Hunters—Mortal enemies of the Lords of the Underworld

Hydra—Multiheaded serpent with poisonous fangs

Kaia Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Gwen

Kane—Keeper of Disaster

Legion—Demon minion, friend of Aeron

Lords of the Underworld—Exiled warriors to the Greek gods who now house demons inside them

Lucien—Keeper of Death; leader of the Budapest warriors

Maddox—Keeper of Violence

Pandora—Immortal warrior, once guardian of
dimOuniak
(deceased)

Paring Rod—Godly artifact, power unknown

Paris—Keeper of Promiscuity

Reyes—Keeper of Pain

Sabin—Keeper of Doubt; leader of the Greece warriors

Sienna Blackstone—Female Hunter

Strider—Keeper of Defeat

Tabitha Skyhawk—Harpy; mother of Gwen

Taliyah Skyhawk—Harpy; sister of Gwen

Tartarus—Greek, god of Confinement; also the immortal prison on Mount Olympus

Titans—Current rulers of Olympus

Torin—Keeper of Disease

Tyson—Human; ex-boyfriend of Gwen

William—Immortal, friend of Anya

Zeus—King of the Greeks