“With her, he could be.” Cassius fired back. “But you have taken that from him, in more ways than one.”
“He killed an entire race,” Timber snarled. “A race I am honor bound to protect. So forgive me for not feeling more gracious right now. I saved his life. For her. Because she is our leader, our Hope. If he comes after her, there will be war.”
“There is always war,” Cassius said his eyes flashing white.
“At least now we are not on opposing sides.” Timber finally broke eye contact and turned to me. “At least now we have her.”
“Bannik will stop at nothing to destroy her.”
“And I will stop at nothing to protect her.”
“You must know I have seen the futures, Timber. Her leaving does not end well, not for any of us.”
Timber hesitated, his eyes closing briefly before he shook his head slowly. “I cannot allow her to be where she isn’t safe.”
Cassius tilted his head as his eyes flashed white. “Perhaps, I can.”
An icy feeling ran through my body, lingering in my temples before disappearing altogether.
“We are at an impasse.” Cassius’s steely gaze never left Timber’s. I was terrified and had no idea what was going on other than I was leaving with a dangerous stranger who thought he had some sort of psychotic claim to me.
I shook my cloudy head.
What was happening?
Apparently, I knew some sort of foreign language and my head still felt mildly cold, like someone or something was inside it.
“Watch.” The voice whispered.
I gulped as Cassius stepped away from me.
What had just happened?
My movements felt fuzzy, unsure.
“We’ll be in touch.” Cassius opened the door wider. “But do not fault me, if Alex comes after her. They are mated — they will die without one another.”
“Tsk, tsk,” Timber scowled. “Telling the little human elf lies. Death only occurs if he loves her and she him… And the siren upstairs, the only thing he’s in love with… is himself.”
I jerked at the truth of his words. Waiting for Cassius to deny it. Waiting for him to tell me to run back into Alex’s arms.
Waiting for that love, I’d so desperately craved from anyone or anything all of my life.
But he said nothing.
“Good evening.”
That was it.
Timber opened the door to a black Mercedes and helped me inside. When he closed it softly behind me, I flinched.
Minutes later, we were pulling away from the only real home I’d ever known.
And seconds after that, I began to softly cry.
My tears, however, were red.
Timber
“HERE.” I SHOVED a white handkerchief in her direction. Naturally, she didn’t take it, she was too busy staring at the blood on her fingertips and from the sound of it, in the beginning stages of hyperventilating.
With a curse, I wiped both her hands and then her cheeks. My hands were quick, my movements precise, though my heart could hardly understand what I was looking at — what I was seeing before my very eyes.
I had seen her.
In my dreams.
I always saw her.
I yearned for her in ways that should be impossible for someone of my kind. I’d confessed to Sariel before his death that I was having visions.
And the angel had laughed at me.
It was the first time I’d ever seen an archangel laugh — especially one as morose and loathsome as Sariel.
“Such a time as this.” He’d repeated the words that long ago had awoken my heart, causing it to beat again in a slow, warm rhythm.
Demons had hearts.
But the connection between our hearts and our spirits had been severed. That was why we were evil by nature. We had no conscience, no nagging feeling when we do something bad. We had no sense of right and wrong.
Power.
Money.
Greed.
Survival.
But mine, mine was awoken, the connection established as if someone had sewn my shadow back to my feet.
Hell. I was the Peter Freaking Pan of my people.
“Here, boss,” Octavian said from the front seat.
He would die later.
For putting Hope in harm’s way by allowing Alex to get free.
Alex. His name left a bitter taste in my mouth — the man had no idea how powerful he was.
His power would destroy everything.
Better he die than risk the lives of all of the immortals — Hope included. He was capable of killing so many — and what was worse? He wasn’t aware of how easily he could be used as a pawn… if someone got ahold of his power, his thoughts.
I shuddered and stepped outside the car.
Hope did not follow.
I didn’t expect her to.
She was scared.
And while I wished I had time to go slow — time was of the essence, so I walked around to her side of the car, opened the door and held out my leather-gloved hand. “Come.”
“But—”
“Hope.” I snarled her name. “You don’t have to trust me, not yet, just know, that I will protect you until my last breath — do you understand?”
“Why?”
“Humans,” I spat. “Always wanting to know the reason, as if the reason will make this any easier!”
“Elf,” she corrected in a small voice, her eyes finally lifting to meet mine. They were a glorious brown, the color of the very earth that had formed her so long ago. The first real human race, until it all went to Hell.