Part 23 (1/2)

Once again, she put the image of what Helen could do into her head, using that as an example, and pulled on the delicate strand of power hovering between them.

It leaped into her, streaking through her, filling her. The skin under the luceria hummed and warmed, helping to drive away some of the chill sinking into her bones. As Nika pulled more power into herself, it ricocheted inside her, bouncing off her bones, making them ache.

She let it build inside her, acc.u.mulating until there was enough to strike out at one of the demons. Using Helen's example, she let the energy streak through her, exiting from her fingertips in a gush of flames.

At least, that was what was supposed to have happened. Instead, a sorry spray of sparks dribbled from her hand, burning her fingertips.

She yelped and shook her hand, trying to rid it of the painful flames.

Madoc spun toward the sound, roaring in defiance. A demon saw the opening and lunged for his throat. Nika froze in panic, staring at its serrated teeth, glossy with saliva as it went for the kill.

She tried to scream a warning, but her lungs had closed up and she couldn't make a sound.

A split second before the thing hit, a ball of flames knocked it back away from Madoc. It rolled aside, yelping in pain. A wall of fire shot up from the ground, separating him from the monsters, protecting him.

Madoc raced over the ground, not even bothering to look behind him. He was at her side in the s.p.a.ce of three seconds, and in that short time, Nika realized what she had done.

She'd nearly killed him. If Helen hadn't been here to save him, that thing would have ripped his throat out when he'd reacted to the sound of her pain.

That could never happen again.

His eyes darted over her. ”Where are you hurt?”

”I'm okay.”

”What the h.e.l.l are you doing out here?”

”Trying to help.”

”Go inside and stay there until this is over. You're going to get yourself killed.”

Or someone else.

There was no sense in fighting him. He was right. She had no idea what she was doing.

Nika turned around and went back into the house. Logan was there, waiting for her inside the door.

”Would you like me to heal those burns?” he asked.

She shook her head. They weren't bad. Just painful. ”No. I think I'm going to need them to remind me of what's real and what isn't.”

Chapter 15.

For the first time in nearly a year, Torr's feet were cold. He'd gone to sleep feeling nothing and woken up feeling cold.

A thrill of excitement rippled through him. Maybe whatever the Sanguinar had done was finally working, or maybe the venom that had paralyzed him had begun to wear off. Either way, he felt something, and that alone was worthy of rejoicing.

He tried to wiggle his toes and felt the slide of a sheet gliding across his skin. Or maybe he'd imagined it.

He did it again, and this time, his whole foot twitched.

Tears of joy slid out of the corners of his eyes and his first thought was that he wanted to share this good news with Grace.

Then he remembered she'd taken a tripa”a vacation of sorts.

Disappointment rose up for a brief second before he realized what this meant. He had a few days to regain his strength. Maybe he could even be sitting up by himself by the time she came back.

Maybe when she came home, he could even greet her on his feet and hug her as he'd wanted to do so many times.

Of course, there were more things he wanted to do to her than just hug, but all of that could wait until he was strong enough to be a real man for hera”the kind of man she needed.

He felt a stirring in his groin, saw the sheet draped over him twitch with the beginnings of an erection.

Relief made his head spin. He hadn't thought he'd ever feel that again. No matter how much Grace had turned him on, he'd never once been able to get hard. And now just thinking about her, he was getting aroused.

There was no way he'd ever be able to thank her for all she'd done. She hadn't once given up hope that he would recover. She'd stayed by his side, keeping his body moving so it wouldn't waste away. Maybe it was all that effort that drove the venom out of his system. Maybe she had cured him.

Torr owed her his life, and as soon as she got home, he was going to devote his to making her the happiest woman on the face of the planet.

He could hardly wait.

Dawn drove away the last of the Synestryn.

Madoc was shaking by the time the fight ended, though whether from exhaustion or fear for Nika, he wasn't sure.

She could have gotten herself killed. That thought pounded around inside his head, threatening to drive him crazy with an uncomfortable combination of terror and rage.

She was so precious. He couldn't let her risk herself like that again.

Madoc found her in the living room. She had her legs tucked against her body and was hugging them close, staring at nothing. Her eyes were red, as if she'd been crying, but dry.

He breathed out a sigh of relief. He really didn't think he could have handled the sight of her tears.

She hadn't noticed him yet, though he was only a few feet away. Whatever she was thinking about consumed her complete attention.

Madoc stared at her, soaking in the sight of her safe and whole. Her white hair was damp and a total mess. Soot stained her cheek and both hands. The clothes she wore hung on her, droopy and bedraggled. And yet, despite all of that, she was still the most beautiful, precious woman he'd ever seen.

She deserved better than him. He knew that. He knew that he was too rough and harsh for someone so delicate. He also knew that he would do whatever it took to make her happy and to find a way to be the kind of man she deserved. He wasn't ever going to let her go, and because of that, he had to step up, be a better man. Kinder. Gentler.

Maybe a soulless man like him could never love, but Madoc was determined to give her everything else she could ever need or want.

His heart clenched hard, then opened up, bleeding something into him that took his breath away with its power. He went light-headed and braced his feet to keep from spiraling to the floor. His skin fizzed along the surface as if a million tiny bubbles were popping all at once.

A s.h.i.+vering warmth spread over his chest, almost too much to bear. That warmth grew and spread out over the branches of his lifemark.

Madoc lifted his s.h.i.+rt to see what was wrong.