CHAPTERFIFTY
“She’s late,” Theo huffed. “Whyis she late?”
He had told Callum to get her here at sunset, and it was well after. He had been standing here, waiting by this damned sinkhole, for far too long.
“Whyare you being a giant prick?” Callum retorted. Helaina stood just behind Theo’s lieutenant, like he could somehow be a buffer between them. She looked tired, but it wasn’t the same tired he was used to seeing. She looked ready to be here, like she wanted to be here.
“Watch it, I’m in no mood.”
“Believe me, brother, I know. I’ve been dealing with your mood for weeks.” Callum brushed back his sweat-soaked hair.
Helaina didn’t laugh, exactly, but she sort of snorted. The sound made the corner of Theo’s mouth twitch. He oddly liked it—he liked a lot of the sounds she made. His mind strayed for a fraction of a second to the night they’d shared, the noises, the moans, the vulnerable parts he let her see.
Enough.
He was a commander, a leader. This duty, the reason he had been planted here for his entire existence, had to come first. The next weeks would be a test of that commitment he made so long ago.
She looked optimistic coming into this cave. He was going to make her regret that.
“Every day, she climbs with either you or Manos. Every day until I say so. Got it?”
“If you leave it to Manos, she’ll be ready by next winter. I’ll take care of it.”
Callum gave Helaina a gentle nudge with his shoulder. “See you tomorrow.” He turned for the exit. “Don’t go easy on him.”
“See you tomorrow,” Helaina replied with a smile. An exquisite smile.
Theo’s lips dipped in the opposite direction. She was befriending everyone under these fucking mountains but him.
He leashed his childlike jealousy as her smile faded into a frown. “There’s really nowhere else? We had to meet here?” Helaina’s skittish eyes tracked to the sinkhole.
“You said you were afraid to be discovered. I can’t have your mind distracted and anxious while you pull out your shadows. I need you to be clear and on task when you remove that bracelet.”
“If I fall in there?—”
“You will fall in there”—Theo’s body changed into his demon form—“if you can’t fight me off.” It was a fresh breath to let it out. If he kept this part of him confined too long, things would get uncomfortable. His own skin became agonizing, his own thoughts even more so.
She stumbled back in terror, and it almost made the beast inside him break its damned chains and fully emerge. It liked seeing her terror.
She needs this, Theo reminded himself as he shoved his inner monster down.Your army needs her.
“You have no weapon, no sword, all you have is what’s inside you. That might very well be your test in Ures’s realm.” She always made it so abundantly clear she detested this side of him. For every step he took toward her, she retreated. “If you don’t fend me off, I’m going to push you down into those wandering depths.”
Helaina stilled. “You wouldn’t.”
“I will. So fight me off. Or you can discover just how far that pit leads.”
“This isn’t training, Theo. You’re scaring me!”
“You think Ures will make it easy for you because you share his blood? He is the God of War. He has no use for weakness, and neither do I.”
Her mouth made a sour quiver, and she was instantly raging. “No... use.” Her tempest tears fell to the ground.
He had told her to stop letting her emotions control her power. She had worked through the panic when saving Aaron, using her power despite her fear. That was good, she was advancing. But what about her anger? The most successful display of shadow she had demonstrated was when she was provoked. Breyer had been an effective catalyst. He would recreate that here. Even if it pained him to do it.
She looked like she was about to retreat down the exit tunnel. Theo pressed his hands on a nearby formation, cracking the cylindrical rock from the base. Before she could escape, he lifted his hand in Helaina’s direction. The heavy rock followed that invisible path through the air, crashing at Helaina’s feet, breaking into thousands of projectiles. She fell back on her ass, lifting her hand above her face to block the debris. She was up again just in time for him to hurl another.
“Are you fucking crazy?”
