AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No, that’s not the way of it,” Terra said, crossing her arms over her chest and poking out her bottom lip. A lip he dearly wanted to bite. “I wanted to know if it was still there, but I planned to ask you for it when you woke up.”
“Why not ask me to retrieve it for you then? You have to know that this doesn’t look good for you.” Like a kid caught with her hand in the candy jar.
“I didn’t want to wake you, Rian. I know you’ve been having restless nights, and you were so peaceful. Maybe I shouldn’t have gone looking for it, but I was going to ask you for it back, Rian. I promise you. You’ve already expressed that we’re to take you at your word, so now I’ll ask you to take me at mine.” There was no subterfuge in Terra’s expression as she looked at him with a steady and clear gaze. He reminded himself that this was a woman who had sat by his mother’s side when she’d died and had lost her family in her quest to find answers for him. Would she now lie? It seemed out of character for her, and he crouched, torn on how to proceed.
“You would have burned your hands. The box is iron,” Rian pointed out.
“I can see that now. I was just getting the faintest pulse that the knife was near, and I wanted to see if that was really the case. I wouldn’t have touched iron. I know we’re in danger here and injuring myself is not in my best interest.”
Confusion roiled in Rian and without another word he reached in and pulled the box out, tossing it on the floor by Terra like someone grabbing a hot coal from the fire. He stood, crossing the room to dress quickly as he felt vulnerable being naked near the iron, and tried to figure out his next move.
“Thanks for sex last night. It was fun,” Rian said, deliberately careless with his tone. A shudder ran through him at his words, and he couldn’t bring himself to look at Terra’s face. Frankly, he was disgusted with himself, but that wasn’t necessarily a feeling he was unfamiliar with.
“Fun,” Terra echoed softly. When he turned, fully dressed, with his weapons strapped at his sides, he found her with her shoulders slumped, staring into the hole in the floor. It was so at odds with the powerful and confident woman that she was, that disgust filled him like a sticky sludge. He’d done this to her. He’d taken a beautiful and powerful woman and had hurt her.
Shame. He could all but hear his mother’s whisper in his head.
Working quickly, Rian picked up the cloth and wrapped it around the box, unlocking the lock with the combination, as well as disarming the magick spell around it. Though his hands burned, the cloth did its job, and no blisters formed. Flipping the lid back, he pointed to the knife that nestled in the bottom of the box.
“See? It’s here. Safe as can be.”
Terra turned, not meeting his gaze, and looked down at the knife.
“May I have it?” Terra asked, a tremble in her voice.
Shouts arose outside, startling them both.
“Rian! Domnua!” Callahan shouted. Rian was on his feet and at the door in seconds. Cracking open the door, he saw the Goddess Domnu strolling across the field, hundreds of Domnua at her back. Though he had intended to give her the knife, when he looked from the Goddess and back to where Terra sat on the floor, watching him as though she could read the secrets of his soul, he froze. He didn’t trust the Goddess, Rian realized. But hedidtrust Terra. At the moment, the safest bet would be giving her the amulet back. She couldn’t leave the island without him releasing the magickal wards, and she would do anything to protect the Earth Fae’s amulet from harm. Until he could determine what to do about Domnu, it was best the knife went back to Terra.
At least that was the reasoning he gave himself.
“Yes, you may have it back. For now.” Rian took two steps across the room and reached in and retrieved the knife, making sure his fingers didn’t brush the edges of the iron box.
“Really?” Terra asked, hope dawning on her gorgeous face. She held out her hands, and he dropped the amulet into her palms before he could change his mind. Her mouth parted, and a sheen of tears glinted as her fingers closed around the hilt. She looked at it like a mother welcoming her baby into her arms, Rian realized, before more shouts drew his attention.
“Stay inside. Domnu fully expects to have the amulet handed to her, and she’ll happily kill to get it.”
“What are you going to do?” Terra asked, standing and slipping the knife into the pocket of her dress.
“I don’t know,” Rian admitted. “Stall. Delay. Distract. I can’t… I can’t think straight. I was so certain I knew what I wanted when I agreed to all of this, and now—”
“It’s okay to change your mind, Rian. While I appreciate your commitment to keeping your word, does that really apply when you’re dealing with an insidious devil beast who only keeps her end of the bargain if it suits her? Have no doubt that Domnu would just as easily lie to you as she would be truthful. She doesn’t make deals with a code of honor, she makes deals with a code of self-preservation.”
“Understood. Stay put.” Rian ordered and slipped out the door. For good measure, he used his magick to lock the door behind him and added an extra shield to prevent Terra from leaving the cottage. He could only deal with one thing at a time, and until he figured out what to do next, he needed to know she was safe.
That theknifewas safe, he meant. That was all that mattered. Terra was … an enjoyable distraction, or so Rian lied to himself. That was all she had to be.
“Ah, there he is. My little outcast.” Goddess Domnu purred, and her serpent hair bared their fangs in laughter. Her black lace dress hugged her considerable assets, and her nails were sharpened to resemble talons. “I presume you have the Earth Fae’s amulet for me?”
Callahan peered at him from where he stood by the fire that still burned from the night before. Rian didn’t doubt that the man wanted nothing more than to reach into the flames and throw burning coals at the Goddess. Knowing he needed to distract her before one of the others set her off, Rian walked forward until he stood close to the Goddess. Her guards didn’t like that, and he realized he’d probably broken some sort of protocol by walking directly up to her. However the move seemed to intrigue her, and a smile dawned on her face.
“Bold one, aren’t you?” Domnu tapped one of her nails on his chest. “You’d make a great lover, I’m certain of it.”
“I don’t have the amulet to give you,” Rian said, not wanting Domnu to explore the direction she was going regarding him being her lover.
“Is that so? Disappointing.” Domnu pursed her lips and studied Rian for a moment, and once again he was struck by the madness that twirled in her soulless black eyes. “Walk with me.”
“Of course,” Rian said, falling into step next to her. Anything to take the Goddess farther away from the encampment.
