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Daeary’s eyes were no longer burning. They looked dull and gray, like coal that had burned itself out.
Something was wrong. The harder I stared at him, the more fuzzy his outline became. My heartbeat slowed until I wasn’t aware of it any longer. Weakness overcame me, softening my muscles until my body slipped out of his hands like putty. My head went under the water, and I offered no resistance to the liquid filling my nose and my throat.
The waves against my ears were the only noise I heard. I opened my eyelids just a bit, to enjoy the jade green color of the water. To my surprise, next to me was a male face, conjured by my oxygen-deprived brain. It was beautiful, angular with eyes so intensely blue, they made my chest clench. He blinked, and a membrane flicked over the eyeballs, disappearing just as quickly.
Sorrow was etched into his face. I wanted to ease his burden, but what could I do? I tried to reach out to him, to show him it was okay, but I couldn't move. My heart slowed down until it was quiet, so quiet. I waited for another beat, but it never came.
I realized what was happening, and strangely, I was okay with it. I was happy to die here, no longer concerned about anything but the peace surrounding me, and the merman's wide-eyed gaze.
That was, until a strong grip on my hair pulled me back up above the surface.
“Oh no, you shall not perish,” a gruff voice said.
I offered no resistance as the same hands dragged me out of the pool. Daeary lifted me into his arms and carried me across the entry room to the far side of the apartment.
My ladies-in-waiting were on the ground, fast asleep, occasionally twitching in their dreams. Their faces wore rapturous expressions, clearly enjoying what their dream lovers did to them.
Daeary paid them no heed, laying me on the bed. He kissed me on the forehead and said, “You will not slip away.”
Then he placed his lips on my mouth and pushed warm air into my lungs. He tasted of smoke and heated metal, of molten rock and the smell of rain on hot asphalt.
With every breath he exhaled into me, I felt stronger, until I was back to normal, and the strange weakness disappeared. I closed my eyes, enjoying the intimacy after the most spectacular sex of my life.
Eventually, Daeary pulled away. “That is enough. I shall see you soon, little lamb. Be strong, and trust no one.”
I forced my eyes open and watched his magnificent naked body as he left the room. He stopped beyond the threshold and turned back, as if he wanted to catch a last glimpse of me. His eyes were lifeless, like burned ash, and his face looked as haggard as somebody dying of cancer.
Instead of his usual vitality, his shoulders were drooping, his head hanging low, and as he walked away, I could have sworn that for a moment, his knees buckled under him.
Chapter thirty-one
DAEARY
I staggered away from Beth, barely able to walk straight. Not once in my long life had I allowed myself to be drained to such a low point. But it had been the only way to save her.
It was more evidence of what I knew to be true in my heart. My soul had bonded to hers. Yet I could not tell her. Until recently, I had had no idea that it was possible for the likes of me to bond with a human.
Maybe it was my Fae heritage, or maybe all incubi could do it, but how would I have known? My father had not been around to teach me, and the few others of my race had taken one sniff and decided they wanted nothing to do with the halfbreed, the abomination.
My fire flickered in vain, searching for fuel that was not there. I had used the last of my strength when I pushed life back into Beth. I had nearly drained her to the point of death. Her spark had entered me like a bright star, so beautiful and pure. I had a split second to acknowledge it, but if I had not acted as quickly as I had, she would be a corpse now.
I gripped my middle and bent over double, remembering her lifeless body floating in the pool. I had had no choice but to push my own life-force into her.
There was barely a spark left inside my center, and my feet would no longer carry me. I had minutes to live before I burned out, dying in this cursed Fae palace’s drafty corridor.
My toe hit a loose flagstone, and I lost my balance, crashing hard against the wall. My legs gave out, and I slid to the flagstones until I crouched in a sitting position, gasping for air. When I had left Beth, I had had no time to throw on my clothes. I would leave this world as naked and unloved as I had entered it.
No longer able to hold up my head, I allowed gravity to pull me sideways until I lay on the ground.
“You there. What are you doing here?”
I couldn’t open my eyes, not even to glower at the Fae who were standing over me.
A second voice said, “I recognize his kind. He is an incubus.”
“Is he dead?”
Warm finger pressed against my neck. “Not yet. But he will be soon.”
