Amanda Bonilla - Shaedes of Gray - A Shaede Assassin Novel

“This is about the Jinn,” he growled under his breath. “Send him away. It’s that simple.”

This so wasn’t just about the Jinn. An image of Tyler’s face loomed in my mind, loyal, loving, and glorious. Maybe it was about the Jinn, a little. “I can’t do that,” I said, putting a good arm’s length between us. “I won’t.”

Xander’s body stiffened, his expression that of jealousy and passion. He knocked my outstretched arms aside and cupped my face in his hands, forcing me to look up. He paused and dipped his head. Could I stop him if he chose to follow through? Would I want to? I didn’t pull away, but my hand twitched toward the dagger strapped to my thigh. If a poke in the ribs was what it took to get my point across, so be it. But I was saved from any acts of violence when a knock came at the door.

Rather than let me go, Xander held me fast. “I’ll send whoever it is away.”

“Don’t bother,” I said, brushing his hands from my cheeks. “I know you’re used to getting what you want, Your Highness , but not this time. I am not for sale.”

“Xander,” Raif’s voice called through the door. “The girl is awake. I thought you’d want to know.”

I fingered the hilt of the dagger once more, gave Xander a pointed and meaningful stare, and headed for the door. He managed to secure a grasp on my hand and tugged me back toward him.

“Please,” he said. “Don’t go.”

I freed my hand, and without looking back headed straight for the door.

“Darian.” Xander’s velvet voice hinted of command.

I pulled open the door and rushed out, closing it before he could employ any more of his seduction tactics. Jesus . What had I done to deserve this kind of attention? I wasn’t charming by any standards, and my sarcastic quips couldn’t possibly be that attractive. I did not have time for these ridiculous, dramatic, soap-opera moments.

Raif gave me a knowing look that I wanted to slap right off his snarky face.

“Has she said anything?” I asked as we walked down the hall, away from temptation.

“Not yet. She’s weak. It looks like she was starved in addition to the beatings. There’s not much to her—just skin and bones.”

“Believe me, there wasn’t much to her before she was kidnapped.” I listened to the sound of my footsteps on the thin hallway carpet, letting the rhythm pound torturous thoughts from my mind. Delilah needed all the help she could get right now. She needed me. “Are you going to tell me about the Enphigmalé now?” I asked, just as we approached the door to Delilah’s room.

“Afterward,” Raif said.

I gave him a look that said You’d better , and, from the hard expression on his face, I knew he’d tell me. He could taste vengeance, just as I did.

Poor Delilah. I doubt she wanted my pity; she never struck me as that type of girl. But as she lay half-conscious, buried in the heavy blankets of the queen-sized bed, she looked as close to death as she could get. Someone had cleaned her up, and what was left under the crusted blood and grime wasn’t much better. Whoever had done this to her had been doing it for a while. The bruises marked her face in different degrees of color and severity. Some had already begun to yellow. But others were fresh, nearly black. One milky eye had started to swell shut, while the other stared blindly at the ceiling. A shudder swept over my body as I watched the barely noticeable rise and fall of her chest and heard the almost-imperceptible rasping sound that came from the involuntary act.

Raif looked down on her with a mixture of bitterness and compassion. Oracles in general weren’t exactly on his list of favorite creatures. However, Raif was a warrior right down to the tips of his toes. A warrior’s job, first and foremost, is to protect those weaker than himself, and you couldn’t get any weaker or more helpless than Delilah. He stood for about as long as he comfortably could before leaving. “I’ll wait for you outside,” he said as he pulled the door closed behind him.

Just as Raif left, the bathroom door swung wide and Tyler stepped into the room. I thought of Xander’s earlier play for my attention, and guilt swept over me. Clearing my throat, I tried to banish the feeling that I had somehow betrayed him. He looked my way briefly before moving to Delilah’s side, where he placed a cool cloth on her forehead.

“She’ll be all right,” he said, as if he’d been repeating the mantra since she’d been brought here. “Anya says she’ll be in and out of consciousness for a few days, maybe, but she’ll live. You know”—Ty gave me a bitter smile—“in the all the years I’ve known Delilah, this is the first time I’ve ever seen her helpless.”

“How did you two meet?” I asked, wanting to take his mind off his sorrow.

“We traveled in the same circles. The older supernatural community tends to stay close. The world is constantly changing, and life can get lonely when you live so long. It’s nice to have something or someone to ground you. We all sort of keep in touch. Delilah and I would run across each other every twenty years or so. I was living in upstate New York in the eighties. She was hanging out with a CIA contact I’d done some freelance work for.”

“CIA? What’s that all about?” I couldn’t help my wry tone. Good lord, Ty had played with some big-time heavy hitters.

He laughed. “I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Delilah’s the one who convinced me to move to Seattle. She was headed out this way, and she told me that my future awaited me here.” His expression was heated as his eyes bore in to mine. “I guess she was right.”

“I’m going to find whoever did this,” I said, speaking more to Delilah than Ty. “And when I do, I’m going to kill every last one of them.”

Tyler’s head snapped up and he stalked around the bed. He grabbed my upper arm, giving me a little shake. “You are not , under any circumstance, going after whoever did this. Do you understand me?”

Did Xander and Ty share a brain or something? Since when did I become the damsel in distress anyway?

“Who are you to tell me what I can or can’t do?” I said, none too calm. “I’m not that breakable, Ty. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”

“I care, okay!” Tyler’s voice was rising to the point that every Shaede in the house would hear our conversation. “I don’t want you to get hurt, or worse. It would kill me if something happened to you.”

Literally, I thought. If this was about saving his neck, then I could fix that problem with little fuss. “If you’re worried about yourself, Jinn , I can release you from whatever bond we have right now. You won’t need to die for me or anyone else.”

Tyler’s face went blank and he looked at his feet, shaking his head. When he looked up, his eyes met mine with a fierce intensity. He grabbed both of my arms just below the shoulder and gave me a rougher shake with each word, “I. Love. You!”

“Shut up!” I said, not caring who heard our exchange now. “Shut up, Tyler! You have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Darian. Do whatever you have to do to keep from feeling what you know is there. Play your games with Xander, run from the truth, put yourself in danger. Kill every last thing on the fucking planet if you think it’ll keep you from the truth. It’s not going to change anything. It’s not going to change how I feel. And sooner or later, you’re going to have to admit that you love me too.”

His words were flavored with something I didn’t recognize, couldn’t understand. He trembled with emotion. I don’t know what he wanted to do—hit me, kiss me, or maybe take me outside and throw me off the balcony. My arms tingled, his tight grip biting into my skin, cutting off the circulation.