Darkness Seduced (Primal Heat Trilogy #2) (Order of the Blade) (2 page)

Lily shivered as she recalled the ice blue eyes of Frank Tully, so cold, so chilling, and so terrifying. As much as Nate had brutalized Lily over the last two years, he was nothing in comparison to how badly Frank had unnerved her the one time he’d come by the house.

Nate had isolated her, used physical force to manipulate her, and had kept her captive for some future grand plan she had been unable to figure out, but he’d never managed to take away her determination to stay alive and fight until she could find a way to escape.

But one look into Frank’s eyes, and Lily had known he had plans for her. Plans that would make her beg for death long before he’d ever give it to her. She’d met Frank only that one day, and it was after he had left that Nate had done truly horrific things to her—

Tears welled up with such unexpected suddenness that Lily was caught off guard before she could will them away.
Tears that were tainted with memories long past, long-buried nightmares brought to the surface by her thoughts about Frank.

God, no. She couldn’t afford to think of her past right now. She had no resources left to deal with it. She had to hold tight to her emotions and carefully direct her thoughts, or she’d lose it. She knew she was so close to the edge, barely hanging onto hope, sanity and strength. “The past is gone,” she announced. “Let it go.”

But she was still blinking hard against the tears as she took the last remaining bagel out of the plastic bag and set it next to the tin of water. “Ana will come,” she told herself. “Have faith in her.”

Nate had kidnapped Ana Matthews several months ago, but Lily hadn’t managed to get in to see her until two weeks ago. God, that moment when Lily had seen another human being, a woman, a friend, it had almost been too much. It had been so overwhelming after the isolation of the last two years.

Nate had taken Ana with him on this last killing spree so he could use Ana’s powers help him murder. Lily and Ana had devised a plan—if one could call it that—for Ana to escape and send help back for Lily.

Lily had to believe Ana was still alive.
She had to
. Because if Ana was dead or even incapacitated, the only one coming for Lily was Frank, because Lily was becoming increasingly convinced that something had happened to Nate. She was too important for him to risk leaving her behind to possibly starve to death. With Nate gone, even if Ana
were
alive, it wouldn’t matter if Frank made it here first...

“God.” Lily pressed her forehead to her palms and squeezed her eyes shut against the sudden swell of tears, unable to stop a sob from wrenching out of her throat. She’d battled to stay sane, to stay positive, and to believe that someday she’d go home. She’d worked so hard to maintain some semblance of herself—how could it end with her dying of starvation in a basement? Or at the brutal hands of a madman like Frank? Two years of hopelessness surged over her, crushing her and that last shred of hope slid out of her grasp as she finally gave in—

“No!” She lifted her head and took a shuddering breath. “It’s not over yet. It’s never over.” She lifted her head and glared at the ceiling Nate loved to stomp on whenever he thought she was sleeping. “You aren’t stronger than I am,” she shouted. “I’m going to win.”

Silence.

Her throat tightened, but she resolutely broke an inch off the end of the bagel and put the rest back in the plastic bag for tomorrow. Because there would be a tomorrow for her.
There would be
.

She picked up her tin can to toast herself—

There was a loud thud from the hallway, a shudder so forceful the floor shook beneath her. She froze, and then her heart burst into frantic life.

Lily bolted to her feet, the tin can hitting the cement floor with a clank. Water splashed over her bare feet, but she didn’t move, staring at the door as adrenaline pounded through her. Was it Nate? Frank? Or had someone arrived to snatch her out of hell?

A loud crash reverberated through the basement and the door shuddered. Someone was trying to break her out! Not Nate, because he had a key.
It wasn’t Nate.
Tears of relief flooded her eyes. Someone had come to rescue her? “I’m in here,” she shouted as she ran to the door. “Help!”

There was no answer, just another thundering crash and the glaring din of metal against metal as the steel door shook this time. Someone was trying to beat the door down? “Hello?”

Again, no response, just another violent blow against the door.

A sudden chill shot down Lily’s spine, reality rushing with agonizing clarity into her mind. If someone were there to rescue her, they would be yelling for her, giving her reassurance, or trying to ascertain if she were alive behind that steel door. Whoever was trying to break down the door didn’t have rescue in mind. The door trembled again as something metal slammed into it with a shattering clang...metal against metal.

Frank
. He had Calydon warriors working for him, Calydons who sported steel weapons that would be able to take down her cell door.

Oh,
God.

Bile rose in Lily’s throat as she whirled toward the corner where she’d hidden the one item she’d been able to turn into a weapon during her sojourn in hell. She grabbed the metal rod that used to frame the underside of her cot, nearly dropping it as another crash exploded through the basement.

Her ears ringing from the noise, she clutched the metal rod, making sure the end with the splintered spike and the two inch pieces of wire hanger was pointing away from her, and then ran back across the room.

She almost whimpered when she saw a metal blade pierce the steel door. Then it was yanked back and slammed again, this time coming through further. Far enough for her to see the intricate design on the blade, a design typical of a Calydon warrior’s weapon.

She stared at the shiny metal blade, her chest so tight she couldn’t breathe. She’d never be able to take down a Calydon.
Never.

The blade was wrenched out of the door and slammed into it again, this time coming through a good eight inches, nearly stabbing her in the chest. She leapt back and threw herself against the wall next to the door. She clutched her spear tightly, holding it at the correct angle to stab a six and a half foot tall warrior in the eye.

One chance. She’d get one chance to blind him and run. She’d mapped out her escape route precisely, and she knew exactly how long it would take her to get to the kitchen to grab Nate’s car keys, and then make it to the garage.

She knew the odds of her escaping were miniscule, which is why she’d never tried it before. But now it didn’t matter. She’d rather die trying to escape than let Frank take her. Staying alive was no longer her number one goal. Ever since Frank had fixed his sights on her, she’d known her options had changed. Ana had been her last hope...

The door shook again, and Lily leaned her head back against the wall, her whole body trembling as she waited for the door to succumb to the assault. She didn’t have to kill the Calydon. She needed him out of commission for only three minutes. She’d run the calculations dozens of times, and she knew three minutes were all she needed for a head start.
Three minutes, Lily. You can do this.

She had to take him by surprise. Attack before he had a chance to consider defending himself. No warrior would ever think that the refined Professor Davenport would go on the offensive. He wouldn’t be ready.
Please, God, don’t let him be ready.

The next blow rattled the wall so badly she had to lift her head off it to keep her teeth from clattering. The door strained at its hinges, and Lily gripped her spear tighter, her heart pounding.
This is it, Lily. Your chance.

There was a brutal crash, and the door exploded out of the frame with violent force. It catapulted across the room and smashed into her cot, decimating it with the furious shriek of metal being ripped to pieces.

She held her breath and tucked herself further out of sight, waiting for the Calydon to step through the doorway and into range so she could spring at him before he was ready.

But he didn’t come in.

He didn’t even take a step.

Silence.

Sweat trickled down between her shoulder blades, and she realized he’d be able to smell her sweat if he took the time to scent her—

She felt a humming in the air, and she silently cursed, realizing that the Calydon was reaching out with his preternatural senses to find her. He would hear her heart pounding and know exactly where she was. Even holding her breath wouldn’t keep her silent enough, not with him this close.

She had to act
now
.

She tightened her grip on her spear, then lunged forward and jammed it around the doorframe, striking blind. Gauging where his head would be, she aimed upward and to the right, throwing her whole weight into the thrust. It slammed into something and thudded to a stop. Target!

Elated, she jumped around the doorway, and her heart froze with terror.

She’d missed.

Her spear was harmlessly wedged in the shoulder of a dark-haired Calydon warrior, one who she’d seen with Frank. Blood was trickling down his shoulder, and he let out a roar of outrage and grabbed the handle of the spear to yank it out.

Lily ducked past him and sprinted up the cement stairs, her bare feet slapping on the concrete, her heart thundering in her ears as she vaulted up the steps toward the open door. She jumped through it then whirled around and threw it shut, catching a glimpse of the Calydon as he came after her. She slammed the bolt home then tore down the hallway. There was a shuddering explosion behind her as the Calydon burst through the wooden door. She skidded around a corner as her mind whirred. She’d never make it to the kitchen. She needed to stall him—

She screamed as a heavy, sweaty body tackled her and her chin smashed on the wood floor. Her head rattled with the impact as he grabbed her and flung her onto her back. He leered at her chest as he pinned her beneath him. Lust flared in his eyes, the raw, uncontrollable sexual greed of a Calydon. She jerked her gaze down and realized he’d torn her shirt when he’d tackled her.

Terror, raw visceral terror, tore through her, and for a split second, she was too numb to move, too terrified by the memories, by the moment, by what had happened before. Just like this. Again. God, not again.

He reached for her breast, and the sight of that hand coming toward her jerked her out of her stupor and galvanized her into frantic self-defense, a chance she hadn’t had all those years ago. “No!” she screamed. She slammed her foot into his crotch as hard as she could.

Her attacker shouted and doubled over, and Lily scrambled out from under him, lurching to her knees—

He grabbed her ankle and dragged her back toward him, his grip crushing her leg. “I have to bring you back alive and able to perform,” he ground out as he tried to catch his breath from her blow. “But those are all the orders I have.”

She fought, she kicked, she tried everything, and she was no match for his strength as he yanked her across the floor, back toward him, toward the lust gleaming in his eyes—

Oh, crap.
His eyes.
They were glowing red, pulsating with evil, and her heart stuttered.

He’d gone rogue.
He’d crossed the line from sanity into raging, crazed killer, a beast who would feel no pain, have no empathy, ravage mercilessly until there was nothing left. There was no compassion, no humanity left in this warrior. No matter what his orders, she was doomed now. He wouldn’t be able to stop himself. He would kill her.

Again. It would all happen again. Just like before—

“Get off me,” she screamed, scrabbling desperately for a handhold to try to get away from him. Her fingers hit a table leg and a cord. Tears streaking down her cheeks, she yanked on the cord and covered her face as a lamp crashed down on both of them, shattering glass everywhere. Oblivious to the glass, he grabbed her other calf and hauled her until her legs were around his waist, her back slicing across the broken glass as she fought him, desperate, frantic—

“Get the fuck off her!” An enraged bellow blasted through the hallway.

Her attacker didn’t even flinch, lunging for her with the furious insanity of a rogue Calydon. She pounded on his shoulders, then heard the whoosh of wind behind her. She looked up as a throwing axe spun past her head and slammed into her assailant’s chest. The fatal blow flung him backward against the wall, a gaping wound opening over his heart.

She scrambled back, barely noticing the glass sinking into her hands and feet as she struggled to get away from him. He hit the floor with a thud, and the axe yanked itself out of his body and sped back past her head. She heard the slap of it hitting someone’s palm.

Another Calydon.

She whirled around, and her breath caught. At the end of the hall stood the largest Calydon she’d ever seen. He had to be close to seven feet, and he was wearing all black, even his heavy boots and the tee shirt that barely covered his broad shoulders.

Everything about him was dark, except his dusty blond hair hanging raggedly about his angular face and the metal throwing axe in his right hand, stained with blood on one of its blades. His face was wrenched with fury, his blue eyes raging, his stance wide and ready, prepared to take on all threats. He was darkness, he was danger, and he was death.

His eyes weren’t red, but she could sense he was far more dangerous than the Calydon that lay motionless behind her. He radiated with danger and heat and something she couldn’t identify. Something that eased the terror beating at her. Something that calmed her need to flee. Something that made her want to rush over to him and throw herself in his arms, just to feel his body against hers...

Oh, crap.
What was wrong with her?

He held up a hand for her silence and cocked his head. She realized he was listening for others. Oh, God. Others?

She lurched to her feet, staggering as a wave of dizziness caught her and she nearly went down. She braced her hands against the wall, holding herself up as she stumbled away from him, toward the kitchen. Glass cut through her feet, and a cry of pain slipped out.

“Lily!” he commanded. “Don’t move!”

Lily
? He knew who she was? Was he also working with Frank? Had he killed her rogue assailant to ensure she made it back to Frank alive?

The Calydon was striding toward her, his face dark with fury. Energy was swirling off him, and his well-defined muscles were flexed with rage. He was terrifying, but at the same time...he was pure, elemental beauty. Filled with a fantastical grace that reminded her of a wild cat, loaded with sinewy muscle and a lightning-fast strike that would bring instant death to his enemies. But one that would also curl around her and protect her, keeping her safe, claws safely sheathed just for her.