Tangled Sin (A Dark Realm Novel) (22 page)

Alone, Saia faced them, her heart thumping hard against her sternum. This wasn't the citadel where the demons kept their distance from Réomer’s mate. Here, they followed their own twisted rules.

One smiled, moving closer, his teeth—hell, no, his stained
fangs
—flashed in the torchlights. Blood-demons!

“Stay away from me.” Her hand flew out to hold him off.
A weapon.
She needed a damn weapon! Frantically, she searched, tried to see whose dagger she could snatch, when something heavy filled her fist.

What the hell?
She had no idea how the black, wickedly curved scimitar had appeared in her hand. Didn’t care. Gratefully, she palmed the weapon as the fangy demon pressed forward. A malevolent grin spread across his face like he’d found his favorite treat.

He rushed her. She ducked and lashed out, the dagger slicing across the demon’s belly. A furious growl erupted. He spun around, talons burst free from his fingertips, and then he leaped for her…and vanished.

Hands snatched her from behind. She pivoted, slashed out, and reeled back in horror.

Wrath’s cold green stare trapped her. Blood flowed from the deep gash in his palm. Demons stepped back, wary now.

Fear darted up her spine. Oh, dear God! She’d cut Riley’s father—she’d cut the Sin of Wrath.

Too late for regret now. If he planned to kill her, she might as well go out with a bang. “Why aren’t you doing anything? He’s your son. Save him.”

Wrath waved his hand. Instead of the fight stopping, the wound on his palm vanished. Like it was far more important that he not bleed to death.

As if bored with her conversation, the entire fight, he studied his healed palm. “Why?”

“Why?” she cried. “You ask me that? He’s your son, isn’t that reason enough?”

Wrath lifted those eerie green eyes and stared at her for a long moment. In a move so fast, and before her shocked mind could register it, he yanked her close. With barely a stir in the air, he flashed. Her scream never quite made it past her throat.

Moments later, they were back in the obsidian fortress. Saia stumbled. Tried to get the spinning in her head to stop, and fell against a hard wall of muscles. Appalled, she shoved away from Wrath.

A hand pressed to her chest, she fought to stop her heart’s race for freedom.

With sheer effort, Saia dragged in a deep breath and glanced around, needing to calm down. She was in an enormous study with ceiling-high shelves lined with books, and parchments strewn on a long table at the far end of the room. Windows in the tower room overlooked the River Styx and the gleaming Erymic Mountains.

Unable to relax, she spun back to Wrath. “You left Riley there alone.”

“I don’t involve myself in battles that are of no concern to me,” Wrath said.

And there was the difference in their lives. Her meddling mother made it an art form to interfere in all aspects of her life to keep her safe, it didn't matter that she could never love Saia the way Saia yearned. But Wrath just shrugged Riley aside.

“What
do
you concern yourself with?” she snapped.

His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Tread carefully, little mortal. I could cause you to do untold horrors, and trust me, you don’t want that.”

Saia swallowed. She was his son’s mate. He wouldn’t really hurt her, would he?

Her wary gaze followed him as he walked past her to his desk. A shadow moved.
Christ!
She leaped back, locking eyes with a lizard-like monster, not even her nightmares could prepare her for.

Blackish red scales ran down its body. A dangerous tail with spikes sprouting from the end snaked around the desk. It sported a mouthful of pointy fangs. And from a reptilian shaped head, slitted black eyes fixed on her.

“Erogus.” At the quiet command, a whiny grumble rolled out of the creature. “She is not food.”

Yes, not food—you big overgrown lizard.

Saia took another wary step back and watched the thing rest its giant head on its talons. Its predatory gaze fixed on her. No doubt waiting to take a bite out of her the moment Wrath turned his back. Her fingers tightened on the scimitar.

“Foremost, I am a Sin. Then, a warrior,” Wrath said, drawing her attention back to him. He leaned against the desk and stroked the lizard’s scaly head. A low, guttural rumble left the animal. “Keeping order in Stygia is what I do, especially in the nine levels of Hell so we are not overrun by damned souls, or by evil. To ensure your world is safe. Do you care about Réomer?”

The change in conversation made her head spin. “I care enough not to let him die!”

“Good.” He crossed his arms over his chest, his expression about as flexible as the black mountains. “He fights the wyverns because of you.”

She forgot her fear of Erogus. “Me?”

“They have your scent. Once tasted, they will hunt you down and harvest your insides, searching for the elusive light you carry while keeping you alive.”

“Light? What light?”

Wrath merely stared at her.

It clicked. Blood pounded in her ears. “You’re talking about my soul? Oh, Christ.”

“That name in my world won't help you,” he drawled. “Here, I am law. Now, Réomer can kill those monsters, as long as he concentrates. However, with you always where you shouldn’t be,”—the cold sarcasm made her jaw tighten—“he may end up dead far sooner.”

She tried to hang on to her fast-eroding temper. “How can you be so callous?”

“Sentiments are a waste of time. Réomer cares little for this world, but he cannot escape his destiny. On the day of his two-thousandth year, he will inherit part of my Sin—that’s in a few days. He cannot be in the mortal world when that happens, but he will risk it to get you back there safely. The transference is...a painful business. There will be casualties.” Wrath’s expression grew cold. Remote. “If Réomer unleashes his Sin, his
wrath
on unsuspecting mortals, those pious bodies, the archangels will end him.”

Saia shook her head, reading
the truth in those eerie eyes. “
No…”

Sins were only to be used on the damned as eternal punishment.

“Yes.” He strolled toward her. “It’s why we seldom leave our echelon. Watch, little mortal. See what happens when one like us loses control.”

He waved his hand. A haze stole into her mind, then images took shape…

A little boy of about six stood just outside the citadel. His gold-streaked brown hair hung in limp swathes around his thin shoulders. Tears glistened on his pale cheeks.

A small group of young boys around him jeered and chanted.
“You are nothing.
Debilis!
A weakling. Get lost, runt.”

The boy stiffened at the names. His fingers balled into fists. His slender body vibrated with suppressed rage. His head angled in defiance, in a way that made her heart stutter. She knew that gesture. Saia stared into familiar green eyes.

They burned neon bright and seemed to consume his young face. Then his head dropped down, his little shoulders slumped as he walked past the other kids.

The boys’ teasing stopped. Their features distorted by fury, they started to beat the tar out of each other. Adults drew weapons and attacked, blood spilling. Mayhem ensued… The boy wavered and stumbled. A man with dark hair, one she didn't recognize, grabbed Riley as he collapsed on the blood-drenched ground…

The image disappeared. Saia slammed back into her body, frozen to the floor, too shocked to move.

“That was just the abilities he’d come into,” Wrath said. “To read and manipulate minds. He’d tapped into their hatred, and that was the result.” Those emotionless, python-green eyes pinned hers.

She blinked her hazy gaze and desperately tried to shake the images from her head.

“Since we are in accord, and you want him safe, it is time you returned to your world.”

What? He wanted her to leave? That’s why he’d stolen her from the crowd? And she’d so foolishly thought it was to protect her.

“Time fades. His fate lies in your hands.”

Despair overrode her panic. Leave and destroy their burgeoning relationship? One so new, they’d barely had time together. Riley would never forgive her for leaving. But to save his life? She rubbed her bare arms with shaky hands.

“Since you seem to be in a quandary, perhaps this will make it easier for you? Réomer planned to have the mating bonds broken once he delivered you back to your realm.”

His words slammed into her stomach with the impact of a kick. She couldn’t breathe. “What?”

Wrath shrugged one massive shoulder. “It is easy to do; if one wants it badly enough.”

Riley wanted to break their mating bonds? He didn't want her? No, she refused to believe that. He cared about her.

“Is that what you really believe?” Wrath asked.

He was reading her mind again.

“You forget one fundamental truth of demon males. But I guess you need to see.” He captured her mind and drew her in again. Only this time, it wasn’t a blood-drenched street, but a dimly lit bar, one she was far too familiar with.

Women surrounded Riley where he was seated near the counter. Another stroked his hair. He rose to his feet, glanced at a pale-skinned blonde with that hooded stare Saia knew so well. The woman followed, and they disappeared into a darkened room. The door closed. Bodies moved. The woman unbuttoned his jeans. He pushed her against the wall, exactly like he had Saia earlier—

No!
She reared back. Pulled out of the vision, unable to stop the flood of pain ripping through her.

“It is what a dark soul constantly demands.” Wrath’s cool voice sliced her heart open with lethal precision. “A need satiated only through the carnal act, which is why he would break the bonding for some sense of
fairness
. Seems you mortals have instilled that in him.”

Right then, she hated Wrath. Hated him for pulling her out of her short-lived haze of happiness. More, she hated Riley because she couldn’t be enough for him. Unable to swallow past the welling of unshed tears, she raised her chin and met Wrath’s direct stare. And nodded.

A knock sounded, the door opened. Ikaria entered. Relief raced across her face when she saw Saia, then she addressed Wrath. “My lord, you have need of me?”

“Go with her.” He set a small, flat, iridescent black stone on the desk. “Use this when it is time to return.”

Ikaria took a deep breath and nodded. “Aye, my lord.”

“I don’t need a guide,” Saia bit out, struggling to keep her voice even and not break down. “I can find my own way home.”

A wave of his hand and a shimmering light appeared in front of Saia as a portal opened. “There it is, your way back.”

Her mouth compressed into a firm line. Her eyes burning with unshed tears, she stepped into the swirling mist.

Like a ride on a carousel, this one took her high up and through the portal and into the cold, windy world of New Orleans.

Saia stared through the window of her aunt’s apartment to the courtyard below. Some happy soul had decorated the trees with tinsel and streamers, adding an unwanted Christmas cheer.

With Liz still at the mansion, the place was far too quiet. Lonely. She refused to think of Riley, but with his apartment right next door, it was too damn hard.

She had to get out of here.

Saia spun around and met Ikaria’s sympathetic gaze. Despite Saia’s refusal, Ikaria had still followed her from Stygia. But then one could hardly refuse a Sin.

Concern darkened Ikaria’s pale aqua eyes. “Are you all right?”

Saia shook her head and bit her lip. How could she ever be
all right
? It felt as if someone had plied open her chest and yanked out her heart.

Why couldn’t she be enough for him?

The image of Riley with those women remained far too vivid in her mind—hurt too much.

“Lord Réomer will come for you.” Ikaria rose from the couch and crossed to her. “Once bonded, it’s difficult, painful in fact, to be separated from one’s mate for a long period of time.”

Painful? Yes, because she was an idiot to have fallen for him.

But how could she not love him? Yes, he was possessive as hell, but he was protective, too, and he’d put his life on the line more than once and fought for her. Tears filled her eyes. No man did that. Usually, when the guys she dated faced her mother, they ran.

However, she knew, too, despite Riley wanting her, it wouldn’t work. He’d always need different women because of his dark soul. And she wasn’t wired that way, couldn’t share the man she loved. She brushed the wetness trailing her cheek.

Silently, Ikaria reached out laid a comforting hand on her arm. Saia tried to smile, but her face felt too tight, and her mouth refused to cooperate, said instead, “Let’s go.”

***

Saia brought her Corvette to a purring halt in front of the tall portico of her home. The engine idling, she sat there, surveying the grounds, in no hurry to go inside and face what waited. She blinked. Everything here was too bright, too green.

“Saia?” Ikaria said quietly, pulling her attention back. She brushed at her plum-colored hair. “You are safe and at your home. I would take my leave.”

Leave? Panic sent her emotions skittering all over the place.

“No, please stay for a few days.” She grasped Ikaria’s hand, unable to let her only friend go. The only one who understood the truth about everything that had happened. “My thanks to you for being so kind to me in your world. I’ll show you around—”

“I cannot. I have a job to get back to.”

Saia frowned. “A job? What job?”

“I work for Wrath.”

“You’re a soldier?” Surprised, Saia ran her gaze over Ikaria’s slender build.

“No, not exactly,” she said. “But, yes, I can fight. However, I'm in the intel sector because of my abilities. Before you came, I’d finally been approved to leave the training center, but my assignment was put on hold. I was tasked to protect you.” A smile touched Ikaria’s mouth. “The
frail
human Lord Réomer selected as his mate.”

Hearing his name and the mistaken assumption that she was still his mate pushed her pain back to the surface. She stared at the solid walls of her home and tried to build up the ones in her heart again. “Frail? Right. That is why all those demonesses wanted to take me on.”

“Much to all our misjudgment.”

She met Ikaria’s rueful expression. The girl was nothing if not brutally blunt.

“But it is just an illusion. You are not that. You survived the place of the damned, then faced Wrath.” Admiration warmed Ikaria’s tone. “No demon would dare do what you have and live. I can pick up echoes of a conversation long after it’s happened. I know what you said to Wrath just before we left—”

“You heard what Wrath said?” Saia cut in. If Ikaria knew the full truth, why she’d left—God, she couldn’t bear that.

“No. No one can with a Sin. I just heard your part. Réomer has chosen well in his mate. You are strong.”

Relieved, Saia placed her cold fingers on the car heater. “With a mother like mine, I have to be, or I might as well just lie down and let her walk all over me.”

“I do not understand.”

“You’ll see soon enough. Please stay?”

Ikaria glanced around her. Weak sunlight pushed through the gaps between the heavy gray clouds but offered little warmth with the chill of winter surrounding them. “Your realm is beautiful, unlike anything I ever imagined.”

“Why didn't you visit before?”

“Demons cannot traverse the realms. And few can open portals as you’ve seen. We must procure the portal summoning stone, and it only works once. Those are very hard to come by. Besides, I never had reason to want to leave before,” she said, staring at the trimmed lawn then glancing back at Saia. Smiled. “All right, I will stay awhile.”

“Wonderful.” Saia opened the car door and got out. Ikaria came around to her side. “Once I let my parents know I'm home,”—and settle ruffled feathers—“I’ll show you around and take you shopping. You’ll need more clothes.”

Ikaria fingered the top she wore. “This feels nice.”

Though they were of similar build, Ikaria was taller. The sweater dress Saia had given her skimmed just past her hips and looked more like a long jersey, but with the leggings she wore beneath, it worked beautifully. She’d given Ikaria one of her warmer coats, too. Coming from a hot world, this place must feel like an icebox.

Ikaria looked up and shaded her eyes. Despite the faint sunlight, she squinted. The light must hurt her sensitive eyes.

“Let’s go inside.” Saia opened the front door into the silent house, shrugged off her coat, and hung it along with Ikaria’s in the closet before making her way to the living room. The rich smell of coffee drifted to her, made her feel a little sick.

“What time did she say, Edward?” her mother asked, an edge to her tone.

“She should be here soon.”

Don’t worry, Mother, the prodigal daughter has returned.

“How could she just take off like that for so long? Does she not care how this affects us?”

Saia’s cheeks burned in mortification. Why did she bother to call and tell them she was on her way?

Ikaria laid a hand on her arm, lowered her voice. “She worries.”

Not about me.
If she did, it would be the first. “Ikaria, I think it’s best I see them first, no use embarrassing us both.”

“It’s okay. I understand what families are like. I have many half-siblings. It is not easy at times.”

Smiling at Ikaria’s rueful tone, Saia showed her to the formal lounge and headed back to the living room. She inhaled deeply then stepped through the double doors.

Her mother looked up and ran her gaze over Saia. What she searched for, Saia had no idea. Her father set his paper aside and rose from his seat, relief easing the worried lines on his handsome face. “Saia.”

Guilt seeped through her for the anxiety she caused him. “Daddy, I'm so sorry I went off without a word. Oh, and I brought a friend—”

“How could you, Saia Rae?” Her mother pushed to her feet, her mouth pinched.

Faced with her mother’s ire instead of relief that she was back, Saia’s chest tightened in pain. When would she learn not to hope for a miracle? Living here, doing as her mother wanted, and waiting for crumbs of affection.

“You ask me that after what happened?” she asked in a voice devoid of emotion. “I needed to get away, so I did.”

“With the bartender?”

Her teeth clenched at the derisive tone, the mere mention of Riley causing the ache inside her to expand. It wasn’t his fault he couldn’t be faithful to her. And it didn't stop her from defending him either. “His name is Riley.
He
was there for me when
I
needed someone.”

Her mother’s expression turned to stone. “Is it over?”

Over? She’d never be over him. She just had to deal and move on.

“Jem,” Edward said in a quiet voice. “Let it go.” His gaze softened. He drew Saia into his arms and pressed his lips to her brow. “I'm glad you’re home.”

No questions. No condemnation.

Her father was the only reason she put up with her mother’s smothering rules. She hugged him tightly, breathed in the Turkish-cherry scent of his cigars. A smell that always brought her comfort. She had to fight the urge not to bawl in his arms.

“Nearly a month and not a word, you could have called us,” her mother said.

Right, call from another realm.

Saia stepped away from her father. It still shocked her that almost a month had passed here. She’d only been in Stygia a week.

“Where’s your friend?” her father asked.

“In the formal lounge. I’ll bring her.”

Saia left her parents and headed back to Ikaria, wishing she could just go to her room.

Ikaria still stood in the foyer, studying an arrangement of deep red Poinsettias on a podium near a colorful Chagall hanging on the wall. “These flowers are lovely.”

Her friend’s delight in simple pleasures briefly lessened Saia’s despair. “Come, meet my parents.”

***

As the days crawled by, no matter how busy Saia kept herself, it did little to dull the ache inside her. In the deepest part of her heart, she’d hoped Riley would come after her when he’d found her gone. He hadn't. That rammed the bitter truth home.

He never promised her anything, beyond keeping her safe. Guess he must be relieved he didn't have to worry about her any longer.

Saia stepped out of the shower, swiped a warm towel from the heated rail, and wrapped her wet hair. Snagging another, she rubbed herself dry then stopped and twisted her body to look at her lower back in the full-length mirror. The swirly scrawl was still there, darker now. She wiped away the droplets of water on the tattoo.

How could she forget him when she’d always wear his mark?
She felt so hollow, empty inside, like her very heart had separated from her without him.

She fastened the warm towel around her body and blew out a rough breath when she thought about the approaching evening.

Since she’d come back, her mother had reverted back to her usual self, pretended all was well. Christmas had been and passed, but the endless invitations to various functions continued to arrive. Needing to get some semblance of her life back, she’d accompanied her parents to some of the parties. With Piers attending several of them, she’d been unable to avoid him.

And now this dinner.

She’d tried getting out of it, but her mother had refused point-blank.

Christ, she’d walked into that trap.

It had to have been her mother’s master plan all along, a private dinner with the Haimons. And Piers. Already, she could feel the start of a headache as tension tightened the muscles in her shoulders.

Saia left the steamy bathroom and entered her dressing room, but a sound drew her to the bedroom. Ikaria stared out the window with an awed expression. Dressed in a navy sweater and blue jeans, her hair bound in a ponytail, she looked beautiful.

Saia was glad the twins hadn't met her when they’d pit-stopped to check on Saia after her return, or they’d never have left Ikaria alone.

Lightning flashed and brightened the room. What the girl could see in this downpour, Saia had no idea.

Girl
? A wry smile curved Saia’s mouth. Ikaria had told her she was almost five hundred years old while in Stygia, yet she appeared to be Saia’s age. Her excitement in visiting the clothing stores, her sheer joy at the vast selection of color and styles made Saia smile. She’d enjoyed every minute she’d spent with Ikaria.

She turned from the window, her eyes sparkling. “The power of lightning is amazing. It’s like being hit by a strong dose of magic.

“Are you high?” Saia teased.

“You mean do I want to go out and annihilate the monsters from the dredges of Hell that ravage our citadel and harm others? I do. Single-handedly.” Ikaria’s gaze skimmed over Saia, her smile morphed into one of distress. “Saia, you shouldn’t be going out with that male. It wouldn’t bode well for the human should Réomer find out. He would be furious. Our males are terribly possessive.”

“It’s no big deal, just family obligations,” she said lightly, refusing to show her desolation. She entered her dressing room again, dropped her towel, and pulled on underwear. A light knock, then soft voices drifted from her bedroom.

A moment later, Liz appeared in the doorway and leaned against the jamb. They hadn't spoken much since she’d gotten back because Saia had spent most of the week showing Ikaria around, and her nights fulfilling her promise to attend socials.

“Are you and Riley okay?” she asked her tone edged with worry. “You haven’t been yourself since you got back.”

“We’re fine.” She avoided Liz’s searching look and combed through her closet for something to wear.

“I ask because you seem to be accepting Piers’s interest in you.”