A Hunger Like No Other (Immortals After Dark #2)(95)

“She—did.”

Both of them swung their heads toward him.

What if he’s my father?

“She did. She killed him.”

Lucia shook her head. “Sweet Emma? Kill the most powerful and deadly vampire ever to live?”

“Aye. He hurt her. Do none of you believe her?”

Garreth gave him an incredulous expression. “Demestriu’s finally dead? Because of that wee thing? She’s as fragile as eggshell.”

Lucia added, “Lachlain, when she finds a moth inside and tries to free it—well, if she accidentally dusts its wings, she’s distraught for an entire night. I just don’t see her killing this fiend on his home ground when Cara and Kaderin have failed to do so on a field of battle. And Furie, the strongest of us? If Demestriu could be killed by a Valkyrie, then surely she’d have done it.”

“You doona know her as I do. No’ anymore—”

“Then what does she mean when she says Furie is alive but shouldn’t be?”

“She’s been imprisoned by the Horde. Demestriu never expected her to live this long.”

Lucia swayed, barely perceptibly. In a smaller voice, she asked, “And when she says Kristoff has her blood?”

“They’re first cousins.”

Her lips parted in surprise. “Furie lives….” she murmured.

“If you doona believe me, there’s a video of the entire fight. I left it with Bowen, a member of our clan.”

Garreth stopped gaping at Lachlain and turned to Lucia. “Go get it. For Annika to see.”

She raised her eyebrows. “You want me to go to the clan?”

Garreth said, “Tell them I sent you, and they will no’ hurt you. I vow it.”

Her chin went up. “I know they won’t succeed in hurting me. But you’re sending me, who’ll be carrying a bow, among your people. They will not thank you for it.”

Lachlain saw that his brother’s eyes held much feeling for the archer, but Garreth still snapped, “I would do it myself. But I canna since I’ve been put in a cage after coming to your rescue.”

She flushed as though with guilt, then finally said, “I will retrieve it and review it. Then give it to Annika, if it is as you say.”

Lachlain strained against the bars. “Damn it, that will take too long. Can you no’ just take my blood for her to drink?”

“Annika forbids it. I am…sorry.”

When she left, Garreth continued to stare at the door. “Lucia will be quick about it.”

“How long have you known she’s yours?”

“A month now.”

“I wondered why you were so eager to remain.” Lachlain surveyed the cage, eyeing it for weaknesses. He’d escaped far worse to get to Emma—he wouldn’t be stopped now. “You’ve no’ told her?”

“Lucia’s tricky. And I suspect she’s a runner. Tell her something she does no’ want to hear and she’ll disappear. And she feels no love for me. She’s the reason I’m here in the first place. She suffers agonizing pain when she misses her target—that’s why she’s so bloody good. Annika set a trap, baited it with Lucia missing and screaming in pain, and I ran headlong. I should have known there was no way she’d miss again. You’ve never seen a creature shoot as she—”

“I have a good idea,” Lachlain said dryly, pulling his shirt aside to show him the healing wound on his shoulder.

Garreth clearly didn’t know how to react to that. His brother shot by his mate.

“I harbor no anger toward her.” Lachlain strained to stretch the bars apart, unnerved when they didn’t budge. How had he gotten this weak? Yes, he was riddled with injuries, but he’d never found a cage that could hold him. Unless…“They’ve reinforced these?”

“Aye.” Garreth rose and grasped the same bar Lachlain was struggling to bend. “These creatures ally with the witches. Annika told me nothing physical can bend these.”

When they both couldn’t budge the steel, Lachlain dropped his hands to pace, examining the cage for any alternative, desperate to get to her. He crossed to the one cement wall and pounded his fist against it. Too thick to dig through.

“I canna believe she shot you,” Garreth grated. “When we get out of here, I’ll—”

“No, I doona care. Especially since you seem to accept that my mate’s a vampire.”

He gave Lachlain an exasperated expression. “I would no’ give a damn if she was a Fury, as long as you are content with her. And it’s clear you are.”

“Aye, but I have to get to her,” Lachlain said, testing the cement floor.

“At least we’re no’ chained,” Garreth offered. “When they open this door, we can attack.”

Lachlain stabbed his fingers through his hair. “I’d prefer to be only chained. I’d take off my hands before I let Emma suffer any longer.”

Garreth eyed him, and Lachlain knew he’d said the words without the slightest reservation.

“Trust me, Garreth, it is no’ so bad as this feeling—”

Emma whimpered in pain, and he could hear the sound as clearly as if she’d shrieked. He growled in answering pain and lunged into the bars.