The Ripple Effect (Rhiannon's Law #3)(67)
The pain was unbearable, pressing down on my chest, so that I couldn’t breathe. God, it hurt. So bad, so deep. As though my soul had been severed, a piece of me lost forever, amputated so that it would never heal. I realized it was the mark between us—gone and never to return. I hadn’t realized how much peace Paine brought me, how much I needed him.
I gagged as other thoughts flooded my mind.
I’d come back to save Disco and had lost Paine. Had Paine been wrong? Was it my actions and not Disco’s influencing the future? Was this the ripple effect? Was I destroying everything I touched? Like Paine’s beloved dog, whose reversal of death changed the lives of those in his path...was I destined to kill everything I loved?
Was this all because me?
When I finally managed to draw in a deep breath, I screamed. The shrill wail was a rallying cry to Heaven to welcome the new angel walking through their gates, a farewell to someone I didn’t want to let go, and a warning to my enemies that while I might forgive, I would never, ever forget.
Chapter Fifteen
I should have gone to Disco to stop the slaves who appeared with an odd silver gag, silver chains and cuffs, and placed them around his neck, wrists, and ankles. The only reason I didn’t was time seemed to stand still when I spoke to Paine and forced him to the other side. By the time I realized what the servants had done, it was too late to intervene.
Revenald rose, his visage one of fury. “This is your fault.” He pointed at me, his fangs elongated. “You have threatened my family, as well as my status as the most powerful half-demon in this dimension. I won’t allow it. You’re about to learn why humans fear to venture where we have tread.”
Glancing at Disco, he said, “One hundred years in the ground should take care of that temper of yours. During that time you’ll be privy to the suffering of the female who should have learned her place. By the time you arise to rejoin us, she will be a proper servant. One who will abide by my rules.”
One hundred years in the ground? That couldn’t happen. I couldn’t allow it. Destroying me was one thing, destroying Disco was something else. I’d lost him once, I wouldn’t lose him again.
“Revenald.” Marius intruded with a feather-light plea. “You gave me your word.”
“Weak human emotions! Dark Lord, keep me from them!” Revenald screamed, his eyes taking on a hellish red hue. “Yes, I gave you my word, and I haven’t broken it. Fortunate for you that I need you to run my home in this realm, or I’d say to Lucifer with it, kill your progeny and wipe my hands clean.”
He took a deep breath, shook his head, and collected himself, as if his outburst revealed more than he liked. “Your fledgling isn’t dying, he’s merely taking some time to think about what he’s done and understand why it’s best he never do so again. One hundred years is nothing when you are facing death.” He turned his head, the angle of his chin dictating the direction he wanted the servants to exit. “Take him to the slave quarters and start digging a grave.”
The slaves lifted Disco, allowing me to see his face. Thin, bloody streaks stained his cheeks, and he seemed oblivious to everything around him. I wanted to run to him, to hold him upright in my arms, to kiss away his tears and destroy those who had put them there. Anger, hot and powerful, came to life inside me. My lover had been broken in a way I knew too well, in a way I wouldn’t allow.
He gazed at me and, for a moment, something flickered in his eyes.
“Stay alive,” he instructed telepathically, with a vehemence in his words I’d never heard from him before. “We will be together again. No matter what happens, no matter what you endure, you wait for me, Rhiannon. You wait for me. They will pay for what they’ve done.”
I wanted to tell him I’d stay alive, that I’d endure Hell for him, but it was impossible when Revenald clobbered the back of Disco’s head with a small silver bat.
Disco’s thoughts—and his mark—vanished as he sagged in the arms of those holding him upright. But it didn’t matter. They’d taken someone I loved and snapped the threads of his life away, leaving me empty in his wake. Then they threatened the man I held most dear, the one who captured my heart but was kind and easy enough with me that he allowed it to remain free. One hundred years in the ground? Not if I could help it. Thinking of his freedom—of what it would take to procure that freedom—was more than enough to keep me going.
From this moment forward, it wasn’t about staying alive. It was about doing what I’d vowed to myself, protecting those I loved, making sure I used everything in my power to keep them safe.
As they took Disco away, I knew it was time to let Paine go. His spirit was gone; all I was touching was a shell. I did brush a kiss over his brow before I slid my arms from around his body, coming away caked in his blood. Rising to my feet, I lifted my head, standing proud and unafraid before all of them.
They wouldn’t break me.
I’d die first.
“Remove his body.” Revenald pointed at Paine, then at the nearby vampires, and snapped his fingers. “I want no trace of him on my property.”
With a nod from Marius, our family rushed to do his bidding. Nala took Paine’s head, nestling his cheek against her chest, while the others lifted his body. The youngest two in the group—Landon and Corey—had bloody tears streaming down their faces. They didn’t look at me, but I knew who they blamed and wanted dead in that moment. I understood because I felt the same way. When I noticed Peter picking up the remnants of Paine’s heart, something deep inside me shattered.