A Midsummer Night's Demon(26)

Daelyn needed to talk to Ky. She had questions and was finally ready to discover the answers. She realized they were meant to be together. Fate determined them mates, and she could only hope it was not too late to find happiness again in his strong arms. After all, he’d promised to take her to the Litha Festival and that celebration happened to be today. If nothing else, maybe she could use his promise to make him see her.

Lyn reached for the phone next to her bed.

****

Ky rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension that pooled there in a painful ache of clenching muscles. Finding no relief, he blew out a heavy sigh, and brought his hand around to rub the night’s growth of beard. He stood in the wake of hopelessness. Lost in desperation, his insides cried out for him to end his suffering. He had found hope in Lyn. Hope for his future, that it might be full of joy and love.

Now he knew better.

It had been more than week since he’d last called her. Ten days? Thirteen? He couldn’t be sure, since time had lost all meaning. His life had fallen apart around him. Ky had no reason to get out of bed without the hope of talking to her. Utterly alone now, he realized the future held no hope for them.

He’d waited two months for her to come around. Two long, miserable months, during which he’d suffered in innumerable ways at the loss of her. She’d obviously given up on their love and moved on without him. The realization ripped his heart from his chest, just as he had done to her attacker. However, unlike Raziel, death did not take away the pain. Each day had become a struggle to exist, for without Lyn, his life seemed incomplete, unlivable.

He hated each day, took his anger and frustration out on those around him, until his boss forced him to take some time off. That only made things worse. Now he found himself alone each night in his home, surrounded by her scent, by the memories they’d made in this house. They haunted him like a malevolent poltergeist, closing in on him until he could not breathe.

His chest tightened, each breath became a struggle. His muscles knotted under his shirt as tension settled in. He knew what he needed to do and could not deceive himself any longer. Happiness with Lyn would not happen. And if they couldn’t be together, he could not allow Lyn to remember him. He would have to erase the memories of him from her mind. His gut twisted at the thought.

This was it, once he erased himself from her mind, there would be no hope for them to ever be together. He would just be another stranger on the street. The pain in his chest grew, his breaths shortened.

Putting it off any longer would only prolong the agony of making the fateful decision. He would go to her tonight, slip into her apartment while she slept. Her mind would be open, easy to manipulate in her sleep. He could make their time together seem like a dream.

It certainly seemed like a dream to him. A beautiful dream that had somehow transformed into a horrible nightmare.

He forced his feet to move forward one slow step at a time. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, he reached for the knob of his front door. With a twist of his hand, he resigned himself to the fact his future had changed forever—for the worse.





Chapter Nine

The wind whipped Lyn’s hair, stinging her face as the boat sped across the river. Each bounce on the turbulent water brought her closer to Ky. Dampness from the gray, overcast sky hung heavy in the air, mixing with the spray from the river to coat her bronze skin. Some would think this a miserable night—rainy, humid. And had she not been headed toward the love of her life, she might agree. But in a few moments she would be in Ky’s arms, telling him she could accept him for who he was. And for that, she would endure any torment. At least it had stopped raining in time for her to make it to the island before sunrise.

“It’s just up ahead,” she yelled over her shoulder to her friend.

Bret Sinclair, her fellow co-worker and demon, turned toward her. “You know, Lyn. We’ve been friends for years. I love ya, and would do anything for you, but I still don’t know why you couldn’t just call.” Bret slowed the boat.

“I planned to.” She watched Ky’s island grow as they approached. “I had the phone in my hand, but I couldn’t say this over the phone. I need to tell him in person.”

“You are the only person I’d be out here in the middle of the night for.” Bret cut the engine, and eased the boat close to the shore. “I sure hope this ‘him’ is worth all this.”

Lyn gave him a large toothy grin. “He is,” she assured her friend, giving him a brief hug. “Thanks so much, Bret.”