Darkness Revealed (Guardians of Eternity #4)(47)

Regret flared deep in her eyes. “At what price? I could have killed you.”

Cezar shrugged. It was true enough. The woman possessed enough power to destroy just about anything that stood in her path. The knowledge, however, didn’t frighten him.

In fact, it was a relief.

Whatever happened to him, Anna would soon be able to protect herself.

“I’m not so easily put in my grave, as many have learned to their regret,” he said with a wry smile. “Besides, you can learn to keep shields in place so she is incapable of intruding.”

She made a choked noise deep in her throat. “Can I learn to shield in the next five minutes?”

“There will be no attacks for awhile.”

“How can you be so certain?”

His finger absently traced the outline of her lips. “I’m not precisely certain, but I do know that when I broke through to your mind it shattered Morgana’s hold on you, and not in a pleasant way. I could hear her screams before the connection was severed.”

The hazel eyes darkened. “Good. I hope she has a freaking headache from hell.”

Cezar chuckled, his head abruptly lifting as he sensed the rapid approach of vampires.

“No, Viper, it’s over,” he growled, his arms tightening around Anna until she gave a squeak of protest.

Sliding from the shadows, Viper regarded them with open concern. “Is she harmed?”

Anna pushed herself to a sitting position, as if she disliked appearing vulnerable before his brothers.

“Apart from a raging headache and a weird taste of pomegranates in my mouth, I suppose I’m fine,” she said, not giving Cezar time to reply.

Viper’s lips twitched as he turned his dark gaze to Cezar. “And you?”

“I’m fine.”

Surging to his feet, Cezar helped Anna stand, keeping an arm around her waist as he sensed her give a sudden shudder.

“Holy crap,” she breathed, her gaze surveying the tumble of cars, more than one of them destroyed beyond repair. “Did I do that?”

“Si.”

Her already pale skin turned a sickly shade of ash. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

Viper dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand, a hint of respect in his expression as he studied Anna’s delicate body. A vampire was always swift to appreciate power. And even more swift to consider the best means to use that power for their own benefit. “It doesn’t matter. The owners will be compensated. I will speak with them now.”

Viper disappeared as he wrapped himself in shadows, leaving Cezar alone with the trembling Anna.

Unlike the vampires, she didn’t seem to see the glorious wonder of her abilities. In fact, she seemed more terrified by what she had accomplished than she had by Morgana’s hold on her.

For long, silent minutes she simply studied the impressive destruction, her breath coming in shallow gasps.

“This is horrible,” she at last muttered. “I could have killed someone. I could have killed everyone.”

“Anna…”

“I don’t want these powers,” she interrupted, her eyes flashing. “They’re dangerous.”

“Powers are always dangerous.” Ignoring the stiffness of her body, Cezar pulled her close and touched his lips to her temple. “That’s why we must discover some means to control them.”

She shook her head. “Can’t you just make them go away?”

Cezar absorbed her heat, allowing himself to drown in the feel and scent of her. He had come way too close to losing her.

“They’re a part of you. They flow through your blood,” he said softly. “Besides, I wouldn’t take them away even if I could. Those powers might very well save your life.”

“Or take away yours.”

“I’ve told you, I’m very difficult to kill.” Without giving her time to argue, Cezar swept Anna off her feet and cradled her against his chest. “Dawn is coming, I must return to our rooms.”

She frowned, but by some miracle she didn’t struggle against his hold. Actually, she buried herself closer to his chest, as if unwittingly seeking the comfort he was so eager to offer.

“Are you sure Viper will let me stay?” she muttered.

Cezar chuckled as he headed for the nearby stairs. He was still aching from his last elevator ride. “Viper has had his clubs destroyed by rampaging hellhounds, hexed by angry imps, and on one memorable occasion set on fire by one of Levet’s misdirected spells,” he assured her. “You don’t even rate in the top hundred of spectacular mishaps.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “Thank you.”

“There’s one thing though.”

“What’s that?”

He easily moved up the stairwell, Anna so feather-light in his arms she seemed almost ethereal. A strange sensation considering she had just finished trashing a dozen cars.

“I don’t think I have to worry about any of my brothers troubling you while we stay here.”

“Why not?”

He smiled down at her puzzled expression. “You just scared the hell out of them.”

Anna had been certain that she wouldn’t sleep a wink. Not after her stunning imitation of the Incredible Hulk.

It wasn’t every day that a woman had her mind seized by a homicidal fairy and forced to rip her way through a determined vampire and several high-end automobiles. That sort of thing was bound to keep a person walking the floors.