Devoured by Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #7)(56)

It took a minute for his words to sink into her brain. “Oh.” She gave herself a mental head slap. She should have seen this coming a mile away. “She was …”

“An addict.”

She frowned at the regret that burned in the honey eyes. “That’s not your fault.”

“Not her addiction, but I was certainly her enabler.”

“She was a powerful vampire, Tane, not a second rate celebrity on Dr. Drew. I doubt any intervention in the world could have helped.”

With a muttered curse he paced across the room, his movements jerky.

“There’s only one intervention when a vampire goes rogue and it sure the hell doesn’t include any touchy-feely shit.” His voice was rough with ancient pain. “But I was weak. I cleaned up her ‘accidents’ and pretended I didn’t notice her erratic mood swings. I didn’t want to admit, even to myself, she was spiraling into bloodlust.”

Laylah bit her bottom lip. She didn’t need to be a mind reader to know this story didn’t have a happy ending.

“What happened?”

His head bent downward, his body held so rigidly it looked like it might shatter. “Exactly what you would expect.” “How many?”

She shivered, the terrifying image of a crazed vampire drenched in the blood of others making her stomach roll.

“She wiped out our entire clan and several human villages before I managed to corner her in the mountains of Peru.”

She hesitated before moving to stand directly behind him. She didn’t want to push, but it was obvious that his habit of keeping his memories buried hadn’t helped him heal. Maybe if he shared the horror he could lance the festering pain.

“Why didn’t she kill you with the rest of the clan?”

His sharp laugh bounced off the walls. “In her demented mind she wanted someone to admire her glorious path of destruction.”

Gods. Tane not only witnessed the woman he loved plunge into madness, but he had to watch her gory meltdown in full living color.

That would scar anyone.

“And it never occurred to her that you might put a stop to her rampage?”

“Why should she?” He slowly turned, revealing his stark expression. “I had been her loyal sycophant for countless years.”

She reached up and framed his face in her hands. His skin was cool and deliciously smooth. Perfect.

But his eyes were filled with a pain that made her heart bleed.

“And now you carry the guilt of those she killed?”

“Not killed.” He grasped her forearms, gripping her as if caught between the urge to shove her away or haul her against his chest. “They were slaughtered, Laylah. Ruthlessly, savagely slaughtered.”

She welcomed the pressure of his fingers that dug into her flesh. He’d been smothering his emotions for so long. It was a wonder he hadn’t exploded.

“You’re not to blame.”

“That’s my call to make.”

Laylah swallowed her words of protest. He’d decided it was his fault, and for now there was no arguing with him. Typical male.

“Did Styx know your history when he asked you to become a Charon?” she instead demanded.

He hesitated, his gaze narrowing with suspicion at her abrupt change of subject.

“Yes.”

“Bastard.”

He tugged her close, his gaze instinctively flashing toward the closed door.

“Take care, my sweet, Styx has played the gracious host so far, but make no mistake he is a very bad enemy,” he warned.

She leaned against the broad strength of his chest, feeling the usual flare of excitement stirring in the pit of her stomach. Along with far more dangerous sensations.

The sort of sensations a wise woman pretended didn’t exist.

“It seems that he makes a very bad friend as well,” she muttered.

He pressed a finger to her lips. “Laylah.”

“No, he deliberately used your guilt to manipulate you into a position that not only has made you a leper among vampires, but puts your life at constant risk,” she insisted.

He stilled, his gaze sweeping over her face as if seeking an answer to an unspoken question.

“Hardly constant.”

She made a sound of impatience. “Have you forgotten you were attacked by your precious brothers the same day we met?”

His eyes blazed with a sudden heat as his arms wrapped around her.

“I’ve forgotten nothing of the day we met,” he said, his husky tone making her heart slam against her ribs. “Nothing.”

Yeah well … ditto.

Her eyes drifted to the hard curve of his mouth, memories of the sensual devastation of those lips sliding over her skin jolting through her before she was sternly squashing her flare of arousal.

No.

She wouldn’t be distracted.

“He had no right to ask you to sacrifice so much.”

“Styx isn’t a benevolent leader.” He snorted. “Hell, he’s a son of a bitch who wouldn’t hesitate to do what he thought necessary to protect his people. But, he didn’t manipulate or compel me to become a Charon.”

She scowled. Tane’s loyalty to the terrifying Anasso was admirable, but it blinded him.

“Are you so certain?”

His hands lightly skimmed up her back, as if offering her comfort.