Fear the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #9)(69)

“Most creatures feel the urge to procreate.”

The Dark Lord lifted her head, the blue eyes flickering with crimson. “Did you?”

Gaius flinched. He didn’t believe in coincidences. So why was he being forced to think of Santiago yet again?

A warning?

“Yes. I have—” He halted, grimacing as he corrected his words. “I had a son.”

“He’s dead?”

Gaius shook his head. “No, but he’s lost to me.”

“Lost?” The Dark Lord frowned. “You make no sense.”

“It no longer matters.” Anxious to turn the conversation away from Santiago, Gaius pointed toward the baby. “What will you do with the child?”

There was a long, tense moment as the female no doubt considered the pleasure of tormenting Gaius with the loss of his son. Then, abruptly losing interest, the female instead returned her attention to the babe.

“He will become a part of me as it was always destined to be. But first . . .”

The words trailed away and Gaius stiffened. Now what? He’d captured the prophet and her protector, as well as the baby. Two impossible tasks. He’d gone beyond the call of duty, hadn’t he?

It would seem not, he silently accepted as the Dark Lord sent him a frown, clearly waiting for him to react.

“Yes?”

Her dimples flashed. “A sacrifice must be made.”

He hissed in sharp surprise. “Me?”

Her smile widened at his sharp flare of fear. “Are you offering?”

He grimly fought back his panic. “I doubt I would be suitable.”

“Are you certain?”

“Mistress, please . . .”

“Don’t worry, Gaius. As you said, you don’t have the blood I need,” she mocked in cruel tones, her eyes nearly consumed by flames. “Not quite so impervious to the thought of death as you wanted to believe, are you, Gaius?”

He stiffened in humiliation. It wasn’t surprising the Dark Lord had sensed his growing apathy. Or that she’d managed to shatter his illusion that it no longer mattered whether he lived or died.

Bitch.

“Do you want me to return to the world and acquire what you need?” he demanded in careful tones.

“Actually, I have what I need close at hand.”

Gaius glanced around the thick fog. It couldn’t be too close. “Who is to be the sacrifice?”

“Caine should have destroyed the prophet by now.”

“Caine? Impossible,” Gaius muttered, too shocked to guard his tongue. He’d seen Caine defending the prophet. The Were had been willing to die to protect the female. Then sharp shards of pain stabbed into his body, reminding him the danger of speaking without thinking. “I mean, Caine is devoted to the prophet. He would never harm her.”

“Thanks to Dolf ’s spell Caine wasn’t in his right mind,” she reminded him, a coy smile touching her lips. “And, of course, I might have encouraged his madness.”

Gaius thrust aside his disbelief, instead concentrating on the more important question. “But why?” He slowly rose to his feet. “You were desperate to capture Cassandra.”

The Dark Lord glanced down at the child, the air filled with a searing anger before the creature managed to regain her composure. “She proved to be a severe disappointment.”

Gaius felt the hairs on his nape stand upright. Disappointment could have any number of meanings.

Maybe Cassandra refused to cooperate. Or maybe she hadn’t had a vision since her capture. Or maybe the visions had been impossible to decipher.

But Gaius didn’t think it was any of those things.

If the Dark Lord was willing to destroy the seer, it was because she gave a prophecy that she didn’t like.

Which could only mean bad news for Gaius.

Cristo. He was growngly convinced that he would never be reunited with his mate. Now he had to face the possibility the deity who had purchased his soul was destined to fail, dragging Gaius into the pits of hell with her. “A pity,” he rasped.

The Dark Lord jerked her head up, regarding him with a fiery glare. “Retrieve the dog and bring him to me.”

“At once.”

With a deep bow, Gaius turned to disappear in the swirling mist, following the distant scent of Were.

Chapter 17

Cassie didn’t know how long she ran through the disorienting mist. Or which direction she was going. Her only thought was to try and evade Caine as he chased her with a crazed bloodlust.

At last accepting there was no place to hide and no way to shake off her pursuer, she came to a weary halt. Turning, she held up a pleading hand. “Stop.”

Astonishingly the Were slowed, pacing around her as he sniffed the air, as if searching for a hidden trap. Or maybe he was savoring the scent of dinner, she wryly conceded, waiting for him to stand directly in front of her, his blue eyes glowing with the power of his wolf.

She forced herself to hold that hungry gaze, desperate to reach the man who was buried beneath the rabid animal.

“Please, Caine, listen to me,” she urged softly. “You have to remember. Look deep inside, you know me.”

The creature curled back his lips to expose his massive fangs, his mutated features lacking any hint of recognition.

So this was it.