The Darkest Pleasure (Lords of the Underworld #3)(105)

"Choose," Cronus said, his voice booming angrily. "While Sienna paces the heavens, Aeron is even now upon the women. He is raising his dagger. Sienna is crying, uncertain of her future. Aeron is - "

"Aeron," he said, falling forward, already mourning all over again the only woman he ever could have loved. "I choose Aeron."

WITHOUT WARNING, Aeron collapsed beside the bed. Legion curled into his side, stroking his face. Reyes watched, blinking in shock as a smile lifted the now-sleeping warrior's lips, and peace, such peace, smoothed the lines around his eyes.

What the hell had just happened? Aeron had been poised for the deathblow, Reyes unable to act. And then everything had stopped, frozen, no one able to breathe, to move. Then the sleeping, poisoned warriors awoke as if nothing had ever been wrong. And then Aeron had fallen.

Everyone turned and looked at everyone else, confusion scenting the air. Lucien arrived a moment later with the healer, a sputtering human who almost soiled himself when he spied the huge crowd of hulking warriors.

"Reyes," Danika whispered.

Bending down, Reyes kissed her temple. "No talking, love. Save your strength. The healer will - "

"I'm having a vision."

He did not care about a vision; he cared about her. "Try to push it to the back of your mind. Just stay with me while the healer patches you up, all right?" He turned to the man in question, commanding, "Fix her. Give her Tylenol. Whatever you have to do, fix her."

The human kicked into gear, rushing forward. "Of course, of course."

"I'm in heaven, lying on a marble dais." Danika smiled, her eyes glassy. "I'm covered in white and the angels are singing."

"What? No, no." He shook his head in violent denial as he realized what she was saying. "Hold on, just hold on."

The healer crouched beside her, already removing tools from a black case.

"Hurry," he ordered the human. But he needn't have bothered. Danika's eyes closed and her head lolled to the side. She disappeared a moment later, and he was clasping only air.

His scream echoed through the heavens and earth, finally resounding in hell.

"WHERE IS SHE?"

"What the hell did you do with her?"

Reyes was slumped in a chair in the entertainment room, a glass of ambrosia-laced brandy in his hand. Danika's mother and sister stood in front of the television where homemade movies of Danika as a child played. Her grandmother sat beside him, her cast-clad legs outstretched.

He'd had Lucien fetch the movies three days ago and had not left the chair since. Right now, they were his only link to Danika and, hopefully, his key to finding her. Danika. I miss you, my love. He didn't care that Hunters were most likely gearing for another attack. Didn't care that his friends were preparing for war.

Footsteps. A slap across his cheek. He fingered his jaw, but for once he was too numb to enjoy the pain.

"Talk to us!" the sister demanded.

"Please," the mother begged. "Fight your evil side and help us."

"Leave him alone," the grandmother told them, patting his hand. "I used to see demons in my dreams, and this man is no demon. He loves our girl and is doing everything in his power to bring her back."

Was he? He felt as if he should be doing more. But what, he didn't know. "If I knew where she was, she would have been rescued by now," he finally answered. "I failed her. There. Does that make you feel better?"

Silence.

"Well, get her back!" Tinka, the mother, shouted.

"I don't know how." The admission was painful, so painful, and not in a good way.

Five days had passed since Danika had vanished. In those five days, Aeron had regained consciousness, his need to kill completely gone, as if it had never been a part of him. He'd apologized - forgive me. Please forgive me, for I doubt I will ever be able to forgive myself. I love you, would never purposely...Gods, Reyes, I'm so sorry - and Reyes had done the same: begged for forgiveness. I love you, too, my friend. I should have taken better care of you. Can you ever forgive me?

They'd embraced, and Legion, who was never far from Aeron's side, had cheered. But Reyes's sense of loss had not faded. He had summoned the gods over and over, praying, begging, all to no avail.

He didn't know what else to do.

Tinka and Ginger, the sister, began pacing and muttering in front of him. Every so often, he could see the TV. He thought he heard a young Danika laughing.

"Who took her?" one asked.

"I heard one of the monsters - uh, warriors - say it was the work of the gods," the other replied. "And we all heard Danika say that she saw herself in the heavens."

"If Danika saw the heavens, she's in the heavens," the grandmother said. "Trust me. I know."

"Okay, then. Let's pretend the warrior was right and the gods took her. Why was she taken by them?"

"Probably because she is a portal." He refused to use the word was. That would mean Danika was...dead. Gone. No longer reachable.

All three women stopped and eyed him sharply. "What are you talking about? What kind of portal?"

He explained, trying to hold back his tears. Pain was close to whimpering inside his head. On the screen, Danika laughed again. What was she doing? He leaned to the side. She was blowing out birthday candles. He imagined a child of hers - of theirs - would look just as sweet, and he would have smiled at the image if he hadn't been so miserable.