The Darkness in Dreams (Enforcer's Legacy, #1)(82)

“I knew Kace would trace this villa, but I’d hoped to have the time to send you away.”

“I wouldn’t have gone,” she said with a shake of her head. “When?” And he knew she was asking about the attack.

“Midnight or shortly after. Arsen is already here. Darius arrived an hour ago from Portland. Luca has the Italian warriors. Even Leander is here with ten volunteers. You won’t see them. They’ll have taken positions around the grounds. This isn’t about the attack in the alley or getting memories from the girls. This is about you. It’s about me. It’s about restarting a war.”

Christan spoke with cold detachment, the master of war, remembering the last time he’d fought for her on a moon-shot road. When he thought she had betrayed him. Where he hadn’t been able to save her.

“Kace will have more men than anticipated,” he said, smoothing the hair from her forehead. “There’s a political faction, supported by an immortal within One’s court, which is why Leander is here. He’s taken a personal interest. We know they’re well-financed, and unrest has been building for years.”

“Why target us?”

“Convenience, revenge. Our enemies believe with fanaticism, and they always find some excuse.”

“Because you’re a symbol.” A gold dragon shimmering in the sun. A symbol of power and fear.

“And you make me more human.”

Lexi gripped him, her hands fierce.

“I don’t want to weaken you.”

“Being more human isn’t weakness, cara.”

“What is it?”

“What it’s always been,” he said, covering her hands with his own. “What they fear most.” A conscience. An ability to act with moral purpose, to kill in defense of what is right. What the Calata could never control.

“You’ll be out there?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Where will I be?”

“Here. Inside.”

He pulled her hands from his arms, held tight to her fingers. The villa had been built for invasions, he told her, with heavy wooden shutters that locked from the inside. The walls were thick and well-protected. From a central position, she would see both entrance doors and know if they were breached.

“That will not happen,” he stressed as another tremor rocked through her. “You walked the perimeter with Arsen today.”

“The long walls of Piraeus.”

“The strategy worked in Greece and it will work here.”

“But this is the part where you leave.”

“No.” Christan’s body vibrated with the need to change and she touched his face.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. “I promise you.”

Christan voice was rough. “If I ever leave and not come back, it will be because I am dead. Even then, I would crawl on my knees to find you.”

“I believe you.” She kissed him. He traced his thumb against her right wrist, along the memory lines, amazed at the way she could put him on his knees and then lift him up again.

“I’ll be outside,” he said. “The plan is for you to stay inside. With the confusion, they may not detect your energy pattern. But if you leave, if you are out in the open, they will track you. And they will find you, because you’re the one person in this world who could destroy me.”

Her shoulders trembled. “Because of the one word?”

“No, cara. Because I would do anything to protect you.”

“I don’t want them to get to me,” Lexi said with conviction. “I don’t want them to use me against you.”

“I will not let that happen.”

“Will you kill Kace?”

“Yes.”

“But…” She moistened her lips, felt the truth. “If they get me, Christan, don’t sacrifice yourself. I… I will come back to you, in a new life. You could find me. But I couldn’t bear it if they killed you.”

His hand trembled as he stroked her hair. “They will not kill me, cara. They have been trying for centuries.”

He pulled her against his chest, wrapped his arms, felt her warmth. She was his life. His fingers brushed against her skin. She remained quiet before she asked. “How long have you known?”

He didn’t immediately answer.

“I should thank you for the day, then.”

“Sweet girl—”

“I mean it with all sincerity. If I had known, I would have ruined the pasta.”

He couldn’t respond. Her courage shattered him. He pushed strands of her hair behind her ears and gathered them at her nape, fastening the thick pony tail with a scrunchy tie and then twisting it into a knot. There was little more he could do except prepare her the best that he could.

“It’s normal to feel afraid,” he said. “But you’re strong. You know the layout of this villa. You can maneuver in the dark. Do you remember the chapel? There’s a connecting tunnel now, through a door in the kitchen pantry. If you leave, run to the chapel. Go through the old priest’s door and head for the trees—the trees will provide cover. You’ll be safe there, cara. We have surveillance and one of us will always be there. Stay low and in the shadows. Put this on.” He handed her a dark zippered sweatshirt that had been waiting on the table. “Breathe, but quietly. Use the tricks Arsen taught you and keep them out of your mind. Do you remember the alley?” He stroked her cheek while she fumbled with the zipper. “It will look like that, smell like that. It will sound like that.”