Warrior (Relentless #4)(201)

“Help them?” I asked dumbly, still torn between shock and anger and relief she was unhurt.

“I didn’t think you’d get here in time.” Her words were muffled against my chest. “I had to come.”

I loosened my arms so I could see her. “How did you get here?”

The answer hit me before she spoke, and my anger came roaring back as I scanned the room for the faerie. “I’ll kill him.”

Her chin lifted. “No, you won’t.”

My gaze swung back to her. “The hell I won’t. He’s supposed to be teaching you, not putting you in danger.”

She pulled away from me, and I let my arms fall to my sides. I thought she was going to put distance between us, but she stayed within arm’s reach and met my gaze unflinchingly.

“I asked him to bring me.”

“And he should have said no. You could have been killed.” I knew Eldeorin was a bit outlandish, but I never believed he would endanger her this way.

“Look around, Nikolas.” Her voice rose, and she waved her arm at the dead gulaks. “Most of the demons on the floor were put there by me. The team was in more danger of being killed than I was.”

I glanced at the carnage around us, counting at least eight large gulaks and a drex demon. “You did this?”

“Yes.” She crossed her arms. “And it’s not the first time.”

“What do you mean?”

I already knew about the demons at Draegan’s place. Had she not told me everything that had happened while we were separated?

Her eyes locked with mine. “I mean I’ve killed a lot of demons and vampires. All over the country.”

I stared at the dead gulaks, all of which were three times her size. And deadly. My gaze moved to Chris who gave me a small nod, his mouth set in a firm line.

“Iisus Khristos! Please, tell me you’re joking,” I said harshly.

She shook her head slowly. “I wouldn’t joke about that.”

“YA ne mogu v eto poverit'!” I burst out, my stomach churning just imagining the risks she’d taken. All the times I’d thought she was safe at Eldeorin’s, he was taking her out and exposing her to the very things I was fighting to protect her from.

I gripped her arms. “What in God’s name were you thinking? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you out there?”

“I wasn’t alone. Eldeorin was with me every time,” she argued.

“And that makes it okay? You’ve barely begun your training. You have no business being in any of those places.”

She glared at me. “You had no problem with Jordan coming here.”

“Jordan’s been training since she could hold a sword, and she can –”

“Can what? Defend herself?” Her face flushed in anger, but there was no mistaking the hurt in her voice. “I’m never going to be like Jordan or any other warrior no matter how much I train, Nikolas. But I’m strong, a lot stronger than you give me credit for. You saw what I did in Vancouver. Eldeorin was with me, but over half of those kills were mine.”

Vancouver? But that would mean…

Who are you?

A friend.

“Sukin syn! That was you in the backyard?”

She’d stood fifteen feet away from me, and I hadn’t sensed her presence or recognized her. Of course – Eldeorin and his goddamn glamours.

“Yes.”

I thought about all the reports of the mysterious vigilante who seemed to appear out of nowhere and killed with a weapon we hadn’t seen before. A Fae weapon, as it turned out.

“All this time. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I knew you’d react this way. Eldeorin told me I had to learn to use my power as a weapon, and he was right. I needed this.” Her voice lowered. “I’ve been trying for weeks to tell you the truth, but I didn’t know how. I almost told you today, but you got the call to come here.”

I remembered the occasions she’d been with us at the command center when we’d discussed the vigilante. She’d never said a word or had given any hint she knew who the person was. After everything we’d been through, she should have been able to tell me anything. Did she not trust me at all?

She exhaled slowly. “It started out as training, but then I realized I could make a real difference.”

I released her, not sure what to think or how to feel. “I can’t believe this. How could you keep this from me?”

Her voice grew softer, imploring. “I didn’t want to. I hated not telling you.”

I turned away from her because her pleading eyes made it impossible to think.

“Nikolas?” she said quietly.

“I need a minute, Sara,” I replied more harshly than I meant to. I had to put some space between us before I said something in anger that I couldn’t take back.

She didn’t follow or call after me when I left the building and let the heavy door slam shut behind me. Outside, the rain and wind had picked up, a perfect accompaniment to the turbulence inside me. I set off down the street with no destination in mind, just the need to walk. It wasn’t as if I could go far. I was furious with her and my chest ached from her deception, and yet all I could see was the tears shimmering in her eyes before I left.