Warrior (Relentless #4)(61)

“Sara let demon free cousins,” he answered.

“Khristu!” She had deliberately let her Mori take control of her in order to save the trolls. Knowing how Sara felt about having a demon inside her, I marveled at the sheer will and courage it must have taken to relinquish her mind and body to it. And I knew the terror she must be feeling right now, trapped inside the demon’s mind.

Reaching her, I framed her face with my hands. “Look at me.”

Unfamiliar eyes met mine.

“Sara, it’s time to come back now,” I ordered more calmly than I felt.

“Your friends need you. Roland needs you.” I need you.

There was no reaction. She stood woodenly, her eyes blank. I’d hoped Roland’s name, if not my voice, would snap her out of it. Her Mori was strong for one that had been repressed its whole life, and it was fighting to stay in control. The longer it did, the more Sara would slip away into madness.

I won’t lose you. I slapped her across the face hard enough to make her head snap back.

Nothing.

Grabbing her shoulders, I shook her hard. “Goddamnit! You will not do this. Do you hear me?”

She blinked, and for a second, something stirred in her eyes. Her body twisted in my grasp, and she – the demon – tried to pull away from me.

I wrapped my arms around her. Her Mori was strong, but it was no match for me. “That’s it, Sara, fight. Follow my voice. Come back to me.”

She let out a growling roar as she struggled to break my hold. The demon was scared because she was fighting.

Holding her closer, I put my mouth to her ear. “You were right, Sara; you are not weak. In fact, you are one of the strongest, most infuriating people I have ever met. You fight monsters, you befriend trolls and beasts, and you face horrors that would break a lesser person. And you walk headfirst into danger to protect the ones you care about. You are loyal, stubborn, and foolhardy and, though you don’t believe it, you are a warrior.”

She stopped struggling and stood quietly in my arms.

I pressed forward. “Few Mohiri could have done what you did tonight, giving up yourself to save those trolls. You did what you had to do, and now you have to come back to us. To Roland.”

“Roland?” she rasped.

“That’s right,” I said hoarsely. “Your friend, Roland. He needs you now.”

She began to shake. I remembered clearly the first time I’d lost control of my own Mori. Barely five years old, I was terrified when the demon had filled my mind, taking over my body. At that age, my Mori was weak, and my mother had talked me through it. I couldn’t imagine the struggle Sara was going through with her much stronger demon.

I pulled back and looked into her eyes. My breath caught when I saw green specks in the black irises.

“That’s it, moy malen'kiy voin. Fight.”

A violent shudder went through her, and when her eyes met mine again, they were the perfect shade of emerald green. “What happened to Roland?” she asked.

I wanted to crush her against me and yell at her to never do that to me again. Instead, I rubbed her arms and looked into her confused eyes. “Roland and Peter ran into some guards and Roland was shot.”

“What?” Fear filled her eyes. “Is he okay?”

“He was alive when I left him. Peter is calling Maxwell.”

“He was…” She jerked away from me, and I let her go. “Where is he? I need to help him.”

“If anyone can help Roland, it’s Maxwell. He’ll know what to do.”

My words were meant to calm her, but they only seemed to agitate her. Fear and desperation crossed her face, and she pushed past me and ran for the door.

“I have to find him!”

All I could do was follow her. In the outer room, the hellhounds perked up when she raced past them, and one let out a soft whine.

“Stay,” she ordered as she tore up the stairs.

The hellhounds lowered their heads to the stone floor.

Shock rippled through me. No one but a hellhound’s master could command the beast, yet this pair had just submitted to Sara as if they belonged to her.

I saw her go outside and say something to Erik and Raj. Then she was off and running down the front steps. At the bottom, she turned to look up at me. Her chest heaved as if she couldn’t draw air into her lungs.

“I have to go to him. Please. He needs me,” she cried.

I went to her. “Roland is with his people. If anyone can help him, they can.” I hated hurting her, but she needed to hear the truth, to prepare herself for the worst. “The men had silver ammo, most likely to protect themselves from the vampires they were working with.”

She took a step back, shaking her head frantically. “No, no, you don’t understand. I can help him.”

I grabbed her by the shoulders before she could run again. “He took a direct hit in the chest, Sara. The pack will do what they can for him, but this type of injury is almost always fatal to werewolves. I’m sorry.”

“No! I won’t let that happen!”

Sobbing, she pulled away from me, pain radiating from her. “I know I’ve been nothing but trouble to you and you have no reason to do this for me, but I have no one else. Please help me, Nikolas.”

Her desperate plea gutted me. She had no idea there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her.