Andra reached out, but Nika"s subtle jerk on her hand stopped her. "It was you I saw last year, wasn"t it? It was your mind I reached, thinking you were Nika."
"Yes. That was me."
"Oh, baby," breathed Andra, breaking Nika"s grip. She couldn"t hold herself back any longer. She had to hold her baby sister in her arms.
Tori sat straight up and held her hand out. "No. Don"t touch me. I don"t like to be touched."
Andra stopped as her heart broke open, pouring a river of anguish into her chest. "I"m so sorry. I didn"t know you were alive."
She felt Paul"s presence slide into her mind, comforting her. A moment later, his strong hands were on her shoulders, giving her silent support.
"It doesn"t matter," said Tori. "What"s done is done."
Andra wanted to say she"d find a way to make it up to her, but how could she? How could she do anything to make up for years of imprisonment, torture, and rape? How could anyone? All she could offer was another hollow apology. "I"m so sorry, baby."
"I"m tired," said Tori. "Please leave."
Andra found the strength to walk away, because it was all she could think to give her sister. Nika was right behind her. As soon as the bedroom door clicked shut, she let loose the tears she"d been choking back.
Paul gathered her into his embrace and held her while she cried, stroking her back.
"She"s so broken," said Andra into Paul"s shoulder.
"So was I," said Nika. "I got better. So will she. We just need to be patient."
Andra looked at her little sister, seeing her in a new light. She was no longer a fragile girl in need of protection. She was a grown woman with a quiet kind of power all her own. And at her side was one h.e.l.l of a formidable warrior who would give his life to keep her safe.
She hadn"t failed Nika. Even though things had looked hopeless less than a year ago, here Nika stood, proof that among the Sentinels, miracles could happen.
Andra was going to see to it that Tori found her own miracle.
She sniffed and straightened her spine, gearing up for a fight she knew would be more against her own nature than anything. "Then patience is what she"ll have. As much of it as she needs. However long it takes."
She"d abandoned and buried her sister once. She wasn"t going to do it again.
Logan left Grace"s side, driven by the need to sleep. There was nothing he could do for her, just as there"d been nothing he could do for Torr. Grace had made her choice to give up her life for another. He didn"t want to belittle the selfless gesture by questioning it.
He pa.s.sed into the main hall, heading toward the Sanguinar wing, fatigue pulling at every heavy step he took. A large group had congregated around the biggest dining table. Joseph sat at the head of the table, speaking quietly. There were at least two dozen Theronai therea"likely deciding what to do in the aftermath of last night"s events. Tynan had phoned Logan earlier on the drive home and told him about the humans they"d rescueda"about the child Andra"s and Nika"s sister had borne.
Logan hadn"t had much time or energy to digest the information, but he was sure that once the sun set, Tynan would call the Sanguinar together for a meeting of their own.
He was too worn-out to stop and eavesdrop, so he pa.s.sed the group by, ignoring them. It wasn"t until he could see the lounging area that he came to a stop. Sitting on one of the leather sofas, staring sightlessly at some animated TV show, were three children Logan didn"t recognize. They looked as if they"d been recently scrubbed clean, and half-empty plates of food and gla.s.ses of milk sat on the coffee table in front of them. Skinny, listless, and pitiful, the three children drew Logan to them.
He could only imagine the kind of h.e.l.l those poor little souls had been through.
Logan ignored his fatigue and went over to where they sat. The boy was probably about seven, as was one of the girls. The other one of the girls was older, maybe nine. Each of them clutched a blanket around their skinny shoulders as they stared up at him with huge, haunted eyes.
"Mind if I sit?" he asked.
They continued to stare for a long moment until the older girl asked, "Are you an angel?"
Logan smiled at that. "Hardly."
The little boy scooted over, making room for Logan on the couch. Logan sat and felt three pairs of eyes follow his every move. He wasn"t sure whether it was because of his unnatural beauty or whether they feared what he might do.
He sat very still and pretended to watch the TV. Hunger rumbled inside him, and the bone-numbing weariness of too much strain combined with daylight tried to drag him under, but he resisted the pull of sleep. The longer these children waited for care, the harder it would be to help them.
Besides, he couldn"t stand the idea of letting them suffer with their nightmares for even one more day.
Logan gathered up his meager strength and let it trickle out of him. He sent out calming waves of energy to the children, hoping to rid them of any anxiety they might have. The effort left him shaking, but he kept up that subtle flow of power, slow and steady.
The little boy was the first one to react. He climbed up into Logan"s lap, wrapped his skinny arms around his neck, and began to cry.
Logan slid his hand over the boy"s back, hoping to offer comfort.
His tears must have triggered something in the girls, because they joined in the group hug. The younger girl was sobbing and clinging to Logan"s arm, but the older girl"s tears were silent and heartbreaking.
Logan had to fight his body"s need to shut down. Every cell inside him was screaming out in hunger and exhaustion, but he didn"t want to fail these poor little souls. He just needed to keep the flow of power up for a little longer.
Now that the children were receptive, he pushed harder, abandoning subtlety for efficiency. He would need to take their blood to permanently cleanse their memories, but for now, he could fog thema"ease the children"s pain long enough for them to rest and eat and recover.
Soon, the tears slowed, then stopped as the children drifted off into a deep, healing sleep. They were still piled on top of him like puppies, seeking out the basic comfort of physical contact. Their warm little bodies held him perfectly still, and Logan"s shirt was tear soaked in several places.
He never should have allowed himself to get this close to them. Having these precious, tiny people clinging to him for comfort made him wish for things he dared not even name.
Sanguinar did not allow themselves to have children. Doing so was considered the pinnacle of selfishness, as those children would be doomed to dwell in darkness and starve for the whole of their long lives.
He and his kind had to be satisfied with enjoying the children of others. Sure, most parents kept their little ones a safe distance from the predators, but right here, right now, there were no parents to keep Logan from reveling in the miracle of these precious children.
He knew he should go. Staying here was only going to be torturous to himself. It was better to never have a taste of something that could never be his, than to get a glimpse of what he was missing.
Time to get up. Time to leave and let the Sentinels take it from here.
One of his legs had gone numb and hunger was now screaming inside him. He was too weak to move, much less stand.
Nicholas was suddenly standing over him, his scarred face staring down at the scene. "Thank you. We thought we were going to have to give them drugs to help them sleep."
Logan shrugged off the uncomfortable thanks, making the little boy"s head shift on his shoulder. "You"re going to have to help me up so I can sleep, too."
"Will I wake them if I move them?"
"No. They"re too deeply asleep."
Nicholas gently picked up each of the children, moved them, and tucked a blanket around their bodies. Logan was working to get the feeling back in his legs so he could stand when Nicholas came back to him.
He offered Logan his wrist. "Go ahead. You look like you"re about to pa.s.s out."
The offer so freely given startled Logan. He was used to having to fight for every drop of blood. He didn"t know what to say, so he said nothing and took the blood Nicholas had offered. It flowed into him, warm and rich with power, quieting the worst of his hunger.
Logan didn"t want to prevent such an act of kindness from happening again, so he took only what he needed to make it back to his suite. Sleep would help strengthen him, and then he could go hunting once night had fallen.
Nicholas pulled him to his feet.
"Thank you," said Logan.
"No big deal. Get some rest. I"m sure Joseph will have plenty for you to do come nightfall."
Logan took one last look at the children to make sure they were all sleeping soundly, then turned and walked away. They no longer needed him. It was time to go.
The darkness of his windowless sleeping room below called to him. He wanted nothing more than to crawl in bed and find the oblivion of sleep, but he couldn"t bear going to bed without washing up first.
He stripped out of his coat and clothing and headed for the bathroom. When he walked inside, he stopped dead in his tracks. The smell of fresh blood filled his nose, making his belly rumble. It wasn"t just any blood, either. This blood was pure. Perfect. Undiluted by humans. The blood of an Athanasian.
On his mirror, scrawled in an awkward script, were words written in that blood. There was an address, and below that he read: "You have not been forgotten. You are not alone."
Logan stood there for a long time, staring. He had no idea what the words meant or who could have written them, but there was one thing he did know. For the first time in decades, he felt the faintest stirring of hope.
Later that night Nika stood in the doorway of her old rooma"the one where Tori now slept. She was in bad shape. Whatever the Synestryn had done to her was going to take a long time to undo.
Tynan had checked her out on the drive home and he wasn"t even sure it was possible. Nika had kept that news from Andra to protect her. Tori needed Andra to be strong, not wallowing in shame and regret.
Nika was still weak from battle and blood loss, but moving around felt good. For the first time in almost a decade, her mind was her own. She could still sense a connection with Synestryn, but they were no longer calling the shots. Nika was.
They cowered in their dank hidey-holes, fearing her, knowing she could destroy them with a mere thought.
Nika didn"t, though. She had other plans for those creatures. She was going to use thema"force them to be her eyes and ears among the enemy. All those beasts cowering in the dark were now her army, and she was going to use them to ensure that no other child ever suffered the way Zillah had made her sister suffer.
"Those are not restful thoughts, love," said Madoc. His strong hands slid over her shoulders, pulling her back against his broad chest. "Tynan said you needed to rest, remember?"
"I will. Once I know Tori is better."
"She"ll pull through," he said. "She"s strong, just like the rest of the Madison women."
"Tori will get better fast. You"ll see."
"I"m sure she will," said Madoc.
"Tynan said I could try to use my mind to rid her of the Synestryn blood once I"m strong enough. He"s going to do the same. At least I don"t have to drink it to filter it out." She shivered at the disgusting thought.
Madoc nodded, his chin brushing her hair. "I saw the blisters on his mouth. I can"t imagine that"s any kind of fun for him."
"Sunlight might help, too. Once she can tolerate it." The first accidental brush of sunlight on her skin on the way home had been horrible, leaving Tori screaming and convulsing in pain.
"We"ll do whatever it takes."
"I hope Tori will, too."
"Of course she will. Why would you think otherwise?"
"She wouldn"t let Tynan take her memories. He offered, but she refused."
"Did she say why?" he asked.
"No. I have no idea."
Nika grabbed his hands and wrapped them around her, savoring his warmth. "Even if her body heals, she still has a long way to go. Her mind ..." She couldn"t bring herself to think about it too long. Tori had spent years being abused. For all they knew she might never be normal. Never be happy.
"We"ll be here for her. We"re her family and we"ll do whatever it takes to see her well again."
Nika felt a swelling of love for him burst inside her. She hadn"t known love like this existed until Madoc. It was consuming, powerfula"the kind of magic that melded hearts together and changed reality. It made her tremble, while at the same time filling her with strength.
With Madoc by her side, she felt like there was nothing she couldn"t doa"nowhere she wouldn"t be safe. He was her everything, and even though Tori was so sick and hurt, with Madoc holding her, she felt hope. For the first time since the night her family was destroyed, Nika felt like she had a future.
She was going to do everything in her power to see to it that it was a bright one. For all of them.
Tori pretended to be asleep while Nika stood over her. She"d gotten really good at pretending over the years.
The idea of having all those horrible memories erased was getting harder to resist. Tori couldn"t shut her eyes without feeling like she was back in that cave, cold and alone.
But she wasn"t alone now. She had a powerful group of people who felt sorry for her. Poor little Tori. Been through so much.
Their pity disgusted her. It made her feel small and weak, like a child, when the truth was she hadn"t been a child for a very long time.
She had been through a lot, but she wasn"t going to let it stop her from the one thing she wanted to do more than anything else in the world, and for that, she needed her memories intact.
She was going to get healthy, get strong, and kill Zillah. By the time she was done with him, he was going to wish he"d never laid eyes on her. She was going to return tenfold every hurt, every chill, every pang of hunger and sickness he"d caused over the years. She was going to make him pay for her life and the lives of all the other children he"d stolen. And then, when he"d screamed his last scream and finally filled up the yawning void inside Tori, she was going to kill him and feed him to his guards.
She had his blood in her veins, and there wasn"t a place on Earth he could go where she wouldn"t find him.
Read on for a sneak preview of the next novel in the Sentinel Wars series, BLOODHUNTING.
Coming soon from Signet Kansas City, Missouri, March 16 When death comes for you, it will not be gentle.
Logan hadn"t truly understood Sibyl"s prophecy of his death until this moment. But now that he was staring into its jaws, he realized what she had meant.
A Synestryn demon crouched behind a run-down three-story building, its eyes glowing a bright, feral green. It was huge, making the Dumpster beside it look like a milk crate. Heavy muscles bulged in its limbs, quivering with antic.i.p.ation of the kill. Its breath billowed from all four of its nostrils, creating pale plumes of steam in the cold night air. Bright moonlight gleamed across its skin, reflected off the viscous, poisonous fluid that leaked from its pores.
Logan had never seen anything like it before, but the human, Steve, groaning in pain on the pockmarked asphalt near the demon"s feet, was testament to the power of its poison.
The man"s wife, Pam, stood pressed against the cold brick, staring in horror at her husband. Her pregnant belly protruded from her slim body, promising the hope of a new generation.
Logan could not let anything happen to that child.
Steve was still moving, but if Logan didn"t do something soon, he wasn"t going to survive. Not that there was much Logan could do. After days without feeding, he was weak, his powers dwindled down to little more than the ability to walk upright.
Hunger churned inside him, demanding he seek out the blood he needed, but there was no time to feed. No time to gather his strength. No time to call for help.
If this couple and their childa"a child he"d worked so hard to see createda"were killed, many of his people would starve. Logan could not allow that to happen.