The Darkest Whisper

Did you see her again?”

“No. She probably hid.”

Aeron was merciless. “I’ve been gentle with you to this point, Paris, and that seems to have done no good. You have to let go of your grief. This morning we interrogated a few of the newest Hunters. They knew nothing about her. Afterward you summoned Cronus, asked him if she’d been sent back. And what did he say?”

Paling, Paris slammed his cue into one of the balls. “Without a body, her soul withered. Died.”

A tiny, scaled…thing was sliding around Aeron’s shoulders, stopping to pet the top of his head and kiss his cheek. Aeron reached up and gently scratched the fiend’s neck as though it was a treasured pet, as though touching it was natural, welcome. Not once did he falter in his conversation. “Would the god king lie to you?”

“Yes!”

“Why? He wants our help.”

“I don’t know,” Paris snarled.

“What is that thing?” Gwen asked, gaze still riveted on the creature winding itself around Aeron.

Sabin, who stood beside her in the doorway, burning her exposed skin with his presence, tempting her to forgive and forget and focus on the future, a future with him, smiled. “That’s Legion. She’s a demon—and a friend. Aeron would rather die than see her hurt, so please don’t try and take her out.”

That…thing was a girl? Doesn’t matter. You’ve got things to do. Gwen’s eyes were wide as she finished her study of the chamber’s occupants. Torin leaned a shoulder against the wall, as far away from everyone as he could get. He clutched a handheld monitor in his gloved hands, his attention riveted on the small screen.

He’d support her, she knew it. One thing she’d noticed about him, he placed his friends above his own welfare.

“Gonna pretend we’re not here?” Kaia stretched her arms over her head, preening like a kitten without a care.

Yes. No. “Hey.” Finally meeting her sisters’ gazes, she offered them a half smile and a wave. She’d spent the last hour thinking about what to say to them—if they were interested in listening to her. Nothing had come to her. An apology wouldn’t work because she wasn’t exactly sorry for what she’d done.

Taliyah stood, expression as blank as usual. Bristling, Sabin stepped in front of Gwen.

“Fine,” Taliyah said, ignoring him. “You’re not going to say anything about what happened, I’ll get us started.” A pause, then, “I’m proud of you.”

“Wh-what?” Gwen asked, her voice broken. That was so not what she’d expected to hear. She peeked around her warrior’s big bulk, her oldest sister once more coming into view. Taliyah was proud of her? Nothing could have surprised her more.

“You did what you had to do.” Taliyah closed the distance between them and tried to shove Sabin out of the way. “You were a Harpy in every sense of the word.”

Sabin didn’t budge.

The ice in Taliyah’s eyes would have frozen anyone else. “Let me hug my sister.”

“No.”

Gwen could see the stiff set of his shoulders, feel the tension in his back. “Sabin.”

“No,” he said, knowing what she wanted. “This could be a trick.” Then, to Taliyah, he added, “You’re not going to hurt her.”

Bianka and Kaia joined Taliyah, forming a half circle around the warrior. They could have attacked him, but somewhat to Gwen’s surprise, they didn’t.

“Seriously, let us hug our sister,” Kaia said stiffly. That she didn’t threaten to cause him bodily harm…a miracle. “Please.” The last was offered grudgingly.

“Please, Sabin,” Gwen said, flattening her palms against his shoulder blades.

He drew in a deep, shuddering breath, as if trying to sift through their scents for the truth. “No tricks. Or else.” He pivoted out of the way and they immediately swept past him.

Three sets of arms wound around Gwen.

“Like I said, I’m so unbelievably proud of you.”

“I’ve never seen anyone so fierce.”

“Color me shocked. You totally kicked my ass!”

Gwen was frozen, baffled to her core. “You’re not angry?”

“Hell, no,” Kaia said, then backtracked. “Well, maybe at first. But this morning, when we were plotting ways to kidnap you and have our revenge on Sabin, we saw you feeding from him. Made us realize he is your family now, and we stepped over the line. You don’t threaten a Harpy’s family, ever, and we knew better.”

Okay. Wow. Gwen’s gaze skidded to Sabin, who was watching her with fire in his dark eyes. He wanted to be with her, he’d said. He would give up the war for her. He wanted to put her first, make her the top priority in his life. He trusted her not to betray him. He loved her.

She wanted to believe him, so badly she wanted to believe him, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to. Not just because he’d locked her up, but because, as she’d lain in bed, recovering, she’d realized that she was now a weapon, the weapon he’d always wanted her to be. She’d proven herself in battle. He wouldn’t have to leave her behind anymore, wouldn’t have to worry about her. How better to get what he wanted from her than to seduce her, body and soul?

Did he truly love her? That’s what she wanted to know.

He claimed he wouldn’t care if he caught her embracing her father. Maybe that was the truth. But, if he loved her now, would he one day grow to resent her for who and what she was? Would his hatred of the Hunters and their leader extend to her? Would his friends turn on him for bringing an enemy into their house? Would her every word and action be suspect?

Those doubts weren’t swimming inside her head because of his demon. They were hers. All hers. And she didn’t know how to get rid of them, even though she desperately wanted to be with Sabin.

When she’d seen him in town, bloody and lethal, her heart had truly stopped—absolute proof it belonged to him. What a fierce picture he’d presented. Any woman would be proud to have such a strong, competent man at her side. She’d wanted to be that woman. Then and always. She lacked the confidence to grab on to the dream, though. Which was funny if you thought about it. Physically, she’d never been stronger.

“I’m gonna hate leaving you,” Bianka said, releasing her, and stepped back.

“Well…” Now for the hard part. “Then why try? I need you to stay here, at the fortress, and help Torin guard it and the humans.”

“And where will you be going?” Taliyah released her, too, pale eyes studying Gwen’s face. At least they hadn’t denied her request.

She squared her shoulders, determination rushing through her. “That’s actually why I called this meeting. Could I have everyone’s attention please?” She clapped her hands, waiting for the room’s other occupants to turn their gazes her way. “Sabin and I will be going to Chicago to find his missing friends. They’ve gone silent, and we think something is wrong.”

At that, Sabin blinked. That was his only reaction. She knew he was waiting for information from Torin, but she figured it was better to be en route while they waited than stuck here, ineffective.

“I’m so glad you’re going,” Ashlyn said. “I don’t know if anyone told you, but Aeron, Cameo and, yeah, your sister Kaia, took me into town this morning. I heard some things.”

Uh-oh. There was gonna be some trouble in the fortress. “You shouldn’t have gone into town. Your man will be ticked if he finds out.” She’d seen Maddox with the pregnant woman only a few times, but once had been enough to assure her of his fierce need to protect.

Ashlyn waved a hand through the air. “He knew about it. He can’t take me himself because I can’t hear conversations when he’s with me, so the compromise was to let me go with guards. He knew I’d just sneak out later otherwise. Anyway, some of the Hunters were headed to Chicago, as well. They were afraid of you, unsure of what you could do to them.”

Hunters, afraid of her. They’d feared her while she’d been trapped in that pyramid, but there had been nothing she could truly do to them. No longer was she helpless. The thought made her smile. Sabin, too, practically glowed with pride.