The Darkest Secret

behind her. She tried to flip the lock in place and noticed it had been removed. Shit! Something else to worry about later. Tiny beads of ice dotted her skin, and her knees knocked shakily as she pivoted. Then she saw him. He was thrashing atop the bed, just like last time.

Finally, she was with him again. He was alive. But for how long? He was worse, Defeat had said, and Amun had barely survived the last set of wounds.

Haidee…please…

So weak, suffused with all that pain. «I’m here, baby. I’m here.» Acid flowed through her as she stumbled toward him. Some distant part of her brain noticed that every piece of furniture but the bed had been carted out. Then she was standing at the edge of the mattress, peering down at him, and all thoughts fled.

He moaned inside her head.

«I know. I know you hurt.»

Haidee? Not quite so pained now.

«Yes, baby. Haidee’s here.»

He sighed with the barest hint of relief.

The shadows had returned, were even then dancing around his once again savaged body. His eyes were swollen shut, his hands bloody and torn. The wings of his butterfly tattoo were…moving, breaking apart, forming hundreds of other butterflies. Those, too, danced over him, up his thighs, on his stomach, his pectorals, his arms, then disappearing behind his back.

In that moment, she was absolutely certain the man she watched was Amun rather than Micah. Which meant the Lords wouldn’t hurt him. Thank God. The intensity of her relief was stunning.

What’s wrong with you? she wondered again. Now that her worries over Amun’s possible torture and execution were proven unnecessary, she couldn’t forget or refute two simple facts. This man had never been a Hunter. This man was her enemy.

She should kill him. She should add to her tally and be all the closer to evening the score. Like Baden, Amun deserved whatever punishment she dished. The vile things these men had done in ancient Greece… Still. She couldn’t force herself to hurt him. He was too battered, too pitiful. Had sought only to protect her.

His attitude will change. You know it will. The moment he’s well, his friends will tell him who you are. He’ll go for your throat faster than you can say, «But I spared you.»

She’d worry about his hatred then. For now, for better or worse, she and Amun were connected. Later, she would search for answers, find out how and why. Maybe she could even convince herself she’d never had visions of him. And then…maybe then she could find a way to cut the ties that bound them. If he didn’t do it first.

Until then…

She would do everything in her power to save this man, just as before.

Even the thought was a betrayal to the Hunters. A betrayal Micah would take personally. But that didn’t alter her plans, and that, she realized, drove home the knowledge that her relationship with him was over.

She was shocked by her lack of unhappiness at the prospect. Shocked further that she didn’t wish things were different. She just wished there was a way to let him know. Gently. She desired another man, a demon- possessed man at that, and Micah deserved better than she could ever give him.

She sighed, the relieved sound an echo of Amun’s. It was nice, having something figured out. If only healing Amun proved to be that simple. She reached out and brushed the sweat-soaked hair from his brow. Those dancing shadows screeched, darting away from her and burrowing under Amun’s skin, even as the warrior leaned toward her, seeking closer contact.

What did that darkness represent? What did it mean? Definitely something evil, as she’d first suspected. Amun obviously hated it, cringing as the last thread of gloom faded inside him.

Haidee, my Haidee. Another sigh wafted through her head, this one laced with contentment. Don’t leave me.

«I won’t leave you.» Her trembling intensified as she climbed in beside him and wrapped him in her arms. «I’ll be here as long as you need me.»

In his own bedroom, Torin watched Haidee on one of his computer screens. Haidee. Come back to life. Who would have thought? And why hadn’t Strider told him? The questions lost their importance between one heartbeat and the next. His eyes widened as the shadows scrambled to escape her touch. He’d never seen anything like it and had no idea what it meant.

He did know one thing. She wasn’t human, as she’d told Strider. No mere human could frighten demons as she’d just done. And they were frightened of her. They’d hidden inside Amun, rather than try and escape him as they’d done from the first.

«So what the fuck is she?» he muttered.

Scowling, Strider barreled his way inside Amun’s chamber. How eager Haidee had been to reach the warrior, her sworn enemy. And now Strider saw her sprawled on the bed, curled into Amun’s side, tenderly smoothing his brow. As if she wanted to be there. As if she was glad to be there. Helping a Lord.

She thinks Amun’s her boyfriend, remember? Of course she was glad. Of course she was helping.

«Ex?» he growled with more force than he’d intended.

Her gunmetal gaze shifted and locked on him warily. «What?» There was nothing wary about her voice. That single word snapped at him with more force than even he had used.

Clearly, she wanted him to get out and leave her the hell alone.

His molars gnashed together, and he beat down the tide of jealousy that suddenly raged through him. Jealousy. Jealousy over a Hunter. A Hunter he’d always planned to kill. Why couldn’t he simply be happy that Amun now had a chance to pull through?

Because Haidee was going to make Amun miserable. And if the big guy fell in love with her, he just might abandon his friends to be with her. Which would get his ass killed for good. Ultimately, she would betray him.

I won’t let that happen. Ever.

Win, Defeat said, sensing the challenge.

I will. Strider raised both of his hands. In the left, he held a syringe. In the right, chains. They’d been waiting in the hallway, but she’d been too damn concerned for Amun to notice. «You didn’t honestly think you’d have free rein with him, did you?»

Chapter Nine

Amun dragged himself from the tangled web of his mind and forced his eyelids to open. First things he noticed: the taste of frosted apricots filled his mouth, there was a wonderful chill inside him, cooling the fires that had raged, and an earthy perfume wafted into his nose every time he inhaled.

Second thing: sunlight streamed through the window, the heavy curtains parted and the blinds slatted to welcome every single bright ray. His eyes teared and burned, but at least those tears washed away the hazy shield seeming to cloak the entire room, allowing him a clearer view.

Third thing: Strider reclined in a cushy chair he’d placed just in front of Amun’s bed, watching him with an intent, almost forbidding expression.

Strider’s mind was blank, and purposely so. The warrior knew Amun could read every single one of his thoughts. Everyone here knew it. Which was why, when they wanted privacy — because Amun simply couldn’t stop the flow of their innermost secrets, no matter how much he wanted to — they had to wrap themselves in darkness and silence.

«How do you feel?» Strider asked, his timbre scratchy and rough.

Even though the new demons were rattling against his skull, Amun had no trouble understanding. He tried to raise his hands to sign his reply. Like shit, for the most part. The apricots, the chill, both