Dangerous Games

If I did, it would be the end for me.

"I can give it to you, you know," he continued. "Give you satisfaction of a kind you have never felt."

I didn't say anything. Couldn't say anything. My tongue seemed stuck to the roof of my mouth.

"Do you wish a taste, little one?"

The power swirled, brighter and harder, until my whole body thrummed with it and the need to give in was a wave that was gathering pace toward an eager shore.

And then one of the shadows moved in the other room and awareness shot through me. I was no longer alone in this fight and the thought had energy surging, bolstering floundering will and determination.

"What I want," I said, my words little more than a pant of air, "is for you to fucking die, as horribly as all those women died."

And in one smooth movement, I grabbed the knives from my hair, flicked off the protective covers with my thumbs, and plunged them deep into Kingsley's chest.

Fury filled his eyes, and the power in the air became a weapon that hit with the force of a hammer, throwing me hard across the room. I hit the wall with a grunt, smashing the back of my head as I slid down to the floor. My vision wavered. Stars danced and shadows moved as Kingsley strode toward me. Blood and steam were dribbling from the wound but he didn't really appear to notice.

I scrambled away on all fours, but he grabbed my foot and yanked me to a halt.

"For that, you will pay with pain before I kill you."

"Bastard," I panted, kicking out with my free foot. "Let me go."

"Or you'll what? Kill me? Heard that threat once before, little one, and it is as ineffective as these little knives sticking in my flesh."

I didn't say anything. Didn't have time. Because at that moment, a sound rang out.

Not just a sound, but a gunshot.

The bullet shot Kingsley's fucking brains through the side of his head and splattered them across the wall.

I didn't even have the energy to cheer.

As Kingsley's body slumped to the ground, Rhoan stepped fully into the room.

"Why will you bad guys never listen?" he said, talking to Kingsley as if he were still capable of hearing and thought. And I guess if the silver-threaded knife had done its job and trapped his spirit inside his lifeless body, then he was still capable of understanding. He just couldn't reply. "I keep warning and warning, and nobody seems willing to listen. One of these days someone is going to wake up to the fact that I'm serious when I say never to attack my sister without looking over your shoulder for me."

I dragged myself into a sitting position and leaned wearily against the wall. "Maybe you should send out a pamphlet to bad guys' headquarters. It could be the only way to make sure they know."

"Now that sounds like a plan." He hefted the weapon onto his shoulder, and gave me a grin. "And thanks for saving the good bit for me."

I laughed. At the irony in his words. In sheer, bloody relief at still being alive.

Laughed until the tears started flowing and the pain hit full force.

Laughed until I knew no more.

Chapter Thirteen

Rhoan plopped down on the roadside curb beside me and offered me one of the two coffee cups he held. "It's only regular."

"I couldn't give a damn." I wrapped my hands around the cup, letting the hot liquid chase the chill from them. "How's the cleanup going?"

He shrugged. "Same as usual. How's your hand?" I glanced down. My little finger stuck out at an angle, all swollen and angry looking. Shifting shape had stemmed the bleeding, but it would never, ever replace what was taken. I'd have a permanent, stumpy reminder of my time with a dark god. "It's sore."

"Jack wants you to be checked out in a hospital."

"Jack's already been told what he can do with that suggestion." I glanced at him. "So he's sent you to try and con me?"

Rhoan sipped at his coffee, then nodded. "He thought it worth the try."

"Hospitals suck."

"That they do."

"And they stink."

"Yes, they do."

"And I will heal without going there."

"Eventually."

I gri

"I can but try." His gaze met mine, gray depths filled with so much concern my determination wavered. "You lost a lot of blood, sis."

I grimaced. "Nothing a good steak won't fix."

"Not according to Qui

I took a sip of coffee as my gaze found its way to the house across the road. According to Rhoan, Qui

Finally finishing what his family had failed to finish so long ago.

I understood his actions, understood his need to complete what had been left undone for so long, and yet, at the same time, part of me was angered by it.

If he'd cared for me as much as he said, shouldn't his first instincts have been to take care of me himself? Take me upstairs, look after me? To hold me, kiss me, reassure me that the dark one was trapped, that he could never escape, that nothing of him lingered within me? The chamber and the dark god weren't going anywhere, after all. The silver knives had done their job, and his spirit was trapped, as Qui

But no. It was always business before pleasure with Qui

I sighed and rubbed my good hand across my eyes. What was the good of dwelling on it? Qui

Some of that dream might have disintegrated, but not all of it. And I had every intention of hanging on to the little that did remain as fiercely as I could.

There was still hope for me. And right now, I had a wolf ready and willing to explore those options with me.

He deserved a chance.

We deserved a chance.

I took another sip of coffee. "Is Kingsley going to be mummified and sealed away like Caelfind?"

Rhoan nodded. "Deep in the vaults of the Directorate. Qui

"Good." I looked beyond him, studying the sky. The softest of pinks was begi

"A new day, a new start," I said softly, then met his gaze again. For no good reason, tears formed. "I wish I could begin again."

He put down his coffee, wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and drew me close. For several minutes, he didn't say anything, just held me against his chest and hugged me tightly. My rock, my island. The one bit of sanity left in the insanity that my life had become.

"There's nothing done that can't be undone," he said eventually, his breath stirring the hairs across the top of my head. "Nothing so wrong in your life that can't be changed."

I snorted softly against his chest. "There's lots of things that can't be changed and we both know it."

"But it isn't lots of things causing you grief. Only one." His hand slid down my arm, rubbing gently. "I think what you need is a break. A nice long holiday to regain strength will do you wonders, I think."

I half laughed, half sniffed, as I pulled away from his grip. "Has Kellen been in your ear?"

He smiled. "No. You're the one that mentioned he wanted to take you away on a holiday. Why not extend it? Why not explore the depth of your relationship with him? You've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain."

"I don't think Jack—"

He held up a hand, forestalling my argument. "Jack's agreed to give you time off."