Gold: A Bandia Novel Part 15

Greenpeace II lays a hand on Austin's shoulder. "I've got this."

Austin lets go of Braden's neck abruptly. "So you do."

Braden gulps in oxygen. He glares at Austin and me. "We are on the same side of this," he rasps.

Austin shakes his head. "Make no mistake about it. I am on one side and one side alone." He takes my hand in his. "Hers."

We're nearly out of the pub when I see the woman from the train. Corporate Tink, dressed up in a red velvet blazer and black pants. She sits at the end of the bar, sipping a drink the color of blood. Her eyes follow us as we walk into the street.

I s.h.i.+ver as we step into the cold.

TWENTY-SIX.

Austin smiles when we get back in his car. "Do that eyelash thing again."

"This?" I blink my eyes.

He laughs. "You're a terrible flirt. Truly awful."

"Thanks."

"It's a compliment. No one who knows you would ever think of you that way. You are a brilliant warrior. Smart, strong and s.e.xy as h.e.l.l."

I want to laugh. "Tell me more."

"Do you really want to hear how I fell in love the moment you spun that quarter into my lap?"

"Right." Austin wanted to use me as much as anyone else. "All you cared about was that I was a bandia. You only wanted me for your army."

Austin raises his eyebrows. "Which explains why I took you directly to my bedroom."

"You also told me we would end badly. Not exactly romantic."

Austin stops smiling. "We will."

"We already did." I try to keep things light, but Austin's face is dark. "I banished you for a thousand years, remember?"

"I remember well enough." Austin frowns and starts the car. He drives in silence until we're almost to the gate of his home. He concentrates on the narrow lane that winds down to his house. He doesn't turn to look at me until the car is parked in front of his house. "I didn't know how it would end. I only knew it would. I a.s.sumed it would end in death. That's why I pushed you so hard to kill Blake before he killed you."

A chill starts at the back of my neck and slides down my spine. "You saw my death?"

"I didn't see anything. Blake claimed the right to kill you. It was only logical. You believe in logic, right?" When he turns to face me, his eyes are dark. "I knew I would never give up on you. Not as long as you were alive. Death is the only thing that would keep me from you."

My blood flows with ice, almost as if my magic is there. I reach for water, but it's not magic. It's just the cold certainty that my fate is coming for me whether I fight against it or not.

Austin doesn't move to get out of the car. "We can't change our fate. Just how we get there."

"So you tried to save me by making sure I killed Blake?"

"I thought I could prolong things. And that worked out well, didn't it? It's because of me that you've lost your power. I've only made you defenseless. By trying to keep you alive longer, I may have hastened your death."

"A different path to the same place."

"Exactly."

I pull my shoulders back, trying to manufacture a strength I don't feel. It's what I've known for a while now. I can't run. I can't avoid the confrontation that's coming. I need to be ready to fight. "Let's go down to the beach."

"Now? It's late."

"You heard Braden. We have six weeks. Liam still thinks I'm going to be part of his army. We need to know exactly what he's planning to do. We have to know what we're up against."

Austin watches me closely. "It's too dangerous. If he learns the truth about your powers, he'll-"

"He won't."

"Liam will test you. He trusts no one."

"I'm doing this." I let myself out of the car and start walking toward the path that will take me down to the beach.

A few minutes later, Austin jogs up beside me. He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it.

"It's getting harder for me," he says quietly. "I won't be able to access my power at all soon. In six weeks, I'll be as defenseless as anyone."

"I'm sorry." I squeeze his hand.

"Whatever for?"

I don't know how to put it words. Austin gave up his immortality, his powers, everything when he saved my horse. As much as it's his own fault, for killing Dart in a misguided attempt to get me to fight the Sons, he didn't know what it would cost him when he brought Dart back to life. "You've lost everything."

He stops me on the path and looks down at where our hands are clasped together. In the moonlight, I can just make out his crooked smile. "That, is where you are wrong."

The wind blows cold, still damp from an afternoon downpour, but my body is warm.

This is Austin, a vindictive G.o.d who killed Danu to spark a war between the Seventh Daughters and the Sons of Killian. He killed Dart. He nearly killed Haley. He made me kill Blake. So he's helping me now. I can't let myself forget.

Have I learned nothing from Blake? Physical attraction is not the same thing as love.

I pull my hand away and walk the rest of the way to the trail at the edge of the bluff. Austin walks behind me, but I don't look back. I've already let myself rely on him too much. I let myself believe I could trust him. How could I let myself forget what he's capable of? What he's already done.

But part of me understands how Austin could do the things he did. I am as much a killer as he is. I will fight for what I believe in. Kill for it.

The killer in me understands him completely.

The tide is in, and the waves crash against the two large boulders that lead to the gateway filling the path with water. There is only a small patch of gravel at the base of the cliff, with just enough room for the two of us. Austin stands behind me, so close I can feel his body heat and the puff of his breath on my neck.

I cross my arms across my chest, s.h.i.+vering in the ocean air. It's strange to be so close to the air and sea, to witness its power without being able to access it. A gust of wind blows me off balance, mocking me. I struggle to find my footing on the rocks.

Austin's arms come around my waist, holding me steady. "We're stronger together," he whispers.

"Maybe that's what I'm afraid of."

It only takes a few minutes for Liam to appear in a burst of white light. There's not enough room for three of us on the sliver of beach, but it doesn't matter. Liam hovers in the air above the water. His G.o.dliness is a sight to behold, glorious and gorgeous, but it's cold and tinged with darkness. One look is all it takes to know that Liam is not a merciful G.o.d. The awe he inspires is tinged with fear.

"Come to pay your respects?" Liam says the words to both of us, but he's glaring at Austin.

"I've come to invite you to stay."

Liam smiles, and it's unclear whether he notices the barely contained venom in Austin's voice. "You finally realize your place? Prepare your best room. I'll be by in the morning." Liam vanishes, leaving only a dark shadow where he had been.

"You invited him to stay with us?" I shudder. "You want to keep an eye on him, don't you?"

Austin's right. It will be easier to learn Liam's plans this way. Still, the guy freaks me out a little.

I don't hesitate when Austin offers his hand to help me back up the path to the house. I don't let go until we step inside the warm entryway.

"It's late," Austin says, his gaze drifting to my lips.

I nod, but don't move toward the stairs. "What happens before?"

Austin's brow furrows into those little lines I'm starting to love. "Before what?"

"This ends badly."

"I don't know."

"If it ends, does that mean that we're together?"

Austin closes his eyes. "G.o.d, I hope so."

"What if I'm just using you to get over Blake?"

"Is that what you're doing?"

Is it? It's exactly what I had in mind a few nights ago. Now I'm less certain. "I don't know."

Austin's jaw tightens, but his hand is gentle when he rests it lightly against my cheek. "I was not a patient G.o.d. I find I'm a much less patient man. But I will wait for you to find your way to me."

"What if this is all there is?"

"It's not."

I let myself wish that everything was different. That I hadn't let Blake take me out of Austin's room that first night. That I hadn't sent Haley back in to take my place. That I never let myself bond with Blake. That I never loved him. That I never killed him.

It's pointless. There's no going back. Not really.

"I can't forget what you did." What I did.

Austin steps away, moving toward the stairs. He places a hand on the banister and turns to look at me. "I don't expect you to forget, Brianna. But maybe, you will be able to forgive me?"

I watch him disappear up the stairs.

Too bad he no longer has an eternity. The bandia aren't exactly known for forgiveness.

TWENTY-SEVEN.

Mick announces Liam's arrival with all the enthusiasm of a cat eyeing a bath. Austin barely glances up from his cup of tea, but I turn to watch Liam's grand entrance. Liam places his hands on his hips and surveys the large living room, almost as if he's already mentally redecorating. There's a flicker of movement behind him, and gorgeous young woman follows him into the room.

Sherri Milliken steps forward, her dark hair s.h.i.+ning in the light from the large picture window. It's still a shock to see Sherri, who had seemed so mousy before her seventeenth birthday, looking every inch the gorgeous descendant of a G.o.ddess. She runs over and gives me a hug, squealing like a sorority girl. "Thank G.o.d you're alive!"

Sherri ran away the night Sasha was killed, but it's no surprise that she's here now. Answering the call. Looks like Liam found her first. Sherri curls up next to Liam, wrapping an arm around his waist. "Have you met Liam?"

He smiles down at her. "You two know each other? Excellent."

Sherri presses closer to Liam and mouths, "Isn't he hot?"

Hot is not the word I'd use. He's cold. Icy. Liam's beauty is hard, more like a marble statue than a flesh and blood person. I nod my head, more to avoid an argument than anything else. Liam pulls Sherri up against him and starts making out with her right in front of us. I stare down at my hands.

Austin sets down his tea. "Mikel, perhaps you should show Liam to his room."

Mick nods. "My lord."

Mick was addressing Austin, but it's Liam who comes up for air to respond. "Yes, Mikel, show me the way."

Mick scrunches up his face as Liam walks out of the living room in front of him.

Sherri runs over to the couch and sits next to me. "So tell me everything. How did you get away? Did you kill any of them?"

In a manner of speaking. I don't want to explain any of this to Sherri. So I don't. "No."

She looks over at Austin and back at me. She lowers her voice to a whisper. "He's not one of them is he?"

Austin leans forward. "I can hear you perfectly."

Sherri straightens her spine.

Austin laughs. "I remember you, bandia."

Sherri's eyes narrow. I can almost see the magic bubbling up.

"It's okay, Sherri. Austin is here to help us. Like Liam."

Sherri looks him up and down. "How? Liam opened the gateway. He's the only one who can cross over."

Where does Sherri get her information? I need to see what I can find out from her.

Austin leans back on the couch. "I am Liam's predecessor."

Sherri still looks skeptical, but she settles into the couch.