Page 108 of Cry of the Firebird

"What do you mean you rescued her from the shower? You went in there when she was naked?" Trajan demanded as a dark look settled in his eyes.

Yvan held his stare, even as his heart rate went up.

"Trajan, cut it out," Izrayl growled and pointed to the decorative house plants that started to shrivel and die. Trajan shook himself and looked away quickly.

Yvan pretended not to be worried as he poured himself vodka from the crystal decanter. He took a long sip before he said, "She was dreaming of Hell when you woke her. She could hear Völundr screaming."

"Did you tell her what I did opening up the passages to Tartarus?"

"No. That's something you can explain to her. You had best do it soon, so she knows she's not losing her mind," Yvan replied.

Hamish sipped his bourbon. "Shit happens, Trajan. You got to move on from it. Anya's a cool chick. She will understand. Hell, after what she just went through with that little Swedish prick, she'll probably praise you for it."

Yvan thought of the bruises on her face, and it made him want to simultaneously kill Völundr and take Anya in his arms and hold her.

She's not yours to hold, the firebird reminded him. Yvan ignored it.

Isabelle, Katya, Cerise, and the Twins arrived and ordered dinner. They were all exhausted and no one had the energy to cook. Anya still didn't appear, but Yvan ordered extra food for her anyway.

"We need to start a twenty-four-hour guard over the house," Isabelle said, her plate of pasta balancing on her knees. "Just until we can get out of Paris. If we are lucky, we might get some time before they become worried enough about their colleagues to send someone. I have a friend who's hacked into the Darkness communications network and is trying to find out more information where Ladislav and Vasilli are."

"Chayton and I have cast some protection warding around the grounds already in case they send something magical after us," Honaw added, his deep voice held an American accent which had a smoky quality. A whiskey voice, Yvan had heard Katya refer to it as.

"I want us to be gone within the week. I don't want to stay in Paris. It doesn't feel safe anymore," Katya said.

Yvan hadn't felt safe in centuries, and he didn't think moving to another city was going to help one fucking bit.

Anya saton one of the deep cream-colored couches in Trajan's rooms, wondering if she was being a coward for not going downstairs to see everyone. She still didn't feel right from the drugs wearing off and was scared she would have other hallucinations if she had to deal with too many people. Her heartbeat leaped when the door rattled and Trajan came in.

"Hey," she said softly.

"What are you doing hiding in here?" he asked, closing the door. He was smiling, so that was a good sign.

"I'm not hiding. I just wanted to talk to you without an audience." Anya folded her arms around herself, wanting to go to him and scared to. "I'm really sorry about screaming at you. I was still high and having nightmares. You know I'm not scared of you, Trajan."

"I know, but I thought after seeing my true form…" he paused, at a loss for words.

"It doesn't matter. I was more frightened that you were being tortured than seeing your other side." Anya would never forget his cries of pain or the feelings of utter helplessness that overwhelmed her.

"I should've been smarter and not fallen into the trap to begin with."

"You can't blame yourself for that. Besides, it doesn't matter because I saved you. It's kind of nice to be the one that did thesaving for once," she said with a smile and making him laugh softly.

"You certainly did that. Let's get some more light in here, shall we?"

Anya watched him move about the dark room, turning on the beautiful stained-glass lamps and lighting the small fireplace. There was an engraved plate at the back of it of a figure holding a spear that looked ancient Greek in origin. Like everything in the house, effortlessly elegant. The fire caught, the warm glow highlighting his impossibly shiny chestnut curls.

"What?" he asked when he noticed her staring.

"I was wondering if I was still high," she admitted. "You are handsome as hell in this light."

"You definitely must still be suffering from the effects of that poison." Trajan smiled just in the corner of his mouth, but Anya spotted it before it disappeared. "Can I get you anything? We have food downstairs."

"Don't fuss. I'm fine." Trajan sat down beside her, still looking worried and nervous, so Anya took his hand and squeezed it. "I'm not afraid of what you are, and I don't regret helping you for one second."

"How can you not be afraid, Anya? You saw what lives under this human form," Trajan replied, his grip on her tightening.

"You watched me burn people alive, Trajan. You saw under my skin too. It was like the day down at the lake with those boys. I went calm and let the rage and magic take over. You should be scared of me too," she said, leaning into him.

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