Page 34 of Blue Embers
Looking at the woman in the bed, I saw what I was certain used to be a beautiful, strong female, much like Persephone. Color had left her flesh and sickness had made her thin, but she was once the focus of a Draak. One that had attracted the attention of something far more serious than I initially suspected. The tiniest suspicion that the necklace had any significance when it came to the current conflicts had now become my main focus.
I turned my lips toward Persephone’s head, kissing her softly above her ear when I saw Saxon’s broad figure standing in the doorway. His jaw muscles were rigid when he saw the dead Ashling on the bed and Persephone crying in my arms. His burning, red eyes met mine for a few seconds and I could tell what he was thinking. He looked down the hall, a moment of thought preceding a stern march back toward the parking lot.
I stepped away from Persephone, holding her hand as I followed Saxon down the stairs and through the exit once more. Outside, Malice still had the red-haired woman restrained next to Saxon’s truck. She had a severe bump on her head, which had begun to bleed down behind her ear. She also had the same, over-confident expression on her exotic face as he approached. Saxon stepped close enough to get a strong whiff of her obviously inhuman presence. I could see what she was now. It was painfully obvious in her cocky smirk and those violating eyes. She was a Zephyre.
14
Killian
. . .
Saxon swung his gaze slowly in my direction, making sure we were both understanding the situation. Malice was still standing behind the woman, holding her wrists tight. I could see his eyes darting between us and the Zephyre, waiting for something to make sense.
“They killed her,” Persephone wept softly, her anger overshadowed by her sadness only for a moment. She let go of my hand and moved to attack the woman, growling furiously before I grabbed her arm in restraint. “They killed her!” she shouted, struggling.
I stepped in front of her, taking her shoulders in my hands.
“Persephone, don’t,” I said.
“She killed my sister!”
“We know,” Saxon said, his tone flat.
He turned his eyes on the woman again, digging.
“You won’t get anything from me, Red,” the woman spoke in a sultry drawl. “We’re both children of the Zephyre.”
“You read the woman?” Saxon asked.
“I did.” She smiled maliciously. “And you can’t do anything about it.”
Saxon stepped closer to her, narrowing his eyes. “I’m much older than you, witch,” he said, lifting his hands to lightly cup her face between them. “I’ve been doing this for much longer.”
Suddenly his grip tightened. He grasped the woman’s head firmly, taking in a sharp breath as the memories and images passed between them. The woman struggled to keep what was in her mind locked away, but it was obvious she was failing. Her strained expression twisted into one of agony just before she sucked in a sharp gasp. Her eyes grew wide, staring into Saxon as he ripped her defenses apart.
Persephone watched, speechless. It took only moments for Saxon to get through and once he did, everything he needed was given to him before the woman could scream. He took her chin with bone breaking force and twisted it to the side until I heard that familiar crack of her spinal cord. Persephone jolted in my arms as the woman’s body went limp against Malice. Subtly, he and Saxon hoisted the woman into the back seat of the truck and out of the public’s view.
“We need to talk,” Saxon said to me, his eyes filled with a fiery urgency. “Meet us back at your place.”
I nodded. “The Draakir’s already caught wind of this, no doubt,” I said. “Perhaps if I tell them it was you, they won’t give me grief.”
“Do what you have to,” Saxon replied.
He circled around to the driver’s side of his truck and climbed in while Malice jogged to his bike, casually straightening his leather jacket as if nothing had happened. In fact, after everything, the man looked almost bored. Once he and Saxon were on their way, I turned my attention toward Persephone, who was still in a state of complete shock. I placed a hand on her shoulder again, bringing her back to Earth. She sucked in a breath, eyes still raw with tears.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
I knew whatever her answer was it would be a lie. She was far from alright. I could still feel her shaking, but as expected, she gave me a subtle nod in reply.
“What now?” she asked.
“We need to meet them back at my house. That woman read your sister before she died. Saxon read her in return. It was the only way to get your sister’s memories.”
“What was she?”
“Hard to say for sure. We’ll discuss it when--”
“I need to take care of things here,” Persephone cut me off, pulling from my touch. “Artemis is dead. I...I’m sure there are things I need to do. I’m her sister. Do I have to fill out papers or something? Talk to someone about...about the body. I mean--”
