Page 137 of Changeling
Nathan felt movement in his arms and heard a great gasp from Sasha as the incubus came to. He couldn’t believe it even as he looked down and saw blue eyes blinking awareness.
Fresh tears filled Nathan’s eyes and streamed down his face with the greatest relief. Pulling Sasha in for a fierce embrace, he doubted any amount of time would be long enough to hold his incubus close—his incubus, not the spriggan, not anything butSasha. He relished in how tightly Sasha clung to him in return, the redhead’s voice hitching as he tried to speak.
All Nathan heard was a whimpered, “Nathan,” and it was more than enough to sustain him forever.
Only after they had stayed like that for too long did Nathan pull away and wipe at the tears staining Sasha’s face, even though he knew his own face couldn’t be much better.
A subtle shuffling of feet alerted Nathan to their nearby watcher, interrupting any chance he had at saying something monumental to mark the moment. He couldn’t ignore Jim but he was afraid to look up, afraid of what he might see. When he finally did look, for a moment there was only those all-white eyes, devoid even of pupils, and a blank expression. But as soon as the white faded to wonderful deep blue, and Jim smiled ina way only Nathan’s brotherJimcould smile, none of Nathan’s fears seemed to matter anymore. Jim fell to his knees beside them and embraced them both.
“Always so quick to celebrate.”
Nathan screamed as pain racked through his chest worse than it had the morning the Messenger first dug in her claws. He pitched to the side, held up only because Jim and Sasha were on either side of him.
He could barely look up through the sudden pain, but he did, and he saw the bastard himself, male and grinning as he walked toward them from the other side of the room as if he had merely appeared out of thin air.
“Bravo,” Malak said, stopping just in front of them before looking smugly down at Jim. “Really well done, James, that ending was quite inspired. But I’m afraid you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain.”
“What?” Sasha’s voice was hoarse from screaming, and tears still stained his cheeks. “What are you talking about? We did what you asked. Even if there’s someone we missed, we have another week yet.”
“Oh? You did what I asked? Because I’m fairly certain I asked you toreturnall of the remaining dark sidhe to the Veil. There was no amendment about killing them.”
Nathan lurched forward onto his hands and knees as another spike of pain shot through him.
“You can’t do this!” Jim yelled. “It isn’t fair!”
“Fairness hardly plays a role, dear boy. Of course if we’re talking rules and obligations, and that Nathan made adealand I am merely seeing it through to the end, then fair is exactly what this is.”
Nathan’s gaze returned to the black suit, the black shirt and red tie, the blond hair and horrible eyes. It was a handsome face that smiled possessively back at him. Nathan had assumed it wasa guise, but there was no twisted other version of the dark sidhe king hiding beneath the surface. In his last moments, Nathan saw Malak as he truly was. Beautiful and shining.
“Time for us to go…” Malak said, but his voice was distant, like in a tunnel, as the world grew dim and fuzzy around Nathan.
He heard Sasha call out, “I’m supposed to save him! I can save him!” but maybe this time Wade had been wrong.
Further protests swirled around Nathan, but he couldn’t really make sense of them. He felt Sasha and Jim’s hands leave his body. Pain surged through him, but he seemed to float, suspended in a void of sound and light and sudden cold. For the briefest moment he thought he saw Walter looking on sadly from too far away.
Nathan tried to move, managing only to bring a hand to his chest where he clutched his father’s wedding ring tight.
The only thing he could be certain of was the rush of darkness that filled him when a hand—Malak’s hand—touched his shoulder. If he fell, felt another sting of pain, felt burned or ripped from his body, or even screamed again, he couldn’t be sure. There was only darkness, the empty echo of Jim and Sasha shouting his name, and remnants of the lullaby calling cruelly after him into the dark.
“And until we meet again…”
Sidhe
The Incubus Saga: Book 3
PainstruckNathanlikea knife to the gut. He was freezing, air was rushing into his lungs like they hadn’t breathed in days, and his entire body throbbed as if he actually had space left on his body for new wounds. He wasn’t alone. He was never alone. Never free.
It had been so long since he dared pull a weapon, but it was too much. He didn’t care about consequences. It was supposed to be over. He had promised him. Hepromised.
“Nathan, wait! Stop!”
LikeHell.
His ankle blade was right where it should be, tucked neatly under his pillow—a bad habit he had never been able to break. His vision blurred in front of him as he swayed on his feet, having leapt from the bed. The room could spin all it wanted; he knew where to point the blade.
“W-Why…?” His teeth chattered as he spoke. “Y-You…p-promised. W-What did you…d-do to me?” Nathan felt awful,sick, like he might throw up. Everything ached. His body didn’t feel like his own. “You s-said you’d…take it away. I gave you what you w-wanted. You said you’d take it away!” he shouted finally at the indistinct figure…of his brother. Sasha was there too, wearing his human guise. That almost made Nathan falter, but he knew it was a lie.
“Nathan, please!” Jim said.
