Page 36 of Shielded Heart 1
The terran would fetch a high price, and that would benefit the Syndicate—Vaund had climbed the ranks by maximizing the profits he generated for the organization—but Arcanthus needed to die for Vaund’s benefit. His subordinates had no idea who Arcanthus was; none of them had been on Caldorius those years ago, none of them were aware of what had transpired there.
But there were several people in the Syndicate leadership who did know.
And Vaund reported directly to some of them.
Ambition, ruthlessness, and a cold, calculating demeanor had brought Vaund this far, but it would mean little if his superiors discovered that he’d botched the job that had earned him a place within the organization a decade ago. It would make them question everything he’d said and done over the intervening years.
It would all meannothingif they found out Vaund had failed to kill Arcanthus.
He grasped the armrests and wrenched them up, snapping them off the frame and tearing their hide covering.
This time, Arcanthus, I’m taking your head.
NINE
Samantha kept her chin down and held her purchases—clothing and food, all wrapped in different colored packages—against her chest as she strode along the street toward her apartment building. Her legs felt leaden, and her feet were sore. She was exhausted for a good reason. Sarai had given her a few hours of work today and had seemed tempted to allow Sam to keep working even after the borian woman’s unreliable brother finally showed up. The labor had been satisfying, and it had kept Samantha’s mind occupied.
Now, with little to focus on but the people milling around her on the street, she found herself reminiscing.
Two days had passed since she’d had last seen Alkorin. Despite her urges to call him, they hadn’t spoken in that time. She felt miserable; confused and scared, too, but above all miserable.
She missed him.
By day, the sedhi had lurked in the forefront of her mind, and by night, he haunted her dreams, leaving her to awake a hot, sweaty mess with her sheets tangled around her. She keptthinking about the feel of his tall, strong body against hers, of his hands in her hair and on her backside, of his kiss.
Oh God, hiskiss.
She’d never known that a kiss could steal her breath, that it could claim her mind, body, and soul all at once. He’d made her forget everything—her past, her pain, her loss, her doubt, and her trepidation. His lips had left room inside her for only desire and need. Alkorin had wound her up so tight that a single stroke would snap her.
Her time with him had been wonderful, like floating through a waking dream. He was playful, charming, protective, and kind. Though he treated her with thoughtfulness, he didn’t act like she’d break at his slightest touch. He knew when to push and when to retreat. Though each time he pulled away, Samantha yearned to reach for him and bring him closer. He made her long for things she’d never experienced, made her long for things she never thought she could have.
Shewantedhim. More than anything in this universe, she wanted the sedhi who set her blood on fire.
She just didn’t know how to overcome her uncertainty, her past experiences…
Didn’t know how to overcome herself.
Worthless. Weak.
Samantha gritted her teeth.
Her father had died when she was eighteen years old. The loss had left her utterly alone and directionless. She’d drifted aimlessly for a few months, bombarded by an endless stream of bills and calls from collection agencies seeking payment on her father’s debt, which had amassed because of her grandmother’s illness and eventual death a couple years earlier.
And just as she’d realized she was at rock bottom—she’d been too naïve then to understand whatrock bottomactually meant—her savior had swooped in.
But instead of the arms of a hero, she’d fallen into the clutches of a monster who’d taken almosteverythingfrom her—her trust, her worth, her freedom, her very self—before she escaped.
Samantha wasn’t sure who she was anymore. She felt like a phantom, a fading echo of who she’d been, the ghost of a girl who’d once laughed and loved despite how little she’d had. And even though she was half a universe away from James, she still felt the tatters of her soul slipping through her fingers like sand; she was losing a little more of herself every day.
If it continued, there’d be nothing left of her at all before long.
Worthless. Weak.
James had hurled those words at her so many times over the years she’d spent with him that she’d come to believe them.
He’d shown her kindness at first. He’d been charming, he’d been dedicated. But once they’d begun building a life together—once she’d moved in with him and he knew she had nowhere else to go—he showed his true face. The mask had come off to reveal the monster who’d lurked beneath.
The hope he’d instilled in her had been a lie.
