Rather than frighten her more, deep down inside, the threat calmed her. She had something he wanted. It gave her power over him.
And power was strength.
“You saved me from death for your benefit, not mine. If you kill me now,” she said, “you’ll never get what you want. No, I think I’m safe enough from you.”
He backhanded her across the face with his free hand. The blow nearly blinded her with pain. Coppery-tasting blood seeped from the fresh cut on the inside of her cheek.
He did not have to kill her to make her wish she were dead.
Heat flared in her eyes as her demon rose to defend her. This time she did not try to suppress it. Her father’s grip on her arm tightened, and he raised his fist to strike her again.
A hand seized his wrist before he could do so. He flung it off, releasing her so that he could turn on his attacker, and Raven stumbled free.
Blade.
How had he gotten here?
His shirt was untucked, as if he had crawled from his blankets, but he wore boots and trousers. His black, sleep-tousled hair fell free. The amulet around his neck blazed a hot, brilliant blue. She sensed no emotion in him at all, buried or otherwise. His harsh face, all angles and planes, remained impassive, but while he looked every inch the assassin—something too easy for her to forget sometimes—not even he was a match for a demon.
Raven tried to push past her father to reach him, to lend him her demon’s protection, but her father swept her aside, knocking her to the ground. Sharp, crumbled rock bit into the heels of her palms.
Blade’s eyes never left the demon. “Touch her again,” he said, “and you die.”
Surprise at the bold threat etched her father’s face, followed by ugly amusement. He retained his mortal form, although Raven doubted if that was by choice. His gaze flickered to the amulet around Blade’s neck.
“I see you’ve discovered the amulet’s purpose,” the demon said. His eyes narrowed on Blade, his hatred plain to see. “We’ve reached an impasse, mortal. I can’t kill you while you wear it, and since you’ve not yet tried, I don’t believe you can kill me either.” Raven rose slowly, brushing the grit from her hands. Her father’s sharp eyes shifted to regard her with cold contempt. “He makes you weak.”
“Come here,” Blade said to her. He continued to watch the demon as he spoke.
Lightning shredded the dark strip of sky above, followed by a low, rolling boom of thunder. Near Raven’s feet, a long fissure cracked open and blue-tinted steam hissed into the air, stinking of sulfur. Instinctively she flinched away from it, putting her a few steps closer to her father and the edge of the cliff.
Blade’s attention diverted from the demon to her, just for a second, but it was long enough. Her father vanished.
The blue flame in Blade’s amulet died away, as did the fire beneath Raven’s skin, although her demon was not yet mollified. It responded to Blade’s presence and the danger to him with a desire and possessiveness Raven could not seem to quell. She dug her fingers into her wild mass of curls, shoving them off her face, as glad as her demon to have him with her.
Blade looked at her for a long time as the fissure continued to spew foul-smelling steam. His expression did not change, but his distaste for his surroundings was evident enough. He reached for her hand and drew her to him, then stroked her bruised face with his fingertips. Although he was gentle, the contact made her cheek throb painfully. His dark eyes kindled with unsuppressed anger.
“If I can figure out how to kill your father for this, I will,” he said.
Some of the chill in her heart seeped away, warmed by his defense of her, the reminder that she was not yet alone.
“How did you know that the amulet could bring you here or that it would protect you from him?” she asked.
“I didn’t know anything. I was asleep, then you were in danger.” A muscle jerked in his jaw. “What were you thinking, coming here like this, when your emotions were high?”
She did not want him to know that she had not come here by choice but because her father had saved her life.
She did not have to explain. He put his arms around her and held her, his relief that she was alive even more obvious than his anger, telling her that she was not yet unimportant to him.
Her own relief was equally enormous. She had not known that her mother’s amulet could bring Blade here. If she had, she wouldn’t have given it to him. The thought of the danger he had just faced terrified her far more than the fall from the cliff had. Without knowing he was protected, he had threatened a demon on her behalf.
“We have to leave here before other demons find us,” Blade said. “You’re sending out signals a dead man could follow.”
She had to smile at that, although she knew he was right. It was unsafe for her to be here when she was in this state. Besides, morning was almost upon them and it was past time to leave.
“Will you promise me one thing?” she asked.
Blade’s face did not soften. The blackness of his eyes held a fierce heat that scorched where they touched her. “I’ll promise you anything that’s in my power to give.”
Clutching his open shirtfront in her fists, she drew herself up so her lips touched the spot beneath his ear. She did not want to be overheard expressing a fear to him.
“Don’t let him own me,” she said, just as the sun burst over the horizon. “I’d rather be dead.”
…
Blade’s eyelids flew open, her words ringing in his head. The familiar tarpaulin ceiling of their shelter greeted him. He threw back the blankets, hauled on his boots, and burst coatless through the flap into the crisp morning air of the mortal world.
Where was Raven?
She stood at the very edge of the thin precipice, her eyes closed, and his heart pounded with fear. One small misstep and she would be over the edge.
He walked carefully toward her, not wanting to startle her but intent on removing her from danger. When he was within reach, he grabbed the sleeve of her coat and pulled her to him.
Then he had her in his arms, warm and secure against his chest. A darkening bruise bloomed across her swelling cheek.
It had not been a nightmare.
She opened her eyes as if startled to see him, then curled into his body, pressing her face against the curve of his shoulder. He massaged the back of her head with his fingertips, the tangled mass of glossy curls sliding over his knuckles, his thoughts chaotic and difficult for him to contain. Fear, desire, anger, possessiveness—they all swirled inside him.
He would never let her father have her.
He had made such a mistake. He’d worried about how she would react to Creed’s message and only intended to allow her time alone to come to terms with it. The possibility it might weaken her and leave her vulnerable had never entered his mind. He should have known. He should have stayed by her side, protected her. He would not make this mistake again.
The danger to her in the demon boundary might have passed, but she was still not safe. He had never been responsible for another to such an extent, and he’d never known this type of all-encompassing fear. The thought of failing her plagued him. He had not felt this inadequate since before the use of his leg had been restored. He disentangled his fingers from her hair and buried the emotion as deep as he could, not wanting to acknowledge it or for her to sense it.
“Get your things.” His voice came out harsher than intended, but she nodded.
Blade checked their stores, satisfied they had enough food to last them for a few weeks more. Villages would be few and far between where they were headed, and possibly unfriendly. They would continue to avoid them whenever possible.
When they finished packing, he strapped the rifle sleeve to his back. A rifle’s report would not be a problem where they were headed, and its range, a necessity. He examined the sky, which was clear and blue, the sun still several fingers from noon. He took a deep breath and looked over at Raven. They both knew it was time to go.