“You have changed.” The deep bass of his voice drifted across her like warm air over her chilled skin. His words hovered somewhere between a question and a statement.
From what Rell had gleaned from conversations within the manor, the Bringers feared Icarus the most. Besides Vile, he would eventually be the most hunted. Though she’d never voiced her thoughts to anyone, including Siban, her time spent with Icarus in the Shadow World had told her there was more to him than the soul-sucking Spoil he’d been labeled as.
“Yes.” She rubbed her hands against her arms. “They found my body and healed me.”
He continued to stare at her. The wind whispered in the canopy of the trees and the low song of the night hoppers began again. After several seconds he asked, “Is it…good?”
His question, so full of desperate hopefulness, tore at her heart. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. She swallowed hard, pressing her lips together against the lump rising in her throat, and nodded. Another awareness skated through her, probably Siban sensing her distress. The thought that he was always with her, even during her private time, irritated Rell. She pushed his presence aside and refocused on Icarus. She understood his question, his need to know not how they’d healed her, but that they’d rid her of the darkness. “Yes.” She sniffed. “It’s very good, Icarus.”
Though nearly imperceptible, she saw his posture relax. He attempted a smile, but only succeeded in curling one corner of his mouth, which looked more like a sneer, and exposed a white fang. “You are smaller than I thought you’d be.”
A giggle threatened to trickle from her, but Rell managed to keep it suppressed. Instead she crossed her arms. “Don’t underestimate me, Bane.”
“Ah.” He paced along the perimeter of the ward. “Bane is it? I guess it is only natural that we should now become foes.”
“No.” She let her arms fall to her sides. “I don’t believe that.” She took a step forward. “You once said that I was different, like you.” She matched his pace. “What if you had once been a Bringer too?”
He stopped and peered at her. “A Bringer? Me?”
“Could it be possible?” Since her transformation, she’d thought about him often. The way his body had been warm like hers. How he had no memories beyond being a Bane. “What if Vile took your soul? What if your body is frozen in the Shadow World—like mine was.”
He was silent for a long time, contemplating her words. “I have lived for a thousand years, Rell. Do you not think I’d know if Vile had hidden my human body?”
“Did you know about my body?” She wanted to believe he hadn’t. “Or the other Bringers?”
He stopped suddenly and faced her. “No, I did not. It seems there is much my father has done without my knowledge. But I don’t think I was ever anything other than what I am now.”
His agitation ricocheted off the ward. She didn’t know how far she could push him. Maybe giving him something to hope for would drive him to find the truth and help them on their quest. “Perhaps Vile is not your father.” She cleared her throat. “Perhaps he’s been toying with you all this time.”
The darkness inside Icarus swelled at her words, beating at her. His reptilian eyes pierced her, as if assessing whether or not she was the one who was toying with him. The air suddenly shifted. Icarus’s head snapped up, and he scanned the sky. He thrust his wings outward and crouched, but it was too late.
From above a heavy net dropped over him. Rell screamed, understanding dawning. Icarus thrashed under the weighty tangle, but couldn’t get free. Like a hundred beating drums, the thump of wings sounded overhead. Three dragons dropped from the sky. Their claws gouged the earth when they settled.
Unsure what to do, Rell rushed forward, intent on protecting Icarus. The dragons shifted. Rhys, Gregory, and Luc cut off her course and tackled Icarus, taking him to the ground.
“Don’t hurt him.” They didn’t understand—didn’t know Icarus like she did. She hurled her body at the melee but was yanked backward before she reached them. “Let me go.”
Siban wrapped her in a hug she couldn’t get free of. “Rell, calm down.”
“Let me go.” She landed a solid kick to Siban’s shin but he didn’t release her. She watched, helpless to make them understand that Icarus didn’t mean her any harm. Tears welled and spilled down her cheeks. “He wasn’t going to hurt me.”
The fight bled out of her once the three Shields pinned Icarus’s limbs to his body and rolled him over. They pressed him against the ground, each man struggling to hold the much stronger demon down.
More Bringers appeared, flooding around Rell and Siban to join the fight. Jade walked past her, but didn’t stop to comfort Rell or even meet her eyes. Raising her hands, she spoke the chant to un-ward a small section of the barrier. Her actions could only mean one thing. They were planning on imprisoning Icarus within the boundaries.
Ravyn, Meran, and Juna strode to where Icarus now lay motionless. All the fight seemed to have left him.
“If you don’t fight us, Bane, you will remain unhurt,” Rhys said.
Icarus turned his head to the side and sneered at him. “It is you who should be concerned about being hurt.”
Luc pulled back his arm and leveled a solid punch to the demon’s jaw. Icarus’s head smashed into the ground. “Just returning the favor for the time we shared in the Shadow World.”
“Please, Icarus, don’t fight.” Rell struggled against Siban. This time he loosened his hold. With a jerk she pulled completely free of his grasp and stepped away. “Why are you doing this?”
“To protect you.” Siban pointed to Icarus. “Though you refuse to see it, he is dangerous.”
Rell looked from Bringer to Bringer. “You knew he would come here and you set this trap.” The betrayal of being kept in the dark swamped her. She glared at Siban. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”
He didn’t reply. There was no need. She knew the answer.
She swallowed back her panic. “What are you going to do with him?”
“Imprison and interrogate him.” Gregory’s words were blunt and held no delusions that if need be, they’d kill Icarus. “Do what we must.”
“He didn’t hurt me. You’ve got to listen to me.” She took a step forward but Okee blocked her path. She glanced from him and then back to the group. “There is something different about him. Icarus is more like me than Vile.”
“Impossible, there is no humanity in that beast,” Siban spat. “You and he are nothing alike.”
She spun to glare at him. “Just because you don’t want it to be doesn’t make it so. I know what I’m talking about. Why aren’t you listening to me?”
“Because you’re not thinking clearly.” He shook his head. “What you say sounds like something you wish to believe, not something that is true.”
“Wishing we could heal him isn’t wrong. If he can be healed, I’ll do whatever it takes.” She shook her head. “Nobody deserves the punishment he’s endured.”
“You care for him more than you should.” Siban’s jealousy spilled from his tight words.
“As I would care for anybody who needed help.” She lifted her chin, daring him to reprimand her further. “When did you become my decision maker?”
“I love you. That’s why I protect you.”
“I don’t need you to take care of me. I’m not a child.”