It was a dangerous realization, but she wasn’t in the mood to worry about it.
Not when there was a good chance she wasn’t going to survive the night.
On that cheery thought Roke suddenly stiffened, a growl rumbling in his chest.
“I smell wine.”
She caught the scent a mere second after Roke. “Father,” she breathed, straightening to try to peer through the swirls of magic.
“There’s something else,” Roke muttered.
She was distracted from his warning as her father’s voice filled her head.
“Sally.”
Turning, she watched as the strands of magic parted to reveal Sariel lying on what looked like a dirt floor.
The air was squeezed from her lungs as her gaze took in the sight of his motionless form drenched in a sickly green glow. He was as beautiful as he’d been in the meadow with his golden hair spilling over the ground and his pale features so perfect they might have been carved in marble.
But as she studied his elegant form she detected the white robe was now a grimy gray and so frayed it barely covered him while his silver headband had become tarnished.
“There he is.” She hurried forward, only to run headfirst into an invisible wall. “Damn.” She rubbed her abused nose. “There’s a barrier.”
“At last,” her father purred inside her head. “Come to me, my daughter.”
She ignored Roke’s frown, speaking out loud. “I can’t get past the barrier.”
“Release your powers,” Sariel urged. “They will join with mine.”
Her powers?
She grimaced, not overly enthusiastic at the thought of releasing the torrent of uncontrollable magic when she didn’t have a clue what would happen.
She could potentially crush the portal and kill them all.
Or lose control and hurt Roke.
Still, what choice did she have?
With a slow nod she held her hand toward the barrier, allowing herself to concentrate on the magic that had so recently proven to be lethal.
“Sally, what are you doing?” Roke rasped, grasping her wrist as she began to glow with a golden light.
“Joining my powers with my father,” she murmured, her gaze remaining trained on her father.
Was there a hint of a glow around his unmoving body?
“Dammit. This could be a trap.”
She turned her head to meet his worried gaze, her expression pleading.
“I’m sorry, Roke, but I have to try.”
His lips parted, no doubt to continue the argument, but with a hiss of warning he was spinning to the side, his fangs fully exposed.
“Something’s coming.” He paused, using his senses to search what was nothing but darkness to him. “Brandel.”
Sally flinched, forced to remember the greasy spot that was all she’d left of the demon.
“He’s dead.”
“No loss,” a voice drawled as a large, bronzed male began to form from a black mist.
Sally’s eyes widened as the creature solidified.
Completely naked the stranger had the face of a Greek god with a halo of golden curls. His velvet brown eyes flickered to reveal slits of red that proved he was related to Brandel. Not that there seemed to be any love lost.
“The bastard had become too greedy for his own good,” the stranger murmured, smiling at Sally’s shock.
“Sally,” her father’s voice cut through her sudden burst of fear. “Concentrate on your powers.”
Licking her lips she glanced toward her mate. “I have to free Sariel.”
His lips flattened with disapproval, but he gave a nod as he pulled out his dagger and stepped around her.
“I’ll keep him distracted.”
She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Be careful.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Roke took a swift inventory of his enemy.
He dismissed the bulky muscles and image of power in the naked body. The demon was a shape-shifter. He could assume whatever form he wanted.
Besides, a Nebule didn’t need physical strength.
They had far more lethal skills.
What he instead concentrated on was the unmistakable arrogance etched onto the too handsome features and the complete disdain for Sally’s attempt to rescue her father.
The demon believed himself far superior to his unexpected intruders.
And that was his weakness.
Pulling out his dagger, Roke shifted to the side, not halting until the demon’s back was turned toward Sally.
Now all he had to do was keep the bastard talking until his mate could complete her task.
Or kill them all in the attempt.
“You’re wasting your time,” the Nebule taunted, stifling a yawn.
Roke tested the edge of his blade with his thumb. “You think?”
“A human witch can’t break through the barrier and you can’t kill me, leech.”
Not by the flicker of an eyelash did Roke reveal his surprise at the demon’s words. So, he didn’t realize that Sally was Chatri. Or that she was Sariel’s daughter.
Interesting.
He smiled, waving his dagger toward the naked body.
“This is the best you can do?” Roke mocked, deliberately prodding the male’s ego.
It was the most certain means to keep him from wondering what was happening behind him.
The demon frowned. “Are you referring to my body?”
Roke snorted. “You can take any form you want and you end up looking like a porn star?”
“The fey are attracted to beauty.” The male ran a loving hand over his six-pack. “Like a vampire I use my charms to lure my prey.”
Roke arched a brow, studying the demon with icy disgust. “You’re nothing like a vampire.”
“Of course I am,” the male argued, clearly obsessed with the belief he was somehow comparable to a vampire. Inferiority complex? A smug smile curved the creature’s lips. “I even fuck my dinner while I’m draining away their life. Tell me that your climax isn’t better when it comes at the exact moment your prey dies in your arms?”
Roke hid his grimace.
He wasn’t a prude. Hell, he’d done things that would make a nymph blush. But he’d never been a fan of death-by-sex.
“So why not drain the Chatri you captured?” he asked. “I assume he would have more magic than a regular fey.”
“He’s necessary to keep the portal open between our worlds,” the Nebule readily answered, his arrogance enjoying the opportunity to brag.
His words reminded Roke of the imp’s explanation that a portal couldn’t be closed while the fey was still inside and just that quickly the kidnapping of Sariel made perfect sense.
“This is your only way to travel to our dimension?” he asked, although he already knew the answer.
The red slit in the dark eyes flashed with fury. “The Chatri did their best to isolate us, denying my people the magic we so desperately need.”
“Need?”
“Need. Crave.” The demon waved aside the distinction. “It’s all the same.”
Over the demon’s shoulder Roke became aware of a steadily growing light. Sally had found her magic, but it still wasn’t bright enough to be at full strength.
He had to keep the demon talking.
“So you kept the Chatri imprisoned so your people could have ready access to their drug of choice?” he scoffed, not having to fake his disdain.
The Nebule were bottom-feeders who had to steal the powers of others.
“It’s a very profitable arrangement,” the male admitted without shame.
“And what was Brandel’s role?”
“He was to keep a watch on the Commission.”
That explained why the bastard had been posing as an Oracle.
Roke’s pretense of interest suddenly became very real.
“Why?”
“All formal petitions came through him, so he could make sure to destroy any com
plaints by the fey that they had family disappearing.” He eyed Roke as if expecting him to be suitably impressed with their cunning. “We couldn’t allow the Commission to come snooping.”
He had to admit they’d been clever.
It was no wonder they’d gone undetected for centuries.
The glow became brighter, an unmistakable heat sizzling through the air.
Roke stepped forward, determined to keep the demon’s attention focused on him.
“Why was he after . . .” He bit back Sally’s name. “The witch’s box?”
“Box?” The male looked momentarily confused. “Oh. The defaro was connected to the Chatri; we couldn’t allow the magic to be recognized.” The bronzed form became misty around the edges, as if his temper made him lose command of his form body. “He was supposed to destroy the damned thing.”
“But he changed the rules?”
The demon curled his lips in a sneer. “He wanted the magic for himself.”
And speaking of magic . . .
The glow abruptly became a flood of light that could no longer be hidden.
“If he wanted the magic, then why take it directly from the source?” Roke asked, not surprised when the demon jerked toward the prison holding the Chatri.
“Sariel is mine,” the Nebule growled.
“And Sally?” Roke taunted, angling himself to attack the demon, while keeping an eye on Sally as the magic spilled from her skin and surrounded her with a blinding aura.
Beyond her, he could see a more muted glow that had to be coming from her trapped father.
“She’s a witch,” the male muttered. “Just a witch.”
Roke snorted. His mate had never been just a witch.
She’d always been a rare, dangerously enticing female with powers far beyond a mere mortal.
“You’re not any smarter than your friend,” he taunted.
“No.” A murderous fury twisted the Adonis features.
“He’s mine.”
Sally’s mouth went dry as Roke move toward the Nebule demon.
This wasn’t how she envisioned this moment.
She was supposed to have hunted down the prison, rescued her father, and swooped away like Wonder Woman. Only with smaller boobs.
And in the end she would have . . . what?
Proven she was worthy?
To whom?
Herself? Her father? Roke?
Not that it mattered.
She wasn’t Wonder Woman.
She was a terrified witch who couldn’t control her own magic and she’d managed to put Roke smack-dab in the path of a demon who could kill him before they could get out of the portal.
Trying to ignore the fear that raged through her, Sally instead concentrated on the powers that remained locked deep inside her.
“It’s not working,” she muttered from between clenched teeth.
“Patience, child,” her father’s voice echoed through her head.
“We don’t have time for patience,” she snapped. “Roke can’t hold off the Nebule forever.”
She sensed her father’s confusion that Sally would even consider Roke’s welfare.
“Your vampire is capable of taking care of himself.”
“He’s vulnerable to the demon’s powers.”
“This is our only opportunity,” her father chided. “You must free me.”
She grimaced at the man’s self-absorption.
Okay, he’d been imprisoned for a very long time. She got that.
But, so far he hadn’t revealed even a hint of concern for her or her mate’s danger.
She gave a shake of her head, resisting the urge to glance in Roke’s direction. She had to concentrate on freeing her father so they could all get the hell out of there.
“That’s what I’m trying to do,” she said, pressing against the invisible wall as she tried to tap into seething powers that just waited to be released. “The barrier won’t let me through.”
“It was specifically designed to repel my magic, which is why I’ve been unable to escape.”
She frowned at the explanation. “Then why did you think I could help if my magic is the same as yours?”
A faint glow became visible around her father’s prone body and Sally felt an answering heat begin to spread through her veins.
“Because they will cancel one another out,” Sariel assured her.
As if that answered everything.
Her frown deepened. “I don’t understand.”
“Once we synchronize our powers they will work as one.”
She could almost feel the pulse of his magic as it struggled to align with her own. A faint glow beginning to spill from beneath her skin.
“But it will still be the same power,” she said, needing to understand what was expected of her. How else could she use her powers to help?
“Exactly.” There was a patronizing edge to her father’s voice. “While it is forced to keep you from passing through, it will not be able to sense as I slip out.”
Sally briefly hesitated before giving a nod. “I suppose that makes a weird sort of sense.”
The glow around her father brightened, his power battering into her.
“You must trust me.”
A laugh of disbelief was wrenched from her throat. From what she knew of this man he’d deliberately seduced her mother, allowing her to leave with her mind stripped of memories so she could have a child whose only purpose was to return and save him.
It was hardly the reunion story designed to give her a case of the warm fuzzies.
“Trust you?” She gave a shake of her head. “I have no reason to trust you.”
“I am your father.”
“No. You were a sperm donor.”
She sensed his astonishment at her blunt accusation. “You are blood of my blood.”
“Sally, you’ve been recognized,” Roke’s fierce voice sliced into her dark thoughts and she glanced to the side to see the Nebule was staring at her in horror.
Oh hell. How could she have allowed herself to be distracted for even a nanosecond?
Watching Roke move to stand between her and the demon, Sally turned back to her father, desperation clawing through her.
“Tell me what to do,” she hissed.
Sariel’s frustration sizzled through the air. “I cannot synchronize our magic if you will not allow me in.”
“I’m trying.”
“There is a wall you keep around you.”
Sally clenched her hands. Of course she had a wall. She’d been trying to protect herself for as long as she could remember.
How else did she survive a childhood of neglect followed by years of being hunted like an animal?
Trust was the enemy.
Now she bit her bottom lip until the blood flowed as she struggled against her most deeply ingrained instincts. She’d kept herself cut off for so long it was no simple matter to simply lay herself open.
There were no tangible walls. Nothing she could physically get ahold of and tear down. Instead she had to mentally will herself to stop fighting against the press of her father’s magic.
Something that she discovered was much easier said than done.
Sweat dripped down her spine, her heart racing with fear. Blessed goddess, she felt like she was being smothered.
This was never going to work, she realized with a stab of dread. She couldn’t do it.
It was at last the sound of Roke’s grunt of pain as he was attacked by the Nebule that shook her out of her swelling panic.
She could do it, because she had to do it.
If not for her father, then for Roke.
The same surge of adrenaline that had released her powers against Brandel pumped through her blood, allowing the magic to expand through her.
“That’s all I can do,” she managed from between clenched teeth.
Her father’s magic began to weave through her, intruding in a way that made her stiffen before he gave a startled hiss.
“You’ve actually mated with the vampire?” he demanded. “Unacceptable.”
Her teeth were gritted against the need to shove out the unfamiliar invasion.
“Is it really important right now?”
“His claim on you is interfering,” Sariel complained, his tone almost . . . peevish. “Can you convince him to release you?”
She grimaced.
Not only was it an impossible request, but she was fairly certain in Roke’s current mood he’d kill her father before he’d release his claim on her.
“No.”
The magic continued to weave with hers, a slow and surprisingly painful process.
“You are making this more difficult than it needs be,” her father accused.
There was another groan from Roke and Sally banged her hand against the invisible barrier.
“I’m going to make it impossible if you don’t hurry up,” she warned.
The glow around her father spread outward, his hair floating as if on a breeze she couldn’t feel.
“You lived too long as a mortal.” The disgust in Sariel’s tone assured Sally that wasn’t a compliment. “It is why I discouraged our people to mate with lesser beings.”
Anger exploded through her.
Was he kidding? She’d risked Roke’s life, not to mention her own, to try to rescue him. A man who was nothing more than a stranger. And all he could do was complain?
Jackass.
“And yet you were quick enough to mate with a mere human when it suited your purpose,” she rasped.
“My other children are not nearly so quarrelsome,” Sariel complained. “They understand that I am to be given the proper respect.”
All thoughts halted as her world tilted to an unexpected angle.
His words shouldn’t have been unexpected.
The fey had the same low birthrate of most demons, but when you had an eternity of sex, there were bound to be a few children.
But after a lifetime alone, the casual mention that she had brothers and sisters had thrown her seriously off-balance.
“I have siblings?” she asked, hating the yearning she couldn’t keep from her voice.
“Of course.”
There was a grunt as Roke landed only inches from her feet, his face covered with blood and his skin ashen.
“Sally, I’m running out of tricks,” he growled, flowing back to his feet and launching himself back at the Nebule who was desperately trying to get his hands on her.