14
Chapter 14
Marcus
She’spissed.Spittingmad…andI can’t say I blame her. But there was no other option. The damn fool would literally get herself killed to save one of her kind.
In a way, I can respect that. There’s honor in it.
But there’s no fucking way I’d let her do it.
Now, she’s glaring at me with that mix of fire and fury that I’ve come to know so well.
“Where are we?” she snaps, her hands on her hips. She unbalances slightly as the floor moves beneath us.
“Someplace safe.”
“Take me back!” Her nostrils flare. “Take me back at once!”
“Back to your death?” I cock my head. “Not happening, Kara.”
She whirls around, taking in our surroundings. “Fine. Then I’ll get there on my own steam.” She sways again as the floor tipsslightly, then takes several quick strides away from me. I hear her footsteps on the floorboards as I watch her, my arms folded across my chest. She stops abruptly a few feet away, her hands tightening on a railing in front of her.
There’s a long pause as she stares out into the distance. “By the goddess! That’s the ocean,” she growls, then spins to face me. “We’re on a ship?”
I nod.
“We’re on a freaking ship?” She stomps back to me, standing in front of me and poking me in the chest with one finger. I don’t budge. “You get me off of this thing right fucking now!”
“No.”
“You can’t…! You… I…” She flings her hands into the air. “This is kidnapping! You know that, don’t you?”
I shrug. “It’s for your own good.”
“It’s not up to you to decide that, damn you!” she yells. “My people need me. Seraphina needed me! She could be…she could be…” She stops, swallowing thickly. Tears fill her eyes, and something in my chest tightens.
“You can’t help her if you’re dead.” I pull in a deep breath, then reach out a hand and cup her cheek. It’s soft and warm against my skin. “I’m sorry, Kara. I can’t let that happen.”
She slaps my hand away abruptly. “They wouldn’t have killed me.” Her eyes are mutinous now. “I’m too valuable to them.”
“Yes. As a blood source. They’d take you and drain you, just like they did with your sister. Do you want that?”
She shakes her head. “I would have… I wouldn’t…” She trails off.
“You’re brave, Kara,” I say softly. “Smart, powerful, a skilled fighter. But you’re up against something stronger than you. More ruthless than you. Something evil. That’s not what you are.” I reach for her cheek again. This time, she doesn’t push me away. For a moment, I let her warmth soak into me, the lifewithin her seeping into my long-undead pores. It’s…unsettling. I like it altogether too much.
“Listen to me.” I drop my hand from her cheek and grip her shoulders instead. “Lucien’s played this game for centuries. He anticipates the noble, self-sacrificing moves. He counts on them.”
Her jaw clenches. “So, what’s your brilliant alternative?”
“We need to think like him. Be more calculating. More ruthless.” I feel her muscles tense under my hands. “Not evil – but smarter.”
“While my grandmother suffers?” Her voice cracks.
“Your grandmother is one of the most powerful witches I’ve ever encountered.” I keep my voice steady, willing her to understand. “She won’t break easily. And Lucien needs her alive.”
Kara’s shoulders slump slightly. “For what?”
