Why they’d been called back. The no-touch laws …
Everything.
Urian had to let him know. “Father?”
“It’s all right, Urian. I know all about the Atlantean. Don’t I, Acheron?”
“No. You just think you do, Strykerius. I, on the other hand, know your every flaw, right down to the one that enables you to believe in the Destroyer while she toys with you.”
Urian gave the Dark-Hunter leader credit. Bastard just laid it all out on the table better than he could.
“You lie.”
And his father chose not to believe it. Damn … what could he do? How could people be so blind? Urian didn’t understand it. He never would.
How, when given all the true, absolute facts, people would still blatantly choose to ignore them all.
“Perhaps. But perhaps not.”
Stryker turned to Wulf and dropped his gaze to the baby. He cocked his head. “How sweet. You went to so much trouble, didn’t you? All of you did. I should feel flattered.”
A bad feeling went through Urian. His father was acting really, really peculiar. He glanced over to Davyn, who appeared equally concerned. Meanwhile his phone was vibrating again. He reached to silence it as his father headed toward him.
’Cause that wasn’t unnerving at all.
To his instant chagrin, his father draped an arm over his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.
What the fuck was this? While it wasn’t unusual for his father to be affectionate, he’d never done it right before battle and in such a public manner. Urian scowled even more at the action and grew rigid as he waited for some shit to go down.
“Children are the very thing we live for, aren’t they?” His father played with the leather laces that held his blond braid. “They bring us joy. Sometimes they bring us pain.”
Was he blood-high?
“Of course, you’ll never understand the pain I mean, Wulf. Your son won’t live long enough to betray you.”
Urian opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, his father slashed open his throat with his dragon claw. Then he shoved him away.
Stunned and unable to speak, Urian fell to the floor gasping, holding his hands against his neck to stanch the blood flow. But it was useless. It ran through his fingers and spread over the floor.
“You didn’t really think I was stupid enough to fall for this trick, did you?” His father’s gaze bored into Wulf. “I knew you would never bring me the baby. I just needed to get the guardians away from Elysia for a while.”
Wulf cursed at his words as he moved to attack.
His father vanished into a black cloud of smoke while the Daimons attacked.
“Ak’ritah tah!”Acheron shouted.
The portal opened.
One of the Daimons laughed. “We don’t have to go through—” Before he could finish the sentence, the Daimon was violently sucked through the opening.
The others quickly followed.
Meanwhile Urian lay there, blinded by his tears as he tried to breathe. He had to get to Phoebe. He couldn’t die like this.
Ash ran across the floor and knelt by his side. “Shh.” He covered Urian’s hands with his own. “Breathe.”
Warmth spread from Acheron’s hand through Urian’s body as the Dark-Hunters moved to surround them. With each heartbeat, Urian’s breathing became easier and the pain receded.
