Darkness Eternal

Chapter 1

London, England

Uriel had very specific plans for the upcoming evening.

First up, dinner in bed with a luscious, golden-haired fairy who tasted like champagne and boasted skills that could make a vampire howl like a damned werewolf. Even without a full moon.

Next on the agenda, a round of sparring with the latest batch of foundlings that had arrived in London. In the past few years Victor, the clan chief of Great Britain, had instituted a law that demanded all recently created vampires must spend at least the first decade of life being trained at his lair. And since Uriel was second in command, as well as Victor’s best warrior, it meant it was his duty to oversee their fighting lessons.

And if there was time left before dawn, he intended to meet with the soldiers who had recently returned from their hunt in northern England.

Since rumors of the return of the Sylvermyst had spread through the demon world, Victor had sent out nightly patrols to search for the evil cousins of the fey. It aggravated the hell out of Uriel that he wasn’t allowed to take his place in the chase.

Unfortunately when he’d accepted his position as Victor’s right hand man, he had given up his place in the field. Now he was stuck plotting strategy, drawing up scout rotations, and researching the history of the Sylvermyst in the massive library beneath Victor’s lair on the outskirts of London.

He was also on call 24/7 to his chief.

Which was why he was headed through the vast labyrinth of hallways, dressed in a pair of faded jeans and a sweatshirt, instead of lying naked on his bed with a beautiful fairy doing bad, bad things to his eager, eager body.

Climbing the marble staircase and strolling down the crimson carpeted hallway, Uriel ignored the priceless Greek statues and pictures that lined the walls and the explosion of gilt that framed the arched windows.

He understood Victor’s need for a gaudy display of wealth and power, but damn. A man could get a brain cramp from such an overexposure of frou-frou.

Especially those idiotic frescos that were painted on the lofted ceiling.

Uriel grimaced. The images of angels with fiery swords defending a gaggle of humans against a horde of demons might be some sort of priceless work of art, but to Uriel it was a never ending source of annoyance.

He was a brutal killer and a ruthless enemy to those who would threaten his clan. But for all his grim reputation, he was cursed with finely carved features and a halo of curls that perfectly matched his light brown eyes.

As beautiful as a fallen angel. .

He’d heard those words a thousand times over the past four centuries.

Sometimes they were a sigh on a woman’s lips. And sometimes a mocking taunt from his brothers.

They always managed to make him want to hit something.

Really, really hard.

Stepping into the vast library, Uriel halted in the middle of the fancy-ass carpet and watched as Victor lifted himself from behind the heavy walnut desk and crossed toward a matching sideboard.

He wasn’t the hulking brute that most people expected of a clan chief. Actually, dressed in a silk shirt and black slacks he looked every inch the English aristocrat with his elegantly carved features and glossy black hair pulled into a neat braid. But a closer inspection revealed the hard muscles beneath the designer clothing and the promise of death that lurked in the pale silver eyes rimmed with black.

Victor was a predator.

Pure and simple.

“Uriel, join me,” the ancient vampire commanded, turning from the sideboard to press a small glass of amber spirits in his hand. “Salud.”

The aged cognac slid down Uriel’s throat as smooth as honey. Liquid fire.

“Martell,” Uriel breathed with a lift of his brow, easily recognizing the expensive liquor. “I’m afraid to ask.” Victor leaned against the sideboard, his arms folded over his chest.

“Excuse me?”

“You only break out the good stuff when you want something. Usually something that includes blood, death, and/or mayhem.” “Is that any way to speak to your beloved clan chief?” Uriel snorted. “I will agree that you’re my clan chief.” Victor sipped his cognac, a somber expression settling on his lean face.

“We have been through interesting times, haven’t we, old friend?” Uriel’s vague unease became downright apprehension. Despite his vast age, Victor wasn’t prone to maudlin musings.

So, what the hell was going on?

“Some more interesting than others,” he slowly admitted, setting aside the Waterford crystal glass.

He suspected that he didn’t want something so easily breakable in his hands when Victor finally got to the point of this little tete a tete.

Victor nodded. “True.”

“What’s on your mind, Victor?”

“I sense we’re approaching momentous days.” Uriel might have laughed if he didn’t sense the same damned thing.

It had started small.

The growing unrest among the demon world. The recent flurry of sacrifices by the Dark Lord’s disciples to return him from his exile to this world. The rumors of the Weres regaining their ancient powers and the discovery of a new Oracle who would sit on the Commission (the powerful council who ruled the demon world).

But more disturbing than all of those combined were the nasties that were crawling out of the shadows at an alarming rate.

Demons that everyone had assumed were extinct or banished along with the Dark Lord.

Including the Sylvermyst.

“Is that a polite way of saying that things are about to go to hell?” he demanded of his chief.

Victor grimaced. “In a hand basket.” “What can I do to avert the looming apocalypse?” “For now I need you to track down the missing gypsy.” Uriel muttered a sharp curse.

He should have been expecting this. Despite his fierce protests, Victor had invited their fellow vampire, Tane, to remain in the lair four nights ago, along with his companion, a female Jinn half-breed called Laylah. During their brief stay they’d discovered that the Jinn mongrel had a human mother being held captive by a female vampire and her pet mage.

Not that Uriel gave a shit, but Tane had managed to convince Victor that his beautiful Jinn was somehow important to the future of the world, and that her captive mother must be protected.

“The female from the vision that the mage conjured?” he gritted, even knowing it was a stupid question.

What other gypsy could it be?

Victor’s lips twitched, as if he agreed with the stupid part.

“If it’s true that she is Laylah’s mother then we have to rescue her from Marika and her nasty wizard,” he said, his tone nonnegotiable. “Tane’s afraid they’ll use the female to force Laylah to hand over the child.” Uriel snorted. The only thing he knew about the mysterious baby that Laylah was hiding was that it was somehow connected to the return of the Dark Lord and that the female vampire, Marika, was desperate to get her greedy hands on it.

“You know as well as I do that the entire thing stinks of a trap,” he growled.

Victor shrugged. “There’s only one way to find out.” “Why doesn’t the Jinn go after the female?” he demanded. “It’s supposed to be her mother, not mine.” “Jinn half-breed,” Victor unnecessarily corrected him, his eyes narrowing at Uriel’s odd behavior. Understandable. Uriel had never been a “yes-man.” Victor didn’t have the patience for kiss asses. But he didn’t usually pitch a fit over such a small request. The problem was, Uriel didn’t want to share the reason for his reluctance to get involved. “Tane and Laylah must return to Chicago and protect the baby.” There was a deliberate pause. “Besides, I offered your services, which is my right as your chief.” “There are others more suited to play the role of Knight in Shining Armor.” Victor didn’t move. He didn’t have to. His power swirled through the air, slamming into Uriel with enough strength to make him grunt in pain.

“Are you questioning my decision making skills, Uriel?” he asked, oh so softly.

Uriel grimaced. “I’m not suicidal.” “I’m beginning to wonder.”

“I just don’t know why you would choose me for this chore.” “When did searching for an exquisitely beautiful woman become a chore?” “When she. .” Uriel bit off his revealing words.

Too late.

“What?” Victor demanded.

“Nothing.”

Victor pushed away from the sideboard, moving to stand directly in front of Uriel.

“Uriel, is this because she is the supposed mother of a Jinn mongrel?” Uriel clenched his hands. Had Victor become a mind reader?

Damn. Talk about disturbing.

“I logically understand that she was more than likely a victim,” he said stiffly. “A Jinn wouldn’t hesitate to rape and impregnate a helpless female.” His hand instinctively lifted to rub the scar that was directly over his unbeating heart. “Bastards.” “But?” Victor prompted.

With a restless motion, Uriel turned on his heel and paced toward the window that overlooked the manicured parkland. He could easily sense the dozen vampires who patrolled the grounds, as well as the vast series of tunnels that ran beneath the estate. Closer at hand he could detect Juliet, Victor’s mate, and in the private quarters the fairies who happily provided dinner (and whatever else might be desired) for many of the warriors.

Including the exquisite fairy that was supposed to be on his menu.

“But I would rather return to our hunt for the Sylvermyst,” he said between gritted teeth.

Victor remained silent a long moment, then he moved to stand at Uriel’s side, his gaze boring into Uriel’s profile with a tangible force.

“I have never pressed you to share what happened in your battle with the Jinn, even when I eventually realized that you had been. . altered by the encounter,” he said, politely referring to Uriel’s sharp surge in power. A vampire gained his full strength within the first few decades of his transformation. It was unheard of for one to acquire a master level after centuries of life. “I think it’s time you shared.” “And if I choose not to?”

“I won’t force you.”

Uriel unclenched his jaw, accepting the inevitable.

He’d known from the minute Tane had arrived in London with his half-breed Jinn that the truth would have to come out.

Fate was too much a pain in the ass not to interfere. . again.

“It’s not much of a story,” he said, reluctant to start. Not only because he had done his best to block out the painful memories, but because Victor was not going to be pleased.

His lips quirked.

Hell, that was the understatement of the year.

“Then it shouldn’t be difficult to tell,” Victor pointed out. “You can start from when we went to the docks to battle the Jinn.” Uriel kept his gaze trained out the window, tracing the moonlit gardens, but in his mind he returned to two centuries ago, when Victor had led his clan (along with his stubborn mate) into the tunnels beneath the London docks, determined to drive away the full-blooded Jinn who’d set up residence there.

He hadn’t known what to expect. None of them had. Jinn were forbidden by the Oracles to settle in this dimension. They were too powerful, too violent, and too talented at ensnaring other demons into becoming their mindless slaves. Not to mention they were immoral bastards.

Uriel, however, had been stupidly confident that an entire clan of vampires would be able to convince the forbidden demon to move on to a less dangerous location.

“After we split off in the tunnels, Johan and I headed toward the Thames in the hope of cornering the beast,” he said, his tone brittle.

“A solid strategy.”

“We hadn’t gone far when we entered a cavern.” He could still recall the damp, musty smell of the barren cave that had been edged by the unexpected scent of an approaching thunderstorm. “Johan circled left while I circled to the right. I sensed something was near, but it was. .” He shrugged, turning his head to meet Victor’s searching gaze. “Elusive. Like a bad cell phone connection flickering in and out of service.” Victor nodded, his expression grim. Uriel knew the older vampire’s memories of the battle with the Jinn weren’t exactly shiny happy thoughts, although his mate did manage to kill the bastard in the end.

“A full-blooded Jinn is not of this world. It’s why they’re so difficult to hunt and even more difficult to kill.” “So Johan found out,” Uriel agreed dryly. “One minute he was standing near the entrance to the cavern and the next he was being skewered by a bolt of lightning.” Uriel shuddered. Johan had been his brother for two centuries. He’d deserved a better end. “He had no warning. No chance.” Victor reached over to lay a hand on Uriel’s shoulder. “Johan was a warrior. He understood the dangers of his position, just as you do. You aren’t to blame for his death.” “You think I blame myself?”

“Don’t you?”

Uriel gave a sharp shake of his head. “No.” Victor wasn’t convinced. “Uriel.” “I don’t blame myself for his death,” Uriel assured his companion, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. “I blame the Jinn for keeping me alive.”

Chapter 2

Victor was predictably baffled by the blunt confession. “What the hell does that mean?”

“After Johan was destroyed the Jinn appeared in front of me.” Uriel had a vivid memory of the demon who had taken human shape, although there was nothing human in the lethally beautiful face and the slanted lavender eyes that held an unearthly fury. “I tried to fight, but I was no match for him.”

Victor’s fingers gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “The only way to hurt a Jinn is to destroy his tiglia.”

Uriel nodded. Victor had discovered during his battle with the Jinn that the demon’s actual essence was kept in a wooden box. At the time, however, Uriel had only known that his fierce blows had done nothing but amuse the bastard.

“He could have killed me. Instead. .” The words became lodged in his throat.

“What?”

Stepping back, Uriel yanked his sweatshirt over his head to expose his chest.

“Instead he grabbed me by the throat and used his other hand to do this.”

The this was the thick scar in the shape of a fist that was seared into his flesh.

Victor made a sound of shock as he caught sight of the disfigurement for the first time. Uriel had always been careful never to be seen without a shirt. Even when he was with his lovers. He didn’t want nosy questions.

And there would most certainly be questions.

A vampire’s ability to heal even the most grievous injuries made certain that their bodies remained flawless no matter how many centuries they might survive. It was only when they were being simultaneously starved and tortured that they scarred.

Or when they were in the hands of a demented Jinn. “Bloody hell,” Victor breathed. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Uriel squashed the urge to snatch up his sweatshirt and cover the revealing wound. What was he? A warrior or a squeamish wuss?

Still, even in the company of the only person in the world he trusted, he felt vulnerable, exposed.

“Don’t ask if it hurt,” he awkwardly muttered.

“No need.” Victor lifted his gaze with a puzzled frown. “You don’t get marked like this without it hurting like a bitch. Does it still bother you?”

“Not physically.”

Victor lifted his hand, holding it over the scar without actually touching it.

“I sense. .”

“Power,” Uriel finished the sentence.

The silver eyes widened as Victor abruptly realized where Uriel’s sudden increase of power had come from.

“Ah.”

“Exactly.”

“I have to admit I wasn’t expecting that.” Victor slowly shook his head. “Of course, I wondered what had happened to increase your strength, but. .”

“But you didn’t suspect that the Jinn had juiced me up?”

“I can safely swear that was at the very bottom of my list,” Victor dryly admitted. “I’ve never heard of a Jinn sharing his power with anyone, let alone a vampire.”

Uriel flinched at the memory of the white-hot pain that had drilled into his chest, spreading through his body like an infection.

“At the time I didn’t know what the hell he was doing. I assumed I was about to meet my well deserved end.” His lips twisted with a bitter smile. “Imagine my surprise when the bastard simply disappeared, leaving me with a pretty new tattoo.”

“Did he say anything?”

“He said. .” Uriel hesitated, bracing himself for Victor’s response. There was the potential that his chief would consider the secrets he’d kept hidden worthy of a death sentence. Not the most comforting thought. “He said that I was to be ‘the instrument of his revenge’.”

Victor’s brows snapped together, his power slamming through the room with frigid force. Uriel hissed, struggling to keep his own powers leashed. The potential for violence quivered in the air, just waiting for the smallest provocation to erupt.

Uriel didn’t intend to be that provocation.

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened?” Victor growled.

“You had just rescued your new mate from the gaping jaws of death,” he reminded his chief. “You didn’t leave your private lair for over a month.”

Victor’s aristocratic features briefly softened. Like Pavlov’s dog, Uriel wryly acknowledged. Victor might be a fierce clan chief who enforced his laws with a brutal strength, but he melted at the mention of his mate.

“Ah yes,” the ancient vampire murmured. “Now that was a month to remember.”

Uriel refused to acknowledge his stab of envy.

What was the point?

Many of his fellow vampires joked that becoming mated was a fate worse than death (at least until they became mated themselves) but Uriel had secretly longed for the day when he would meet the female destined to stand at his side for all eternity.

Until he’d been cursed by the Jinn.

Now he accepted that he could never put his potential mate in danger.

Not if there was the slightest risk he could be forced to lose control.

“Besides, I thought the beast was amusing himself,” he continued with a shrug. “Like a cat with a trapped mouse. It wasn’t until days later that I realized he’d given my powers a dose of steroids.”

The silver eyes shimmered with anger. “And it didn’t occur to you that the Jinn’s mark might compel you to carry out his mysterious revenge?”

“Of course.” Uriel reached into the pocket of his jeans to pull out a wooden box no larger than his thumbnail. “That’s why I carry this.”

Victor hissed at the unmistakable symbol branded into the wood.

“A thana hex.”

Uriel nodded. It was a rare hex that could only be performed by imps with royal blood running through their veins.

The damned thing had taken him years to track down and cost over half his fortune to purchase, but it had been well worth the trouble.

One flip of the lid and he would be dead.

Quick, easy, and supposedly painless.

“Death in a box,” he said, returning the hex to his pocket. “If I ever feel myself being forced against my will I can end it before any damage can be done.”

There was the sound of approaching footsteps from the hallway and with a scowl Victor crossed to meet the young vampire at the door who handed him a cell phone. The conversation was brief, but the clan chief’s temper didn’t seem to be improved as he shoved the phone back into the servant’s hand and turned to glare at Uriel.

“I don’t have time to finish this conversation, but believe me, my brother, it’s not over.”

“Brilliant,” Uriel muttered.

Crossing back to his desk, Victor grabbed a sheet of paper and shoved it toward Uriel.

“Here.”

Uriel paused before reluctantly taking the proffered paper, his brows lifting as he realized it was a map of England.

“What’s this for?”

“I negotiated with the local coven. They cast a searching spell.” Victor stabbed a finger at the odd markings that were drawn at three spots on the map. “These are the locations that blocked their magic.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means someone with magical abilities is trying to hide something.” Victor moved his finger to the mark placed over the plain of Salisbury. “I would suggest you start here. The witches claimed they could sense black magic in the area.”

Stonehenge?

Bloody hell. Could the mage be any more cliché?

Belatedly realizing his chief was headed back to the door, Uriel abruptly lifted his head, a flare of panic twisting his gut.

“Victor.”

The older vampire halted, glancing over his shoulder. “Yes?”

There was an unmistakable warning in the silver eyes. Victor had given his orders. Now he expected them to be obeyed.

No matter Uriel’s reluctance.

Uriel gave a resigned shake of his head. “Nothing.”

Victor continued out of the room, his power still thick in the air.

“Don’t disappoint me.”

Chapter 3

Kata had lost track of how many years she’d been trapped in the dark, iron-lined cell that was buried six feet beneath Stonehenge. She knew it had to be close to two hundred, but the days had become a continuous blur as she lay on the narrow cot, held motionless in the mage’s spell.

At the moment, it didn’t really matter. Once she managed to free herself, she would tally the time she’d been held hostage and ensure Marika and Sergei suffered for every damned minute they’d stolen from her.

Marika. .

A dark revulsion spread through her at the mere thought of the vampire bitch.

Amazing considering that four centuries ago she and Marika had been twin sisters and deeply devoted to one another.

The daughters of a powerful Romani elder they were openly prized for their dark, sultry beauty. Their hair was long, and as glossy as the finest ebony. Their eyes were dark and framed by long lashes and their pale features were delicately carved. Their sensuous lips had prompted epic poems and the sight of their lush curves attired in simple peasant blouses and skirts had inspired countless fights among the males of the tribe.

But Kata and Marika had never taken an interest in their beauty. From the time they were old enough to walk they had realized that their true power lay in their magic.

Although not witches, they both possessed the traditional magic of the gypsies. They could heal even the most grievous wounds, they could read the signs of nature to predict the weather, and of course, they could conjure curses that made grown men tremble in fear.

They could also speak to one another mind to mind, no matter how far the distance between them.

They had been destined for greatness until that fateful night that Marika had been called to heal an elder from a nearby tribe. Kata had stayed behind to tend to a child who had fallen and broken his arm earlier that day. If only. .

No.

Nothing could have altered the fact that Marika had been attacked and drained by a vampire.

At first Kata had thought her sister dead. What else could it be? Not only was Marika missing, but the sense of her that was always nestled in the back of Kata’s mind had abruptly disappeared.

Unfortunately, she hadn’t been able to leave well enough alone. One of her more persistent faults. She had continued to send out mental calls for her sister, unable to accept the inevitable.

And eventually Marika did return.

Only it wasn’t Marika.

The demon might have her sister’s face and they might still be psychically connected, but the demon who had murdered her sister was an arrogant, brutal predator who had hunted Kata down and caged her like an animal.

For two centuries Kata had been held as her sister’s prisoner, kept on a leash in her lair. Then two centuries ago the power-hungry Marika had joined forces with a Russian mage, Sergei. Together the two had plotted to use a child to resurrect the Dark Lord to this dimension.

The only problem was that the only child that they could use for the creepy resurrection was hidden in the mists between worlds.

A deal breaker for anyone with a claim to sanity, since the Jinn were the only known demons who could enter the mists, and no one wanted to negotiate with a Jinn. The powerful demons were cunning, heartless creatures who were as untrustworthy as they were beautiful. But, Marika’s profound lust for power outweighed something so tediously human as commonsense and with Sergei’s assistance they’d lured a Jinn into their trap using Kata as bait.

Kata’s mind instantly veered from the memory of being locked in the tiny cell with the Jinn. There were some things best left buried. But nine months later she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, Laylah.

Well aware that Marika intended to use her half-Jinn daughter to enter the mists and retrieve the child, Kata had managed to smuggle the baby to a witch who had used her magic to keep Laylah hidden.

Infuriated, Marika had demanded that Sergei put Kata into her current prison. In retaliation, Kata had sought to curse the vindictive bitch. Unfortunately that had inspired the mage to wrap her in thick layers of spells that were even more imprisoning than the lead-lined cell that held her.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t even open her eyes.

If not for the fact that she maintained her connection to Marika to watch the world from a distance, she would have gone completely mad.

Not that being mentally linked with a psychotic vampire was a joy ride. Marika had a nasty temper under the best of circumstances. Once Kata had snatched away her means for ruling the world, she’d become downright surly, indulging her love for pain at every opportunity. Still, Kata had managed to stay aware of the changing world, and best of all she’d known that Laylah remained safely hidden.

Then fifty years ago, the damned mage had found Laylah and forced her to enter the mists to retrieve the child of the Dark Lord.

Laylah had swiftly managed to escape with the baby, but Kata had known it was only a matter of time before she was once again hunted down.

Which was precisely what had happened just a few days before. She’d sensed Laylah in England, and tried to warn her. She shared the same mind connection with her daughter as she did with her sister, but she’d been too late.

Marika and Sergei had discovered her presence and while Laylah had swiftly fled, they’d been hot on her trail.

Even worse, her psychic link to her sister and daughter had become oddly erratic, as if there was something blocking her powers.

While she was currently struggling with all she was worth against the spells that held her captive.

Laylah was in trouble, and she had to reach her.

Lost in her dark thoughts, she was distantly aware of the Sylvermyst who guarded the tomb where she was held prisoner. They never bothered her, but she didn’t doubt that even if she did manage to free herself from Sergei’s bonds, they would prove a difficult barrier to her escape.

A worry for later.

Then she stiffened as her senses picked up an intruder closer at hand.

Yannah.

She didn’t know who, or even what, Yannah was.

She had to be a demon, of course. No human, or even witch, could possibly pop in and out of the buried cell. But since Kata had been near comatose from Sergei’s spell she had no more than a vague image of a small creature with a low, musical voice who had fluttered about her unconscious form and soothed her when she was troubled.

Over the years she’d become accustomed to the female’s unpredictable visits, assuming that if she wanted to hurt her she’d have already done the deed. Not even the most patient demon spent two centuries fussing over a person before striking a death blow.

In fact, she’d begun to think of her as her guardian angel.

Caught in her frantic battle to free herself, Kata was unprepared when the spells that were holding her prisoner abruptly shattered.

With a strangled gasp she fell off the narrow cot. Still entangled with the shroud that had been thrown over her, Kata was incapable of stopping herself from smacking face first onto the hard floor.

Typical.

“Oof.”

“Are you hurt?” A small, heart-shaped face with the almond shaped eyes that were entirely filled with black suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Yannah?” she breathed.

“That’s me.”

Kata managed to roll onto her back, her gaze sliding over the female’s tiny body that was covered by a plain white robe and the fair hair that was pulled into a braid that fell past her waist.

She might have been mistaken for a child if not for the piercing wisdom that shimmered in the dark eyes.

And, oh yeah, the mouth full of razor sharp teeth.

Blessed mother.

Fighting her way out of the shroud, Kata rose to her feet, her hands absently smoothing down the thin white nightgown that fell past her knees.

“What happened?” she demanded.

The tiny demon wrinkled her nose. “The spell is broken. The mage is traveling through distant lands.” Her head tilted to the side, as if she were mentally searching for the missing Sergei. “Very distant.”

Kata shivered. There was nowhere distant enough.

Bastard.

But for the moment she was more interested in the stark void in the back of her mind.

“Marika?” she whispered.

Yannah smiled, revealing her pointed teeth. “Ding dong the witch is dead.”

Kata sucked in a shocked breath, feeling nothing but a savage flare of satisfaction. It had taken years to accept that the creature who walked around with her sister’s face wasn’t Marika, but instead the coldblooded bitch who’d killed her. Now she had no trouble rejoicing in the thought of the world without the evil vampire.

She did, however, have difficulty in believing she was really and truly rid of her.

“You’re certain she’s dead?”

“Quite, quite dead.” Yannah wrinkled her tiny nose. “A shame really.”

“Shame?” Kata’s fury (that had had four long, hideous centuries to stew) abruptly boiled over. “I hope the bitch burns in the pits of hell for all eternity.”

“Oh, I’m certain justice will be served.”

“Good.”

“But you aren’t silly enough to think your sister. .”

“That creature was not my sister,” Kata hissed. “She killed my beloved Marika and stole her body.”

“Yes, yes.” Yannah waved an impatient hand. “Cue the violins.”

Kata frowned. “What?”

Without warning the small demon moved forward and poked her finger in the middle of Kata’s stomach.

“Shut up and listen.”

“Ow.”

Yannah was supremely unrepentant. “Do I have your attention?”

Kata rubbed her stomach. The poke hadn’t truly hurt, but it did smash her image of Yannah as a sweet, harmless creature who was only there to offer comfort. There was a power that pulsed in the air around her and a ruthless purpose that shimmered in the depths of her black eyes.

“Do I have a choice?”

“Didn’t I say it was a shame Marika was dead?”

Kata remained wary, wondering if this was some sort of trap.

“You did.”

“Well, it isn’t because anyone will mourn her passing.”

“Then why?”

“Because she made a nasty provision in the event of her untimely demise.”

“Provision? I don’t believe it.” Kata’s lips curled at the thought of Marika’s flagrant conceit. “The coldblooded creature was too arrogant to believe anything could kill her.”

“It wasn’t arrogance, it was strategy.” Yannah wagged a finger. “Tricky, tricky vampire.”

Kata sank onto the edge of the cot, her head aching and her stomach queasy.

Not surprising.

In the span of five minutes she’d been jolted out of a spell that had kept her imprisoned for centuries, she’d been violently stripped of her connection to her sister, and every muscle in her body was cramping as they came back to painful life.

“I feel like I am going to throw up,” she husked, “could you please speak clearly?”

Kata wasn’t looking for a plethora of sympathy, but she sure as hell didn’t expect Yannah to smack her on the back of the head.

“Use that brain in your pretty head. Marika was betrayed by Sergei. He was supposed to tell her the very second he discovered the location of your daughter and managed to kidnap her.”

“Yeah, I got that. She wasn’t a bit pleased when the bastard forced Laylah to steal the child of the Dark Lord and tried to keep the baby hidden from her. Do you think I was any happier? He tortured my poor girl.”

“What you felt is meaningless.”

Kata scowled at the tiny demon. Dammit. If Yannah was her guardian angel then she’d gotten ripped off.

Big time.

“What’s your point?”

“Marika realized her pet was a bad, bad boy,” Yannah said, as if Kata hadn’t been intensely aware of Marika’s fury when she’d discovered the mage had not only betrayed her, but had allowed Laylah and the baby to slip from her grasp.

“Yeah, her insane fury gave me a migraine for months.”

“It also made her realize that while she needed his magic for her evil plans, she had to make sure he didn’t decide that she was expendable. If he could get his hands on the child again, he might very well decide to keep the glory for himself.”

Kata snorted. “What’s that saying? ‘No honor among thieves’?”

“Precisely. And you were her. .” Yannah narrowed her gaze, searching for the perfect words. “Ace in the hole.”

Kata shoved an unsteady hand through her tangle of dark curls. She didn’t have to be a psychic to know she wasn’t going to like what Yannah had to say.

“How?”

“When your daughter disappeared Marika forced the mage to cast a spell linking the two of you together.”

Well that seemed. . redundant.

“Why?” She gave an impatient lift of her shoulder. “We’ve been linked together since our birth.”

Yannah nodded. “Yes, your minds, but not your souls.”

“Our souls?”

Yannah grimaced. “For lack of a better word.”

Kata froze, a sick dread forming in the pit of her stomach. “What exactly does that mean?”

“Marika wanted to make sure that Sergei couldn’t kill her without risking you as well.”

“So if she dies. .” Kata couldn’t finish the sentence. It was too horrible.

Yannah, on the other hand, didn’t have a damned bit of trouble.

“You get sucked into the underworld with her.”

Kata surged to her feet, panic screaming through her body as she headed across the small cell.

“Blessed goddess.”

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get out of here,” she muttered, tugging at the handle of the lead-lined door.

“You can’t outrun the spell.”

“If I can find a witch she can break the spell.”

“There’s no time.” Yannah made a sound of impatience. “Where is that vampire?”

Swearing at the lock that refused to budge, Kata turned to glare at the tiny demon standing in the center of the sparse cell.

“Vampire?”

“He’s late. Really, I cannot be expected to take care of everything,” Yannah muttered, making Kata wonder at the woman’s sanity. That was all she needed. Yet another crazy demon interfering in her life. Then abruptly Yannah’s expression cleared. “Ah.”

Kata frowned, her non-demon hearing belatedly picking up the sound of shouts from the Sylvermyst guards and the unmistakable clank of swords slamming off one another.

“Fighting?” she whispered in confusion. Who the hell would know where she was? Let alone try and battle past the layers of protection Sergei had placed throughout her prison. “Someone is coming.”

“I would move away from the door,” Yannah warned.

“Why?”

The question had barely tumbled from her lips when there was the god-awful screech of twisting metal as the massive door was forced off its hinges. With a gasp, Kata managed to leap to the side, avoiding being squashed beneath the wreckage. She couldn’t, however, avoid the large man who charged into the cell directly behind the door.

With the force of a cement truck he slammed into her, sending them both crashing onto the hard floor.

“Oof.” The air was painfully knocked from her lungs and her head smacked against the floor.

It took a moment before the fog in her brain cleared enough to take stock of the heavy beast crushing her against the lead floor.

And even longer to convince herself that she wasn’t imagining the breathtakingly beautiful face that hovered a mere inch above her.

An angel. .

What other creature possessed such pale, exquisite features? Or dark eyes as soft as velvet? Or a halo of burnished brown curls?

Her heart forgot to beat as she became lost in those beautiful eyes, her breath once again squeezed from her lungs.

He was just so. . beautiful.

Straight out of a fantasy, how-do-I-get-him-in-my-bed-this-second gorgeous.

Desire, raw and demanding, pulsed through her. Dear goddess. His hard body fit against her with tantalizing perfection. And his scent. A rich musk that made her blood heat with a potent hunger that was as shocking as it was unfamiliar.

Kata knew that she had only to close her eyes to become lost in his dark enchantment.

Then the cold blast of his power filled the room and her insane thoughts were shattered.

A vampire.

A damned vampire.

It was no wonder he could melt a heart at a hundred paces.

The evil creatures used their beauty as a lethal weapon.

She pressed her hands against his hard chest, too late realizing her danger. But oddly he didn’t strike, despite the terrifying flash of his huge fangs. Instead he regarded her with a horror that matched her own.

“You,” he breathed, looking as if he’d seen a ghost. “Bloody hell.”

“Who did you expect to land on top of?” she snapped, her terror of vampires overwhelmed by a bizarre annoyance that her first reaction had been “oh-my-God-please-take-me-now” while his had been pure male disappointment. “Lady GaGa?”

He blinked, clearly startled by her grip on the modern world and pop culture.

“I was told you were caught in a mage’s spell.”

“Who told you?”

“Your supposed daughter.”

“Laylah.” An instant warmth curled through the center of her heart. She had known that Laylah was in the company of a vampire before she’d lost contact with her, but she hadn’t expected her daughter to send a bloodsucker to rescue her. It was. . touching. “I should have known that she would. .” Her brows abruptly snapped together as his words truly sunk in. “What do you mean supposed?”

He stared down at her with a predictable arrogance. Vampires had I’m superior to you stamped into their DNA.

“We have no proof beyond the word of a treacherous vampire, a psychopathic mage, and a female who magically appeared in a vision at a suspiciously opportune moment to reveal she is Laylah’s mother and being held hostage by her evil twin sister.” His lips twisted to a sneer. “It’s like a bad fairy tale.”

Kata slammed her hands against his chest. She loved her daughter, but Laylah obviously had piss poor taste in choosing a Knight in Shining Armor.

“Get off me, you oaf.”

“Not until I’m certain this isn’t a trap.”

She shifted beneath his heavy body, futilely trying to wiggle away from him. If the brute thought he could knock her to the ground and then insult her, then he was in for an unpleasant surprise. She might not possess the strength of a demon, but she wasn’t entirely helpless.

“Do you know what I am?” she hissed.

Concentrating on her efforts to escape, Kata missed the sudden stiffening of the vampire’s body and his muffled groan.

“Is that an invitation for further exploration?” he demanded, his low voice suddenly thick with awareness. “A little blatant for my taste, but I’m willing to play.”

She told herself that it was shock that made her stomach clench and her heart race. And as for the sizzle of excitement that shot through her. . well, that had to be anger.

Anything else would be sheer insanity.

“It’s a warning that unless you get off of me this instant I will curse your most prized possession,” she said between gritted teeth. “And I’m not talking about your sword.”

Chapter 4

Uriel glared at the woman pinned beneath him.

Nothing had gone right from the minute he’d left Victor’s lair.

He’d journeyed directly to Stonehenge only to run headlong into a brick wall.

Literally.

The damned mage had left a dozen different snares to trap the unwary. Twice Uriel had been dropped into hidden pits. The first one had been lined with bricks embedded with silver spikes that had seared away the flesh of his palms and feet before he’d managed to climb his way out. The second pit had been filled with rabid hellhounds he’d been forced to fight through to get to the door that led to the cell he could sense deep below ground.

It had taken days to heal his wounds and gather enough strength to continue his trek downward. It had taken even more days to dodge the Sylvermyst who patrolled the tunnels and then, at last, barrel his way through the heavy door.

Was it any wonder he wasn’t in the mood for surprises?

And Kata was a surprise, he grudgingly admitted.

He’d expected her beauty. She was a twin to Marika, after all, and as much as he might detest the cold-blooded bitch, no one could deny she was stunning.

But while Kata shared Marika’s glossy curls and midnight eyes set in a pale, perfect face, they had nothing in common.

Marika was cold arrogance edged with the promise of pain.

Kata was. .

Heat and passion and the promise of endless pleasure.

He bit back another groan as she wiggled her lush, sexy body beneath him.

Dammit.

This was supposed to be a simple snag and bag.

Kata should have been playing Sleeping Beauty so he could toss her over his shoulder and get the hell out of the cramped prison. From there it was a straight shot back to Victor’s lair and wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am he was washing his hands of the unpleasant duty.

Instead she was very much awake and wiggling beneath him in a way that had him painfully aroused and a breath from ripping off her too-thin nightgown and easing the sharp hunger that had slammed into him without warning.

What was wrong with him?

Debating that pertinent question, Uriel belatedly caught the odd scent of brimstone. Jerking his head to the side he watched as a tiny female demon in a white robe crossed the cell to regard him with a mysterious smile.

“I just knew the two of you would hit it off,” she murmured, her voice a low sing-song. “But you might want to brace yourselves. We’re about to be sucked into hell.”

His brows snapped together. “What the. .”

“Hell?” The woman smiled to reveal an impressive set of razor sharp teeth. “Yes, I just said that.”

“Who are you?” he growled, instinctively shifting so his body was shielding Kata. And how crazy was that? “Actually, let’s start off with what are you?”

“I’m Yannah. And as for what I am. . hmmm.” She tapped a finger to her chin. “Do you believe in fairy godmothers?”

“No,” he snapped.

She sighed. “A pity.”

Beneath him, Kata used the sudden distraction to scramble free from the weight of his body, her gaze pinned on the far wall of the cell.

“Yannah,” she breathed, “something’s happening.”

“The gateway is opening,” the tiny demon announced.

With a liquid motion Uriel was on his feet, yanking the large sword from the scabbard angled across his back.

He’d packed light when he’d left Victor’s lair. A pair of jeans, a black T-shirt, combat boots, and his weapons.

What else did a vampire need?

“Gateway?” he growled.

Yannah nodded. “To the underworld.”

Uriel glanced toward the swirling mist that was forming near the lead-lined wall.

“Christ. I told Victor this was a trap,” he muttered, whirling to point the tip of his sword in the center of Kata’s chest. “Close the gateway, witch, or I’ll carve out your heart.”

She didn’t so much as flinch, her eyes flashing with a proud fury.

“I’m a gypsy, not a witch, you dolt.”

Uriel ground his teeth, refusing to admit his fascination with the woman’s passionate courage. Dammit. The gates of hell were parting. Now wasn’t the time for distractions.

“You can call yourself the queen of England if you want, just close the damned gateway.”

“I didn’t open it.”

“Gateways to the underworld don’t just open on their own.” He pointed the sword toward the tiny Yannah. “You.”

“Not me.” Yannah wrinkled her nose. “Sergei.”

Uriel’s hand tightened on his sword, his gaze searching the small cell.

“The mage?”

“He cast a spell binding Kata to her twin,” the demon explained.

“And your point?” he prompted.

“Marika has been destroyed.”

“Good,” he said. “Someone should have chopped off the bitch’s head centuries ago.”

Kata slapped her hands on her hips. “Did you miss the part where I’m bound to my sister?”

He shrugged. “Can’t you. . unbind yourself?”

“No.”

His gaze shifted toward Yannah who gave a sharp shake of her head.

“Don’t look at me.”

“Brilliant,” he growled, grabbing Kata’s upper arm and hauling her toward the broken door. A timely evac was obviously in order. “Let’s go.”

“Too late,” Yannah said, then with a small smile she simply disappeared.

Shit.

Uriel yanked Kata off her feet, holding her against his chest as he darted through the door, but even as he entered the tunnel leading out of the prison he knew Yannah had been right.

It was too late.

There was an unnerving sensation of electricity dancing over his skin and then the world abruptly melted around him.

Yep, there was no other way to describe it.

From one step to another the hard rock beneath his feet disappeared, along with the dirt walls of the tunnel, sending him tumbling through a choking darkness.

Uriel swore, wrapping his arms protectively around Kata as he twisted to fall backward. He didn’t know where they were going to land, but he was fairly certain it was going to hurt.

Two seconds later his worst fears were confirmed.

Not only did they hit the ground with enough force to crack several bones, but the rocks that were scattered across the stone floor were sharp enough to slice through his flesh.

Momentarily stunned, Uriel couldn’t stop Kata from scrambling out of his arms. She had a small smear of blood on her cheek, but otherwise she appeared unhurt. Thanks to him. Not that he was expecting a profusion of gratitude. Christ, she didn’t even make a token show of concern at the sight of his broken and bleeding body, instead she was rising to her feet and studying their surroundings with a barely restrained terror.

He understood her terror.

Hell lived up to its nasty reputation.

Tentatively rising to his feet, Uriel clutched his sword as his gaze scanned the vast cavern that took “bleak” to a whole new level.

Pools of red-hot lava flowed between the black, jagged rocks, the glow shimmering off the towering stalactites and stalagmites giving them the image of the teeth of some gruesome monster.

Worse, the superior senses he depended on were muted by the strange atmosphere.

He couldn’t smell a damned thing beyond the acrid stench of brimstone, his sight was limited to the cavern spread before him, and he couldn’t detect if they were alone or if there were a thousand demonic souls preparing to attack.

He had spent the last four hundred years being the predator, not the prey.

He didn’t like feeling vulnerable.

In fact, it made him downright pissy.

Just like Kata’s supreme indifference to him made him pissy.

What was wrong with the female?

He was the one forced to come rushing to her rescue despite her intimate past with a Jinn. And yet she was treating him as if he were an unwelcomed intruder, while he. .

He what?

Uriel grimaced.

Why deny it? He was plagued with a brutal urge to protect the luscious gypsy. An urge that was nearly as powerful as his unwanted desire. Such instincts were dangerous in a vampire. It indicated a bond with the female he wasn’t prepared to accept.

He wanted to believe it was a spell. Or maybe an insidious Jinn trick.

A pity it felt so painfully real.

Frustration spilled through him. Wasn’t it bad enough he’d waltzed right into a trap that had sucked him straight into hell? Now he had to be obsessed with the woman entirely responsible for his current troubles?

Indifferent to his annoyance, Kata wound her way through the lava that could so easily destroy her fragile flesh.

“Yannah,” she called, her tone frantic. “Yannah.”

“Dammit.” Shoving his sword back into its sheath, he moved to stand at her side, barely resisting the need to snatch her into his arms. “Are you trying to attract the attention of every nasty beast in the underworld?”

“Is that where we are?” She shot him a glare, as if this was entirely his fault.

“How would I know?” Uriel cast a disgusted gaze around their noxious surroundings. “Despite popular opinion I didn’t crawl out of the pits of hell.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist, her chin stuck to a defensive angle.

“Hard to believe.”

“Since you’re entirely to blame for our presence here, I wouldn’t be tossing around insults, luv.”

“I didn’t ask you to come barging into my private cell.”

“No,” he swiftly countered, “your daughter did.”

Without warning her features softened. “Laylah,” she breathed.

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry,” she lowered her head, hiding her beautiful face behind the thick curtain of her dark hair. “I only wanted to warn her. I didn’t intend for her to endanger herself or anyone else to find me.”

He lifted his hand to brush back the glossy curls, only to yank it back.

“It no longer matters,” he gritted. “We need to find a way out.”

“Out?”

“Unless you want to stay?” he drawled. “Maybe see if they have a bus tour?”

She abruptly tilted back her head to meet his chiding gaze, appearing unbearably young. Whatever spell the mage had used to keep her alive had ensured she hadn’t aged beyond her early twenties in human years.

“Do you have to be an ass?”

“I. .” His words choked in his throat as he noted the damp shimmer in her magnificent eyes. “Are you crying?”

“No,” she ridiculously denied, spinning toward the swirling lava. “Leave me alone.”

He should.

Victor had requested that he go in search of the captured gypsy, he hadn’t said a damned thing about protecting the female from the hordes of beasts rumored to fill the underworld.

No one would blame him if he abandoned her to her fate.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t become Victor’s right hand man by tossing aside his duty when things got tough. When he started a job, he finished it.

And that’s the reason he reached out to tug her gently into his arms, his thumbs brushing away the tears that stained her cheeks.

“Kata. Shush,” he murmured. “I will find us a way out of here.” He glanced toward the distant opening across the cavern. “Or die trying.”

Her dark gaze held an unmistakable fear. “Are you sure we aren’t already dead?”

“What?”

“How can we be in the underworld if we didn’t die?”

A faint smile touched his lips as he allowed his hands to skim down the slender length of her throat.

“Warm skin, a steady pulse. .” Barely aware he was moving, Uriel lowered his head to touch his lips to the hollow behind her ear, nuzzling the satin softness of her skin. “The scent of tiger lilies,” he husked. “I can assure you that you’re very much alive.”

“Oh.” She shuddered, the scent of her arousal perfuming the air while Uriel planted a trail of kisses to the revealing pulse at the base of her neck. “What are you doing?”

“I think I should double check,” he said, the driving pleasure in touching her overcoming his small claim to intelligence. “We can’t be too careful.”

“I warned you, vamp. .” Kata breathed, her hands lifting to his chest. She no doubt intended to push him away, or maybe something even worse, but instead her fingers splayed over his rigid muscles, the heat of her touch searing through the thin material.

“Uriel,” he rasped.

“What?”

“My name is Uriel.”

She shivered. “Uriel.”

Chapter 5

During the long years of her imprisonment, Kata more than once skirted the edge of madness. Not only from the endless days of being trapped on the narrow cot, but from sheer loneliness.

Even with her ability to view the world through Marika and Laylah, as well as Yannah’s occasional visits, she’d been tortured by her isolation. She was a human who’d been raised by loving parents who’d been openly affectionate. To be suddenly denied the comfort of her family and loving tribe was worse than death.

She craved companionship with an aching need.

Which was the only reason she was tilting back her head to encourage his seeking lips, and why her hands were lifting to tangle in his thick curls. It was why she arched closer to the growing promise of his erection. .

Blessed mother. Ruthless desire blazed through her, belatedly jerking her out of her self-delusion.

Mere comfort didn’t make a woman’s heart race with a wild excitement or her stomach clench in anticipation.

This was lust.

Raw, desperate, savage lust.

“Stop.” Her hands returned to his chest, but this time she didn’t allow herself to become distracted by the chiseled muscles and icy power. “Uriel, are you out of your mind?”

With a low groan, he lifted his head, his eyes dark with a hunger that echoed deep inside her.

“I must be,” he muttered thickly, dropping his hands with insulting promptness. “There can be no other excuse.”

Refusing to acknowledge the pang of loss, Kata stepped backward, wincing at the sting of heat on the back of her legs. Damned lava.

“You said something about getting us out of here,” she said stiffly.

“I did.”

She lifted her brows. “And?”

He grimaced. “And it is something a man says to comfort a hysterical female.”

“I was not hysterical.”

“You were crying.”

She hunched a shoulder, refusing to admit her brief moment of vulnerability. If Marika had taught her nothing else, it was that the least hint of weakness could be exploited.

“So what you’re saying is that you don’t have any clue of how to get us out of here?”

His jaw tightened, as if he was offended by her accusation. “Maybe if you’d warned your daughter that anyone who was sent to rescue you was going to be sucked into hell I might have been properly prepared.”

“More likely you wouldn’t have come at all.”

“It wasn’t as if I had a choice.”

Kata flinched at the stark words.

Well wasn’t that just the freaking cherry on top of the god awful day?

She’d already sensed that Uriel hadn’t been first in line to play the role of her Knight in Shining Armor, but she hadn’t realized that he had been actually unwilling.

“You were forced?”

He ignored her question, pulling out the massive sword.

“We can’t stand here hoping a gateway will open.” He began weaving his way through the puddles of lava and razor sharp rocks. “Let’s go.”

She hesitated only a moment before following him along the narrow path.

“You didn’t answer my question. Were you forced to rescue me or not?” she gritted.

He kept walking. “Does it matter?”

Did it?

Hell yeah.

Why?

She didn’t have a clue.

All she knew for certain was that it hurt to know she was nothing more than an unwanted duty for the aggravating vampire.

“I. .”

“What?” he prompted.

“I didn’t know my soul was bound to Marika’s until just before we met,” she said, for whatever reason needing him to know she hadn’t deliberately led him into a trap.

He muttered something too low for her to catch, leading them through the gap at the back. He was forced to bend nearly double as they squeezed through the opening and entered. .

A cavern that exactly matched the cavern they had just left.

Kata grimaced, not bothering to point out that there was every possibility that there was no escape from the ghastly place. Why bother?

The same thought had to be going through Uriel’s mind.

Not that he bothered to share what he was thinking. She might as well have been a stray dog for all the attention he was giving her.

Annoying ass.

In silence they crossed the cavern, nearly reaching the opening in the back when Uriel abruptly whirled around, his eyes searching the shadows.

“ Damn.”

She frowned. “What now?”

“Something’s following us.” He tilted back his head, as if testing the air. “Several somethings.”

“Demons?”

“Phantoms,” he corrected her.

“Perfect,” she muttered, instinctively ducking as he darted past her and swung his oversized sword at the translucent creature that formed out of the steam rising from the lava pits.

There was a shriek of fury and Kata bit her lip as the phantom struck out, knocking Uriel into one of the stalagmites with shocking force. Grimly the vampire shrugged off his injuries, charging back at the enemy that had turned its attention to Kata.

She saw the gleam of malevolent red eyes among the black mist that made up the phantom before Uriel was leaping in front of her, his sword dropped to his side as he instead held out his hand and released a burst of power.

The phantom tried to halt its forward charge, but it was too late. Uriel’s icy power wrapped around the creature, crushing it before it could dissipate back into the lava.

Watching the battle, Kata very nearly missed the second phantom that rose from the lava behind her. It wasn’t until she felt the stinging pain in the center of her back that she belatedly turned to face the danger.

Without Uriel’s brute strength or his vampire powers, Kata was severely limited in her defensive skills. And why shouldn’t she be? Until Marika had become a vampire, the only defense she’d needed was the sharp edge of her tongue. She was a healer, not a fighter.

A damned shame she wouldn’t be able to convince the hovering creature to settle matters with a smile and a handshake.

Hell, she didn’t even know if it had hands in all that swirling mist.

Taking a step backward, Kata held up a clenched fist and chanted soft words beneath her breath. They burnt across her brain as if they were being etched in fire, then, as she finished the spell she released the curse and let it fly toward her attacker.

She didn’t have a clue if it would hurt a phantom.

The thing didn’t have a corporeal body, but it did have an essence that could take physical form.

All she could do was hope for the best.

For a minute nothing happened.

Well, that wasn’t exactly true. The creature continued to float forward, while from behind she could hear the dying shrieks of Uriel’s opponent. But her curse seemed to be a complete bust.

Desperately searching her mind for something, anything, that might hurt the phantom, Kata sucked in a startled breath as the air suddenly began to thicken with the force of her words. Her curse was not only working, but it was growing with an intensity she’d never been able to conjure before.

Obviously a perk of being in hell, she wryly accepted, taking a hasty step backwards as the phantom began to pulse, almost as if it were being inflated from the inside. Then, with a scream that nearly deafened Kata, the creature exploded.

There was just no other way to describe it.

One minute it was a hovering mass of black mist, and the next, tiny shreds of an oily substance were dripping off the nearby stalagmites.

She barely had time to admire the stunning results of her curse when Uriel was scooping her off her feet and tossing her over his shoulder.

“Hey. .” Her head bounced against the hard muscles of his back as he leaped over pools of boiling lava and hurried toward the side of the cavern. “Stop. Put me down.”

He ignored her protests, ducking through a hidden opening into another cavern. This one similar to the previous one, but with enough differences to comfort her with the thought they weren’t going in endless circles.

Not that she had much of a chance to admire the passing scenery.

Uriel charged from one cavern to the next, not halting until she began to pummel his back with small fists. Swaying upside down was making her queasy.

“Dammit, I told you to put me down,” she rasped.

Muttering his opinion of women who didn’t have the sense of a Flandra demon, Uriel set her onto a path that ran between two sheer cliffs. Kata refused to peer over the edge. She didn’t want to know if there was a bottom far below. Or what might be lurking down there.

Things were bad enough.

Uriel seemed to agree.

“Satisfied?” he demanded, his gaze never straying from her pale face.

She licked her dry lips. “Maybe we should split up.”

He blinked, studying her as if she’d grown a second head. “Split up?”

“You know, you go one way and I go another.” She waved her hand. “It’s a fairly simple concept.”

“I understand the concept,” he growled, “I just don’t understand why you would be so idiotic as to suggest it. You wouldn’t last five minutes without my protection.”

It was true.

Although her curse had worked against the phantom, she wouldn’t be able to conjure another one until she’d had a chance to rest. And she very much doubted that phantoms were the only nasties that were waiting to crawl out of the shadows.

But she’d been stripped of her pride and dignity by Marika. She wasn’t going to let it happen again.

She wasn’t this vampire’s charity case.

“What does it matter to you?”

“I think the better question is why you’re trying to get rid of me?” He narrowed his eyes in suspicion, his face bathed in the reddish glow that filled the cavern. He should have appeared. . frightening, even sinister, standing there with his big sword and flashing fangs. Instead his male beauty was so ethereal it made her heart ache. “Do you and Yannah have a gateway hidden to escape through once you’ve managed to get rid of me?”

She clenched her hands. Beautiful or not, she wanted to punch him in the nose.

She was trying to do this for him, the jerk.

“Yes, this is all some elaborate trap that I invented with Yannah just on the off chance an annoying vampire was forced to come to my rescue,” she mocked. “Ingenious, is it not?”

“The trap wasn’t meant for me, it was meant for Laylah.”

Kata sucked in a shocked breath, raw fury racing through her at the unjust accusation.

She’d endured endless years of being held captive and unbearable torture to protect her daughter. And she would endure centuries more if necessary.

“You bastard.” Without thought she launched herself toward the aggravating vampire, wildly pounding her fists on his solid chest. “I have sacrificed everything to keep my daughter safe. Everything.”

Uriel hastily sheathed his sword, wrapping his arms around her trembling body and pulling her close.

“Easy, Kata.”

She tilted back her head to stab him with a warning glare. “Don’t ever say I would try to harm her again.”

“Fine.” He lifted a hand to gently smooth her hair from her face, his expression guarded. “If this isn’t a trap, then why are you trying to get rid of me?”

“Maybe I don’t like you,” she muttered.

His eyes flared with a heat that could rival the lava that spilled over the cliff just a few feet away.

“I could change that if I wanted to,” he husked.

And he could.

She might not want to acknowledge the poignant awareness that swirled between them. Or the peculiar sense that she’d been waiting for this particular man to crash into her life since she’d been a simple gypsy maiden. But ignoring the dangerous sensations didn’t make them go away.

“Please, Uriel. .” she whispered, acutely aware of the soft stroke of his thumb over her cheek.

“Tell me why you’re trying to get rid of me.”

She heaved a resigned sigh. Stubborn demon.

“It was my demented sister who is responsible for sending us here and there’s no reason for both of us to suffer.”

His lips twisted. “And you think splitting up will end my suffering?”

“We both know you’re much more likely to escape without me slowing you down.” She shivered as his thumb shifted to stroke her lower lip. “So go.”

“No.”

“Why not?”

He frowned, as if annoyed he might be forced to actually consider his motives.

“I always finish what I start,” he at last said.

Always finish what he started?

Lame. Truly lame.

He better hope that he didn’t need a reference if he intended to make a career out of rescuing maidens in distress, because as far as she was concerned, he sucked at it.

“I’m not your obligation,” she snapped.

“You are for now.”

“Because my daughter sent you?”

“Because my clan chief sent me.”

Kata rolled her eyes. She loved Laylah, but why on earth would the girl get involved with vampires?

“Fine, you came, you saw, you conquered. Now go away.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” He folded his arms over his chest. “Get over it.”

Okay, that was it.

She’d tried to be nice. To put his welfare above her own. Now she just wanted to kick him in the nuts.

“Look here, you arrogant ass, I’ve. .”

“There’s no use in arguing with a vampire, my dear,” a soft, melodic voice interrupted her tirade.

Whirling around in shock, Kata pressed a hand to her heart as she caught sight of the tiny demon she’d thought lost forever.

“Yannah, thank goodness,” she breathed, barely noticing that the demon’s white robe was perfectly pristine and her hair smoothed into a tidy braid. Unlike Kata who looked like she’d been to hell and back. Literally. “I feared. .”

“I was dead?” Yannah helpfully supplied.

“Yes.”

“Silly girl.” Yannah waved a hand toward the far side of the cavern. “My house is just on the other side of the lava pit.”

Kata shook her head in confusion. Over the years she’d accepted Yannah’s habit of popping in and out of her cell without giving any actual thought to where she came from.

But even if she had, her first thought wouldn’t have been the underworld.

“You live here?”

Yannah sniffed, unexpectedly offended by Kata’s blatant disbelief.

“I’m not sure I like your tone. My neighborhood happens to be quite nice, and for your information I have a very lovely flat in Mayfair for when I’m on the other side.”

Kata parted her lips to apologize, only to be cut off as Uriel stepped directly between her and the female demon.

“You can travel between worlds?” he growled.

“No time for questions.” Yannah said as she turned to the side.

Waving her hands over the edge of the cliff in intricate motions, Yannah ignored Uriel’s impatient demand for explanations.

Kata frowned. Was the demon pretending to conduct an orchestra? Calling for reinforcements? Totally losing her mind?

The answer was far more unexpected.

The darkness in front of her began to shift, as if it were alive. Then, without warning, Yannah chopped her hand downward and there was a strange sound, as if the very air was tearing in half.

Blessed mother.

Kata shook her head, stunned by the outrageous display of power.

“Come on.” Yannah impatiently waved for them to approach. “Through here.”

Tentatively Kata edged toward the opening. She didn’t want to offend Yannah, but she wasn’t sure she entirely trusted the strange creature.

Uriel, on the other hand, had no trouble being blatantly offensive.

Stepping to her side, he pointed a finger at the opening.

“Where does this go?”

“Didn’t I just say there’s no time for questions?” Yannah turned to Kata with a baffled expression. “Was he hit on the head?”

“Yannah. .” she started to soothe, no more anxious than Uriel to step through a hole in space.

A pity she wasn’t given a choice.

Studying the gaping hole in what might be the very fabric of the space/time continuum, Kata missed Yannah creeping behind her. It wasn’t until she felt the demon’s tiny hands on her ass that she belatedly realized her danger.

She gave a choked shout of alarm at the same time that Yannah shoved her forward.

Chapter 6

Uriel was rarely caught off guard.

A complacent vampire was a dead vampire.

But distracted by the lurking promise of an escape route, he hadn’t realized the tiny demon’s intention until too late.

Swearing as he watched Kata being pushed into the portal, Uriel didn’t hesitate. Knocking aside Yannah, Uriel charged forward, managing to wrap his arms around Kata’s waist as they both plunged through the shimmering mist.

There was the sense of freefalling through a tunnel of black nothingness and Uriel instinctively tugged Kata closer to his body. At the moment, she was the only real thing in the whirling darkness.

Wrapped in her sweet scent of tiger lilies and the tantalizing warmth of her lush body, Uriel was struck by a piercing desire to keep falling. Anything just so he could keep this woman in his arms.

Insanity, of course.

He was a vampire.

They didn’t do “happily ever afters.” Or even “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

At least not until they found their mate.

And this woman couldn’t be his mate.

Could she?

Before he could actually consider the disturbing question, their freefall came to an abrupt end.

Tumbling through the other side of the portal, Uriel hurriedly turned to keep Kata protected as they emerged into a heavily-wooded forest.

His back smacked painfully onto the moss covered ground as his feet tangled in the undergrowth. Not that he noticed the rock poking into his shoulder or the overhead cry of angry birds disturbed from their nests.

Instead he hissed in fear as a light breeze stirred the thick canopy of leaves and the dappled sunlight brushed over his skin.

It had been centuries since his last glimpse of the sun. With good cause.

Vampires plus daylight equaled instant death.

Something he’d tried to avoid over the years.

Now he braced himself for the searing pain.

A pain that never came.

Astonishment slowly gave way to the recognition that this place was nothing more than an illusion. There could be no other explanation.

Yannah had somehow created this bubble of paradise in the midst of the underworld.

But how? And more importantly, why?

Distracted by the possibility of spontaneous combustion, Uriel nearly forgot the bundle of lush woman he held in his arms. At least until she squirmed out of his grasp and darted away.

“Kata.”

Forcing himself to ignore the unnerving sunlight, Uriel hurriedly followed behind her, nearly running her down when she came to an abrupt halt at the edge of a large glade.

Sensing her tension, he studied the meadow dotted with wildflowers and the shallow stream that wound a lazy path through the grass. So far as he could tell they were alone in the strange vision, but that didn’t mean there weren’t dangers lurking among the surrounding trees or the distant hills that were silhouetted against the horizon.

Even paradise had its serpent.

At his side, Kata gave a slow shake of her head, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief.

“No. .” she breathed, “it can’t be.”

“Do you sense something?”

She shook her head, cautiously taking a step forward. “I know this place.”

Even knowing it was an illusion, Uriel had to battle his instinctive reluctance to step from the shade of the trees into the sundrenched glade.

“Careful, Kata.”

She tilted her head to meet his worried gaze, her skin brushed with golden sunlight and her dark curls spilling down her back in a glorious tangle.

“What is it?”

For a moment he was speechless. She was so. . exquisite. But it wasn’t her beauty that held him captivated. Or at least, not entirely.

He’d known some of the most stunning women in the world over the years. Imps, fairies, humans, and vampires. But none of them stirred his hunger as this woman did.

Was it her earthy curves on full display beneath the nearly transparent nightgown? Or the passionate life that smoldered in the dark eyes? Or the fierce spirit that Marika and the damned mage hadn’t been able to crush despite their best efforts?

Whatever the cause, it was all he could do not to yank her against him and take her in a storm of raw need.

He clenched his hands. Bloody hell, this place was obviously screwing with his head.

And his body, he ruefully acknowledged, his erection pressing painfully against his jeans.

“We haven’t left the underworld,” he said, grimly battling back his attack of lust. “This is all an illusion.”

“How can you know. .” Her confused expression abruptly cleared as she glanced up at the sun that was blazing from a clear blue sky. “Oh.”

“Exactly.”

She frowned, her gaze returning to the picturesque view. “It seems so real. It even smells as I remember.”

“This place has some special meaning to you?”

Her expression softened. “As a child my family traveled with our tribe through the lands that are now called Hungary. My father was an elder and my mother was a healer.”

“They had positions of power,” Uriel murmured, not surprised. Kata had been trapped in a nightmare for centuries, but she’d not only survived, she’d managed to protect her beloved daughter.

It took incredible strength that she’d obviously inherited from her parents.

“Yes, which meant they shouldered heavy duties,” she said, a wistful smile curving her lips. “When they felt the need to escape their responsibilities they would bring my sister and I here. I cherished those days. It was the only time we could be alone as a family.”

There was no mistaking her emotional connection to the image spread before them.

“I don’t like this,” he rasped.

“You don’t like what?”

“Was Yannah a part of your childhood?”

“Of course not.” She blinked in puzzlement at his abrupt question. “We knew nothing of demons before Marika came to us as a vampire.”

“Then how did she know to create this particular illusion?”

He watched Kata’s pleasure in her surroundings briefly falter at his question.

“Perhaps she can read my mind,” she at last suggested.

“Perhaps.” Uriel shrugged. It was a rare talent, but not unheard of. “Then the next question is why,” he persisted. “She must have some purpose in bringing us here.”

“You think she’s responsible for opening the gateway to hell?”

Did he?

The tiny demon certainly had the power.

And God knew she was erratic enough to offer help one minute and then trap them both in hell the next.

But he wasn’t going to leap to conclusions.

“I think we would be fools not to suspect she has her own agenda,” he compromised.

Her lips twisted into a bitter smile. “Who doesn’t?”

He bristled at her accusation. “I’m at least honest about my purpose in following you,” he said, even knowing the words were a lie.

Oh, his purpose had been clear enough in the beginning. Victor commanded him to locate and retrieve the gypsy. Simple and straightforward.

It was only after he’d crashed into Kata’s prison that his unwanted duty had become something else.

Something dangerous.

Thankfully unaware of his tangled thoughts, Kata gave a restless lift of her shoulder.

“Maybe Yannah created a place to keep us safe until she could get us out of here,” she suggested, clearly wanting to assume the best.

He snorted. “Do you believe that?”

Her dark eyes flashed with annoyance. “I don’t know what I believe, and right now I don’t care. For the moment there’s no scalding lava, no bottomless pits, and no creepy ghouls trying to suck my soul. I intend to enjoy a few minutes of peace.”

With a flounce (yes, it was an unmistakable flounce) Kata crossed to the meandering stream and settled on the sloping bank. Then, with a sigh of pleasure she allowed her bare feet to dangle in the crystal clear water.

Uriel swore as he leashed his instinctive urge to snatch her back into his arms until he could be certain there weren’t any lurking dangers.

Maybe she was right.

They would know soon enough if this was a trap. Why not take a few moments to appreciate the peace?

Not that it was the peace he was appreciating as he moved to settle on the mossy ground next to her. Stretching out his legs, Uriel leaned back on his hands and allowed himself the rare luxury of savoring the sight of Kata drenched in sunlight.

His fangs lengthened, his ready hunger returning with a vengeance as the bright light revealed the dusky temptation of her nipples and the feminine shadow at the apex of her thighs. Bloody hell. A low growl trickled from his throat as a cool breeze stirred the satin strands of her hair, teasing at the tender curve of her neck.

Abruptly she turned her head to meet his heated gaze. “You’re staring at me,” she murmured.

Unable to resist temptation, he reached out to run his fingers through the thick satin of her hair.

“You look too young and innocent to have a child.”

Her brows lifted. “Was that a compliment?”

“A statement of fact.”

“Ah.” She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose that’s the upside of playing Sleeping Beauty.” She blinked, as if hit by a sudden thought. “Of course, with Marika dead and Sergei missing, I suppose the spell to keep me from aging is gone.”

A strange pang of unease clutched his heart at the mere thought of Kata growing old. . dying.

“There are means for humans to stay young.”

She shrugged. “That’s actually at the very bottom of my Worry List.”

“What’s at the top?”

“Laylah.” She said it without hesitation, her first thought for her daughter despite the fact that she was currently trapped in hell with no certain means of escape. “I’ve always been able to sense her, but now there’s some sort of interference between us.” She bit her full bottom lip, her expression troubled. “She could be hurt and I wouldn’t even know it.”

His hand cupped the back of her head, his chest tightening with the oddest urge to. . what?

Offer her comfort?

Impossible. That’s what humans did, not demons.

But there was no halting the need to lower his head and brush his lips softly over her mouth.

“Marika’s dead,” he found himself saying softly. “That has to be a good sign.”

She gave a hesitant nod, her heart picking up speed at his light caress.

“Yes.”

His gaze drifted downward, lingering on the swell of her breasts that spilled over the neckline of her nightgown. He swallowed a groan as he hardened with astonishing speed.

“Not to mention that Laylah’s in the protection of one of the most powerful and ruthless vampires in the world,” he continued, his voice thickening. “There are few things that could hurt her.”

“That isn’t entirely comforting,” she said dryly.

He jerked his head up, a frown marring his brow. “You have a prejudice against vampires?”

Her magnificent eyes narrowed, her expression revealing just what she thought of his hint of outrage.

“Can you blame me?” she demanded. “I was tortured for the past four centuries by a vampire. It didn’t inspire a lot of warm fuzzies for your people.”

Uriel considered being annoyed.

He was the one who was supposed to be heroically overcoming his aversion to a woman with intimate ties to a Jinn while she was supposed to be melting in gratitude at his daring bravery.

Instead, he threaded his fingers through her hair, his other hand lifting to cup her cheek.

“She hurt you.”

Her eyes darkened with unwelcomed memories. “She enjoyed causing pain.”

“Not all vampires are like her.”

She shivered, but Uriel sensed it was not entirely due to her thoughts of Marika.

“I hope not, for Laylah’s sake,” she said, her breath catching as Uriel skimmed his hand down the curve of her cheek.

“And for your own?”

Her lips parted in unconscious invitation, a tiny pulse fluttering at the base of her throat.

“I don’t know what you mean,” she husked.

He leaned forward, absorbing her sweet scent as he allowed his lips to explore the tender slope of her shoulder.

“I can sense your. . need.”

Kata stiffened at his blunt words, even as she knew the scent of her stirring arousal was no doubt blatantly obvious to Uriel. If she’d learned nothing else during her captivity, it was there was no hiding anything from a damn vampire.

Just one of the countless reasons they were so annoying.

“What you sense is a woman forced to be alone in a cramped cell for the past two centuries,” she futilely tried to bluff.

He lifted his head to flash an arrogant smile. “No, you desire me.”

“After two centuries of celibacy I would desire a filthy, rotting zombie. .”

“Me,” he growled, moving with a liquid speed to pin her against the mossy ground. She made a sound of surprise, but before she could react he was blatantly rubbing his fully erect cock against her lower stomach. Oh. . yes. Sheer pleasure jolted through her. His smile widened at her soft moan of approval. “You want me deep inside you.”

Blessed mother, she did.

Could anything be more insane?

He was a vampire. They were trapped in hell. And he was precisely the sort of arrogant bastard that set her teeth on edge.

She should be punching him in the nose, not smoothing her hands over the sculpted perfection of his chest. But damn…

Even with her hatred of vampires she couldn’t ignore the impact of his astonishing beauty, or the knowledge that he’d risked his life more than once to protect her.

And then there was that burning, aching, ruthless need.

It wasn’t just the loneliness that plagued her, no matter what she claimed. Or the random lust of a woman who’d been without sex for a very, very long time.

No, this gnawing desire had started the moment she’d first laid eyes on Uriel. And as much as it pissed her off to admit it, he was the only one who could ease her torment.

Dismissing the countless reasons this was “the worst idea ever,” Kata skimmed her hands upward to frame his beautiful face, drowning in the velvet heat of his gaze.

“Uriel,” she breathed.

Stark hunger flared through his eyes. He lowered his head and nuzzled a path of destruction down the curve of her throat. Kata quivered, squeezing her eyes shut at the erotic feel of his fangs scraping against her tender flesh.

Oh. . goddess.

She should be terrified by the threat of those enormous weapons so close to her veins, but instead she lifted her hips to rub against the hard thrust of his cock.

Uriel groaned, his fingers easily tugging down the straps of her gown and stripping it from her willing body. Then with the same swift efficiency he shed his own clothes, tossing them aside before cupping her breasts in his hands, his thumbs teasing her nipples to tight beads.

Kata kept her eyes tightly closed, basking in the sensation of the warm sunlight that spilled over their entwined bodies and the soft moss beneath her back. Illusion or not, she’d been trapped in that dark, spartan cell for centuries. The sense of being free and returned to her beloved homeland was nearly as heady as the feel of Uriel’s gentle touch.

She sucked in a sharp breath as his lips traced the line of her collarbone and then over the curve of her breasts, swiftly revising her thoughts.

The sun and illusion of freedom were delightful, but Uriel’s touch. .

It was magic.

The cool, clever fingers that skimmed down her body with a heart-melting skill. The seeking lips that closed over the tip of her aching breast. The press of his erection against the precise point of her pleasure.

She threaded her fingers through thick curls, her back arching in silent encouragement.

Uriel growled in appreciation, his tongue flicking over the sensitive tip of her breast as his hand explored the generous curve of her hip. Slowly his hand skimmed downward until he could tug her legs further apart, his fingers running a lazy path up and down her inner thigh. Kata forgot to breathe as she restlessly stirred beneath him, her body trembling with need.

“Please,” she moaned.

He nibbled a path to her other breast. “Say it,” he husked.

“Say what?”

“That you want me.”

She didn’t even hesitate. What would be the point? Even if he weren’t a vampire he would know that she was desperate to ease her burning lust.

“I want you.”

A smug smile curved his lips. “Mine.”

Kata stilled. She wasn’t disturbed by his claim of possession. It sounded unnervingly right, even if she wasn’t ready to admit it. But, she’d be damned if he thought he could make her go up in flames without feeling a few sparks himself.

Lifting her heavy lids her stomach clenched in anticipation at the need blazing in his dark eyes. Deliberately she shifted her hands to trace the smooth planes of his back. Beneath her fingers she could feel his muscles flex at her touch, his fangs flashing in the sunlight as his lips parted in pleasure.

“Kata.”

“Do you like?” she teased.

He growled low in his throat. “I like.”

She chuckled, her fingers skimming over the curve of his ribs and then discovered the hard ridges of his stomach. She savored the feel of his muscles clenching beneath her exploration before lowering her hand to the thick jut of his erection. Just for a moment she hesitated, a strange voice in the back of her mind warning that making love with Uriel was one of those life changing decisions.

“Please. .” Uriel muttered, his voice a harsh rasp.

Shrugging off the premonition, Kata allowed her fingers to curl around the straining cock, amazed by the cool perfection of his skin that sheathed the rigid length. Heat pooled in the pit of her stomach as she stroked downward, reaching the soft sack before exploring back to the blunt tip.

Uriel’s groans filled the air as she pushed downward again, his lips capturing her mouth in a kiss of raw desperation. Pleasure jolted through her. So much for his smug conceit.

Now he trembled with a need that matched hers.

Lost in her heady sense of power, Kata continued her daring caresses, only halting when Uriel abruptly grasped her wrist, a low growl rumbling in his throat.

“Enough.”

“And I thought vampires were famous for their stamina,” she teased.

“Don’t worry your pretty head about my stamina.”

“Are you certain?”

“I’ll be happy to demonstrate it as long and as often as you want. But first. . you had your fun, now it’s my turn,” he warned, smiling down at her with a predatory expression. “And payback is a bitch.”

Kata shivered, her eyes sliding shut as he lowered his head and nibbled his way down the curve of her neck. Her body bowed in pleasure as he paused to tease the aching tips of her breasts, his tongue sending a blaze of passion through her veins. Gently he captured one nipple between his teeth, chuckling softly as she cried out in delight.

“Damn, that feels good,” she whispered, lifting her hands to grasp his shoulders.

“We can do better than good.” With slow, savoring kisses, Uriel journeyed down the shallow curve of her stomach, smiling against her flesh as she wriggled beneath his teasing caresses. “I want you to scream for me, Kata.”

Kata’s hips lifted off the soft ground as he stroked his mouth over her hip bone and down the tender skin of her inner thigh.

“Scream? You’re not that. . oh. Oh.” Her chest was so tight she could not breathe. “Do something, Uriel, I can’t take much more.”

“Tyrant.” Uriel relentlessly tugged her legs apart, slipping down the bank to kneel between her thighs. “I need to taste you.”

“But. .” Her protest died in her throat as he shifted and stroked his tongue through her damp curls.

She cried out at the pure bliss that trembled through her body. Oh, this was decadent. Decadent and wicked. And if anything or anyone tried to interrupt, she’d rip out their hearts with her bare hands.

Quivering, she allowed herself to drown in the exquisite sensations. Over and over his tongue dipped into her gathering dampness, stroking with a steady rhythm that was custom designed for maximum pleasure.

Oh, he was fantastic.

A top of the line, first-class lover that made all the years of waiting worthwhile.

Then, gently he sucked the hidden nub into his mouth and Kata screamed as the entire world shattered in a burst of shimmering stars.

Caught off guard by the sheer force of her release, Kata was barely aware of Uriel sliding up her body and entering her in one smooth thrust. But as he captured her lips in a demanding kiss, she instinctively wrapped her arms about his shoulders and arched her back to meet the plundering strokes of his erection.

“Perfect,” he husked against her lips, his entire body trembling as he jerkily surged in and out of her body. “You’re perfect.”

Kata barely registered his soft words, lost in the mind-numbing pleasure that was once again building in her lower body. With every thrust he pressed deeper into her body, his fullness creating a delectable friction.

“Yes, Uriel. . yes. .” She urged him to a faster pace, raking her nails down his back as he drove into her with a single minded purpose.

“Mine,” he rasped as he scraped his fangs down the line of her throat. “My sweet Kata.”

With one last surge he tumbled them both over the edge of reason, remaining buried deep inside her as her scream of fulfillment echoed through the glade.

Chapter 7

Uriel smiled as Kata’s cries became soft moans of completion, his body still trembling from the pleasure of her wild passion.

Bloody hell.

He expected the explosion of bliss. He’d never experienced a woman with such a savage desire. And with Kata’s eager response to his touch, the resulting earth-rocking, mind-blowing, the-best-orgasm-ever had been inevitable.

But what he hadn’t expected was the primitive surge of possession that had settled in the center of his heart.

Mine.

The word had whispered over and over in his mind, settling deep in his soul.

Feeling Kata stir beneath him, he reluctantly rolled to the side, tightly tucking her against him. He growled at the satin slide of her naked skin and the beat of her heart that echoed in his own.

He hadn’t shared her blood, but already she was an intimate part of him.

A smile curved his lips as Kata tilted back her head, a shell-shocked expression on her beautiful face.

“That was. .”

“Only the beginning,” he promised, his hand cupping her full breast.

The dark eyes flashed with ready fire. “Hey, don’t be making plans that include me, vampire.” He chuckled, his finger circling the dusky nipple into a hard peak.

“Then don’t be making promises you don’t intend to keep.” She moaned, her back arching and her hands running up the bare planes of his chest. But even as he shivered with a raw jolt of anticipation, she gave a startled gasp pulling back to study his chest with a frown.

“Oh, Uriel,” she breathed.

“What?”

Her fingers tenderly stroked the scar that marred his skin. “You’ve been injured.” With a hiss Uriel was on his feet, his hand instinctively covering the wound.

Christ, he’d forgotten.

Lost in the stunning power of his awareness of Kata, his mind had refused to remember that this was an impossible dream.

No.

It was worse than impossible, he fiercely reminded himself.

It was dangerous.

She studied his tight expression with a frown, slowly sitting upright.

“Uriel?”

“It was a long time ago,” he muttered.

Her eyes narrowed. “Then why are you still angry?” Angry?

He wanted to fall to his knees and howl at the bleak desolation that filled his heart.

It was one thing to know he was denied the promise of a mate when she was a mythical creature that might or might not make an appearance in his life. It was another to be given a glimpse of paradise only to have it snatched away.

“Because it’s a reminder that my future is no longer my own,” he said in stark tones.

Cautiously she rose to her feet, her hand reaching toward his chest.

“You sound like Yannah.” “Don’t,” he growled, jerking away.

“Tell me what happened.” He hesitated, before giving a faint shrug. He admired her courage too much to lie.

“I had a rather nasty encounter with a Jinn beneath the docks of London,” he grimly confessed.

She paled, her hand trembling as she pushed back the heavy tumble of her dark curls.

“A Jinn?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“Two centuries ago, give or take.” Her expression was impossible to read, although she was too intelligent not to realize the significance of the date.

“You battled?”

He made a sound of disgust. Even after two centuries it still rankled he’d made such a pansy-ass showing against the Jinn.

Hell, a dew fairy could have done more damage.

“You could call it that,” he groused. “As much as I hate to admit it, there wasn’t much of a fight. I barely sensed the Jinn’s approach before he’d killed my brother and captured me.” “And he did this to you when you tried to escape?” she husked.

Uriel’s bitter laugh echoed through the nearby trees. “No, he allowed me to leave. This was his curse.” “A curse?” She looked genuinely confused. No big surprise. Uriel was still trying to puzzle out what the hell had happened. “Are you certain?” He rubbed the scar that had throbbed with a low intensity ache since his escape from the London docks, belatedly realizing that the throb had become more pronounced since his unexpected journey into the underworld.

A coincidence?

It had to be.

He couldn’t allow himself to consider anything else.

If he went postal and hurt Kata. .

Yeah, he so wasn’t going to go there.

Not even in his darkest ‘what ifs’.

“Painfully certain,” he said, his voice clipped.

“What did he do?”

“The bastard made me his slave.” Dropping his bomb of shame, Uriel abruptly turned to dive into the water of the stream. The cool, crystal clear water washed over his skin, although it couldn’t wash away the helpless fury that pulsed through him.

Surfacing, he shook the hair out of his eyes and turned to find Kata standing at the edge of the stream, her dark eyes troubled.

She was so beautiful that she made his heart ache.

The dark curls wildly tumbled around her lovely face. The ivory satin skin. The lush curves.

An intoxicating, earthy woman that called to a man’s most primitive desires.

“What did he do to you?” she softly asked.

He clenched his teeth against the savage longing that clutched at him.

He had to keep her safe.

Nothing else mattered.

“He said that I was to be the instrument of his revenge,” Uriel repeated the words he’d shared with Victor almost two weeks ago.

She averted her face, wading into the water until it lapped over the full curve of her breasts.

“You think this Jinn is the father of Laylah?” He couldn’t deny her accusation. “Since there’s only been one Jinn sighting in London for the past millennium it seems like a safe assumption.” “And that’s why you treated me like I carried the plague.” He flinched at her harsh accusation, not wanting to remember his arrogant disdain.

“I’ve done everything in my power to rescue you.” She refused to look at him. “You think I’m a Jinn whore.” Even knowing it was a truly stupid idea, Uriel couldn’t stop himself from moving through the water to stand directly before her. Gently he grabbed her shoulders, battling back his surge of lust.

“I know that Marika held you against your will.” She turned her head, her eyes snapping with her ready temper.

Kata would never be a soothing female. She was passionate, turbulent, and unpredictable.

She was also intensely loyal, courageous, and the very essence of female temptation, he acknowledged with a bleak sense of loss.

“And yet you suspect I might actually have enjoyed being trapped with the handsome demon?” she accused him.

He wouldn’t lie. Not to this woman.

“At first.”

“And now?”

“Now it doesn’t matter,” he said with simple honesty.

She once again turned away, studying the trees that lined the far bank as if she had a sudden fascination with the tiny violets that were hidden among the moss.

“Right.”

“Kata. Look at me,” he said softly.

“No.”

“Please.”

Grudgingly she snapped her gaze back to glare at him. “Satisfied?” “No. I’m. .” Words failed him.

“What?”

“Furious,” he at last managed to rasp.

She jerked as if she’d been slapped. “I didn’t ask you to soil your vampire hands with my tainted. .” “Shut up and listen to me,” he interrupted her.

The very air vibrated the force of her anger. “You’re an idiot if you think I won’t hurt you just because we had sex.” “We didn’t have sex, we made love.” He cupped her face in his hands, shuddering at the erotic sensation of the water stroking over their nude bodies. He moved close enough that the tips of her breasts brushed his chest. “Or do I need to remind you?” Her breath caught, the scent of her swift arousal perfuming the air.

“Uriel,” she growled in warning. “Don’t.” His lips twisted, but he refused to release his grasp on her face. He wouldn’t let her believe he thought she was anything but glorious.

“Kata, what happened between you and the Jinn. .” She poked a finger into the center of his chest, her expression stubborn.

“I won’t discuss it.” “Fair enough,” he swiftly agreed. “Someday you will trust me enough to share your past, but for now you can keep your secrets.” “Big of you.”

He ignored her sarcasm. “All I care about is the Jinn’s curse. And what he might force me to do.” Her anger faltered at his blunt confession. With a frown, she lowered her gaze to his scar.

“The demon is dead.” Impossible to know what she felt about the creature’s violent demise. “How do you know that his curse didn’t die with him?” “Because I can still feel his power.” “That doesn’t mean the spell remains active.” “It’s not a risk I’m willing to take.” He held her gaze, his expression somber. “Not with you.” “I don’t understand.” “You’re mine.”

Something flared to life deep in her eyes.

Something hot and wild and shockingly primal.

Then, with an obvious surge of panic, she was swiftly trying to disguise her instinctive response.

“So you’ve said, but then you remembered I’m the mother of a Jinn half-breed,” she accused him, her voice brittle.

He shook his head. “No, then I remembered that I couldn’t risk my mate just because I desire you beyond all reason.”

Chapter 8

As show-stoppers went, this one was a doozie.

She was supposed to be angry with him.

Who the hell did he think he was judging her for what had happened two centuries ago?

Did he think that she’d asked to be kidnapped and held captive by her nutcracker of a sister? Or that she’d wanted to be involved in the evil scheme to create a Jinn half-breed for the sole purpose of returning the Dark Lord to the world?

It was bad enough that a part of her would always feel guilty that the Jinn had made certain their time together hadn’t been rape. Did Uriel have to dredge up the memories she wanted to keep buried far in the back of her mind?

Now, however, she was. .

Hell, she didn’t know what she was.

Flabbergasted? Gobsmacked?

Full on monty, had-to-be-losing-her-mind excited?

With a shiver, she studied the unearthly beauty of his face, wondering if this was some sort of painful joke.

“Mate?” she croaked.

His lips twisted in a humorless smile. “Does the thought horrify you because I’m a vampire?” “I’m not horrified,” she swiftly denied. “I’m shocked.” “Why?”

“Why?” She snorted. “Do you want a list?” His velvet gaze skimmed down to the thrust of her breasts, lingering on the nipples that hardened beneath the feral heat of his inspection.

“The top three should be sufficient,” he said, his voice thick.

She yanked away from his lingering touch.

How was she supposed to think of anything besides wrapping herself around him and doing lovely, wicked things when he was so close?

“We barely know each other,” she finally managed to choke out.

He shrugged. “A vampire often recognizes his mate within the first hours of their meeting.” Her pulse stuttered, a perilous warmth exploding in the center of her heart.

Mate.

Oh. . shit.

It was madness. Complete and utter madness.

So why wasn’t she shrieking in outrage instead of feeling like she’d just drunk an entire keg of her father’s ale?

She gave a dismissive toss of her head, even knowing she wasn’t fooling Uriel.

“Well gypsies prefer a long courtship that includes a lot of bling.” “Some perhaps.” He reached to brazenly cup one breast in his hand, a smile curving his lips as she gasped in pleasure. “Others enjoy being swept off their feet.” She shivered, heat blazing through her. “Arrogant.” His eyes smoldered with a ready passion. “Lie to yourself if you want, but you can’t hide the truth from a vampire.” She couldn’t lie to herself either as it turned out. Not when sensual anticipation flowed through her veins like warm honey. Or when she was instinctively moving back toward him to press against the welcomed strength of his male form.

Not that she was ready to accept his shocking claim that she was his mate.

Was she?

“Fine, we’re sexually compatible,” she conceded.

“More than compatible,” he growled, his erection pressed against her lower stomach. “Combustible.” Combustible. Yeah. That just about summed it up, Kata acknowledged, vividly aware of the silken slide of the cool water across her highly sensitized skin and the golden spill of sunlight that only intensified the heat blazing through her.

She craved this man with an insatiable hunger that she sensed would plague her for the rest of her life.

Regardless of how long or short that life might be.

“What about the fact that you hate anything and everyone connected with Jinns and I hate vampires?” His arm circled her waist, squeezing her so tight not even the water could come between their entwined bodies.

“They say love conquers all,” he growled.

Kata wrinkled her nose, not nearly so confident.

She loved her sister only to discover that she’d become the enemy.

She loved her daughter, only to have to sacrifice everything to keep her safe.

Love was. . dangerous and painful and messy.

Now, however, didn’t seem the time to argue the point.

“I’m human again,” she instead pointed out. “Within a few years I’ll be old and gray.” The dark eyes flashed with an intimidating ferocity. “Never.” She frowned. “I won’t be turned.” He shrugged, undeterred by her refusal to be made into a vampire. Understandable. Once a vampire was created they lost all memory of their previous life. She would no longer be Kata, but a new creature that was as likely to try and rip out his throat as to be his mate.

“The fey can brew potions to keep you young.” She shifted her gaze to the delicate wildflowers that lined the bank of the stream.

His soft words were reminding her of when she’d been young and the world had been filled with possibilities. Including the hopes of a loving husband and a small tribe of children.

Blessed mother. She’d gone through the misery of having those dreams crushed once.

Was she willing to put herself in the position of having them destroyed again?

“This is a ridiculous conversation,” she muttered, more in an effort to convince herself than him.

Uriel stiffened, then with a low groan he lowered his head, pressing his lips to the pulse beating at the base of her throat.

“More than that,” he rasped, “it’s futile.” “Futile?”

Slowly he pulled back, his expression somber. “If the Jinn’s curse is still active then I’m a walking time bomb. I won’t put you at risk.” Contrarily, she was offended by his attempt at self-sacrifice.

Did he think he could claim she was his mate in one breath and then toss her aside in the next?

“Shouldn’t that be my decision?” “No.”

“That’s it? Just no?”

“That’s it.”

She scowled, glimpsing the ruthless warrior who first came searching for her.

“Look, you stubborn vampire, if I decide you’re going to be my. .” She struggled to form the word. “Mate, then that’s what you’ll be.” She leaned forward to nip his chin. “Got it?” He shuddered, his fangs erupting as his hands skimmed down her back to cup her ass.

“And you call me stubborn?” he muttered.

Her mind fogged with a craving to wrap her legs around his waist and forget everything but the fierce need to ravish this beautiful vampire.

But first she had to get something straight.

“It’s been almost four hundred years since I’ve been able to make my own decisions,” she reminded him. “You’re not going to take that away from me.” He was wise enough not to laugh at her empty words. Okay, she was trapped in the underworld with no plan of how to escape, but still she needed to feel some control over her life.

Stupid?

Of course.

But weirdly necessary.

“No, I would never take away your freedom,” he softly agreed, “but neither will I allow you to be hurt.” He suddenly scooped her off her feet and headed toward the shallow waters. “Not if I can protect you.” Uriel intended to protest against his arrogant assumption that she needed his protection, but all thought evaporated as Uriel sank onto the mossy bank, settling Kata on his lap so her back was pressed against his chest and her legs fell on each side of his powerful thighs.

“Uriel,” she breathed, feeling oddly vulnerable as he buried his face in the curve of her neck and his hands began a slow, delectable exploration of her exposed body. “What are you doing?” He cupped a full breast with one hand while allowing the other to blaze a sizzling path down the damp skin of her stomach. “Seizing the moment.” A groan was wrenched from her throat, her head dropping back to his shoulder as his fingers stroked boldly through her eager clit.

“It feels like you’re seizing more than the moment,” she husked in approval.

He teased at the hard peak of her nipple even as he slid one finger into the damp channel between her legs. She hissed in pleasure, her arms lifting over her head to wrap around his neck.

“Who knows how long this illusion will last?” he said against her shoulder, his fangs lightly scraping the tender skin, although he was careful not to draw blood. “We should enjoy the solitude while we have it.” Kata didn’t intend to argue. Her eyes slid closed as she concentrated on the sensation of his finger penetrating her with a slow thrust. It felt so good. So. . she groaned, already sensing the looming climax.

“I suppose you have a point,” she moaned, turning her head to press her face into his thick curls.

She breathed deeply of his cool, masculine scent, her body bowing with a coiled tension as he caught the tip of her breast between his finger and thumb.

“You will soon discover I’m always right,” he assured her.

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yeah.”

As if to emphasize the truth of his words, Uriel grasped her by the waist and with one smooth motion he had her poised above his erection. Kata made a small sound of pleading as he lowered her onto his hardness, her entire body shuddering with satisfaction as he filled her.

“Christ, you’re exquisite,” he breathed, lifting his hips until he was buried so deep inside her that Kata would swear they were now one.

“I bet you say that to all the women,” she muttered, shaken by the intensity of the sensations charging through her.

She could deal with lust. Even if it was titanic, oh-God-nothing-will-ever-be-as-good-again, lust.

But the tender rush of emotion that flooded through her was far more potent than mere lust.

It was the sort of feeling that made females sacrifice everything to hold onto.

“There are no other women, Kata,” he groaned, pumping into her with a slow, magical pace. “Just you.” “Uriel. .”

“Ssh,” he halted her protest, kissing a path of destruction up the side of her neck. “Just let me love you.” Kata shoved aside the warning voice in the back of her mind.

What did it matter?

More than likely they would never get out of the underworld alive.

Why not do as Uriel suggested and simply seize the moment?

“Yes,” she breathed, forgetting everything but the explosive pleasure.

Chapter 9

Kata wasn’t sure how much time passed.

Actually, trapped in the illusion it was almost as if time had stopped completely.

The sun remained firmly fixed in its current position in the sky. There were no drifting clouds, no changing shadow. And even the wildlife scampered from one tree to the other in a pattern that was growingly predictable.

She did know that she and Uriel had made love three more times. That was deliciously easy to keep track of. But it could have been a few hours or an entire day since Yannah had trapped them in the strange world.

No doubt she should be bothered by the thought.

It seemed like it should be important.

At the moment, however, she was floating on a wave of bliss as she sprawled in a bed of wildflowers, held tightly in Uriel’s arms.

A smile curved her lips.

As a lover Uriel was spectacular.

He could be raw, and fiercely driven in his passion. Or he could be slow, and gentle, and so breathtakingly patient that she had begged, pleaded, and at last, threatened until he gave her release.

As a man. .

Her smile twisted.

She was beginning to accept he was equally spectacular.

Shifting at his side, she tilted back her head to study the vampire next to her.

Her heart lurched at his sheer beauty.

The elegant sweep of his brow and proud curve of his nose. The high cheekbones and sensuously carved lips. The dark, soulful eyes that held a wary pain that spoke of the years he’d been forced to remain isolated, even when he was surrounded by his clan.

He didn’t need to tell her that he was as protective of his brothers as he was of her. He would always keep those he cared about at a distance, always fearful he might be compelled to harm them.

In many ways he’d suffered as much as she had over the past two centuries.

Perhaps that’s why they felt so intensely drawn together.

Well, that and the brilliant, mind-blowing sex, she wryly added.

“I think I truly must have gone to heaven,” she murmured, her hand lifting to drift over his exquisite face. “Complete with my own beautiful angel.” He summoned a pretend scowl at her soft words. “Bloody hell, not you too.” “Excuse me?”

“There’s nothing angelic about me.”

She slowly smiled, remembering a few of his more inventive moves.

“That’s true.” She ran her hand over the smooth skin of his stomach, relishing the ripple of muscles beneath her fingers. Mmmm, pure male perfection. “I can testify that you’re wicked through and through.” A smug glint entered his eyes. “Thank you.” “I assume your resemblance to an angel is a touchy subject with you?” “I’m a warrior.”

“And warriors can’t be pretty?”

His hand lifted to tangle in her curls, his smile revealing his massive fangs.

“Careful, Kata, you tease me at your peril.” Her heart forgot to beat as she became lost in the velvet darkness of his eyes.

“Tell me about your life.”

His brows lifted at her abrupt question. “Do you want to hear of my heroic feats or my astonishing skill with the females?” She rolled her eyes. Like she didn’t know firsthand that he was a lethal predator and an even more lethal lover.

“I want to hear about you. The real you.” He stilled, as if no one had ever been interested in anything beyond his more obvious skills.

“I am second in command to Victor, the clan chief of Great Britain,” he said.

She smiled at the hint of pride he couldn’t hide. And why shouldn’t he be proud? Before her captivity, Kata had taken pleasure in the fact she and Marika were considered the finest healers in all of Europe.

“A big shot, eh? No wonder you’re so arrogant.” “Authoritative,” he corrected her.

“Bossy.”

“Only when necessary.”

“Which is always,” she wryly pointed out. “What else?” He shrugged. “There is nothing else.”

“I don’t believe you.” She reached to stroke her fingers down the chiseled line of his jaw. “You can’t spend all your time killing things.” “No. I teach the younger vampires how to kill things.” She heaved a sigh. “You don’t have any hobbies? No secret dreams?” His expression became guarded, his years of keeping others at a distance painfully obvious.

“What about you?” he said as he smoothly deflected her probing. “What are your secret dreams?” “To be a mother to Laylah,” she confessed without hesitation. “Although I suppose it’s two centuries too late to claim such a role. I’m not sure she’ll ever understand why I had to leave her.” “You had no choice.”

“That doesn’t mean she’ll be prepared to forgive me.” “She’ll forgive you.”

She met his steady gaze, desperately needing to believe him.

When she’d handed her baby over to the witch who had promised to keep her hidden, Kata had felt as if someone was ripping out her heart.

Only the absolute belief that it was the only way to keep Laylah safe had given her the courage.

Still, the fear that Laylah would never understand why she’d made the choice to give away her baby had gnawed at her for endless years.

“How can you be so certain?”

His hand cupped her cheek, his thumb brushing her lower lip. “Because when she traveled to London she risked everything to come in search of you.” A tentative hope warmed Kata’s heart. “Did she?” “Nothing could stop her.” Uriel smiled wryly. “And, of course, she refused to leave London until Victor had sworn he would stop at nothing to rescue you.” She smiled, shifting to brush her lips across his mouth as she savored his words of comfort, allowing them to heal a portion of her heavy guilt.

“Thank you,” she murmured softly.

A peaceful silence settled between them before Uriel lifted himself on his elbow to study her with a brooding gaze.

“Music,” he said abruptly.

She blinked. Okay. That seemed a little random.

“What?”

“I love music and when I have the opportunity to travel to my private lair in Wales I spend my time learning to play a new instrument.” He shrugged, obviously uncomfortable. “I have nearly mastered them all.” Kata hid a smile, oddly charmed by the embarrassment that he couldn’t entirely disguise.

“Why was that so difficult to share?”

“Because my brothers would be merciless,” he muttered. “Victor would no doubt insist I walk around strumming a damned harp.” Her laughter filled the glade at the image of Uriel with a harp in his hands. His resemblance to a celestial being would be unmistakable.

“Hmmm. I see your point,” she admitted.

“Of course, if you were to join me in my lair I would be happy to. .” He bit off his words as an unmistakable chill pierced the air.

“Uriel,” Kata breathed, scrambling to her feet to tug on her forgotten gown.

“I sense it.” He was swiftly at her side, pulling on his jeans and T-shirt before snatching up the long, extremely sharp sword. “Vampire.” There was another burst of cold, and Kata hissed in horrified disbelief.

No, it couldn’t be.

Not even her shitty luck could be this bad.

But even as she tried to convince herself it had to be some ghastly mistake, the familiar sense of doom settled in her heart.

“Marika.”

“Impossible.”

She clenched her hands, a combination of hatred and fear blasting through her.

“It’s not a stench I would forget,” she hissed. “Not ever.” Uriel muttered beneath his breath, his gaze surveying their surroundings with the intensity of a trained warrior.

“Then she must be part of the illusion.” Kata shivered with disgust. “No, not an illusion. A nightmare.” “Kata.” The sound of her sister’s taunting voice drifted through the air.

Uriel leaned down to steal a brief kiss, his face a tight mask of determination.

“Keep her distracted.”

“What?” Without answering, he was flowing toward the trees. In less than the beat of her heart he’d disappeared among the shadows. “Damn.” Alone and feeling like the mouse about to be cornered by a cat with vicious fangs and a nasty attitude, Kata forced herself not to bolt as Marika stepped from behind a large rock.

Uriel told her to distract the bitch, and by God, that’s what she would do.

“Ah, there you are, sister dearest,” Marika purred, a taunting smile curving her lips. “Did you miss me?” Kata swallowed the bile that rose in her throat.

Not surprisingly seeing Marika was like looking in a mirror.

Same dark hair and eyes, same pale skin and curvaceous body that was currently covered in one of the satin designer gowns that Marika adored.

What was surprising, however, was that she looked as well-groomed and sophisticated as if she’d just stepped off the pages of Vogue.

Dammit.

She was supposed to be dead and even now suffering some grim torture in the bowels of the underworld.

Was there no justice in the universe?

“You really should learn how to stay in your grave, Marika,” she gritted.

Marika gave a toss of her dark curls, prowling forward with an expression of blatant anticipation.

It was a look that always came before the pain.

Hours and hours and hours of pain.

“What’s the fun in that?” she demanded.

“The fun is that I would be rid of your miserable existence forever. The mere thought makes me giddy with joy.” Marika halted mere inches from her, her frigid power wrapping around Kata like chains of ice.

“What happened to my sweet Kata who prayed every night that her sister would be returned to her?” Kata clenched her teeth. She wouldn’t flinch, she wouldn’t flinch, she wouldn’t flinch. .

Her chin tilted, her expression defiant. “She realized that her sister had become a monster.” “A monster?” The dark eyes narrowed in suspicion as Marika leaned forward, sniffing the air around Kata. “So says the woman who reeks of her vampire lover. Where is he?” Kata swore. So much for being a distraction.

“You know, Marika,” she said, desperate to keep the demented woman’s attention locked on her. “It took me awhile, but I realize now that becoming a vampire wasn’t what made you evil.” “No?”

“No, it’s your lack of anything resembling a heart.” Marika’s shrill laughter sent a chill down Kata’s spine. Dear goddess, it was bad enough that the woman walked around with her sister’s face without adding a creepy cackle.

“Kata, if I didn’t have a heart would I have made sure that we would be kept together even after death?” Marika pressed a hand to her unbeating heart. “What could be more sentimental?” “That was selfishness, not sentimentality. You were only trying to protect your own skin by forcing Sergei to bind us together.” “True. Now, however, I have a much more basic reason for appreciating the spell.” “And what’s that?”

With a pout, Marika stretched out a hand to run a crimson nail down Kata’s cheek, leaving a trail of blood in its wake.

“I’m feeling a little peevish at my unfortunate death. I was, after all, destined to rule the world,” she complained. “Let’s hope a few centuries of punishing you will help ease my disappointment.” Her churning fear was briefly forgotten as a flare of pure relief raced through her. She didn’t know what the hell was going on, but at least Marika believed she had died.

It gave her hope.

“Tell me, Marika, was it Laylah who struck the killing blow?” she asked sweetly.

The dark eyes flashed with fury. “The bitch got lucky.” Kata smiled. “Do you believe in karma?” “I believe that the sins of the daughter must be paid by the mother.” Marika lifted her hand, her fingers curled to slice her claws through Kata’s tender flesh. “Starting now.” Braced for the blow, Kata was unprepared for the flash of movement from directly behind Marika. Thankfully, her crazy-ass sister was equally oblivious and, even as she swung her hand toward Kata’s face, Uriel was slamming into her with bone-breaking force.

Kata stumbled to the side, struggling to keep her balance as the two predators hit the ground with enough force to split the earth. Uriel managed to land on top, his fist slamming into the back of his opponent’s head with a sickening crunch.

It wasn’t a fatal blow, but it should have been enough to put the female vamp out of commission for a few minutes. Instead Marika turned with a fluid motion and sank her fang’s into Uriel’s throat.

Kata’s heart faltered as Uriel grabbed Marika’s hair and ripped her from his flesh, his blood gushing from the wound. His roar of pain echoed through the glade, sending animals fleeing in terror.

Barely aware she was moving, Kata had snatched up a large branch that was nearly hidden in the grass and was charging forward. At the same time, Uriel was lifting his sword and with one sharp motion he was plunging it into Marika’s heart.

Kata halted, shuddering at the sight of her sister sprawled on the ground with a massive blade sticking out of her chest.

She hated the miserable, sadistic creature with every fiber of her being, but it was still disturbing to see the image of her sister pinned to the ground like something from a horror film.

Waiting for Uriel to finish the kill by cutting out the vampire’s heart, Kata sucked in a shocked breath as Marika grasped the blade with both hands and yanked it from her flesh.

It shouldn’t have been possible. Such a wound should have paralyzed her at the very least. Not even the most powerful demon could shrug off a huge, gaping hole in the center of their chest.

Caught off guard, Uriel was barely able to yank his sword from her grasp and hastily rise to his feet before she was launching her attack.

He swung the sword, cursing as Marika dodged the blow and struck him across the face. She wasn’t as strong as Uriel, but she still packed a hell of a punch. And worse, it seemed as if nothing could hurt her.

Uriel’s head snapped back, and Marika was once again at his throat, almost as if she intended to gnaw through his neck.

And maybe she did.

Evil bitch.

Tightening her grip on the branch, Kata grimly marched forward. She wasn’t stupid enough to believe she could hurt a vampire with a stick, not unless she managed to stab it through the cold-blooded leech’s heart, and with her luck she was more likely to stick it through her own. But she was feeling like the last gazelle at the watering hole and the weight of the branch in her hand gave the impression she wasn’t completely helpless.

Stupid, but necessary if she was going to be able to concentrate enough to conjure a curse.

Fiercely she blocked out Uriel’s terrible wounds and his losing effort to hold off Marika, who was not only weirdly immune to her injuries, but clearly in the throes of a crazed bout of bloodlust.

Instead she turned her mind inward, focusing on the small spark of power that smoldered in her soul.

It was the same power that she used to heal, but instead of allowing the energy to flow from her in a soothing, fixed stream, she instead twisted it with the dark impulses that lurked in every creature, and held it in a tight knot until she unleashed it with a savage burst.

Muttering the words her grandmother had taught her as they had sat beside the campfire, Kata pointed her hand in Marika’s direction, releasing her power in a torrential blast.

The air sizzled with the force of her curse and for a moment Marika faltered, her crazed gaze shifting toward Kata with an expression of blatant panic.

“That’s right, you vicious whore, die,” Kata hissed.

There was a gurgling sound as a disgusting foam began to spew from Marika’s mouth. The curse was a particularly nasty one that Kata had never used before. Then, obviously the sort of vampire who was swift to take advantage, Uriel rushed forward to swing his sword directly at her exposed neck.

That should have been the end of it.

Shut-the-door-turn-out-the-lights-fat-lady-singing end.

Marika, however, was already shrugging off the potent curse and with a shocking display of power she was springing in the air and vaulting over the swinging blade.

Holy. . shit.

Kata gripped her stick, her mouth dry and her heart lodged somewhere near her tonsils.

Trapped in a sense of nightmarish disbelief, Kata watched Uriel deliberately place himself between her and the gruesome freak that had once been her sister.

“Kata, find a way out of here,” he growled.

“No.” She shook her head. “I won’t leave you.” With a low growl, Uriel turned to stab her with a savage glare, his T-shirt drenched in blood and throat still mangled from Marika’s attacks.

“Then we both die.”

She bit her bottom lip. She wasn’t stupid. She knew their only hope of survival was to somehow find the means to escape from the bubble of illusion.

But every fiber of her being rebelled at the thought of abandoning Uriel.

“What the hell is she?” she muttered.

“Invincible,” Marika taunted, her spooky laugh once again filling the glade. “Don’t be wandering too far, sister dearest. Once I’ve disposed of your lover we can start enjoying our special time together.” Uriel stroked a hand down her cheek, his expression pleading.

“Go.”

Briefly pressing his fingers to her cheek, Kata abruptly turned and charged across the glade.

She heard her sister’s screech of fury and the answering roar of Uriel, but she kept her gaze grimly trained on the low hills that swelled before her. Without her curses she had nothing that could help Uriel defeat Marika.

All she could do now was pray for a miracle. .

No, that wasn’t all she could do, she belatedly realized.

Kata slowed as she reached the foot of one low hill.

Why was she running as if she could find some magical doorway?

There was only one way out of the illusion.

Stepping behind a large rock, Kata shoved her hair out of her face with a shaking hand and sucked in a ragged breath.

“Yannah,” she called, her voice echoing eerily through the still air. “Yannah?” Distantly she could hear the sounds of Uriel’s battle with Marika and closer at hand the rustle of a squirrel scurrying through the undergrowth, but from the demon who’d trapped them here. . nothing. Nada. Jack squat.

“Yannah, dammit, where are you?”

There was no warning.

One minute she was alone, frustration boiling through her like acid, and the next Yannah was standing before her.

“No need to screech, Kata,” the tiny demon complained, smoothing her hands down her pristine white gown. “There’s nothing wrong with my hearing.” Kata clenched her hands together. It was that or wringing Yannah’s slender neck.

“Really?” she said between gritted teeth. “Then you knew we were being attacked by Marika and you just decided to leave us trapped here?” “Don’t be silly, I was busy.”

Kata stabbed a finger toward the battle that continued on the far side of the glade. “Well, I’ve been a little busy myself.” “Yes, you have.” A sly smile curved Yannah’s lips. “No need to thank me for giving you some privacy with your pretty leech.” “You expect me to thank you?” Kata’s eyes widened with furious disbelief. Oh yes, she was going to throttle the little demon. But not until she’d gotten them out of this mess. “You locked us in here with my demented sister who has become a vampire zombie.” Yannah’s brows pleated, as if she were giving serious thought to Kata’s accusation.

“Oh, I don’t think she’s technically a zombie.” Kata blinked. “Are you kidding me?”

“I never kid about zombies.”

Sucking in a deep breath, Kata counted to ten. “Then technically what is she?” Yannah lifted her hands in a vague motion. “I’m not really sure.” Great. Just freaking perfect.

“Is she a part of the illusion?”

“No.”

“But she’s dead?” Kata pressed. “I mean. . dead dead?” “Yes.”

Kata frowned, sensing that Yannah was hiding something from her.

“You don’t sound particularly confident.” “She shouldn’t be here.”

“No shit,” Kata snapped. “She’s supposed to be frying in the pits of hell, but obviously she’s not.” Turning her head, Kata’s heart stopped as she watched Uriel fending off the feral vampire, his powerful body covered in blood and his elegant movements becoming sluggish. “Yannah, you have to get us out of here before she kills us all.”

Chapter 10

Unlike many of his brothers, Uriel had never been arrogant enough to assume he was invincible.

Not after his painful encounter with the Jinn.

He understood that vampires might be at the top of the food chain, but there was always the danger of meeting a bigger, badder opponent who could kick his ass.

So even with his secret boost of power from the Jinn, he devoted hours to perfecting his fighting skills.

Which was the only reason he wasn’t already a pile of ash.

Still, it was taking every trick he’d learned over the centuries just to keep Marika from ripping out his throat. And while his strength was rapidly draining from his numerous wounds, his adversary was as fresh as a fucking daisy.

He could only hope that Kata had managed to find a means to escape.

Almost as if the mere thought of her had created her from thin air, he heard the sound of her voice calling from across the glade.

“Uriel.” She waved her arms over her head to gain his attention. “This way.” He swallowed a sigh of frustration.

Dammit.

Couldn’t one thing go right?

He turned, accepting that even if Kata had found a way out of the illusion she wouldn’t leave without him.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Perhaps sensing that her prey might slip from her grasp, Marika flowed to stand between him and the beckoning Kata. “We’re not done playing.” Uriel deliberately allowed his sword to dip in a weariness he didn’t have to pretend, his other hand slipping into the pocket of his jeans. He had one shot at disabling the female long enough to reach Kata. It all depended on catching her off guard.

Marika’s dark eyes flared with smug triumph.

She was confident of her impending victory.

Hell, why not?

If Uriel was a betting man he’d put his money on the insane vampire who couldn’t die.

A humorless smile twisted his lips as he deliberately stumbled over a patch of grass, seeming to lose his balance.

That was all the encouragement Marika needed.

With a cry of anticipation she launched herself forward, her hands curled into lethal claws and her fangs fully exposed.

Uriel forced himself to wait until the last possible second, then yanking his hand out of his pocket he tossed the wooden box directly at her face. The death spell activated with a tiny pop, the magic halting her in her tracks.

He didn’t hesitate. With a fierce roar, he lifted his sword and swung it in a tremendous arch.

The blade whistled through air, offering a belated warning, but Marika was too lost in her bloodlust to notice. With lips pulled into a snarl and her icy power pulsing through the glade she launched herself at Uriel, managing to rake her claws down the side of his face even as his sword connected with her neck.

“Wrong, bitch,” he hissed. “Game over.”

Her dark eyes widened in shock as she at last realized the danger, trying to move to the side as the sword slid smoothly through her neck. It was all too little, too late and despite her frantic efforts she was helpless to halt the inevitable.

Uriel put his entire body behind the blow, slicing the sword cleanly through the vampire’s neck. He watched as Marika’s head flew through the air, landing on a patch of wildflowers, her eyes still wide with shock and her body dropping with a lifeless thud at his feet.

Not that he was deceived.

Not this time.

He grimaced at the lack of blood flowing from her lethal wound and the twitch of her limbs. She should be turning to dust, not laying there flopping like a fish out of water.

He didn’t know what the hell Marika had been transformed into, but he was fairly certain that she wasn’t going to allow a little thing like the lack of a head to stop her.

Almost as if to prove his point, a slender hand jerked outward, the fingers barely missing his foot as they dug into the ground and began to tug the body toward the missing head.

For a second, he was transfixed, unable to accept what he was seeing. Then, shaking off the paralyzing horror, Uriel turned to race toward the waiting Kata.

Flowing with a speed only a vampire could match, he was swiftly at Kata’s side, his senses on full alert at the familiar scent of demon.

“Yannah was here,” he said in flat tones.

Kata nodded, her face pale with weariness and her lovely eyes dark with fear. Still, there was a gritty courage in her expression and a determination in the angle of her shoulders that filled Uriel’s heart with pride.

This woman was a survivor.

“Yes.” She pointed toward the shimmering mist that swirled in midair. “She created a gateway.” Uriel narrowed his gaze. “Where is she?” “She disappeared.”

“Again?”

Kata shrugged. “Are you surprised?”

Uriel muttered a curse.

He’d spent the past two centuries making sure he was in command of every situation. After his encounter with the Jinn he’d been obsessive in his need for control.

Now he was blundering from one miserable, insane situation to another. And in the center of the mess was Yannah, popping in and out like a damned cuckoo bird.

“I’m tired of her jerking us around,” he muttered. “What does she want?” “I don’t know and I don’t care.” Kata glanced over his shoulder, shuddering at the sight of the headless monster that had once been her sister. “I would rather burn in the pits of hell than give Marika the satisfaction of killing me.” “Damn.” Reaching out, he grasped her hand, sourly confident they were fleeing the frying pan directly into the fire. “Don’t let go.” Together they stepped through the mist, the sensation of electricity dancing over his skin making Uriel shiver. Dammit, he hated magic. Then, they were shrouded in blackness, falling forward to tumble through a sense of emptiness.

Uriel struggled vainly to pull Kata into his arms, already knowing they were going to have a hard landing. The sudden entrance into the gateway on the other side, however, ripped her away from him and before he could react, they were being slammed onto a hard floor with enough force to rattle his fangs.

With a groan, he lifted his head to discover the latest disaster awaiting them, not at all surprised by the seemingly endless expanse of black, volcanic rock that ran between rivers of fire or the poisonous clouds that floated in the distance. Overhead the sky was a sickly shade of crimson with bolts of lightning that streaked toward the ground without warning.

The only surprise would be if they weren’t back in the underworld.

Shifting his gaze, he swore at the sight of Kata lying sprawled a few feet away, her tiny body perilously near the liquid fire.

“Kata.”

He surged to his feet, keeping his sword in one hand while he moved to her side.

“I’m okay.” With an obvious effort, Kata slowly stood, grimacing at the hellish vista spread before her. “Or at least as okay as I’m going to get.” Uriel desperately wanted to pull her into his arms and offer her comfort, but a swift glance over his shoulder revealed that the gateway was still open.

As soon as Marika healed she was going to be on their trail.

“We need to move.”

Despite her obvious weariness, she gave a swift nod. “Do you sense Yannah?” “That way.” He grudgingly tilted his head toward a path leading through the black rock.

Kata didn’t hesitate. With that impulsiveness he was beginning to learn was a part of her passionate nature, she was headed through the red-tinted shadows. Uriel hastily reached out to grasp her arm and spin her back to face him.

“Wait,” he commanded.

She met his frown with a heavy sigh. “I know you don’t trust her.” Trust her?

Not even if she grew wings and put on a halo.

“Do you?” he growled.

Kata bit her bottom lip, visibly considering her words. “She makes me nuts,” she said slowly, “but I think she’s our only hope of getting out of here.” “And that says it all, doesn’t it?” Uriel gave a shake of his head, conceding defeat. Kata was right. What were the odds of running into another demon who not only had the ability to open gateways, but was willing to help them? “Let’s go.” In silence they moved along the pathway, the air growing progressively more oppressive and the lightning increasing in intensity.

Uriel tested the air. He could vaguely sense Yannah in the distance, but closer at hand there was. .

Danger.

He didn’t recognize the strange scent, but it was making his instincts bristle.

Reaching behind his back, he slid his dagger from the sheath attached to his jeans.

“Here,” he said, pressing the finely crafted weapon into Kata’s hand.

She frowned, awkwardly clutching the leather-bound hilt. “I don’t know how to use it.” “Stick the pointy end into something.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Don’t tempt me.”

They both froze as the sound of Marika’s maniacal laugh abruptly echoed through the stagnant air.

“Bloody hell,” Uriel breathed.

“For god’s sake, you cut off her head,” Kata rasped. “What else can we do?” “Run,” he said without apology.

Any good warrior understood the importance of a strategic retreat.

Grabbing her arm, he urged her down the path, his sword held at the ready. He knew what was coming from behind, but there was no guarantee there wasn’t something worse waiting for them ahead.

Hell, it was almost a given.

It didn’t take long to fulfill his pessimistic theory.

They had just reached a crossroad in the path when the ground beneath their feet split and a nightmarish creature surged out of the opening.

Kata screamed, stumbling backward. Uriel didn’t blame her. He wanted to do a little screaming of his own.

Even by demon standards the thing was gruesome.

Shaped like a worm, it rose up to nearly eight feet in height. He couldn’t see any eyes, but its mouth gaped open to reveal several rows of razor sharp teeth. There were large barbs on top of its head and its skin was a pasty white and covered with a thick slime that dripped onto the stone with an audible hiss. Acid.

Like the nasty thing needed added ammunition.

Gripping his sword in both hands, he stepped between the beast and Kata.

“I’ll keep it distracted. Follow the other path. .” “No,” she sharply cut off his words.

He growled in frustration. “If you don’t go now we’ll be fighting Marika along with this. .” He had no idea what the thing was. “Oversized worm.” She grabbed his arm. “I’m not leaving you again.” “Dammit, Kata.”

“Look, you may not want me as a mate, but as far as I’m concerned you’re stuck with me.” The words rang through the air with the clarity of a bell. “Forever.” Uriel yanked his head around, unnerved by the serene expression on her beautiful face. As if she hadn’t just proclaimed herself as his mate.

Meeting her steady gaze, his heart squeezed with a painful need he could no longer deny.

Oh. . Christ.

What did it matter how many times he had warned himself it was too dangerous to have Kata as his mate? That he had to keep her at a distance?

The simple truth was that he was irrevocably bound to this woman whether they ever completed the mating ceremony or not.

“You’re mine,” he softly declared.

“Yes.”

His hand lifted to cup her cheek. “Which is why I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.” “Then don’t send me away,” she said, her pleading gaze a weapon of mass destruction on his heart. “Who will protect me if you’re not beside me?” “Kata. .” he groaned.

Sensing that victory was in her grasp, Kata turned her head to press her lips to the center of his palm.

“We’ve both been alone too long. Together we can face anything.” He was whipped, he wryly acknowledged.

A pleading glance, a soft word and he was a lost cause. But, he didn’t care.

If a miracle occurred and they managed to get out of the underworld, he would happily devote himself to Kata’s pleasure.

It was surely the reason he was created?

“I can’t say no to you, even when I know I should,” he admitted.

She flashed a smile. “That’s promising.” “Only if we get out of here alive.”

“Good point.”

They turned to the worm-like creature who continued to snake its way out of the rock. Uriel grimaced. No doubt the moment it was free all hell was going to break loose, but how did he kill the damned thing?

In the end, the monster took the decision out of his hands.

With a high-pitched cry, the worm swooped downward, aiming his massive teeth directly at Uriel’s head. Uriel held his ground, stabbing the sword upward to pierce the tender skin of the worm’s mouth.

The thing screamed and jerked backward, nearly snatching the sword out of Uriel’s grip. At the same time a shower of acid sprayed over his skin, burning deep into his flesh.

Bastard.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Uriel shifted to make certain he stood between the creature and Kata, swinging his sword before the beast could repeat his attack.

The blade slid through glutinous hide with sickening ease. Like a knife through pudding. Worse, a disgusting flood of acid belched from the wound, forcing Uriel to back away.

Dammit. He needed to be rid of the thing before Marika could catch up with them.

He was busy debating whether he could lure the creature toward the nearby river of fire when Kata moved to stand at his side, her brow furrowed with concentration and her arm lifted to point the dagger at the worm’s head.

Uriel swore. Did she think that tiny dagger was going to cause any damage?

About to tug her back behind him, Uriel was halted as she muttered a harsh word and her curse blasted through the air, hitting the worm with shocking force.

There was a spine chilling cry from the worm, then it suddenly froze, as if it had been incased in ice.

“You might want to step back,” Kata warned, easing away from the towering beast.

Uriel was swift to obey her warning.

He didn’t understand magic, but he was smart enough to stay out of its path.

For long minutes nothing happened. Shifting uneasily, he was beginning to assume that the show was over when there was an odd sound of a crack echoing through the air. Was the surrounding rock being shattered?

But it wasn’t the rock.

No. Even as Uriel took another step backward the towering worm began to crumble, the once spongy flesh now as brittle as chalk.

Flakes of the creature floated through the air as the heavy body crashed onto the path, causing a mini earthquake. Uriel’s attention, however, had shifted to Kata who was clearly on the brink of collapse.

Angling his sword so the blade was pointed backward, Uriel scooped her into his arms and with one mighty shove was leaping over the decaying body of the worm.

“Damn,” he muttered, his heart clenching with fear that she’d perilously drained herself as he gazed down at her too-pale face. “You’re a dangerous woman.” A weary smile touched her lips. “Don’t you forget it.” “Never,” he swore, tucking her tightly against his chest as he followed Yannah’s fading scent down the pathway.

Bloody hell, he had to get her out of here.

So far shit-ass luck had kept them alive.

It was bound to run out eventually.

On perfect cue a wave of Marika’s frigid power stirred the toxic air.

“Oh Kata, I smell you,” she cooed.

Crazy bitch.

In his arms Kata giggled, her eyes half-closed as if she weren’t entirely with the program.

“Fee, fie, fo, fum,” she sang.

“Stay with me, Kata,” he muttered, charging down the center of the pathway with reckless speed.

On each side of him the rivers of fire offered liquid death and behind him was a psychotic vampire he couldn’t destroy. If there was another danger looming in front of them then they were screwed.

“I’m never going to leave you,” she softly murmured.

“No.” He bent his head to press his lips to the top of her head, accepting that whatever the future held, Kata would always be in his heart. “You’re never going to leave me.” Running through the crimson shadows, Uriel could feel his strength waning. Since leaving Victor’s lair he’d spent a large chunk of time in one battle after another. He needed to rest.

And more importantly he needed to feed.

A damned shame he wasn’t going to get either of those things any time soon.

He kept up his punishing pace until it became obvious that he wasn’t going to outrun Marika and that a magical door wasn’t going to open to lead them to safety.

Soon he would be too weak to offer Kata any protection. It was obviously now or never.

Bending downward, he gently settled Kata on the ground, arranging her so as to lean her back against a rock that jutted from the pathway.

She frowned, clutching at his arm in confusion. “Uriel?” “I love you,” he husked, brushing a tender kiss over her lips.

“Such a smart vampire.”

“It might take me awhile, but you’ll discover I’m trainable.” Her wicked smile pierced his heart. “Which is why I adore you.” With a groan, he forced himself to straighten. Then turning, he moved down the path to block the approaching vampire.

Unable to pass, Marika was forced to come to a halt directly before him, a mocking smile curving her lips.

“Get out of my way and I might let you live long enough to pleasure me,” she drawled.

Uriel didn’t bother to hide his shudder as his gaze skimmed her from head to toe.

Christ, she was once again perfect.

Even her gown was spotless.

As if she’d never had her head chopped off her body.

It was creepy as hell.

“I’d rather die, you nasty freak,” he rasped with an unmistakable sincerity.

Marika hissed, exposing her fangs in female fury. “That can be arranged.” With one fluid motion, Uriel had his sword pointed toward the bitch and was braced for yet another skirmish.

One he couldn’t win.

He grimly dismissed the voice of doom.

If he was going out, he was going out fighting. Dammit.

Preparing to attack, Marika stroked her tongue down the length of her fang.

“So pretty, it’s a shame you won’t be a good boy for me,” she drawled. “Still, there’s always Kata to keep me entertained.” Uriel didn’t have the opportunity to answer her taunt.

Even as he lifted his sword there was an odd sensation in the small space between them. As if the air pressure had suddenly changed.

Then, with a dramatic motion, the very fabric of the world was ripped open and a man stepped onto the path.

No, not a man, Uriel silently corrected himself, an icy dread forming in the pit of his stomach at the sight of the delicately carved features, the thick mane of golden blond hair, and the luminous lavender eyes.

The Jinn might pass as human, but the cruelty that was etched on the pretty face proved he was very much a monster.

Ignoring Uriel, the demon reached to grab Marika by the throat and lifted her off the ground.

“You need not worry about entertainment, leech,” his voice filled the air with a power that nearly drove Uriel to his knees. “I intend to keep you fully occupied.” “You.” Marika’s eyes widened in horror. The Jinn laughed and Marika tilted back her head with a scream. “No!”

Chapter 11

Uriel’s hand lifted to press against the scar on his chest, the dull throb becoming a jagged pain that radiated through his entire body.

He recognized the bastard, of course.

The memory of their encounter under the docks of London was seared into the very fiber of his being.

But of all the strange, bizarre, or downright dangerous creatures that Uriel might have expected to make a magical appearance, the Jinn was at the very bottom of his list.

Instinctively his hand reached into the pocket of his jeans, only to curse when he recalled he’d wasted the death spell on his futile attempt to escape from Marika.

Shit.

He wasn’t going to play puppet for the damned Jinn.

He’d throw himself into the nearby fires first.

Prepared for battle, Uriel frowned as the Jinn ignored his presence and instead concentrated on the female vamp who struggled in his grasp.

“Did you truly believe you could abuse my offspring and not pay the consequences?” he roared.

Marika futilely clawed at the Jinn’s arm, her nails unable to penetrate the shimmering silver coat he wore that matched his trousers.

“You’re dead,” she wailed, the stench of her desperate fear filling the air.

A malicious smile curved the Jinn’s lips. “My physical connection to your world was severed, which is the only reason I did not destroy you the moment you threatened Laylah. But now. .” The lavender eyes glowed with anticipation. “Now you are in a domain where I can easily travel.”

“No, please.” Marika went limp in his ruthless grasp. “This is a mistake. It was Sergei who wanted to hurt Laylah. All I’ve done is try to protect her.”

“You are correct, it was a mistake,” the Jinn readily agreed. “One you shall learn to regret for the rest of eternity.”

“Kata. Help me,” Marika pleaded. “Tell him that I’m innocent.”

Uriel muttered his opinion of females who had more courage than sense as Kata was suddenly standing at his side, her hand clutching his arm in an effort to keep herself upright.

“Innocent?” she hissed in disbelief.

“I’m your sister.”

“You’re an abomination and I hope you spend the rest of your very long life screaming in endless agony,” Kata hissed.

The Jinn glanced toward Kata, an oddly wistful expression softening the venomous beauty of his face.

“Your wish is my command, my lady,” he murmured.

With disgusting ease the Jinn tossed Marika upward, a wave of his slender hand freezing her in midair. The bitch appeared more startled than alarmed at first. Then, murmuring a soft word, the Jinn released his power and the distant lightning was suddenly altering its course to strike her slender body with sickening force.

Over and over the lightning bolts slammed into her and Marika’s shrieks filled the air, along with the horrifying scent of burning flesh.

Scooping Kata off her feet, Uriel turned her away from the hideous sight and darted down the pathway. He didn’t think for a minute they could escape the Jinn, but Kata had endured enough without witnessing Marika’s brutal torture.

Whatever she’d done to Kata, she had once been her sister.

He’d managed to go far enough to mute the vampire’s screams when the pathway before him abruptly crumbled into nothingness. Skidding to a halt, Uriel carefully set Kata on her feet before turning to confront the approaching Jinn.

“That’s close enough,” he warned, his sword eager to draw some Jinn blood.

Perhaps sensing his suicidal thoughts, Kata placed a restraining hand on his arm.

“Uriel,” she pleaded softly.

The Jinn’s attentions shifted in her direction, his expression once again softening.

“Kata.” His voice was low, hypnotizing as his hand stretched out to lightly touch her cheek. “As beautiful as ever.”

Grabbing Kata by the waist, Uriel pulled her away from the beautiful demon, his primal mating instincts overcoming any hope of sanity.

He would kill anything that tried to take away his mate.

“Don’t. Touch. Her.”

Big surprise, the Jinn simply laughed.

“Did you not learn your lesson on the last occasion our paths crossed?”

Without warning Kata stepped between the bristling males. “Please.”

The Jinn gave an obedient nod of his head, obviously devoted to the beautiful gypsy.

“Regretfully, I don’t intend him harm.” He flicked a disdainful glance in Uriel’s direction. “He has served his purpose.”

Uriel frowned. “My purpose?”

“The most powerful of Jinns are given the talent for premonition. I knew that Kata would need a protector and that it could not be me.” His lips curled into a sneer. “You were chosen.”

“That’s why you bound me?”

“It was the only means to give you the power you needed to keep Kata safe.”

“And?” Uriel prompted, unwilling to believe that the Jinn could be so selfless. Not when he vividly recalled the creatures words of warning during their last encounter.

You shall be ‘the instrument of his revenge. .’

The lavender eyes warmed with an evil amusement. “And I needed you to live long enough to lure Marika into my lair.”

Uriel shook his head in disgust.

He’d been so determined never to become the Jinn’s puppet, and yet, he’d been dancing to his tune all along.

Far less conflicted by the Jinn’s machinations, Kata stepped forward to lightly touch his cheek.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

Uriel growled deep in his throat, but Kata was swiftly moving back to his side, leaning against him as he placed a possessive arm around her shoulders.

“Now what happens?” he demanded.

“Now you return Kata to the world where she belongs.” The Jinn lifted his hand and Uriel felt a wrenching pain as his connection to the demon was severed. “Treat her well.”

All the fury and frustration and ruthless dread that had plagued him for the past two hundred years was forgotten as Uriel gathered Kata in his arms.

He didn’t care why he’d been chosen to be Kata’s savior. Or what had happened between the two of them in the past.

The future was all that mattered.

“I intend to devote my life to her happiness.”

“If you fail. .” The lavender eyes glowed with an unmistakable warning. “I will be waiting.”

Seemingly convinced that his commands would be obeyed, the Jinn waved his hand and the air next to Uriel was split open.

Uriel didn’t allow himself to question whether this was yet another trap. What did it matter? It couldn’t be any worse than where they were.

As they stepped through the gateway, the sound of Marika’s screams were still ringing in his ears.

It took nearly a week before Kata was fully recovered from her adventures through the underworld.

After falling through the gateway, they’d discovered themselves face first in the center of Stonehenge.

Thankfully there hadn’t been any pits of fire or monstrous worms or demented zombie vampires lurking nearby, and with a mutual breath of relief, Uriel had taken them directly to Victor’s lair near London.

Since then she’d been cosseted and fussed over as if she were a princess rather than a common gypsy.

Victor had arrived with news that her daughter Laylah was safely in the hands of her vampire mate. Victor’s beautiful fey mate, Juliet, had visited with the rare herbs to keep her from aging.

And even Yannah had made an unexpected visit, smugly expecting Kata’s gratitude for having led her straight into the Jinn’s lair, claiming it was the only means to break the bond between her and Marika. Once satisfied that Kata was sufficiently impressed, she’d claimed she was off to America to offer her assistance to the Child of Chaos.

Whatever that meant.

And then there was Uriel. .

No man could have been more attentive, more devoted to making certain she was fully recovered.

With a smile, Kata snuggled closer to the delicious vampire as he led her back to his private lair, deep beneath the elegant estate.

Tonight he had surprised her with all the trappings of a traditional gypsy wedding.

There had been a magnificent feast followed by festive dancing. He’d offered a bride price to be given to a human charity that assisted with abandoned children, and given her a necklace made of golden coins. Then they’d stood together before a dozen guests and proclaimed they were man and wife.

It had been everything she’d dreamed of as a young, dewy-eyed girl, but now she was ready to be alone with her man.

More than ready, she acknowledged as a sensual heat swirled through the pit of her stomach.

Impatiently waiting for Uriel to open the heavy steel door that was protected by a dozen different locks, alarms, spells, and hexes, Kata at last stepped into the large bedroom, only to give a startled gasp.

Despite the elegance of the mansion, Uriel’s own lair was surprisingly modest with more attention paid to comfort than fashion.

This evening, however, the quilt covering the heavy oak bed was decorated with hundreds of rose petals and the matching furniture draped with the vibrant silk scarves that Kata adored.

“Dear goddess,” she breathed.

Uriel wrapped her in his arms. “Do you approve?”

She tilted back her head to meet his velvet brown gaze. “Very much, husband.”

“Mate,” he whispered softly.

“Not yet.”

He groaned, his fangs flashing in the firelight. “You’re ready?”

With a wicked smile, Kata shrugged off the spaghetti straps of her blue gown, allowing the satin fabric to slither down her body and pool at her feet. Her smile widened as he ran a hungry gaze down her naked curves.

“Completely and utterly.”

“Kata.”

With a speed that made her head spin, Kata found herself lying flat on the bed, surrounded by the earthy scent of roses and covered by Uriel’s hard, naked body. She hadn’t even noticed him removing his formal satin robe.

Laughing in delight, she looped her arms around his neck.

“I love a man of action.”

“And I love you.”

Holding her gaze, Uriel raised his arm and scored the inner skin of his wrist with his fangs. Then, with a solemn motion he pressed his bleeding wound to her mouth.

Kata closed her lips over the wound, greedily drinking the gift of his blood.

Her reaction was instant.

And wondrous.

Heat, pleasure, and overall an astonishing awareness of Uriel surged through her with giddy intensity.

Oh. . goddess.

Moaning she allowed the golden warmth to fill her, his love for her a tangible force that healed the wounds of the past four hundred years.

“Now, Uriel,” she breathed.

Uriel gently removed his wrist, covering her mouth with a kiss of raw urgency.

Kata was quick to respond, wrapping her legs around his waist as he entered her with one slow thrust. At the same time, he sank his fangs into the tender curve of her neck, the momentary pain quickly replaced by an erotic bliss that made her nails dig into the broad width of his back and her hips lift to meet his frantic pace.

She cried out as pleasure exploded through her, followed swiftly by the sensation of Uriel’s own shuddering climax that echoed deep inside her.

Uriel pulled back to regard her with a startled glance, obviously as stunned as she’d been by the sheer intimacy of their bond.

“My mate,” he murmured, the guarded wariness that was so much a part of him at last shattered as their hearts and souls were melded together.

They were one.

Two parts of a whole.

Skimming her hands down his back, Kata basked in the knowledge that she was at long last home.

“For all eternity.”