Between one heartbeat and the next, his weakness returned. His veins constricted, the rivers of crystal spreading.
His hands balled into fists.
No, he couldn't keep Cameo.
"Lazarus?" Her raspy voice beseeched him.
He picked up the kris and closed in on her. She hadn't moved from her spot on the floor. He thrust his arms under her and gently lifted her, cradling her against his chest.
Going to part soon. Must enjoy her while I can.
With a sigh, she relaxed against him. "Did you know you have griffin meat under your fingernails?"
He scoffed at her. "You mean the must have accessory of the spirit realms?"
She snorted, then she sniffled. "I'm sorry. I meant to help, not hinder. I thought you were doomed, and I didn't want...I'm sorry."
Doomed? He probed her thoughts.
She stiffened, only to release another sigh. "Fine. Do your thing." The shield fell, her mind opening up to him, filling him with satisfaction and possessiveness.
A clip of her life played inside his head. Earlier, a butterfly had flown through camp and landed on Lazarus. She'd panicked. Over the centuries, butterflies had become a sign of impending catastrophe to her.
Made sense in a warped way, he supposed. Upon her demon-possession--an action forced upon her--a butterfly had been branded into her flesh.
Lazarus had seen the mark on her fellow warriors, but never on her. Had to be hidden under her clothes...
Will trace my tongue over every inch of that brand.
"Butterflies are drawn to me," he told her. "Always have been. They've aided me, never doomed me."
Her brow furrowed. "But why are they drawn to you?"
"Must be female."
She barked out a laugh. Then her eyes widened with surprise.
He wanted to pound his chest with pride. I amused her. Now to soothe her fears. "Butterflies are signs of impending success, sunshine. If one leaves her chrysalis too easily, her wings are weakened. She must struggle to exit or she will never have the strength to fly. But because she flies, she brings her strength to you."
"You think so?"
"I know so."
In a rare show of affection, she petted his chest. The simple action nearly drove him to his knees.
He'd wanted her for so long, and now he had her. In his arms. In his realm. Take her!
Not here, not now.
He carried her to Viola, who was so weighed down by pieces of metal she couldn't straighten her spine. "You'll never be able to walk through a portal."
"Then I'll run. And I'll create a portal right here, thank you very much." She waved her hand, the ring she'd given him then taken back then ceded to him once more on her finger yet again. When a rift failed to form, she sputtered. "It's not working."
He eased Cameo to her feet and removed the ring from Viola's finger, saying, "We should return to the spot we entered. The seams holding the realm together are more malleable there."
"Carry me?" the goddess asked, batting her lashes.
"I will not--"
Cameo gazed up at him with beseeching eyes--sparkling eyes? "She's letting you borrow her most favorite ring. Shouldn't you help her?"
A grinning Viola placed a hand over her heart. "The pearls of wisdom you're dropping right now are lovely, Cameo, my dear. Though not as lovely as my new titanium. Look!" She petted a sheet of metal.
He should stand firm and at least pretend to have defenses against his warrior woman. "The ring is mine forever." A weapon he could use in his favor. "But I will carry the goddess because you oh, so sweetly asked. I will only expect one boon in return."
Cameo smiled, a quick up and down quirk of her mouth, but a smile was a smile, and his chest puffed with pride a second time. He was addicted to her amusement and wanted more. Wanted a full-blown smile next time. Or an unstoppable laugh.
"Let me guess," she said. "I have to spend the night with you?"
He traced the line of her jaw, luxuriating in the feel of her silken skin. Then he leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Don't be ridiculous, sunshine. I would never leave room for interpretation. I would demand you spend the night with me...naked and eager for my touch."
As he lifted his head to peer into her eyes--no longer sparkling but burning--lovely color darkened her cheeks.
"If I say no?" she asked, her tone ragged.
"The goddess walks."
Little panting breaths left her. Such a telling reaction pleased him. Her desire for him had grown, his ability to bypass the demon's sorrow getting easier. She wanted to spend the night with him.
"I--" she began.
Dust rained from the rafters. A thousand roars suddenly echoed through the cavern, silencing her.
"Uh-oh. More automatons," Viola said.
A lot more. Their thoughts slammed into Lazarus's awareness all at once, a terrible blast of hate, malice and rage. They had sensed the forever-death of their kinsman and hungered for revenge.
"Hurry!" Cameo grabbed his hand and stumbled forward. "We're in no condition to fight another battle."
"I can fight anyone, anytime and emerge victorious." But even as he snapped the rebuke, determined to mask his own weakened condition, he knew another battle would put his woman at greater risk, and that he wouldn't allow.
She comes first.
Today. Only today.
She'd chosen to fight for him. Had willingly placed herself in danger on his behalf. Not because he'd commanded it, or because she would be rewarded. Her only objective had been his protection.
Loyalty wasn't a gift he'd ever received. Until now. Until her.
Juliette, who had claimed to love him, had never put his needs before her own. His men fought beside him because they feared his wrath, not for any other reason.
Astonishment blazed through him. Would she choose him over her brothers-by-circumstance? Would she trust him to keep her safe...trust him to take care of Pandora's box?
I want her to choose me. Always, only me.
The two sides of him--self-protective versus possessive--engaged in a violent tug-of-war. Be with her for a day...be with her forever...a week...forever.
How could he ever give her up?
Focus!
He kissed her knuckles before pulling from her grip. He picked up the griffin heart. More roars sounded. More dust rained. The griffins drew closer.
Lazarus twined his free hand with Cameo's and raced from the cavern. Once they cleared the mountain, Viola picked up speed and claimed the lead, encumbered by the metals but no longer affected by their bulky weight. Her will to survive on her own terms must be stronger than any physical limitations she incurred.
The goddess wasn't the weak link he'd considered her.
"Faster," he commanded, pulling ahead of Viola. In the jungle, the slowest gazelle got eaten.
Despite Cameo's injury, she ran with innate elegance.
As they raced around burnt trees and maneuvered around sharp, gnarled limbs, Viola decided to belt out a song she couldn't remember. "'Running something something something. Holding something something. Trying something something something.'"
He expected her to spread her arms wide and twirl. As deceived by Narcissism as she was, she must believe no one and nothing would ever attempt to harm her--must consider herself too valuable to harm.
One day, someone would prove her wrong, and she would suffer greatly for it.
By the time their group reached the mound of boulders where they'd first arrived, sweat drenched him. His lungs burned.
Behind them, a dark cloud of smoke moved through the skyline, heading straight toward them.
Lazarus waved his hand while rubbing his thumb over the ring, creating friction, exactly as Viola had done earlier. Having read her mind, he knew to picture the realm he wished to enter.
Electric pulses cut through the landscape, creating a rift. Dust motes shimmered, dancing in a sudden burst of wind through the portal. He tugged Cameo through, and the g
oddess followed. The portal closed behind them.
Relief abounded. They'd done it. They'd escaped.
They stopped to take a breather.
"Wow," Viola said. "That was--"
Another portal opened, the griffins zooming through.
"Damn it," Cameo grated.
Well, hell. Lazarus tightened his hold on her, sprinted forward and whistled. A second later, the hiss of his sky serpents drifted across the land. A few seconds after that, the horde found him, hovering overhead, awaiting his command.
"Attack!" he shouted.
"Can your pets win?" Cameo asked between panting breaths. "They're outnumbered three to one."
"They can. They will. Poor griffins."
13
"There are no second chances to kill at first sight."
--Eternal Truths for Every Man
Cameo sensed a change in Lazarus as soon as his soldiers came into view. Any hint of softer emotion evaporated. He became a man without a hint of vulnerability. A man determined to kill anyone who might detect one.
What she'd learned from his fight with the griffin: if he decided to strike, his opponent wouldn't survive.