Dark Protectors: Provoked Part 26

Max nodded, his hard face concerned as the door closed.

Amber took several shallow breaths. "You were right?" Her voice rose at the end.

"Yes."

She kept her gaze straight ahead to keep herself from screaming. Betrayal burned hotter than fear down her throat. "Please explain."

"Your grandmother approached Dage with a plan."

The doors opened. Amber moved into the familiar hallway as if she was half-awake. "A plan."

"Yes. She's a demon destroyer, and if the demons got ahold of her, they'd probably head right to their headquarters."

"Where they're probably holding Jase."

"Yes. We figured they'd lead us to him."

Rage shot nerves to life just under her skin. "What about my grandmother?"

"She wanted to go." Kane shoved open the door to the rec room.

Hurt joined the anger. Why hadn't Hilde confided in her? Amber slid her hand along the clean bar toward a set of pretty winegla.s.ses. Her fingers wrapped around a stem. "So there was a plan in place."

"We figured the demons would strike while we were falling into their trap. The plan was Hilde's idea." Admiration filled Kane's low tone.

"So you let my grandmother be kidnapped by the demons." The very monsters that had almost broken Amber's brain.

"Yes."

She swung. No thought, no rationality, she just swung as hard as she could for his face. The winegla.s.s impacted his cheekbone, shattering into pieces. Blood welled in a slight cut.

He could've stopped her. A vampire's reflexes had to be much quicker than a human's. But he allowed her to make contact. To smash the gla.s.s into his skin.

Slowly, one dark eyebrow rose. "Feel better?"

No. If anything, she felt worse. She dropped the worthless wine-stem to the rug. "You would never sacrifice your family like this."

He blinked. "You're wrong. I have and probably will again sacrifice my family for this war."

"You had no right," she forced out, her lungs heating.

"She offered, and we really didn't have much of a choice."

Wait a minute. The air compressed in Amber's solar plexus. "When you saw Jase wasn't in the cell-when you told Talen to make the call. The call was to let the demons take my grandmother."

"Yes." Kane didn't blink as he met her gaze, his eyes sober. "I let them take your grandmother."

Hitting him again would solve nothing. Yet Amber's hand clenched into a fist anyway. So much for being a pacifist. "I'll never forgive you," she whispered, the words actually hurting.

"I know." His expression didn't change.

Her smile felt raw. "You really are one cold b.a.s.t.a.r.d."

"So I've heard."

Tears p.r.i.c.ked her eyes. "How can you not feel anything ?"

His eyes morphed from violet to black and back again in seconds. "I feel everything." He took a step toward her.

She took two steps back. "And yet, you did this." Sleeping with him had been a mistake. Falling for him was an even bigger one, and one she'd have to live with. "There's nothing else for us to say."

"I understand." His mask firmly back in place, he turned and headed for the door. "Emma will be along shortly-she's going to want to take blood."

Amber waited until he'd left the room before allowing the tears to fall.

She dropped into a chair and let herself cry it out until her head hurt and her nose ached. But finally, she felt better.

The king found her there an hour later. He moved silently, grabbing a blanket off the sofa to settle over her, his gaze serious, his movements gentle.

"Thank you," she said, sniffing.

"Anytime." He brushed the back of his hand over her forehead as he maneuvered to sit on a matching chair. "Your fever has abated."

"You mean gone down."

"Excuse me?" A dark eyebrow rose over a new black eye.

Irritation huffed out with her breath. What a pretentious lot. They all thought they were so smart. "My fever. It went down. The fever did not abate, diminish, or any other zillion-dollar word. It went down."

The king smiled. "Okay."

She glared at him through puffy lids. He did not have to be so agreeable. "Stop being nice. I'm really mad at you."

"You should be."

"Stop agreeing with me."

"My apologies."

Okay. She was starting to hate this guy-and she was starting to feel foolish. "What you did was wrong."

"Probably." He sighed, rubbing both hands over his face, wincing as his fingers met the s.h.i.+ner. "If someone had put my granny in danger, even if she volunteered, I'd probably break his neck."

Amber nodded slowly, studying the king. The decision had cost him. Dark circles lived under his eyes, while tension lines marred his smooth face. Even so, he was nearly as handsome as Kane with his silver eyes and rugged features.

He leaned forward. "I'm sorry."

"I don't want your apology." Sympathizing with the king wasn't going to get her anywhere. Amber narrowed her eyes. "What happened to your face?" He hadn't had the black eye after the battle with the demons.

"Oscar hit me."

"For letting the demons take my grandmother."

"Yes."

Amber knew she liked the ma.s.sive vampire. "Good for him."

Dage shrugged. "The guy hits like a truck. So, what can I do to make this up to you?"

"I want you to get my grandmother back."

"We will. As soon as we know where they've taken her, we'll get her."

"So, there's a plan."

"We always have plans, sweetheart," Dage said wearily. "Sometimes they actually work."

Now that didn't inspire much confidence. "What's the plan?"

He studied her with those odd silver eyes before speaking. "Well, we think they'll offer to exchange her with you. We'll agree and go in and get her. Hopefully the demons will take her to headquarters where Jase is. They'll want to test her skills on the best, and the best would be the demon leader."

Chills swept down Amber's spine. "So you've allowed the demons to take my grandmother so they can rape her mind, and hopefully they'll do so at headquarters so you can save your brother."

Dage stilled. "No. I mean, I don't think they'll hurt her. She's actually a lot more powerful than she thought-I tested her the other day. Through the years she's acc.u.mulated her mate's psychic powers."

"What if the demons don't call?" Amber muttered.

"We placed a chip in her foot," Dage said just as quietly.

"Of course you did." Amber took several deep breaths to keep from hitting the king. "Well, surely you've tracked her. Where is she?"

"We only want to activate the chip as a last resort, just in case the demons do a sweep of her body. They won't find the tracker if we haven't activated it, so we won't do so for a little while." Apology twisted the king's lips. "We need to up your training so you're ready to go when we find the demon headquarters. Talen should be here soon to try his gifts against yours again."

"You think I'm going to help you?" Putting her grandmother in danger was unforgivable.

"Yes. I know you'll help get Hilde back."

Hilde had always charted her own path in life, and there was no doubt the woman had volunteered for the duty. If Amber wanted the right to fight demons, shouldn't Hilde also make her own choices? Amber eyed the king. "I'll help. Now you can promise no more water bottles, no more real leather, and everybody in the Realm turns vegan."

He chuckled. "Okay. No more water bottles or plastic bottles of any kind, and no more real leather. I can't turn anyone into a vegan, sorry."

"Kane lied to me." The words slipped out before she could stop them. Something about Dage inspired trust and confidence, and she didn't have anybody to talk to.

"Yes."

"Thank you for not arguing that an omission is not a lie."

"Omission is one of those zillion-dollar words." Dage grinned, suddenly looking years younger.

"I'm no genius, but I know a couple of big words." Amber wanted to grin back, but her face wouldn't follow suit.

"Kane's not that smart."

"Really?" Amber shook her head. What a lie.

"Really." Dage sat back in his chair, his shoulders visibly relaxing. "Ninety percent of the time, he ends up blowing things into a billion pieces. The other ten percent, he's lucky." The king grinned again. "When we were young, he created a potion to make friends."

"Did the potion work?"

Dage snorted. "No. He ended up giving food poisoning to a bunch of the village kids. My mother was beside herself."

Imagining Kane as a young brainiac desperate to make friends warmed Amber's heart. What a cute little boy he must've been with his violet eyes and dark hair. "He still lied to me."

"I know. He blames himself for our failing to rescue Jase-it's blinded him a little bit."

"You blame yourself."

"I'm the king." Dage shrugged. "The failure is my fault."

And Kane was the smartest guy on the planet, so he blamed himself. Empathy for both Kayrs brothers had Amber's heart softening. She s.h.i.+fted her weight. "The Kayrs marking appeared on his palm."

"I'm aware of that."

"Do you think the marking's appearance means anything?" She held her breath until the king responded.

"I think the appearance means everything." His eyes darkened.

"Kane doesn't."

"Kane doesn't know everything." Dage leaned forward, his broad hands in his lap. "When we went to war the first time, our parents were killed, and we all were forced into roles for which we were unprepared."

Amber tilted her head to the side. "How so?"

A rueful smile curved the king's lips. "I became king, Talen started plotting strategy, Conn started training with the soldiers, and Jase had to grow up."

"And Kane?" Amber asked softly.

"Kane had to balance all of us. He became my confidant, Talen's reason, Conn's conscience, and Jase's protector. As the smartest and probably the most responsible, Kane took us all on." Dage exhaled slowly. "I didn't realize how very much he'd taken on until the demons kidnapped Jase."

"Kane blames himself."

Dage shook his head. "Jase's disappearance isn't Kane's fault."

"It isn't your fault, either."

Dage smiled, flas.h.i.+ng twin dimples. "I have no doubt this is premature, but welcome to my family, Amber Freebird. You're a very pleasant addition."

Warmth flushed through her. "I'm not joining your family."