The Grey God (War of Gods 4) (21 page)

The storm grew too heavy and she stopped finally, looking around her. She’d kept the mountain to her left, just in case she needed to find a place to hide out. She maneuvered that way now, leaning against rocks to peer into dark depths. After a short search, she found a small cave and scaled the boulders in front of it.

Jenn drew a knife in case an animal had also taken refuge in the cave. It was empty. She entered, stomping her feet to clear her legs of snow. She pushed it off her coat and hat.

“Couldn’t stay in Miami,” she complained.

The wind howled as she settled against the far wall to wait out the storm. With a knife beside her, she wrapped her arms around her knees and huddled, trying to keep warm. Dark fell, the only light in the cave coming from the snow.

Where are you?

Jenn lifted her head at the words. She couldn’t respond, not with the cuff on her arm. She rested her chin on her knee until her nose grew too cold then ducked her head down again.

The necklace was cool against her skin. Jenn pondered it and what she’d felt kissing Darian. Despite the cold, her blood hummed with warmth. It kept her from freezing, just like the hot tears on her face. For the first time since she left the immortal world, she cried.

“Hello!”

She jerked at the voice. The snow fell in sheets outside the cave. Jenn rose and crossed to the edge. She could see nothing amid snow and darkness.

“Hello!”

“Darian?” she called, irritated at moving from her warm spot at the back of the cave.

“Jenn!”

She stepped back, waiting for him. The curtain of snow parted finally, and Darian’s dark form entered the cave.

“What’re you doing out in this storm?” she asked.

“Looking for you.”

“You should’ve waited until morning.”

“Jonny’s flipping out,” Darian said. His body brushed hers as he moved deeper into the cave, and he took her cold hands. “Gods, you’re freezing.”

“I don’t give a shit about Jonny.” Jenn yanked free and stepped to the back of the cave again. It hadn’t felt small before Darian arrived, but it did now. She sat down, huddling with her knees again.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Nothing.”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

“I’m fine.”

“You hate the cold,” the Grey God said, squatting in front of her. “Something’s off.” Darian touched her face.

If he felt her tears, he said nothing, though his fingers lingered on her cheek. Jenn moved away.

“Jonny stripped my magic,” she said.

“That’s why you didn’t respond when I called you mentally.”

“Exactly,” she said with enough sarcasm that he chuckled.

“C’mon. I’m taking you someplace warm.” Darian didn’t wait for her to respond this time. She felt herself lifted into his arms.

Jenn opened her mouth to object when they Traveled elsewhere. At once, the cold and dark was replaced by soft light and heat. Darian set her down on a small couch and moved away. She recognized the huge orange cat seated on the chair across from her.

Her hands were too cold to move. Jenn looked down at them with a grimace and tried to stretch out the fingers on one hand.

“You don’t call, you don’t write,” Darian complained, returning. He had a bowl in one hand and pulled the ottoman closer, seating himself close to her. “Hands in the bowl.”

Jenn obeyed. The warm water stung.

“Might take a few minutes,” he said. He gripped the bowl between his knees then took one of her hands in both of his.

Comforting warmth spread through her fingers and palm.

“So you just thought you’d take a walk in the middle of a huge snowstorm?” he asked.

“Something like that.” She kept her eyes on her hands, not liking how his warmth was spreading throughout her body. She pulled her hand away from him. “I’ll be fine. I think I just want to sleep off the cold.”

“For once, let someone else take care of you, Jenn.”

She bit her lip. Darian took her hand again. She wanted to resist, to push him away, but she was so cold. And his warmth felt so good.

“What were you doing in the forest?” he asked again.

“I was going to find you,” she replied. “I couldn’t Travel, but I could walk.”

“Jonny said he sent you after me.” There was a guarded note in the Grey God’s voice.

“He did,” she confirmed. “Things got weird with Jonny.”

“Which would explain this,” Darian said and pushed up her sleeve to show the black cuff. He pushed it up farther, thumb moving gently over the bruise forming from where Jonny grabbed her. “And this.”

She felt the air around him shift, darken. Jenn fought the urge to back away. Where Damian radiated sunlight and Jonny storm clouds, Darian shifted between the two.

“Rough night,” she murmured. “I survived, as usual. Whatever it takes.”

“The funny thing about Jonny stripping your powers: we’re on even ground. You can’t lie, and I can tell when you’re trying to get a rise out of me.”

“You call that even?”

“Compared to a normal day, yes.”

Jenn couldn’t stop her small smile.

“What happened, Jenn?”

Her smile faded. “I failed to keep the portal a secret. He knows about where it is but not exactly. It’s only a matter of time before he finds it now. Admittedly, it’s hard to keep anything from a jackhammer like the Black God going through your memories. At least he doesn’t know about us.” Too late, she realized what she’d said. Her eyes flew up to meet his.

“So you mean I wasn’t the very last person to know?”

“Son of a bitch!” She yanked her hands free and stumbled around him, wanting to flee. “Just couldn’t shut up, could you, Jenn?”

“Too late for that.”

Jenn faced him, one cold hand across her mouth to keep any other stupid secrets from spilling out. Darian remained seated, watching her with intensity that made her feel edgy.

“Why did Jonny send you after me?” he asked.

Jenn lowered her hand. “Does it matter?”

“Yeah.”

“He wants to know the answer to a question.”

“And you planned on getting it for him how?”

“Fuck you, Darian,” she replied, anger rising once again. “How have I ever treated you?”

“Before or after you kept secrets from me about our fates?”

Jenn glared at him. She tried to grip the necklace around her neck with hands still too cold to function.

“Don’t.” There was anger in his sharp voice this time, and his golden eyes flashed. “There is no fucking rock on this planet you could hide under where I wouldn’t find you.”

Jenn dropped it. “If there is any part of you that thinks I’d do anything less than ask you what he wanted to know, take it back. I want nothing to do with you.”

The silence stretched between them at the stalemate.

“I’m sorry,” Darian said at last.

Jenn couldn’t remember any other time in her life when a man apologized to her. She stood where she was as Darian swept past her to the kitchen. When he didn’t return immediately, her gaze fell to the warm bowl of water. Her hands hurt from cold. She returned to the couch and dipped her hands in the water.

When he did emerge, he had a hot cheeseburger on a plate. Jenn’s eyes fell to it as he set it beside her.

“If you let me help you, you’ll be able to grip it before it’s cold,” Darian said.

Her stomach roared. Jenn nodded. Darian resumed his seat on the ottoman and took her hands again. Jenn tried not to look at him, focusing instead on the scent of cheeseburgers. Her eyes went to his long fingers and roped forearms then upward to the thick biceps and wide shoulders. She found herself remembering what his body looked like when he stripped down to spar with her, how the muscular length of him felt against her own body when they were locked in combat.

“Jonny thinks you’re going to destroy one of the worlds,” she said. “He wanted to know your intentions, or he’d find a way to kill you.”

“Would solve your problem of being mated to me.”

“I was planning on being killed by Others,” she said.

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

“No, Darian, I’m sorry to disappoint you.”

He looked up at her quiet words.

“I … I can’t, Darian,” Jenn said and touched the symbol at the small of her neck.

Darian took her hand and lowered it. “Yes, you can. It’s easy. Just don’t fight it.”

“It’s not right.”

“Are you going to try to convince me again that you don’t care for me?” he asked. “I’ll admit, I don’t know how you walked away from me like you did in the wine cellar.”

Pure terror,
she answered mentally. Out loud, she said, “I’m not going to put you in more danger.”

“Try again.”

She raised her eyebrows at his challenge. “I don’t want to be involved with anyone.”

“Not convinced.”

“I can’t have you killing off sources I sleep with.”

“You won’t be sleeping with any more sources,” he snapped. “Try again.”

“What can I say to convince you?” she demanded.

“One thing. Tell me Claire was right to betray me. If you can say those words, I’ll let you walk.”

Darian waited. Jenn couldn’t formulate the words. They went against every fiber of her honor. She’d hated Claire when she found out. Jenn still remembered the first time she’d seen Darian. He’d been scarred so badly, he was hardly recognizable as a person. His now vibrant eyes had been empty, and he’d spent many days just sitting with Sofi in the study. She recalled taking messages from Dusty to Sofi and how, at first, Darian hadn’t even been able to register the sound of another human’s voice.

Claire had done that to him.

Jenn held Darian’s golden gaze, feeling awed at his transformation. She’d taken care of him since she met him. Those tables had turned. She’d always thought him her perfect match in the sparring ring. And now, a small voice told her he’d be her perfect match outside the ring, too.

Something within her broke. There was no dissuading someone like Darian. The moment he figured out the truth, she was screwed, just like Dusty told her. Lost in thought, she dropped her gaze to her hands as Darian’s warmth moved through her body, healing her.

“The great wordsmith is quiet. Looks like I finally won a round,” he said then motioned to the cheeseburger. “I’ve got more on the stove.” He rose and moved towards the kitchen.

Jenn stood and tested her body when he disappeared into the kitchen. Her body felt like it had before her assignment to the Black God. She pulled up her shirt to confirm the bruises were gone. By the sudden lack of stiffness in her torso, she wondered if her ribs had been broken. She had a high tolerance to pain, more so when she had Guardian magic.

She picked up her cheeseburger, walked to the kitchen door, and leaned against the doorframe, watching Darian flip hamburgers on the stove. Even the simple, everyday task was done with his flawless, effortless movement. She ate fast, ravenous for real food after surviving off of scraps at the Black God’s house. Someone had food in their pantry at one point, but it was stale and consisted of canned food she wouldn’t normally eat.

A cheeseburger had never tasted so good. It was well-cooked, the cheese perfectly melted.

“My god,” she sighed. “This is fantastic!”

“How many can you eat?”

“Four.”

“Four?” Darian glanced at her. “I only eat three.”

“I haven’t eaten real food in weeks.”

With his healing magic and the first cheeseburger in her belly, Jenn felt renewed energy. She moved to the fridge and opened it, still starving. He didn’t have much, but she wasn’t feeling picky. She tugged a beer free from one of two six-packs and popped the top. The first mouthful tasted like bitter honey and she drank the bottle down, sighing again.

“Haven’t eaten real food in weeks.” The disapproval was clear in his voice as he slowly repeated her words.

“I hear a Jenn-like lecture approaching,” she said and crossed her arms as she faced him.

“No, no,” he said. “Just know it won’t happen that way again.”

For once, let someone take care of you.

She didn’t know what to feel at his words. She’d never thought she needed someone to take care of her. She worked hard to keep it that way. Dependence on others created not only potential liabilities but made her weaker as well.

Jenn’s gaze swept over Darian.

Trust. It wasn’t something she did. It wasn’t something she thought she’d missed. Standing in the kitchen with the man meant to be her mate, she couldn’t help feeling a small kernel of longing deep inside her. An ache that remembered what it’d been like to trust someone else. An ache that wanted to trust someone again.

Darian.

Fear trickled through her as she recalled the amount of pain trusting someone could cause. Of all the evil in the world, she feared this the most.

“Coward,” Darian murmured.

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“About destroying worlds,” she shot back.

“Have another cheeseburger,” he said and handed a plate to her.

“You don’t have enough cheeseburgers to keep me distracted forever.”

“You really want to do this right now?” he challenged, meeting her gaze. “You’re half-starved and powerless. You think you can take me?”

“I thought you learned that lesson,” she reminded him. “I don’t need magic to twist you up in knots.”

“You need it to run away again. You throw down now, we’ll have us a little talk, and you’ve got no escape plan.”

She snatched the plate and walked into the living room.

“
Damn
that felt good!” Darian shouted.

“Cheap shot.”

“I learned that from you.”

Jenn resisted the urge to smile. Frustrated and off-center, she couldn’t help finding his triumph entertaining. The part of her that loved to mess with powerful creatures also knew she was damned good at it. That she’d had a god off balance for so long—and it took losing her magic for him to finally score—was an accomplishment. Of course, any advantage she had over him was over now.

She was enjoying the challenge and their repartee. More than she liked. Darian had a quick wit that was as unpredictable as his actions.

“I also learned the best time to take advantage of someone is when they’re off-center,” he said, joining her with another plate of cheeseburgers.