Chapter 20
Istep out of my bathroom and stop cold.
It can’t be.
With a muffled squeal, I rush forward and launch myself into Aden’s arms. Before I can speak, his lips are on mine, his hands in my hair.
A soft moan escapes me as I clutch his shoulders to take more. God, I missed this. His scent. His heat. His taste.
Gentle sparks run over my lips, but it’s not the electric shock I’m used to. I pull back and capture his beautiful face in my palms.
Within seconds, I’m lost in hypnotic eyes and tempting lips. They tip up in a weak smile, and it’s then that I see the change. While he seems free of the agony from the last time I saw him, there’s a dull pallor taming the wild flames I crave. Even in the few seconds I’ve been holding him, his posture seems to be wilting.
Shit. Mom’s diabolical iron palace must be doing its job. I need to warn him, just… one more minute of pretending.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I whisper. “You’ve healed?”
“Getting there.”
A twinge of jealousy spears through me at the implication. With how badly he was injured, he must have had help—human intimacy help. But it quickly dissolves into gratitude for whomever it was. Aden didn’t have a choice, and I’m sure he would have gotten what he needed from me if it were possible.
I wrap my arms around him again and rest my cheek on his chest. “You can’t be here.”
But I want him here. With every fiber of my being.
“I know,” he murmurs against my hair.
I close my eyes and burrow into his warmth. For the briefest moment I feel safe and at peace. This impossible situation seems more manageable in his presence. I can’t bring myself to let go.
“I missed you,” I breathe out.
“I missed you too. I’m sorry for leaving the way I did.”
“You had to. I understood, and I’m so happy to see you, but…”
Say it, Gabi.
I take a deep breath and force the words out. “You have to go.”
“Agreed. Let’s get out of here.”
I shake my head and pull back. An ache is already welling in my chest. “I don’t think I can.”
“Of course you can. We’ll— Ah!” He recoils in pain and stares at the burn mark on his arm. His horrified gaze drifts to me, and I wince at the angry blister forming on his skin.
My heart sinks into my stomach.
I don’t even know what to say when I step back to a safer distance. “That’s what I’m trying to tell you.” I hold up my wrists to show off the thick bracelets. “You’re allergic to iron, right?”
His eyes widen, and I feel sick at his expression. Shock and horror taint his features as he does a quick scan of the room.
“It’s in everything, Aden. The fixtures, the furniture, the lamps, wall hangings. Anything they could find, they brought in. They filled this place with it. And we have to wear these for protection.”
I examine the ugly bands with disgust. “Mom said if I didn’t wear them, she’d lock me up for my own protection. I didn’t have a choice.” I yank them off and toss them on a chair. “It’s not just the iron, though. They also have extra cameras, security, weapons… These daggers and-and… I don’t know. They’re waiting for you. This whole place is a trap. You have to go.”
Emotion closes my throat.
“Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure it out,” he soothes.
He opens his arms for me, but it’s not a hug I want. I capture his face in my hands and draw his lips to mine. Within seconds, the hunger takes over. He tastes too good, a craving that can’t be satisfied. Each kiss is another reminder that it could be our last.
He threads his hands in my hair, locking me in place. When his tongue slips into my mouth, I melt at how good it feels. I’ve missed this. The sparks, the electric current, it’s like a hot surge through every part of me.
But even the electricity is different than before. It’s…
I release a small whimper and break away.
The confusion in his eyes hurts too much and I retreat several steps. I don’t trust myself to stay away from him. My fingers are already clenching to drag him back.
“We can’t do this. You have to go. You’re being drained as we speak. I see it in your face. You need to go while you’re still strong enough.”
“Then come with me. We’ll try The Translucence again.” He reaches for me, and it kills me to duck away.
The expression on his face hurts like hell. He looks so lost when his arm falls to his side in defeat.
“It didn’t work last time. What makes you think it will this time?”
“I’m more prepared.”
He grabs my hand and pulls me forward. Then releases me with a hiss.
A fresh burn from where his arm brushed the post of the iron bedframe puckers on his skin.
I hate every fucking thing about this.
His anxious gaze lands on mine, then goes blank as he sways to the right. Shit!
I jump to steady him and help him to the mattress, careful to avoid direct contact with the iron base. God, he’s already so weak. Even the bed he’s sitting on is poison. I see the life draining from him as we speak.
“Please,” I whisper, brushing his cheek. The sparks are dull now, barely detectable. Dread curls in my stomach. “I can’t watch you get hurt again. I can’t.”
I lean in for a soft kiss, and he grips the back of my neck to hold on. It’s clear he’s suffering from the truth as much as I am. He had the same fear of losing me. Of not knowing if we’d ever see each other again. And now we’re losing each other once more. It’s too much. Our kiss turns desperate.
It can’t end like this. It can’t.
He breaks the connection with a groan and rests his forehead on mine.
“I don’t want to leave you,” he says.
“I know, but you can’t be here. It’s killing you.”
His eyes close, and I reach up to run my fingers through his soft curls. He’s so fucking beautiful. Memories of watching him fall to the floor in a pool of blood have my fingers tightening in his hair.
“There’s an old carriage house on the south side of the property.” Even as the words come out, I know it’s a mistake. The whole idea is selfish and dangerous, but I can’t handle the thought of not seeing him again. Besides, I’m afraid this might be the only way to get him to leave before it’s too late.
“My Dad and I turned it into a hideout for me when I was a teenager. I doubt it got the iron treatment since Mom probably doesn’t remember it exists. Meet me there in an hour.”
He searches my eyes, scouring my soul for several long seconds while I silently beg him to accept this compromise.
I hold my breath.
“See you soon,” he says.
A moment later, I’m alone.
Aden hasn’t been gone more than a minute before my door bursts open.
“What’s going on? I heard voices,” Rob says, gun drawn. “He came back?”
Panic runs through me at the violence on his face. He wants a fight.
“No. Of course not. I was just watching TV.”
His stance relaxes, until his gaze rests on the blank screen mounted to the wall.
“Yeah? What were you watching?” His voice is laced with sarcasm.
“None of your business. Now get out of my room.”
“Just doing my job, princess.”
“Don’t call me that. And you’re my mom’s minion, not mine.”
Anger floods his features as he steps toward me.
“I’m no one’s minion,” he spits out. “Your mother and I are equals in this. Your pathetic excuse for a father screwed me over just as much as her.”
“Yeah? Because it sure seems like she’s the one calling the shots.”
His expression goes ice cold.
I swallow a surge of fear but I’m tired of being treated like a pawn in everyone else’s game.
“You know what? You’re right. Maybe I have let her fuck this up enough. If we’d done it my way, it would be over by now.”
My heart pounds as he takes another menacing step in my direction.
“Stay away from me.”
“Or what?” he says with a laugh. “You gonna throw a designer purse at me?”
He moves again, and I back away, prepared to scream. I could try to wake Mom, but whose side would she take? She already knows everything there is to know about this asshole’s intentions and she still brought him here. That means she cares about his value to her more than his threat to me.
When he reaches for me, I dart to the nightstand to grab the dagger.
He laughs as I hold it out in front of me.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Nothing, if you leave now.”
“You’d never be able to use it.”
“You believed I would a few hours ago when you wanted to train me.”
His cocky grin has my fingers tightening around the handle, but the dagger visibly shakes in my trembling hand. When he lunges at me, I don’t even have time to yell before he has me locked against him with the knife at my throat.
“I think it’s time to put you back downstairs, princess.”
A second later, he’s slamming into a wall.
Shocked, I turn to find him charging another figure.
Aden!
Oh no.
The two men come together in a violent collision. Aden shoves Rob back like a flimsy plastic doll. Rob straightens to retaliate, and Aden shoots him a warning look.
“Don’t,” Aden cautions in a low voice.
Rob growls and charges again, but Aden easily blocks the wild punch and lands one of his own in Rob’s side. The smaller man hunches over to catch his breath, while Aden shakes his head almost in pity.
“Are you okay?” he asks, moving toward me.
My teeth sink into my lip as I lift my gaze to his. The violence in his eyes has faded into concern as he scans my face. I always sensed a protective streak in him, but I didn’t realize how easily he could slip into warrior mode when necessary. He looked just as comfortable fighting Rob as sitting at the piano or sipping bourbon at one of my mom’s parties. Another surprise, but I guess there’s a reason Apollo is pictured with a bow as much as a lyre.
“Yeah, I’m fine. He just?—”
I see the glint of metal too late.
“Aden!” I scream when Rob rushes at us. Aden turns just in time to absorb Rob’s dagger in his stomach. Rob’s murderous look contrasts Aden’s shock as the awful man yanks the blood-soaked knife from his body and moves to strike again.
“Stop!” I run at Rob and cling to his arm with all my weight to keep him from stabbing a second time. I try kicking at his leg too, but he flings me off like an insect.
The floor knocks the wind out of me. The room spins. My body feels like it’s on fire, and by the time I clear my vision, Mom is rushing into view as well.
Oh god. My mind is reeling. I can’t think straight. There’s blood everywhere.
Voices bark commands. Bodies move in jerky motions.
But it’s the one lying on the floor that has my full attention.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” Mom asks me as she helps me to my feet.
“Did who…? No!” I say when I realize she’s talking about Aden, not Rob.
She thinks he’s the aggressor!
“I’m fine. Aden didn’t hurt me. He was just trying to?—”
“He attacked her!” Rob growls at my mother, cutting me off. “Let’s take this fucker down once and for all!”
“No! Rob’s the violent one! He’s the one who was trying to hurt me.”
Mom swings her gaze between us, then settles it on the figure on the floor. Aden is hunched over, clearly in pain from the deep knife wound. The fact that it was made with an iron blade must be compounding the effect.
And yet, he’s still trying to get up to defend me. I see the determination in his glazed eyes.
“Aden’s not the enemy! Can’t you see that?”
My mother turns on me with an icy look. “No. I can’t. And I’ve told you countless times to stay out of this, Gabriela. You clearly don’t have the stomach for it.”
“Stomach for what?”
“For reality! What needs to be done!”
She waves toward Aden, who looks totally depleted from everything he’s been through.
“Restrain him and get him downstairs,” Mom says. “I’ll contact The Shadow about making the exchange. This ends tonight.”
Aden’s eyes widen as Rob approaches with what looks like iron restraints. He must have grabbed them during the earlier commotion. Aden is prepared to resist, but he’ll be no match in his weakened state. Everything is happening so fast. It’s all spinning out of control. I need to help, but how?
My mother moves toward the door, and I grab her arm.
She turns in fury. “Enough, Gabriela! What has gotten into you?”
“What has gotten into you?!” I fire back. “A week ago, he was your lover. Now you’re torturing him and chaining him up like an animal?!”
“Things changed. He was hiding an important secret from us. Surely, you can see how he betrayed us.”
“Betrayed us, how? By not telling you he was different? Of course he didn’t. Look where that got him!”
“He’s a monster.”
“He’s a good person!”
“He’s not a person, and the sooner you get that through your head, the better it will be for all of us. I’m extremely disappointed in you. You’re an intelligent, levelheaded girl. I thought you of all people would grasp the nature of this situation, but all you’ve done is embarrassed me since this entire thing with Aden began.”
“Mom, please.” Tears break into my voice. “Please don’t do whatever you’re planning.”
She goes still and scans me with a curious expression. I swat at my eyes, knowing I screwed up by showing so much emotion, but I can’t just sit here and let this happen. I don’t care if I get hurt too. I’m not letting her do this.
“My god,” she says in a bewildered tone. “You love him. You fucking love him.”
“I… Please. I’m begging you. This is wrong!”
“No, what’s wrong is you giving yourself over to an abomination!”
“He’s not! He’s…”
Fuck.
I drag my sleeve over my eyes.
“He’s what?”
Beautiful. The only thing that means anything anymore.
“It’s okay, Gabi,” Aden interrupts before I can say more. His voice is so weak. The iron, the violence, it’s all taking its toll on him. How long before he’s just a shell for them to play with?
“I’ll…” He shakes his head as if trying to clear it. “I’ll cooperate. Just…” His eyes clench shut in frustration, like he wants to say something but can’t get the words out.
He blinks back to the present, and my tears return. It’s too much. My shattered heart and exhausted brain can’t take it anymore. I’m tired of acting. Tired of fighting. I just want to run away and hide forever.
“Yes, I’m in love with him,” I spit out. “Of course, I am. He’s amazing, and I knew he was different since the day he moved in. He’s so fucking special, Mom, and if you can’t see that, then I’m sorry for you. I’m sorry you’re so polluted by hate that you’d rather torture one of the few remaining lights in this godforsaken place than take the time to see the treasure he is.”
Several stunned faces stare back at me, but now that I’ve started, I don’t know how to stop.
“Did you know he plays the piano? I’m not talking about how a regular person plays, not even a talented one like Dad. I’m talking about a gift that this world has probably never seen before. How can beauty like that be evil?”
Aden’s horrified expression lands on me, which only makes me more determined to stop this.
“Do you love her too?” Mom asks him.
His gaze crosses to her, and I hold my breath for his response. This is the situation he was afraid of. These are the criminals he feared, and rightfully so.
“You do or you don’t? It’s a simple question.”
He casts another look at me. “More than anything.”
Rage fills her face as she points her gun at him, but he doesn’t flinch.
“Mom, no!”
“Enough of this,” Rob growls. “This isn’t a fucking romance novel. Let’s put her downstairs with him. They want to be together so bad? They will be. We should have turned her over to The Shadow in the first place!”
“Don’t touch her!” Mom swings the weapon toward Rob.
“You know I’m right,” he snarls back, pointing his own at her. “I’m done playing games, Celeste. We tried it your way and it didn’t work.”
“Not a chance. I will kill you first.”
“Come on, we both know you won’t. I’ve been doing the dirty work since the beginning. You weren’t even able to shoot this monster when the time came. I had to do that too.”
While they face off, I run to Aden. His tortured gaze searches mine with so much love when I drop to the floor beside him. I wrap my arms around him, hoping mine told him the same truth. Even in his current state, he turns as much as possible to shield me from the violence.
“She’s not part of the deal,” Aden says, drawing Mom and Rob’s attention. “You can have me, but I’m not letting you hurt her.”
“Aden, no,” I whisper, my heart shattering.
He gives me a warning look, and I see it in his eyes. He’s given up. He’s going to surrender himself for me and there will be no convincing him otherwise.
My eyes are wet with tears as I bury my face in his chest. God, I love him so much. I can’t lose him. This can’t end like this.
Rob barks a harsh laugh. “Or what? You have no leverage.”
“I’ll cooperate. Whatever you want, I won’t fight. Just leave her out of this. Celeste, please. She’s your fucking daughter!”
“He’s right. You’re not touching her,” Celeste says to Rob.
After another long standoff, Rob mutters a curse.
“Fine. Get up,” he barks at Aden.
God, I can’t breathe. My arms tighten around him, and I shake my head against his chest.
“It’s okay,” he whispers. “It’s going to be okay.”
A soft hiccup comes from my throat as my tears soak into his shirt. He rests his lips on my hair in a gentle goodbye.
“Get up, Aden,” Mom says in a cold, even tone.
Aden nods, and my tears become quiet sobs. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix this. I’m not letting him go. I can’t!
He leans back and cups my face. His beautiful eyes scour my soul. “Don’t follow us. Promise you’ll stay here. You shouldn’t watch this.”
“No!” My grip tightens on his shirt, as if that will somehow keep him with me. “I’m staying with you until the end.”
He gently takes my wrist to remove it. “I don’t want you to see it, baby. I don’t want you to carry that.”
“I already am.” I blast him with fierce, tear-stained resolve. “Don’t you get it? Your pain is my pain. Aden. Apollo. God of Sunlight. Whatever name you use, wherever you go, I will follow. From now on, we’re together.”
There’s a sheen in his own eyes as he brushes away the tears on my cheeks with his thumbs. He looks about to speak, then stops himself.
“Enough stalling! Now, asshole!” Rob shouts. “Move!”
“It’s going to be okay,” Aden says with a faint smile. But it’s not. He’s already so weak, I don’t even know if he can get up.
Aden pulls free from my arms. My shirt is soaked with his blood, and my soul will be too if I let this happen.
He uses the wall to stagger to his feet.
“No,” I sob when he moves toward Rob. “Mom, please! Please don’t do this.”
“Turn around! Hands behind your back,” Rob barks.
Aden obeys, his apologetic gaze landing on me. He winces when the first brush of iron hits his skin.
I can’t breathe, can’t think. I just… react.
I bolt to my feet.
Rob lifts his gun.
Aden jumps in front of me.
And for the second time in as many days, I scream when two shots ring out.