Chapter 58
Lock
After drinking a bottle of blood that Mark practically forced down my throat, I raced up to the cupola where I felt Sam’s presence. If I could have gone to her immediately, I would have, but I couldn’t even see straight when we got back here.
Something was wrong. I could feel an intense flood of emotions that I couldn’t readily identify, but I knew they were bad.
Upon stepping out of the stairwell, my breath caught. Sam was on her knees, leaning over Seraphim. He wasn’t moving and I wasn’t sure if he was dead permanently or temporarily. Judging by the bloody stake discarded a few feet away, I assumed it was the former.
Fuck. I hated the guy, but this was exactly what we were supposed to avoid. Without him, Sam didn’t have much to protect her from Sibon. Wind was the only other magic she possessed and I couldn’t see that doing much good.
After what I’d seen and experienced today, I believed what Seraphim had said about us not being capable of fighting her. We were woefully underprepared and without the fire fairy, I feared we’d never stand a chance. Fighting her again was inevitable and I had no idea how we’d do it.
Dropping to the ground behind Sam, I pulled her against my chest. She went limp in my arms, hiccupping with her sobs. I wasn’t sure how to deal with grief. It had never been something I had to deal with because I didn’t feel it. I felt hers, though, and it made me shut my eyes tightly as I nuzzled into her neck.
“We’ll figure it out,” I assured her, even though I didn’t know if I believed it.
There had been two times in my life I’d felt true fear. The first was when I was forced to drain Sam at the warehouse. I knew she’d come back as a vampire, but I’d still shed a tear. That may have been the moment I became absolutely certain about the depth of our connection. It was the first time I’d experienced an emotion so whole, rather than the fabricated pieces I stitched together to pass as a ‘normal’ person in a world that would never understand me.
The second time I felt fear was when Sam left me. I was certain I’d lost her for good. All thoughts of power and blood escaped me. At all times, there was something dark floating around in my head, urging me to commit what most would consider vile acts. In that moment, all I felt was her absence.
Both of those instances paled in comparison to what I’d suffered today. We’d been completely at Sibon’s mercy and I was not only drowning in my own physical pain, but also the intense emotions rolling off of Sam as she faced the terrible consequences that came with a life of power.
Sometimes, you didn’t win. Over the course of the last five months, I’d been forced to come to terms with the fact that I was fallible. I had to consider the wellbeing of another person, whose safety I cared about more than any power this world could offer me.
There was nothing I could do for her now, though. She’d lost Joseph and I hadn’t been there to keep her from that pain. Once again, something had been ripped away from her, something she’d desired and cared for. And I had been powerless to help her.
Hemlock Giudice. What the fuck was I anymore?
“Lock,” she sniffled.
“What is it, darling?”
“Why are you feeling so sad?”
Stroking my fingers through her hair, I sighed. “Your emotions are affecting me. It makes me feel depressed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize. I just don’t know what to do with… feelings. It will pass.”
“What the fuck do we do, Lock?”
Pushing back against the emotions flooding out of her, I made an effort to clear my head.
“We’ll do what we do best,” I replied. “Inflict carnage. Burn their world to the ground.”
She choked on a sob. “I can’t burn anything.”
Fuck. Bad choice of words.
“Are you in pain?” I asked.
She nodded. “Not like with Joseph, though.”
Her voice cracked as she said his name.
“Belladonna, I will personally cut off the head of that snake. In front of this entire coven, I will get on my knees and present it to you. Then, we will sit upon our thrones together, just as we were always meant to.”
“You said they weren’t thrones.”
“If I say it’s subjective, will you kill me?”
I felt her mood lift for the briefest moment before it darkened again. Wind picked up outside as her breaths hitched. I ran my hands down her arms, feeling concerned about how warm she was.
“Sam, talk to me.”
She groaned and curled forward. Her skin was steaming and orange smoke was coiling outward from her chest. When I tried to touch her again, the heat ate away at my fingers, forcing me to pull back.
“Sam,” I repeated.
“Lock, it hurts.”
“What hurts? Tell me what’s happening.”
“It feels like it wants to claw its way out of me. It hurts. Fuck.”
Molten blackness appeared to move across her arms, settling in her hands. She held them in front of her as she breathed heavily. It was the same magic Seraphim had used, the one that created the black flames. I remembered him saying they couldn’t be put out unless he died, which I hoped was just him being dramatic because it looked like this tower was about to get a heaping dose of that magic.
I moved to stand in front of her, trying to think of what to do. Would dousing her in water do the trick? Doubtful. It would likely piss her off and cause her to deep fry me.
“Baby,” I said softly, crouching a safe distance away.
She met my eyes, the flaming orange in hers bright, almost glowing. As I watched, her pupils dilated, swallowing the flames.
“I don’t know how to stop it,” she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek.
“Release it,” I decided.
“It’ll burn this whole place down.”
“We can build a new one.”
Her tears fell faster as the darkness enveloped more of her hands. She cried out, dropping her head back as the air around her rippled. A scream tore free of her throat, igniting panic inside me.
What if this killed her? I told her I would burn with her and I meant it with every fiber of my being, but I didn’t want it to happen yet. This world wasn’t done with Samara Byrne and neither was I.
Closing the distance between us, I cradled her against my chest. The heat wrapped around me like a cocoon, the pain so intense I tightened my grip on her, drawing comfort from her while simultaneously trying to lend her my strength.
There was a pulse that knocked us onto our sides on the ground and I still didn’t let go of her. I whispered in her ear, not sure if she could process anything I was saying. Still, I kept going, giving her every piece of me I could find. All of those broken shards that barely made up a man, I offered them to her like a sacrifice.
My goddess. My deadly little witch. My mate. My Samara.
She sucked in a sharp breath and when I looked into her eyes, they’d returned to the beautiful amber color I saw in my dreams.
“Is it over?” I asked.
“I don’t know. I think so.”
“What was that?”
“Maybe the last of the magic. Raf said it burst out of me when…”
I nodded, not wanting her to say it aloud because it caused her pain. The whole thing was tragic, but I had to be grateful it was over. I did wish I could’ve killed the fairy myself, but I couldn’t have everything.
“This may be too soon,” I began. “But you should know that I don’t think I can pretend to be sad about him being dead.”
“That’s fucking rude,” someone with a much deeper voice than Sam’s said.
Sam’s eyes widened, shifting to look behind me. I groaned, dropping my head back and staring up at the glass. It was cloudy outside and I sent up a prayer to any deity that would listen, requesting a special lightning bolt to strike me down in this spot.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” I muttered.
“You’re alive,” Sam gasped.
“Well,” he drawled. “I was definitely dead.”
That Tennessee accent made me feel murderous. I thought about how long it would take me to kill everybody in that godforsaken state. I might have to set it ablaze on a regular basis to ensure they don’t try to rebuild.
“And just how did this miraculous event happen?” I wondered. “Did Dumbledore send you back to finish your task?”
“Actually, I think Sam and I completed our Nexus bond.”
He sat up, stretching his arms above his head with a loud groan. It was only mildly satisfying that he looked like shit right now. We could all use a good three day nap.
“Completed our bond?” Sam repeated.
“It’s something one of your prisoners said.”
“What prisoner?” I demanded. “What’d you do?”
“Lock doesn’t like sharing his toys,” Sam whispered, as if I couldn’t hear her clearly.
Seraphim rolled his eyes. “You took his face or something, I don’t know.”
“Ah, Gabe,” I said with a smile. I’d forgotten about him, but now I wanted to have another conversation. Before I took Sam out of town, I’d made plans to decorate his room in his own skin.
“Sure. Anyway, the guy knows a lot of shit and he told me that I can get rid of the pactum by solidifying my Nexus bond. It happens the same way a vampire is made, with the blood sharing, followed by death.”
“How’d you know it would work?” she asked.
“I didn’t. It was a last resort. You could have kept my power for yourself, just like a mate could do, but you didn’t. You gave it back.”
“I think it would’ve killed me,” Sam pointed out.
“Maybe.”
“So, the connection with Sibon. Is it gone?”
He rubbed his temple. “No, but it might be weaker. Unless we find that last person, it’s going to have a hold on me.”
“What does this completed bond thing do?” I asked, putting an arm around Sam. I didn’t like that they shared something like this with each other. If it made him more touchy-feely with her, I would have quite a few things to say about it.
He held his hand out and orange smoke swirled around his fingers. Sam did the same, the two of their forces meeting in the air.
“Our connection is stronger,” she said, looking mesmerized.
“Great. That’s exactly what I wanted to hear.”
Seraphim dropped his hand. “Relax. With the connection more open, it might be easier for us to share energy the way we need to. That means less lust-filled moments.”
A growl rumbled in my chest, making Sam laugh. It was so out of place and unexpected, but it eased the emptiness I’d felt in her absence.
“Now that this fucking fairy is safe, I’m making good on my promise, Belladonna.”
Her reaction was so powerful through the bond, I couldn’t wait another minute. I took her in my arms, barely making it to our bedroom before I tore her jeans in two.
“I was hoping you’d do that,” she breathed, staring up at me with eyes dancing with flames.
“I’m going to fucking devour you, Samara.”