Chapter 58 #2
Ken reached up with one hand, slow, deliberate, and touched the small droplet of blood that had emerged at the corner of his mouth. He examined it on his fingertip. Then his gaze slid back to Erebus, and the smirk widened into something lethal.
“Not bad.” His voice was terrifyingly calm. “Someone has gotten stronger.” He tilted his head, his eyes hardening. “Yet not strong enough.”
He moved.
Lucie didn’t even see it happen. One moment, Ken was hovering in place. The next, he had Erebus locked in his grip, both hands clamped onto the man like iron shackles, pinning his arms, eliminating any chance of escape. Then the beating began.
Ken drove his fist into Erebus’ face. His ribs.
His stomach. Each strike detonated with a pulse of white energy that lit up the sky like lightning.
There was no pause between them. No recovery time.
No mercy. The blows came in a relentless, savage barrage that made the earlier exchange look like a warm-up.
Erebus’ head snapped back. Blood sprayed from his mouth.
His body jerked with each impact like a puppet being torn apart at the strings.
“You like hitting women?” Ken’s voice was ice wrapped in fury. He buried another fist into Erebus’ gut, folding him in half. “How does it feel to be hit—” Ken said, landing another devastating blow, this one to the jaw “—you sick bastard!”
The final punch connected with everything Ken had.
A full-force, energy-laced strike that hit Erebus square in the chest and launched him across the sky like a comet.
His body rocketed downward at a terrifying speed, skimming so close to the ocean surface that the water split beneath the force of his trajectory before he caught himself, barely, hovering inches above the churning waves.
Ken dove after him without hesitation, closing the gap in a heartbeat. But Erebus looked up and vanished.
Ken pulled up short, hovering above the water, his chest heaving. His fists were still clenched, still crackling with energy. He scanned the sky. The horizon. The empty, mocking air where his target had been half a second ago.
His jaw clenched so hard the muscle ticked beneath his skin. He shook his head slowly, the fury rolling off him in waves that made the ocean beneath him shudder.
Damn. He’d hoped to kill the bastard right there.
Ken returned to Lucie and quietly looked at her for a moment, his eyes traveling over her battered body.
There was blood dripping from the cut on her lip.
Her right cheek was red and swollen from where she’d been hit.
And before he put the shirt over her earlier, he’d noticed the angry purple and crimson skin around her ribs.
He reached out and very carefully helped her to her feet. He could feel her shaking from the pain. As carefully as he could, he lifted her into his arms. In an instant, they were surrounded by woods.
“I don’t understand. Why?” Lucie leaned against the heat of the man’s bare chest.
“Alexa,” he whispered. “I can’t stand her pain. She is a wreck right now. For her, I would part the seas … I would give her everything. I had to find you.”
“He thought that I was Alexa. I didn’t tell him. I just let him believe—”
“Shhh shhh shhh. Good girl. You did well,” Ken said soothingly.
“I had a premonition that he would kill her,” Lucie said in a whimper, feeling the muscles of the man tense.
“As long as he thinks you’re my mate, he won’t touch her.
I need to make sure I stay away from her and keep her safe from him.
And as for you …” Ken said as he effortlessly held Lucie in one hand and used his other to wipe some of the fresh blood from her face.
“He won’t ever touch you again. Selene has gone to Rogio.
He’s the deity that protects the vampires, and let’s just say you don’t want to end up on his bad side.
He has the council in the palm of his hands.
Trust me, I know. I angered him once, and it got me cursed.
Rogio’s been sleeping for a while, though, so no one has felt his wrath lately.
However, Selene has woken him up, and his rage will be directed at Erebus.
You will now be under the direct protection of Rogio. ”
“Why did Selene go to you?”
“Well, she didn’t come out and say it, but I know why she came to me and not Leviathan.
She is still protective of your aunt. And just in case, if Erebus did get the best of him, it would kill your aunt as well.
I was the one she deemed an acceptable casualty.
Especially since I’ve been refusing to claim my mate. ”
“You know she wants you, right? She plans to have you one way or another.” Lucie took in a calming breath. She was free. She was safe. And having a normal conversation felt incredible. It was helping to keep her thoughts away from what had happened.
Ken chuckled. “Yes, I know. I hear her talk sometimes. She comes out and talks to the darkness, thinking I can hear her. Well, I guess she isn’t wrong.
I watch her often. But I need to keep my distance from her, especially after everything that’s happened.
Right now, Erebus thinks you’re my mate.
I can’t have him knowing who my mate really is.
” He frowned as he gently eased Lucie back to her feet. “Are you okay?”
Lucie looked up into his calm, green eyes. He just had to ask the question that would break her tough exterior. Tears filled her eyes, and her vision began to blur. She sobbed quietly, and he pulled her into his arms, patting her back.
“I’m so sorry. Thank you for what you did for Alexa. I’ll never forget it. Ever.” Ken looked up as two people materialized in front of him. His eyes met the cool blue eyes of the dragon deity.
She felt a hand land on her shoulder, and she looked back to see her Uncle Levi. Ken lowered his arms from Lucie.
“Gently with her. She’s beaten up pretty good. I think she has a few cracked ribs. He must have been giving her some sort of block.”
“Ken … thank you.” Levi wrapped his arms around Lucie’s trembling shoulders.
“Don’t thank me. The bastard managed to escape. But Rogio will be after him now. Selene has seen to that.” Ken looked down at Lucie. “She’ll be safe from him now. And as long as Erebus thinks she’s my mate, Alexa will stay safe.”
Lee nodded his head in understanding. “We need to hunt him down then, because my daughter needs you.”
“She doesn’t know what she needs. I’m the one who needs her … but I will protect her. She deserves better than me.” Ken sighed. “Take care of her for me.”
“Ken, wait—”
Ken’s green eyes flashed at Levi. “I know about the premonition. All the more reason for me to avoid her, especially now. Lucie could have freed herself by saying who her mate was. Erebus would’ve had no interest in her then.
Instead …” Ken squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, then looked at Levi.
I don’t know what he did to her. But from the looks of her clothes …
Levi clenched his jaw and blinked once, inhaling slowly. From her smell and his bare chest, she was obviously wearing Ken’s shirt. If that was the case …
He couldn’t imagine what she’d been through, and he felt guilty because she was protecting his daughter.
“How did you find her?” Levi asked quietly.
“Selene. Apparently, I’m more expendable than you are.” Ken chuckled. “Get her the medical attention she needs. I’ll be around.”
“Ken!” Levi shouted, but the man had already left. “Damn him …”
“Lucie …” Abe whispered as he slid to his knees next to her. He looked down, avoiding her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t find you. I’m sorry.”
She separated herself just enough from the chest in front of her and looked down at the half-demon, her servant … and her friend.
“Don’t. This isn’t your fault.” She gave him a weak smile. She could see how exhausted he was. It was obvious they’d been searching tirelessly for her.
Lee stepped back from her and looked at her face. His eyes flickered darkly as he examined the handprint across her swollen cheek, her bloodied lip … “I wonder if your grandmother can heal you through this block.”
“If it’s blocking her own healing abilities, I don’t think we can heal her magically at all.
The demons use similar blocks against other demons.
We’ll have to wait until it drains from her system.
” Abe rose to his feet. Lucie’s eyes looked dark and tired.
There was a sadness in them, and her aura was dull.
“Let’s get you back,” Levi said as he took hold of Lucie.
“Uncle Levi … I can’t handle a crowd right now. Honestly, I just want to be alone.” Her surroundings changed, and she was now in a wide room, in a place she recognized.
“It’s my pad at the top of the palace. No one will come up here, okay? Your parents will want to see you. They need to see you, Lucie. And your grandmother is a healer, so let’s have her take a look at you. I’ll have Derrick brought here as well. You both need each other.”
She turned to object but Levi was already gone.
She held her side in pain, and Abe was beside her instantly, supporting her.
He helped her to a couch and grabbed a blanket off the back of it.
He lowered the blanket over her to help cover her better than the shirt and almost nonexistent dress that clung to her. Then he sat next to her quietly.
She appreciated what he was doing. He wasn’t trying to talk to her. He was just being a comforting presence. Who would have thought that the demon who her aunt had killed would end up being the one who was giving her the most comfort right now?
Her body ached, and her eyes drooped with exhaustion.
Abe felt her head plop onto his arm. He glanced down and saw her eyes were closed.
His gaze wandered over her bruised face and split lip.
He felt liquid flowing from his eyes and he reached up in shock.
These were tears. It was like the first rain after a drought.
His heart was broken, and the liquid flowed down in constant streams. For Lucie … he cried.