She trembled, biting her lip until blood welled. “I’m all right.”
“No, you’re not. Let it out.” Dage’s warm breath brushed her forehead, the scent of sandalwood and power easing her muscles.
“No. I don’t cry.”
“Why the hell not?” His gentle tone softened the harsh words.
“Because it’s weak.”
He tugged her back down to snuggle against him. “Is not.”
“Like you cry.”
Large, gentle hands caressed her back from shoulder to tailbone, spreading warmth and reassurance. A guarantee of support and protection. “I promise I’ll cry next time I’m upset. Okay?”
She laughed, tears instantly filling her eyes and beginning to fall. “It was my fault.”
“What was?”
“I saw his death. I knew a year before it happened that he’d die. But I didn’t know Mama was with him, that he’d pick her up at the library on the way home.” Tears of shame and guilt scalded her face, dropping onto Dage’s warm chest. “I never said a word.”
Dage’s warm hand rubbed circles into her lower back. “What if you had?”
“What?” She hiccupped.
“What if you had told him? What would he have done?”
“Beat the ever living shit out of me.” The crazy bastard had thought she and Cara were possessed by the devil who had given them their special abilities.
Dage’s expelled breath stirred her hair. “Ah. So telling him wouldn’t have changed a thing.”
“I don’t know for sure. He may have heeded my warning—even if he did beat me first.” And Mama would’ve lived.
Dage’s muscles tensed until they vibrated from within. “I wish I could’ve met your father. For just an hour.”
Emma grinned through her tears. “Me too.” She placed a soft kiss above Dage’s heart. “Do you think it’s possible to cheat death?”
“Cheat? No.” He ran a hand down her hair. “But I think the future can be changed. The visions you and I share allow us to do so.”
She had every intention of altering the future she’d seen in visions. Their future. “Yes. But every time you try to alter the future, the new path becomes unclear. Isn’t it better to know sometimes?”
“Sometimes. If you like that future.” He rolled her over and brushed a gentle hand across her wet cheeks. “Better now?”
“Yes.” Safety surrounded her. A foreign feeling. The temptation to let go and hide behind the king rocked through her. But she was stronger and smarter than that. The king needed her whether he knew it or not.
“So, about round five ...”
Chapter 14
Dage took a deep breath, waiting for the wall screen in his private conference room to clear. The vulnerability inherent in the aboveground lab weighed on him. His mate should be at the underground headquarters up in the mountains. Only the need to cure the virus kept her here. Her intelligence was a resource they needed, but he had no intention of failing when it came to her safety.
He’d left her sleeping peacefully in their bed a mere hour ago, and only the heavy mantle of duty kept him from returning to her side to cuddle her close in a way she’d been denied as a child. He channeled his fury at the dead man into a focused calm to deal with the matter at hand. While he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he hated diplomacy and would rather take the demons on hand-to-hand.
Chalton punched in keys next to him. A pop sounded and the screen filled with the image of a large man dressed in the black uniform of the demon military. “Suri.”
“Dage.” A base growl emerged from the demon due to an odd configuration of vocal cords. “You having any fun being king?” Shiny silver triangles decorated his left shoulder, showing his rank as leader. The leader.
“Shit, no.” Dage forced a smile for his old friend. “You?”
“No.” Suri’s eyes flicked from green to yellow and then back again. He’d cut his hair short for once. Preparing for war? “I heard you found your mate. Congratulations.”
Irony ran through the demon’s words and Dage raised an eyebrow. “Thank you. I take it you’re still looking?”
Suri shook his head, silver hair shining under overhead lights. “You should know better, Kayrs. You just exposed your jugular.” He stepped closer to the camera. “A mate is a weakness a military leader can’t afford.”
“A valid viewpoint, to be sure.” Dage paused for a moment. The demon had better not be threatening his mate. “Of course, I just became all the more deadly. Something to protect and all that.”
Suri nodded, the light glinting off his shiny decorations. “Yes. Rumor has it Franco wanted your mate, and yet he’s still breathing.”
Dage laughed. “Franco’s currently the least of my worries.”
Suri nodded. “Even so, I’m surprised your peace lasted this long.”
“As am I.” Dage met the demon’s gaze squarely. “You and I were once great friends.” They still were, as far as he was concerned.
“Yes. Until one of your highest ranking officers stole my brother’s mate.” Anger sizzled in those eyes.
Dage rubbed his chin. “Will that wound ever heal?” For the love of Pete, eons had passed.
“No.” Suri gave a short shake of his head. “Not until Caleb Donovan’s remains are providing the earth with fuel.”
Exasperation swept through Dage but he kept his face bland. “You’ve been fighting Caleb’s forces for a hundred years. We stayed out of the feud because you both asked us to remain neutral.” Though at the moment he wished he would’ve locked the two stubborn men in a room and let them duke it out. For good.
Suri’s eyes narrowed. “You are no longer neutral. You chose a side yesterday.”
Dage lifted an eyebrow. “No. We are gathering our forces and putting our allies in place. Are you aware of the Kurjan virus?”
Suri lifted a shoulder. “I have heard rumors.”
The guy knew more than rumors. He was as connected as Dage. “Have you considered how it would impact your mates? Your family? Your allies?”
Fire crackled along the demon’s skin for a moment. “It would not impact us.”
“You sure about that?” The demons had thirty-two chromosomes and their mates twenty-eight. How could their twenty-seventh chromosomes be safe? He made a mental note to speak with Emma. If Suri was right, maybe a cure or antidote existed within the demon mates.
“Yes.” A red flush spread across Suri’s broad face. “Although we’ve declared war, as a gesture of friendship, I’ll give you one week to denounce Caleb and his forces as an ally, Kayrs.”
“And then what?”
Suri smiled slowly. “We take you out.”
The screen faded to black. Now Dage had to destroy one friend in order to keep another one. His diplomacy skills seemed rusty, though the damn demons loved a good fight, maybe even needed one, to keep their mental faculties focused.
He ran a rough hand through his hair, his gaze on the blank wall. A beep at the door had him nodding to Chalton.
Janie skipped inside, leaping for his lap. “Hi Uncle Dage.” The scents of baby powder and innocence filled the room.
“Hi.” He settled her into place, the need to protect her nearly overwhelming him for a moment.
She clasped a blue bear, known as Mr. Mullet, in her small hands. “This room is like the other communication room in the mountain.”
“Yep.” The mountain—where the little girl should probably be safely ensconced. The main fortress was impenetrable, unlike their current facilities.
“Who were you talkin’ to?” Her deep blue eyes, so curious and trusting, focused on his.
“An old friend named Suri.” One he may have to kill.
Janie scrunched her face in a frown. “Guy with yellow eyes? Sometimes?”