She felt an overwhelming rush of love for him.
“Yes,” she whispered. “Yes, please, I wil.”
He rose to his feet and pul ed her into his arms, kissing her fiercely. The sun sank to the surface of the sea, trailing banners of scarlet and gold.
A fist closed in Lara’s chest. She didn’t trust Zayin, not for a moment. But she couldn’t bring herself to believe that the Master Guardian would actual y hurt her. She edged backward toward the door, feeling with her foot for the threshold, keeping her eyes on him.
“Please.” Zayin sounded more derisive than angry.
“Don’t put me to the trouble of coming after you.”
Again. The unspoken word echoed between them.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“We’ve been worried about you,” Zayin said. “Simon in particular.”
“I’m fine. You can tel him so.”
“Tel him yourself. Come home with me.”
Home. A vision of Rockhaven rose in her mind, glossy and sharp as a photograph, the strong, stone wal s, the jewel ike windows, everything she’d once loved, everything that was permanent and safe.
She shook her head without speaking.
“Frankly, I’m relieved to find you alive,” Zayin said.
“This room stinks of demon. Demon and fish.”
Shocked, she met his gaze.
“You do know he’s possessed,” Zayin said. “Aqua Boy.”
Lara sucked in her breath. “You knew?”
“I knew he was a danger to you.”
“Not anymore. Iestyn cast the demon out.”
Zayin stared at her, arrested. “He did.”
“We did.” The memory of it straightened her spine.
“Together.”
“Wel.” Zayin leaned back in the chair, his big body deliberately relaxed. “It appears we underestimated you.”
“So you see. ” She exhaled. “You don’t have to worry about me. I can take care of myself.”
“Possibly. But then you have an obligation to protect others
. Scire, servare, obtemperare.” His smile was dark and joyless. “The only way to regain the perfection of Heaven is through the Rule.”
“Do you real y believe that?”
Black eyes flickered. “Simon does. And you are Simon’s disciple, are you not?”
Her chest felt tight. She didn’t know what she was anymore.
What she believed. “I can’t go back to the way things were.”
“No one would expect it. You’ve changed,” Zayin said, with an assessing look. “Other things can change. If you came back of your own volition, Simon would welcome you with an open heart and open arms. We need you, Lara.
What you have learned, you can teach to others.”
His words tore at her soul. More than physical safety, she craved emotional security. Simon’s praise and approval, a valued place at Rockhaven, were al she’d ever wanted.
The burden of freedom, the weight of fear, pressed on her heart. Her lips felt numb. She heard herself say, “What about Iestyn?”
“What of him?”
“I can’t just leave him.”
Zayin glanced around the empty room. “And yet he is not here.”
A flush heated her face. “He’l be back.”
“For how long?” Zayin asked.
She stared at him, stricken, seeing Iestyn’s face, alight with joy. Hearing Iestyn’s voice, bright with hope. “With her help, I can learn to Change. I can go back to sea again.”
Zayin pressed his advantage. “Let it go, Lara. Let him go.
He’s free to be with his own people now. And you can be safe with yours.”
“So you’re asking me to trade a chance at happiness for.
What? Security?”
“I’m tel ing you. Give up your infatuation with this boy for a guaranteed future.”
But there were no guarantees outside of Heaven. Iestyn had said that. The only thing certain was change.
Lara gnawed the inside of her cheek. She had changed.
She was more confident now, more sure of herself and what she wanted. She didn’t need to look to Simon for approval anymore or to the nephilim for safety and acceptance.
She had to trust herself. She trusted Iestyn. She wanted him, wanted what they could be together.
Zayin stood, big and dark and alien in the charming white room. Despite herself, Lara’s heart gave a little bump.
“We’ve both wasted enough time here,” he said. “I’m taking you back.”
“No, you’re not,” Iestyn said.
Lara’s head jerked around to the door. “Iestyn.”
“Hey, babe.” He smiled, but his eyes were cold. “We missed you at the party. You should have stuck around.”
Her eyes blurred. Her heart pounded. But a combination of pride and hurt and honesty held her back. Made her say,
“I wasn’t sure you wanted me.”
He winced. “I guess I deserve that. Stay. Let me make it up to you.”
“You don’t have to—”
“You’re too late,” Zayin interrupted. “She’s leaving.”
“Not with you, asshole.”
“You can’t stop her.” Zayin looked Iestyn up and down.
“And you definitely can’t stop me.”
Iestyn bared his teeth in a grin. “I’ve kil ed demons, church breath. Angels don’t scare me.”
Violence boiled up in the room, quick and hot as steam.
“Stop it, both of you.” Lara stepped between them, facing Zayin. “What I do and where I go is my choice.”
“Not after I get through with him,” Zayin promised darkly.
“But then you’d have to go through us,” a male voice announced from behind them.
Zayin’s black gaze switched over Lara’s shoulder. “Who the hel are you?”
Bewildered, she turned.
Morgan and Dylan stood shoulder to shoulder in the doorway backing Iestyn. They could hardly have appeared more different, she thought dazedly: Dylan, dark and lean, Morgan, broad and fair, Iestyn with his sun-streaked hair and hammered gold eyes. But at that moment, they were as close as brothers, united in her defense.
Her eyes sought Iestyn. He held her gaze, smiling crookedly. “I told you we missed you. I missed you. I came to get you back. Whatever it takes.”
A wave of relief, of reassurance and love, crashed over her.
She started to shake.
Sometimes you didn’t need words and guarantees.
Sometimes one look said everything and one act, one gesture of faith, was enough.
“Don’t be a fool,” Zayin growled. “Do you have any idea what you’re giving up?”
She lifted her chin. “I think so. I can go with you and fol ow the Rule. Or I can stay with him and fol ow my heart.”
Zayin stared at her, his eyes black and blank and opaque as always. “Simon wil never understand. Wil never accept your decision.”
She felt a quiver of anxiety, a flutter of regret. But she held his gaze without hesitation or apology. “What wil you tel him?”
A corner of Zayin’s mouth turned up in a barely perceptible smile. “That I couldn’t find you, of course.” He bowed his sleek dark head, in acknowledgment of defeat. “I wish you joy of your decision.”
He stalked toward the door. Morgan and Dylan stepped aside to let him pass. As his footsteps faded down the hal, the tension leaked from the room.
Dylan cleared his throat. “We’l just see him as far as the ferry.”
The two wardens fol owed him down the stairs.
Lara shivered in reaction. “Well.” She swallowed. “I’m glad that’s over.”