Desire Unchained

“You knew?” Wraith realized he was practically screaming, and lowered his voice. “You knew about this?”


“We’ll talk about it later. Tell me what’s going on. Where is Shade?”

Wraith swallowed dryly. “He’s here. He’s hurt. And his female … just hurry.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Wraith sank onto the bed next to Runa and put his hand on the back of her neck. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on feeding her comforting images. Hopefully, she liked the beach. Pi?a coladas. Warm sand. Anything that would give her a few minutes of peace to help heal the hell she’d just gone through.

It was only later that he realized that instead of killing her, as he should have done to keep Shade from the Maluncoeur’s clutches, he’d helped her.

Maybe because deep down, he believed his brother was already too far gone to help.





Eidolon left Reaver in charge of the emergency department and went straight to Shade’s cave. That Wraith knew about it was not good, but when he saw Runa lying on the bed and Shade unconscious on the floor, he knew it was a whole lot worse than not good.

“I got it,” he said to Wraith, who stood and let Eidolon take his place.

“Hurry.” Wraith’s voice was a tangle of worry and pain and fear. Wraith, who generally didn’t give a shit about anyone. Eidolon would never figure his brother out.

Eidolon reached for Runa, but hesitated, his palm hovering over her spine. The smart thing to do would be to kill her. Now, while Shade was unaware of what was happening and while she was too out of it to know. He could do it quickly, humanely.

Humanely. What a joke. Humans liked to pretend they were superior, above all others, but how superior were people who stoned women to death for cheating on their husbands? Or who made animals fight for amusement? Sure, demons weren’t any better, but at least they didn’t hide behind religious tenets and cultural tradition to excuse their brutality. Demons pretty much just had the excuse that they were demons.

“E?”

Wraith’s voice jerked him out of his thoughts. Eidolon had never been fond of humans and their arrogance, which constantly cracked Tayla up, because she liked to remind him that she’d never met anyone as arrogant as he was.

“I don’t think you should do it,” Wraith said quietly. “She’s been through enough at Shade’s hands.” He looked down at the floor, but whether he was looking away to hide his embarrassment at being caught showing mercy or he was looking at Shade, Eidolon didn’t know.

“We’re going to lose him, if I don’t.”

“We’re going to lose him anyway. Look at him. The curse is already active.”

An instant, searing pain sliced through him. Wraith was right. It was clear that Shade was in love with Runa. Killing her now might only accelerate the curse. All he had to do was look at Kynan to figure that out. Immediately after Lori’s death, his love for her had probably been stronger than ever, tied to his misery over both her murder and her betrayal.

Shifting into doctor mode, he performed a rapid exam, was relieved to see that Runa was suffering more from exhaustion than anything. Shade had held back. He flashed a look at Shade, whose multiple wounds covered his chest, stomach, and shoulders, and then revised his thought. Shade had definitely not held back.

E concentrated until the warm tingle of his healing gift ran down his right arm, and then he put his hand on Runa’s shoulder. Instantly, the light pink streaks on her back and the abrasions on her wrists healed. Behind him, he heard Shade struggling to get to Runa, but Wraith sat on their brother, holding him down.

“Let me up,” Shade snarled. He grunted in pain, and Eidolon figured Wraith had applied some sort of pressure.

“E, shit,” Wraith muttered. “You done with her?”

Eidolon frowned. Shade’s lips were drawn back in a pained snarl, and he was reaching for the flail on the floor. Dammit. Eidolon grasped Runa’s hand.

“Runa.” She rolled onto her side, her glassy eyes blinking as she became aware of her surroundings. “Shade gave you a safe word. You need to say it.”

“What?” She tugged the blanket up over her breasts.

“Safe word! What is it? He needs to be released.”

She paled. “Shadow,” she whispered. “Shadow.”

Shade sagged to the floor, stark relief in his expression. “I’m sorry, Runa,” he rasped. “So sorry.”

“What happened, Shade?” Eidolon asked. “Why are you injured?”

“What the hell is going on?” Wraith demanded.

There was no point in lying or beating around the bush anymore. Eidolon moved off the bed to kneel next to Shade and channel healing waves into him. “It’s not as bad as you think, Wraith.”