“Uri…”
He turned to find her a few feet away. His world stopped as he realized that the blast had thrown her from the car, into a nearby pole. He ran to her side and knelt down to pull her into his arms. She was bleeding profusely.
While it might not have killed her on detonation, it was killing her slowly. There was no way she’d survive. There was too much damage. Every Daimon instinct he had told him that. He could hear her vitals slowing. It was what allowed him to know the precise moment when he could take over a soul to feed on it.
“Phoebe?”
She was so weak, she could barely focus on his face.
“Marry me?”
With the tiniest laugh, she nodded and gasped.
Knowing she was too weak to bite him on her own, Urian used his fangs to rip into his own wrist and held it to her lips. He lifted her up so that she could drink his blood.
At first, he thought he’d lost her. That he’d waited too long or not gotten there in time.
But after a few seconds, he felt her grip tighten. Felt her lips strengthen as she sucked and licked harder. His arm began to glow. Too late, he remembered that he’d had the power to save her life without resorting to this.
Damn it! Why hadn’t he thought of that? But he hadn’t used those powers in centuries. So used to hiding what he could do because of the way the others reacted, he’d all but forgotten them. I’m so sorry, Phoebe …
In that moment, he hated himself. He’d turned her into a monster for no reason.
“Urian?”
Heartbroken, he brushed the blood from her lips with his thumb. “I’m right here.”
“Where’s my mother and sister?”
He shielded her eyes from their bodies. “They didn’t make it, sweetie.”
Tears welled in her eyes. Sirens began to wail and too late, Urian realized the size of the crowd around them. All staring. The prudent thing would be to try a spell or …
Fuck it. Let the human mind rationalize it as space aliens or whatever psychosis they wanted to name it. Mass hysteria. Hallucination. They had more excuses than stars in the heavens. It wasn’t his concern.
Phoebe was. His only concern was making sure she didn’t get taken to a hospital where they wouldn’t understand her now Daimon blood.
So with that thought, he used his powers to teleport her to the one place he knew she’d be safe. The only place where his father couldn’t find her or hurt her.
Elysia.
The minute they made an appearance inside the secure underground facility, alarms went off. Urian cringed at the piercing shriek that threatened to shatter his already abused eardrums. Phoebe covered her ears and cringed against his shoulder.
Braden, along with two dozen guards, came running with weapons drawn to surround him.
Urian took their panic in stride. “Well, I’d put my hands up, but I don’t think Phoebe would appreciate it.”
Braden rolled his eyes. “Sheez, Uri, what are you doing here?”
“I’ve come to ask a favor and I need a doctor.”
Braden’s gaze went to Phoebe. “You know our laws.”
“And I know what you owe me. You know what you owe me. I need this from you. Don’t make me beg. Worse, don’t make me angry.”
Braden only hesitated for three heartbeats before he nodded, then motioned for the guards to lay aside their weapons. “Follow me.”
Urian glanced down at Phoebe as she began whimpering in pain. “Stay with me, agapi mou.”
“My head hurts so much.” She twisted her fist in his shirt.
“I know. It’s the soul. Just breathe through it.”
Once they reached the infirmary, Urian followed Braden into a room in the back and laid her down on the hospital bed. He stepped back as a stern-looking female doctor came in. “We don’t treat Daimons.”
Braden snorted. “You will treat this one.”
“Why’s he so special?”
“He built the facility you’re standing in.”
Her jaw went slack. “Excuse me?”
Hands on hips, Urian smirked. “You heard him. And I’ll kick your ass if you don’t.”
She gaped.
“Yeah, you heard me. I bought into equal rights. You’re an Apollite. Means you’re more than capable of fighting back. And my fiancée’s life means a lot more to me than yours does. Save it or lose your own.”
Irritated at him, she reached for a pair of latex gloves and made a grand show of putting them on before she went to tend to Phoebe. “Is he always that big a dick?”
“No,” Phoebe said, panting and weak. “Sometimes he’s worse.”
That succeeded in making the doctor laugh. Shaking her head, she forgot about Urian as she began tending to Phoebe’s injuries. Which was more than fine with him.
Satisfied that the doctor wouldn’t hurt her, he left them alone and stepped outside the room to speak with Braden.
Tall and blond, he was almost even in height with Urian. Like almost all Apollites. Since they were direct descendants of Apollo, the blond hair was almost always a staple. Though through the centuries some of them, such as Phoebe’s family, had married humans or other creatures. So it wasn’t unheard of to meet an Apollite with reddish hair or even a brunette. Still, it wasn’t considered normal for an Apollite to be anything other than blond. And they were almost always tall and brown-eyed.
Braden and his kinsmen had been civic leaders here in Elysia since Urian and Davyn had helped them establish the huge underground bunker back in the early days of America. Back when Theo’s daughter had fallen in love with an Apollite who had wanted a safe haven for his family to hide. Because they were Cult of Pollux followers, Urian had known better than to ask his father about bringing them into Kalosis.
Since the night they’d mourned Tannis, the CoP had been banned from their domain and if anyone mentioned it to Stryker, they came up short a pair of fangs.
And testicles.
Because he and Davyn had helped them establish their city, and were quick to come if they had any kind of trouble with Daimons who didn’t abide by their laws, they were given special privileges.
Like being able to come here even though Daimons were banned.
Urian arched a brow at him. “Aren’t you going to ask what you’re going to ask?”
“What do you mean?”
“I know you heard what Phoebe is to me. Aren’t you curious?”
Braden nodded. “That and why you brought her here.”
“Because if I take her home, my father will kill her.” Urian let out a tired breath. “In all these centuries I’ve never asked for anything or any kind of payment. I’m asking now.”
“You know it’s forbidden.”
“So is my helping you. Yet here I am.” He gave Braden a pointed stare.
At least he had the good sense to look shame-faced.
“C’mon, Braden. I know you have the ability to bend some of the rules. Phoebe’s harmless. She’s never taken a soul and she never will, I swear to you. She’s half human. More a babe than the infants here. She’s not even tasted blood to live on. Not until tonight when I forced her to drink mine to save her life.”
His eyes widened. “Half human?”
He nodded. “Another reason I don’t dare take her near Kalosis.”
Braden didn’t say a word—he headed straight into the room.
Urian went after him.
The doctor had Phoebe covered by a sheet. She was still pale, but some of her wounds were beginning to heal. However, the doctor held a peculiar expression on her face.
“Millicent—”
“She’s part human,” she blurted out, cutting him off. She met Urian’s gaze with an incredulous gape. “You saved the life of a half-human Apollite?”
“I love her.”
“That’s what she said. And I told her you were a bastard. Then she quickly informed me that I didn’t know you at all.”
He didn’t know why, but those words sent a warmth through him the likes of which he’d never known before. “Is she going to be okay?”
“She shouldn’t be. I don’t know what’s in your blood, boy, but yeah, I think she’ll pull through.”