Maggie sagged in relief.
“Why were you screaming?” Gideon pressed. Afraid to hear the answer, yet terrified of not knowing. And blaming himself all the while. He should have taken better precautions. But he’d been too arrogant. And look what had happened. She’d quite literally been snatched away right under his nose.
Maggie turned her head and closed her eyes. A single tear slipped down her cheek.
Gideon was utterly destroyed. “Oh, God, Maggie! Did he—I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to stop—” He couldn’t even finish the thought in his own head, much less say it out loud. What she must have suffered. He’d take it all upon himself if he could.
“No!” She turned back in a rush, her eyes wide and sincere. “Oh, no, Gideon. Not that. I swear! He didn’t…he didn’t touch me like that.”
“Then why—” He shook his head, confused.
“He put his hands on my head, and he showed me things, inside my head. Thoughts, nightmares, visions, my worst fears, I don’t know what they were. But they were horrible. You, and the others, all dead…by my hands. He forced me to choose between my baby and you all. Forced me to…to… One by one. And then the whole world burned to ash, because of me. Because I wanted to protect the child I carry.” Weeping, she hung her head and let the tears fall.
His heart twisted, and he fought the chains again. He wanted to go to her, to hold her, to comfort her and tell her he would make it all better. But he couldn’t do that, not anymore, could he?
The cuffs were gone.
Even if he could get to her, he’d never be able to touch her again. He tried to shimmer across the room, but his bonds held.
“Maggie,” he said, anguished. “Maggie, don’t cry.”
“What if those visions were right, Gideon? What if—despite whether we get out of here or not—what if this child is evil? What if it doesn’t matter what we teach it, or how much love we give it?” She sobbed, her doubt-riddled, tear-drenched gaze meeting his. “What if it’s just inherently evil and brings about the destruction of the world?”
“That’s not going to happen, Maggie. Do you hear me? That is not going to happen!” Gideon gave up jerking at the chains, and instead, his whole body strained toward her. “We will smother that baby in so much love that any seeds of evil will wither and die before they can take root. We will show him the world, together, so that he cherishes it. We won’t let him go bad. You won’t let him go bad. Just like you kept his father from giving up.”
That seemed to calm her. She wiped her cheeks against her shoulders and drew a deep breath. “We have to get out of here.”
“I can’t break these chains,” Gideon told her. “Not in human form. I think they might be thulmate.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s a special metal forged specifically for Charocté Demons, to keep them bound and submissive. While in human form, I don’t have a hope in Hell of breaking them. Even in demonic, I’m just not sure.”
Maggie licked her lips. “Can’t you just shimmer us out of here?”
“No. The chain’s been reinforced with some kind of dark magicks. I can’t shimmer at all.”
“If it’s because I got sick before—”
“No.” Gideon twisted his wrists around. “The cuffs are gone. Even if I could shimmer, I won’t be able to take you with me.”
“Then you have to turn,” she urged.
“What! No!” He shook his head, unwilling to even consider it. “I won’t risk it. It’s too dangerous,” he stated. “I could end up killing you myself.”
“There’s no other way, Gideon. You have to turn.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Jesus, Maggie! Didn’t you hear a thing I just said? No!”
“Listen to me, Gideon,” she argued. “We will both die if you don’t at least try. All three of us will die.”
She watched his gaze dip to her belly, and she took hope. Something fierce and protective had kindled in his eyes at her words. But then he shook his head, and that light in his stare dimmed.
“Damn it, Gideon! Don’t you give up on me! You don’t have that luxury anymore. You’re going to be a father, do you hear me? A daddy.” He looked up at her, and the emotions she saw there were so raw, so exposed, she nearly faltered. But too much was at stake to back down.
“We need you, Gideon. I can’t protect us.” She wiggled her bound fists. “I can’t fight like this. I can’t stop them the next time they come back. I need you to keep me safe, Gideon. I need you.”
She wanted to tell him the rest, but she was too afraid. Too afraid he’d use it as an excuse to shut her escape plan down for good. Too afraid he might not say it back.
“Please, Gideon. I know you won’t hurt me, won’t hurt us. You have to try.”