Embrace the Night

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living flame.

Sara screamed and shielded her eyes as pain lashed through her.

Gabriel stood where he was, watching Nina's fury build, until every ounce of her energy was focused on the girl writhing helplessly on the ground. And then, with Sara's cries ringing in his ears, he picked up a splintered piece of wood and walked toward Nina. The wood seared his flesh, and he realized in some dim corner of his mind that it had once been a part of a cross.

But the pain scorching his hand was insignificant. His only thought was to put an end to Sara's agony. "Nina."

He spoke her name quietly, yet it echoed like thunder in the stillness. Face contorted with anger, she whirled around to confront him, and he drove the stake through her heart.

For a moment that seemed to stretch into eternity, Nina stared up at him, her mouth open in a soundless cry of surprise, and then a torrent of blood spewed from her lips and she slowly spiraled to the ground.

In the space of a heartbeat, Gabriel was at Sara's side, drawing her into his arms, whispering her name over and over again. She huddled against him, sobs racking her body from head to heel, while he rocked her back and forth, one hand stroking her hair.

After a long while, she lay still in his embrace, her eyes closed, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Only then did he glance over his shoulder. There was no sign of Nina save for a handful of ashes, and even as he watched, a gust of wind caught them up and carried them away, so that nothing at all remained.

Chapter Twenty-eight

Gabriel checked into the first hotel he saw. Fixing the desk clerk with a hard stare that proscribed any questions, he demanded a room, warned that they were not to be disturbed for any reason, then carried Sara swiftly up the stairs.

Once inside the room, he closed and locked the door. With gentle hands he undressed Sara, inwardly lamenting the horror she had endured.

She remained quietly acquiescent as a bath was prepared. He lifted her into the tub, then carefully washed her from head to foot. When he was satisfied that every speck of dirt and debris had been scrubbed from her hair and skin, he lifted her from the tub, dried her, then wrapped her in a blanket.

And still she didn't speak, not a word since he had carried her out of the cemetery. It was as if she had retreated deep into herself. He had done this to her, he thought bitterly. If he had stayed out of her life, none of this would have happened.

She didn't speak when he put her to bed, though she refused to let go of his hand. Murmuring her name, assuring her that everything would be all right, Gabriel held her in his arms until she fell asleep.

How fragile she was, he thought as his fingers skimmed her cheek. And yet, she had defied Nina, proving she had the courage of a tigress and the heart of a warrior.