Binding Ties The Sentinel Wars - Shannon K. Butcher Page 0,72
Or I’m going to feed from the child until she’s dead, while you watch. Which do you prefer?”
Fury lit up Eric’s insides, driving away all the chill of the room. He felt his fingernails and toenails lengthen, his teeth extend down into his mouth. His pulse pounded in his ears and a low growl spilled from his mouth. “Touch her and I will kill you.”
Treszka laughed and patted his arm. “You’re so adorable when you’re helpless.”
“Let him go!” screamed Kayla. Her cheeks were red with anger, and she was doing her best to break free of the hold the demons had on her scrawny arms.
“You.” Treszka pointed at Kayla. “Shut up. You.” She pointed at Eric. “Decide. Watch the child die, or give me one of my own.”
Eric racked his brains for some idea, some glimmer of hope that would get him out of this situation, but he could find none. He couldn’t fight the magical bonds holding him down. He couldn’t hope that the bitch was bluffing and that Kayla would be safe. The only ace up his sleeve was that he might not be fertile right now. Maybe if he let her fuck him, she’d go away and leave the young alone. It would take her a while to figure out that he hadn’t knocked her up.
Assuming he didn’t.
He almost let himself think about the child that might result from what he knew he had to do, but stopped himself cold. If he stopped long enough to wonder what a life for Treszka’s child might be like, he knew he’d never be able to make up his mind. How could he trade the life of one kid for another?
He couldn’t.
She wasn’t going to go away. She wasn’t going to stop wanting a baby. Demon or not, the urge to procreate was strong, and he wasn’t foolish enough to think it would magically evaporate because he wanted it to.
All he could do was make the choice he was faced with now and hope he could live with himself later.
“I don’t want her to watch,” he told Treszka. “Send her back to the others, and I’ll give you what you want.”
Kayla let out a muffled yell and kicked her little feet.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “She’s not going to hurt me. I’ll come see you in a little while. Everything is going to be fine.”
Treszka waved away the guards and straddled his thighs. She took his junk in her cold fingers, making his skin crawl.
Eric closed his eyes. Checked out. Let her do what she wanted. Kayla was safe, and that was all that mattered.
Chapter 24
“I won’t let you die,” said Joseph, but it was too late. Lyka couldn’t hear him anymore.
The back end of the truck sloshed around as he pulled up to the front step of the Gerai house and slammed on the brakes. He jumped out of the truck and raced around it to get Lyka to the relative safety that awaited them inside.
His shirt that was draped around her was smeared with blood and oily black poison, but she didn’t seem to be bleeding anymore. For an instant, he worried that it was because her heart had stopped beating, but her panting reminded him that she was still alive.
Barely.
He was so used to feeling the potent strength of her spirit on the other side of the link, he hadn’t realized just how powerful it was until it was nearly gone.
Joseph carried her to the front door and smashed the lock open with his boot. He laid her inside on the couch and pulled out his phone.
Ronan still wasn’t answering, so he dialed Tynan. “Where are you?”
“I called for Logan.”
“You mean you haven’t even left yet?”
“I can’t leave, not with so many people here to protect. Even if I did, I’m not sure how much good I could do. I’m weak, Joseph.”
“I’d give you all the blood you need.” Every drop, if that’s what it took to save Lyka.
“And what of the pregnant women here? The children? Who would be here for them? Logan will come when he can, but there was a battle up north and several Gerai were wounded. He and Hope went to offer aid.”
“Tell them to hurry.” Joseph was freaked-out by the tremors that racked her body. She was pale, cold. He covered her with a blanket, but it did no good. “What do I do to help her?”