Coda (Alexa O'Brien Huntress Book 13) Read online

  “You know what, Briggs?” I stepped back, giving him space to get up. “I will let you go. With some conditions which we’ll discuss. Be prepared to serve your queen.”

  I left him to fume. Keeping Briggs like a pet was an annoyance and an inconvenience. I’d let him go. When the time came for him to prove himself, if he failed, then I would kill him. And if he continued to chase his hybrid dream, I might have to do something even worse.

  The moment I opened the door to my office, a heavy hybrid energy hit me.

  Willow looked up from where he sat at the desk, typing furiously on the computer. “Alexa.” A broad smile crossed his face, and he leaped up with arms extended.

  Nothing had made me quite so happy in some time as being swept into Willow’s embrace. I threw my arms around his neck and hugged him tight. He felt different but alive and whole. Damn powerful. And he smelled like wolf.

  He sucked in a deep breath, savoring my scent. The smooth incubus-wolf essence drifting about him hummed higher in frequency as he reacted to my presence. I put some space between us, not wanting to encourage any weirdness.

  “I’m sorry about last night,” I said, enjoying the way he felt. “It shouldn’t have gone down like that. I should’ve been the one to take you to hunt.”

  Willow brushed my hair back from my face and kissed my forehead. “Don’t apologize. It wasn’t the blood bath you’re picturing. I’m fine. Thanks to you. Are you ok? I’m sorry about Kale.”

  “Thanks.” I nodded, my skin suddenly feeling tight around my eyes as I blinked rapidly. “I’ll be ok. Eventually.”

  He rubbed a hand over his face and pulled away. “Shit, you all warned me, I know. But that vibe, that scent … you … it’s kind of killing me.”

  My face fell. I’d tried to keep this from happening. “Is it worth it?” I dared to ask. “To not be human.”

  His gold-flecked green gaze fell to the pulse in my neck, visible because he’d pushed my hair back. “Yeah, it’s worth it. The wolf aspect though, that threw me for a loop.”

  “Me too. I guess I’m not one of a kind anymore,” I laughed, rolling my eyes. “Let’s hope it doesn’t get us killed.”

  Willow laughed through the pain of his newfound craving. “You’ll always be one of a kind, Alexa. But seriously, it feels like I want to claw my skin off. Does it get worse?”

  Lips pursed, I regarded him with sympathy. This had not been what I’d wanted for us. “It does if you don’t scratch the itch.”

  Scratch the itch. Like I’d just done in the hotel with Falon. Power had a way of changing people not just physically or mentally but at the very core of their being. It bound us, rooted into our souls.

  I held my wrist out to Willow. The dynamic of our friendship had changed the night I turned him. We both knew that. However, it didn’t mean he had to suffer the way Kale and Jenner did. I couldn’t allow constant cravings for my body and blood to plague his every moment.

  “Here.” I waved my arm at him when he stared uncertainly. “Scratch your itch.”

  If I gave him blood often enough, maybe he wouldn’t want me the way the others did. Maybe it wouldn’t force us to a place we shouldn’t go. He was my friend. I wanted to keep it that way.

  Willow reached for my wrist, then stopped himself. “I don’t want to make this … I mean you don’t have to…”

  I smiled at his awkwardness, betting he’d have blushed if he could. “Yeah, it’s weird for me too. But we’re in control. It doesn’t have to be more than blood. It will get so much worse if you don’t.”

  Incubus hunger lurked in his eyes. It fascinated me, having seen Willow in so many forms. What a story he had to tell. I glanced at the computer he’d abandoned. Maybe that was what he’d been doing.

  With a nod Willow took my wrist, gingerly turning it over, like I was some fragile dame. As he brought my wrist to his mouth, he bared perfect vampire fangs. A small breeze lifted my hair. I held a tight rein on my power. He was too touchy right now, too fresh. I didn’t want us to play off each other. That could spiral quickly into strange territory.

  Willow bit me carefully but quickly, afraid he might hurt me or enjoy me. I held my breath, glad I’d had a romp with Falon. He heightened my power and control. Otherwise the incubus vibes taunting my senses might have succeeded in tempting me.

  A back and forth push and pull of power would have made it a true exchange, as it tended to be when two of our kind got together. But I held myself in check with effort so great my insides quaked.

  Instinct insisted that I taste him. The force dominating both of us demanded it. Still I resisted.

  I told myself the sting of his fangs and the touch of his tongue did not feel good. It did not send my imagination into a tailspin. It did not make me almost accept the argument my sexual hunger made in favor of tasting Willow’s heady vibes.

  Somehow I stood there and allowed Willow to drink my blood. And when the force caught him up in its dizzying hold and he tried to kiss me, I still had enough sense to stop him.

  “I’m sorry.” Willow gaped at me with huge pupils, wiping the edge of his mouth with a thumb. “You taste like something I don’t even have words for. If power has a flavor, it’s you. How is that even possible?”

  “Don’t apologize. That shit happens.” I played off the kiss attempt. No big deal. To put space between us, I went to the bathroom to rinse off the small wound.

  “I haven’t thanked you yet,” he called after me.

  “Sure you have. And it doesn’t matter. You don’t have to.” I patted my wrist with a towel and returned.

  Willow sat perched on the arm of the couch. “No, I mean for making me human. I haven’t thanked you for that. I know how hard that decision had to be for you. It had to be done. I know that. So thank you for stepping up and doing whatever it took to bring me back to myself.”

  I’d worried he would hate me. I’d sensed his resentment and feared he’d carry it forever.

  His gratitude set me free. A weight within me lifted, one of the many burdens I lugged around. “I’d do anything for you, Willow.”

  A knock on the door ruined the sappy moment we’d been working up to. If that was Briggs trying to be more of a pain in my ass, I was going to rip his heart out with my bare hands and crush it beneath my boot.

  I dragged the door open ready to let him have it, silenced when I saw who it was. An angel stood in the doorway. A warrior ready for battle. A kindred spirit.

  Salem nodded in greeting, peering down at me from his much greater height. “Alexa, what can I do for you? Are you in need?”

  “I am.” I nodded and swallowed hard. “I need to see Lilah.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Aware of Briggs’s proximity, I stepped back to invite Salem in and closed the office door. The angel glided inside, wings out of sight, long jacket billowing softly. His mere presence had me tingling.

  Willow leaped to his feet and bowed his head. “Salem. I know you helped Alexa save me from demonhood. There’s no way I can possibly show the depth of my gratitude.”

  Salem appraised his former brethren, his expression stern before suddenly breaking into a friendly smile. “If anyone deserves liberation from demonhood, it’s you, Willow. I see you’ve transitioned yet again. Self-preservation I presume.”

  I appreciated that they spoke in my language. Theirs was older than time and completely foreign to me.

  “Well, when you have as many enemies as I do, precautions must be taken.” Willow accepted the hand Salem extended. The two shared a moment, something far older than me passing between them.

  Finally Salem said, “You’ve done well, brother.”

  My heart grew in size at the display of loyalty and devotion. I couldn’t have asked for a better guardian than Willow. He’d continued to make me a priority even after he’d fallen, after they told him I was no longer his concern. I was curious to see what he was capable of now, as a hybrid so much like myself. Living in this city, it wouldn’t be long
before we all found out.

  Salem returned his attention to me. “You wish to speak with Lilah? Can I ask why?”

  “If it’s possible, then yeah, I want to talk to her. Both of you really, together. It’s about Arys and me. Things are bad. They went downhill fast once we lost our keystone. And there’s something else.” I recounted to him what Falon had said, leaving out what he’d called me. Queen of Light and Dark. That wasn’t a term I felt safe throwing around.

  The angels, former and current, mulled it over, exchanging a look. I waited, with little patience, to hear what they made of it all. Because I sure as shit didn’t know what to think.

  “As much as I hate to admit it,” Salem spoke first. “Falon might be onto something.”

  “Makes sense,” Willow agreed. “Most twin flames are human. Some, like the two of you, are not. But Alexa, only you and Arys walk the line between both worlds. Human and immortal. Life and death.”

  “But how would we take on this force that’s dividing us? Is it a person? An entity? A curse?” Desperate, I looked to Salem. “I need you and Lilah to help me figure this out. If it’s possible for me to somehow mend the rift, could I do it for all of us? Every twin-flame duo?”

  Hope bloomed in Salem’s gold eyes. It faded just as fast. “It’s a nice theory. But that’s all it is right now.”

  “A theory worth pursuing,” Willow insisted. “The force working against you isn’t an outside entity. It just acts like one. Ultimately, the force working against you… is you. It always has been. Balance must be maintained or the twin flames collapse under their own power. A keystone binds both sides together and keeps the balance from shifting too far one way or the other. It’s why I gave you one.”

  Right. Twin flames often collapsed under the weight of their own power. The intensity of their bond killed them. And if it couldn’t, such as in the case of Salem and Lilah, it drove them crazy. Sure the angel standing before me didn’t appear crazed, but he kept his twin imprisoned, not something a sane entity would do to the one it most loved.

  “So mending the rift would mean creating my own keystone,” I mused aloud, mind racing.

  “Or becoming it,” Willow supplied with a small shrug. “It’s hard to say for sure.”

  I turned my most imploring gaze on Salem. “This is why I need your help. Arys and I are breaking down fast. If there’s even the slightest chance that I can fix this, then I’m running out of time to do so.”

  Willow’s brow furrowed, and he ran a hand through his dirty-blond hair. It was Salem he addressed with an expression of worry. “If it’s possible for Alexa to mend the rift for all twin flames, then time is short for all of you. Salem, you’ve got to help her. It’s helping yourself.”

  Although he appeared skeptical, Salem didn’t allow doubt to make his decision. “It seems unlikely that you or anyone else can repair what’s broken between all twin flames. However, we’d be fools to leave any stone unturned. I’ll take you to Lilah, but it won’t be without some discomfort.”

  I sighed and huffed a lock of hair out of my face. Hands on my hips, I braced myself. “Just how much discomfort are we talking?”

  His chiseled face hard and emotionless, Salem said, “I can pull you into her prison, but it would mean leaving your body here. Where she is, your physical form can’t follow. It’s all illusion.”

  “Like the inside of Shya’s stone.” I nodded.

  “Yes and no.” The ginger hair woven into Salem’s dark braid caught my eye as he spoke. I respected his devotion to her. “Her prison is hidden so others can’t find it. The process is the same, but the location is different. Further away so to speak. It can be dangerous to go to these places. You risk being separated from your body.”

  Shit. Was that a risk worth taking? Maybe not.

  “I can anchor her here,” Willow suggested. “You anchor her there.”

  I glanced back and forth between them, fine artwork that somehow lived and breathed. So different, both of them. Willow with vicious new vampire fangs and green eyes. Salem with his warrior’s armor and braided hair. Each something I’d never have believed if I hadn’t seen them with my own eyes.

  A jerk of Salem’s chin posed as a nod. “That will work.”

  Quickly I learned that meant Willow would ground me here on the physical plane while Salem took me to Lilah. Falon had done something similar at the FPA building, when the entity had taken control of the vampires. I’d had to force it back to the other side while Falon kept me grounded. By slapping me. And then kissing me. But I trusted Willow would do neither.

  At Salem’s insistence I sat down on the office chair in the middle of the room. He stood on one side of me while Willow stood on the other. My need to find a way to fix Arys and me was greater than any fear I might have had.

  Willow took my right hand, slipping his fingers between mine. His incubus vibe teased me.

  Salem took my left in the same way. A jolt in my palm shocked a gasp from me. The power of his twin-flame light called to me.

  When asked, I nodded that I was ready. Though ready was a pretty broad term. I’d probably never be ready to see Lilah. The demon bitch tried to have me killed before attempting to use my blood to break her curse. She embraced the worst parts of darkness.

  A few blinks and the room swam before my eyes. The world seemed to tilt, like it tried to toss me off. Willow’s hand tightened on mine, and my focus improved.

  Until everything went dark.

  It was similar to being pulled into Shya’s stone although with much less stomach-twisting agony. Everything spun, and I flung out my hands to keep myself upright. Then it stopped.

  A blink and I stood in a dimly lit corridor. Candles in wall sconces bathed me in a warm glow. Artwork adorned the walls, and I found myself staring intently at a painting of a woman with long red hair. She reclined naked, a snake twisted around her lithe frame. Lilah.

  Salem stood beside me. He gestured to a nearby door. “I can’t promise she won’t be hateful and difficult.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Laughing it off was no easy feat when Arys immediately came to mind. He and Lilah shared many traits.

  “We shouldn’t stay long.” Salem put a hand on the elaborately designed door handle. It seemed to be carved from stone. “She tends to bring out the worst in me. I’m sure you understand.”

  I did. All too well. “We’re going to figure out how to fix this.”

  Salem opened the door, and I followed him in, braced and ready to react if anything should fly at my head. The illusion of having a body in these situations was strong, and any injury would come back with me.

  “Lilah, my love,” Salem called in strained notes. “Someone has come to see you. Do be on your best behavior so we don’t have an incident. Please.”

  His request was spoken in a tone I’d never heard him use in the short time I’d known him. Harsh. Like he had a mouthful of gravel. As if it pained him just to speak to her.

  We stepped into a lavish bedroom fit for a queen. A demon queen, as it were. The floor was bathed in pale lavender carpet so lush it felt like walking on clouds. I had to take a second to marvel over it.

  The room was large. A massive bed bigger than any I’d ever seen occupied one wall. The headboard was deep-green velvet, the blankets a mountain of marshmallow softness I itched to touch simply because I knew they’d feel divine. A sitting area at the foot of the bed boasted a fancy-ass sofa in the same rich green shade along with matching chairs and an ottoman.

  One window stared out upon a sea so vibrant aquamarine it hurt to see. But that was it. There wasn’t a damn thing else outside that window. No land. No people. Just water as far as the eye could see. And a sun in the sky rimmed in red. Where the hell was this place?

  In the corner, standing near a vanity with a large mirror, was Lilah.

  Peering into the mirror as she was, our eyes first met through the glass. She studied me with those orange orbs, showing no emotion or reaction. Mer
ely assessing. For now.

  A black dress hugged her body like a glove. A tight bodice supported her breasts. Her skirt flowed like a waterfall to the floor. The material appeared soft but flimsy. It was the kind of dress one might wear to seduce a lover. Had she been waiting for his return?

  Of course she had. She longed for him as much as she hated to look at him. Even now, my mind apart from my body, I could feel my own aching need for my other half.

  “What the fuck is she doing here?” Voice smooth and ice cold, Lilah turned to face us. A long ginger curl fell over one eye, the rest cascaded down her back. She tossed her head to move it, hands clasped as she awaited Salem’s response.

  Nothing he could say would be the right thing. Not in a twin-flame war of wills. Anxiety threatened to trickle in, but I stonewalled it, refusing to acknowledge its existence in front of her. Getting in the middle of a twin-flame conflict that was not mine was the last thing I wanted. I remained where I was near the door.

  Unfazed by his dark half, Salem approached her. Slowly though, like he knew the wrong move would cost him dearly. “Alexa might stand a chance at bridging the twin-flame divide. It’s too soon to say for sure, but if there’s any possibility at all, then we need to help her in any way we can.” Salem paused just out of her reach.

  Lilah stared at him. Hard. When he didn’t react, she laughed in his face. “Why would I want to bridge the divide? So we can live happily ever after? I don’t want that, Salem. I never have. Not with you.” A well-aimed arrow meant to pierce deep.

  If it did Salem showed no outward sign, though I flinched as if her verbal assault had hit me. “Save yourself the trouble of acting like a stone-cold snake, my love. It’s most unbecoming, and I assure you, I’ve grown numb to your ways.” In direct contrast to his words, Salem touched the side of her face with a gentle hand. “If this can be done, it will save us. And I won’t let your sadistic, self-destructive nature stop that from happening.”

  Gaze upon him, Lilah leaned into his touch, as if she couldn’t stop herself from savoring his hand on her. Watching them I watched myself. Arys and me. I saw us so clearly in the angel and demon before me.