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Story: The Siren

“Your reunion will bring an end to the world,” Seraphen said. “We can’t take the risk!”

“I’ll never touch her,” Ashburn said. “So you can stop hurting her!”

“Don’t do this, Ashburn Fury! Don’t make the same mistake I made. I should have ended the first Niamh, but I was as smitten as you are now, so the Exiles found another opportunity to come back. Believe me, boy, she’s the Siren—the seducer. The more you see her, the more helpless you will become. While she sings you the song, she lures you to destruction.”

“Sing . . . like . . . this?” Lucienne struggled to breathe out. She mustn’t let Ashburn be persuaded by this lunatic, this damaged creature, before she passed out and never woke up again. Ashburn already believed they were a threat to each other. “If you want . . . to murder . . . me, then go ahead . . . Stop poisoning Ash . . . with your . . . ridiculous theory.”

Ashburn darted a glance at a broken Lucienne before turning back to Seraphen, his anger burning brighter. “You’ve set your mind on a one-way path that can’t be reversed. If you ever try to hurt her again, I’ll find a way to terminate you!”

“Don’t be a fool!” Seraphen crouched like a tiger before Ashburn, ready to jump over him to strike Lucienne. “Think about this: who fed you to the Eye of Time? She won’t hesitate to finish you off if it comes down to you or her. And the day will come. Let me end her now to save us much trouble. You don’t need to watch. It’ll be very fast, and she’ll suffer no pain.”

“You beat me . . . to a pulp and . . . call this . . . no pain?” Lucienne laughed and coughed. Oh, damn, it hurt, but she kept on. “You’re . . . a pathological liar. I’ll never . . . hurt Ash. When I saw . . . the Eye could really hurt him . . . I caged it. I have remorse, but you . . . have . . . no conscience. You told Ash . . . lies . . . to serve your agenda.”

“See how dangerous she is? She’s trying to put a wedge between us.” Seraphen said.

“Enough!” Ashburn raised a hand, black lightning flaming at his fingertips. “Back off, Seraphen. Leave here!”

“You can’t kill me either, Ashburn Fury,” Seraphen reminded him. “No human can.”

“I can hurt you,” Ashburn said. “The lightning and fire I inherited from the Eye of Time can make you very uncomfortable.”

“You can’t stop me from doing my duty,” Seraphen said.

“If you kill her, I will kill myself and end my line, so you’ll still fail the contract.”

Seraphen looked darkly at Ashburn. Then he rose. In an instant, he disappeared without a sound.

Kneeling beside Lucienne, Ashburn drew a sharp breath. His trembling hand brushed her blood-matted hair away from her face. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I was regenerating inside the glass elevator. It is in the outer part of the Rabbit Hole. I didn’t want to stay in here with Seraphen. I should have come down earlier when I couldn’t sense you.”

“Take me up . . . to my men . . .” Lucienne said. “My doctor’s waiting . . . don’t want the . . . mad dog to . . . harm him.”

“Shush, don’t talk.” Ashburn gathered her up in his arms, letting her head lay on his lap. “I’ll take care of you.” His hand unzipped her blood-stained coat and then unbuttoned her shirt.

“What . . . are you . . . doing?” Lucienne cheeks burned with rage and vulnerability, despite the familiar pleasurable vibration pulsing through her at his touch. Was she now an easy target for him? First beaten, and then sexually assaulted? But she was unable to lift a hand to defend herself. If Ashburn went further, she prayed the prohibition on her virtue would burn him ten times more painfully than it had burned Vladimir.

When Ashburn exposed her leopard-print bra, she commanded him in a husky voice, “Stop it . . . Ashburn . . . Let me . . . go!”

Her mind power didn’t work on him. But he snapped his attention to her face, reading rage and accusation in her eyes. “You thought I—” His face burned red as he shook his head. “I would never take advantage of you, of anyone.” His voice turned to a desperate whisper. “I was only trying to stop your internal bleeding. I have healing power within me. For your sake, I hope it work.” He pressedhis hand on Lucienne’s chest, the end of his palm between the deep cleavage of her breasts.

Lucienne gasped. Pain and pleasure blended, taking her toward an ageless time and bringing her back to the familiar scent of sun showers, the colors of winter, and the wakening morning sounds of Chicago, her old home. She could feel the broken pieces inside her reweaving. As her pain receded, the pleasurable throbbing became almost intolerable. She rasped.

She’d never felt so connected to anyone. And it was more than marvelous.

Ashburn clenched his teeth, a sheen of sweat breaking out on his forehead, his beautiful eyebrows creased in agony. It then struck Lucienne—he was absorbing her pain! “Ash,” she said. “Stop . . . My doctors will . . . fix me.”

Ashburn ignored her, and Lucienne couldn’t stop him. His heat continued feeding into her body. New energy spread throughout her like musical notes, at first gentle and graceful, then weaving into a complex symphony, until it vibrated in her every cell. When it ended, Lucienne knew Ashburn had stopped her internal bleeding.

Ashburn removed his hand and crumbled beside her.

“Ash?” she called. Talking still hurt, but she could manage it better now. “Are you all right? You’re spent.”

“When I came down and saw you lying in blood, I thought I’d lost you.” He turned to her and buried his face in her lustrous hair.

Hesitating, she smoothed her fingers through the mane of his silky hair. “Thank you,” she whispered. He knew she brought out the Eye of Time and caused his fall, and yet he still chose to save her. Fighting her desire to stay in Ashburn’s arms, Lucienne said, “I should get back to my people. I don’t want them to worry about me.” Her pain was greatly diminished, but hadn’t completely abandoned her. When she attempt to get up, the pain turned sharp again.

Ashburn sat up, composed now. “You’re not in danger anymore, but you still have a broken rib. I can’t mend it. I don’t have the fullpower of the Eye of Time. You’ll need your doctor for that.” He scooped her up and carried her toward the invisible platform.

The liquid interface glowed above as the invisible elevator sped up. Ashburn held Lucienne tighter, but not too tight. She knew he was afraid of hurting her.