The Sweetest Burn (Broken Destiny #2)(81)

       
         
       
        

"There is more," Zach said, ignoring how I started to wave my hands in the universal gesture for Stop! Whatever it was, didn't he see that Adrian couldn't take it right now?

"What?" Adrian asked, the single word almost spit out.

For a moment, light glowed behind Zach's deep brown eyes, and I felt real fear. If Zach struck out at Adrian, he would kill him, and there would be nothing I could do to stop him. The lethal, mystic weapon in my arm worked on demons, not Archons.

Then Zach folded his arms and assumed his usual detached, cool demeanor. For once, I was relieved that humans seemed to be too beneath him for him to get worked up about.

"I told you that one of you had been alerting Demetrius to your location," Zach said, not blinking under Adrian's furious stare. "You were correct in believing that it couldn't be Costa, as Ivy was correct believing that it could not be Jasmine."

"Then who?" I demanded before the truth slammed into me.

Adrian didn't move, but for the briefest second, his features crumbled. Then they hardened until I wasn't sure I recognized the person I'd just supernaturally bound myself to.

"Me." Adrian laughed, a sound that more resembled rocks being ground together than an indication of amusement. "That's why Demetrius always knew who I was no matter what disguise you glamoured me with, right? Somehow, he can feel me."

Zach lifted his shoulder in acknowledgment. "As deep calls to deep, blood calls to blood."

Adrian spun around, striding past me. When he was halfway down the aisle, I realized he wasn't just pacing like he normally did when he was upset. He was leaving.

"Wait!" I shouted, energy returning to my limbs as I ran after him.

"Your tie to Demetrius is now broken," Zach called out.

Adrian stopped so abruptly that I had to pivot to avoid smashing into him. "What did you say?"

Zach didn't move from his spot in front of the altar. At the other end of the church, Brutus chuffed, then rose from his position behind the last pew. That's when I realized that at some time during our binding ritual, the gargoyle had run to the back of the church to hide from the light.

"Your tie to Demetrius is now broken," Zach repeated, speaking slowly so there could be no misunderstanding. "It broke the moment I tied your soul to Ivy's." 

"How?" Adrian asked, holding his arm out when I came nearer. "Don't," he said without looking at me.

"Screw that." I flared, grabbing the arm he was using to ward me off. "I knew who your real father was when I agreed to tether my soul to yours, and I did it because I didn't care. You are who I want, and you are not him."

"Ivy." He said my name as if it were painful. "I'm part of him, and because of that, I led him to you all those times. Because of me, he nearly killed you. He might be in New York right now, looking for you through me. You can't expect me to forgive myself for that."

"Yes, I can," I said, touching his face and refusing to back down when he flinched. "You didn't know, and each time Demetrius found us, you did everything you could to protect me, even when we first met and you couldn't stand being near me."

I couldn't feel his emotions, but I didn't need to as I saw his features twist with pain. "I always wanted to be near you," he said in a ragged voice. "The only person I ever wanted to get away from was myself."

I threw my arms around him, tightening my grip when his whole body tensed. "I don't ever want to be without you, either, and I wouldn't care if that meant Demetrius was always hot on our heels. We'd find a way around him, just like we found a way around our fates. If we can beat destiny, beating Demetrius should be easy."

He laughed, although it sounded choked. "You always make me want to believe in the impossible, even when I know better."

"In this case, you don't know better, but I do," I said, pulling his head down and kissing him until his mouth lost its stiffness. "You're mine," I whispered against his lips. "And I'm yours, from now until hell freezes over, or until we beat it back to where it came from."

He stared at me, and in his eyes I saw tinges of hope. Behind that was ruthlessness and an almost animalistic determination to destroy those who'd caused us so much harm.

That was fine. Hate was useful sometimes, and Adrian would need all of his before we were done. But he needed something else more, and I wasn't afraid because he had that, too.

Love. I saw that in his gaze, as well. Felt it in his hands as they touched me, in his arms as they wrapped tightly around me, then felt it seethe from his mouth as he claimed mine with a desperation that put passion to shame.