“I don’t like this,” said Thomas. “She should have a choice.”

Drake lifted a dark brow. “Would you feel the same way if she could bond with you?”

Thomas’s mouth tightened and his blue eyes flashed with anger. “She should have a choice,” he repeated, this time through clenched teeth.

“She has as much of a choice as we did. She is a Theronai. She has to take her rightful place.”

“She doesn’t even know what the hell you’re talking about,” said Helen. “What is a Theronai and why do you think I am one?”

Drake’s golden gaze met hers and held on. “You know that feeling you get when we touch?”

Boy, did she. “Yeah.”

“That’s how I know what you are. Logan sensed it as well. You’re like me and Thomas. We are Theronai. We fight the Synestryn—those monsters—protecting humans from them.”

“And you think I’m one, too?” she asked, not bothering to hide her incredulity.

“I know you are,” said Drake.

“But I thought all the female Theronai had been killed two hundred years ago,” said Carmen.

“They were,” replied Drake. “I don’t know how Helen got here, but that’s one of the things we’re going to figure out.”

Helen pushed to her feet, tired of being talked about when they should have been talking to her. “Excuse me, but I got here in the normal way. Some guy knocked my mom up and ta da, here I am. No big mystery there.”

“But you shouldn’t exist,” said Drake.

“Then maybe I don’t. Maybe I’m just a big ol’ figment of your imagination, in which case, you shouldn’t care whether or not I go with Miss Mabel.”

Drake let out an exasperated breath. “That’s it. I’m done trying to reason with you. I’m going to lay this out for you nice and neat so there won’t be any confusion.”

Helen did not like the way this was sounding at all. Nor did she like the way Drake was prowling closer to where she stood. She took a step nearer to Thomas.

“You don’t want to do this, Drake,” warned Thomas.

“Yes, I do. We’re running out of time and unless we find that nest tonight, it may be weeks before we pick up the trail again. Do you really want Kevin’s sword out there that long? Assuming we’re able to find it at all.”

“You know I don’t, but this isn’t the way to deal with her. We’ll take her back to Dabyr and let Joseph straighten this out.”

“Joseph would go straight to the Sanguinar. I’m not letting another one of those bloodsuckers near her. Not after what Logan did.”

Helen had to agree with him there. She didn’t want any bloodsuckers—whoever or whatever they were—near her, either. Some fragile memory flickered through her head. Something about her offering to give blood.

Thomas placed a thick arm in front of Helen as if he was preparing to shove her behind him again. “You don’t have a right to do this.”

“I’m claiming my right,” said Drake, but he wasn’t talking to Thomas, he was looking at her—giving her this hungry stare that had her wondering just exactly what he meant to claim.

Drake took a predatory step forward and Thomas pushed Helen back just as far. “You can’t. There might be other Theronai who are compatible with her who need her more.”

“I found her. I’m keeping her.”

“Okay,” said Helen. “No one’s keeping me and that’s final. This caveman routine has gone on long enough. Someone is going to start answering questions or I’m out of here right now, even if I have to carry Miss Mabel.”

“We don’t have time,” said Drake.

“Make time.”

Thomas said, “She has a right to know what she’s getting into.”

Drake’s jaw clenched. “We both know it would take years for her to know everything.”

“How about we start with some basics?” said Helen. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

“Help us find our dead friend’s lost sword.”

“Why? What’s so important about it?”

“It’s dangerous,” said Drake.

“Dangerous in ways other than the obvious?”

“If a human stumbles across it, it would raise all kinds of inconvenient questions about its origin—questions that would get innocent people killed. And if a Synestryn found it, they could shatter the blade and release the twisted souls of countless evil creatures—those Kevin killed in his six and a half centuries of battle. The scales are already tipped too far in favor of the Synestryn. Losing the sum of Kevin’s life’s work would be devastating.”

Six and a half centuries of battle? “You make it sound like you’re at war,” said Helen.

“We are.”

“And yet no one knows? That seems hard to believe.”

“That’s because we’re doing our job well—hiding the war from humans as best we can.”

“If you hide the war from humans, then what do you think a puny human like me could possibly do to find a sword that you big, manly men can’t?”

Drake’s mouth twisted like he didn’t want to say the words. “We think you’re special.”

Helen held back a snort of disbelief by sheer force of will. “Special how?”

“That feeling you get when we touch? I think it means you have . . . powers.”

This time the snort broke through. “Really. Don’t you think I’d know if that was true?”

“Maybe. Maybe not. If I’m wrong, you go on your merry way with my promise to guard and protect Miss Mabel and all the people you care about.”

After what she’d seen Drake do with a sword, that was more than merely a tempting offer. Even so, she had to ask, “And if you’re right?”

“You promise to stay with me.”

This possessive side of Drake was a little scary and a lot overwhelming. She’d never had a man act like this over her and she wasn’t sure how to handle it. What she was sure of was that she wanted all of her friends to be safe. If she wasn’t there to care for them, no one would be. Her days were numbered now that she’d met Drake, anyway. Her vision would come to pass soon. This was her chance to see that everyone she loved was protected. Maybe her only chance. She owed it to all of them not to let it slip by.

“How long?” she asked. “How long do I have to stay with you?”

A golden flash of triumph lit Drake’s eyes, but he hid it quickly. “Until we find Kevin’s sword.”

“We may never find it,” argued Thomas. “You can’t bind her to you for that long.”

“I can and I will. If we don’t find his sword, we’re going to need her more than ever, so that’s the deal. Take it or leave it.”

Helen was sure she was stepping into something she knew little about, but she also knew that if there was a man alive who could protect the people she loved, it would be Drake. She’d seen him fight. She’d felt him throw his body in front of hers and take the blast of fire from that monster. He was fearless and she wanted to have him on her side, caring for her friends. “I want you to promise that you’ll take care of everyone on my list, even if something happens to me. You’ll keep them safe for as long as they live.”

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” said Drake.

Except he would. He was going to let her burn. “That’s my one and only condition. Take it or leave it.” Shooting the words back at him felt good, but the feeling didn’t last long.

“Done.” The second he said it, Helen felt the weight of her promise settle over her shoulders. Whatever had happened wasn’t normal or like anything she’d ever experienced, but it was powerful. Binding. Unbreakable.

Chapter 9

The smile of male satisfaction on Drake’s face made him even more attractive to Helen. As if he needed any help in that department.

“To seal the deal, you must wear my luceria.”

“I can’t watch you do this,” said Thomas, and he stormed out of the kitchen.

Carmen went after him, but no one seemed to mind that a teenage girl was headed out into the dark to follow a grown man she had the hots for. Drake didn’t even spare her a glance. His eyes were fixed on Helen.

“Wear your what?”

“My necklace. We’ve made a binding pact and the luceria is a sign of that pact to all other Theronai.”

“So they won’t try to steal you away,” said Slade.

“Silence,” barked Drake.

Both young men flinched and looked contrite.

“I don’t think I understand. Is me wearing the necklace really important?”

“Absolutely.”

Helen sighed and held her hand out. “Fine. Give it to me.”

“You have to come take it off.”

She remembered feeling the slippery length of the luceria when he’d kissed her, and there had been no clasp. Besides, she really didn’t want to get any closer to Drake while he wore that heated, hungry look. “I don’t know how to take it off.”

“All you have to do is touch it. Think about wearing it around your throat and it will fall into your hand.”

It didn’t sound likely to her, but then again, a lot of what had happened tonight wasn’t likely. She took a timid step closer and stalled. She wasn’t a coward, but something about the way Drake watched her made her feel hunted.

“Come here, Helen.”

“You’re not supposed to touch me, remember?”

“We won’t have to worry about that once you’re wearing my luceria.”

“It doesn’t really go with my outfit.”

“You’re scared.”

“Hell yes, I’m scared. My world has been turned upside down tonight. I don’t understand half of what I’ve seen and now I’ve made a promise to a man who is going to watch me . . .”

“What, Helen? What am I going to watch you do?”

“Nothing.”

“You might as well tell me.”

“No, thanks.”

“I’ll be able to know anything I want to about you as soon as we’re bonded, anyway.”

“There will be no bonding. None. I only promised to help you find the sword.”

“And to do that, you have to join with me. It’s the only way.”

Drake flicked a menacing stare to the two young men who were watching with rapt attention. “Leave us.”

Slade and Vance scurried to obey, leaving Helen and Drake alone in the kitchen.

“I don’t want you to be afraid of me,” Drake told her as he stalked closer. “It will only make this process more difficult for you.”

“You know what would make this process easier on me? Not doing it.” Helen backed up until she ran into the counter. The beginnings of panic skittered through her along with the thrill of something else. Something darker and more exciting.

“That’s not an option.” Drake took two steps and closed the distance. He gripped the counter on either side of her, locking her between his arms, but not one part of him touched her. “I need you and I’m not letting you get away. Touch the luceria, Helen.”