The Sacrifice (40 page)

Oz
continued working on the cell door. “When Cy was captured, we were all in
Spain. We thought you and Lily were there. Vind orchestrated sightings all over
the globe to keep us busy fighting his army. We had no cell reception in Spain,
so it took Iggy a long time to reach us. We wouldn
’
t
have found out then, if I hadn
’
t gone back to the compound to check on Cy when he
never joined us. He
’
d left several messages that he came here to get
Lily. Then Iggy got through to me and showed me where you two were. Iggy
’
s
an amazing little guy.”

“Yes,
he
’
s been invaluable. Is Lily all right?”

“She
’
s
fine, honey. We just need to get you two out of here.”

Riana jumped when the lock clicked and
the cell door opened. She ran to Cy, dropped to the floor and pulled his head
into her lap. He was completely unresponsive. She laid her fingers against the
carotid pulse in his neck and felt nothing. She was too late.

Barely
able to move from paralyzing fear, Riana bent and laid her ear over Cy
’
s
heart. She glanced up at Oz with tears blurring her vision. A second later, she
detected a faint, irregular heartbeat. “He
’
s alive, but barely.
If he doesn
’
t get blood, he
’
ll die within
minutes.” She held her hand toward Oz. “Give me your knife.”

Oz
removed one of his daggers, then slashed his own wrist and placed it to Cy
’
s
mouth. “Riana, you are not feeding him. You
’
re already weak,
and
injured. My blood is ancient and strong. It will give him the best chance of
survival.”

“If
Vind returns before you get him out, you
’
ll need your strength
to fight.”

“I
am strong and have fed recently. I
’
ll be fine.”

It
took a few seconds before Cy
’
s natural instinct to nourish his starving cells
kicked in.

Riana
brushed back strands of hair glued to his forehead by dried blood, and watched
for signs of improvement. His skin was ashen, his face lifeless.
His
beautiful face.
The same face that held so much love when they were
together—and so much pain last night after he
’
d watched her with
Vind.

Oz reached with his free arm and
pulled her against his side. “I love you, my beautiful daughter,” he whispered.
“Cy will be fine once we get the two of you home.”

Riana
pulled back and looked into his eyes. “Dad, I need you to take Cy and leave,
now, before Vind returns. I can
’
t bear for him to harm anyone else I love. But…I
can
’
t go with you.”

Oz
froze. “What do you mean you can
’
t go?”

Riana
released a weary breath. “This thing around my neck is some type of bomb. If I
go beyond a hundred feet of this place, it
’
ll explode.
”

Oz
looked closely at the necklace. “There is no way we
’
re
leaving here without you. We
’
ll get that thing off honey, don
’
t
you worry.”

“You
don
’
t understand. Vind could be back any minute and
call his troops for reinforcement. He has his entire army at his disposal. What
do we have—less than fifty people? You
have
to get Cy out of here.” Riana
’
s
heart pounded against her chest, and panic started to set in.

Oz
pulled her close. “I promise. We will get you both out. I
’
ve
sent for all of the Protectors. Before long, we
’
ll have our own army
here to fight.”

“You
don
’
t even know how many are left.” Riana
’
s
voice rose to a shrill pitch. “Vind said over half of the Protectors are dead.
Please, Dad, please, just take Cy and go!

“Baby,”
a voice said, so weak it was barely audible. “I
’
m not leaving without
you.”

“Oh
God, Cy, you
’
re awake!” Her tears dropped to his face and
streaked through the dried blood.

“Sounds like perfect timing, too,
before you ship me off without you.” He tried to smile through cracked lips and
winced.

Her
heart cringed at the pain in his voice. “Yeah,” Riana said, trying to sound
stern. “Someone who can
’
t even smile really needs to stay and fight an
army.”

Cy
pulled her hand to his lips and placed a soft kiss on her fingers. “You
’
re
so beautiful when you
’
re mad.”

“I
’
m
not mad. I
’
m frightened. You can
’
t even
stand. Cy,
please
let them take you to safety,” she pleaded.

Cy
glared at her through swollen, determined eyes. “Baby, I came here to
get
you, and I
’
m
not
leaving without you.”

The
door leading into the cells slammed, followed by several sets of footsteps
heading down the hall. Oz jumped up and pulled his gun, then relaxed. “It
’
s
Alpheus, Kam and the girls,” he told Riana.

Anger
shot through Riana as Alpheus came into sight, and Kam
’
s
gun was shoved against the butler
’
s back. “Take that gun off him! If it wasn
’
t
for him, I wouldn
’
t have made it down here.”

Kam
held up his hands. “Sorry. I had to make sure he wasn
’
t
leading us into a trap.”

Kyra
and Elle moved closer and stared at Cy
’
s bloody body. Elle
sank to her knees on the floor beside Riana and pulled her into a tight hug. “I
thought I
’
d never see you again.”

“Me
too,” Riana said. “I had no choice. Vind threatened to poison Cy and my father
if I didn
’
t leave with him. Then he threatened Lily and
there was no hope of getting away.”

 Elle pulled back and looked at
Riana, her eyes full of unshed tears. “I told them you were a self-sacrificing
psycho, and Vind had threatened someone.”

Cy
opened his swollen eyes and glanced up at Elle. “Hey watch it,” he said in a
weak voice. “You
’
re talking about the woman I love.”

Kam
snorted. “You have a lot of room to talk. What on earth made you think you
could come here, alone, and take on an army of feeders? If you weren
’
t
in such bad shape, you
’
d be getting your ass whipped right now.”

“That
wasn
’
t my intention. I got too close.”

Oz
had removed the shirt tied around Cy
’
s leg and inspected
the wound. “Is this what I think it is?”

“Yeah,
it
’
s what stopped me from transporting when I got
caught.”

Oz
glanced up at Kam. “Where
’
s Miles?”

“He and some of the others are still
searching the castle.”

“Call
him. Riana said there
’
s a clinic on the third floor. Tell Miles to
secure it. We need to get Cy up there so Riana can remove the bullet from his
leg. We can
’
t stop the bleeding until it
’
s out.
”

Elle’s
head tilted and her brows creased. “Um…hasn
’
t it occurred to
anyone to get them out of here first, and take it out at the compound?”

Riana spoke before Oz had the chance.
“Neither of them will leave without me, and I have a bomb around my neck.”

Kam
squatted beside Cy. “He doesn
’
t look like he
’
s in good enough
shape to put up a fight. If we need to, Miles and I can forcefully take him.”

Cy
’
s
gaze jerked in Kam
’
s direction. “
Shut up, Kam.
”

Kam
chuckled.
“I never thought I
’
d
be glad to hear you say that.”

“How many Protectors have arrived?” Oz
asked Kam.

“Around
sixty or seventy. The call went out to around two hundred. They
’
re
on the way.”

“Send
a group down the road to intercept Vind in case he slips by Declan
’
s
team at the airport. He can
’
t see us before we have him in custody, or he
’
ll
call in reinforcements. Go find Iggy and see if he can sniff out the devices
that set this thing off,” Oz said, pointing at Riana
’
s
neck. “Each one Iggy locates, you deactivate. Kyra, take Elle and keep anyone
off their backs while they work.”

Riana glanced at Kam. “Iggy already
knows this. Vind said the necklace would activate at twenty-five, fifty, and
one-hundred feet in every direction.”

“This
is critical, Kam,” Oz said. “You have to be sure to find every device. If not,
we
’
ll lose her when she crosses.”

Kam
shook his head. “We will
not
lose her.” He reached down and laid his
hand on Cy
’
s arm. “You have my word.”

***

Oz took out his cell and called Miles.
“Is the castle secured?”

“Yes,
I
’
m on my way down there to lock up some prisoners,”
Miles said.
“Most are house staff. Hostile or not, it
’
s
the safest place for them until this is over.”

Oz ran his hand down his goatee.
“Okay, position some of the men on the roof. Tell them to take out any feeder
that approaches. When you get down here, I need your help getting Cy upstairs.”

Minutes later, Oz and Miles headed to
the third floor with Cy. Oz stopped when he noticed Riana hobbling on her foot.
“Can you make it?”

“Yes. I suspect Soren cracked my ankle
during our fight.”

Oz
wrapped his free arm around her waist. “Here, lean on me, honey.” He was in awe
of the way she
’
d fought someone three times her size to get
inside Cy
’
s cell. She was remarkable, brave, strong and
determined. His heart swelled with pride that she was his daughter.

As they entered the clinic, the sound
of crying babies came from one of the rooms. After they helped Cy onto a table,
and pulled a chair over for Riana to sit on while she worked, Oz followed the
sound to one of the closed doors. He turned the door knob but it was locked. He
stepped back and kicked. Wood splintered and the door slammed open against the
wall. A female screamed and pulled two small infants closer, shielding them
from harm.

Oz
softened his expression and held out his hands. “I
’
ll
not harm you or your babies. Who are you?”

She
visibly shook and glared at him in silence. M…
my name is Maggie Connors.
”

“Harlan
Connors
’
wife? Are your babies healthy enough to
transport?” Oz stepped toward her and she shrugged away from him. “I realize
you
’
ve been through an ordeal, but in order to get you
and the babies home, you have to trust me. I am Ozeas, commander of the
Protectors.”

The woman burst into tears. “Is my
husband all right?”

“He
’
s
fine. He
’
s in custody at the compound until he goes before
the council. He
’
s been charged with his part in Vind
’
s
escape.
”

“But he was only trying to protect his
family,” she cried.

“I
understand, and I
’
m sure the council will also. We can allow you and
the babies to remain at the compound until his hearing.”

Oz
took out his phone and called Elle. “Find someone to take your place. I need
you to transport Mrs. Connors and her babies to the compound. Find Alpheus and
tell him you need his help. I
’
ll find backup to help you get them off the
property. When you get to the compound, take everyone to the infirmary for the
doctor to check out. I need for you to stay there to guard them. The compound
guards are stretched thin. We won
’
t be far behind you.”

Oz
returned to the other room where Riana was irrigating Cy
’
s
leg wound. The bullet lay on a tray beside her. Pride swelled as Oz watched her
work. His daughter had found her true calling. She was a strong, caring person,
who put others’ needs before her own. For her, there was no sacrifice too large
for the ones she loved. He just hoped someday her love would include him.

Riana
put a few stitches in Cy
’
s leg and had just applied a pressure dressing,
when gunshots erupted from inside the castle.

Riana flinched and held her hand
toward Oz. “Give me a gun.”

Oz handed her one of his smaller
handguns and three clips.

“If
they need your help, go. We
’
ll be fine,” Riana said.

“They
can handle it. I
’
m not leaving you and Cy until you
’
re
safe.” Oz grinned. “You two get in entirely too much trouble when left alone.
Hell, I may never leave you alone again.”

“Yeah, think again, old man,” Cy said,
his voice significantly stronger.

Footsteps moved down the hall. Oz spun
around and leveled his weapon at the door.

Moments
later, the door swung opened and Miles shoved Vind inside. With his gun pressed
against Vind
’
s temple, Miles growled, “take that damned thing
off her neck.”

Cy
flashed off the table and jerked the gun from Riana
’
s
hand in one move. He had Vind against the wall with the barrel shoved beneath
his chin. “Do. Not. Touch. Her,” he growled, between clenched teeth.

“Cy,”
Oz said in a calm tone. “He
’
s not worth it. With royal blood, the council will
have to be the ones to end Vind
’
s life.”

“Screw
them,” Cy growled inches from Vind
’
s face. “He is
nothing more than a parasite. A plague we brought to this planet that needs to
be exterminated.”

Cy
had a point. As much as Oz wanted Vind dead, he couldn
’
t
allow Cy to be the one who took his pathetic life. It would prevent Cy from
ever becoming king. On the king
’
s deathbed, Oz had promised his best friend he
’
d
do whatever it took for Cy to lead their people. If he couldn
’
t
talk Cy down, Oz would have to kill Vind himself. He gently placed his hand on
Cy
’
s shoulder, and aimed the gun in his pocket
directly at Vind
’
s heart.

Cy
stiffened and cut cold, steel eyes at Oz. He could have drowned in the pain
consuming those blue depths. “You don
’
t know what he did to
her.” Cy choked out the words.

“I
know what he
’
s capable of. And, he
will
pay for
everything he
’
s done. If you kill him here, like this, he gets
what he
’
s always wanted—for you
not
to become
king.”

“All I care about is his death.”