Read Online Darkness Falls (DA 7) by Keri Arthur - Free Book Online Page B

immortal,” Quinn said. “She can still die, just as you can.”
    “Yes, but because we can draw on each other’s energy, we have a greater chance of survival.” He paused, his expression giving no hint of the fierceness I could suddenly feel within him. “Trust me when I say that Hunter—or anyone else in either this world or the next—will not take her away from me.”
    “Sentiments I totally understand,” Quinn said. “But the fact still remains—the sharing does not make her immortal.”
    “No one is truly immortal,” Azriel agreed. “Even the fates can be destroyed given the right knowledge. But she will become Mijai on death, and we are far harder to destroy.”
    Harder, but not impossible, I thought grimly. The reason he became a Mijai in the first place was because he’d sought revenge for the murder of a reaper friend. But I didn’t say anything—there was no point in giving my aunt any further ammunition. And although Quinn was undoubtedly aware of both the strengths and the weaknesses of the reapers, I had to wonder how much of that knowledge he’d passed on to Riley. He wanted to keep her as safe as we did, after all.
    “All of which sounds very convincing,” Riley commented, “but it doesn’t alter the fact—”
    “Riley,” I said softly. “You know how much I love you, so please don’t take this the wrong way—”
    She raised her eyebrows, a faint smile touching her lips despite the seriousness in both her expression and her eyes. “But I’m not your mother, so kindly butt out. Or words to that effect, right? You do know how impossible that is for me, don’t you?”
    “Yes, and yes,” I said. “The thing is, you have a family now—a family you’ve fought long and hard to have—”
    “Which is why I won’t—”
    “But I’m not one of them,” I continued over her voice. “And if it comes to a battle with Hunter, then the task is mine and Azriel’s. Not yours. Not Quinn’s. Not Rhoan’s. You all have too much to lose if you go up against her.”
    “And you haven’t?” She snorted. “You’re pregnant, are you not?”
    I blinked, but I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that she knew, given that she’d spent so much time by my bedside after Azriel had pulled me back from death. She might not be able to hear the deeper lines of communication between Azriel and me, but if Quinn could read my surface thoughts, then she undoubtedly could. Azriel—and the child we’d created—would have been uppermost on my mind even when I’d been unconscious.
    “Yes, I am,” I said. “And that is why I cannot understand your willingness to risk the lives of your own children for someone who is not, in the end, of your bloodline.”
    Silence filled the room. A silence heavy with emotion—surprise and anger being the strongest, but there was a torrent of other emotions swirling underneath, each one moving too quickly to define.
    Eventually, she said, “Hunter would not—”
    “Hunter would, and will.” My gaze flicked to Quinn. “You know that, don’t you?”
    “Yes,” he agreed. “But, as I’ve already said, she would not do so until she was completely sure of her position and her ability to beat me. She is neither of those things right now.”
    “And hopefully, never will be.” I felt like crossing my fingers and praying to the fates even as I said it—except that the fates were just as likely to do the opposite of what I wanted. They were contrary like that—at least when it came to my desires. “But the fact remains, Hunteris using the Jenson pack to control my actions. I need you out of the equation, not stepping further into it.”
    “You want me to run ?” Disbelief edged Riley’s tone. “I have never—”
    “And Hunter is as aware of that as I am. And as long as she has the threat of your deaths, she has me on a leash.” I hesitated, then added softly, “If you do not go willingly, then you will do so unwillingly.”
    She stared at me for