Dying Wish: A Novel of the Sentinel Wars Read Free Page A

looking the taller man right in the eyes. “Leave. Come back when it’s over.”
    Torr sneered and uttered through clenched teeth, “Abandon her to die?”
    “She’s in a coma. She doesn’t know you’re there.”
    Torr’s jaw tightened. “What if you’re wrong?”
    “Then that’s even more reason to leave. If she can somehow sense your suffering, do you really want to subject her to that?”
    Torr gripped his head in his hands and bent over. A low moan, like that of a wounded animal, rose from his chest. “I can’t do this, Iain. It’s too much to ask. I have to save her.”
    Jackie tried not to listen. She’d already seen so much suffering. She didn’t want to witness Grace’s, too. It was selfish to wish for the bliss of ignorance, but she couldn’t save everyone.
    And that, in a nutshell, was why she had to leave.
    “You’ve done everything you can,” said Iain. “Let her go.”
    “Obviously you’ve never lost the woman you love,” snarled Torr.
    “Yes. I have. I know what it’s like—the pain, the guilt. You’ll get past it, eventually.” His tone was devoid of emotion, as if he were stating facts from someone else’s life.
    Jackie almost wondered if he was lying, but something in her gut said he wasn’t. Iain didn’t look like the kind of man capable of love. He seemed too cold for that, too emotionless.
    “There’s no
getting past
something like this,” Torr nearly shouted.
    “You can’t see a path forward now, but you will find one. Give yourself some time.”
    “You’re a cold fucking bastard, you know that, Iain?”
    “I know. And by the time you’re over Grace, you will be, too. For that, I’m truly sorry.”
    Jackie stood there, unsure of what to do. This conversation had nothing to do with her, and yet she couldn’t bring herself to slink away like a coward without thanking Iain for stopping Torr.
    She backed up, well out of arm’s reach. Torr stalked off, causing her to flinch as he passed by.
    “I think he’ll leave you alone now,” said Iain. He didn’t move to touch her again, as so many men had. He stood still, just breathing, watching her with calm, black eyes.
    He wasn’t as tall as Torr, but still nearly a foot taller than she was. His broad shoulders seemed to fill the hallway. Even though he was dressed in casual clothing, power emanated from him, radiating out in palpable waves. His arms and legs were thick with muscle, his chest layered with it. Faded jeans clung to his hips, the waistband tilted slightly with the weight of his sword, which she could not see, but knew was there.
    She could still remember the way her fingers had tingled at his touch the night he’d pulled her from her cage. Every Theronai here who managed to touch her had the same disconcerting effect, but with Iain, it had been different. She wasn’t sure what it was about him that had the ability to straighten out her jumbled nerves, but whatever it was, she found herself soaking it in, hoping he wouldn’t hurry off as he’d done so many times before during their infrequent, chance encounters.
    She looked at the ground, uncertain of what to say. “Thank you. For stopping him. He’s obviously not himself right now.”
    “It’s polite of you to make excuses for him, but that’s not going to help him in the long run. He needs to face facts. So do you.”
    Her spine straightened in indignation. She was thevictim here. Who the hell was he to treat her as if she’d made some error in judgment? “Excuse me?”
    “You heard me. You go traipsing around here, acting as if you’re not a catalyst for violence.”
    “You think I asked for this? That I did it to myself? Torr was the one who went too far. I just left my room.”
    “That’s all it takes. You’re torturing these men, making them think they have a chance with you. If you had any sense at all, you’d pick one of them and get it over with.”
    One of
them
. Not one of
us
. She noticed the slight distinction and found it