Willing Sacrifice Read Free Page A

who fed on the blood and magic of her kind.
    She wasn’t going to let that happen, even if it meant keeping Grace out of his reach forever.
    Brenya needed Torr to fight to defend her home world, and the way he would do that best was if he sought out a woman like him—a Theronai who was compatible with his power and could take her place at his side in battle.
    That had been Brenya’s endgame all along. He’d thought she offered to help Grace because he’d sworn to fight for Brenya in battle if she ever needed it. But he was already fighting for her. He’d been doing so for four centuries—since he’d been old enough to swing a blade. His vow to protect humans ensured that he also protected
her
.
    The crescent-shaped mark she’d left on his shoulder—the one that allowed her to summon him at any time—burned with betrayal. She’d tricked him. Offered him hope. Kept him fighting rather than wallowing in grief.
    She’d told him that so long as the disk on his back stayed in place, Grace was alive. Now he questioned even that comfort. What if Brenya had lied just to get him to do what she wanted?
    Nicholas let out a long, sad sigh. “You finally figured it out, didn’t you?”
    Torr nodded. “Brenya is devious. I bought her lie. For all I know, Grace is already dead.” Even saying the words ripped something vital from his chest.
    Not even the scars on Nicholas’s face could hide his sympathetic frown. “Which is why you have to let go. Grace gave up her life so that you could have one. Don’t belittle her gift by squandering it.”
    “I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want Grace to sacrifice herself for me.”
    “But she did. Of her own free will. The only way to honor her memory is to make sure the life she gave you counts. You owe it to her to live as long as you can and find some way to be happy. Fulfill your purpose. Find your mate and kill as many fucking demons as possible.”
    “It’s not enough,” said Torr. “It will never be enough.”
    “Maybe. Maybe not. But it is your duty to try.”
    “You clearly already have opinions on where I should start, don’t you?”
    “I do. Rory and Cain located a system of caves down south in desperate need of a good cleaning. Thought you could join us.”
    Torr opened his mouth to respond, but before he could pull in a breath, the air around him shifted. The flickering fluorescent glow of his hotel room morphed into a brilliant, fiery swath of light. The drops of shower water drying on his bare back heated, adding to the thick humidity creeping across his skin. The floor beneath his boots disappeared, leaving him feeling weightless for a split second before he once again felt substantial.
    A giant wave of dizziness slammed into him. High-pitched female screams of fear and the pounding of rushed footsteps echoed in his ears. The smell of dirt and smoke choked him.
    Torr blinked to clear his swimming vision, but all he could see was color and light. Metallic blue streaked with brilliant orange.
    His hand curled around the hilt of his sword, its cool, rigid contours a welcome familiarity. He didn’t dare draw the blade for fear that some innocent might be close. Instead, he planted his feet and shut his eyes in an effort to locate the cries for help.
    A warm hand settled on his shoulder. He tried to shrug it away and face the potential threat, but the grip was too tight.
    “Settle, young Theronai,” ordered a familiar feminine voice.
    Instantly, the world stopped its whirl and he was once again able to focus.
    The sky was orange. The trees were covered in shiny bluish leaves that looked more like metal than plant matter. One sun burned high in the sky, and below it, smaller and more distant, a second one cast its light low over the ground.
    Wherever Torr was, he wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

Chapter 2
    T orr spun to face the woman who’d touched him.
    Brenya’s long silver hair whipped around her shoulders as she grabbed his arm and started to run, forcing