Sacrifice of Darkness: A Guardians of Eternity Novella

him. From the top of his glossy, dark hair and down the hard body covered by his familiar silk tunic and pants. Her mouth went dry, and her heartbeat thundered by the time her gaze returned to his face, sweeping over the starkly chiseled features.
“Where are we?” she finally managed to croak.
“In a cavern beneath the Mojave Desert,” he told her. “How did you get here?”
She frowned. Why would they be in the Mojave Desert? And why was Javad staring at her as if he were troubled by her arrival?
“I used a portal.”
“Yes, but why?”
Her frown deepened. Had Javad taken a blow to the head?
“You called to me, don’t you remember?”
He slowly shook his head. “What are you talking about?”
“With this.”
Terra grabbed the chain around her neck, pulling it up to reveal the medallion hidden beneath her robe.
With a muttered curse, Javad jerked his hand up to touch his neck as if searching for something that wasn’t there.
“How did you get that?”
Terra moved so she was kneeling, directly facing Javad. She couldn’t heal a vampire, but she might be able to clear the obvious confusion from his mind.
“It arrived at the temple this morning.”
He hissed in anger. “Someone must have taken it off me while I was laying here unconscious. The same time they stole my dagger.”
“Impossible. Only you could have used the magic to return the medallion to me.”
“Me?” He sent her a fierce glare. “I would never have done that.”
Terra flinched, shockingly hurt by his response. Not only his insistence that he hadn’t used the medallion but also the seeming horror at the mere thought of seeing her again.
“I…see.” She bowed her head, hiding the stupid tears that filled her eyes. “Sorry. My mistake.”
There was silence, then she felt the soft brush of Javad’s fingers over her hair. “Terra, do you want to know how many times I’ve held that medallion in my hand and longed to speak your name?” His voice was low and harsh with unexpected emotion. “Just to see your face. Or hear your voice.”
She shivered. “You don’t have to make excuses.”
His fingers moved to cup her chin. “Look at me, Terra. Please.” He waited for her to reluctantly lift her head and meet his steady gaze. “Surely you remember my arrogance?”
She did. She used to watch Javad, amazed by the crowds of demons who scampered to get out of his path whenever he strolled through the club. His confidence had vibrated the air around him, containing enough power to make the earth shake. Terra had instinctively remained in the shadows, but astonishingly, he always sensed her presence, pausing to offer her a mysterious smile.
More than once their gazes had met and held. And held. For what seemed like an eternity, they would simply stare at each other, a strange sense of awareness settling in the center of Terra’s soul. She’d accepted that wasn’t just another frightening warrior who inhabited the pits. He was fascinating and exotic and so sexy, her knees had gone weak.
A wistful smile touched her mouth. “It’s hard to forget.”
His thumb absently brushed her lower lip, his eyes dark with memories. Were they the same as hers? The thought made her muscles clench with a hunger she’d tried so hard to forget.
“Then you know that I say exactly what I think,” he murmured. “I’ve never stopped thinking about you. Just as I’ve never stopped rejoicing in the knowledge that you were safe in your temple, performing the healing you were born to do.”
“I…”
Terra’s words died on her lips. For centuries, she’d complained that the Serafs were failing in their duties. She was convinced that her sense of restlessness had been caused by the knowledge that they should be opening their doors to anyone in need of their skills, not just those who could offer some sort of reward.
Now, she felt a niggling fear that a portion of her agitation was a direct result of missing this male. Could her devout desire to spread their healing around the world have been inspired by her gnawing hunger to return to Javad?
So much for the purity of my cause, she wryly acknowledged.
With effort she thrust away her unwelcomed insight. Now wasn’t the time to be distracted.
“So how could the medallion have gotten to the temple?”
Javad started to shake his head, only to stiffen as if he’d been struck by sudden inspiration.
“Vynom.”
Terra wrinkled her nose in disgust. Even after all this time, she still had nightmares about the brutal vampire who’d held her captive.
“I thought I could smell him.”
“These are his fighting pits.” Javad’s voice held an edge of ancient bitterness. “He said he’d been expecting me. Not surprising since he deliberately intruded on my territory. It was easy to assume that I would show up to shut down his business since I’ve outlawed fights.”
An unexpected jolt of joy raced through Terra as she realized what he was saying. She’d spent all this time terrified that Javad was still in Vynom’s clutches, enduring one punishing battle after another until he simply couldn’t recover. Then she glanced around, really taking in her surroundings, and a portion of her joy dimmed. She’d initially assumed they were in Javad’s private quarters. A closer inspection revealed the heavy silver door across the cramped space.
A cell.
“This is your territory?”
His lips twisted at her hesitant question. “Not the fighting pits. I manage a demon club in Vegas. We fulfill demon fantasies without violence.”
Ah. Terra nodded. She could easily imagine Javad in command of an elegant establishment like that. He’d always possessed an instinctive sophistication that was out of place in the pits.
“Does it make you happy?”
“I’ve found…” He paused as if searching for the right word. “Peace. Something I never expected.”
“I’m glad.” Unable to resist temptation, she leaned forward and touched his face.
A mistake. Instant, ruthless need sizzled through her. As hot and molten as lava. Which was ironic really, considering his skin felt like cool silk beneath the tips of her fingers. Icy and smooth, and dangerously addictive. A growl