"I did not go far, and it was with the knowledge that I would soon return to your side," he said softly, subtly moving forward. "Had I deliberately intended to flee, the pain would have been unbearable. Trust me, I tried enough times over the centuries to be certain."
She licked her dry lips. "No."
"Abby, can you tell me honestly that you did not feel my absence? Deep within you?"
The truth was etched upon her pale features even as she shook her head in denial. "This… can't be. I would know if some creature was living inside me."
"Do you want proof?"
She pressed even tighter to the paneling. "What do you mean?"
Dante slowly held out his hand. "Gome."
Abby paused, staring at his hand for long moments before at last placing her fingers on his own. Dante felt a rush of warmth at her unspoken display of trust. And another rush of warmth at the sensation of her soft skin brushing his own.
Heady stuff for a vampire who had been cold for an eternity.
With a gentle tug, he led her across the room to the large mirror hanging above the marble fireplace. Then, stepping behind her, he placed his hands upon her shoulders.
"Tell me what you see," he commanded in low tones.
She gave an impatient sound. "I see… oh." She leaned forward to peer into the mirror. "God, you have no reflection."
Dante rolled his eyes heavenward. "Of course not, I'm a vampire."
"It's just so weird."
"Abby, look at yourself," he rasped.
"What?" Her brows drew together. 'You want me to see I'm a wreck? News flash, I already knew that."
"Look at your eyes."
"My eyes? I—" Her words abruptly broke off as she reached with shaking fingers to touch her reflection. And no wonder. The soft brown eyes that had always fascinated him were now a brilliant, sapphire blue. The same blue that had marked Selena. A visible sign of the Phoenix that she could no longer deny. "No. No, no, no."
She stumbled backward, straight into his arms. Gently Dante turned her about and pressed her head to his chest as he brushed his hand over her curls.
"Easy, love," he murmured. "It's going to be okay."
A violent shiver raced through her body before she pulled back her head to stab him with a tearful glare.
"How? How is it going to be okay? I have some…
creature inside me." She gave a sudden gasp. "Oh God, that's why the demons were trying to Mil me, isn't it?"
His arms tightened about her. He could lie, of course. And for a few minutes she might actually be comforted. But in the end, he knew that she would have to know the truth.
'Yes. They sensed the spirit within you as well as the fact you are vulnerable. They will halt at nothing to regain their Prince."
A stark terror darkened the brilliance of her newly blue eyes. "I'm going to die."
"No," he swore in vicious denial. "I will not allow that to happen."
"And how long do you suppose we can fight off every demon on earth? Unless you intend for us to hide here for the next fifty billion years?"
Shifting, he placed his fingers beneath her chin and forced her to meet his stern gaze.
"It will not be necessary. With every passing hour, the Phoenix gathers its strength."
"The Phoenix is gathering strength?" She gave a short, humorless laugh. "Inside me? Is that supposed to be reassuring?"
A hint of tenderness eased his stark expression. "I only mean that it soon will be capable of masking itself so that the demons cannot sense its presence."
Far from comforted, Abby regarded him warily. "And what else will this thing be doing inside me?"
"I can't say for certain," he reluctantly admitted. "Selena did not consider me her confidant. I was merely her chained beast."
Her head dropped back onto his chest. "My God, what am I going to do?"
He laid his cheek upon the top of her head, read-ily surrounding himself in her sweet warmth. "I do have a suggestion."
"What?"
"We must seek out the witches."
He felt her suck in a shocked gasp. "The witches? You mean the women who put this Phoenix into Selena?"
His features hardened. Even after three centuries, he vividly recalled every moment he endured at the hands of the coven. The black dungeon. The chains that had burned his very flesh. The magic that had leashed him like a neutered dog.
His searing hatred had not eased, but his concern for Abby was even greater. There was no one else who could help her.
"Yes."
"But"—she pulled back to regard him with a frown—"surely they are dead by now?"
'Their powers are linked to the Phoenix. As long as it lives, so do they."
"And you think they could help me?"
"Perhaps," he offered cautiously.
'Then let's go to them." She reached up to clutch the lapels of his silk shirt. "Where are they?"
"Actually, I'm not entirely certain."
"What do you mean?"
"As I said, Selena kept most of her secrets to herself, but I do know that she met the witches on occasion. They must have a coven close by."
"In Chicago?"
He gave a faint shake of his head, having already considered the possible locations. "Not in the city. They will need a place that is well secluded."
"Why?"
Dante hesitated. Although he had determined not to hide the truth from Abby, he conceded that there was no need for graphic details. Not when they were only bound to upset her further.
"They perform… certain rites that they would not want others to witness."
Thankfully she was too distracted to consider the nature of the rites. Instead she chewed her bottom lip until Dante shivered with the need to soothe it with a soft kiss.
"Then how can we possibly find them?"
Now it was Dante who was distracted. The scent of her satin skin, the feel of her soft curves, the delicious heat that stirred his passions.
"Leave that to me," he muttered, his hands slipping down the curve of her spine to rest upon the swell of her hips. "Now, what would you say to a hot bath?"
"A bath?" The frantic urgency faded as a dreamy longing settled upon her face. "I would say that it sounds like heaven."
Dante silently groaned at the thought of seeing that dreamy expression for an entirely different reason than hot water and soapy bubbles. Reasons such as his hands skimming over that silken skin and tumbling those honey curls while his lips blazed paths that had never been blazed before.