Free Darkness Arisen by Stephanie Rowe Page B

the insult. "You've fought beside me for six hundred years. You're questioning my ability to be a warrior?"
    Ryland didn't look away. "Yeah, I am. Now that Dante is dead, we still have no one who has stepped into the role of our leader. I will not let the Order die. It's more important to me than your ego."
    Fury began to simmer through him. "I am descended from—"
    "A line of males too weak to keep themselves alive," Ryland said.
    Ian stiffened. "That's all you see when you look at the legendary men who were the best Order of the Blade members ever to exist? That's all you fucking see?"
    Something flickered in Ry's eyes. "No, it's not all I see," he admitted. He met Ian's gaze and gave a slight nod. "Okay, Fitz, you have one chance. Get the girl, bring her back here, and we'll return to the mansion. If you snap, if you fail, you're done, and I will lead the team sent to strip you of your title. Got it?"
    Ian's lip curled in disgust, but he said nothing. He was worthy of being in the Order. It was all he lived for. He would not let them cut him out. If Warwick Cardiff was indeed the one trying to take down the Order, they needed him...and they might need Alice, depending on what her true story was.
    He gave no response to Ryland. He simply pushed past him, heading right toward the woman who was more than he could handle, toward the woman who could die any second, toward the woman who was supposed to be his sheva , and yet inexplicably didn't want a damn thing to do with him.
    Too bad for her.
    They were about to get involved, whether she wanted to or not.
    Risky as it was, he couldn't help but feel damned pleased at the idea of making things happen with the angel who could bring him to his knees with a single kiss.
    Self-preservation? Fuck it. He was going in, and he did nothing halfway.

Chapter Five
    Alice's heart began to race as she saw Ian dive through the waves in pursuit of her, his powerful body breaking through the whitecaps with minimal effort. Just like before, the mere anticipation of his nearness sent waves of awareness and desire rushing through her...along with a sense of danger.
    He was too determined, and the look on Ry's face was too arrogant as he followed Ian through the waves. She didn't know what they wanted from her, but she knew she couldn't afford it.
    She quickly turned her back on them and moved to the edge of the rock, scanning the surface of the ocean for the bumps that were too sleek and too misty to be natural. The pearl was secure in her pocket, still hidden there despite all that had happened since she'd thrown herself into the water.
    The Mageaan had known she was in the ocean. They'd tried to kill her, which meant they were nearby, or they had been at least. Were they still around? Trying to ignore the sound of Ian getting closer to her, Alice inched toward the edge of the rock.
    She quickly unzipped her pocket and removed the pearl. Glittering streaks of red, orange, crimson, and silver sliced across its surface, like the clouds at sunset on the eve of a hurricane. "Please let this work," she whispered. It was such a risk to reveal that she had the pearl. To give it away was to surrender the one safeguard she had against an eternity of hell, against the future that Ian seemed to be pushing her towards.
    But without the help of the creatures in the water below, she had no chance to find Catherine. The Mageaan owned the oceans. They knew everything and everyone that passed through their waters. They would know where Catherine was, but they would never reveal it to an outsider. Not to someone who represented all they had lost…unless she had something to offer them that was more than they could resist.
    The pearl was that item. She might be able to convince the Mageaan to trade information for the jewel. Of course, once she reached Catherine… A cold chill rippled through her. How would she accomplish that without Flynn? She couldn't manage by herself what needed to be done.
    No. She