Angel Seduced by Jaime Rush

achievement. Yes, it’s hard on the children.” He had placed his hand on Kasabian’s cheek. “And on you. But you are a strong and noble boy, and soon you will see the payoff.”
    His father had obviously either given up or been stopped, since no such breakthrough ever came about. But recently he must have found a way to succeed. Started taking kids again.
    Kasabian could not abide the necessary sacrifice. He would stop them, even if it killed him. And it might. That kind of sacrifice he could manage.
    He thought of Kye and what that might mean to her. If it didn’t hurt her, she’d be free of him.
    He banged his head against the wall. Giving in to her was a bad idea. He had meant to scare her away, to show her his Shadow’s lust and power. He had not expected her to fall under its spell. She was supposed to push him away, not grind her body into his and devour him back.
    He had to shove her from his mind and concentrate on this thing that was invading his soul. He would give himself to the demon if that’s what it took to defeat his father and Silva. Which meant he couldn’t have anyone else around him, especially Kye.
    The sensation of it squeezed his lungs, making him drag in deep breaths. It burned along the lines on his back.
    â€œCome on out, you beast,” he gritted out.
    It seized him. Kasabian threw his head back and let its roar pour out of him. Its heat scorched his cold soul. He focused on the wall beneath his hands, the air he was drawing in. The room felt as though it were falling away, and he with it.
    Beneath the darkness, he felt something else. Not dark or evil, but light. Warmth.
    Kye .
    Their connection vibrated, like a gong sounding in the dark. He homed in on it, driven by an instinct he’d never felt before. He searched in the pitch black of his mind and saw a cord spiraling into distant space, a twist of her gold and his dark silver. Their essences. It stretched so tight that he could hear it cracking beneath the pressure.
    She’d found a way to break the bond. He should be relieved. A part of him was, for her. Another part railed against it as her essence began to pull away. He had to let her go. Then it would be over.
    The Shadow pushed at him to follow the cord that now threatened to break apart at any second. No. He had to resist. A sense of danger and urgency pressed even harder. Was she putting herself at risk to sever the bond? He grasped the trembling cord as he struggled to get to her.
    The closer he got, the stronger her presence was. Then he saw her, and the sight surprised him. She was blurry, as though he were looking through warped glass. And still, she was so beautiful it made him ache. Her head was thrown back as his had just been, her eyes squeezed shut. Her body shook as the cord began to split. He could see that her arms were stretched out and that her hands were clasped with someone else’s. Had she found another Zensu Deuce? He couldn’t resist seeing the person who was freeing her, shifting to see the man linked to her—his father.
    The horror of it nearly pulled him away. He held on, even as the cord shook harder. How could his father know about Kye? Daniel! Hell, Kasabian had told Daniel about the Cobra, and he’d asked her name.
    Kasabian jerked on the cord. Kye! Get out, dammit! He reached through the connection and touched her. Her eyes snapped open, and Kasabian lost the connection. He psychically groped for it, like a drowning man reaching for a rope. In the darkness, he started to spin again, to lose all sense of grounding and reality.
    Have to get to her. Have to…
    He lost complete touch with his physical self, with his thoughts, and darkness claimed him.
    Â Â 
    At first, Treylon sensed Kye’s turmoil and the way she felt betrayed by this Deuce to whom she had clearly given her heart. He sent his essence into her and instructed it to pull out all of that angst. But Kye’s attachment to