Chapter Four
Rez focused on his breathing because he knew he couldn’t do anything else. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex like this. Maybe never.
And Holly’s blood, like fire in his body.
But the moment had passed and he was coming down rapidly. He’d already disengaged his mating frequency which left him with a cold sensation in the center of his chest.
Slowly, he began to withdraw from her body. Her arms fell away as his cock slid from her sex. He immediately reached for his shirt, shook it out then handed it to her.
“Thank you.” She pressed it between her legs.
He’d come twice and she’d been so wet. The least he could do was offer his tank top.
He turned away from her, making a show of gathering up each piece of their clothing. He returned a lot of oak debris back to the grassy dirt.
The chore helped. He needed the separation.
What the hell had he been thinking to make love to Holly? He shook his head as he stepped into his leathers. Yet at what point had rational thought been part of the equation? He’d needed to feed, he’d wanted sex, he’d craved the woman and she’d been willing.
The trouble was, she was Holly McCrae, the daughter of a well-known professor at Tannisford University. She even taught classes herself.
He, on the other hand, was a disgraced Vampire Guardsman. He knew damn well she despised him for not returning to the Guard. But he’d long since given up trying to justify anything about his life. He had his reasons for the choices he’d made and he just didn’t give a damn if anyone approved of his decisions or not.
The part of his life where he’d given his heart fully was long over. He had only one real desire. He wanted to find his daughter. If she was still alive, whether paired with an Invictus wraith or not, he would do everything he could to save her.
Beyond that, the world could walk into a septic tank and stay there forever.
He pulled up his leathers and tucked his satisfied cock well behind the open zipper.
That’s when he froze.
A wind rushed through his head as a specific awareness of the state of his gut became clear.
No.
It couldn’t be.
It wasn’t possible.
By all the elf-lords damned to hell.
He slowly zipped as he glanced at Holly. She had her bra already on and was stepping into her jeans. She was also frowning. Something was bothering her. Whatever it was, though, her life was about to be thrown up into the air.
He shrugged on his boots and zipped them up as well. She’d set his well-used tank on the ground. When she was busy putting on her red sweater, he grabbed up the tank and her torn thong then turned to stare at her. She levitated as she put on her shoes.
What the hell was happening here and why didn’t he get it sooner?
“Holly, we need to talk.”
“Forget it, Rez. You don’t owe me anything. Trust me. I’m fine.” She slid into her heels and adjusted the straps.
She turned toward the deep red mist she’d made. He watched her focus, then wave an arm. Slowly, the mist dissipated until nothing remained.
Mist. Of course. Now it made sense. She was a woman of extraordinary power. All the women he’d heard about who had Holly’s peculiar capacity were women of tremendous power.
He knew one other thing as well. Holly had no idea what she was.
“Holly, we definitely need to talk.”
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I’m not going to date you, if that’s what you’re getting at.”
She was so sure of herself, that some of his compassion for her vanished like the mist she’d just dispelled.
“Really, Mistress McCrae? What? Am I not good enough for you? Is that it?”
She folded her hands in front of her and once more lifted her chin, this time with an angled tilt to her head. “It’s not about being good enough. I’m sure you have many fine qualities …”
“Sounds like code from the prim and proper daughter of a famous professor.”
Her hand went to her throat. “I am not prim and proper. At least, not the way you’re saying it.”
“Very prim. Very proper. And there’s nothing wrong with that.” He chuckled. “You are so not going to like what I have to say because you and me, we’ve got a monster, hairy-ass problem between us.”
She threw her hands wide. “There’s no problem here. We had sex, great sex, something I confess I needed. But we both know we don’t suit. You’re a … well … you’re a drop out and I can’t live with that.”
“That may be true, but we’ve still got a problem.”
“No, Rez, we don’t. The next time you need a healer, you can contact someone else.” She drew her cell from the pocket of her jeans and began scrolling through it. “What’s your number? I’ll text you the contact info of a couple of excellent healers I know.”
He decided there was no harm in giving her his details. She might need it someday. Probably sooner than later. She tapped in the digits.
He added, “Don’t text the info yet. Wait until we talk this through.”
She released an exasperated sigh. “Fine. But I won’t be available next time. Just to be clear. I don’t mean you any ill-will. Truly.”
“I understand.” He drew close and narrowed his eyes at her. “So, how do you feel right now, physically, I mean?” He knew enough about the blood rose phenomenon to know which direction to probe. “Does your chest feel better than it did before we made love?”
“What do you mean?”
“Lighter? Not so full?”
“Well, sure. I just fed you.”
“Right, except for one thing. That’s not something my doneuses would ever say.”
She laughed. “That’s silly. If they donated, they’d feel this way. You know, lighter, here.” She pressed a hand between her breasts.
“No. They wouldn’t. It’s not the usual reaction to feeding a vampire.”
Somehow, that got her attention. “What are you saying?” She searched his eyes, but appeared only confused.
He put a hand to his abs. “For the first time in twenty years, since I became a mastyr, I have no pain. None. Do you get it now?”
Her head moved slowly side-to-side. “Have you been taking herbal anti-acids or something?”
He could smell her denial, her complete unwillingness to understand what he was saying. “Let me spell it out for you. Holly, you’re a blood rose.”
~ ~ ~
Holly had known the feel-good wouldn’t last long. But she hadn’t expected to be tossed into hell within a matter of minutes of riding to the heavens.
The Goddess, who ruled the realm world and the afterlife, had to be laughing her ass off right now.
“You can’t be serious. This isn’t possible. I’m not a blood rose. I don’t even really know what that is.”
“You produce an extra supply of enrichened blood meant for a vampire like me. A mastyr.”
She stared at him hard, maybe trying to mentally force him to take his words back. Her hands hung at her sides, yet kept balling into a pair of hammer-like fists. She wanted to throw a few punches. Hard.
He was close enough. She even lifted her hands, but couldn’t bring herself to hit him. It wasn’t his fault, or maybe it was.
In her frustration, she planted her hands on his chest and shoved him, or tried to. It was like trying to push a concrete wall.
He caught her arms at the wrist, though gently. “I’m not the enemy here. I didn’t create this.”
“The hell you didn’t. I wasn’t a blood rose before tonight, before I healed you of that poison. That was when this began, this heaviness in my chest.”
“And now it’s light, isn’t it?” He released her wrists.
“Very.” She pressed both hands to her face. “This can’t be. It’s the last thing I wanted.” She dropped her hands away. “When I came to the Wild Boar, I wanted sex. That was all. I was hungry. Needy.”
“But that’s part of it. Don’t you see?”
“Sex?” The word came out on short huff.
“Yes, the insatiable cravings between us. It’s part of the package deal.”
For a moment, her mind took her back to what she’d just experienced with Rez. No wonder it had been beyond amazing. She was a blood rose, a phenomenon in the Nine Realms built for a mastyr vampire, to ease his suffering.
She rubbed her forehead with her knuckles, trying to push the memory away. She took a moment to calm down then lifted her gaze to him once more. “You’re not what I want.”
“You’re not exactly my type either. But I know one thing. Your university boys never sexed you up like that, did they? Before tonight, you were as uptight as any woman I’d ever known.”
He was right.
“Maybe. But what about you? Your soul is a walled off citadel.”
His lips thinned out and his nostrils flared. “I have nothing to give. I won’t make a pretense otherwise.”
“Bull. I’m calling you on this, Rez. Maybe I’m not right for you either, but that doesn’t change that you dropped out at a time when Tannisford Realm needed you. I know you lost your family, but it became a poor excuse in my opinion for the choices you made.”
“What the hell would you know about that kind of loss? They were my world, my wife and my children.”
She shook her head. “You think you’re the only one? Every realm person I know has lost someone because of the Invictus. As for me, I lost my best friend who also happened to be my big brother, Scott.” She hit her chest. “I feel his loss every day, a pain here that never goes away. But you don’t see me hiding out in a place like the Wild Boar.” Her eyes stung with unshed tears.
He stared at her for a long, hard moment. His jaw worked back and forth and his eyes glittered. “I made myself a promise when my wife and my two boys died and when my daughter disappeared that I would never explain my actions to anyone. I would only do, from that moment forward, what I believed was right. I knew they were vulnerable to Invictus attack because our home was too far out in the realm for any of the Guardsmen to reach them in time. But I did my duty and three of them died. My daughter –” He couldn’t say the words. He couldn’t talk about the likelihood she was part of a wraith-pair. “Anyway, I won’t justify myself to you or anyone. Not now. Not ever.”
He turned away from her and headed out from under the oak tree.
“Where are you going?”
He held the tank and thong in hand. “I need a shower.”
Holly wasn’t about to be left alone in the pasture. All kinds of fears kept pressing in on her. If this new threat of Invictus had been in Millerell, where else might they be?
She was in uncharted waters and for now, Rez was her only compass.
She lifted into the air and caught up with him.
You fly well. His pathing voice was deep as it hit her mind.
Thank you. Papa wanted all our skills developed.
I approve.
A sharp retort stung the tip of her tongue. But she kept her lips and her pathing shored up tight. She didn’t need to lash out at Rez. Her current situation may or may not have been launched because of him. But, she must have always had the capacity whether he was present or not.
She followed him as he rose higher into the air to clear the tall stone wall that separated the orchard from a landscaped backyard.
She’d been too wrapped up in her earlier lust to notice his garden before. She warmed up her realm vision then slowed in her flight so she could have a good look. This is very pretty.
What? He slowed with her, but he was scowling.
She spoke aloud. “Your yard.”
He slowed even more to hover in the air near her. “My mother laid it out a long time ago, before I was born. She died when I was young, but my father always paid a gardener to maintain it and I’ve continued the tradition. She’s done an excellent job.”
The lawn was an oval with shrubs around the perimeter all leafing out and blossoms sprouting here and there.
“This used to be a smithy back in my grandfather’s day. A lot has changed since.”
He flew once more the short distance to the backstairs. She followed again and landed easily on the pavers at the bottom of the steps.
He waved his hand to encompass the stairs. “This leads to the second floor. Street level is a guest room and bathroom. It’s a small compact home.” Throwing his hand to the right, he added, “Down there, past the stairs, is a potting shed.”
To the left, Holly could see a stone path that led to a cozy sitting area with wrought iron chairs and a small table. Next to the stone wall of the house were more neatly trimmed shrubs.
Holly had an odd feeling about what she was looking at, something she didn’t understand. What had happened to Rez’s parents? Where was his birth family?
A terrible fae intuition told her Rez was alone in life. She might have lost her brother in the war against the Invictus, but she was still blessed with a large extended family as well as her mother, father and sister.
As she climbed the steps, she noticed that a clematis vine was slowly making its way up an outside corner lattice. It would undoubtedly create a verdant flowering mass by mid-summer. Tannisford had reasonable weather and beautiful summers.
The carved wood back door opened onto a tiled hall. To the right was a small, enclosed kitchen, so Holly only had a glimpse as she passed by. Everything looked old-fashioned.
A room to the left held a twin bed. Rez had lived here as a child once, but there’d been no other children.
The front part of the house opened to a decent-sized living area with quaint dormered windows overlooking the Boylbury Main Street. Inside shutters would have protected the vampire family from the day’s sunlight.
He offered her a beer.
She saw the decanters on a shelf to the right of the fireplace and asked for a scotch.
He responded with a wry smile. “Good choice after this night’s revelations.” He headed to the compact set-up. A wood bookcase with three shelves had been set into the wall next to the table.
She moved close feeling like she kept getting knocked out of stride. She supposed it was one thing to have opinions about a man based on the kind of bar he frequented. But it was quite another to have them suddenly shift about wildly when she entered the home he grew up in. His grandfather’s smithy had been remodeled by Rez’s father as horses gave way to the automobile. Rez’s birth family was now gone. He’d married and raised his own family, but they were gone as well, save a missing, presumed-wraith-bonded, teenage daughter.
Sweet Goddess her heart hurt.
He poured her a scotch. “This is from Walvashorr Realm. Not a blend. Elves make it. The name eludes me, though. Something about a wolf.”
She smiled. She thought she knew. “Houndstreath?”
“That’s it.” He poured two glasses.
“Terrible name.”
He chuckled. “Not exactly memorable.”
“I believe it’s an ancient family recipe. My father loves it as well, the only thing he’ll drink.”
“So, the professor’s a scotch drinker?”
She nodded as she took the glass he handed her then sipped. Once. Twice. Then to hell with it, she took a long, burning guzzle. She might have regretted it halfway down, but the flaming sensation would pass soon enough and she could always add a healing flourish.
She closed her eyes and waited.
There it was, the soothing sensation as though all the muscles in her body relaxed at exactly the same moment.
“Better?”
She opened her eyes and met his gaze. Damn. She forgot how handsome he was. “You could have been a model, you know.”
He looked taken aback. “That was the last thing I expected you to say.”
She rocked her glass. “Whisky works fast on me.” She released a sigh.
He took a swig of his own then set his glass back on the small silver tray. His lips parted and a faint frown pinched his brow. He looked as though he wanted to say something, then sighed. “I’ll be back in a few. Make yourself at home. Look around. There’s a hearty bean soup in the fridge and some excellent bread if you want a quick meal. My neighbors take care of me.”
“Thanks. I’ll fix some for us both, if it suits you.”
He dipped his chin. “More than you know.”
He gestured past her to what was the westerly side of the house. “There’s another bathroom there, if you want it.” He then nodded to her, turned on his heel and headed the opposite direction.
Her gaze followed and new cravings beat at her. The vampire was bare from the waist up. The man was Guardsman-sized and his shoulders went on and on. She’d gripped them in both hands while pressed against the oak. She remembered how incredible it had felt to hold onto so much muscle.
She only realized her lips were rimming the edge of the glass when he disappeared from sight. She’d just had sex with Rez, but one view of him from behind and she was tingling all over.
She rolled her eyes and decided she’d take him up on his offer and make use of his other bathroom. She finished her whisky then headed into the small, retro space that had a shower curtain around a claw-foot tub.
She turned the water on then stripped out of her jeans and shirt. A minute later, she stood with her hair wrapped up in a towel and her neck bent beneath a pleasant stream of warm water. It felt so good, so relieving. Combined with the whisky, a lot of her tension eased away.
She forced herself to take deep breaths and to try not to think too much about all that had happened.
It worked for about a minute, then one question rose to mind. Why was she a blood rose?
It had originally been thought the blood rose phenomenon had arrived on the scene to help defeat Margetta. Goddess or destiny or whatever had intervened to keep evil from swamping the Nine Realms.
But even as these thoughts rumbled through her head, her fae senses warned her that becoming a blood rose, at this precise moment in time, meant something critical. But what?
She knew Rosamunde had become Mastyr Stone’s blood rose through a series of harrowing events. Their journey had culminated in the defeat of the Ancient Fae.
Now, Rez had battled and almost died from a vicious Invictus attack coupled with a dark fae, time-pathed poisoning.
What was going on?
Cleaned up and feeling better, she got dressed then used her fingers to work her long, thick hair into a reasonable state.
When she left the bathroom, she’d expected to find Rez in the living area, but he wasn’t there. Instead, much to her surprise, she could still hear his shower running.
The man had been through hell, though. He’d walked the very edge of death and survived. A long shower was a good thing.
She returned to her tumbler, poured out a little more scotch then took another sip. Glancing at the three shelves of books, she scanned the titles.
Most of them were antique-looking tomes with leather bindings. Several covered the earth country of France and its history. Earth was a massive place, so much larger, yet far shorter-lived than the Nine Realms.
Realm scholars, like her father, were experiencing a golden era with the history of so many cultures and geographies to study and absorb.
She was working on her own history of the Nine Realms but had been unable to find the right slant to interest a reading public. It didn’t help that most of their history was oral. There were a number of ancient manuscripts to peruse, but nothing like earth.
Her eye was caught by the partially opened door past the bathroom she’d just used. With her whisky in hand, she moved down the short hall and entered what she could see was a study. More books lined the west wall. A lot of books.
She hadn’t expected this, not in Rez’s home. These couldn’t be his books. He’d said this house had belonged to his parents. Maybe his mother had been a reader.
A well-used brown leather chair sat in the corner with a reading lamp nearby. On the wall opposite the books was a desk, a container of pens and pencils, a heavy-looking pewter replica of a Harley, very Rez. There was also an antique wood box, a leather desk protector, and a note pad. A stack of receipts sat in a tray.
She avoided looking through them as a point of honor, though she was tempted. Who was this man? What kinds of things did he buy? Was he more than a Guardsman deserter? Did it even matter?
She turned back to the wall of books and perused the titles. There was an entire group that would have appealed to her father. Then she saw a title that stunned her: Purpose and Materialism in Realm Life, by Joseph McCrae.
Her father’s book.
A scholarly work.
She drew it off the shelf and opened the hardback cover.
Another shock. It was signed. To one of my best pupils. Keep the faith, Mastyr Rez. Then her father’s unmistakable signature with a single oversized J and his last name in an illegible scrawl.
She touched the signature. At some point, her father and Rez had met in one of his classes. Apparently, Rez had studied under her father.
She loved, admired, and respected Joseph McCrae more than any man in the Nine Realms or on human earth. In this single line, he’d indicated Rez had been an excellent student.
How was that possible?
She closed the book, pushed it back where it belonged then left the room.
She didn’t know what to think.
When her stomach rumbled, she realized she was ready for a meal. She headed into the kitchen through a doorway across from the bookshelves and decanters. Finishing her drink, she washed out her glass. In the distance, she could hear a blow-dryer running. Great invention, that.
Taking his earlier suggestion, she thought she’d heat up the soup.
But just as she reached for the fridge door, something stopped her and she grew very still, vampire still. She rarely experienced her mother’s genetics. Yet, instinctively she knew that being with Rez had awakened this tougher side of her nature.
Yet, her fae senses were equally heightened, especially her time-pathing frequency. She felt a strong pull toward the past, but she had no idea why.
What had Vojalie instructed her to do in such moments? She must rely on her instincts a thousand times more than her rational mind. Very fae.
Without hesitation, she entered the time-path and as expected she saw the kitchen as though it was slightly blurred. Her fae senses told her, however, she wasn’t in the time-path to observe Rez in the past. Something very different needed to happen here.
She focused on the kitchen itself and felt decades of life and movement, of hands preparing meals, of laughter, of the occasional squabble especially during the holidays. She saw glimpses of Rez, his wife teasing him when they would bring the children to visit his father, his children at various ages. Rez’s father doting on his grandchildren when they were very young. She didn’t, however, see his mother.
Her throat grew tight knowing this was what Rez had lost, what had changed him so completely. Maybe her brother had died, but she still had the comfort of her parents, her sister, grandparents and several generations of great-grandparents, as well as a host of aunts, uncles and cousins.
What did Rez have by comparison?
No one.
She kept moving backward swiftly until the continuum itself drew her to a stop. This time, she saw Rez’s mother and was stunned by how much he favored her, from her wavy brown hair, light blue eyes, the shape of her face.
The room had changed significantly given that Rez was nearly a hundred years old. Gone was the more modern, though antiquated gas oven and stove. In its place was an ancient black cast iron version fed with wood or perhaps coal.
Rez’s mother stood with a towel-wrapped casserole in her hands. The stove was behind her and she faced into the room. “Who are you?” she asked. “It’s okay. You can come to me, if you want. I know you’re there. I’ve been expecting you.”
Once more, Holly was sincerely surprised. She knew Rez’s mother was speaking to her. Again, she didn’t hesitate, but stepped out of the time-path and into the past. Her vampire nature especially could feel the year and the day. It was almost a hundred years ago.
“I’m Holly. I work with Vojalie. I’m fae and I’m a time traveler.”
“And I’m Marion. I’m half-fae myself, though I’m vampire dominant. But my fae-self has been shouting at me all day. Now you’re here.”
The woman teared up. Her jaw worked as she crossed to set the steaming potato dish on the wood counter near Holly. She turned back in the tight quarters and closed the oven door. “He’ll be here soon, so we don’t have much time. You know my son, Rez?”
She’d just made love with him in the future against the oak tree in the back pasture. “Yes. I know Rez.”
“I’ve been feeling it all day, the future crowding me, speaking to me. I wasn’t expecting you so much as something to happen. Now I know it will.”
Her eyes once more flooded. “My time has come and I won’t get to see my grandchildren. But I can feel them in the future. Oh, Sweet Goddess. There is too much pain coming for Rez. Too much.”
Holly began to hurt. It was one thing to be distressed by a man’s choices, but another to be confronted with this powerful wave of a mother’s love for him. “What can I do, Marion? How can I help?”
Marion nodded quickly. “Please, you must tell him not to be angry that I had to leave him. But as sure as I’m standing here, I know I have something to do for him on his behalf well into the future. I believe it has to do with his children, maybe even his daughter. Yes. His daughter.”
Holly drew close, staring hard at the woman. She felt a profound connection to her.
Marion gripped her arms. “Thank you for coming. I couldn’t have born leaving him otherwise.” But as Holly touched her, and the past and future came together, Marion’s blue eyes lit up with an otherworldly glow. “It’s you. Oh, it is you. My dear child. I have seen you in the future.”
Suddenly, Holly was wrapped up in an embrace that felt full of warmth and light. “Thank you, Holly. Thank you. I know this won’t make any sense to you right now, but I promise it will soon. Now you must go. He’s coming.”
Marion turned toward the doorway that led to the hall and the smaller bedroom. She dipped down and held out her arms as a young child raced into the room his eyes alive with life and every possibility.
Holly gasped and took a step backward. This was too much. She pressed her hand to her chest trying to hold back the emotions.
She knew the child was Rez. He was only a toddler. And she had to leave as Marion gathered him up in her arms and held him close. She turned in such a way that his back was to Holly.
So much love.
Holly had tears running down her face as she slipped into the time-path. She watched mother and son, but only for a moment.
She hurt so deep in her chest, she could hardly breathe. She swept the time-path back to the close-present in what was the very same kitchen, but with the more modern, yet outdated appliances. She remained frozen in time for a long moment, her hand still pressed to her chest.
She’d seen Rez as a toddler and her heart ached now. Fiercely. The encounter with Rez’s mother in the past had shaken her to her core. But what still vibrated so strongly through her was how for a brief second, time had converged, especially for Marion. The woman had felt Holly’s future and her own present combine into a formidable experience.
The trouble was, Marion hadn’t shared any details. She’d only spoken of Rez’s daughter. The whole thing was so strange and way outside anything for which Vojalie had prepared her.
When dizziness assailed her, she knew she had to leave the time-path. She stepped into the present. Time resumed its normal course. The distant blow-dryer continued for a moment, then stopped.
A chore would help ease the unexpected nature of the time-path.
She busied herself pulling the soup from the fridge, then a pot from the cupboard. She turned the oven on and found some foil. She wrapped up the loaf of bread and set it within to warm.
She knew this was only the beginning. She was caught in something bigger than herself and she was frightened.
When Rez arrived at the kitchen doorway, her hand stopped mid-stir, then resumed slower than before.
“What’s wrong? You’re distressed. I can feel it.”
She kept stirring, her gaze fixed on the pot. How much should she tell him? She shook her head, but more to clear her mind that to offer a negative. “Nothing at all. Though I admit I’m somewhat overwhelmed.”
He drew close, a movement that required one step given the small size of the kitchen. He planted a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be okay. We both will. We’ll get through this.”
“I know.”
He glanced at the stove. “I appreciate you starting the meal.”
“Of course. We need to eat.”
Like a man who’d lived alone for a long time, he didn’t wait for her to do everything. Instead, she watched him gather up bowls and plates and put them on a tray. Glasses for wine. Silverware. A cutting board for the bread. He carried everything out to the small dining area on the short north wall of the living room.
By the time he came back with the tray, she settled the foil-wrapped bread off to the side, set the bowls on the tray and ladled out the soup.
He busied himself behind her opening a bottle of wine.
He bumped into her a couple of times. “Sorry. It’s a small space.”
She chuckled softly. “And you’re a big man and I’m not exactly a petite thing myself.”
He had the wine in hand as he moved to the door. She carried the tray bearing the soup and bread. He waited for her to pass him. “No. You’re not. You’re perfect.”
Sweet Goddess, his gorgeous face, a soft smile, the dimple in his chin and those blue eyes all drove a stake through her female heart. He looked amazing in black leathers studded down each side and hip boots. He wore a fresh, black tank top.
It didn’t help that in a flash she was watching his mother pick him up as a little boy.
Her heart swelled up. Then she felt it, a sensation that had to be about her blood rose abilities. She could feel her body building a new supply, something meant to feed Rez.
She had to remind herself that her new nature wasn’t designed specifically for Rez. She would feel this way about any mastyr vampire. But it was Rez who stood by the small table, looking magnificent and pouring her a glass of white wine.
Once seated and sipping her wine, she got lost in her new reality. She might have tasted some of the soup she ate. Maybe the bread. Mostly, images had hold of her mind, of healing Rez in Millerell, of craving him then feeding him beneath the oak.
But it was afterward, after her shower and in the kitchen, that soon took possession of her mind. Not even her fear about being a blood rose could supplant the powerful force of meeting Rez’s mother and of Marion recognizing Holly as an entity she’d known was coming.
Rez gripped her wrist suddenly, not in a harsh way, though it brought her gaze shooting to his. “Are you sure something isn’t bothering you?”
She shook her head. She glanced back at her bowl. When had she finished her soup? Her wine? Her bread? She wasn’t sure what to do, how much to say. “I’m caught in a time-loop.”
She was speaking metaphorically, but she realized he didn’t know anything at this point about time-pathing. “What I mean is, I can’t stop thinking about things that happened tonight.”
“Well, spill it. I mean, what’s bugging you the most?” He released her wrist.
“What happened in the kitchen.”
He frowned and sipped his wine, then, “When I bumped into you?”
She held his gaze. She had to tell him. Every fae sense she possessed suddenly came into sharp focus. “Rez, I met your mother tonight. Just now.”
His mouth fell agape and he tilted his head. “What the hell do you mean?” He glanced around, maybe wondering if he would see a ghost.
“In the kitchen, while you were still in the bathroom.” She rushed on and told him about the entire encounter. She talked about time-pathing and Vojalie then spoke of the hardest part. “Your mother said she needed you not to be angry that she died when she did. She said she had something important to do on your behalf. In the future.” Holly felt uncomfortable saying the rest of it, about seeing him as a little boy. She knew this would also be where much of his pain and grief resided.
When his cheeks became drawn and he shaded his eyes, she reached over and gripped his shoulder. “This isn’t without context. She seemed almost determined about something that will happen in the future. She said she was meant to perform a service for your daughter, but she wasn’t sure what it would be.”
His hand dropped away from his face and he turned to stare at her. For a long moment as she held his gaze, she couldn’t register what his expression meant. He’d gone vampire still for one thing, which meant she could detect nothing from him.
Except that the blue of his eyes hardened suddenly. He was angry.
She leaned back in her chair. This couldn’t be good.
He stood up abruptly and his chair almost fell over. He caught it quickly and set it on its feet. “You are insane to be saying these things to me. Time-pathing is a myth and there’s no way you spoke to my mother just now.”
She started to protest, but he was already moving toward the front stairs which were barely six feet away. She heard him pounding down them, then the sound of the street-level front door opening. A rush of cool air followed as it flowed up the stairwell. She jumped as the front door slammed shut.
She wasn’t sure the night could get stranger or more twisted if it could.
Then it did. Suddenly, the time-path was calling to her once more and demanding she go after Rez.
What the hell?
“No.” She spoke aloud, hoping to somehow stop what was happening. Then she was on her feet.
Something was terribly wrong and it had to do with Rez, though not with his current anger. This was something else and deadly, something heading toward him.
She rushed after him, levitating down the stairs. She whipped the door open. “Rez!” He was flying toward the west along the street a few feet above the ground.
Without looking back, he lifted his hand and in earth fashion, flipped her the bird.
She understood his anger completely, but the vampire was in danger.
She felt it now.
She turned to look the opposite direction and saw a red wind and several wraith-pairs. They were moving fast, Invictus, that shouldn’t be in the Nine Realms anymore, and it was a large force.
She flew in a swift dart toward Rez. The wraith-pairs were almost on them. She didn’t even have time to contact him telepathically.
Instead, she landed on his back hard. Because of the momentum, he fell face first to the cobbled street, though he caught himself with his hand. “What the hell, Holly.”
Without offering a bit of explanation, she summoned her time-pathing ability and hauled him into the continuum.