CHAPTER ONE
The two Elves standing before me were dead—the first I understood, the second I did not.
Verily, I knew Cameron was dead, Aust’s father had been killed when Scourge raiders attacked the village. But dressed in suede pants and a fine ivory tunic with his quiver stocked and slung across his back, the male looked as vital and solid standing at the crux of the rivers as he had my entire sixty years of life.
Shifting my gaze past our intimate group, I tried to discern if anyone else saw him. Aust? Elora? At the very least my brother should, Galan being the Sentinel of Souls, after all. But though the eight of us had been granted the ability to see Tham’s spirit during his Veil ceremony, Tham seemed to be the only spirit the others saw.
“Lia, it is your turn, little one.” Galan gestured to the water’s edge.
Oh, yes. I stepped down the slight slope to the water’s edge, the green leaf-pod I crafted that morning cupped in my palms. After choosing the brightest mallow leaves and the most succulently scented flowers in the rainforest, I wove them as tightly as I could, to honor our fallen brother.
May Tham’s spirit sail on e’ermore.
As the little leaf-shaped vessel bobbed in the shallows, I recited the wish penned on the parchment sealed in its belly. “My wish for you, Thamior, is that your heart remains as full of life and love in the next phase of your Ambar Lenn as it has in this one. Blessings and abundance, brother-mine.”
“Blessings and abundance,” the group repeated.
I nudged my offering, sending it past the lazy ripples lapping the bank, to where the pull of the current snatched it up and swirled it down the river to join the others.
Brushing my damp fingers against the fabric of my gown, I straightened and stepped to stand before Tham, the male who—whether born of my blood or not, deceased or not—was my brother in every sense of the word.
He stood before me as all males in our Elven race: handsome, proud, lithe, lean, flaxen haired and fair of skin. But Tham held a mischievous light in his Highborne-blue eyes no other ever had and I doubted ever would again.
He was the purest joy, the truest love.
Stepping close, I whispered his soul name for our last goodbye. “Amin melalle, Quynn. You were taken from us far too soon.”
He winked and raised his fingers to my cheek. I could not feel his ghostly touch, though I knew the warmth he exuded.
Amin mela lle, my sweet Ryanne. I love you as well.
Tham’s speaking of my soul name was, as always, the most intimate sensation. It kindled warmth beneath my skin and brought my most private, guarded emotions to awakening. Soul names triggered a joining of souls. A merging of love. And now, with him having lived a mere century and one, he would never speak it again.
Galan handed me a handkerchief and after the others launched their wishes, we followed the sounds of celebration and headed to the ceremonial ruin site above the village.
The musicians filled the velvet night sky, their ballads gliding from the glittering crowd to the stars far above the ancient platform. Though absent from the village since my capture, things remained as I remembered: the silk covered altar-stone buried beneath an endless bounty of refreshments, the torch-lighted mantel stones encircling the plateau clearing, their burning light raining down an ethereal glow from twenty feet above, and the couples linked together, swirling and swaying as one in gossamer and suede perfection.
The females’ gowns and hair flowed behind them as males floated them around the dance floor in tailored slacks and velvet embroidered jackets.
The lonely longing of my absence evaporated in an instant.
I was home.
I inhaled the rainforest breeze and the scents of orchid and hyacinth greeted me. Tropical heat crept deep into my body and warmed my chilled soul. So much had happened since Galan, Aust and Tham ventured off on their Ambar Lenn.
So much would never be the same.
Life’s Journey. I sighed at the painful naivety of life before their quest began. In the past eight months, Galan mated, was expecting twins and now served the God of gods. Aust lost his father, Cameron, had been stricken by the gods at Dragon’s Peak and exiled from the village.
And Tham was dead.
No matter how many times I repeated those words to myself, I failed to believe them. On a morning no different than any other, he set off on a jog through the Haven forests. Set upon by Rheagan’s minions, the most joyous male of our race was taken to a lost city of Fae and beaten to death for no reason other than to prove it could be done.
“Why aren’t you dancing, sweetheart?” Cowboy asked, gesturing to the life celebration in progress before us.
My escort for the evening—Talon bodyguard in truth—the southern Were shifter, tilted the brim of his ebony hat toward the crowd. “You’re pretty as a prize pony and a dozen young studs have already checked you out. Go on. Have some fun.”
As much as I appreciated his kindness, the truth was, I could never ask a male to dance. That honor was of the male’s choosing and, thus far, no male had been so inclined.
I twirled the end of the new ribbon woven into my hair and forced a smile. “My adventures outside the village have left me something of a pariah within the village, and those who would ask me as family are elsewhere.”
Iadon had taken Nyssa and Ella to his cousin’s cottage for a visit. Aust and his mother Elora were spending time at Cameron’s pyre site while he was permitted entrance to the village. And after I promised Galan I wouldn’t leave Cowboy’s side, my brother took Jade for a forest tryst.
Cowboy frowned, the torchlight catching the gold reflection of his inner animal in his eyes. “It’s a damn shame. If I wasn’t on duty, I’d take you out on the floor for a spin.”
I reached to my tiptoes and kissed his bristled cheek. “Fash not—I tire anyway. It has been quite a day.”
“Hold that thought, sweetheart. I think you’re up.”
As a group of my peers made their way around the inside edge of the circle of stones, Cowboy retreated two steps in what I assumed to be an effort to appear less assuming.
Impossible. All Weres possessed an unavoidable draw. Strength. Power. When coupled with his southern drawl, warrior’s build, and dressed in black leather battle gear, the Wolf drew the attention of all—male and female alike.
Durian led the trio striding toward us, dapper as ever in a long navy coat embellished with silver leaves sewn along the lapel. I smoothed my hands down my dress and ordered my quickened heart to settle. Many flowers had lost their petals while I daydreamed about that male in the south meadow.
He glanced over his shoulder at Kaya and Ava, as if he too was nervous. They proceeded until the three of them stood before me. “Lia,” he said, “I wish . . . we wish to ask after you. Are you well?”
I inhaled his scent and the wings of butterflies fluttered against my insides. “I am well, though saddened for the reason of my return. Tham was a remarkable male.”
Durian nodded. His hair had grown to midway down his chest while I was away, but still, it failed to hide how his ears flushed an adorable pink right to their gentle tips. “We heard . . . well, your eda told the council . . .”
He hesitated and I braced myself. I could only imagine what Eda told the council. My sire detested me from birth. In fact, today he had failed to acknowledge my existence at all. Galan and Jade ranked a loathing sneer from across the party. I seemed unworthy of even that.
Kaya crossed her arms over her now ample breasts. “Is it true you died and passed Behind the Veil?”
I adjusted the velvet mourning choker banding my throat. “Uh no, well, . . . in a fashion.”
“And yet you returned? Were you turned away from the After?” The cool mockery in Kaya’s tone caught me by surprise. We were friends. Or I thought we were.
“I did not die . . . exactly. Galan and Jade rescued me from my state and brought me back.”
Kaya’s gaze narrowed as she scowled. “How fortunate for you. Dozens of loved ones did die during your capture—Ava’s father, Durian’s brother—and yet your brother and his magic-wielding mate brought you back to live on?”
Ava stepped forward and flicked a lock of my hair. “To think, we admired the silver of your hair. So different. So beautiful. But it symbolizes you being the abhorrent offspring of a maniacal Queen and heir to Rheagan’s throne.”
Durian frowned. “Shall we bow to you, Lia? Now that you destroyed our lives and moved on to rule a realm which hates our very race?”
The party fell silent. My eyes shot around the ruin site. It skipped over the glimmering perfection, bounced off the accusing glares of strangers I had known and loved my entire life. “I am not the heir to the throne.”
Kaya yanked the fist clenched at my side. Pulling it forward, she pried my fingers open. Hidden in the palm of my hand, gleamed a blue-diamond large enough the entire gathering could see it from any distance. “You wear the Queen’s ring.”
Vomit bit the back of my throat. Tears blurred my vision as I struggled for what to say. “I . . . the ring cannot be removed. If it could I would—”
Cowboy’s snarl ripped through the night. The long rumbling timbre of his wolf vibrated in my chest. When his muscled frame shifted to stand at my side, my three friends stumbled back. In a blur, he pulled me tight to his side and Flashed me to Tham’s cottage in the center of the village.
When he released me, I breathed through the sensations of magical travel: the flutter of my stomach, the airy lightness in my head and the squeezing of breath from my lungs.
They hated me. They blamed me. They thought I . . .
I turned and tried to . . . what? Where could I go? I had no home. Not in this pocketed village. Not in the Realm of the Fair. Gasping shallow breaths, I yanked the mourning band from my neck. “I cannot breathe.”
“S’all good, sweetheart. That was bullshit up there. A few deep breaths and you’ll be finer than frog hair.”
The dead silence of the celebration above, echoed in my head. “I ruined their lives. I ruined Tham’s celebration. I ruined my own family. I killed my mother simply by being born. Did you know?”
Cowboy grabbed at my flailing arms but I lurched free and headed for the river.
With trembling hands, I tugged the ribbons from my hair and threw them to the ground. Guilt and loathing crushed my lungs. I wished I was strong like Jade and Lexi. I wished . . . a lot of things. I wished I had a place . . . a purpose . . . a male to love me. The truth glowed in the eyes of my friends.
I had nothing.
I waded into the water, deeper and deeper still. I dragged my legs against the resistance until the current swept my skirt and soaked my bodice. My tears fell in earnest and the day overtook me. One more step and I could collapse into the inviting warmth of the river mouth and be lost. I would let myself sink. The weight of my grief would pull me down. Down until my boots touched the pebbled bottom. Down until the world disappeared and the hurt washed away.
My lungs would burn with the urgent need to draw breath, but I would hold fast until oblivion claimed me.
Durian is wrong, sweeting. Cameron stood on the river bank opposite me, his wide, callused palms open. The village attack was the act of a madman and his quest to rule the realm. You are no more responsible for your ancestry than Aust for being born with his gift to speak to animals. Naught of this is your doing. I do not blame you.
I pounded my fist against the unrelenting pressure which had compressed my chest for months. “They came for me. You and the others were killed because of me.”
And you carry that with you always.
I rubbed my forehead. It felt like someone cleaved my skull in two and my body failed to recognize I was dying. In the throbbing haze of one of my worst headaches yet, I glanced around. “Oh, gods, what do I do?”
Your best, neelan. Is all you can do.
Lost in the impossibility of my life, the current tugged on my sopping gown, inviting me into the depths. I looked back to the riverbank. It was empty. Had Cameron truly been there or was my mind so far off that insanity conjured him?
Strong arms wrapped around my shoulders as Cowboy hugged me from behind. He rested his chin on top of my head and exhaled. “You’re scaring the stuffing out of me, sweetheart, just so you know. Yelling at the riverbank is one thing, but I don’t like you pondering a midnight swim. And FYI, Weres can’t swim. We sink. So, if it’s all the same to you, how’s about we get our feet back on dry ground?”
Without waiting for an answer, he turned my shoulders and led me back toward the bank.
“Apologies,” I said, my voice thick with tears. “I am so embarrassed . . . weary . . . and . . .”
“Lost.” He stopped us in the shallows and set my hair behind my shoulder. “You’re a little lost right now, Lia, but other than your pretty dress getting waterlogged, there’s no damage done. Just you and me taking an unexpected stroll in the river.”
I looked down at the two of us standing drenched in our clothes and would have laughed had my heart not been breaking. “They hate me, Cowboy. Everyone I ever loved despises me.”
A shadow fell over Cowboy’s gaze as if he felt the ache of my pain himself. “That’s their loss.”
“And simply not true, sweeting.” Standing on the bank with his mother, Aust offered me a hand out of the water. His ice-blue cat’s eyes held so much compassion, I wondered how anyone could miss the gentle soul he was. “We heard about what Durian and the others said to you. If anyone knows the cut of Highborne judgment, it is me. The attack was not your fault. Anyone with an ounce of Elven logic will agree.”
Elora wrapped an arm around my shoulder. “It seems we have all outgrown this village. Let us leave this narrow-minded aristocracy behind once and for always.”
Over the next weeks, I put things behind me and sought a productive place in Haven society. Easier planned than executed, considering Galan’s obsession to ensure my safety. He felt too many unsavory characters frequented the Hearthstone. I was not qualified to work at The Academy of Affinities. And no matter how I tried, I could not convince him to let me work in the market square in one of the merchant shops. Helping in Jade’s clinic was deemed the only suitable place for me.
“Pretty sure those herbs have learned their lesson,” Jade said.
I glanced at the dried mixture within the pestle and released my steel grip on the marble mortar. “Apologies, I fell to distraction. I’ll clean this up.”
Before I could take my first step, a bloodied trio Flashed into the center of the room.
“A werewolf, a demon and a mute walk into a bar.” Cowboy coughed. “Gods, I wish this was a bar.”
Cowboy’s joke fell flat as his fellow warriors staggered under his weight and headed toward the stainless-steel operating table. All three Talon Enforcers looked in need of medical care, but it was Cowboy who wore his innards across the front of his blood-drenched leathers.
“Yeah, buddy,” Kobi said, easing Cowboy’s battle vest off his broad shoulders, “we’ll hit the Hearthstone as soon as Blaze can Humpty Dumpty you together again. Promise.”
Jade tied her long, burgundy curls away from her face and surveyed the group. “Shit boys, take a drink now and it would likely leak out the holes. Here. Get him up so I can see what I’m dealing with.”
Savage, the largest and most fearsome of the Enforcers, bled heavily from his arm. Still, he shifted support under Cowboy’s shoulder while Kobi struggled under the other.
“Shit, Wolf,” Kobi grunted, “ever hear of Jenny Craig? You’re a walking hernia.”
“Pussy.” Cowboy’s ashen complexion drained further as they moved him. Brow tight and slick with perspiration, the male’s bloody hands covered his abdomen in an effort to hold his organs in place.
As his brothers-in-arms shifted him to the surgical table, an inhuman snarl echoed off the pale green walls of the clinic. Weres were temperamental, violent creatures at the best of times. Injured Weres, well, they were downright dangerous when their animals felt vulnerable.
I stiffened as Cowboy bared his teeth.
Jade grabbed his jaw and held his half-lidded gaze. “Don’t you shift on me. With this jumbled mess, there’s no telling where your insides will end up. I mean it, Wolf. Stand down.”
As Cowboy fought for control of his wolf, Jade massaged her nails through his hair and sang to him. Her voice, mesmerizing in its magical tone, rose in rich, seductive notes. My heart beat slower and my body grew heavy.
Cowboy’s eyes returned to their usual caramel gold and he nodded. “S’all good, Blaze. I got this.”
The acrid tang of blood burned my sinuses and churned my stomach. I crossed the room and fetched the stainless-steel rolling cart of surgical supplies.
A healer by birth, Jade was a true force. A female accustomed to such scenes, she studied the wound as she snapped on gloves. Her smile remained genuine and her scent confident and calm. “Wow, you really got sliced and diced. Did you at least get the guy who did this?”
Cowboy rolled his head on the table, his focus weak. “Bet your ass . . . lit the fucker up like a Christmas tree.”
Jade nodded in approval, drew the knife sheathed to her thigh and slid it up each pant leg of Cowboy’s leathers. In a graceful series of motions, the male’s pants were removed and a cotton drape covered his bare hips.
Swallowing hard, I forced down the retch building in the back of my throat and breathed through my mouth. Jade prepared a syringe and I turned away. Mayhap I should excuse myself and go out to the corridor—
“Lia, breathe past it, I need you.”
I swallowed. “Of course, how can I be of aid?”
Jade leaned close to the wound and gently shifted the mound of pale intestines as they coiled and flopped loose. “Okay, it doesn’t smell like the bowel or anything’s been perforated, but I can’t see what I’m dealing with. Glove up and give me a hand while I look under this mess?”
It took me a moment to realize she literally wanted me to give her my hands. After pulling on a pair of latex gloves, I fixed my gaze on her emerald green eyes across the table. Holding my arms out, I let her place them where she needed.
“Perfect, don’t move.” Jade’s song filled the space once more and I let my mind drift. When involved in extensive healings, her bard powers helped her connect with her healing powers. The song she sang now was an Elven ballad I knew well. I sang along to distract myself.
With my eyes closed and lost in the entrancing cadence of Jade’s healing voice, I startled when she spoke next. “Got it, Lia, you can step away and help the others.”
Loose limbed, I peeled off the gloves and went to the sink to wash up. In the time I aided Jade with Cowboy, Kobi had removed his battle vest, his grime-covered muscle shirt, and stapled the curved knife wound across his hip.
Most of the demon’s visible skin was either mottled with purple and blue, or smeared with blood. Finished with his own injuries, Kobi regarded the gash running the length of Savage’s forearm. “Extra points for exposed bone, Sav. That’s nasty. Staple or stitch?”
Savage signaled a response with his hands and blood squirted in a streaming spray.
“Stitch it is.” Kobi propped himself on a stool opposite Savage and worked for some time with his fingers inside Savage’s arm. The stench of burning flesh suggested he called upon something in his demon nature to cauterize the wound. Withdrawing his fingers, he closed the flaps of skin beneath his grip and began stitching.
I gripped the counter. “Jade shall heal you if you wait.”
The stark overhead light of clinic reflected off the line of platinum piercings puncturing Kobi’s brow. He also had one through his left nipple. Kobi caught me staring and smiled. “Jade has her hands full with our boy over there. Besides, I’ve become quite a little seamstress over the years. Not to the level of Iadon, mind you, but I can Martha Stewart a leak.”
The demon unwound a length of black suture thread and returned his attention to Savage’s wound. He pulled the thread taut and tightened the black loop of the stitch until it pinched his fellow warrior’s skin together. Each time it gathered more flesh, another trickle of scarlet pulsed from the cavity of the gaping wound. Blood ran off Savage’s tattooed forearm and dripped a steady stream to the surface of the supply counter.
I thought again about retreating to the corridor. Given the quiver in my legs and the slow spin of the room, mayhap it was best not to move. Closing my eyes, I absorbed the muffled laughter and chatter beyond the closed door of the clinic. The bustle beyond the clinic accompanied the sea of students flowing from one course of study to another.
The Academy of Affinities amazed me, from the language and informality of the students, to the emboldened interactions, to the enlightened notion of males regarding females as strong and equal.
“Lia?” Kobi said, his nostrils flared. “You all right?”
Could demons smell emotions like Elves and Weres? I pressed my shoulders back. “Of course. May I assist you?”
Kobi’s charcoal eyes narrowed and studied me for a long, awkward moment. He tilted his head. “You could snag me a couple more rolls of gauze and some medical tape from the tall cabinet by the window.”
I whirled away from his macabre ministrations and strode across the clinic. The cabinet in question was arranged in orderly rows of all manner of supplies: bandages, burn ointment, unguents, disinfectant swabs and remedies. Rolls and packets of gauze sat piled in a woven wicker basket on the second shelf from the top. I took out a couple large rolls, retrieved the bottle of antiseptic Jade used to flush wounds, and picked up the white medical tape and cutters.
As I passed by the surgical table, I cast a quick glance to the surgery table. Jade had managed to return Cowboy’s insides back in which was no small feat. I returned to Kobi and Savage and tore the gauze free from its paper wrapping.
“Verily, you males are brave beyond good sense. With the Scourge rising, you must needs take better care. There are those of us who worry about your welfare.”
Kobi threaded the loop and tugged the thread into a knot. “You don’t hear Sav complaining, do you?”
Savage, who had been left mute after a blade severed his voice box as a teen, raised his middle finger.
Kobi laughed. “There’s nothing like a little pain to remind you that you’re alive. Besides, it looks worse than it is. Just caught a bleeder, nothing vital.”
When he gestured to the cutters, I snipped the thread and handed Savage the bottle of liquid.
The ink-skulled warrior took what I offered, stalked to the sink and rinsed the blood away before opening the antiseptic and pouring it over his wound. Though the students often reeled from the sting of the cleanser, Savage appeared to take no notice as it hissed and bubbled across his decorated forearm. When he turned back, our gaze met.
The male exuded a haunting anger: dark features, dark scent, dark soul. What horrors must a male endure to grow so hardened and utterly violent?
Reaching above the sink, I fetched a towel and put my fear out of my mind. After he blotted the wound dry, I laid the gauze over the long, puckered gash. Despite my body’s urge to step away, I taped it in place. With his arm repaired, my attention turned to the blood dripping off the table and pooling on the ivory clinic tiles.
Kobi brushed past me on his way to the utility closet. “Don’t worry about the mess, Lia. We’re fully housebroken. I’ll clean this up.”
Ashamed as I was that Kobi had to mop up after battling evil, it was either that or revisit my morning repast.
“Lia?” Jade’s asked, “Could you bring me a damp cloth and a towel. We’re done here.” Jade gently wiped Cowboy’s belly and patted his upper chest. “Right as rain, Wolf. Now shift and go curl up on one of the recovery beds for a few hours of healing sleep. If you’re good, you’ll get to the main house before Elora rings the dinner bell.”
Cowboy accepted Jade’s help sitting up and nuzzled his face into her neck and against her cheek. I had seen Weres do this before with her. It was the animal’s way of showing affection. His usually golden skin remained far too pale for my liking, but with what seemed like the sheer force of his will, he eased his naked self from the table, staggered down the hall, and ducked into the first recovery room.
“He’ll be fine,” Jade said, setting a hand on my shoulder. “The recovery of any Were in a healing sleep is remarkable. Cowboy is a Beta wolf and a survivor. It’ll take him no time.”
“Yeah,” Kobi said, “by dinner, he’ll be cranky, horny, and starving. Good as new.”
Jade yawned, her hand rubbing a gentle circle over her belly. The bulge of my brother’s twins forced her smock shirt away from her rounding figure. She pulled the elastic binding her deep red curls and shook her hair free. The richness of the color was contrasted by the shining silver of Galan’s mating braid hanging to the side of her face.
I was about to suggest she go lie down for a few hours herself when Kobi’s phone rang. He tugged it from the back pocket of his tight black jeans. “Yeah? Sure. On our way.”
He strode across to where he’d set his belongings, regarded his tattered shirt and tossed it in the garbage bin. “Sorry, ladies, duty calls. You ready, Sav?” After pulling his battle-vest over his bare chest, Kobi checked his knives, patted his pockets, and shrugged his heavy duster over his shoulders.
“What’s doing?” Jade asked.
Setting a cigarette between his lips, he patted his pockets. “Not sure. Julian caught a spike of unsanctioned magical energy along the perimeter of the north forest. Could be Scourge opening a bolt-hole.”
“Or it could be a couple Lightning Sprights getting busy in the woods,” Jade said.
Kobi nodded. “Take care of our canine. We’ll be back to take him for that drink in a few hours.” He shrugged his lean, muscled shoulders into his jacket and checked that Savage was ready.
“But,” I said, raising my hand, “you just sewed yourselves up. Surely, there are others who could—”
Kobi exhaled a cloud of sweet-smelling smoke. “No rest for the wicked, babycakes. Talon is working double time these days.”
After a quick nod, the two Flashed and were gone.
When Jade turned to the mess of her operating table I drew a deep breath and retrieved the cleaning supplies. “Jade, you are exhausted. Go lie down. Allow me to clean this up.”
Jade chuckled and arched an elegant brow. “No offense hon, but if you start cleaning the blood, we’ll have vomit to clean up too. Clinic gore isn’t your strong suit.”
My ears warmed. Jade grasped her purpose better than any female I knew and I knew nothing of mine. “Yes, well, until we discover what my strong suit is, Galan has tasked me to assist you as I am able. I mean to. Please. Go rest.”
Jade raised a hand to her neck and absently swept her bridal pendant along its silver chain. After studying my resolve, she conceded. “Maybe just for a little while. I have things to do later.”
For the remainder of the morning, I tidied the surgical area, inventoried the stockroom for herbs, medicinals, and unctions, and readied for the next barrage of wounded. With the rise in Scourge activity, it seemed the endless threat of wounded hovered without end.
Verily, Jade needed help, and though Lexi’s mate Rowan—a gifted surgeon—came when needed, and I admired the work they did with all my heart, I was not the female for the job. I would have to find a way to convince Galan that this was not my place.
Since my kidnapping, I had imagined this madness ending. I dreamed of returning to the village, being courted and mated by a gentlemale, and living a productive life. In my dream, Galan and Jade visited often and their young, who would grow up playing and laughing with my own.
The picture had been so clear in my mind, I believed I could will it into reality. My return to the Highborne village shattered that dream. Now, I wondered where the Fates and my future would take me.
As Cowboy said—I was lost.
“Jade? Are ye here, Luv?” The cadence of Samuel’s voice was recognizable even before I came out of the stockroom and saw the raven-haired male. My heart went out to him. The unfortunate soul, was seven months into his recovery from a magical explosion and no matter what attempts Jade and the other doctors, healers, and wizards made, he remained blind as a star-nosed mole.
Meticulous in his appearance, he wore slacks, a silk shirt and a worn leather slicker. As much as I wished to support my brother’s hatred of Jade’s previous suitor and despise him on principle, Samuel risked his life to save me from the Scourge and then lost his sight while rescuing Bruin’s mate, Mika, from her captivity with the same vile group.
Friend or foe, the male was undeniably heroic.
“Apologies, Samuel,” I said, sliding the stockroom door closed behind me and joining him by the examination table. “Jade is sleeping in one of the recovery beds. Was she expecting you?”
Samuel retrieved his tinted glasses from his pocket and covered his sightless, diamond-white eyes. “Aye, she was, but if she’s resting, let her be. My exam will keep.”
The scent of his concern filled the air as strongly as his affection. And though I knew Jade would never love another to the depths she loved my brother, she held a special warmth and gentleness for her ex-suitor as well.
“It is thoughtful of you to let her rest. She exhausted herself healing Cowboy this morning and with the pregnancy—” I winced as his frame stiffened. “Apologies, that was insensitive of me.”
He scrubbed his palm over his darkened jaw and exhaled. “Cowboy was hurt, ye say. Is the Wolf all right?”
“Perfection in every way,” Cowboy said, stepping out of his recovery room. He stretched, naked in the hall and as he strode forward to join us, he accessed his powers and clothes appeared magically upon him. “Hey Merlin, we missed you this morning. Your blue bolts zinging through the air would have been a welcome addition while we cracked Scourge heads in Deleran.”
Samuel frowned. “Deleran? Abaddon’s army started a mangle with the Centaurs? What would possess them?”
“He’s crazier than a shit-house rat?”
Samuel glanced down the corridor and stepped toward his friend. “Does Jade know the Centaurs were attacked? Chiron wasn’t hurt, was he? The old man was her tutor for years and the two of them are still tight.”
Cowboy shook his head, his tri-colored flaxen hair still matted with sweat and filth. “A few guards along the wall got messed up, but not too bad. Chiron called Reign in as soon as the scouts detected Scourge movement in the forest. The bastards hadn’t even had the chance to make a run at the gate by the time we got there. Score one for the good guys.”
Samuel raised an ebony brow. “The Centaurs called for help?”
“Times, they are a’changing, Merlin. Reign’s made it clear to all races we can’t let Abaddon’s army gain ground with Rheagan floating around. The Talon is on call 24/7 to ensure we keep those fuckers at bay. Even still, it’s an uphill climb.”
Samuel rubbed his eyes under his mirrored glasses. “Ye won’t be able to keep it up forever. What happens then?”
Cowboy shrugged. “No idea, but I gotta skedaddle. Lia, where’d you hide my weapons, sweetheart?”
I opened the cupboard by the door and handed him his leather vest, weapons, and his bolo-necktie. “Jade wants to assess your condition before you leave, Cowboy.”
He winked and lifted the hem of his shirt to show me the long pink line across his tight, rippled belly. “As much as I’d love a sponge bath and some extra-special TLC, I’m ready to saddle up. Don’t you worry. I’ll roll over and let Jade rub my belly at dinner.”
I laughed and retrieved his black hat. “I swear you say the craziest thing that pops into your head.”
Cowboy slung his necktie and vest on and checked his phone. “Damn, Reign called a debrief an hour ago and I slept through half of it. Gotta dash. See y’all later.”
The moment Cowboy Flashed out to join his fellow warriors, Samuel’s expression went blank. To look at him, one could see only a devilishly handsome wizard with black hair and mirrored sunglasses. I smelled the ache of his loss. The male was a warrior—a hero likely ne’er to battle again.
To give him a moment, I hung my apron on the hook by the door and gathered my wrap. “Fash not, Samuel, I am certain Jade will figure out your sight—”
When I touched his arm, he recoiled and caught the corner of the exam table. He toppled back in a windmill of hands, cursing wildly. Fearing he would fall, I grabbed his arm. In the next instant, my head buzzed.
We had Flashed.
The moment my feet fell on solid ground, I released his arm and waited for my skin to stop tingling. We stood at the edge of a tree line, the bank of a stream winding across a rolling countryside. “Where have you brought us?”
Samuel lowered a glare on me, the solid glow of his white eyes as eerie as it was beautiful. Even without sight, the male seemed to direct his anger with quite a degree of accuracy.
His lifted his chin and barked a laugh. “I dinnae bring us anywhere. Why would ye touch a man about to Flash? Are ye not right in the head? Ye know how dangerous it is, aye? If ye let go during our travels—”
The ringing in my ears persisted. “You caught your hip on the table. I meant to stabilize you, not intrude.”
“Weel, ye have.” He crossed his arms over his chest and gave me the muscled span of his back. Though he was not banded with brute strength as Bruin, Reign, or some of the other Talon, Samuel was built with sleek power. The rigid tension in those shoulders all too evident. “Ye have no business bein’ here.”
“Yet here we are.” I pulled my wrap tighter around my shoulders. The sky hung a solid gray, overcast with a cold drizzle misting in the breeze. “You did this. I simply wanted to tell you I am saddened—”
His finger thrust in the air between as he whirled on me. “Dinnae speak of my life, Elf. Ye have no right.”
My skirts rustled and frozen grass crunched beneath my feet as I moved to edge of the wide stream.
Winter’s ice had all but melted off the surface of the water. The last few patches and clumps clung to the edges of the bank, while a steady trickle of water danced over the stones breaking the sparkling surface. Where the flow was interrupted, the current spun and detoured this way around the rocks, meandering toward a bend down the way.
Samuel leaned his shoulder against an aged oak and reached to capture the rope of an old plank swing. His fingers closed around the worn gray fibers and he swung the seat in a slow arc staring unseeingly over the water.
The landscape struck me. The foliage grew thinner than any I had seen since living in my valley. I searched the sky for the purple peaks of the Haven mountains. The sky and ceiling above spanned in a vast gray sea of nothing, save a few birds passing. I spun a full circle.
“Have we left the sanctuary of the mountain?” Samuel ignored me and my chest tightened. “Please, warrior, where have you brought me?”
If we were not on Haven grounds the Scourge could come. Galan told me Abaddon needed me for his plan to reinstate the power of the exiled Queen. And here I was. Unprotected. I fumbled with the collar of my dress, tugging at my mourning band. Where had the air gone from this clearing? My pulse rushed through my ears like a thundering waterfall.
“Lia?” Samuel’s voice registered distant and faint.
My face grew wet. Tears dripped off my chin.
“Lia, what’s wrong? What is it?”
Strong hands manacled my wrists as I struggled with my collar.
“I cannot breathe.” A dark, unbearable weight pressed on my chest, forcing the air from my lungs.
“Settle, lass, and I’ll help ye.” He pushed away my trembling fingers, unsnapped the mourning band and pressed his hand flat against my skin. “Pax vobiscum.”
At his command, a rush of warm serenity washed through me. It tingled from the tips of my ears to the tips of my toes. My lungs opened. My hands steadied. And the splotches clouding my vision cleared. I closed my eyes and inhaled, grateful for the crisp forest air filling my lungs.
Once I regained some composure, I opened my eyes.
His hand still rested warmly on my flesh, his magic tingling through my body. Close as he was, and momentarily distracted from his hatred of me, my family and my race in general, I was struck by the male. Dark for my light, in hair and skin, he stood taller than I, yet only enough for me to tilt my chin upward to meet his blind gaze.
“Gratitude, Samuel. I am well enough now.”
He withdrew. “How long have ye suffered panic attacks?”
I straightened my hair and ran my hands down my skirts before remembering there was no need. Grateful for a few moments of unseen impropriety I breathed deep once more. “Since the Scourge caverns.”
A manly spice overpowered the bitter scent of his usual hostility. “I’m sorry ye suffer, truly.”
“Apologies, it occurs to me that I never properly thanked you for my recovery.”
Samuel waved his hand in the air between us. “Don’t—”
“No, I must. If not for you and all you sacrificed, I—”
“—I was duty bound—nothing more.” Samuel drew his wand from the pocket of his slicker and ran his fingers along the polished wood. “So, what set ye off, just now?”
I brushed firm hands down the front of my skirt and stared at the toes of my boots peeking beneath the hem. Verily, if he could refuse to listen to my thoughts, I could do the same.
“Ye haven’t left Haven since we got you back, is that it?”
“I went to my village a few weeks ago.”
“But other than then.”
“Galan warned that I must never leave Haven for I shall live the rest of my days hunted by the Scourge.”
“He dinnae say it like that?” Samuel barked a laugh. He screwed up his expression as if something were distasteful to him. “Yer brother actually said the Scourge will hunt ye for the rest of yer life, so dinnae think about leaving Haven?”
“Is it not the truth?”
“It may be, but after all ye went through, I’m sure there was a nicer way to phrase it so ye weren’t quite so frightened? No wonder ye panic.”
I searched the surrounding trees for movement or sound beyond the scurry of woodland creatures waking from winter slumber. The breeze was crisp, the only scent in the air remained the clean scent of male and a subtle hint of what the males of the house called cologne.
“Truth is truth,” I said. “There is no need to soften words to make them more palatable. Does it ease you when people avoid the fact you are blind and can no longer fight with the Talon? Does it make the loss any less of a reality for you?”
“No,” he said, his jaw twitching. “It cheeses me off.”
“So, you prefer when people are direct with you.”
“I do.”
“As do I.” I stepped toward the embankment, running my fingers up the column of my throat, thankful to breathe easy. “I would rather meet what comes than be caught unaware.”
“Really? Ye strike me more as a bottle-it-up and pretend-it-didn’t-happen type.” He moved back to the swing and sat on the plank seat. With his feet firmly on the packed earth, he moved the swing in a slow pendulum.
“You know naught of me,” I said. “I was taken, held as a prisoner, and rescued by you, my brother, and the others. Frightening as it was, I acknowledge what happened.”
When no reply came, I turned. Samuel stared at me, tracking me as if by the sound of my movement. I paced a small circuit along the bank.
“If we’re being direct, that’s not all that happened. Is it?”
No. My heart beat faster. Abaddon captured my soul and meant to force me into his service. I remained suspended in the nether realm, Behind the Veil, for weeks, neither dead nor alive. “It was more complicated, yes.”
Samuel’s blind stare held, his brow arched as if he waited for more.
“I refuse to dwell on it any further.”
“Fair enough.” He shrugged and stood. “Look, we’re nae friends, so ye needn’t tell me shit, but you touted the virtues of brutal honesty a moment ago. Stick to yer story and I’ll never say a word, but remember, Lia, I was there.”
“What is that supposed to mean? You think I lie?”
His mouth curved up in a sly smile. “Just what I said, lass. As far as I’m concerned people can spill it, bury it, or drink themselves into the ground. If ye want to smile and spread feckin sunshine and rainbows, have at it.”
No wonder Galan and Lexi detested this man to the extent they did. I propped my hands on my hips. “And this lesson on virtue comes from the male who threw away and then stabbed the woman he loved, yet continues to pretend he is merely one of her closest friends? You may be able to fool Jade into believing your sunshine and rainbows, Samuel, but I smell your wanton anguish when you near my brother’s mate and there is nothing frank or honest about it.”
Samuel stiffened and a vicious rambling curse about Highbornes filled the damp air.
I clenched my fists to my sides and fought the impulse to speak my mind. How I wished I was less of a female of worth. Never had I uttered an oath but those living in Jade’s home cursed so freely I knew what I would say. Pressing my palms against my thighs, I calmed my thoughts. “I shall not force my Highborne presence upon you any longer, Samuel. If you would return me to Haven, we need never speak again.”
“Suits me fine, Elf.” Stepping forward, he reached out. When I offered him my hand, he clamped hard around my wrist and in the next moment, we Flashed.