CHAPTER TWENTY
He seemed perfectly at home among the trees, as if he was a forest sprite and we were the interlopers.
His hair was nearly white and his skin pale as milk. His eyes were an electric blue, at once familiar and yet strange.
Motionless, Liam and Thomas looked toward the stranger with haunted expressions.
“Connor,” Thomas whispered, stepping slightly forward.
My head whipped towards Thomas. Connor. As in Thomas’s yearling? The first one? The one who’d disappeared after some argument no single person would tell me about? That Connor?
What was he doing here? Now?
I shifted my attention between Liam and Connor. Liam must have known about this. He’d told Connor to protect me during the fight. I hadn’t realized it at the time, too consumed with survival. I blinked as realization sunk in. Connor had been the person Liam was looking for when he left. Did Thomas know?
Connor’s focus was fixed on me, the expression on his face almost shy. “I wanted to thank you for freeing me.”
I blinked at him, having no idea what he was talking about.
“You’re welcome?” It came out almost as a question.
“Ah, you may not recognize me without the antlers,” he said.
The stag? How? What?
Confusion must have been written on my face because his smile turned wry. “It was Niamh’s idea of a joke. A hunt with traditional prey.”
More and more, I was finding it hard to regret her death. I didn’t know what that said about me.
I nodded. There wasn’t much to say after a revelation like that.
“Come, let’s get you some clothes,” Thomas said, his expression hopeful. “We have so much to catch up on.”
Connor dipped his chin in agreement, padding out of the trees, his bare feet whispering over the ground. If he felt any discomfort walking barefoot and naked through the forest, he didn’t show it.
It was a quiet journey back to the car. Caroline and a few wolves ranged in front of us, leading the way. Evidently when Inara had said Caroline was waiting, she really meant Caroline and half the pack.
The pack’s presence was probably a good thing, considering there were several of us. More cars meant more room.
Given the sun had only strengthened in the short time since the hunt had ended, those vehicles would be desperately needed.
I crawled into the backseat of an SUV, already losing the battle with exhaustion.
Connor, Thomas and Liam joined me in the back of the SUV. Eric and Anton took the front. The rest of those present went with other drivers.
I let my head fall on Liam’s shoulder, my eyes shutting under their own will.
I felt his hand brushing my hair back, but didn’t move.
“Have you been with Niamh all this time?” Thomas asked.
I didn’t hear a response, but there must have been one because Thomas continued talking.
“Why didn’t you send word? I would have helped you.”
There was a small snort, the same sound the stag had made on several occasions. “You overestimate your abilities. For a long time, I was barely aware that I was more than the stag. By the time I remembered who I was, many years had passed and I assumed you didn’t care anymore.”
“I will always care,” Thomas said, his voice aching.
I didn’t know what had happened between the two, but it was clear Thomas felt strong emotions for this man. The hope on his face when Connor had made his presence known had been surprising in the master who normally seemed unflappable.
Liam continued to stroke my hair, the gesture lulling in its comfort, as he spoke to Connor. “Thank you for protecting my heart from me.”
My lids lifted enough to see Connor give him a small nod. His blue eyes came to mine in the next minute. One pale hand touched my forehead. “Sleep, A stóirín. You’ve done enough for the night.”
After that, I didn’t remember much, only half-surfacing as Liam removed my shoes. I fell back into sleep, barely aware as the bed dipped under me and a hard body wrapped around mine.
*
Behind me, Thomas radiated disapproval as I stood in front of the small room that doubled as one of their prison cells. I’d been informed there were silver bars built into the walls, ceiling and floor. The door was also covered with silver and was made of a metal thick enough it would take a tank to punch through.
Thomas didn’t like my insistence about meeting with Nathan. He still didn’t quite trust him after knowing Nathan had been used as a trojan horse. The bite from Liam’s enforcer had opened a small chink in Thomas’s defenses. Coupled with the bond between the two enforcers, it had allowed Niamh’s compulsion to take hold of Liam. It would probably be a long time before the memory of Nathan’s unwilling treachery faded.
Daniel guarded the door, his expression uncertain as he noted my determination.
“How is he?” I asked.
The question triggered a frown as he shook his head. “He refuses to come out. Says he can’t be trusted.”
“I thought Niamh’s thrall ended the night of the hunt?”
When I’d broken it, I meant, but I didn’t say it aloud. Liam and Thomas had agreed it was best if no one knew the extent to which I’d been involved in undoing Niamh’s bindings on the rest of the hunt’s participants.
The enforcers in the room with us during Miriam’s questioning might realize I could see through glamours at some point, but they didn’t know about all the rest.
I suspected it wouldn’t be long, however. Already there were those like Niamh’s husband, who had guessed what I’d done. Inara knew as well, since she was the one who’d called me “magic breaker”.
My days of keeping that ability under wraps were limited, but I saw no reason to hasten my revelation either.
Based upon the conversation I’d overheard during the trip back to the mansion the night of the hunt, it seemed as if people with abilities like mine were either hunted or enslaved. Given I was still a baby power-wise, I’d delay the inevitable as long as possible—at least until I had a hope in hell of protecting myself.
Given the way the hunt had ended, most people would assume Niamh’s death had been responsible for breaking her bindings, not me.
The Fae’s hunt had been successful and established the beginnings of a barrow. It just hadn’t had the prey Niamh intended. I’m told her ending was not pleasant or merciful. I was just relieved she was dead and we didn’t have to worry about her again.
“The thrall did break,” Daniel confirmed. “But he planted himself in that room and hasn’t come out since. This has hit him hard.”
I nodded. I could understand that. For someone at the top of the food chain, it would be difficult to be confronted with your weakness. To be forced into actions that weren’t your own. It was a devastating violation.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Thomas asked. “I’m told he’s been quite ugly to others who’ve tried to talk to him.”
I had no doubt about that.
“He’s my friend,” I said.
That was the only answer I had. In my world, you didn’t leave friends to hurt alone. They needed to know someone was there—that someone cared, even when they were in the deepest parts of night.
It might not make a difference, but then again, it might.
Thomas sighed as he studied me. Whatever he saw there must have convinced him of my stubbornness because he gestured at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head but opened the door. “Good luck.”
I took a deep breath and stepped inside. Despite the lights, the room still managed to be dark. It was bare of any amenities beyond a simple cot and chair.
Nathan sat in the corner on the ground, his legs drawn up as he stared at me.
I hesitated in the doorway. Now that I was here, I wasn’t entirely sure what to say.
“You should go,” Nathan said tiredly.
I walked forward and sank down against the wall a few feet from him. I leaned my head back and waited. I didn’t say anything as I kept him company.
Sometimes words were ineffectual niceties. When your life has imploded enough that the act of getting up seems like more work than its worth, it doesn’t help to have someone whisper meaningless platitudes. It just isolates you further.
Still, there was no reason he had to sit alone.
“This place is a lot nicer than the wolf’s cage,” I told him, looking around.
For one thing, it didn’t look like a cage, even if that’s what it was. The surroundings might have been simple, but it looked like a normal room, plain though it might be.
“How long do you plan to hang out in here?” I asked.
He didn’t answer. Silence grew between us.
I nodded and went back to staring at the other wall. I relaxed into the quiet. It’d been a long time since I simply sat and thought. My life had become filled with action. There was always something to do, some crisis to solve. It was kind of nice to do nothing for once.
When my butt cheeks got sore, I turned onto my side, stretching out and folding my arm under my head.
Through it all, Nathan remained motionless. I couldn’t help but be impressed by his discipline. Me, I’d had to change position a half-dozen times since I got here, while Nathan remained a rock, like one of those ascetic monks who put their bodies through extremes in the pursuit of holiness.
“You’re wasting your time,” he finally said when it became clear I wasn’t giving up.
“It’s my time to waste.” I sat up and leaned back against the wall. A chair would have been nice right about now.
He bared his teeth at me. “Go.”
I snorted. “We both know you’re not going to hurt me.”
His fangs were at my throat in an instant as his body hovered over mine. My heart gave a painful thump. He’d gotten faster. In all our training sessions he’d never moved like that. It was like watching a snake strike. You could feel it coming but you couldn’t get out of the way in time.
I had to wonder if he’d been holding back this entire time, or if this was a side effect of Niamh’s tinkering.
I didn’t move, refusing to show any signs of fear. That’s what he wanted. This was a carefully calculated move to drive me away. As someone who’d perfected such methods against her family, I recognized it for the posturing it was.
“You done?” I asked.
“I can feel your heart racing,” he said, his voice silky, a threat on his face that wasn’t Nathan. “You can pretend all you want, but we both know I terrify you now.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You think you didn’t terrify me before?”
He drew back, just the faintest bit, enough so he could watch me through wounded eyes, his expression unsure.
I gave him a sad smile. “All vampires terrify me, Nathan. A vampire just like you killed me, ripped me out of my former life. There was nothing I could do to stop it. Worse, I participated, giving myself over to the pleasure of his bite. Because it felt good. Because it was easy.”
He sat back on his heels. There was understanding there. And regret.
I’d take it, even if his sentiments were due to my revelation.
“Thomas may not have been fully in control of his actions because of his curse, but that doesn’t mean I don’t relive that night again and again in my dreams,” I told him softly, as I shared something I didn’t like to admit to anyone.
All makings were traumatic, but for Nathan and Liam, and all the rest, the intervening centuries had blunted their memories. For me, the night of my rebirth was still visceral and real. I could close my eyes and be there again, watching as my life drained away, not lifting a hand to stop it.
To make matters worse, my making was more violent than most. I had Sarah’s curse on Thomas to thank for that.
“Why are you really in here?” I asked.
He looked away, his jaw tightening stubbornly.
I waited.
After a long moment, he rubbed his forehead. His voice was faint, as if he didn’t want to tempt fate by voicing his thoughts aloud. “What if they’re wrong? What if there’s still some suggestion hidden in there, just waiting?”
Suddenly I understood why he was punishing himself with this place. It wasn’t because he felt guilt, although I’m sure that was some of it. It was because he didn’t trust himself anymore, didn’t trust it was only him driving his actions.
I blinked and took a deeper look at him, searching for any faint shadows or any suggestion of influence that didn’t belong.
There was nothing, just Nathan’s power fluttering like a banked fire on a cold winter’s night.
“You’re clear,” I told him.
He snorted, a little of the old Nathan coming through. “Sorry, A, but there’s no way for you to know that.”
I debated how much of the truth to give him.
“I can. I can see magic,” I said.
My admission wasn’t going to please Liam or Thomas, but if it would help Nathan come to terms with what had happened, it was a secret I was glad to part with.
He gave a short laugh, disbelief written on his face.
I didn’t move, just watched him calmly.
The laugh died, then his eyes widened.
“How do you think I knew you were under her influence?” I asked.
He stood, looking down at me with disbelief. “Do you know how dangerous that information is? People would kill to possess such an ability.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Does Liam know?”
I lifted a shoulder. “He figured it out a while back.”
“And he hasn’t told you to keep that little tidbit to yourself?” Nathan snapped.
I smirked.
He rolled his eyes. “Of course, he has. Why are you telling me this?”
I propped my chin on my hand and lifted my eyebrows, silently telling him to guess.
A stunned look crossed his face.
Now he was getting it. I stood and walked over to the door.
“You’re worried you could still be under her influence. Don’t be. You’re not. I can guarantee it,” I told him. “All of us will be waiting, when you’re ready to leave this place. Do me a favor and don’t keep me waiting too long. You know patience isn’t my strong suit.”
He watched me open the door and step out, without making a move toward me.
That was okay. He needed time to heal. I understood that. I’d be here when he was ready. Until then, I thought it was important he knew he didn’t have anything to worry about.
“Aileen,” he said, stopping me in the doorway.
I waited.
“Thank you.”
I lifted a shoulder. “What are friends for?”
His smile held a shadow of his old self. “If Liam hadn’t already staked a claim, he’d have heavy competition.”
That wiped the smile off my face, turning it into a scowl. His laughter followed me as I walked from the room, the door shutting behind me.
*
I rounded the corner, my shoes squeaking along the linoleum, the bear I’d bought clasped in my arms.
I’d timed my visit to the hospital well, I hoped. My parents were busy at home and Jenna had just left to get a change of clothes. It should give me time with my niece without the drama of everything else.
Linda was still sick. It turned out Niamh really hadn’t had anything to do with her illness. I’d been forced to accept sometimes bad things happened to good people and that children do get sick.
Life threateningly so, it seemed. The doctors still weren’t sure what was causing her to throw up blood, but there were whispers of cancer.
At her door, I composed myself, practicing a smile a few times before taking a deep breath. The last thing Linda needed was to see fear on my face when I went in there. The mind was the most powerful part of the human body. If she believed she would get well, then there was a chance—but not if every adult in her life treated her illness like the coming of the apocalypse.
I stepped inside and drew up short at the sight of Thomas sitting by her bed, Liam standing behind him.
I didn’t speak, sorting through scenarios and discarding them.
“What are you doing here?” I asked quietly.
“I’m here to offer you a gift,” Thomas said.
My gaze darted to Liam’s. He gave me a reassuring nod. I relaxed slightly. I trusted him. In this, I didn’t think he would lead me wrong.
“How?” I asked.
“You’re here to give her your blood,” Thomas said. There wasn’t any judgment on his face, no hint of anger.
I shifted, uncomfortable at how well he knew me. I hadn’t fully committed to my plan yet. One, because I didn’t know all the ramifications. There was still so much that was still a mystery to me about being a vampire. I didn’t want to risk screwing Linda up further by giving her blood that might hurt her in the long run.
“Possibly,” I said, stepping forward.
Thomas was here with no threats or recriminations. If he was willing to help, I’d take it. Hell, I’d even sell him my soul if it meant Linda would get better. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for that little girl.
“Mine will have a better likelihood of healing her,” Thomas said.
I believed him. He was centuries older than I and powerful in ways I was just beginning to comprehend. He was a master while I was just barely a vampire.
Still, I hesitated to accept. I couldn’t help looking for the trap hidden in his offer. Because that’s what it was.
“Will she be like me?” I forced myself to ask.
I wasn’t even sure I would tell him no if he answered “yes”. I just wanted her to live. I hadn’t realized before now, how deep I was willing to sink if it meant her health.
“No,” he said. “I would need to drain her unto death after exchanging blood with her for years, for that to be a real risk.”
I frowned. That hadn’t been the case with me.
He inclined his head, understanding where my thoughts had gone. “You are a special case. The magic at your core reacted violently to my bite, changing you outside the normal course of things. For her, my blood will simply heal her. She might be a little stronger physically, a little faster, and live a little longer, but one feeding will not have many long-term consequences.”
I hesitated still.
There was a reason there were sayings warning one to beware of people bearing gifts. Few things in this world were free. I’d learned that more than most.
“What’s the catch?” I asked.
I was doing this. I knew that, but I wanted to know exactly what I was giving up.
“Nothing,” Thomas said. “You’ve already given me more than I could imagine.”
Uh huh. I didn’t quite believe that.
“Perhaps I just want to show you I’m not the monster you’ve made me out to be,” he said simply.
I didn’t know about that. He did force me to drink from a human, even used compulsion to do it. For all his dislike of Niamh’s methods, he wasn’t above doing the same when push came to shove.
I sighed. Perhaps I was being too hard on him. It was human blood that had probably kept me alive during the hunt, giving me the strength I needed to keep going. Not to mention his concern about toxicity. Devolution.
He read the acceptance on my face and stood.
The feeding was a simple one. Thomas used a sharp nail to open a line of blood then held it to Linda’s mouth.
Watching the exchange of blood was fascinating. The power residing in Thomas flowed down into Linda, pooling in her center before dispersing through her body.
Then it was over and Thomas stepped back, his wound closing.
“That’s it?” I asked.
“I’ll monitor her. Depending on how she reacts, she may need more,” he told me.
I nodded. I tried to keep my hope contained, but it was hard.
Thomas left, and then it was just Liam and me in the room with Linda.
“Thank you for that,” I told him. “I know you’re a big part of why he volunteered.”
“He would have gotten around to it.” Liam made a small movement. “Eventually.”
But probably not until he’d tried to bargain with me, destroying any chance of an amicable relationship between the two of us.
“What now?” I asked.
He stepped closer, clasping the nape of my neck as he angled my head for a kiss. Desire rose between the two of us. It was quick but potent, as we drew back, panting slightly. The bedside of my ill niece wasn’t the place to indulge.
“I think your generation calls it dating,” he said with a wicked smile.
I raised an eyebrow. “And if I decide I don’t want to date?”
He nipped my chin. “I still have nine nights to convince you to my way of thinking.”
“Nine? I gave you at least four,” I said, jerking back.
His smile turned dark. “I only asked for the first.”
My mouth dropped open in dismay as he stepped around me and sauntered to the door. “You could save me the trouble and just move in with me.”
“Not in this lifetime,” I snarled.
“Ah well, I’ll enjoy the chase.” The door closed after him, leaving me almost fuming with anger as I stared after him.
Tricky, tricky vampire. I should have known I wasn’t getting off that easy.
*
Later that night, I rolled my bike to a stop in front of my apartment building, surprised at the brand-new stairway leading up to my door. Looked like Thomas had finally gotten around to repairing them.
I glanced at the space next to them where the black Escalade had once sat. And looked again. In its place was a Jaguar F-Type, with a burnt umber paint job.
I hesitated in front of it, a sneaking suspicion I knew where it had come from. It was identical to the car Liam had. In fact, it was that car.
I walked past it, undecided about what to do with it and not ready to figure out the tangled web it represented.
To my surprise, the light in Niall and Cadell’s apartment was on. They were still here. I thought with Niamh dead and the barrow established, they would have returned to the Summerlands. Not the case. It confirmed my suspicion they had other reasons to linger besides the Wild Hunt.
I put it out of my mind. That was a problem for tomorrow’s Aileen. Tonight’s Aileen was looking forward to a quiet evening watching Netflix and reading.
“Aileen,” my dad said, stepping out of a car that I hadn’t noticed until now.
I hesitated, the desire to disappear into my apartment strong. It had been a long couple of days. I didn’t know if I wanted to deal with family drama right now.
“Please,” he said.
Resignation filled me. This was my dad. As tempting it was to duck him, it wouldn’t help in the long run. I propped my bike against the stairs, turning to face him. “What is it?”
“I know you were at the hospital earlier,” he said.
I didn’t react.
“I’m sorry you felt you had to find a time when nobody else was there,” he said.
I stiffened, disliking how he’d made things sound like my fault.
“I’m sorry we made you feel like you needed to do that.” He corrected himself before I could.
I didn’t know what to say to him. This was the man who had raised me, kissed my cuts and scrapes when I fell, and had been my biggest champion even when I felt like I failed. My dad. The man who’d lied to me my entire life.
“Me too,” I finally said.
All the anger had drained from me, leaving sadness in its place.
“Are you going to invite me up?” he asked.
I shook my head. I didn’t have it in me to be kind. Not tonight. My home was a safe space for me. I didn’t want anger and drama to contaminate it.
“Say what you need to say.”
He nodded, his face turning unbearably sad. “I guess I deserved that.”
“It’s been a really long couple of days. I’d like to go to bed,” I said when he didn’t speak.
“Your mother doesn’t want me here,” he confessed.
That didn’t surprise me. The bigger surprise was that he was here even without her blessing. He’d always deferred to her, letting her run the show. Not because he was weak, but because my mom was comfortable taking charge and he loved her enough to let her.
He held out his hand, a manila envelope in it.
“What’s that?” I asked, not taking it.
“Information about your biological father,” he said. “I kept it. Your mom doesn’t know I have it, but I thought you might need it someday.”
I didn’t take it from him. I couldn’t. All my life he’d been my dad; taking that envelope from him threatened to negate that.
His eyes were red and his voice clogged with emotion as he shook it at me. “This doesn’t change anything. I’m still your dad. You’re still my daughter. I don’t care that we don’t share blood.”
I reached out and took the envelope from him. Hiding from the truth wouldn’t help me, and it wouldn’t heal wounds that were a lifetime in the making. Sometimes the best thing to do is to rip the band-aid off and hope for the best.
“Your mother loves you, you know that, right?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. I just wish she accepted me too.”
He didn’t have anything to say to that, defeat overwhelming him. His shoulders slumped as he shuffled back to his car.
It was painful to watch him go, the envelope clutched in my hand as he drove off, the bitter taste of too many things still left unsaid in my mouth.
My phone rang.
I dug it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. Jerry calling.
I hit the answer button and grabbed the bike before climbing the stairs. “This is Aileen.”
“I never did say thank you for what you did,” he said.
I contained my surprise at his thanks, something Fae normally avoided saying as it implied a debt they would have to repay. I suppose, though, he hadn’t quite said it directly, skirting the sentiment skillfully.
I unlocked the door and let myself in. “Seems to me, you freed yourself.”
His chuckle was a low rumble. “Funny thing that. None of us could do anything against her even without the hunt. Not until you bit her.”
“Blood loss has a way of weakening a body,” I said, throwing my keys on the table.
“Did you know the Fae tell stories of a creature, one able to see magic—more importantly, one able to break magic?” he asked conversationally.
I stopped what I was doing and straightened, my insides going cold.
“That sounds like a fascinating fairy tale,” I said, keeping my voice light.
“Indeed,” Jerry said.
“Is that why you called? To recite a fairy tale?”
“No, I called to offer you a job,” he said.
The doorbell rang.
“You said you can’t rehire people.”
I opened the door to find an irate sphinx standing on my landing. “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you for days!”
I held up a hand, halting his emotional outburst.
“I’ll make an exception for you,” he said.
It was a tempting offer. My old job, one I knew how to do.
“I appreciate the offer but a new opportunity just knocked on my door,” I told him. I hung up the phone.
The sphinx waited, his face unhappy.
I looked him over and smiled. “First, we’re going to agree on terms. Then we’ll talk about me finding your missing scroll.”
I stepped back and let him into the apartment.
Later that night I picked up the envelope my dad had given me, laying each piece of paper on the desk in front of me. It wasn’t much. Just a few photos, a birth certificate and a name.
Bryan Volsk. My biological father.