Chapter 19
Lilly watched as the king of the warlocks paced the main hall in the mountain they called home. She was still growing use to living in such a grand and old fashioned place, but it was beginning to feel like home. She and Cypher had yet to say any formal vows, and though they shared a bed, because her warlock refused to leave, their relationship had not progressed physically. If things continued they way they had been recently, she wondered if they’d ever get around to getting married. Lilly knew she shouldn’t be worried about that, and she wasn’t, not really. But the little girl in her who dreamed of the white dress couldn’t help but hope that, even at over forty years of age, it would happen soon.
“Are you going to talk with Vasile about it?” She finally broke the silence that had been between them since she’d returned from seeing her daughter. When Lilly had gotten back she’d found Cypher and his top council members in deep discussion over the continuing decline of their people. Every day another warlock fell victim to the madness that seemed to be claiming them.
Cypher was getting desperate to help them. And yet she knew that he honestly didn’t have any idea how to fix the problem. The magic in the human realm had grown weak, and it almost seemed as if the warlocks were begining to soak up all of the evil that had been left over, like a residue, across their mountain over the years.
“I understand your ties to the wolves because of your daughter, Lilly, but it isn’t in our nature to seek out help when it will reveal a weakness about ourselves.”
He’d told her that already in many different ways, but she still didn’t agree. “Will you let pride be your downfall then?”
His yellow eyes narrowed. “It isn’t pride to want to protect my people.”
“Vasile and his wolves have come to your aide before and they did not exploit your weaknesses then. Why do you think they would suddenly do so now? When are you going to see that you aren’t god. You can’t fix everything on your own. It is okay to need help.” Lilly was pleading with him again. She had yet to admit to him that she was terrified she was going to lose him to the madness that had taken others. She couldn’t stand the thought of her strong, powerful warlock king reduced to animal like behavior and unable to be the leader he was born to be. She needed him and whether he realized it or not, he needed her.
“I’m not going to keep arguing with you about this, Lilly,” he said sounding every bit as tired as he looked.
“Are you plannng on sending me away again?”
His head snapped up. “No, I told you I wouldn’t do that again.”
“Then I guess you will argue with me about it as many times as I bring it up. I am not one of your subjects and I will not turn a blind eye while you run foolishly into a battle you can’t win on your own. That is what a partner is, Cypher―someone to help you see what you can’t, and to challenge you, and to question you so that you look at all the possibilities.”
“Perhaps, I have been alone in my duties for too long and I cannot change,” he rumbled as he turned to face the large throne that sat at the front of the hall. It looked cold and lonely up there but it was no longer by itself. Next to it now sat a smaller more feminine throne―one she had not sat on yet because she didn’t feel right doing so, as she wasn’t yet his bride. It aggravated him to no end, which really was just a bonus.
“You can believe your excuses if you want but I’m not interested in what you’re selling. If you want me, then you will fight for me―for us. If you want your people to be well again, then you will fight for them, and you will take on any help you can in order to be victorious. So don’t try and spout that I’m too old to change crap to me. I’ve been single for eighteen years and yet I’m willing to let go of some control in order to have happiness with you. You have to meet me half way.”
Cypher stared at her with frustration marring his handsome face. It wasn’t a new argument and Lilly wasn’t foolish enough to believe that they wouldn’t have it again and again, but it was one worth fighting. She would not accept laziness in their relationship. It would take hard work on both of their parts to be successful, but she wanted it and she believed he did too. Now she just had to figure out how to help him save his people and possibly himself.
“We can do this, Cypher.” She took a step toward him, and another, until she stood directly in front of him. She reached up to his face and placed her palm on his skin. Cypher leaned into her hand making her insides tingle with desire. “You are worth it to me. Am I to you?”
His large arms circled her waist and pulled her tightly against him. He leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers and let out a long, deep breath. “You are worth more than you know, Little One. I know I am difficult and unbending but I will fight for you. Whatever it takes, you are mine.”
“Then we will do this together. We will save your people.”
“Our people,” he corrected before pressing his lips to hers.
Our people, Lilly thought to herself as she let Cypher’s love wrap around her. He was right; she had to begin to see them as her people even though she was human. If she loved Cypher and would do anything she could for him, she had to love them just as she did him. She had to be willing to go all in and build a life with him. Jacque was moving forward in her own life, married and now with a child on the way, and it was time for Lilly to move forward with hers. Never in a million years would she have thought it would be at the side of a warlock king, but as he pulled her tighter against him, his hands moving lower on her lower back and his lips devouring hers, she realized that there was no place else on earth that she belonged like she did there with him.
From the author:
I hope you enjoyed getting to see how Fane and Jacque are doing while they prepare for the birth of their child. Stay tuned for the next Grey Wolves Series Novella, Queen of the Warlocks, where we will embark on a harrowing journey with Lilly and Cypher to save their people. Also coming soon is Surrender, Book 3 in the Elfin Series. Read further for an exclusive sneak peak!
Surrender, Book 3 Elfin Series
Quinn Loftis
Exclusive sneak peak
“Humans continue to amaze me with their ‘technology.’ These so called ‘inventions’ that they’ve come up with over the years are nothing more than efforts to stay connected. Deep down they know they are weak. They know they are vulnerable. Subconsciously they fear to be alone. So they continually strive to connect themselves to other humans. But those connections themselves are weaknesses. Like a virus spreads from cell to cell, so can disaster spread through the networks the technology affords. Their very ingenuity will be their downfall.” ~Tamsin
“Have I ever mentioned how much I loathe airports?” Elora asked no one in particular. The group that was now gathered in terminal C, Section A of Oklahoma City International airport each glanced in her direction. After surviving the long and hazardous journey across the airport, considering they had nearly been run over by one of those luggage golf carts, they’d finally reached their gate. Now they could sit and wait with a hundred other bodies crammed into the tiny little terminal.
“What about it exactly do you despise?” Oakley asked her. “Could it be the obnoxious lady on the intercom, having to repeat herself because people won’t pay attention? Or perhaps it’s the lovely smell that seems to be wafting off of these fabric seats that are more than likely several decades old? Better still, maybe you utterly loathe airports because they let guys that look like Cush walk through the security line without a backward glance, but then pull a seventeen year old female to the side to pat down because she looks too threatening.”
“Yes,” Elora answered to all of the questions. “And to be fair, I do sort of look like someone who likes to play with fire.”
“I personally like the part where Cush made the male security guard who stepped toward Elora take several steps back causing him to trip over a guy trying to put his shoes back on. I was sure the poor man was going to start crying,” Syndra laughed.
Elora noticed that Cush did not.
“He made some comment about them being short staffed so he would have to pat her down,” Cush said. His jaw was clenched so tight Elora wondered how his teeth didn’t shatter. “I simply made it clear that if he touched her I would crush his hands.”
“Oh is that all?” Oakley chuckled.
“Poor guy,” Elora said in a voice that was forlorn, though when she looked at Cush she knew he saw the wicked gleam in her eyes. “That might have been the only action he would have had in a long time.”
“Elora,” Lisa admonished though not very convincingly.
“He can touch someone else’s female,” he said in a deathly low voice. “No one touches you.”
Elora knew better than to continue to tease him when he was feeling all possessive and protective so she let it go. But she continued to watch him and he continued to seethe. Elora was a little confused as to why he was still so upset over it, and she was just about to ask him when a voice came over the intercom.
“Attention passengers of Continental Airlines flight 233. We apologize but your flight has been put on hold for some routine maintenance of the aircraft. We will attempt to move as quickly as possible to keep your wait as short as we can. Thank you.”
“Routine maintenance,” Elora huffed.
“It probably won’t be long if it’s routine,” Syndra offered attempting to soothe Elora’s ruffled feathers.
Elora glanced at her brother. “You’d better be the bearer of bad news. If I tell them I’ll add lots of expletives and have to blame it on my dark elf half.”
“What she’s not saying,” Oakley started as he looked from Cush to Syndra, “is that when they say routine maintenance it usually means there’s a massive leak in the gas tank, or half the engine is suddenly on the ground. They don’t want to cause any fear by telling us what is really going on.”
“So basically the nice human just lied to us,” Cush pointed out unnecessarily, his face just as tight as it had been since going through security.
“It’s a form of customer service,” Lisa offered. “Keep the consumer happy and ignorant and hide everything else under the rug. Welcome to the American way.”
“I always said humans were weird,” Syndra said as she sat back into her chair attempting to get comfortable. Elora didn’t know why she was even trying. Sitting in airport chairs was about as comfortable as sitting bare-butted on a cactus. Okay so maybe she was exaggerating, but not by much.
Elora stood up and stretched her arms above her head attempting to work the kinks out. If they were going to be stuck here for a while she was going to have move around and get the blood flowing to all of her extremities again. She could see Cush stand up behind her from the corner of her eye but she didn’t bother to acknowledge him. He would give her some space, but he wouldn’t take his eyes off of her.
She walked over to the huge glass windows that looked out over the tarmac where the planes docked for loading and unloading. She watched as men in blue jumpsuits and yellow vests hustled about, each moving with purpose and efficiency. It made her think of an ant hill with all the little worker ants scurrying here and there to get their tasks done. Her eyes were drew to the plane that had their flight number on the side and she attempted to find what could be wrong with it. Granted she knew there wasn’t going to be a huge sign with an arrow that said ‘faulty propeller.’ Nothing could ever be that simple.
Elora was just about to turn away from the window when fluid movement—much too smoothly to have been made by a human—caught her attention. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped closer to the window, her nose nearly bumping into the glass. She was sure it had to be a trick of the light but then two other men seemed to materialize next to the first one. Her eyes widened. “You sneaky, sneaky elves,” she muttered under her breath as she watched three dark elves working alongside the humans, only she was pretty sure they weren’t attempting to help. There was no doubt in her mind that they were dark elves because she was seeing past their glamor. Elora imagined it was probably not airline policy for their employees to have long hair flowing freely, whipping in all directions in the wind where it could get caught in something. She also thought that it was probably not acceptable for their employees to carry swords and daggers at their sides.
Elora turned to find Cush. She didn’t have to look too hard. He was about twenty feet away leaning against a pillar, completely unaware of the affect he was having on the people around him. The men were looking at him warily as though at any moment he was going to reach out and grab one of them by the throat and the women were looking at him like he was the juiciest steak they’d ever seen. It would have been funny if she wasn’t worried about the dark elves sabotaging their plane. She motioned for him to come over and then unabashedly enjoyed the view of his large frame moving so gracefully through the crowd. People got out of his way without him ever having to say anything. Elora was sure at any moment someone was going to roll a red carpet out in front of him. She snorted to herself at the image in her mind.
“What’s the smirk for?” Cush asked once he was standing in front of her. His eyes were focused only on her. She knew that he was aware of their surroundings and he constantly watched for threats, but somehow he never took his eyes off her.
“Are you completely oblivious to the reaction of people around you?” Realizing that now was not the time to boost his ego, she shook her head and waved a hand in front of him. “Scratch that. I wanted you to come over here so you could see that.” She turned and pointed at what was beyond the window to where she’d seen the elves.
“Are you freaking kidding me?” She huffed. They were gone.
“What’s wrong, Elora? What did you see?” Cush asked her in the voice he always used when he expected obedience.
“There were three dark elves out there. They were running around just like the other workers, looking as though they were helping, but I saw past their glamor. I don’t know what they were doing but I would bet my big left—”
“Little Raven,” Cush said in warning.
She looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes. “I was going to say my big left toe. Where exactly is your mind, oh great warrior?”
“Quit distracting me, woman,” he growled as he took her hand and led her back over to where their group was still lounging.
Elora could tell that they all new immediately something was wrong just by looking at Cush. His face was hard granite as his jaw clenched and his brow lowered over his seething eyes.
“What’s wrong?” Syndra asked as she stood.
“Elora saw dark elves out by the plane that we are supposed to board,” Cush explained. “For some reason I don’t think it’s a coincidence.”
Oakley pinched the bridge of his nose as he let out a frustrated sigh. “How is this guy staying one step ahead of us?”
“Trik was not Lorsan’s only spy,” Syndra told him. “He just happened to be his most talented.”
“So what’s the plan?” Lisa asked as she joined the others all now standing.
Cush looked at Syndra with narrowed eyes. “It’s time you proved just how powerful you are.”
Syndra’s head tilted ever so slightly to the side and a crooked smile twitched her full lips. “What exactly do you have in mind, warrior?”
Books by Quinn
Grey Wolves Series
Prince of Wolves
Blood Rites
Just One Drop
Out of the Dar
Beyond the Veil
Fate and Fury
Sacrifice of Love
Luna of Mine
Grey Wolves Novella’s
Piercing Silence
Queen of the Warlocks (Coming soon)
Gypsy Healers Series
Into the Fae
Wolf of Stone
Elfin Series
Elfin
Rapture
Surrender (Coming soon)
Dream Makers Series
Dream of Me
Dream so Dark (Coming soon)
Stand Alone Works
Call Me Crazy