Chapter Twenty-Six

Jade delivered Michael safely to his house.

She said, “This’ll be the one and only time you accompany me—or Toran—on such a dangerous excursion.”

“Hey, I did everything you told me to do,” he asserted, his expression a strong and determined one, sparking more admiration for him on Jade’s part.

She couldn’t dispute his ability to follow orders—or react swiftly to save his own life. However, because of her concern for his welfare, she reiterated, “Only once, Michael.”

Riding off with a heavy heart over the harrowing evening, she thought of how her friend had abided her direction and how she hadn’t done the same when it came to Davian’s instructions—and the promise she’d made to him. Yet she still felt justified with her intention to keep demons away from Ryleigh.

Nonetheless, a tremendous amount of guilt besieged her. She’d been petrified something would happen to Michael—and Davian had to feel the same way about her. Therefore, she could understand how incensed the king was at this point.

Jade had no doubt the alliance had expeditiously put an end to the rebellion, yet her stomach plummeted further when she noticed a lone figure sitting on the bench outside her cottage.

She slipped from the horse’s back. After patting his neck, collecting her thoughts and composing herself somewhat, she walked toward the patio.

“Been here long?” she asked as she settled next to the vampire.

“Yes.” Sheena swept back the hood from her cape and stared at Jade with piercing green eyes. “You were supposed to stay within the village borders. I came to keep you company. Protect you if it came to that. But apparently you had other plans.”

Jade shook her head in astonishment. “What exactly is the range of your hearing?”

Ignoring the query, Sheena said, “I’ve been waiting for you since the sun set. And when you didn’t return to your home, I knew precisely where you were.”

She sighed. “I can’t seem to help myself. No matter how hard I try to do what I’m told, I constantly find myself in these treacherous situations.”

“Yes, well, I suspect you don’t help matters,” the vampire snapped. “You thrive on sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”

Jade’s teeth bit into her bottom lip but for a moment. She couldn’t hold back what she had to say regarding Sheena’s accusation. “Has it occurred to you I don’t wander into these messes, but that I’m somehow thrust into them? I don’t seek out trouble, Sheena. And as a matter of public record, I’m now one of the few who are supposed to counteract potentially fatal circumstances when they threaten human lives.”

Sheena crossed her arms over her chest, looking indignant. “You act impulsively, Jade. And look where it’s gotten you.”

Jade stood. Confronting her friend, she said, “I’m not injured. I didn’t do anything impulsively. I put a great deal of thought into my actions this evening in order to stall the fire wraith. In order to keep Toran, Michael and I from harm. In order to keep demons at bay until Davian and Morgan arrived. I didn’t do anything that was careless or could be misconstrued as a blatant neglect for my own safety. And I certainly didn’t instigate a demon attack on my village,” she insisted.

“Jade—”

“No,” she raised a hand to cut off the vampire. “Sheena, listen to me. Toran came for me when the wraith’s army began to materialize. I couldn’t let them penetrate the woods—that was resolutely established between the slayers and the king. So instead of becoming a sitting duck or cowering helplessly, I took a stand. I won’t defend that anymore. I did what I had to do. What I’m obligated to do, officially and morally.”

The vampire stewed. Jade permitted her to do so.

Then Sheena got to her feet as well and demanded, “What about the king?”

Jade had no idea what to say on that subject, other than, “I’ll deal with him when he cools down.”

Spearing her with a severe look, Sheena said, “There might not be anything with which to deal. And I wouldn’t expect him to ‘cool down’ anytime soon. You constantly negate his good intentions when it comes to you. I understand you’ve basically raised yourself and find it difficult to answer to someone else. But Jade, there’s one thing you continually forget—you are not alone anymore.”

She pushed past Jade and, in a blink of an eye, disappeared into the dark night.

Leaving, in her wake, tears tumbling down Jade’s cold cheeks.

* * *

Morgan delivered news to Jade a few hours later.

“We’ve annihilated the entire rogue army,” he told her. “I can’t guarantee there aren’t other renegades out there. My guess is, there are. But nothing like what we’ve just encountered. And I can’t imagine them rising up anytime soon. They won’t have the numbers to band together and they certainly won’t be inclined to take on the alliance following such a hasty and violent victory over those who moved close to Ryleigh, considering it a weak link.”

“We’re not a weak link,” she said adamantly. “Toran and I are determined to protect and serve, whether or not the king still accepts me as his ambassador.”

Morgan, who stood outside her front door, stepped away and asked, “Will you come out on the patio for a moment?”

She had no idea what he was up to, but she trusted him. As her father had. As Davian did.

She followed him outdoors and found the two demons who’d stood by her, Toran and Michael during the invasion.

The one who’d taken the lead on the battlefield moved forward. He extended his hand and said, “I’m Sebastian.”

“And I’m Landford,” the other told her.

She shook hands with the demons.

Sebastian said, “You were impressive earlier. You knew the fire wraith’s army intended to attack the village, not advance on the kingdom. That’s good instinct. And you fight valiantly.”

“I’ve had excellent instructors.”

Landford added, “You’re not just well trained, Jade. You have a gift. We’ll stand by you and fight with you anytime.”

“As will I,” Morgan offered.

She felt oddly choked up, but said, “I appreciate that, from all of you.”

“We’ll be on our way now.” The general gave her a half-smile meant to comfort her, she suspected. And that did not bode well for her hopes of a reconciliation with Davian. In Morgan’s eyes, she saw doubt the Demon King would come around and forgive her this final time. “Sebastian and Landford will continue to patrol on our side of the border, as a precautionary measure.”

“Toran and I will also agree upon shifts,” she told them, her voice reflecting her dismay. She couldn’t hide her pain over betraying Davian and losing his confidence in her—perhaps even his love.

“Be careful,” Morgan said.

“We will.”

Jade walked back into the cottage, securing the door behind her, since she didn’t anticipate any other visitors. Least of all the Demon King.

She stood in the entryway of her bedroom, her shoulder propped against the frame and her arms crossed over her chest. She stared at the enormous bed that took up a good portion of the room. It was her favorite piece of furniture in the cottage, for many reasons. Davian had given it to her and they’d shared several beautiful nights underneath those sensuous covers.

Shoving away from the doorframe, she strolled over to the bed and ran her hand along the satin sheets and the soft, suede duvet. In her mind’s eye, it was easy to conjure images of her and Davian making love. Their limbs entwined, their bodies joined, their lips tangled.

As her palm continued to sweep across the fabric, her gaze fell to her hand. She stopped stroking the duvet and removed Davian’s ring. A wave of emotion washed over her as she placed it on the mantle of the fireplace. Then she left the room.

Curling up on the sofa in the living room with a throw that matched the ice-blue drapes in color and was made of warm chenille—all gifts from the vampire Sheena—she rested her head on a pillow and her eyelids dipped. The consternation she felt over angering Davian and the tension and fear she’d experienced most of the night mixed with the physical fatigue from battling the fire wraith.

Though she tried hard to not obsess over defying Davian and attempted to keep that enraged and deceived look he’d given her from her mind, she couldn’t hold it all at bay. Tears seeped from the corners of her closed eyes. Pain ripped through her.

Davian must have been horrified when the wraith had taken that last swing at her. And her disloyalty clearly cut deep.

Despite her best efforts, for some reason, Jade was unable to push her jagged emotions into that black abyss in her core. Rather, they engulfed her and squeezed tight, constricting all around her so that she could barely breathe. Harsh sobs wracked her body as she wept for all that she’d just lost.

Davian’s love.

Sheena’s friendship.

Likely the respect from the kingdom if the demons also thought she’d acted irrationally, foolishly.

And what of the villagers? Michael and Lisette? Even Toran was angry with her relating to everything he’d learned of her relationship with the Demon King.

Could she ever smooth the waters with them?

Jade had no idea how long she cried. It was excruciating. A thorough gutting of her insides.

Thankfully, exhaustion eventually consumed her. She was too tired to think, too tired to analyze, too tired to separate all her feelings.

She drifted into a tumultuous slumber, filled with nightmares of vicious demons and lost love.

And a brutal ache built deep within her soul…