What Saeed wanted was to get Cerys back to his condo but neither was he willing to let her out of his sight. He’d given Gregor his word that he’d take her back to L.A. immediately, but he couldn’t help but feel reluctant. The deal he’d made with Gregor had been rash. He’d been desperate. Cerys was dying and needed her soul to thrive. To survive. He would have agreed to anything. The potential consequences for his actions hadn’t even registered.
If Mikhail found out what he’d done here tonight, Ian Gregor would be the least of Saeed’s problems.
There was so much he and Cerys needed to discuss. She’d said she loved him. The admission was more than Saeed could’ve hoped for. Since the first time he’d seen her in the Collective, he’d been obsessed. She’d occupied his every waking thought. That obsession hadn’t been love, however. Saeed wasn’t so foolish as to think otherwise. He’d wanted Cerys. Desired her. Had counted on her to return his soul to him. But sometime during the quiet, stolen moments with her over the past several weeks, Saeed had fallen in love. With her strength, her quiet dignity, her snarky humor, her beauty, her grace, and her perseverance despite everything life had thrown at her.
“Are you sure you’re strong enough for this?”
She needed to rest. To recuperate and regain her strength. To adjust to the sensation of being whole after thousands of years of being incomplete.
Cerys reached out to take Saeed’s hand in hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m okay.” He gave her a dubious look and she smiled. “Really.”
The tether that bound them gave a gentle tug. Saeed admitted he could’ve used a few quiet moments of adjustment for himself. The reassurance of their connection comforted Saeed, even though he knew it wasn’t necessary. He’d known long before his soul had been returned that Cerys was meant for him. His own unflagging faith was more of a reassurance than that sensation in his chest.
Fallon remained stoically silent in the driver’s seat, his gaze unflinchingly focused on the road. This night had been one of the longest of Saeed’s existence, and it was far from over. “What if we run into trouble?”
Cerys gave a gentle laugh. “I think we’ve been through the worst of it, don’t you?”
Saeed wanted to think so but something told him their troubles were only about to begin. Whether those troubles would be in Seattle or L.A. was yet to be seen. “What I think is that I’m not willing to risk your safety ever again.”
“Good luck with that.” Cerys laughed again and Saeed wondered how she could continue to be so nonchalant despite everything that had happened. The space of silence passed before she spoke up again. “So, when are you going to tell me what in the hell happened between you and Ian Gregor?”
Never, if Saeed could get away with it. Of course, he knew that would never happen, not when his mate was so headstrong. Mate. He realized he’d never allowed himself to truly think of Cerys in such a way before. A smile curved his lips. Cerys Bain was his tethered mate and Saeed couldn’t be happier. Finally, everything in his life had fallen into place.
“Later,” Saeed replied. He didn’t want to have this conversation with an audience. Fallon might’ve claimed his singular focus was the return of Breanne’s soul, but Saeed knew all wouldn’t simply be forgiven. He didn’t want to give the fae any more ammunition against them than they already had. “When we’re alone.”
Cerys gave him a look. “You do realize that response isn’t exactly putting me at ease, right?”
No, he supposed it wouldn’t. Not with her need to find some measure of control in an out-of-control situation. “Patience, love. Just give me a little time to tie up these loose ends and I won’t leave out a single detail.”
Cerys’s gaze warmed. “Love?”
Saeed brought her knuckles to his lips. “As if there was any doubt?” He didn’t outright tell her he loved her, because once again he wasn’t thrilled about having an audience. Cerys deserved more than a casual admission, and once they were alone he would tell her exactly how he felt.
“We’re here.”
Fallon broke his silence as he pulled into a gated driveway just outside of the city and brought the car to a stop. Rin might have not have regularly displayed his power, but that didn’t mean he never used it. The souls he’d instructed Cerys to take were his most prized possessions. Saeed couldn’t imagine getting to them would be a simple task.
“The air is thick with magic.” Fallon’s tone echoed Saeed’s concern. “We should have brought a magic wielder with us.”
As if he could’ve simply picked one up at the corner market. Saeed knew of only one magic wielder, Ronan’s mate, Naya, and she was no mage. He doubted she’d be of any use from L.A., however. They were on their own.
“Rin’s magic is elemental,” Saeed said. “At least we know what to expect.”
Fallon snorted. Apparently he didn’t share in Saeed’s optimism. “That hardly puts me at ease.”
He pulled the car to a stop at a large iron gate which Saeed assumed was more to keep up the appearance of security than anything. He didn’t know of any supernatural creature that wouldn’t be able to leap the gate as though they were simply crossing a puddle. They’d encounter Rin’s true security once they crossed it.
“Fallon’s right. We need backup. This isn’t going to be a picnic.”
Saeed gave Cerys a sidelong glance. He knew this wouldn’t be easy. In an ideal situation, they would have time to plan and execute. Time wasn’t on their side, though. Gregor expected Saeed and Cerys back in L.A. by the sunrise after tomorrow. They didn’t have a moment to spare.
“One of Gregor’s foot soldiers made it through,” Saeed replied. “So we know it can be done.”
“Would’ve been nice if the bastard had seen fit to share those details,” Cerys remarked.
On that, they could agree. Gregor had struck a deal with Saeed, but that hardly made them friends. Gregor didn’t give a single shit about the other souls Rin held hostage. Helping Saeed to free them was not a part of his agenda. But gods, Saeed wished he knew what Gregor’s agenda was.
The paved driveway that led from the gate to the building couldn’t have been more than fifty yards. The building itself wasn’t elaborate or impressive in any way. Nothing more than a modest outbuilding, which made Saeed even more nervous. The structure had to be well protected. They had no choice but to move forward and pray they could circumvent Rin’s security.
“Cerys, how many souls does Rin have in that building?”
Saeed turned his attention to Fallon and waited for Cerys to respond to the fae’s question.
“Including Breanne’s,” Cerys said, “three hundred and two.”
Gods. Even if they did managed to circumvent Rin’s security, Saeed had no idea how they would return every single soul to their rightful owners before sunrise. “How do we return them?”
Cerys gave him a sad smile. “How did you return my soul to me?”
Saeed’s brow furrowed. “I simply freed it from its prison. And it flew to you.”
“Exactly. It’s a lot easier to return a soul than it is to steal one.”
Their gazes met and held. “As easy as tethering a soul?”
She smirked. “Easier.”
“Good. Are you ready to right a few wrongs?”
Cerys’s smile widened and shone with genuine joy. “Absolutely.”
* * *
She’d assured Saeed she was five by five, but in truth, Cerys was still a little wiped. Over the past week, she’d gone through the wringer and it would be a couple of months at least before she felt comfortable in her own skin again. The return of her soul had brought with it an intensity to her emotions that had been absent for far too long. Her own residual guilt at having harmed so many at Rin’s behest nearly gutted her. Nothing in her world would be right until she did something to undo the hurt she’d caused.
“I should go alone.” There was no point in putting both Saeed and Fallon in danger. This was her deed to do. Her risk to take.
“No.” Saeed’s response brooked no argument. Cerys should’ve known he’d never let her go it alone, but she had to at least give it a shot. “We’ll do this together, or not at all.”
“You’ll do this, or face Breanne’s judgment.” Fallon’s icy tone could have frozen flames. “There is no other option.”
“Whatever.” Gods, bean sidhe were so intense. Fallon needed to calm the hell down and let Cerys handle this. “Either way, we’re not getting anything accomplished standing here talking about it.” Cerys was exhausted. Her emotions were on edge, she felt like an alien in her own body, and all she wanted was to crawl into bed with Saeed and call it a damned night. “We go together, but let’s agree on the end game. Get into the building. Free the souls. No matter what, one of us has to do that.”
Saeed’s narrowed gaze told her he had no problem reading between the lines. “That someone doesn’t have to be you.” His emphatic tone caused Cerys’s chest to swell with emotion. So much that it overwhelmed her. She reached up as her chest tightened and she felt the familiar tug of their bond. That was definitely going to take some getting used to. “Hang back, and let me run point.”
Cerys wasn’t about to enter into a relationship with Saeed where she expected him to clean up her messes. “I’ll run point,” she said. “You two just be sure to watch my back.” Saeed opened his mouth to protest but she cut him off. “No arguments. I’m doing this. Period. I told you I was okay and I meant it.” All right, so that last part was a bit of an exaggeration. “You have to let me fix this, Saeed. Otherwise, it will always be a point of contention between us.”
Saeed’s expression softened, as though he could see the logic in her argument. He was a reasonable male, surely he wasn’t interested in wasting any more time. “Very well. You run point.”
Huh. He’d caved much easier than she thought he would. “Okay, then. Let’s do this.”
Without thinking, Cerys leapt over the gate. She landed firmly on her feet, a little surprised at her own strength and agility. She’d been running at half capacity for so long, she’d forgotten what she was capable of. She could only imagine how she’d feel after a couple months of rest.
Cerys held her breath as she waited for the first blow of Rin’s magical security to hit her. The air was charged with a static tingle and smelled of sulfur, like the heavy air of a summer storm. The sound of two sets of feet hitting the ground preceded a crack of thunder as the sky went bright with a streak of lightning. It struck the pavement not five feet away and the impact knocked all three of them onto their asses.
“Okay…” Cerys pushed herself up to stand and dusted herself off. “That could’ve been worse.”
Of course, she’d spoken too soon. Strike after strike of bright white lightning pounded the ground like bombs going off in a mine field. Awesome. “Run!”
Cerys took off at a sprint. She zigged and zagged as she avoided one bolt of lightning after the next. The ground shook and her footing wasn’t sure but she kept her gaze focused straight ahead and powered through. Saeed and Fallon were both quicker than she was. Their reaction times much faster. They could easily anticipate and avoid the strikes. Cerys could only hope that she could stay even half a step ahead. Every step brought her closer to the outbuilding, and she pushed herself as fast as she could go. Just another fifteen seconds. Ten, and she’d be home free.
At least, she hoped.
The air grew thick with the scent of sulfur once again and the hairs on Cerys’s arms stood on end. The crack came alongside the flash of lightning this time and she zigged when she should have zagged. Damn it. Way to make yourself an easy target you idiot!
Her breath left her lungs in a violent whoosh of air as she was tackled from the right and taken to the ground. Saeed cradled her in his arms as he rolled to shield her body from the brunt of the impact at the exact moment lightning struck the ground where she’d stood only a moment ago. “Holy shit!” Thunder continued to crash around them as more lightning struck the ground. “That was close.”
“Too close,” Saeed said against her ear. “Stay near me, please. I don’t think a vampire can suffer a heart attack, but neither do I want to press my luck and find out.”
Cerys stifled her amusement at his humor. Her stoic vampire was finally starting to loosen up. His timing could’ve been better, but still … Their destination wasn’t more than fifteen or so yards away. “Deal. Let’s get moving. No use standing around waiting to be struck by lightning.”
Saeed’s warm chuckle sent chills over Cerys’s skin. “Agreed.”
Gods, it was so not the right time to be lusting after her mate but Cerys couldn’t help herself. It also wasn’t the right time for her to realize that Saeed was in fact, her mate. Wow. It was a night of revelations, wasn’t it?
“Cerys! Come on!”
Oh yeah, right. She hopped up and took off at a sprint. Saeed kept pace at her side and they ran together toward the outbuilding where Fallon already waited for them. She stayed close to Saeed’s body as they navigated the mine field of lightning strikes. Twenty feet … ten … five. They skidded to a stop under the eave of the roof and Cerys pressed her back flat against the building as she caught her breath. One last angry bolt struck the ground and the world around them rattled before a final boom of thunder trailed off into deafening silence.
“The door is unlocked.” Fallon didn’t bother to check on anyone’s wellbeing. To be honest, Cerys was just thankful he hadn’t tried to kill either one of them yet. “I checked the knob but didn’t open it.”
“Well, I suppose that’s one obstacle down.” Though it would’ve been nice if Fallon had actually opened the door to check for a potential threat. She supposed he wasn’t going to put his safety on the line, though. Nope, he’d leave the risk to her. Cerys pushed herself away from the building and headed for the door. She reached for the knob and turned it. As she pushed, Saeed jerked her out of the way and turned with her held tight against his body. Gale force winds raged from inside, strong enough to have thrown Cerys’s body thirty or so yards away. The howling in her ears drowned out any other sound and the three of them waited, bodies pressed against the building, until the winds died down to nothing more than a gentle breeze.
“Rin’s power is diminished now that his soul is gone,” Cerys replied. “The magic guarding this place has to be a quarter of what it was when the berserkers came. They must’ve been battered running this gauntlet.”
“I doubt it.” Saeed did little to hide his disgust. “Berserkers can take an almost unimaginable amount of damage. I’m sure they made it through with little difficulty.”
Probably. Cerys couldn’t believe she’d every feel grateful for a berserker’s resilience, but she was. At least for now. She hoped the blessing of having her soul returned wouldn’t eventually turn into a curse.
“I think we’re through the worst of it,” she said to Saeed.
Any further attempt to contain elemental magic inside the building would have risked damaging the souls stored inside. No way would Rin have done it. Cerys moved away from the door but Saeed stepped in front of her and shielded her with his arm.
“I’ll go in first. When I’m assured it’s safe, you can enter.”
So gallant. Foolish, but gallant.
“I’m right behind you,” Cerys said.
“As am I,” Fallon couldn’t help but add. Ugh.
“Don’t worry.” Cerys wanted to add something snarky, but she decided to exercise a little caution for a change. “Breanne’s soul will be the first one I free.”
Fallon leveled his icy gaze on her. “How will you know?”
Cerys suppressed a shudder. “I’ll know. Saeed, go ahead. Let’s get this over with.”
She waited at the threshold as Saeed went inside. Several tense moments passed where Cerys felt like she might crawl right out of her skin. When he appeared in the doorway, she let out an audible sigh of relief.
“It’s safe.” His voice held a quality of awe that sent a jolt of anxiety through her bloodstream. “Come inside.”
Cerys knew what she’d find inside the building but it still caught her off guard. Three hundred and two bottles lined the far wall, all of them glowing with the light of the souls contained within their confines. Cerys recognized every single one and knew on sight which one belonged to whom.
The guilt welled up within her, so hot and thick that she thought it would choke her to death.
“Where is Breanne’s soul?” Fallon demanded from behind her.
“There.” Cerys pointed to the modern-looking bottle with a rubber stopper closest to her left. The soul glowed and pulsed, glistened like myriad fireflies. “That one is Breanne’s.”
“How will you return it to her?”
Cerys glanced at Fallon from over her shoulder. The shadows of the darkened room made the angles of his face sharp and almost sinister. Cold and feral. Just like the creature he was. “It will return to her on its own,” she murmured. “All we have to do is free it.”
“Then do it,” Fallon said. “Now.”
With his eye on the prize, the bean sidhe wasn’t interested in pleasantries anymore. Cerys could hardly blame him. She lifted the bottle from its perch and cradled it in her hand. A deep breath inflated her lungs as she pulled the stopper, and she released it as the soul escaped the narrow mouth of the bottle in shining silver tendrils before rising into the air and slipping quickly through the open door.
“There,” Cerys said on a breath. “It’s done.”
“I don’t believe you.” Fallon’s skepticism was going to put a serious kink in the rest of her night. “It can’t be that simple.”
“It can and it is,” Cerys said. “Taking a soul is the hard part. When released from its prison, it naturally wants to return to its home.”
“When Breanne gives word that she’s once again whole, I’ll believe you.”
Cerys shrugged. “Suit yourself.”
Saeed reached for one of the bottles and Cerys stayed his hand. “Don’t.” Somehow, she couldn’t bear for Saeed to touch any of them. These precious souls that Cerys had so cruelly stolen. “Please. I…” A knot formed in Cerys’s throat and she tried to speak past it. “I need to do this myself.”
Saeed jerked his chin toward the doorway and Fallon took several steps back. Cerys took one of the bottles in her hand—Nick’s soul—and turned it in her palm. Saeed laid a comforting hand on her shoulder and Cerys leaned against him. She loved the way his large frame supported her. The way he lent his strength to her.
Crash!
Without thinking, she let the bottle slip from her fingers. It shattered on the concrete floor to release the soul trapped inside. It floated like glowing tendrils of smoke, winding and twining through the air before it slipped past Fallon and out the doorway. Cerys plucked another bottle from the shelf. “Alicia.” A desperate nymph with the power to enchant men with the sound of her voice who’d fallen on hard times and gone to Rin for help. The bottle that contained her soul crashed to the floor as well.
Tears welled in Cerys’s eyes as she grabbed one bottle after the next. First, they tumbled from her grip, then, she threw them angrily at the floor. With each bottle, she spoke another name. Another victim. Another pathetic creature forced to lived decades—centuries—incomplete. Cerys cried in earnest until her tears blurred her surroundings. Bottle after bottle crashed to the floor until all that was left was a pile of broken glass, her tears, and the guilt she feared she’d never wash from her own tarnished soul.
“Shh.” Saeed turned her in his embrace and cradled her against him. “It’s all right, love. I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
Her arms went around him and she held on to him as though fearful he’d let her go. “I love you, Saeed,” she said through her tears. “I love you.”
“And I love you.” She felt the truth of his words in every fiber of her being. Through the tether that bound them.
It was a good thing, too. Because Cerys had a feeling their troubles were far from over.