Quinlan murmured a greeting but stayed put.
Davido waved at her and said Vojalie was cooking up one of her pasta recipes. “Dinner in a half hour.”
“Okay.” She disappeared into the hallway.
As Ethan moved the opposite direction, stepping down into the living room, Davido crossed to take Bernice from Quinlan’s arms. “I’ll just go check on the linguine.” He moved swiftly so that within a couple of seconds, Ethan was alone with the vampire who’d trained him both as a Guardsman and how to govern his realm.
Quinlan just shook his head, his hands planted on his hips. “Fuck. So, this is what a blood rose does to a mastyr.” His deep voice resonated through the room.
“Welcome to my nightmare. You felt it though, what she was?”
“The moment I saw her, it was as though I recognized her and believe me that was a tornado that drew me in. I didn’t have time to think especially when she headed in my direction. Ethan, a thousand apologies.”
“This wasn’t your fault or hers. Nobody’s, except that I’m damn sorry for tackling you.”
Quinlan grinned, a rare thing for him. “We’ll both have to pay, though, for the damage done to the building. You didn’t see it, but we busted a wall up pretty good. There might even be a problem with the joists.”
“Well, that’s because you’re one big motherfucker.”
Quinlan laughed but soon grew somber. “I won’t be able to stay here. I’ve dreaded seeing her walk through the door. Sweet Goddess, the smell of her blood! But do you like her, this woman of yours?”
“She’s not my woman. Why does everyone have to keep saying that?” Of course remembering the things he’d said to Samantha in the middle of all the recent outrageous sex sort of belied his own constant protestations.
“You didn’t answer my question: Do you like her? Is she a decent kind of woman?” He frowned as he asked.
“She…she’s not typical. But the truth is, I don’t know. I barely know her.”
“Yet, you trust her. Even I can see that much.”
Ethan nodded. He searched around trying to figure out how best to explain what he felt about Samantha, what his deepest frequencies told him about her.
“You know what Davido said?”
Ethan shifted his gaze back to Quinlan. “What?”
“That when she looks at you, she sees you, not just the trappings, but you.”
“Yeah, I think she does.”
Quinlan elaborated. “It’s as though you’re suddenly the most important person in the world. She did it just now, to me, when she looked at me.”
Ethan bristled, his fists clenching, the muscles of his arms flexing.
But Quinlan laughed. “I’m just jerking your chain, but I will apologize since I can see you’re about ready to stroke-out all over again.”
Ethan met and held his gaze. “The thing is, if you’re around her…”
Quinlan nodded. “I know. So long as you haven’t permanently bound her, something Vojalie told me about, then I’ll be driven toward her as well.
“So, put me in the field for now. Let me work patrols with Finn, for a night or two. I won’t be able to stay away from Grochaire longer than that, but I think I should be here to help settle this thing with Ry and the Invictus he seems to have under his command.”
Ethan’s first instinct was to send Quinlan back to Grochaire Realm on the double. But that was all about Samantha and not about what was best for Bergisson Realm. He wasn’t kidding when he told Samantha that his realm came first.
He nodded. “I agree that I need you here. Work with Finn. He’ll know where to fit you in with the current patrol schedule.”
*** *** ***
By the time Samantha returned to the main living area, Quinlan had left the house. Without meaning to, she breathed a deep sigh of relief. She held no animosity toward the oversized, handsome vampire, but she was as drawn to him as she was to Ethan, the pull of the mastyr’s need hard on her.
Ethan met her at the stairs and explained the situation. “Are you okay?” he asked, his brow wrinkled.
“I’m fine, just trying to find my sea legs.”
He turned and gestured with a wave of his hand to the dining area, off the kitchen. “Vojalie has dinner ready. An asparagus cream pasta.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
“It is. With a nice German wine.”
She glanced at him, trying to blend the concepts of vampire, pasta, and wine. Of course she’d grown up knowing about vampires, but she’d always supposed them to be less civilized than this.
A baby-monitor on the table kept the parents relaxed as baby Bernice did her sleeping work.
The conversation was less satisfactory, however, since Ry came up more than once, his defection, and even the possibility that he’d been working with the Invictus for a long time.
Samantha tried not to think about Ry too much, or any of it really, but focused instead on what she needed to do next. The conservatory pulled at her. The songs had spoken to her from the beginning.
“You keep glancing in the direction of the upper quarters?” Vojalie smiled as she spoke, her warm brown eyes glinting. “Are you thinking of the crystal apex?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not surprised. I’ve often thought that with the right fae, the configuration had possibilities.”
Samantha turned toward Ethan. “What made you design it that way?”
“I didn’t. It was your mother’s idea, her design.”
“You never told me that?”
Ethan smiled, that big smile of his. “Sorry. But ever since I’ve met you, I’ve had a lot of other things occupying my thoughts.”
Images of their recent coupling in the grotto flashed through her mind. When he reached for her hand beneath the table, her fingers met his readily and her heart thumped in her chest. “I guess we both have.”
He cleared his throat and after giving her fingers a squeeze, he withdrew his hand. “Yes, your mother designed most of the interior of this house. Of course that was before Patrick died. We were very good friends once, even before I became mastyr of Bergisson. ”
“Until she left and the disaster happened at Sweet Gorge.”
He nodded and set his fork and spoon down. He sat back in his chair. “I wish it were otherwise.”
“I wish I understood.”
“Understanding will come in its own time,” Davido said brightly. “And I want another glass of this excellent wine.” He picked the bottle up and refilled his goblet, topping others on request.
After dinner, Vojalie and Davido retired to their suite to tend to Bernice, while Samantha drew Ethan to the conservatory.
She walked in before him, moving slowly and letting the space speak to her. The music came first, a soft humming of the crystals. Ethan had already told her he didn’t hear anything, so she felt particularly blessed by the sound.
“I didn’t want to try this alone, in case I had a reaction similar to the one at the Guildhall.” She reached a hand back for Ethan.
He moved in and took it. “I’m here.”
She nodded as she moved toward the center, where the pavers had made a slow, swirling progress to another central disk, directly beneath the apex.
She looked back at him. “Ready?”
He nodded, but there was such tenderness in his eyes that for a moment, her breath caught. This was Ethan, Mastyr of Bergisson, a powerful vampire who could break her with a thought, but he smiled and watched her like she’d become precious to him.
She tried not to make too much of it, but he was so handsome and making love with him had become this incredible, miraculous journey of sensation. She had a fae frequency that he could tap and plunder and which he did willingly.
What are you thinking because I’m reading all sorts of things right now that have nothing to do with fae visions?
Her lips parted and she took a couple of steps backward, reaching the disk then drawing him to her with a pull of he
r hand. He didn’t mistake the invitation, but took her in his arms and kissed her, pressing his body the full length of hers, letting her feel all that he was in the strength of his thighs, his arms, and what grew very firm between them.
She sighed as he kissed her and like magic, her fae power blossomed flowing in a stream upward toward the apex of the crystal ceiling, lighting up, making her feel alive in ways she could never have imagined in her simple student-jewelry-making life in Shreveport. Was this really her new life, all this power, all this man, and the thundering of her heart that demanded she feed the one holding her in his arms?
He drew back and looked up. “The energy you create feels extraordinary.”
“And what amazes me is that I’m not struggling at all, with you holding me, here in your home. That must mean something.”
She didn’t want to say it, that she belonged here. But Ethan met her gaze and now his smoky gray-brown eyes looked troubled. “Part of me knows, in my gut, we should complete the bonding, to end any chance that Ry can get to you, but I just can’t.”
“Ethan, what would it involve exactly?”
“What has been explained to me is that when our frequencies are joined, a further act of will is required, a decision to bond by both parties.”
“But that’s good because then I could never be forced into a bond that I didn’t agree to.”
His expression grew grim. “You could be forced, you could be worn down, and Ry is just deviant enough to attempt it, one more reason that I need to keep him away from you.”
She nodded, the weight of the subject settling in. “But if we were bonded, what then?”
“No one else could get to you. It just wouldn’t be physically possible for you to be bonded to two vampires at once, which returns us to the original situation, that I wish I could offer you the protection of a bond right now, but I can’t.”
She put a hand on his chest. “Don’t go there. I couldn’t take you up on it even if you offered. I’m not ready and I’m not sure I ever will be.”
He nodded, but he looked weighed down again, that sense she had of him, that he’d carried the burden of his world for fifty years, since he’d become mastyr of Bergisson.
Hey, she pathed, giving him a small shake. Remember what Davido said.
He nodded, Understanding comes in its own time.
This has been like a crash-course in relationships, and I admit, I’ve never been very good at it.
Well, if you’re not very good, then I just plain suck.
She laughed and hugged him. He hugged her back and rocked her as the stream of fae energy flowed with them.
She drew back just enough to hold his forearms, returning to her original purpose in testing out the crystal apex in the first place.
She took a deep breath. “I want to focus on Ry. He’s been the problem here, and maybe a vision will come to give us some direction right now.”
“Sounds good. Go for it.”
Still facing him and holding his arms, she closed her eyes and focused on her faeness as the power continued to stream through her. A vision unfolded, quickly this time, and in a scattering of sudden images telling her all she needed to know.
When she opened her eyes, Ethan stared hard at her. “What have you seen?”
“Ry plans on attacking all the patrols tonight, all at about the same time, a coordinated effort.” At the same moment, her head began to hurt and she felt strange, like a different kind of wave had begun pulsing through her mind, something outside her that had nothing to do with her own power.
She looked around and felt as though she were being watched, spied on.
“What is it?”
“I don’t know. But I think it might be the ancient fae, the same one at Sweet Gorge.”
“Okay.” He nodded several times. “Just hold onto me.”
“Right.” She dipped her chin in response as well. “What will you do?”
“Path Finn.”
“Ethan, wait. Before you do, I have this feeling I need to shield you while you do it, to protect your communication.”
“Okay.”
Chapter Eight
With Samantha’s fae power still streaming, Ethan drew her close to his side and nodded to her. He felt her surround him with what he could only describe as a kind of shield or blocking capacity. She was more powerful than he could have ever suspected and he had a strong impulse for that reason alone to keep her with him forever.
But he forced himself to focus instead on the moment, and not on his impulses. With a rogue fae active, even in his own house, even affecting Samantha, and with a disaffected Guardsman who was also a mastyr vampire in league with the Invictus, he knew he was in for it. That Samantha’s most recent vision had given him a portal to the future enabling him to warn his battling force, was a huge advantage.
He hugged her as he opened up his telepathy and reached for Finn.
When Ethan told him what was going on, he felt Finn’s exasperation. And that bastard knows our routines, all of them.
But we’ve been forewarned. Put everyone on alert, half-swords drawn, attack at will.
Where will you be?
He glanced at Samantha and asked, “Are you sure you saw me in the field? I hate the idea of leaving you right now.”
“You were there. I have no doubt about that. You were flying near a tree-line of oaks, I think, maybe not even far from here. But, yes, you were in the field.”
He nodded, then to Finn, he pathed, I’ll be with the Guard here.
Ending the communication, he drew Samantha away from the apex and like water sliding off a slick surface, the power drained away from her. He marveled at all of it.
He took her by the shoulders. “I don’t want to go but I won’t be far. The oaks are a clue. There are a few groves scattered around my realm, but I can’t be far from you right now.”
Her smile faltered. “Good. I’m nervous, too.” But she drew in a deep breath and added, “I’ll walk you to the front door.”
By the time Ethan said good-bye, he felt in his bones that leaving Samantha right now was a big mistake. But he had a job to do and the vision had been clear; he’d been with his men, where he should be.
Yet even as he, and six additional Guardsmen, began measured sweeps high in the air over the immense oak grove, his house, and the nearby Guard House training camp, a red wind arrived coming from the east. He alerted one of his Guardsmen to keep watch on all other fronts and the remaining five to form a front battle grid with him against the approaching Invictus wraith-pairs. At the same time, he pathed Finn who said he’d send reinforcements on the double.
As he lined up with his men, he opened his battle frequency and felt his powerful war vibrations attach to each man beside him and down the ranks. Electrical currents pulsed heavily as together they created the fortified energy-shield.
A high-shrieking sound arrived as the Invictus attacked.
And the battle was on.
Energy released from palms, flipped up from wrists. Blue and red streams flew everywhere, striking the energy field and creating small bursts of fireworks, resulting in tears in the field.
At the same time, the Invictus threw blades of different kinds, which hit the web often and sometimes increased those tears, which made sustaining the field even more difficult.
Ethan, as a mastyr vampire, however, had the ability to seal up the breaches and worked his power down the line, both directions. Enough tears, and the Invictus could pass through, which was why, without his support in a battle, one day and with this level of organization and discipline, the Invictus would break apart the field and get through to their goal. A lot of realm-folk would die, including Guardsmen.
The Invictus wraith-pairs could overtake a Guardsman caught alone, the attack savage with physical weapons of all kinds; short-swords, daggers, hatches, spiked ball-and-chains and each pair tended to favor a different kind of weapon.
Ethan’s training of his men had become increas
ingly varied through the years, and especially in recent months.
So basically, before Samantha, he’d worked seven nights a week in order to make sure he was available to sustain the linked battle-shield.
He sent his power now, both directions, mending tears and at times covering a wounded Guardsman to protect him from further injury until he could recover from a quick blow.
But an axe whirred by his head and as he sent another flow of power to seal the resulting breach, something new intruded. From nearby he felt the presence of the dark fae force. Samantha had indicated she was near, but now Ethan felt her vibration as well.
He needed to get this battle over and done with and back to Samantha as soon as possible.
She was in danger.
*** *** ***
Samantha stood at the edge of the conservatory, but didn’t quite know how she’d gotten there. She felt oddly dizzy.
All the Guardsmen were outside engaged in a battle she could hear at a distance, so she knew she was safe.
Several lanterns, placed around the lush, crystal enclosed gardens, kept the space in a soft glow, although Samantha’s fae vision could have managed the dark easily.
Her legs felt almost fatigued as she moved into the room. Of course, it didn’t help that she’d basically switched from days to nights. No wonder she was tired. And her heart was sluggish again. Ethan would require another supply soon, especially because he was battling.
She just felt tired and another wave of dizziness assailed her. Then she felt it, the presence of the ancient fae entity, not far from her now. And as she turned to scan the conservatory, the room began to spin. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She felt very confused.
Suddenly, unexpected images of the previous battle at the Guildhall fairgrounds suddenly burst through her mind, playing one after the other.
She pushed her hands to either side of her head, trying to make the images stop, of Ethan falling, of Guardsmen getting hurt, of the Invictus shrieking as they attacked, of the blue and red streams of light, of a certain acrid, smoky scent in the air.
“Stop,” she called out.
“She’s had enough.” She heard a man’s voice, which seemed familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it.