B00XXAC6U6 EBOK (11 page)

“Grateful as hell we got here in time.” He glanced at the house. “But you’ll need new digs.”

“I’ve thought of that. I’m going to take Regan to my cabin.” He should have taken her there in the first place. It was in the far northeastern part of his realm and high in the mountains. Given the distance from Margetta’s fortress on the border between Camberlaune and Stone’s realm, he was pretty sure he’d be free from any kind of Invictus attacks.

No one knew where his cabin was except for one fae caretaker who lived several miles to the south of the dwelling and could be trusted to keep the place a secret.

He hadn’t even shared the location with Ben, or the name of his caretaker, and he intended to keep it that way. He often went to his mountain retreat after a grueling night when too many of his people died and not enough Invictus had been saved to send to Bergisson for rehab.

Right now, after almost dying at the hands of a wraith-bonded mastyr, he wanted Regan in his arms and the wind in his face as he flew northeast for about seventy miles.

Stone appeared suddenly, topping the edge of the cliff, a dead female troll in his arms. Ian understood the hard expression on his face, especially since the troll wore slave chains pierced through her ears and nose. A lot of his Realm-folk were abducted and forced into slavery first. Later, they’d have to endure bonding with a wraith and the subsequent vaporizing of personality, long held beliefs, and basic Realm decency. As a result, most of those wraith-bonded would eventually die during a battle with his Vampire Guard or his Brigade.

Ian needed the war over.

Stone laid the body next to a wraith. He rose, but remained where he was, his eyes closed. He was probably offering up a prayer of supplication to the Goddess to take her servant despite the sins of the wraith-bond. Ian had done the same thousands of times over the centuries.

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared out across the gorge to the opposite cliff, beyond the tree line and into the southern night sky. A bright glow of stars burned along what he knew to be the Milky Way.

His world shared the earth’s universe on a separate yet joined plane. His access point was Harrisburg, a city in Pennsylvania. He had a communication center there. Ben had seen to the construction and later the overall operations.

Yet very few humans visited his realm anymore, not with so many Invictus attacks in Camberlaune.

Stone moved to stand on Ian’s right. “Looks like they were after you or maybe Regan.”

“I’m thinking both of us. I knew the mastyr; he’d served in my Guard for a long time. When he disappeared several years ago, I thought he was dead. Instead, he’d joined Margetta’s army.”

“Fuck.” He then glanced at Ian, frowning. “How the hell did you defeat him? His power must have been off the charts because he was wraith-bonded.”

“It was and actually I almost bought it, but Regan intervened. I’m not sure how she did it, especially since the bonded wraith attacked her.” He held up his arms. “We’ve been sharing power, though, because of these.”

Stone peered at his arms. “What the hell is this?”

Ian explained.

Stone shook his head slowly. “And this allowed Regan to defeat a wraith. Sweet Goddess.”

Ian turned to glance at the house, at the shattered windows. Regan was inside somewhere. “To my knowledge, this is the closest she’s ever been to a battle.”

Stone sighed heavily. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand this whole blood rose thing that puts our women in harm’s way. It’s not fair to them.”

“No, it’s not.”

“What’s the plan, Ian? You’re not staying here.”

“No. I’m taking Regan to my cabin for the rest of the night. She’ll be safe there.” He rubbed his forehead, thinking hard. “But we’ve got to find some way of locating Margetta’s fortress. It’s damn time we went on the offensive.”

“I’ve been thinking the same thing. Not sure how to get the job done, though, when there’s a powerful shielding mist problem like the one you described.” Stone met his gaze. “What about Regan? This should be up her alley. And I know the things the mastyrs have said, those bonded to blood roses. There always seems to be a task the pair must accomplish together. Maybe this is yours.”

“I don’t know,” Ian said. He didn’t want it to be true. He’d protect Regan for the time being, but as soon as it was safe, he wanted her back in Swanicott and for his own life to get back to normal.

Stone pressed him. “Think about it. Every blood rose couple has become a team. Look at Ethan and Samantha. Together, they rehabilitate Invictus pairs. We’ve been able to save realm-folk now because of Samantha’s blood rose gift.” He gestured to the south, in the general direction of Swanicott Realm. “And Olivia can shield Zane besides creating a Zephyr wind in battle. Maybe you and Regan will be able to establish the coordinates for Margetta’s army, I mean if you worked together.”

Ian ground his molars. “You know how I feel about her. Our history is bad.”

“I know, and I sympathize. But I have to speak my mind, Ian, because if you could find Margetta’s army, then maybe you and I together could take her on. It would be a start.”

Was it possible? If he worked with Regan, could the two of them together start bringing the war to an end?

Stone turned his head in a westerly direction. His realm lay two hundred miles from Ian’s home, directly west. He shook his head slowly. “I’ve flown over that region thousands of times, over the border between our realms. But I’ve never seen a damn thing, not even the mist you’ve talked about.”

“I’d never seen it either, not until Margetta abducted Regan.”

His gaze flipped back to Ian. “Another sign.”

Ian didn’t want to admit it, but Stone had a point. Why hadn’t Ian been able to see Margetta’s mist until now?

Stone muttered a curse. “All this time, so close to my realm.”

“I know the feeling.”

With his mind made up to take Regan to his cabin, Ian turned to Ben and talked over how the rest of the night would be handled. Ben told him not to worry, he’d keep a fourth of the Guard on patrol where the gorge ended and the plain began. He also expressed the opinion he thought it likely the attack at Ian’s home had been prompted by Braden alone and wasn’t an opening salvo to a full-scale war against Camberlaune.

Ian had to agree. If Margetta had been intent on conquering his realm, she wouldn’t have sent a couple dozen Invictus pairs to his home; she would have sent her army full bore down into the Leberion plain.

So why hadn’t she done just that? Too many damn questions, not enough answers. He also kept mulling over Regan’s observation that Margetta wasn’t behaving like she was up against the ropes.

All the speculation, however, wouldn’t change what he needed to do next.

He turned to Stone and clapped him on the shoulder. “If you have ideas about how we should move forward, I want to hear them.”

“I’ve been thinking of nothing else.”

“Is it time to contact the queen? Hell, from what I’ve heard, Rosamunde has her land shrouded in a similar kind of shielding mist.”

Stone frowned. “Actually, I spoke with her earlier.”

“You called her?”

“She called me. She’s had a premonition Margetta is building to something big.”

It wasn’t so long ago that Mastyr Quinlan had discovered the queen living in a shielded land between the borders of Grochaire Realm and Walvashorr. She was over a thousand years old and had essentially been in hiding for most of that time. A few rumors were rife she was related to Margetta, but nothing had been proven. Ian had once asked Davido if he knew of a kinship between Rosamunde and Margetta, but the ancient troll had avoided answering the question.

“Will Rosamunde get involved?” Ian asked. “If she can create a similar shielding mist to Margetta’s, maybe she could bust through this one near the gorge. Will you at least ask?”

At that, Stone’s nostrils flared. The brother was angry.

“What?”

“I already did. The queen refused.”

“I don’t understand,” Ian said. “Why?”

“Basically, she’s convinced this isn’t her battle, otherwise she would have jumped in sooner, as in centuries ago. She said it’s a fae thing and she’s not to be involved.”

Ian knew better than to question Rosamunde’s decision. The fae of the Nine Realms had to answer to their highest calling first and sometimes that meant counter-intuitive decision-making.

“Ian?” Regan’s voice had him turning in her direction, Stone as well. She stood on the porch, her striped satchel in hand, but she wore a different set of clothes. The battle-stained lot had been covered in blood. She now wore a long, violet sweater and jeans, though she’d put on her ankle boots again.

Her thick, light brown hair was parted in the middle and hung in a mass around her shoulders. It appeared to be damp. No doubt she’d needed to shower after the battle with the wraith.

His heart felt strangely compressed as he looked at her and desire rose once more.

“Ready when you are,” she said.

“Give me a sec?”

“Absolutely.” She set the satchel down on the front step and nodded.

His forearms felt heated, and looking down, he saw the tattoos were glowing. Regan’s appearance had activated the tattoos. The problem was, they also made him acutely aware that Stone was a mastyr vampire and would crave Regan the way Ian did. Ben, as well.

He backed away from both Guardsmen, glancing from one to the other.

“Holy shit,” Stone muttered. “They’re alive, aren’t they?”

“Part of my skin now.” Against his rational mind, Ian’s battle vibration fired up and his fangs thrummed in his gums. Despite the protection the tattoos offered, on a primal level he was preparing to defend Regan against other potential contenders.

Because Stone was the more powerful of the two mastyrs, he held Stone’s gaze, his shoulders hunched, but Stone only smiled. “I think the blood tattoos are working for you, because I’m not feeling a thing toward Regan.”

“Me, neither,” Ben added.

Still, Ian’s words came out on a growl as he shifted his gaze once more between the men. “Let’s keep it that way.”

Stone took a step back and tossed up both hands in a gesture of surrender as did Ben.

Ian forced himself to calm down. He couldn’t believe how fast he’d been ready to do battle with Stone again. Ben as well, if needed.

He took several deep breaths and forced his battle energy to dial down. When he felt under control once more, he turned to Ben. “Call me on my cell if you need me, especially if Margetta makes a move against Camberlaune. I can be back in a few minutes.”

Ben nodded. “I’ve got this, Ian. Just take care of the Ruby Fae.”

Ian took one last look around at his Vampire Guard doing a final clean-up. They only waited now for the troll dispatch crew to arrive and ship the dead to the local morgue.

He knew he didn’t need to stay a moment longer, yet he hated leaving a battle scene. Camberlaune was his responsibility.

Stone spoke in a low voice. “Be with her, Ian. Ben and I have this covered. I’m sticking around until we know the Ancient Fae’s next move. I’ve already put all the ruling mastyrs on alert as well. If we need to mobilize, we’re ready.”

Ian could finally breathe. With both Stone and Ben in charge, his concern for his realm eased, and he could now turn his attention to Regan.

Heading toward the porch, he felt the blood tattoos still sending pulses of heat up his arms. As he drew close, Regan’s rich scent reminded him of her earlier words that she was all in. He sure as hell hoped so because given the way her jasmine-lime scent had him worked up, he would have the devil of a time keeping his hands off her. Especially since for the next few hours, he’d have her all to himself in an isolated location.

“Everything set?” she asked, searching his eyes.

He told her about his cabin, and he couldn’t mistake the glint in her dark brown eyes. As he caught her arm, a different kind of vibration, very sexual in nature, moved over her skin.

“Regan,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I’m willing and that’s all you need to know.”

Another potent rush of desire traveled from his groin, straight up through his body until blood pounded in his head. He almost took her in his arms, but he was battle-stained, his woman had just showered, and they had an audience.

He took her hand and led her back into his house, taking her with him to his master bedroom. “I want to kiss you, but not like this. I won’t be long.”

“Again, ready when you are.”

The words had a double meaning, and he almost hauled her into his arms anyway. Instead, he made tracks for the bathroom, stripped down like his feet were on fire, removed all ten rings, then hopped in the shower.

~ ~ ~

Regan felt tingly all over, from the soft vibrations traveling down her neck and sides, to the exquisite sensations playing over her sex.

She had to work hard to recall the last time she’d been with a man. After a moment, she realized it had been eight years. She’d dated a fae professor for a few months. He’d been a good man and had satisfied her in bed. But when images of Ian kept creeping into her mind during sex, she decided to break it off. She didn’t have enough passion to continue the relationship, but
eight years
was a long time
.

Tonight would end a severe dry spell.

When she realized she’d remained in one place with her satchel still clutched in her fingers, she dropped the bag and sat down on the bench at the end of Ian’s bed.

She was glad he’d brought her with him into the bedroom. The sight of Stone had unsettled her, even though it was clear the blood tattoos had done their work and the powerful mastyr had barely given her a cursory glance.

Ian’s bedroom had a similar view to the library since it overlooked the western vista. The steel shutters had long since been raised following the battle and her night vision warmed up the landscape. The granite outcropping on which the house sat provided an unobstructed view of the angled portion of the gorge.

As the shower droned, she left the bed to have a good look.