Blood Solstice: Part Three in the Tale of Lunarmorte (38 page)

Sitting
upright, tucked under his own set of covers, was the most beautiful
man she had ever seen. He wasn’t real. How could he be? Could
everyone else see him? Looking up through blurry eyes Caia watched
the expressions on the pack’s faces as they glanced from her to
Lucien.

“
Is he real?” she croaked.

A tear
slipped down Jaeden’s cheek and she gave her a wobbly smile. “He’s
real.”

There was
no stopping her as Caia ripped back the covers and bounded out of
the bed and onto Lucien. She pretty much collapsed in his arms as
her body seemed to lack any real energy. But she was strong enough
to return his mammoth hug and pepper kisses on him whenever she
could get around the kisses he peppered her with.

“
How, how, how?” she mumbled against him, breathing in his
wonderful scent.

Lucien’s
arms tightened around her, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Laila,” he breathed.

Caia
stiffened and managed to turn in his arms to find Laila by her bed,
Vil standing behind her, protective as always.

“
How?”

Laila
smiled shyly.

“
She’s an Asclepian.” Marion squeezed the magik’s slight
shoulder.

Through
the haze and confusion Caia’s jaw dropped. “An Asclepian? I thought
they were extinct?” Little Laila had the power to heal and bring
people’s souls back from the Underworld?! Caia shook the moss out
of her brain. “I mean… I thought there were none of you
left?”

Laila
shrugged. “My family kept our gifts hidden because we knew we would
become targets. Not only is it against the law to bring someone
back from the dead, it is a much coveted gift. My family are gone.
I’m the only one left.”

“
She risked a lot healing me in front of the Daylights,”
Lucien’s voice rumbled against her chest.

“
I couldn’t let you die,” Laila retorted but her eyes were on
Caia. And Caia understood. She meant she couldn’t let him die for
Caia. Tears bubbled up again.

“
Thank you so much,” she whispered, more grateful to her than
the little magik would ever understand.

“
Laila must be protected from now on,” Marion
insisted.

Caia bit
her lip, trying not to show fear. “No one will harm her for
breaking the law?”

“
Everything is a mess right now, Caia. There is very little
hold for the law.”

“
So that’s a no, right?”

“
That’s a no. But there will be a lot of people interested in
acquiring her.”

Caia felt
a primitive growl shudder in her chest, “Then they’ll have to go
through me first.”

Laila
beamed and Marion grinned at her appreciatively. “Then I think
she’ll be fine. Outside the hospital walls there is a world full of
very shocked, awed and frightened supernaturals.”

“
Frightened of what?”

Lucien
huffed, “You.”

Caia’s
eyes widened and she gripped onto Lucien tighter. “Me?”

Jaeden
rushed at her. “Caia… you’ve been unconscious for five
days.”

“
W-w-what?” she shook. Five days? What had happened? Who won?
Was the pack all alive?

The
questions rocketed through her and as she tried to ask them they
tumbled out in a jumble of nonsense. Lucien stroked her back
soothingly and Marion spoke again, “When you found Lucien…” the
witch shook her head in wonder. “I don’t know what happened. I saw
you fall across him and then this white light exploded out of you
along with this inhuman screaming.” The others nodded seeming to
remember. “I was blasted off my feet. I couldn’t hear or see a
thing. And then after a few minutes the light faded away and I
could see again. And when I got up… there were no Midnights left.
Ash blew up into the breeze, whispering by me with Midnight energy.
Caia… you killed them all.”

34 –
Blood Solstice

A week
passed in which Caia and Lucien both tried to rebuild their energy.
Caia often wondered how Lucien was feeling. Did he feel different
now? Could he remember the Underworld?

“
No.” He had seemed amused by the question. “I don’t think I
was gone long enough.”

After
Caia had killed the Midnights, a feat she still couldn’t get to
grips with, she had collapsed unconscious (as per usual after using
her ‘gift’). The pack had scrambled over to them, grieving at the
sight of Lucien’s dead body, when little Laila had pushed through
them all, dropped to her knees, placed her hands upon Lucien’s
chest and sang. Marion told her it had been the sweetest, saddest
song she had ever heard and as it filled the air, magik the likes
of which Marion had never felt before, lit up Lucien’s body, giving
off this ethereal warmth that eased everyone’s pain. Marion had
watched in awe as Lucien’s flesh began to regenerate, his heart
reforming, his gaping wound closing, the colour returning to his
body. And then he had gasped for breath before his eyelids slammed
closed and he fell into unconsciousness.

Caia
found a reason every day to see Laila, somehow needing to be near
her, to reassure her she was real and that she was OK. In one act
of kindness she had become one of the most important people in
Caia’s life.

As for
the pack they had been incredibly lucky.

“
Luck had nothing to do with it,” Lucien had huffed. “We are
an exceptionally wily bunch. I knew we could take ‘em.”

Caia had
laughed. It was amazing. Despite some wounds they had all returned
in one piece, along with Saffron, Reuben and Vanne. Alistair
MacLachlan and his pack hadn’t been so lucky. Three of them were
killed, some were wounded, but when Phoebe came to visit Caia she
assured her that to them it had been a great death and a victory.
Tentatively she had hugged Caia, and Caia had known as the Rogue
Hunter left her suite that in Phoebe she had a friend for life. But
the loss Caia most felt was that of Nikolai who had fought his way
through the crowds to attack Orina Beketov. Caia was unsure of what
damage he may have inflicted on Orina, for like the other Midnights
fighting against them, she was gone in the wind.

Nikolai,
despite being a powerful earth magik, had perished from Orina’s
fire attack. She was saddened by his sacrifice, as was Reuben, the
magik’s truest friend.

As for
the Council and the Centre it was all a little chaotic. After what
she had done on the battlefield even Benedict was politer to her,
although the fear she saw in his eyes made her uncomfortable. She
didn’t want anyone to be afraid of her. As for the rest of the
Council they were awed and gratified; Vanne had bet her she would
be on the Council in no time. It had worried her a little, thinking
perhaps Lucien would be upset by the notion. Not just Lucien but
the entire pack.

She
couldn’t have been more wrong.

“
Caia, great things are about to happen and you need to be at
the centre of that,” Jae had predicted.

To Caia’s
surprise her words were greeted with nods of agreement as the pack
lounged in the dining hall of the Centre. “Really?” she looked to
Lucien.

He
grinned at her, looking a lot healthier these days. “We need to
stick around, sweetheart.”

“
So you guys don’t mind staying here for a while?”

“
Are you kidding?” Alexa snorted. “We’re in Paris. I am going
shopping first chance I get. Oh, that reminds me.” She smiled
sweetly at Lucien. “Can I borrow four hundred euros?”

“
Where are you going shopping?” Jae asked dryly.
“Chanel?”

“
Duh, of course not… you would be lucky to get a scarf for
four hundred euros from Chanel.”

They were
all surprised when Lucien agreed to part with the money. All except
Caia. Alexa had been through a lot and she had fought like a
wildcat in that battle. She deserved to feel eighteen years old for
a day. But only one day. Otherwise, she’d bankrupt the
pack.”

***

Caia
strolled into Alfred’s suite with more ease than she had ever felt
in the last year. The war was almost over but there was much to do…
yet she couldn’t help the pure happiness that thrummed in her veins
every morning she woke up. She greeted the Council, who all shot to
their feet in deference to her with a wide smile. Huffing she tried
to cover her laugh at their expressions. Caia really wished she had
seen what they had seen her do on the battlefield. People at the
Centre were acting a little crazy. It had somehow convinced them
that Caia was the purest child of Gaia in their existence… they
actually believed Caia herself was god-like. Which was just crazy,
she scoffed. Some blanched when they saw her coming down the
corridors and pressed themselves up against the wall to let her
pass. She tried to smile softly to ease their anxiety but it never
worked. Others were different… they bounded up to her with
enthusiasm and hero-worship which was equally exhausting. The
Council were over the top polite and Caia unhappily noticed the
twinge of fear in some of their eyes. She didn’t want to frighten
people for Gaia’s sakes!

Caia was
glad to see Marion and Vanne in the room with Reuben and Saffron.
The four of them treated her as they always had.

Caia
grinned at Marion. A few days before she had had some quiet time
with her mentor for the first time in a long time. She asked how
Marion was coping with the loss of her sister and her position at
the Centre. It was difficult, she had said, but not impossible. And
Vanne was helping, she had blushed. Caia had laughed. Marion was
usually so cool and together but Vanne had reduced her to a
blushing teenager. She told Caia how she had been crushed at first
when Vanne stopped courting her to court her sister, how over the
years she had felt their connection had never died, how she had
felt guilty for feeling that way. Marion had never known Vanne was
still in love with her, however, or the real reason he had left her
for Marita. So, they were trying out a relationship… a very
tentative attempt. It was strange for them both with Marita between
them. But Caia thought they should turn that into a positive. No
one else but each other could understand the helplessness one felt
when betrayed by someone that close to you.

Reuben
grinned wickedly at Caia, making a face at the way the Council
deferred to her. Caia, rolled her eyes. For an old guy he could be
really immature. She threw a quick smile at Saffron. As for those
two… Caia didn’t know what was going on. Maybe they were both too
darn gosh old to have any kind of meaningful relationship between
them. But there were feelings there and Caia couldn’t wait to watch
that particular show unfold.

Not that
she didn’t have anything better to do.

Laughing
at herself, Caia took a seat before them all. “You wished to see
me?” She asked politely.

Alfred
cleared his throat and nodded. “We wanted you to be the first to
know that peace negotiations with a community of Midnight magiks in
Paris are going well.”

Exuberant
elation shot through her. “Really?” she gasped.

Penelope
smiled sweetly at her excitement. “Really.”

“
What next then?”

The
Council shared wary glances. “The negotiations are complex. As you
might understand the Midnights are not happy to exist peacefully
with us if we have a controlling council in power.”

She
frowned. “You mean you guys?”

“
Exactly.”

OK. Fair
enough, she nodded thoughtfully. They would just have to come up
with a solution.

“
We should begin negotiations with other Midnights and see if
that’s going to be a recurring theme,” Caia suggested.

The
Council nodded, but Reuben sighed, “It’s not that easy, Caia. This
could take a while.”

A slow
smile spread across her face. “I can be patient.”

35 –
Something New

Three years later

Caia
shook her hands out wishing her palms weren’t so sweaty. She
exhaled and then began the breathing exercises that Marion had
taught her.

“
Caia.” Lucien soothed, putting a hand on her shoulder. He
stood behind her with Jaeden as they stared at the massive double
doors to the court room at the Centre. Despite all the other
changes, the Centre was still called the Centre, but now by those
who had once been Daylights and Midnights alike. Those terms were
one of the first laws she was going to insist upon – no use of
Daylight or Midnight. It would be considered a racial slur. They
were all the same now. She trembled a little.

“
You can do this, Caia,” Jae encouraged.

Magnus’
words from this morning came back to her in a rush of comforting
warmth.

“
Your father would have been so proud of you, Caia.” He had
hugged her close, and she had choked back the tears at the thought
of Rafe, of the picture she had of the two of them that she kept
tucked under her pillow. Magnus pulled back, his eyes glittering
suspiciously. “I know because I’m so proud I can barely contain it
sometimes.”