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Skye was leaning forward as she waited to hear what he was trying to say. When he trailed off, she gripped Olivia’s hand even tighter and demanded, “Please tell us already! What do you think he wants?”

Nodding, he said, “When all else fails for Grolkinei, I suspect that he will ultimately attempt to impregnate one or all of you with his child and raise that child on his own in an effort to establish a direct blood connection with the human plane.”

The wave of undiluted horror that washed through Olivia made her light-headed. When the doorway to the kitchen suddenly filled with Gabriel, James and Caleb, all of their eyes flashing a brilliant dark blue, she figured her sisters had each experienced similar reactions.

Gabriel looked from Amber to Jabari and his eyes went wide with shock. Then, just as swiftly, they narrowed. Olivia didn’t think she had ever seen him look more dangerous.

“James, Caleb,” he said in a cold and lethal tone, “we need to talk.”

Chapter Nine

That night, as everyone else slept, James sat in the same chair he had taken possession of nearly six hours before. His own bed hadn’t been touched. The moon was already settling lower in the sky, telling him that it was nearing dawn. It didn’t matter. He didn’t think he could sleep if someone cast their power on him.

The foul thought that
archigos
Gabriel had conveyed to him and Caleb earlier that day completely pervaded his mind. It was all too possible, this terrible act that Jabari had hypothesized. In fact, it was frighteningly logical, which was what had James awake and obsessing right now. If the Elphresti leader was right, then the sisters had escaped a fate far worse than death when they managed to evade Grolkinei’s commanders after the Becoming ceremony.

That thought completely infuriated him. It was an emotion he hadn’t ever experienced before.

Right in the middle of their Euchre game, without any Orculesti present to interpret perceived thoughts, he had felt Olivia’s intense emotions: fear, outrage, disgust, horror. He had lifted from his chair, completely forgetting about the game, thinking of nothing but getting to her. Out of the corner of his eye, he realized that his leader and Caleb had both done the same. They moved swiftly as a unit to the doorway leading to the family room. He had instinctively allowed Gabriel to take the lead, but it had been a remarkable challenge to fight the urge to push past everyone and everything in an effort to get to Olivia at that moment. He had felt the vibrations in Caleb’s arm indicating the same level of restraint.

When Gabriel’s demeanor had only grown more intense after he had paused in the doorway and looked at Amber and Jabari, James had nearly lost all of his control. He had wanted nothing more than to rush to Olivia’s side. Caleb’s tension also seemed to escalate as their leader’s fury washed over them. But when Gabriel announced firmly that he would speak with them, they had backed off, trusting he would tell them what was going on.

Of course, when James and Caleb had listened to Gabriel reiterate what Jabari had said to the sisters, they had been anything but calm.

“Is he suggesting that Grolkinei would
force
himself upon them?” James had asked, all but choking on the words as Olivia’s sweet and innocent face filled his mind.

And when Gabriel had answered him in the affirmative, Caleb’s heated response had been beyond repeating in polite company. For some reason, however, their violent reactions— rather incongruent to Gloresti teachings about coolness in the face of peril—had actually calmed their leader. Rather than censure them, he had smiled. A very fierce smile.

“It’s at this moment that I see why I selected each of you,” he said, holding their gazes as he spoke. “I will admit to only the two of you that there are some things about my existence on this plane before I transitioned that I don’t recall clearly. But I can say without humility that I made the right choices with each of you. Whether you fully understand it or not, you are now bound to the sisters you protect by more than just a typical Gloresti’s bond. And based on what we’ve just learned, they’ll need that extra connection to keep from falling victim to unimaginable harm. While they’re definitely powerful in their own rights, any of them would be vulnerable alone right now. We must all remain very focused on their protection.” And here, he had paused. When he grinned this time, James realized it was self-deprecating. “But we can’t let any of them know we’re doing it, or they’ll try and kick our asses.”

Now, as his gaze settled on the bed in front of him, James considered Olivia’s peaceful expression as she slept. He believed Gabriel was correct. All of the sisters had a certain amount of pride. Treating them as though they were incapable of protecting themselves would surely not sit well with them, even if it happened to be true for now.

He leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. This movement brought him several inches closer to Olivia. If he reached out, he could touch her. He wouldn’t, however. It was inappropriate enough that he was in her room. But he simply had to have his eyes on her while he thought through all of this new and alarming information. And since he knew he wouldn’t sleep anyway—in fact, he needed much less sleep than many others and often stayed awake all night—he had slipped into her room after everyone else had gone to bed.

She hadn’t moved since he entered the room. Her hair spilled over the white sheet and pillowcase in an abundance of long, loose curls fanning out behind her. Since she was on her side and wearing a tank top above where the thin sheet covered her from the waist down, he could see shadows dusting the hollow of her collarbone. His gaze moved frequently to the curve of her hip where it flared gently out from her waistline. There was something incredibly compelling about that feminine arc. His hands itched to grasp her right there.

Then he thought of Grolkinei and his commanders capturing her and what that could mean, and his hands clenched into tight fists.

That evening, Gabriel had communicated with Ini-herit and Jabari about the sisters’ education. He wanted to begin their defense training immediately rather than putting it off in lieu of other lessons. Since he had secured their agreement, they would all be traveling to Gabriel’s home that very day. The meeting with the rest of the elders had been postponed until further notice so that they could focus on getting the girls to a point where they could effectively defend themselves. Jabari would be traveling on to his home once the sisters were settled at Gabriel’s, while Uriel, the Waresti elder, would meet them there to assist in the training.

When the sky began to lighten, James got quietly to his feet. He knew Olivia would awaken soon. He might as well get the hot water ready for her tea.

He eased the door open and noted that the hall was still dark and silent. Then he stepped out of the room and gently pulled the door closed behind him. He hadn’t even removed his hand from the doorknob when a door down the hall opened. It was the door to Skye’s room, he realized, glancing around in panic. There was absolutely nowhere to go. He had to pass Skye’s room to get to either his own room or the kitchen, and unless he ducked into an occupied bedroom, he was stuck.

And then he realized that the shadow easing from Skye’s room was much too large to belong to Olivia’s youngest sister.

Caleb jerked slightly when he spotted him. James stood awkwardly, unsure what to do. Then Caleb shook his head and pointed a finger from himself to James before bringing the finger to his lips.

James understood. They would speak of this to no one. He nodded once. Then he moved forward and lifted his right arm as he passed on his way to the kitchen. Caleb bumped forearms with him to silently seal their vow before he walked back to his own room.

James decided then that it was quite nice to know he wasn’t alone in his worry.

“Holy cow, Gabriel—you live in a castle!” Skye gasped as they flew closer to his home that evening.

There was no arguing it. He really did live in a castle. It was situated on a high cliff overlooking the ocean. Much to Olivia’s delight, the non-cliff side of the property contained lush forests. The rest of the landscaping nearer the castle was rather bare, a far cry from Ini-herit’s impressive gardens. But the architecture of the light-and-dark brown structure was inspired. Round towers of varying heights met square walls in a perfect flow of symmetry and design. She didn’t think she had ever seen any home quite so remarkable.

And, not surprisingly, it looked highly defensible.

She already knew the Mercesti wouldn’t think to look for them at Gabriel’s home. James had explained to her weeks ago that the location of the homes of each of the elders was highly secret, known only by the elders themselves. There were heavy protections in place on each of the elders’ homes to prevent someone from accidently revealing the locations. He further explained that as soon as they got a certain distance away from Ini-herit’s house, everyone except for the elders would no longer remember how to get there. The memory would simply fade.

He had been correct. Within a very short span of flight time, she couldn’t have said a thing about the location of Ini-herit’s home other than that it resided near trees, something that appeared to be very common on this plane.

They had fastened a special sling for Aurora so that she could make the trip. It had required four of them carrying part of the sling at any one time to bear her weight. All in all, though, the trip had gone very smoothly. The sisters had all wondered about their things, only to be told that the Lekwuesti would handle the transfer of everything from one location to another. Olivia thought that was absolutely marvelous and couldn’t wait to find out more specifically how it was done.

James, Caleb, Ini-herit and Jabari had taken the last leg holding Aurora’s sling. They eased her gently to the ground as they neared the castle’s entrance. Once all four of her paws were on the ground, she stretched and let out a little cry.

“She says, ‘Thank you,’” Olivia translated as she also landed and stretched. When James reached over to give the cat an affectionate rub, Olivia smiled.

Skye stared up at the castle with utter awe on her face. As usual, the youngest sister wore her hair unbound. Olivia wondered how it could remain so beautifully coiffed while flying, but somehow it did. Today Skye had opted to wear a tangerine-colored tank top with a ruffled neckline paired with a matching flowing skirt over leggings and sandals. She was also fully accessorized with wide, gold hoop earrings, rows of colorful bangle bracelets on each wrist and a gemmed choker necklace. The youngest of them was rarely without her decorations. Compared to Olivia and Amber’s more practical tank tops and pants, Skye looked like a fashion model.

“Amber, you must be
so
excited,” Skye exclaimed, bringing her hands together enthusiastically. Her bracelets chimed with the action. “You’re going to be living like a princess!”

Then she wandered away in graceful strides to take everything in, followed closely by Caleb. Amber watched her go with a raised eyebrow, her hands on her hips. When Olivia stepped up beside her, Amber said, “Geez. She really is a walking Disney movie, isn’t she?”

“Yep.”

The sisters shared a laugh. They both knew it simply wouldn’t be the same without Skye’s exuberance.

Suddenly, Amber let out a little sound of surprise and was lifted off her feet. Olivia stepped back to avoid getting whipped by her sister’s ponytail as Gabriel swept her into his arms.

“Have you lost your mind?” Amber declared, sounding very unlike the fairytale princess Skye had compared her to.

“Nope,” Gabriel responded easily as he carried her closer to the front door, which Ini-herit opened with just a flick of his power. “I’m bringing my wife home for the first time. Seems right to carry her across the threshold.”

Olivia’s heart sighed. She figured even Amber couldn’t hold out against that when her sister didn’t argue and instead wove the fingers of her right hand through his wavy hair at the base of his neck. Whatever thoughts they silently shared with each other had them touching foreheads and exchanging tender glances.

Feeling like an intruder, Olivia turned and walked over to squat next to Aurora. She sensed James a foot behind her.

Are you going to be okay out here?
she thought to her feline friend when they were on eye level.
I’m sure you could come inside the castle if you wanted to.

I will be fine. You know I find the forest quite comfortable. And I scent plenty of deer.

Grinning, Olivia ran a hand along Aurora’s ears like she knew the panther enjoyed. Her smile faded as she thought,
And will you miss your mate?

We cats do not mate for life, you know. But if he is interested, he will find me.

Olivia froze and then caught Aurora’s green gaze.
Are you saying he would follow you all of these miles?

Yes.

But—I didn’t think—

Aurora made a sound in her throat that Olivia interpreted as understanding.
You are correct that we do not usually join with a mate so thoroughly.

Why didn’t you tell me he might try to follow? I would have found a way to bring him with us!

He would not understand and would have tried to harm your family.

Olivia glanced up and realized James was staring at her. She sighed and nodded to let Aurora know she understood before she got to her feet. Then she watched the cat turn and lope into the forest.

“She will be all right?”

Moving with him toward the now-open front doors, she said, “Yes.”

“Okay. Then what troubles you?”

“She told me her mate might come after her.”

He considered this as they walked into the castle. Since he didn’t speak, but instead sent up another ball of light that would follow them into the castle’s interior, she studied the inside of the amazing dwelling. She noted that the entrance wasn’t a drawbridge, making it seem more modern than the castles she had always thought of. The ceiling in the entrance soared above them, filled with balls of light that Gabriel, Jabari and Ini-herit must have commanded forth. A couple of niches were nestled into the walls on either side of the entrance. Housed in one was a gleaming long sword. In the other was a menacing battle-axe. Her eyebrows rose. They were most definitely not in Kansas anymore.