I had to get Gretchen back to the castle, back to the Protectors. Their blood would save her.
She couldn’t die.
She couldn’t die.
She couldn’t die.
Chapter 21
ALEK
“Erick! Help me get them inside,” Bailey’s voice ran high, urgency spilling from it like a waterfall. “I can’t get him to let go of Gretchen.”
A whoosh of air brushed along my skin. I was vaguely aware of grass beneath me and the sounds of people yelling instructions from all sides.
“Alek let us help her. You must let her go.” Erick’s deep voice rumbled into my consciousness.
Let her go? “No. She’s been hurt. I’ll drop her.” My words gurgled in my throat like I was choking. The bitter metallic taste of blood filled my mouth. I could smell it on me, around me. I could smell Gretchen’s, too.
“You’re on the ground. You made it back.” Bailey’s voice was soft and encouraging and pleading. “Please, let us help her. She’s been shot, Alek, and so have you.”
Shot? It was starting to come back now, the fight, seeing Eli die. Watching Rose… What had I seen? Had she made it out of there? I couldn’t remember. Blackness swallowed me again.
I opened my eyes and groaned. Pain burned like fire in my side, and I struggled to breath. Gretchen’s heart beat slowly against my chest. So weak, her life was slipping away as she lay in my arms. No. I couldn’t lose her. Not after everything that’d happened. Not much time had passed, maybe a minute.
“Let me have her. Please, Alek,” Bailey asked again. Her small hands tugged at my arm with the strength of ten men, but I still didn’t relax my grip.
“Xerxes hurt her.” My voice still wasn’t right. It gurgled and rasped, the words barely discernible. Was I dying? My heart still beat in my chest, but all my other senses were so foggy. My vision blurred in and out.
“I know. Let go.” Bailey touched my arm again, determination mixed with desperation. “I can help her.”
Finally, my brain was able to get through to my tightly clenched muscles. I relaxed my grip and released my precious cargo into Bailey’s waiting arms. Erick’s mate was so small, but as a vampire, she rivaled even the strength my Gryphon allowed me. She hadn’t used it for fear of hurting Gretchen, or perhaps in fear of startling me into another shift.
“I’m sorry.” My voice was foggy, and my mind kept flashing back and forth from the present to the fight with Xerxes, the fight where Eli had died. Rose had been there, too. She’d shifted and fought Xerxes by herself. “Rose. Where is Rose?”
Erick placed his wrist over my mouth. “Drink before I dig these bullets out.”
His blood seeped between my lips just before his fingers slipped inside the wound in my side. “Damn you, vampire!” I gritted my teeth and dug my fingers into the sod beneath me, willing them not to clench into a fist and slam Erick’s solid body, but the desire to rip the vampire’s head off flashed through my mind anyway.
“Damn me later, once you don’t have lead scattered through your body like shrapnel from a bomb. You’re lucky they didn’t hit you with anything bigger than a rifle.” My mind faded to black again. Pain seared my nerve endings, and I lost consciousness again.
My eyes fluttered open to the bright afternoon sunlight. I was still on the grass. How much time had passed? Where was Gretchen? Her scent had faded, and I couldn’t hear her heartbeat. I vaguely remembered holding her when I’d landed. I’d made sure I took the brunt of the fall, cradling her in my wings as the ground had rushed toward us. Tired, so tired, but I needed her. I needed to know she was safe.
“Where’s Gretchen?” My voice rumbled deep and gruff, like a drunk who hadn’t spoken in days. Everything hurt. My body felt like it’d been run through a meat grinder.
“Bailey took her inside the castle. Bella is removing the bullet from her abdomen. Then Bailey will give her some blood to heal her. Don’t worry. She will be fine. It didn’t look too bad.”
“Rose didn’t come back.” The words came out slowly, not a question, just a realization. I’d already asked him once, and he’d ignored me. That could only mean she hadn’t returned from Xerxes compound.
“Eli?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, visualizing his bleeding, lifeless body. “No.”
“I guessed as much. I’m surprised you didn’t hear Diana’s scream all the way out where you were. I’ve heard pain in my years, but never like that. Miles had to shift and go inside to keep her from leaving the castle. Brace yourself.” Erick put an arm beneath my shoulders and lifted me into a sitting position.
Pain sliced through me, and I fought back the urge to vomit. Brace yourself. That was it, and then his damn fingers were digging between my ribs. “Fuck.” I shuddered, breathing through the convulsions once Erick had removed the last bullet.
“Five.” Erick licked his fingers, making noises like he’d just eaten a T-bone steak. “I got three out while you were in and out.”
“Enjoying it?”
“While you do taste amazing, my friend, I was just trying to spare you some pain by hurrying to get the others out when you weren’t present to enjoy it.”
I nodded, appreciating the kindness. Having his fingers digging around inside my guts wasn’t exactly pleasant. “Bailey better not be digging in Gretchen’s body with her hands.” The snarl came out like the lash of a bull whip, mostly because my whole body still burned from the gunshot wounds.
“I could’ve used a knife, but it’s faster with my hands, and no, Bella is using pixie dust to get Gretchen’s bullets out. The Lycan doctor in town was killed, and we don’t have anyone else who is capable. The pixie dust is the safest method. I suppose I could’ve left the bullets in you and waited for Bella—”
“Shut up, Erick. Help me stand.”
Erick jumped to his feet and extended a hand. My wounds were already knitting back together—thanks to the infusion of his blood. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “What happened to Eli and Rose? Do you know?”
A heavy sigh slipped from my chest. “Xerxes was there. He threw a dagger at Rose and one at Eli. Rose only saw the one. It was a distraction and—”
“It worked.” Erick’s voice took on a pained tone. His face tightened, and his bright blue eyes flashed red for a split second. “Fucking bastard.”
“Yes.” Totally agree. I took a deeper breath as the pain in my lung faded to a dull ache. “Rose fought Xerxes, giving me a chance to get Gretchen out. Before we’d entered the compound, I heard her tell Eli that Gretchen had to be saved…or—” I couldn’t say it. I still couldn’t believe she would’ve done it, or that Eli should kill her. He wouldn’t have done it. Would he?
“Or be killed?” Erick put a soft hand on my shoulder. “Rose was many things. She was a strong leader who made a lot of hard decisions that many of us did not understand. She was also a caring woman who lived with a broken heart. She knew you’d never be able kill the woman you loved. When it comes down to it, none of us probably could have. If it’d been Naram, she wouldn’t have been able to do the noble thing, either. Mates are part of us. We’re bonded at a cellular level.”
“Rose is probably dead. To save Gretchen from Xerxes. I can never repay that debt, but now that she’s gone and we can’t continue this.” I waved my hand in the air. “What are we supposed to do now? How do we finish what she started?”
“I’m not sure we can, but we have to fight or run. Xerxes will leave us no choice.” He motioned toward an open set of French doors. “Come. Let’s go check on your mate. Most of the fighting outside in the town has died off.”
“Is everyone inside the castle?”
“Most.” Erick walked ahead of me a few paces. “Some of the pixies returned to the river outside of town. Some people are here. Some are in the bunkers beneath Riley’s bar or the bunker beneath the cafe. Calliope is upstairs pacing the halls with Eira, helping Miles keep Diana contained. Those are the ones I know for
sure.”
“What’s keeping the Djinn out of the castle?”
“The four-foot-thick stone walls and the original teleporting barrier. We’re hoping they don’t have any heavier artillery than we’ve already seen. Otherwise, the castle is coming down soon. We had a couple of Lycans jump the walls, but they were ended quickly.” Erick turned to wait for me to catch up. “Did you see any artillery with that capacity where Xerxes was?”
“Yes, but Eli destroyed most of it. Everything there was ash within seconds, and if it wasn’t burnt, it was running with its tail between its legs.”
“Nothing in the world quite like Dragonfire, still, that couldn’t have been Xerxes’ entire force. How many men?”
I fell into step and continued with Erick down the open corridor to the fortified basement entrance. “There were at least a hundred, perhaps more. Not even close to the armies I imagine he’s amassed by now. Perhaps one regiment.”
A defeated sigh slipped from Erick’s lips. “I was afraid of that.”
“Did any of the Batemans survive?”
“Hannah did. Finn and Teagan got to her before that neighborhood was overrun. Harrison and Meredith were both killed. They had to knock Hannah unconscious to get her to leave them.” His tone deepened, and his speech slowed, each word more painful than the last.
So many friends.
Bile rose in my throat, and I inhaled deeply. I’d known Meredith since she was a little girl, begging for piggyback rides from every giant of a man who lived in Sanctuary. She’d never been afraid of any of us, even me. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. After she saw me shift once, she’d called me pretty bird when no one else was around to hear. It had always made me laugh. She said she did it because I didn’t laugh enough.
Gretchen had mentioned that, too—that I didn’t laugh or smile. She was constantly trying to coax me into a better mood. That’s what she called it, saying I was too serious.
She was right.
They both were.
I spent my life preparing for the worst, waiting for the day when I would get my vengeance, but life was more than that. Now I wanted more. I wanted to live. I would never have a chance to show Meredith I’d found someone who made me happy, but I had a chance with Gretchen, and I didn’t intend to waste it.
Erick spoke several words softly and knocked on the steel covered oak door—much like the one barring the entrance to the castle. This one was also set deep into rock and opened from the inside only. No hinges or hardware showed on the outside. There was no way to pry it open. Steel beams were used to barricade it, and I heard them being removed before the door creaked open, allowing us entrance.
Javier’s blue eyes flashed, the afternoon light glinting off them in the dark. “Good to see you alive, Alek.”
“You, too.” I nodded to the lanky Protector.
“Nobody else?” He peered over my shoulder into the empty hallway.
Erick shook his head. “We’re not positive. Rose is either dead or captured by Xerxes. She hasn’t returned and—”
“We can’t afford to send anyone out looking for her.”
“No,” Erick said, his voice soft, but laced with anger. He’d been with Rose for thousands of years. She was his leader and a friend. Her loss and the loss of the Drakonae were blows to Sanctuary that might tear it apart forever.
We walked past Javier into the dark tunnel. He shoved the heavy door closed behind us and put the three steel bars in place before turning to walk with us into the open play area of the club part of the castle. The play areas were filled with families huddled together—crying children and broken-hearted husbands and wives who’d lost their spouses.
The pain in their cries threatened to bring tears to my eyes. We hadn’t been ready for this. It’d been a small attack. Xerxes’ men had been feeling us out, and we’d been vulnerable. There were too many families, too many people to protect. Over the years, Rose had continued to take in more and more and more.
How could I have turned on her? I’d helped put them all in danger. The battle started because Xerxes had gotten his hands on Gretchen. Because Rose had chosen to once again protect the House of Lamidae against all odds and left the town. She’d made herself vulnerable to save one woman. That’s how important each of the Sisters were to her, how important they should’ve been to me.
Instead, I’d put one above the others. I had put myself above the others.
“Quit beating yourself up, asshole,” Javier said, his tone more growl than speech. “This would’ve happened regardless of who you decided to fuck last night.”
“Javier.” Erick’s tone struck at Javier like a shot from a rifle.
It bounced right off the vampire sadist, though. Javier had no boundaries. He always said what he thought and did what he wanted. How Rose had convinced him to take on the Protector mantle baffled me.
“He’s right, Alek. The Djinn teams had been poking holes in the town boundary for days before—”
“Does everyone in the town fucking know my personal business?”
A wicked chuckle shook Javier’s chest. “Pretty much.”
“Not that it wasn’t easy to predict for those of us that paid attention to your routine. I’m surprised Rose didn’t interfere sooner than she did. Perhaps because she knew you weren’t really an obstacle until you realized how much Gretchen meant to you.”
“I don’t need a session with a psychologist, Erick. Where is Gretchen?” All I needed at that moment was to feel her presence. Smell her scent. Touch her. By the gods, I needed to touch her and know she was alive and well.
My memory consisted of somehow half-climbing half-flying my way out of Xerxes and Rose’s Lamassu smack down before the whole building had come down around them. My wounds had weakened me, but my Gryphon made it back the twenty or so miles to Sanctuary—to the castle, and from there, my memory faded in and out.
The three of us passed by the private play rooms and then through another steel door into the living space of the Sisters. It really was like a prison down here. I’d never noticed it before, having only visited the castle club once or twice and then at night, but now, at the height of the day, it still felt heavy and dark and damp.
They lived in a dungeon. Granted, the space had brightly colored rugs, furniture, and art, but it was still windowless and cold. The fluorescent lights glared and gave of a persistent hum that probably would’ve driven me crazy in no time.
No wonder Gretchen spent every hour she could manage outside of the Sister’s designated quarters and as high off the ground as possible. The library was on the top floor of the Castle. The only parts higher were the towers, and those weren’t accessible to the Sisters.
Door after door after door. How far into this place had they taken Gretchen? “Where is she?”
“We’re almost there. I can feel Bailey close now.”
We swung around another corner, and Erick knocked on a closed wooden door that’d been painted bright red.
“Come in.” Bailey’s voice was soft on the other side of the door.
Erick turned the knob and opened the door, stepping aside so I could enter first.
“I’m headed back to the entrance. See you two later.” Javier gave a half-salute and disappeared around the bend in the hallway.
I hurried through the door into a small room, furnished with a double bed, an armoire with a mirror, and a small desk in the corner. That was it. This was what her room consisted of. A few drawings had been attached to the walls and I recognized Gretchen’s handiwork. She had a good eye for capturing the life below the surface. She’d drawn portraits of all three of the Blackmoors. Some of the pixies who visited the castle regularly were also among her collection. The black-and-white pencil drawings were realistic, each showing a part of the subject’s character so deeply it was like she’d trapped emotions on the paper. Over her desk was a large sketch of me…reading alone in the library. It was a side portrait. My eyes were trained on the book, my faced relaxed
, and just the corner of my mouth showed the beginning of a smile that I’d caught and held back.
Like I always did.
“You always fight being happy.” Gretchen’s voice carried softly through the room from the bed ahead of me. “I wanted to draw you with a smile, but you don’t laugh enough. I couldn’t see—”
“It’s an amazing piece of art, Gretchen. People would give you their fortunes to have you do their portrait. Kings would woo you to their courts for your talent. You drew the truth and captured it. There is nothing to explain.” I moved to the side of the bed and sat on the edge beside her, sliding my hand over hers.
She started to jerk it away, caught herself, and left her hand tensely quivering beneath mine.
I removed my hand, swallowing the dread that’d been climbing in my throat from the second I’d know Xerxes had taken her. He’d stolen her from me in more ways than one. The fireball of energy that usually exuded from her presence was missing. In its place were glazed-over sapphire eyes that barely made contact with mine.
The bruises that’d covered her face and arms and probably every inch of her were fading before my eyes. Bailey’s blood was working quickly. Gretchen’s clothes had already been changed, unlike mine that still showed where the bullets had torn their way through.
“You’re very strong, sweet girl.” Bella leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Gretchen’s forehead. “Between the magick in Bailey’s blood and my dust, you should be in tip-top shape in a matter of hours.”
“Thank you.” Gretchen’s words were barely more than a whisper.
“I don’t have to say take good care of her.” The pixie met my gaze. “But I need to speak with you in the hall for just a few moments.”
My body tensed. Gretchen didn’t want me to touch her, but I sure as hell wasn’t leaving her side again this soon.
“We’ll stay until you come back, Alek.” Erick’s words of assurance didn’t help to alleviate my irritation, but Bella wasn’t backing down. She’d crossed her arms resolutely and was tapping her index finger on her bicep. Patience was not one of her gifts.
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