Bella tipped her head to the side and met my gaze, her blue eyes filled with compassion and understanding. The pixie said it would be hard. She’d warned me this could happen.
“You need to let it out. Go fly, Alek. For a few minutes at least. You’re no good to Gretchen or yourself or anyone here depending on you in this state.”
My body shivered from head to foot. My Gryphon wanted to scream, wanted to weep, but I couldn’t show weakness. I didn’t want those damn soldiers to report back to Xerxes that he’d won.
He hadn’t won.
We were still here, and we were still capable of fighting. That bastard wasn’t going to get away with this, with any of this.
“I won’t be gone long.”
Bella nodded.
I hurried through the rest of the club area, up through the ground level entrance, and out into the green space and courtyard of the castle.
“Alek.” Jared’s voice carried across the open space.
I turned toward my friend. Calliope stood at his side along with Bailey and Erick. Her eyes were red from tears, but her mouth was hard and the tips of her fingers were blackened from her claws straining to get out.
“What?” I asked, crossing the lawn to join them.
“We’re going to get Eli’s body,” Calliope said, her voice tight and drawn like the string on a crossbow.
We were all on edge. I only needed the smallest excuse, and I knew I’d explode.
“And Rose’s, we need to bury them. They shouldn’t be left in the open.”
“Let’s go.” I leaned forward, putting my hands on the grass, and called my Gryphon forward. I shifted over the span of a few moments then shook my head, ruffling the feathers along my neck.
I leapt into the air, pumping my wings, and watched the others jump the wall. Erick grabbed Jared around the waist, and Bailey looped an arm around Calliope’s waist, following Erick’s lead. Both vampires cleared the high stone walls with their passengers in fluid movements that appeared effortless. Once clear, they moved swiftly through the town with the unnatural speed only a vampire possessed. I flew hard, but wouldn’t have had a chance in hell of keeping up had they not been purposefully running at a slower pace I could match.
There were no signs of any remaining Djinn or Lycan soldiers, not in Sanctuary or the surrounding areas. For the time being, they’d pulled away.
About ten minutes later, we reached the scarred and burnt encampment where Xerxes had been holding Gretchen. There were no signs of any soldiers, a blessing and a curse. I was glad not to have to fight, but I wanted to rip them to shreds. Not today.
Today was for our fallen comrades. Today was for mourning what we’d lost.
Swooping low, I landed in front of the collapsed building where I’d seen Eli die, his body lay beneath the rubble. I opened my beak and shrieked, the sound waves barreling through the broken bits of concrete and wood and steel. It moved slightly, and I loosed another cry, this time with enough sonic force to blow half the rubble a dozen yards backward.
Bailey and Erick rushed forward, moving the smaller pieces of concrete and steel beams like they were made of plastic. A few moments later, Erick climbed out of the center of the destroyed building with Eli’s body in his arms.
“What about Rose?” Calliope asked, climbing over a large piece of crumbled concrete.
“Her body isn’t here. I found traces of her blood everywhere, but he must’ve taken her body,” Erick said, his tone angry. “Bastard won’t even let us bury our dead.”
“Maybe she’s not dead.” Bailey crossed the rubble to stand next to Erick. “We don’t know for sure. Alek left when she was still alive.”
I nodded my large head, affirming her statement, and then pawed the ground, motioning to Eli’s body.
Erick laid the mangled, beaten body of my friend on the ground in front of me, and I pumped my wings just enough to lift myself a few inches from the ground. I scooped up Eli’s body with my front legs and tucked him tightly against my chest. Then I rose into the air, hovering long enough to make sure the rest of the group was headed back with me.
Erick and Bailey each grabbed their respective passengers and blurred across the landscape, though not going as quickly as they could have. They matched my flight speed, and we returned to the castle courtyard with haste.
Diana and Miles were waiting. The Drakonae female’s cries for her fallen husband gave voice to the pain and anger still raging inside me. No matter what I told myself, I continued to blame myself for not moving faster, seeing more, or realizing what Xerxes was doing before it happened.
Rose and Eli were monumental losses to the town.
Eli left behind a brother, a pregnant mate, children who would never know their father.
Rose left behind a town. Without her direction and magick, I wondered how we would survive. She was the glue that’d held us all together. Now that she was gone—though without a body, there was hope—what was the next step? The Sisters’ visions had been spotty at best before Gretchen left. Now without our leader, there was no way they’d be able to find the last two Protectors. Not that finding them would do any good. Rose was the only one who could enchant the tattoo that would link them to the other Protectors.
I laid Eli’s body gently on the grass and backed away, giving Diana and Miles as much space as they needed. Pushing my Gryphon back, I stood in human form again.
Miles glanced over his shoulder and mouthed a ‘thank you’, his face dark and his cheeks wet from tears. Diana was hunched over Eli’s body sobbing while Miles kept a hand on the small of her back. She worked frantically, using the fabric of her skirt to clean away the dirt and blood and bits of rubble sticking to him.
The air around us was icy, and frost had crept across the green lawn, tipping each blade of grass with white. Within a few minutes, the castle walls had turned white, and ice continued to form and grow and expand above the walls, closing over the courtyard like a frosted glass dome.
I shivered, and rubbed my bare arms, but remained still along with all who had come outside to pay their respects. Diana wasn’t the only one crying over the loss we’d just been dealt. A few more minutes dragged by before Miles pulled Diana off Eli and lifted his brother from the ground.
“Thank you for bringing him back to us.” Diana’s words choked in the back of her throat. Her pain bled from her like sweat on a hot summer day. She rotated her hands in the air, and ice rose from the ground, creating an altar between us and her. It grew to waist height with a hollow in the center large enough to put…
I sucked in a quick breath, surprised when Miles placed his brother’s body in the hollow.
She didn’t stop. Ice continued to form and grow and cover Eli’s body until he was expertly encased in a thick brick of crystal clear ice—safe from the elements and anything else that might disturb him.
Eira stepped forward and embraced her friend. She and Diana had bonded on the journey to Sanctuary and were never far apart. Had it not been for Eira finding her Killían—her mate—she would’ve lived in the castle with the dragon queen.
Miles stepped forward and spoke aloud. “This will protect his body until we are able to take him home.”
To Veil? My eyebrows weren’t the only ones in the group that shot up to full mast.
“When…how…” Eira asked the question all of us wanted to know.
“Soon.”
The raven-haired vampire turned to her Elvin mate with a question on her lips, but no words spilled from them. The Elf didn’t respond, either, but there was a mutual understanding that passed between them. They all shared a secret.
The only way home right now was with one of the daggers of Orin, which meant they’d gotten their hands on the one that had opened the portal and allowed Diana to pass through to the world of Earth.
“Miles, you can’t leave us,” Jared said, his voice rough and gravelly. “We’ve fought side by side with you for centuries. We owe Rose and Eli more than a cowardly retreat
.”
“Eira, Killían,” Miles said, his voice calm and less emotional than it had been only moments before. “Please take Diana inside. I don’t want her in the open.” He kissed Diana on the top of her white-blond hair and sent her inside with the Eira and her Elvin mate. Both women had rounded bellies, and every male in the castle would die before they allowed a single blow from the battle coming to darken the door where the two mothers-to-be were staying.
“We will not leave you, Jared, but we are leaving. Rose is gone, and this fight has already taken my brother.”
“A lot of us have died.” A male Lycan I didn’t know by name stepped forward. “I’ve lost two brothers and several cousins. Loss is not yours solely to claim.”
Heat flared from Miles, and his eyes showed the Drakonae fire burning within them. “Will your loss turn you into a raging murderous beast with no soul that lives only to kill everything in its path? That is what will happen if I or Diana falls. You will be saddled with a full-sized Dragon that hates all living things on the face of the Earth.”
The Lycan didn’t respond, but he did step back into the quiet ranks where his kind had gathered in the corner. Mikjáll stepped up to the altar of ice and laid a hand on the cold tomb.
“We can’t stay here. We’re trapped and cornered. This castle will be a tomb for us all if we do.” Mikjáll pressed his forehead to the ice and then moved to stand at his father’s side, his tone solemn and filled with finality. “There are too many to carry to the portal. Not enough of them fly. We’re not like Xerxes, aided by an army of teleporting psychopaths.”
“Not all the Djinn are evil. I’m not leaving without Manda,” Jared spoke again, breaking the uncomfortable silence. “She deserves a chance.”
“Because she didn’t die in your fire?” Mikjáll shot back, a flash of anger bright in his gaze. “That shouldn’t earn her anything. According to what I’ve heard, she has enough betrayals under her belt to deserve anything coming her way.”
Jared snarled and his eyes burned. The ice surrounding him melted to water, and the frost on the closest walls turned liquid and ran into puddles on the stones of the courtyard floor.
“Enough,” I growled. “Even now, he’s winning, turning us against each other. Getting you to abandon people you’ve spent centuries protecting—”
“What about Sochi’s child? That monster still has her. You promised to help us.” A small slip of a woman, holding a sleeping baby in her own arms, stepped forward, Riza—the Kitsune who’d been rescued during our mission to save Charlie. Her dark eyes flashed. “Like the Gryphon says, how can you just leave? There are so many who still need your help. Without Drakonae, how do we stand a chance against that madman? You would abandon us all to die, one slow death at a time.”
“One mistake,” Miles said, his tone soft but sharp. “One more mistake. One slip turns my mate into a homicidal killer. You and everyone in this castle would die. She would either eat you or encase you in an icy tomb. Xerxes has already shown his hand. He possesses dragon steel and was crafty enough to surprise my brother. Do you really want me to take that chance with your life, with the lives of everyone seeking sanctuary in this fortress?” He waved his hand at the large group of Lycans standing next to a huddled group of Sisters. “What choices do I have? Leave now and pray that you survive, or risk being Xerxes next target and die knowing my mate will kill all of my closest friends?”
“Diana, stop. Please.” Eira’s voice cut across the courtyard.
Diana returned to Miles’ side. Her tall, silvery figure cut a breathtaking view against the snow and ice backdrop. Her hair was the color of the snow, and her silver dress shimmered with iridescence. Calliope had made it especially for her, and it was stunning. Fit for the queen she had been and the queen I knew she would be again one day.
Her bright blue eyes blazed with a white fire exclusive to Drakonae born as ice-breathers. “We can’t leave our friends, Miles,” Diana said, standing next to her mate. “There’s no way we can get them all out. So that option is invalid, and I know we said we’d leave if Rose was ever lost, but we can’t.” She shook her head. “They are all right. Perhaps our home is Veil, but your heart belongs here in this town. I haven’t been here long, but I already love these people.” Diana waved her had across the mismatched crowd. “These are our people, our family. If we can’t take them home when we go, who will stand with us against the Incanti? I know better than to believe an army is waiting for our return, to help us storm the city of Orin and take back what belongs to us.”
Miles slipped an arm around his mate and stared at her round belly for several long, silent moments before looking up and meeting my gaze then, and the waiting hopefulness of everyone in the courtyard. He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin and sighed—still not convinced. Still at war over protecting his mate versus risking everything to save the town and the people of Sanctuary.
The soft crunch of shoes on fresh snow drew my focus from Miles’ battle of indecision. My chest heaved, pain twisted through my gut. I wanted to rush to her side, but I didn’t. My skin itched, and my Gryphon paced, groaning and growling with anger. She shouldn’t be out here. She should be safe beneath the surface of this stone fortress. Hell, we all should. We shouldn’t be standing beneath a dome of ice, discussing our plans like we had a chance, Drakonae or not. I’d seen what Xerxes had. We didn’t have a shot in fucking hell if he came at us with his full force.
Gretchen moved slowly from behind the group of Sisters with Javier walking a few paces after her. Astrid stepped forward to stop her, but Javier threw the Oracle a snarl that stopped her dead in her tracks. He might be known as the asshole Protector, but he was an asshole on our side, and I was damn glad.
“Gretchen?”
She straightened and turned to face the group, standing at my shoulder but not touching. It would’ve taken so little effort to lean an inch to the right and brush my arm against hers. She was so close I could feel the warmth from her skin. Our hearts synced up in seconds, and I breathed a small sigh of gratitude. I could be what she needed. I’d promised to be what she needed, no matter what.
“We have to fight. We can’t let him win. If you go to your world, he will follow you. Maybe not today, maybe not for a hundred years, but he will come, and he will use us to create a race of Lamassu that will help him achieve that goal. He will be stronger than ever before.”
“We have the only key on this side of the portal. He’ll have no way to get through once we go and take it with us.”
“You don’t think he has Djinn guarding the portal? Lycans? Witches? What else does he have that you don’t know about?”
Miles’ mouth gaped open for a split second and then snapped shut.
“Your mate is wise beyond her years, Alek.” Diana offered a compassionate glance toward Gretchen. The Drakonae queen turned to Miles. “She’s right. This fight isn’t over until he’s dead. We already have one war waiting for us on the other side of that portal. Do you want to always be waiting for a war to follow us through as well?”
Gretchen slipped her hand into mine and squeezed.
The smallest gesture meant the most. I could feel her fear, her hesitation, but she reached for me. It was more than I deserved. I’d failed her, and she’d still chosen me. After everything she’d endured, she chose not to endanger her memory of me even if it meant forgetting all the pain and suffering he’d caused. Through all the darkness, she’d reached for the light. My heart bloomed with hope that hadn’t existed moments ago.
The marks on my arms glowed beneath my thin t-shirt. Hers glowed brightly beneath her dress, some shining from her exposed collarbone. Strength unlike anything I’d felt radiated from her, from the love that we shared. From the love we would rebuild even stronger than it’d been at the start.
She glanced to Miles then Diana, then let her gaze pass over everyone in the courtyard. Murmurs of support echoed through the quiet space.
“We fight together. And we take
him down once and for all. Together.” Gretchen’s voice rang like a trumpet through the courtyard and echoed back at us from the dome overhead.
Everyone nodded. Everyone echoed their determination. “Together.”
We fight.
Chapter 25
GRETCHEN
I’d touched his hand, and the world hadn’t shattered around me. He hadn’t turned into a clawed monster. His hand had been warm and soothing to my tired nerves. The town had quieted for the night. The calm before the storm.
People were everywhere in the castle. Sleeping bags lined the hallways. Even the Sister’s quarters and the club space in the secure lower floor were filled with displaced families from throughout Sanctuary. Footsteps were a constant on the stone floors. The patrols never ended.
Alek had squeezed my hand and gone with Miles, Diana, and several others who made up Rose’s trusted circle. They’d disappeared into Miles’ office, and I’d retreated to the farthest corner of the library, our favorite couch. The fabric held just enough of Alek’s scent to make it seem as though he were there.
The cushions dipped next to me and I startled, not realizing until that moment that I must’ve been drifting in and out of sleep. I drew my legs beneath me and hugged the afghan tighter to my chest. The temperature of the castle had plummeted since Diana had covered the fortress in a dome of ice. The supernaturals didn’t seem to care, but I could see each breath as I exhaled. The two pairs of socks, jeans, two sweatshirts I’d grabbed before giving my room to a displaced family of five were just barely cutting the chill in the air. The heavy blanket helped, but the second he sat down, warmth enveloped me.
I opened my eyes and squinted in the dim light. Night had fallen and only the soft yellow glow of the wall sconces broke through the dark shadows of the great room.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 114