by Thia Mackin
His arms tightened around me. “Want me to carry you inside before I put these two up?”
I exhaled. “Nope, but I’ll take a front bale seat to the show, if you don’t mind?”
The urge to argue passed behind his eyes, but he buried it before moving to the corner where we’d left my cane. A few steps felt more like a mile as I crossed the distance and sank down. While Rankar wiped down the horses, checked their feet, and removed their tack, I practiced deep breathing with Hypnos resting on the straw beside me and Trouble lying near my boots. The dog’s partner in crime had probably followed the ranch hand out to the flock.
“I need a shower, and you need an ice pack,” Rankar assessed, offering me a hand up.
The warmth from his touch helped me breathe as weight landed on my leg again. “Why don’t you go ahead? I’ll catch up.”
He waited for me to take a few steps and matched his stride to my slow pace. “I’ll walk with you.” No judgment for pushing myself too far. No censure for not letting him carry me the distance to the house. Just calm acceptance.
If I didn’t sit down soon, I’d be sleeping downstairs the first night that Rankar stayed over.
We stepped through the door, and Karyn’s voice came from around the corner. “Rankar, get Kinan’s boots off. Kinan, the shower has the chair, and the water is running.” She didn’t pause to let me argue. Besides, the words caught in my throat when I considered contradicting her. “Rankar, it’ll be faster if you shower upstairs. When you finish, supper is ready, and there is an ice pack waiting with Kinan’s name on it at the kitchen table.”
Already, Rankar knelt and worked the boot free from my injured leg, as gently as possible. I placed my arms flat against the wall and leaned hard on it. Between that and clenched teeth, I survived the ordeal. Rankar stood, kissed my cheek, and silently asked with his eyes if I’d changed my mind.
“Catch you in the kitchen in a few minutes,” I murmured, patting his arm.
Karyn had left a lotion on the sink, and I lathered it on post-shower before stepping into another pair of Rankar’s sweatpants. I realized that I needed to visit Eliecha and Triswon now that I was off the crutches. First of all, they both worried so much after one of her visions, even if she Saw that I was okay. Secondly, poor Rankar needed his clothes back.
Limping my way to the kitchen, I paused in the doorway to watch as Rankar put three glasses of stout beer on the table. His mom finished plating the braised lamb shanks, and he efficiently set the table. Karyn never glanced back as she placed the pans in the warmer. “Kinan, sit down. There’s a little stool to prop the leg up, and the ice pack is in your chair already.”
I sank gratefully into the seat and placed the ice pack where it hurt the most, trying not to let the relief play across my face. The cold activated something in the lotion, causing it to feel both warm and cool. Nearly instantly, the pain dialed back two levels.
As Karyn walked around the table, her hand patted my shoulder and then Rankar’s. She paused a moment before picking up her fork; once she did, though, Rankar and I followed suit.
“How is Asez Holding?” she asked.
“Better than anyone expected, except maybe Alyson. Sometimes we forget the new owner is Doctor Keawyn Asez, but between the veterinary medicine and animal husbandry degrees, her decisions regarding the horses impress even Rendle at times.”
“Not an easy task,” Karyn interjected.
I paid closer attention to this conversation than the ones about politics between Karyn and Mycal. These people were important to Rankar and eventually, perhaps, may be part of my life also.
“Easier than pleasing Fwen.” He paused and looked at me. “Fwen Panthrus appointed me Captain when he stepped down to be my second-in-command. Recently, he promoted Alala Veracruz to second-in-command and chose to have less responsibility as third-in-command. He’s a shapeshifter and beginning to feel his age, so he’s trying to prepare us for his retirement.”
I nodded. Shapeshifters originated on this Plane beside the humans, and their lifespan was about the same. If the demon prepared for retirement, he was probably in his late sixties.
“Anyway, Keawyn doesn’t enjoy having a two-person guard following her every movement. She doesn’t believe it is necessary. However, Fwen implemented it after an assassination attempt on her grandmother only failed due to Alyson speaking with an hostler who’d formerly worked as a mercenary on another Plane. As Keawyn is the last surviving Asez, he’s not willing to risk anything ending the bloodline.”
I finished chewing. “Why would someone try to kill Alyson Asez?” Everyone who spoke of her said only positive things. She had supported the paranormal community in honor of her human daughter, Amrysyn, who’d been literally cursed into shifting monthly with the moon until her death. Every person Alyson hired was Enlightened—aware demon breeds other than humans existed. Most had considered her a rare gem in the modern world.
“Not every Enlightened person on Terra believes non-human demons have a right to live, work, and raise a family here,” Karyn softly explained.
I opened my mouth, closed it, and chose to sip the beer instead. Obviously, I had been lucky. Admittedly, my time on Terra had—until recently—been limited to mostly unEnlightened interactions.
Rankar agreed. “The assassin decided killing her would disperse the presence of so many non-humans in the area. It actually reduced the human population in Tucumcari by one. So Keawyn won’t win this argument. The guards remain.”
I finished the leeks, making sure to catch the last bit of bacon in the fork. “Are there any other changes she wants to make, other than firing her personal guards?”
He nodded. “Actually, she had the idea to color-code all pets—including drakyn—by the type of worker that owns them. For example, guards’ animals would have red collars with the name of the owner stitched into it. Relatively speaking, Hypnos and Thanatos are well-trained. However, not all drakyn are. If one makes mischief, it would help to identify it more easily on sight… even if we still need to track it through the dozens of stable hands or kitchen staff.”
Grinning, I pictured Rankar’s two blues sporting shiny red collars. “I see the benefits, but I think you all are going to need a lot of patience to put it into practice. Also, you should request the guards be assigned blue. It’ll be camouflaged on Hypnos and Thanatos.”
As he told us more about Keawyn and her suggested changes, he lit up. Not only did he enjoy his job, he genuinely cared about the people there. The rapport reminded me of our talk about what he’d liked about the Army. “Kinan, some of my friends are curious about the woman I’m seeing. Do you want to come to Asez and meet them when you’re feeling up to it?”
I smiled, loving the happiness shining in his eyes. If something so simple gave him that expression, I’d go daily. “Yes. When my healer clears me to walk without the cane, I’d love to visit Asez and put faces to these names.”
Karyn cleared her throat. “I’m going to straighten up in here and then head to my bedroom for the night. You two can entertain yourselves.”
As she stretched her hand toward me, I passed over the cold pack for her to sanitize and refreeze. Luckily, the lotion and cold combination allowed me to climb the stairs just a few steps behind Rankar—not that I minded the view. Pausing at the second-floor bathroom, I brushed my teeth and filled my water glass before walking into the bedroom.
Though I’d slept with him at his house nightly, a smattering of nerves made me stop in the doorway. Rankar unpacked a few items from the duffel and switched them out in the dresser for different clothes using the dimmer light from the bedside lamp. He stood, saw me, and grinned.
I smiled, unable to resist. “Which side do you normally sleep on?”
He crossed to me and set aside the water glass before rubbing my arms as though I needed warming. And perhaps I had. Some of the tension released as his heat burned away the chill.
“Closest to the door, if you don’t mind.” A qui
ck kiss to my forehead, and he disappeared toward the bathroom himself.
Sliding off the sweatpants, I laid them over the back of the chair to wear the next day and then turned back the comforter. The door clicked closed behind me as I crawled under the covers. Beneath my watchful eye, he stripped off his shirt and pants, folding them and putting them away before sitting on the edge of the mattress.
“Let’s see that leg.” Gently, he tugged on the blanket, and I let him, knowing it looked fine. He rolled the comforter down to keep it from tangling and moved to the center of the bed. “Where does it hurt?” he asked as his hand ran lightly from my upper thigh to my ankle.
Propping myself up on my elbows, I followed the line with my eyes. Heat radiated from his palm, warming more than just the places he touched. “Right now, nowhere.”
His lips twitched. “Then we’ll start down here and work our way up.”
Fingers grasping my foot, he pulled me closer to the middle. Then his knuckles ran up my arch, and my body came off the bed. “Oops. Ticklish?” His raised eyebrow told me he knew the answer. However, he used a firmer pressure that turned my trepidation to bliss. By the time he made it to my knee, my limbs had become putty. However, he paused and began on the other foot.
“That one’s not injured,” I murmured, not genuinely protesting.
“Wouldn’t want it to feel left out,” he replied, amused.
“Fair enough.”
As he reached the same point for the second time, he asked again, “Any pain?”
“Nuh-uh.” Half-asleep from the massage, I cracked one eyelid to watch him sliding my panties down and off. “Were they bothering you?” The curiosity even sounded drowsy.
He set his chin on my uninjured leg and grinned. “No, but they would be you.”
The disbelief on my face must have been stronger than he expected. His pleased smile grew as he drew my thighs apart slowly—one hand on each leg—until he appeared comfortable between them. “You smell like candied ginger and orange blossoms,” he observed, rubbing his cheek against my upper thigh as though scent marking me. “That liniment should last through morning. It’s why she uses the nwazeh instead of comfrey.” He ran his fingers lightly over the scar from the iron arrowhead. “Still no pain?”
“No.” I watched him, both eyes open. He seemed quite determined.
His fingers walked from my knee to my thighs, sliding up to my abdomen. The feel of his skin against mine warmed me more effectively than the herbs, and I hummed contentedly. A gentle kiss caressed the inside of my thigh. The teasing touch sent my fingers questing for his, but the warm heat of his tongue against my clit sent my body off the bed.
He chuckled, grabbing a pillow and sliding it beneath my hips. Somehow, I felt more naked and exposed than ever in my life. However, the aroused heat in his eyes reassured me. Exhaling softly, I forced myself to relax with my arms by my side. How bad can it be? A little awkward, maybe, but he one hundred percent would never hurt me. It would be fine.
“Anwylyd, you are really overthinking this.” His fingers entwined with my left hand, his thumb rubbing my wrist above my pulse.
“Sorry. I’ve not… This… You…”
He smiled softly. “I know, love. Close your eyes. I’ve got you.” He raised my leg, sliding under it. Then he glanced at me. “Eyes.”
I squeezed his hand and looked at the ceiling for a long second before letting my eyelids close. Slow, deep breaths kept my heart rate steady as I tried to stay relaxed. Then his fingers slipped free of mine, callused palm running over my skin. His other hand moved to my mound where the warmth of his lips caressed my folds.
Passionately, with no hesitation, he kissed, sucked, and licked me there. His touch built so much tension that I grasped his short hair, urging him harder and faster. Tiny spasms kept me close, so close. My breaths came in pants, and I tried to convince him to join me. If only he were inside me…
He slid two fingers inside me, curving them just right, as his lips and tongue concentrated on my clit. Sparkling lights burst behind my eyes, and I screamed his name. It caught in my throat as I pressed my lips together, but my hand pushed his head closer. Oh gods.
After a long moment, I looked at him where he lay beside me. He’d stolen the pillow back from beneath my hips and propped it under his head. Our eyes met, and he grinned at me from inches away. Finger under his chin, I pulled him close enough to kiss. “You look quite smug,” I teased.
“Mmm.” He nibbled at my lips before rolling me toward him to use his shoulder as my pillow. “Anwylyd,” he paused, his palm resting in the center of my back as he smirked. “I made you forget we were in my parents’ house.”
Chapter 18
The Welsh words on the page blurred slightly, and I blinked a couple times to clear the haze from my eyes. Karyn sat on the couch nearby, penning notes on one of her patients’ treatment. Once in a while, she translated an unfamiliar word for me without glancing up. Typically, I would already be at Rankar’s. However, he’d sent Hypnos with a note that he wouldn’t be home until closer to midnight due to an issue at Asez. My plan had been to wait until Karyn went to bed before heading to Rankar’s house, but tonight, sleep seemed determined to pull me under.
Decision made, my hand grabbed the cane leaning against the armrest. I moved to stand and excuse myself to Rankar’s just as Karyn looked toward the ceiling. Her intent stare and an odd buzzing in my head raised the hair on the back of my neck, and I rose—completely awake—to wait for what was coming, hand on the gun at my hip. A green drakyn flashed in, hovering in the corner as she assessed the room. With a friendly cheep, she descended and extended a letter in my direction.
Once my fingers grasped the corner of the envelope, the creature disappeared without waiting for a response. The Bhinj crest stamped in the wax brought a smile to the corner of my lips. “From a friend,” I assured, breaking the seal with my thumb. The corners of my mouth fell when I read the message.
He is here. He will not leave alive. For now, we wait for you. Gate to the north corner of the tavern.
No signature. No further explanation. The handwriting matched Eliecha’s, though the terse words themselves did not. If the messiness of the last sentence were an indication, it had been an afterthought.
“What’s wrong?”
I crumpled the paper unintentionally. “I have to take care of something. I am not certain how long it will take, but I hope to resolve it tonight.” The words sounded so far away, but they seemed innocuous enough. Definitely not a reflection of the pounding of my heart and the difficulty my lungs seemed to be having pulling in air.
“I see,” she murmured, concern obvious in the lines of her forehead.
My lips parted, but no reassurances came out. Instead, the tap of my cane against the floor sounded loud in the silence of the room as I headed toward Rankar’s bedroom upstairs. The hip holster was exchanged for a shoulder holster, and my sword belt replaced it.
“Hypnos!” I shouted into the empty room, leaning over the desk to pen a quick note to Rankar. He needed to know that I wasn’t leaving forever. I wasn’t walking away.
I’ll be gone a few hours, no more than a day. I must take care of something important. I love you. See you when I get back.
-Kinan
As I signed my name, Hypnos chirped inquisitively from the corner of the hutch. “Hello, kid. Take this to your bonded please. Quickly.” He accepted it carefully in his talons before launching into the air and disappearing.
I glanced around, staring hesitantly at my bow. However, my original decision stood. When I killed him, I’d be closer than it allowed. The weapon would be dead weight.
Hypnos landed on my shoulder, offering me back the same piece of paper I’d sent him with originally. Obviously, he’d caught Rankar outside his office.
I love you too. How long should I wait before assuming things are FUBAR and sending you some backup?
My lips twitched. If it went to shit, I’d be dead in the next
hour. Even with my lack of experience with relationships, however, the truth rang in my head as perhaps not the proper response. Were he to send me such a message, I’d Gate directly to him.
If I’m not back by dinner tomorrow, find Eliecha Bhinj.
Hypnos and I Gated out at the same time.
Elie’s face greeted me as I stepped from the Gate. Her arms wrapped around me and squeezed. The air involuntarily evacuated my lungs, and an electrical current ran between us. I hugged her back briefly before tapping her shoulder with the hand not holding the cane. Immediately, she released me. The back of her hand wiped her cheek as she glanced around us; the courtyard appeared deserted, but Elie and Triswon never left their home unprotected.
“He’s guilty?” I asked, hitting the heart of the matter.
“She says he is.” Her eyes met mine, glowing from within with the power of the Goddess. “And he dines in our private room.” Between her thumb and forefinger, she held a bullet. “Anti-energy spell.” The snarl on her lips held a ferocity I’d never seen. “Tit for tat. You took an iron arrow. He’ll take a silver bullet. Hit him in the right shoulder. It’ll lodge in his shoulder blade, and he won’t be able to run away.” Her palm gripped mine as she passed me the piece of metal. “And if you cannot finish it, for any reason, just whisper my husband’s first name. He’ll end it.”
I kissed her forehead. “Abshoc is mine.”
The building balanced me, and Elie held the cane for a moment. Ejecting the magazine from my gun, I popped a bullet out and slipped it into my pocket. Then I replaced it with Elie’s gift and reloaded the magazine. Not bothering to reholster, my thumb clicked off the safety.
My friend led me toward the door to the tavern and through the warding; her slow pace was for my benefit, but I would have happily limped faster. “The room is fully soundproofed. Typically, it is used for clandestine meetings.”
Though unspoken, I understood that no one would hear him screaming. The knowledge rattled around the front of my head until we stood before the closed door. Inhaling deeply, I found my center, leaned the cane against the wall, shielded extra around my leg like a brace, and raised the gun as Elie set her hand on the handle.