Stealing Summer, Hunter

by Lexi Blake

  But I wasn’t sure if I could survive knowing I could have protected my child.

  “Devinshea,” the queen was saying. “Devinshea, please don’t do this. I love you. You have to be in there somewhere. You don’t want to hurt me.”

  The queen was being wrapped in grass and vines, and I watched the moment she started sinking slowly into the ground, into her grave.

  Dean was too busy fighting his own vines to help the queen. They wrapped around his legs and he flung them off, but just as quickly they were back, taking up all his time and effort.

  “Please, Devinshea.” The queen was weeping, trying to turn to see her husband.

  She was asking mercy from the wrong person. I might have gotten lucky in the fact that I could knock out Donovan, but Dev had an off switch, too. “Bris, I need you to take over the body right now.”

  Dev didn’t share a mind with the ancient god he shared a body with, and it was obvious Bris hadn’t noticed the thrall stone. Their personalities were different and that affected how the thrall stone worked. It didn’t on Bris. I had to get to Bris.

  The queen’s slow descent paused. She was in to midcalf, dirt and grass swirling around her legs.

  I had his attention. The question was how far gone Dev was.

  “Bris, I need you to fight because that parasite inside of Dev’s brain is about to kill your goddess,” I said.

  “And me.” Dean was now half cocooned. “Uhm, I would like the weird god thing to save me, too.”

  Yep, we would be training. A lot. If we survived this particular adventure. I moved closer to the queen. I couldn’t let her go into the dirt. “Bris, do whatever you have to do but take over the body now. If you don’t we lose her. You can’t lose your goddess. Devinshea wouldn’t want you to lose her. It’s all up to you.”

  Dev’s eyes flashed to pure green. “I am trying, Hunter. He is very strong.”

  I felt Zoey start to go under again. “Try harder. You’re not merely fighting to save her. Your host needs you. Devinshea needs you. I need you.” Desperation was starting to play me hard. The vines had snaked around my ankles. I knew I should jump away, but I couldn’t be less than who I was. I realized in that moment that yes, I was going to be a mom, but I had to be me, too, and that meant fighting. My child didn’t need a mom who hid away. He needed a mom who would fight for his future, and there was zero question in my mind that his future would be less bright without the royal family on our side.

  There was a pressure at my feet and I realized I was going to go under, too.

  “Let me go, Kelsey.” Zoey had been clutching me but she let go now. “You have to stay and fight. I can survive. I still have Daniel’s blood inside me. It could work.”

  I didn’t follow her orders. At this point I wasn’t even sure it would work since I was sinking like the ground beneath me was quicksand.

  “I can’t,” I shouted. I looked back and Dev’s eyes were changing, the fight for control there in the deepening and relaxing of the color. “Bris, you helped me conceive this baby. Don’t let me lose him now.”

  “Please, My Lord,” the queen beseeched. “You have always protected me. Protect us all.”

  Dev’s eyes went completely green, the irises bleeding out, and it was like the air around us was suddenly normal again. The vines and grass receded and I pulled my feet out, grateful for the boots that kicked up that dirt with ease.

  “I am so sorry, my goddess.” Bris was there, using his host’s strong body to lift the queen out of her temporary prison. He dragged her up and into his arms, cradling her gently.

  The queen wasn’t so gentle. She wrapped her arms around him and pressed her lips to his. “My Lord, I am so grateful for you. Thank you. Don’t let go of your hold until we can help Devinshea.”

  He smiled at her and his hand stroked dirt from her hair. “My host is in agreement, but let’s not talk about what could happen.”

  Zoey shook her head. “Nothing’s going to happen. I love my husbands just the way they are.”

  She could learn. All hail the fucking thrall stone. That would be the line we all would hold right up until we could get those fuckers out.

  “Yes, god, hold the body because if you don’t and he fights again, I’ll rip his head apart to get that stone out of there.” Erna was walking up from the yard, a dark cloud around her.

  I could feel the power coming off her in waves and knew we were in trouble.

  * * * *

  Zoey

  I wanted a minute to appreciate the fact that I wasn’t in the ground. And maybe to make sure my now human husband wasn’t dead, but no, the witch had to get pissed off. Bris set me on my feet and I turned to Erna. “How about we take a minute?”

  “How about someone help me out? This is cozy and all, but I would prefer being able to move,” a masculine voice said.

  I turned slightly and if the situation had been different and we hadn’t had a majorly powerful witch breathing down our necks, I would have laughed because Dean was encased from the neck down in the shroud of vines. But Erna was getting closer and I was worried about what she might do. “My Lord, perhaps you could help our friend.”

  Maybe Erna would be more willing to listen if Dean was safe. She’d said this was a delicate procedure, but she didn’t look like she was in a delicate mood. I’ve found with most supernatural creatures it’s all in the eyes. You can tell their mood from whether or not their eyes go freaky deaky. I’ve tried to explain to Kelsey that when she’s hangry, her pupils tighten up like she’s looking at everything and everyone as a potential food source. I felt a bit of that coming off Erna now. Her eyes were wide, the color changing from brown to black as she strode toward us. My head was still reeling and I needed to take a damn breath, but the day didn’t seem to be going that way.

  The vines unwound from around Dean’s body and he tried to step in front of Erna.

  She flicked her hand and he was tossed to the side.

  Kelsey stepped up. My heart threatened to stop because she’d already put herself at risk for me. I did not want to be the reason she lost her baby. I’d been through that before and I didn’t wish it on anyone, much less a woman who had proven herself time and again to be my friend. I looked to Bris, who was the only one of us powerful enough to face the witch in a magic battle. I had no question Kelsey could behead a chick, but she had to get close enough, and I didn’t think she would be able to given what Erna had so recently done to a young man who was supposedly in her charge.

  Erna started to wave a hand Kelsey’s way. Bris brought up a wall of green between them.

  Kelsey sent us a look that could have frozen water. “I can handle a single witch.”

  She’s my friend, but she’s also super arrogant.

  “Don’t think you can hide from me,” Erna swore, stepping around the wall of tall grass. She held up her hand toward my faery prince. “Veni ad me.”

  Dev’s body went stiff and he suddenly hit his knees. He shook as though fighting something from deep within. I glanced at Daniel, who was lying on the ground unmoving. He seemed to be out of her range, but something was happening to Dean, too. The young man had been inching toward Erna, but he fell back on a shout.

  I rushed to Bris, but he held out a hand.

  “Stay back,” he shouted. “Something is happening. I think it’s working, but the stone is fighting. I need to stay in control or I worry what will happen.”

  I wanted so badly to touch him, but Kelsey was at my side, her hand reaching to mine.

  “Let it happen,” Kelsey said. “I think she’s pulling it out of him and I would rather she worked this magic on Dev first before trying it on Daniel’s human body. Unless you’re willing to let me step into that magic and see what happens.”

  Well, when she put it that way… I watched in helpless dread as Dev’s body fought between Erna’s will and that of the thrall stone. It was one more thing I would pay Myrddin back for. I couldn’t stand to see his pain, but there was nothing I
could do. I couldn’t step between him and that light coming from Erna’s hands.

  She was powerful, but there was something odd about her magic. I had to think it was because she wasn’t a witch from the Earth plane. When Sarah cast a spell I didn’t see that wild wave of energy coming off her. It was like lightning, but focused and stable. It went into my faery prince’s body and caused him to go stiff as though he’d completely lost control. Yet Bris stared at me, making not a sound of pain. He simply watched me as though he was going to hold it all in, so I wasn’t scared.

  I love you. I mouthed the words to him, thanking him for taking this for Dev.

  And then he couldn’t hold back. His mouth opened on a low groan and then a shout of pure agony as his head snapped back.

  Dev’s body sagged down as the light cut off.

  I raced to him, dropping to my knees and getting my hands on him. “Dev? Bris? Are you all right?”

  His eyes opened and it was Bris’s pure emerald I saw there. “We are fine, my goddess. My host needs a moment but he is well. Aching but well. He is confused. I am sorry I did not realize something had attached itself to his mind. I feel guilt for this.”

  I wasn’t having that. I brought his hand to my heart. “You are always our hero, My Lord. I love you. Rest.”

  He squeezed my hand and his eyes closed.

  Erna stood over us, Kelsey moving to my side like she was ready to jump in front of that lightning again.

  “You could have killed him,” Kelsey said, and I was pretty sure if I could have seen them, her eyes would have been all kinds of wolfy.

  “He wasn’t going to stop.” Erna’s eyes had gone back to normal and she studied the stone in her hand. Although according to her it was actually bone. It was so small, I could barely see it held between her thumb and forefinger. “This wouldn’t have let him. It was only luck that your husband happened to be an ascended god, but he wouldn’t have held out forever. Surely you could see that.”

  I had been able to see it which was the only reason I wasn’t looking for a knife to take to Erna’s throat at that moment. Bris wouldn’t have been able to hold him off forever. He wouldn’t have been able to calm him down, and I was worried Danny would be the same. “I understand. The stone was going to protect itself at all costs.”

  It would have killed me because I had kind of been a dumbass about it and lost my temper.

  Erna’s eyes met mine. “Good because I should take it out of the human while he’s unconscious, too.”

  I was about to shout my disapproval when she held out a hand and Daniel’s body jerked, his head coming up and down and something flying across the yard.

  Now Erna had two stones and Daniel was groaning.

  “It was easier once I knew where the wizard had placed the stone,” Erna remarked as she studied them. “And I prepared the human last night. The Fae was much more difficult. You should find them both out of thrall now, Your Highness. I expect a favor from you. I expect you to bring Summer home.”

  “I will do that.” I didn’t mention which home I would be bringing her to. Mine. Her true home on the Earth plane.

  “Wow that hurt.” Dean had managed to get to his feet, but he seemed woozy. “My brain feels like it’s going to explode. Between getting inside the demon’s head and catching the edge of that magic, I think I need a nap.”

  Erna moved to him, finally showing some concern for someone beyond herself. She pocketed the stones and examined Dean. “Are you all right? Tell me where it hurts. I’m sorry, Dean. I didn’t mean to hit you with it. Come inside and let me examine your head.”

  “I think I’m fine,” Dean said, seeming to regain his balance.

  “What did you mean about looking inside a demon’s head?” Erna asked, sending a pointed look toward Kelsey. “I thought you were going to milk the cow and keep it safe from that one.”

  “I’m not going to eat your cow,” Kelsey replied with a roll of her eyes.

  Oh, she would if she got hungry enough, but I let that worry go as I moved to Danny and put a hand on his chest. It was obvious Kelsey had been making some moves this morning, and I wanted to hear about them, but only after I made sure my husbands were all right. I looked down at Daniel as his eyes fluttered open.

  “Hey, baby, what happened?” He blinked against the morning light. “Am I having a weird dream? My head feels funny.”

  But he was all right. I squeezed his hand. “That’s what happens when you have some very odd brain surgery.”

  His jaw tightened. “The thrall stone. The witch got it out.” He sat up and immediately looked for Devinshea. “Dev?”

  “Is stone free, too,” I assured him. “It was rougher on him. He needs a nap but he’s going to be okay. Do you remember what happened?”

  I kind of hoped he didn’t remember the few moments before the stone had been removed.

  “I remember I tried to kill you.”

  There would be a whole lot of guilt around that, and I would have to deal with it. Danny could get mopey when he was guilt ridden. I needed to minimize that. “The stone tried to kill me. The stone protected its mission above anything else.”

  “And its mission was to keep me loyal to Myrddin.” Even though he was human now, I could hear the vampire king in his tone. It was the same tone he used before he eviscerated someone.

  “Yes.” I was going to let him draw the proper conclusions and come to the right course of action.

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  See, I knew he could do it. “First we need to find our daughter.”

  “We might have bigger problems, Your Highness.” Kelsey loomed over us, her lean figure blocking out the sun. “Like end of the world problems.”

  Of course we did. “Help me get Devinshea inside and you can tell me all about the new apocalypse we’re facing.”

  Kelsey frowned. “I bet he’s heavy.”

  Daniel got to his feet. “You have no idea. And I’m human. This is going to hurt. When we’ve got him comfortable, we need to talk about how we get to the door to the Vampire plane.”

  “Dev did a real number on this lawn,” Kelsey said, studying the overturned dirt where my husband had nearly taken Dean down. She seemed to be looking for something.

  “He’ll fix it when he wakes up,” Danny promised with a grimace. “I wish he could fix my head.”

  Kelsey glanced back to the door Erna and Dean had disappeared through. “Erna took both thrall stones, right? She picked them up and took them with her?”

  “Yes.” Should I have taken them from the witch? I knew next to nothing about the magic that had bound my husband to Merlin Satanspawn. Could she do something with those stones? Could they tell her things we might not want her to know? “She’s got both of them with her.”

  Kelsey knelt down and searched around in the dirt. “Damn it. I hate it when I’m right.”

  “Right about what?” Daniel asked.

  Kelsey stood and walked back to us. She held out a hand and there was a tiny bone there. “Right that Erna knows a lot about thrall stones for a reason. This came out of Dean when she was tossing that magic around. I don’t think she meant it to. She’s dangerous.”

  I looked down at my husbands—one sleeping and the other fragile and human. “We have to get out of here.”

  “I can’t leave Dean,” Kelsey said. “I need a little time to get to the kid and convince him to come with us. Zoey, you know we can’t leave him. I know we have to save Summer, but Lee is on the line, too.”

  “Lee? What about Lee?” Danny asked.

  At least I could finally talk to him. “I’ll tell you about it when we’re alone and Dev can listen, too. Kelsey, hide that thing. Maybe she won’t know it’s gone.”

  “Is the Green Man all right?” Erna was suddenly on the porch. “You should bring him inside. Dean is resting. I need to find some herbs to help with his headache.”

  Or she needed to investigate the ground to see if she could find the stone she’d used
on him. She couldn’t simply shove another one in. Spells like that took time, and it would be infinitely easier to put the one she’d used before back in.

  I gave her my brightest smile. “Yes, we were about to bring him in. Oh, Erna, I can’t tell you how grateful we are. You’re an angel. Seriously, anything we can do to help you, it’s yours.”

  I knew how to play this game. I launched myself at the woman and gave her a hug. A hug that distracted her from Kelsey slipping the stone into her pocket.

  “I don’t know, Your Highness,” Kelsey said in her sullenest tone. “Let’s see if Dev wakes up. Then maybe she’ll have my gratitude.”

  Ah, we were slipping into good cop, bad cop roles. I could do that.

  “Well, I am more than grateful.” Daniel held out a hand. “For this and for watching out for our daughter. It’s good to know that when we have to go home, we’ll be leaving her in good hands. Now we’ll get my partner inside. Once he wakes, he can help you with any herbs you need.”

  Erna’s shoulders relaxed as I pulled away from her. “I can find what I need. But you should try to rouse him soon. You’ll need to get through that door. Go on, now. I won’t have Dean hurting.”

  I nodded Daniel’s way and he moved to Dev’s head.

  Kelsey snorted, an arrogant sound. “Hey, no more super strength. Take a leg and Zoey can take the other.”

  Daniel sighed but did as Kelsey asked. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  We all hefted up my sleeping husband.

  “Not at all, Your Highness,” Kelsey said with a sigh. “Not at all.”

  We took Dev into the brugh and I knew our assignment had just gotten far more dangerous.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Summer

  The alarm seemed to throb through the air, making me wonder if there was something more than tech to the thing. Marcus moved in front of me, though I could have pointed out that it wouldn’t help since we were being held in the middle of the room. If the witches were coming in, they would likely surround us before they took down the sonic shields that held us in. But I wasn’t going to point that out because I could feel Marcus’s anxiety. Somehow we’d connected on a deeper level, and I was in tune with the male. He was scared, and it wasn’t about himself. He was worried he couldn’t protect me. He feared letting me down, and I knew in that moment that he would do anything, risk anything, to keep me safe.