by Caris Roane
She couldn’t have been more mistaken, since after an initial greeting upon approaching the table, he’d said, ‘I’m sending you to Merhaine.’
“I’m not going. I’m staying here. I belong here. I feel it in every fae-ish vibration through my body right now.”
Ethan shifted to Vojalie. “Back me up on this, would you?”
Vojalie held his gaze steadily. “I refuse to support either of you. There’s an awful lot of belligerence on both sides. No, you’ll have to resolve this one yourselves.”
Ethan’s scowl deepened as he turned the force of his gaze back on Samantha. “Look. I have a lot of responsibilities and going to Merhaine makes things simpler.”
“For you, yes, but I have a stake in what happens here as well and I insist on staying in Bergisson. In fact, I’ll go back to Shreveport before I get packed off to another realm.”
“Shreveport,” he all but shouted. “The hell you will.”
“Don’t you see that this isn’t a simple situation?”
“I see clearly enough to know that Merhaine is the right course and I won’t be moved on this point.”
Samantha glanced at Vojalie who merely shrugged as if to say ‘good luck’. But Samantha actually agreed with her, that she and Ethan needed to work this one out.
As if on cue, Bernice belched.
Davido laughed and murmured against the baby’s cheek. “I was thinking the same thing, my most beautiful darling.” Bernice kicked her legs and cooed.
For a moment, Ethan’s scowl eased and his lips quirked but soon enough he had his ‘mastyr’s’ demeanor under control once more.
Samantha glanced at Davido, who winked at her. He kissed Bernice’s sweet baby-curls but said nothing. There was however a sense of goodness and wisdom, very ancient wisdom in his eyes. Though she had no way of knowing or proving the sudden intuition that came to her, but she felt certain Davido was over two thousand years old.
She felt something else as well, a soft vibration deep in the center of her faeness and the vibration went on and on. Had Davido rung that bell?
She glanced back at Ethan. He had his warrior’s face on and arguing would be pointless. Typical stubborn male.
But she had her own profound level of obstinacy, something that had more than once ended a fairly decent relationship. Maybe she should try a different tack, something more centered on the realm-world than her human experience.
She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Focusing on the fae part of her still vibrating softly, perhaps thanks to Davido, she let all that power flow to the surface of her being.
Her neck arched as she grabbed a lung-full of air. The resulting flow of energy surprised her since it was so much stronger than the previous night, as though while she slept, she’d been growing her power.
And she knew what would follow as images began to creep through her mind.
When the vision arrived in full, she opened her eyes, but she no longer saw Ethan’s dining room, or anyone with her.
Instead, a mastyr vampire appeared, with black hair that flowed away from his face in thick waves, yet very different from Ry. His eyes were large and fierce beneath thick black brows. His nose had a strange curve. Maybe it had been broken at one time and not healed properly. His lips were thick and sensual. He was gorgeous and wild-looking, almost maniacal.
He flew over a tall rise of rock, almost a monolith. She felt something from the rock, something that wasn’t rock, but had the properties of minerals, which seemed to call to her. Crystals. Lots of blue crystals.
But the vampire caught her attention since he flew directly at her, wielding a short sword, a weapon larger than a dagger.
She realized she hovered in the air and when she looked down, she saw a gully of some kind, though very deep and equally wide. A gorge, maybe. A dry stream bed ran through the middle and she had two impressions: That something wonderful had happened here and something horrible, a great tragedy, in fact.
The vision pulled her off to the side, to the tree-laden ridges above the gorge where Invictus wraith-pairs and Guardsmen battled fiercely.
Ry was there as well, and something else, something that grew instantly blurred and suddenly the images started to slip away and the vision faded.
She tried to call it back, to learn what happened to the dark warrior, to Ethan, to his Guard, even to Ry, but nothing came to her.
She blinked several times and found everyone staring at her including Bernice who looked surprised. A surprised baby. She stretched, or seemed to stretch, a hand out to Samantha, who took the three-month-old easily in her arms. She was incredibly light and felt like heaven in her arms. She met Vojalie’s gaze. The woman had tears in her eyes.
“Another vision?” Vojalie asked.
“Yes, but what does that have to do with Bernice?” Samantha stared down into the infant’s contented face.
“She’s sensitive to faeness.”
Davido patted Samantha’s shoulder.
“Of course she would be.” And the strangest sense of family moved through her, that in some inexplicable way, Bernice belonged to her. She’d felt something similar with Vojalie at the Guildhall, that what she’d come to in Bergisson had been built into her genetic code, another indication, no doubt, of her faeness.
Her gaze traveled to Ethan who stared at her with something like amazement. I felt what you experienced, even though I couldn’t see anything. I felt your shock, your wonder, and your sudden concern and fear.
She nodded. “Should I tell everyone about the vision? It involves you and a place that looks like a gorge.”
His brows rose. “A gorge?” He released a heavy breath. “Yes, I trust Davido and Vojalie implicitly. What did you see?”
She retold the vision in great detail, adding as much as came to her including the pines on the facing ridges, the shrubs, the dry streambed, the monolith to the east, the way the gorge felt tragic.
She didn’t look at any of them until she finished recounting what she’d seen. So, it came as a shock to her that both Davido and Vojalie were looking at Ethan, who in turn pulled the chair out across from Samantha and sat down.
Because she could sense his frequency, she could also feel what he was feeling. What returned to her though was more a sense of grief than anything else.
He stared at the table, his left forearm settled in front of him.
She’d made some kind of mistake, but she had no idea what it was. “Ethan, what’s wrong?”
He met her gaze, but his eyes had a hollowed out look like he’d been battered by her words. “I have no doubt, not one, that you’ve described Sweet Gorge, where my family died forty years ago. And now you’ve had a vision of a forthcoming battle at the same location.”
“Oh, God, I’m so sorry. If I’d had even the smallest idea, I wouldn’t have just barreled into it like that. I apologize.”
“You don’t need to, yet somehow knowing that the future will take me back there, against Ry, has brought the former memories returning.”
“You mean what you experienced all those years ago?”
He nodded.
She felt the depth of his grief then, like a burden that lived in his soul, a constant weight of guilt that he could never quite release. “You believe you could have done something to prevent the massacre.”
“I should have been there.” He laughed bitterly. “But I went to the beach in Grochaire Realm, partying with Quinlan, who is mastyr there, the one you just described, by the way. I should have been at the gorge with my sister and my parents. I could have saved them.”
“And that is the lie you tell yourself that must change.” Davido’s voice rang through the room, startling Bernice who had fallen asleep on Samantha’s shoulder.
Samantha gentled the baby with her hand on her back and the child released a sigh and fell back asleep.
“It’s not a lie.” Ethan stated, more quietly, for the baby’s sake.
“There were a hundred Invictus that night a
nd you would have been the only Guardsman on the ground. You would have died with all the others.”
“If I’d stayed here, where I belonged, then there would have been no such attack.”
“You can’t know that, Ethan, and you torture yourself with unknowns. You’ve robbed yourself of a meaningful life trying to make certain something bad doesn’t happen again. But you’ve curtailed the growth of others as well by not expanding your rule properly because of it.”
“Bullshit. I’ve saved lives.”
“Of course you have. That’s not the point. I’m talking about you and your life, about increasing the responsibilities of those around you who are worthy of greater command. Then, you could enjoy a broader sort of existence. Maybe even have a girlfriend.”
Samantha wanted Davido to back off. She didn’t know why he was biting at Ethan’s heels, so she decided to intrude. “Easy for you to say, Davido. You’re not a warrior.”
He turned to her, his brows lifted in surprise just as his baby’s had been earlier. “There you have me.”
“Exactly. I’m a jewelry designer, but even I know better than to try to discipline an accountant or a waitress on how to improve job performance.”
“Well, well,” his light eyes twinkled. “You have some serious chops, don’t you?” Before she could respond, he turned to Ethan. “Do you agree with Samantha? Has a mere mortal troll been trying to discipline a warrior?”
Ethan shook his head, but he chuckled. “I’m beginning to think that our Samantha will leave none of us alone.”
“That’s not a bad thing and maybe she’s arrived in your life to open your path up. But unlike my wife, I’m going to take sides. I’m with Samantha. She needs to stay in Bergisson and you need to keep guard over her. Let Finn take the lead for a few nights. You’ve been training him for decades. He’s a capable leader and he knows what to do.”
Ethan looked thoughtful. Samantha knew he was processing the vision, Davido’s advice, and her own refusal to budge.
Finally, he met her gaze. “So, you want to stay here?”
“Yes, and hopefully Vojalie will remain as well.” She turned toward her. “I need to learn from you so I can make the best decisions. Are you willing to teach me about my heritage and my gifts?”
Vojalie smiled and nodded. “I’ll stay here as long as you need me.”
Ethan leaned back in his chair, addressing Vojalie. “And do you truly think this is the best course as well?”
“I think the Guildhall will have as many advantages as my own studio in Merhaine. And should Samantha decide at some point to make her home in the realm-world, I would like her to know the Fae Guild inside and out.
“However, I do agree with my husband on one point: You should stick close to her, Ethan, at least tonight. Samantha is just gaining her power and will need your protection, especially from Ry, but not just from him.
“There is an ancient fae power at large, something that I’ve avoided addressing for the past several years because I haven’t known what to do about this entity. But the recent intermittent difficulty with the realm-to-realm communications, as well as the increased Invictus activity and unusual organized strategies, have led me to believe that we have a rogue fae of power at work, more than I can measure, operating against the Nine Realms.
“This person, who feels to me like a woman, would have reason to want Samantha either out of the way or aligned with her. Ry has made his allegiances and his purposes clear. You would do well to be Samantha’s bodyguard for the time being.”
“You truly believe all these things?” Ethan’s eyes narrowed as he drew a deep breath.
“Yes, I do.”
“Why haven’t you spoken sooner? Gerrod mentioned her shortly after Abigail emerged as his blood rose, yet you said nothing.”
“The timing didn’t feel right.”
“And now it does?”
Vojalie nodded.
Ethan turned to Samantha. “I didn’t consider your point-of-view here, and I apologize for that. I wanted you safe so I could pursue Ry, but I can see now that the situation isn’t simple. I’ll do as Vojalie has suggested, I’ll stick close and be your bodyguard. So, what would you like to do tonight?”
Samantha smiled. “I want to explore the Guildhall.”
“Then we’ll do that. In the meantime, I’ll give Mastyr Quinlan a shout. Apparently he needs to get his ass over here since we have a battle building at Sweet Gorge.”
Chapter Six
Ethan watched Samantha gently hand baby Bernice back to Davido. She then excused herself to change her clothes. Vojalie had recommended loose clothing, something all the fae women wore. He knew it was more than a fashion statement, that something about fae-ness and its related powers functioned better when the women were unrestricted, say, by a tight pair of jeans.
For himself, he liked the jeans Samantha wore and his gaze followed her as she left the room. He couldn’t deny the attraction he felt toward her, an almost constant call on his body.
“She is quite beautiful, almost as lovely as my dearest one.” David’s voice held a hint of amusement.
Ethan shook his head as he rose from the table. “I’m trying not to think about it.”
Davido merely chuckled in response.
Thanking Vojalie again for her willingness to stay, he then headed to his office and made the call to Grochaire Realm. Fortunately, this time, realm-to-realm communication worked.
Quinlan’s bass voice hit his ear. “Ethan. What the fuck do you want?”
“You’re still such a complete ass.”
“And you’re still a pain in mine. I see you’ve stayed alive somehow.”
“Still kicking.”
“Can’t talk right now. I’ve got a doneuse with me and we’re a little busy.”
“You don’t sound busy.” He smiled though.
Ethan heard a drag on a cigarette. “Just taking a break. In that sense your timing was good. I’ve got a great view and I’m enjoying it. ” A faint moaning in the background confirmed Ethan’s suspicion. Quinlan still took his donors to bed and by now Ethan knew exactly what was going on.
A vibration went straight through him as thoughts of Samantha slipped through his head.
He rubbed the back of his neck, squeezed his eyes shut and forced himself to focus. “I won’t keep you long. One of the fae had a vision of you, in a battle over Sweet Gorge. How soon can you get your ass over here?”
“Hold on.”
Ethan heard murmurs in the background, as Quinlan talked things over with his doneuse. Ethan could have extended his hearing to listen to the conversation, but he respected Quinlan’s privacy.
Back on the phone, Quinlan said. “Sorry about that. Just needed to figure a couple of things out. Tell me the rest, more about this fae. Do you trust the vision?”
Ethan thought he should just come out with it. “This one’s half-fae and half-human.”
“That’s a lot of power for a partial-fae to have.”
He took a deep breath before he said, “Her name is Samantha and she’s Andrea’s daughter.”
“No shit.” Quinlan had a deep voice, and it had gone deeper still.
“There’s something else. Something you need to know. She’s a blood rose.”
A slight pause, then, “Are you fucking kidding me? A second one in only a few months? What the hell’s going on?”
“So you didn’t know. Apparently, it’s all over the Bergisson blogs.”
Quinlan laughed low. “Again, I’ve been a little busy.”
Ethan strove once more to clear his mind of the suggestive images. He chose to press on.“I’m thinking her arrival might be a reaction to the Invictus, that we’ve got some kind of rogue fae power on the loose of tremendous ability, who’s been working to increase Invictus cohesion.”
“Action, reaction.”
“Something like that. And Ry’s joined up with them. He led a concerted attack at the fairgrounds last night.”
&nbs
p; A soft hiss sounded and afterward another drag. “That prick. But the hell if I’m surprised.”
“He went after Samantha last night. If he’d gotten to her before me, he would have enslaved her.”
“Sweet Goddess.”
“You said it.”
“Okay, so what am I doing in this vision?”
“Fighting for the cause. You’re in flight and carrying a short-sword. Lots of Invictus.”
“Okay. That’s all I need to know. I’ll come to you as soon as I see my lieutenants. Just one question: Have you taken from this blood rose? Gerrod said the result is incredible. How’s the starvation, right now, I mean?”
Ethan took in a long, slow breath. He searched for even the smallest sensation, a trickle of blood hunger, but found nothing. “It’s like it never existed.”
“Fuck. Me.”
The thought streaked through Ethan’s head that he shouldn’t let Quinlan get anywhere near Samantha. He knew how he’d reacted to Abigail so he shared with Quinlan what that had been like for him. “You’ll want this blood rose really bad. But for now, she’s mine. Keep your fucking hands off.”
He’d meant to say the whole thing in more diplomatic terms, but even the thought of another mastyr getting near Samantha, caused his fists to ball up and his biceps to twitch. “I need you to understand.”
Quinlan chuckled, a low deep sound. “I’m feeling you, Ethan. I’ll keep my distance.”
“Thank you. So when can you come?”
“I have some things to straighten out with my lieutenants. Three, four hours tops. And if I’m going to stay a few nights, you’ll probably want to alert a couple of your doneuses that I might need them.”
“You got it.”
“Around eleven, then?”
“Sounds good.”
Ethan ended the call and reached Finn through his telepathic frequency and asked him to stay on point. Finn was all too happy to take charge, eager even, which made Ethan wonder if Davido might be right after all. Maybe he should let go of some of his leadership roles.
But the thought of it, of relinquishing even a small part of his committed rule over Bergisson, sent a flash of guilt through his brain. He’d let down just once, to party with Quinlan, and his family had died.