My Eternal Soldier

by Krystal Shannan

XERXES

  “You killed them!” Manda exclaimed as I followed her into the hall of cells in the SECR Federal building’s basement.

  It had been used for dog kennels, but I’d had Manda order it to be remodeled with reinforced steel cells and a natural gas-fueled cremation chamber to discreetly dispose of bodies without public knowledge.

  “They were going to be executed anyway.” I shrugged, irritated with how distraught she was over the death of less than a dozen Lycans. “There’s still a few left. The one you and that vampire bitch are friends with is one of them. She’ll come for her. And when she does, I’ll find out who has my dagger and why the witches can’t locate it.”

  Her behavior suggested she cared more deeply for them than I’d realized, possibly was still hiding information from me.

  “Charlie is still alive?” She glanced up me, a hopeful glimmer in her lavender eyes.

  “You’ve gotten too attached to these wolves.” I pulled a knife from the sheath at my belt and held it out. “Now you’re going to kill her and the rest of them personally. I never want to see another fucking Mason wolf in the SECR.”

  Her head shook, and she stepped away from the weapon. “She might know where the dagger is. She’s more valuable alive than dead.”

  I growled and reached out with my empty hand, grabbing the retreating Djinn with my magick. She struggled for a moment before stilling in my grasp.

  “Don’t you think I already asked her?” I pulled Manda’s trembling body closer until I could run the blade up the soft creamy skin of her neck and down along the top of her collarbone. The blouse she wore was black, but her neckline gapped enough for me to see her ample cleavage.

  My dick hardened, and I considered pushing her up against the bars of one of these cells and fucking her right then and there. Charlie’s death could be postponed by a few minutes.

  “Eira will come for her,” Manda squeaked out. “If Charlie doesn’t know where the dagger is, Eira will.”

  Tears streamed, streaking her perfect complexion with black lines. I could smell her fear and feel her terror. It only made me want her more, but she had a point. If I killed the Lycan bitch, Eira would have no reason to risk coming into Savannah after her. I knew the dagger was still near Sanctuary, but the team I’d sent never came back.

  I wanted that dagger, but I needed to let off some steam before making any more chess moves. I sheathed my knife and shoved Manda against the cell wall to my right. The beginning of a scream bubbled in her throat, but I tightened my hold around her neck to mute it.

  Charlotte Mason glared from behind the bars of her cell a few yards away. I flashed the Lycan female a grin before focusing on the angry and terrified female in front of me.

  “Go up to my room and wait for me there.”

  Manda stumbled when I let her go and fled for the door.

  I walked down to Charlie’s cell and turned to face her. The door at the end of the hall opened and closed as Manda fled the room.

  Charlotte averted her eyes and moved to the corner farthest from me.

  Nowhere was out of my reach, though.

  “You better pray that vampire comes for you. If she doesn’t, your death is going to be frustratingly long and drawn out while I dream up my next plan to find her and my missing property.”

  “Fuck off.”

  I snorted, amused by her confidence. “I plan to. Should I go a round with you before I do Manda?”

  Her eyes widened, but she didn’t respond.

  “Perhaps later, once I catch your blood-sucking friend.”

  “Even if Eira knows where the dagger is, she’ll never give it to you. Not even for me.”

  “Your mutual Djinn pal thought otherwise. She seemed to think you were the perfect bait for luring the vampire.” I leaned against the bars and rolled my neck, popping several vertebrae. “You’d be surprised the length people will go to save someone, especially if they let emotions rule their actions.”

  “You’d be surprised by how far our kind will go to fight a soul-sucking, tyrannical asshole.”

  A smiled tugged at the corners of my lips. “I look forward it.”

  Chapter Twenty

  EIRA

  Morning drew closer as we stopped just a few miles outside of Dublin. We’d just barely pulled off the road into a grove of trees before being seen by a military patrol, and the guys insisted we stop for a few hours at an old farmhouse off the highway we’d spotted a few minutes earlier.

  The last thing I wanted to do was stop. We were so close. Every moment put Charlie and the others in more danger, but even Travis and Garrett agreed with the others that it would be better if we waited out the day and entered Savannah under the cover of night.

  I had to agree with that reasoning. Seven armed people walking together were going to be suspicious enough at night, but the day wouldn’t afford us any cover. None of them knew the area except me, and even though daytime would be easier to coordinate, I personally preferred to move about in the dark. Most of the guys with me did as well. In fact, Killían would probably be the only one at a disadvantage.

  We pulled to a stop in front of the dark farmhouse. The porch light flashed on, and I one racing heartbeat hid just inside the door. The scrape and click of a shotgun being cocked reached my ears next.

  The door flew open, and I blurred from my seat in the SUV to the angry man aiming his long-barreled shotgun straight at Killían.

  Wresting the gun from his hands before his finger could pull the trigger, I put it behind me and grabbed his face, forcing him to make eye contact.

  “You will be quiet. You will do exactly as I say. When we leave, you will forget you ever saw me and my friends.”

  His pupils widened under my influence. His rapid breath and racing heart slowed to a normal pace.

  “Now invite us inside and be hospitable,” I whispered.

  “Y’all come on inside,” the man called out, his tobacco flavored breath sickening me in the process. “I’ve got leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

  Releasing his face, I stepped away and followed him through the door with a quick glance over my shoulder. Travis, Garrett, and Killían were right behind me, shaking their head. The other three guys were grabbing bags from the back of their SUV.

  “Will that work on us?” Travis asked, a frown darkening his voice. “I’ve never actually seen a vampire do that before, though I hear it happens all the time over at the Castle when they send visitors home.”

  We walked into the open living room of the farmhouse, and I leaned against the wall. Killían stopped next to me while the other guys sank down onto the oversized couch across the room and groaned, stretching out their legs.

  “It works on anyone I’ve met so far. There are some witches that know how to ward against vampire influence. So the magick is out there, but I’m unfamiliar with the process. Humans are the easiest, though. Influencing an Other takes a great deal of energy, and only a very old vampire would have a chance in hell of it working.”

  “You’re pretty old,” Garrett added.

  “Yes, I am.” I flashed him a smirk, and he frowned as I continued. “But there are very few of us who have survived through history as long as I have. You have several in your town because Rose has invited them, but the average vampire has only been alive a couple of centuries. Most never choose to train and become more than they were as a human. It makes them easy to kill, even by human standards. And only a select few of us can obtain daylight enchantments.”

  Travis folded his arms over his chest and glared at me.

  “You have to admit, it’s a helpful ability. Like your mind-reading.” I paced the hallway, trying to convince myself not to run out the door and all the way to Savannah by myself.

  “Yeah,” he huffed. “But I can’t read your mind.”

  I shrugged. “All the better for me.”

  “Eat and rest,” Killían growled. “Since we have a few hours to kill, I intend to take advantage of them.”r />
  The other guys mumbled some lewd comments, but smiled and waved us off.

  Killían’s arm looped around my waist, and he nuzzled my neck. Gods, he smelled so good. His strong pulse beat just below the surface, and his blood’s scent was sweet to my nose. Hunger reared up inside me, a ravenous lion pacing in its cage. Only blood would help take the edge off my nerves, but I worried if I fed now, I would lose control.

  “I’ll take first watch,” Alek said, taking a gun and moving toward the front porch. “Mikjáll, you take the back. The rest of you rustle up some food.”

  Everyone began to move, and Killían tugged me down the hallway of the house.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need you, and I intend to find a bed to have you.”

  I smiled, leaning forward and taking a kiss. His lips met mine in a frenzy, and he shoved me up against the wall.

  “What about the bed?” I mumbled into his mouth.

  He turned a doorknob, and we glanced into a small bathroom. Continuing down the hall, we did our best not to knock framed photographs off the wall as we went. The next doorknob led to a bedroom. His arm tightened around my waist, and he lifted me from the floor, carrying me through the doorway and closing the door behind us.

  The full-sized bed in the room groaned as we fell on top of it, our mouths attempting to taste every inch of the other’s body while our arms were locked in a frantic embrace. Shirts flew off. The rest followed moments later. We were starving for each other. Neither of us could strip naked fast enough.

  “Mine.” He growled, sliding down the length of my body to nibble at my hip as he slid a hand up my inner thigh. He dipped two fingers between my slick folds, curling them forward to tease that wonderful spot that weakened my knees.

  A slow moan slipped between my lips, and I dug my fingers into the blanket covering the bed.

  He pulled his fingers out of me and licked my juices from them, groaning with satisfaction before he moved forward and leaned down, capturing my mouth again. The taste of my arousal on his lips made me even hungrier. I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close. His chest pressed against my breasts and was deliciously warm against my cool skin. I could feel the strong thump thump of his heart. Teasing. Enticing. Drawing me closer and closer. My fangs descended, and I pulled away from his lips.

  Our gazes met. His blue eyes so clear, so passionate.

  “Feed, Eira.” The words were all I needed to hear. When I first fed from him in the barn, I’d linked him to me from that moment. He hadn’t had a choice. The all-consuming emotional tsunami overtaking me since we’d been together the first time had nothing to do with my feeding directly from his vein and much more to do with the ancient magick in the amulet he’d given me a thousand years ago that had linked our souls. That bond made everything else disappear into the fog of the world. All that mattered right now was that we were together.

  Completely.

  I bit down on the side of his neck and shivered as the first taste of his sweet blood flowed into my mouth. It was almost as good as Drakonae blood. But in a way it was better, because Killían was connected to me. We belonged together. He was more than just a source of food.

  The sustenance he provided filled my soul.

  I drank long and deeply, his moans of pleasure and talented hands on my breasts spurring me on. When his heartbeat slowed just the slightest, I pulled away and sealed off the bite with a few drops of my blood. The puncture wounds would fade and disappear in minutes.

  “I’ll never tire of that sensation, will I?” he asked, his blue eyes dark and heated with passion.

  Shaking my head, a smile drew up my lips as I licked the remnants of his blood from each corner. It was like heaven, love, and lust mixed into the perfect cocktail.

  He grabbed my hands and held my wrists in place over my head then let the full weight of his chiseled body press down on mine. Gods, he put any typical human man to shame. The muscles in his shoulders bunched as I flexed my arms. I wouldn’t pull free, but I wasn’t above making him work to keep me where he wanted me.

  “I need to feel a different sensation now,” I purred into his ear.

  He groaned and shifted lower onto my body, pressing his hips into the cradle of mine. His shaft nudged my opening, but he didn’t enter.

  I moaned in frustration and rocked my hips, trying to move things along. Everything ached to be filled. “Please, Killían.”

  He thrust hard, making my wish come true, filling me with every inch of his thick, hard, velvet shaft. Again and again, he thrust.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer, matching his rhythm. My arms wrapped around his neck, and I clung to him, kissing along one of his shoulders and then switching to the other.

  “Gods, you feel so good. I’ve missed you so much, my precious Eira.”

  Words wouldn’t form. I moaned into his mouth as he captured mine for another kiss.

  His tongue swept through my mouth as I felt one of his hands slip between us. His thumb found my clit, and then I found bliss.

  The room could’ve been on fire, and I wouldn’t have noticed. A tightly wound coil burst inside me. I shattered, and white-hot electricity shot from my core to every nerve ending in my body. My body arched from the bed, lifting his chest as I bit back a scream.

  He wrapped his strong arms beneath my shoulders as wave after wave of my climax rolled through me. Then he thrust harder and faster until he growled and stiffened over me. His cock throbbed, and his seed filled my body. The warmth spread through me, and I relished every second of it.

  He rolled to the side and left the bed for a moment. I didn’t see where he went and didn’t care.

  A few seconds later, he returned with a wet washcloth and cleaned us both before crawling into the bed with me and pulling up the blankets. He snuggled up behind me, spooning. His hand moved from my hip to my breasts, caressing.

  A sigh slipped from my lips, and I allowed my eyes to close. I didn’t ever sleep, but sometimes it was nice to just rest.

  In this moment, I was happy. The moment didn’t last long before I remembered my friends. I’d be happier still if we all made it in and out of Savannah tomorrow.

  Alive.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  EIRA

  We reached the outskirts of Savannah and parked the SUVs off the side of the road just west of where the wildlife park used to be. Hopefully no one would find them between now and us returning.

  Everything was dark. All the highway lights had been removed over the years. It encouraged civilians to adhere to the curfew. We moved as fast as possible. Jared walked alongside Mikjáll with one of his hands lit like a torch to light the way for Killían, since he was the only one who couldn’t see in the dark.

  “We’re sticking near the river, right, Eira?” Jared whispered over his shoulder.

  “Yes, if we can keep up this run, we’ll reach downtown in about an hour.” Mikjáll was on point with Jared at the front of the group, and Alek brought up the rear, making sure no un-noticed unit of soldiers had picked up our trail.

  We’d entered via a semi-industrial area of the town along the river. I’d hoped it would be less guarded because no one lived there. So far it’d proven to be true. The few guards we had encountered hadn’t been a problem at all for me to silently take out of play. Most of them seemed to travel in pairs. I hadn’t seen any groups so far larger than three.

  The Federal building where prisoners were kept was several miles in, closer to the heart of the city.

  “The Federal building is on Main. About another half mile,” I said, gesturing around the corner of the building we were leaning against.

  Mikjáll had signaled a group of guards was approaching. A big enough unit that I couldn’t take them all out by myself before someone sent up a warning. Alek and Jared were with Mikjáll on the other side of the cross street, leaving Killían and I with Travis and Garrett.

  The soldiers passed our cross street,
armed to the teeth with automatic rifles. My hand went to the hilt of the sword at my shoulder. Alek whispered, “Go,” and I lunged forward, the others following behind me.

  My sword slipped through their bodies easily. Men fell left and right. Killían’s blade did the same, and the few men we hadn’t eliminated were taken out by Travis, Garrett, Alek, and Jared. Mikjáll crossed our paths, touching the lifeless bodies as he passed, turning them to ash.

  Sixty seconds later, we were standing in the center of the cross-streets surrounded by bodies. Mikjáll was moving as quickly as possible to burn away the evidence that they’d ever been there. The scent of blackened flesh filled the air as the ashes began to rise into the breeze.

  Alek and Jared picked up several of the soldier’s rifles. Following suit, Travis and Garrett each snatched up one before Mikjáll turned all the weapons into puddles of liquid metal on the asphalt.

  Jared shook his head. “I have fire to burn, but damn, dragon fire is just…”

  “Magick mixed with fire,” Killían answered.

  Mikjáll glanced up from the last body with a wicked grin. “This is what I plan to do to that mother-fucking asshole. Except I’m going to just burn off his arms and legs first so he has to feel every second as long as I can draw it out.”

  I shuddered and took a step backward. The story of how Mikjáll came to Sanctuary wasn’t a secret, but the young man did his best to stay out of sight and out of mind. According to Diana, Rose had assigned Jared and Alek to mentor and teach him what it was to live in this century.

  He seemed to be adjusting to life. It was the revenge brewing in his soul that I worried would cost us lives on this trip. Anyone so consumed by hate was not long for the world. It clouded judgment and made you sloppy until death became inevitable.

  We started down the now quiet alley. Killían and I crouched behind a sign as Mikjáll and Jared moved a little ahead.

  “I’ve been where he is,” Killían whispered. “I’ve been there a long time. If you hadn’t shown up in my barn, nothing would’ve ever changed for me.”