Song of Midnight Embers

by Dana Marie Bell

  She had to get help, and she had to get it fast, or she’d bleed to death.

  Mollie took stock of her location and realized she wasn’t that far from the Throne, the seat of the ruling dryads. Greer would help her, no matter how pissed he was at her at the moment. He had to.

  They were mates.

  She began stumbling toward the Throne and prayed she made it before she passed out.

  * * *

  Greer put his head on Mina’s knee. He desperately needed that contact with his queen. He was tired, so goddamn tired, but he couldn’t let the others see how close he was to losing his battle. His mate had rejected him for someone else, and Greer was slowly pining away. If not for their desperate need for him, he would have entered his tree weeks ago and refused to come back out. His death would have been painless as he slept, dreaming the dreams of the trees.

  But no. He was needed in the Throne, needed to heal Iva, needed to keep the forest safe. Damn the Van Helsings and their attacks on their people. “We’ll figure something out, Mina. We can’t lose Iva now that we’ve found her. Besides, I still think she’s getting better, not worse.”

  Ash took hold of Mina’s hand. “He’s right. Between all of us, we’ll find some way to help her heal.” The green-haired, green-eyed Guardian of the Forest could be surprisingly gentle with the women in their group, especially his mate, Selena. The fact that he couldn’t help Iva was driving him crazy.

  “And if worse comes to worst, Eddy, Parker and I will all stand around her tree and sing ‘Kumbaya’ until she cries uncle.” Greer laughed as Mina bopped him on the head, her dark brown eyes twinkling with laughter. “Don’t think we won’t do it.”

  “That’s what worries me.” Dragos shuddered. “I’ve heard Parker sing.”

  Eddy and Trajan joined them, the former, a Renfield, looking concerned. Renfields were those who took up the mantle of day guardians of the vampiric residents of Maggie’s Grove. They were trained in how to take care of the town’s vampires, including their sotiei, the vampiric word for “mate.” And on those occasions when the beast reigned supreme, they were taught how to deal with their vampires. Eddy had wanted to be a Renfield since he was a small boy, and when his father retired he’d stepped into the position with ease. Everyone knew how much Dragos adored his Renfield, and it was obvious Eddy felt the same. They shared an almost father-son bond that had many speculating that Eddy wouldn’t remain human for long.

  Of course, now that Eddy was the mate of a dragon, some believed that Trajan would refuse to allow it. Greer had seen the pair together. If Eddy wanted to be a vampire, Trajan wouldn’t stand in his way.

  The two were joined at the hip since their mating, Eddy’s light hair and green eyes a stunning contrast to Trajan’s black hair and silver eyes. It was obvious to anyone who looked at them that Trajan adored everything about his mate, even his cookie obsession. “Everything all right?” Eddy was watching them with a worried frown, his bottom lip caught between his teeth.

  “Shh, Eddy. Everything will be fine.” Trajan was obviously trying to soothe his mate, running his hands up and down the Renfield’s arms. Eddy shivered in response, resting against his mate with a small, content smile.

  And fuck if Greer wasn’t jealous as hell. He wanted his mate there, to hold her and just touch her, but she’d denied them both that when she’d chosen Carter rather than him. His heart hurt knowing she was probably with Carter right now, enjoying whatever it was they did during one of their frequent dates.

  Greer bit back his whimper. He wouldn’t allow anyone to see his pain. He had to be strong. He was the Singer, the one who both healed and defended, and he would be strong for as long as he could.

  But it was getting tougher every single day. Mina had mated Dragos, the vampiric dragon, founder of their town. Ash had Selena, the witch doctor, a woman who was more than a match for his brother. Hell, even his sister, Iva, had a mate—Noah, the wolf alpha, who was even now curled up under her tree and quietly telling her everything that was going on in the Throne.

  Each of them had gone through hell to get their mates. Maybe that was Greer’s problem. After all, he’d been the first one to find his mate...and the first one dumb enough to reject her.

  At the time, he’d thought Mollie had a crush on Mina. It had taken Parker Hollis, the mate of the Hamadryad, Amara, to show him how wrong he’d been. Of course, by that time Mollie was dating Carter, and there was nothing Greer could do but pray for her happiness.

  Shit.

  Eddy’s voice snapped him out of his self-inflicted agony. The Renfield had the ability to sense the emotions of others through touch. Somehow he’d gotten Noah to let him touch Iva’s tree, and whatever he was sensing was causing him to shudder. “Oh, she’s in pain.”

  Noah snarled, but not at Eddy. Greer could understand how helpless Noah felt. Iva had been kidnapped and tortured by the Van Helsings, held for months while they experimented on her. She’d been unconscious when they’d found her, causing Noah to damn near lose his mind. He never left her side, for all intents and purposes living in the Throne, sitting under her tree day and night, rain or shine. He would not leave her side for anything, but she remained dormant, sleeping away her ills while communing with her tree.

  Hell, Greer felt the same damn way, and neither one of them had a way out of their pain.

  But unlike Greer, Noah had to merely wait for Iva to be strong enough to emerge from her tree. It looked like Greer wouldn’t have that bond, and it was his own damn fault.

  Shit. He was so melancholy he was beginning to piss himself off. No wonder the others had been eyeing him with concern. Only his decision to honor Mollie’s choice kept him from forcing her hand.

  And he could, too. He’d loathe himself for all his days, but if for one second he thought Mollie was open to the possibility of mating him, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

  “Is there anything we can do to help her?” Trajan asked. The man had been a sheer jerk when he’d first arrived in Maggie’s Grove at the beginning of June, but since meeting Eddy and making up with his brothers, he fit right in.

  It was now August, and Iva had been in her tree for weeks.

  “She needs...something.” Eddy frowned. “I can’t feel what it is, but she needs it badly.”

  “Is it something physical or emotional?” Ash stood, that determined expression on his face very familiar to Greer. His brother was ready to take on the world in order to help their sister get well.

  “I’m not sure. All I feel is pain and need.” Eddy was starting to sweat, shuddering and breathing heavily. “It hurts.”

  “Enough, Eddy.” Trajan pulled Eddy away from the yew, picking up his mate and striding far away from it.

  “I’m sorry.” Eddy had tears in his eyes as he looked at them. “The pain was too much.”

  “It’s all right.” Noah’s tone was gravelly but gentle. The man was suffering almost as much as Iva, and it showed, especially to Greer. “At least we know she’s still in there.”

  “And maybe we can figure out what it is she needs.” Mina turned to him, and he knew exactly what she was going to ask of him. He just hoped he had the strength to deliver it. “Greer?”

  Greer nodded and stood. “She’s always been fond of chocolate.” When the others stared at him, he shrugged. “What?”

  “Could they have addicted her to something in that lab?” Ash’s reluctant question caused everyone to pause.

  “It’s possible.” Noah was growling. “Hell, with what we saw there, anything is possible.”

  “We’re still going through the files we stole from the Van Helsings.” Dragos stood and began to pace. “Some of the experiments they were running were sick.”

  “They were looking for the best ways to kill us, Dragos. For all we know, they injected her with weed killer as well as demon blood.”
Ash ran his hands through his green hair.

  If Greer was right, her bond with Noah was doing almost as much good as her communing with her tree. Though they hadn’t formally mated, his nearness would ease some of her mental wounds, which in turn would help her physically.

  “Ash?” Selena was there, her gaze filled with concern. “Worried about Iva?”

  Ash nodded. “We’re discussing when she might come out. Eddy says she’s in pain, and that she needs something.”

  Selena and Greer stared at one another. He was certain Selena also suspected Noah was helping, but Iva’s wounds were more than physical. Like Selena, Iva had been wounded spiritually, which was why she was taking so much time with her tree to heal.

  “Well?” Ash’s question was quiet. His brother had come to respect Greer’s working relationship with Selena, and Greer was glad of that. He hated the thought that Ash might have been jealous of the easy way Selena and Greer interacted. Selena was Ash’s mate, and that made her family. Of course Greer was going to accept her as easily as he had Ash.

  “Do you two have something to tell the class?” Dragos’s brows rose.

  “She’s hurting on the spiritual plane as well as the physical, but I couldn’t tell you why.” Selena sat at Ash’s feet, staring at Iva’s yew.

  “She’s healing, but it’s going to be long, and painful.” Greer shook his head. “And there’s nothing we can do to help but be here for her and let her know we love her.”

  “We’ll kill her demons, just like we did before.” Ash nodded at Noah that Ash would be there for them both.

  “All of us. Together.” Selena smiled and took his hand.

  “‘Cause that’s what family does,” Eddy said quietly from within Trajan’s embrace.

  Family. It was the only thing keeping Greer alive, the love of his brother and sisters, their unique bond as the ruling dryads easing his heart’s ache. His song was still strong because of their love, and he’d forever be grateful for that.

  He lifted his head off Mina’s knee. Why was everyone staring toward the edge of the Throne?

  “Greer?” Mollie, her face pale, her eyes red-rimmed, stood on the edge of the Throne. She was shaking and covered in blood. “Please? I need your help.”

  Greer was by her side as she collapsed, moving so fast he was certain not even the vampire Dragos could see him. “I have you.” Gods above, his mate was covered in bites and scratches, her left arm was severely mangled and broken, and her leg was punctured in numerous places. She was bleeding profusely, her skin pale as milk. The red in her blond hair was an affront to his senses. “Who did this to you?” Because he was going to rip the person’s spleen out through their nose.

  Killing the one who’d harmed his mate would be as simple as breathing for him. Greer wasn’t a Guardian, like Ash, nor a queen, like Mina. Greer was far more than that. He was the Singer, the one who healed...and also the one who killed. Ash, Mina and Iva would face a foe head-on in battle and think nothing of it. They would utilize the forest to capture and kill, sliding through their domain, fully aware of their place within it. They protected without a second thought.

  Greer’s place was to make the problem disappear before it ever got to the other three, and he’d been failing miserably at his job for some time now. That his mate had been harmed in the forest and he’d been unaware of it?

  Unacceptable, no matter how he looked at it. Their death would be swift and merciless once he found out who they were.

  But Mollie...could she accept that part of him, the knowledge of what he truly was? Only Ash, Mina and Iva understood his true nature, the hidden embers under the dark song only he could sing. They understood his dual nature in a way only the forest itself could.

  “Bernadette did this.”

  Greer blinked at the softly voiced name. Bree had nearly killed Greer’s mate? “Where is she?”

  Mollie passed out before she could answer. Her lips were turning blue, her green eyes dark and bruised before they closed.

  Greer was terrified. “Selena!”

  “Here.” The witch doctor’s hand hovered over Mollie’s brow. Selena’s eyes had clouded over, and the tree of life glittered on her forehead, the symbol of the goddess strong and clear. “She’s alive. I’m holding her. Heal her flesh.”

  Greer nodded. Cradling his mate, he lifted his head, closed his eyes and began to sing.

  Chapter Two

  She woke to the most beautiful sound in the world. Greer was singing, his voice weaving her back together, mending the broken bones and the torn flesh. She sighed with happiness as she opened her eyes, eager to watch her mate work his magic.

  And magic he was. His light blond hair tapered to a pale orange at the tips, the mark of his birch tree. His pale brown eyes were closed as he concentrated on his song. The faint, magical light of the Throne bathed him in a soft glow, giving him an ethereal look.

  Unfortunately, he looked more ghostly than godly. Damn. She knew something had been going on with him, but the rest of the dryads were so pissed off at her they refused to tell her what was wrong. If Mollie had been free to tell them the truth of her relationship with Carter, they might have been willing to give her what she asked for, but Carter had begged her to keep silent, citing his alpha’s infamous temper. The alpha hadn’t ordered them not to hunt for more traitors in their town, and Carter hadn’t wanted to run to him with mere suspicions. He wanted proof, and Mollie, not bound to an alpha, had trusted Carter’s insistence on silence. The last thing she wanted was her friend’s face ripped off because he’d overstepped his bounds.

  She was paying for that trust. She glanced around, seeing the anger on the faces of those around her, and wondered if she’d just jumped from the frying pan into the fire. She didn’t know if they’d believe her if she told them she’d been fighting for her life, and mentioning her bond with Greer might only seem like she was attempting to win them over to her side.

  This whole situation was viciously fucked up. Knowing not to interfere when Greer was healing, she focused on the only one who might be willing to listen. “Hi.”

  “Don’t move.” Ash kneeled next to Selena, his expression grave. His green hair was disheveled, and his green eyes were assessing. Had she interrupted something between him and his mate? “If you move, you could do more harm than good.”

  Mollie obeyed. The last thing she wanted to do was make things difficult for Greer. Dark circles were thick under his eyes, and his skin was pale, even for him, almost vampiric in its translucency. She could count the veins on his thick forearms easily.

  Something was seriously wrong with him, and as soon as she was healed she was going to find out what. The thought of losing him was worse than anything she could imagine.

  She’d give up her fire to make him whole.

  Greer sang, swaying slightly, his voice echoing across the Throne. The power behind his voice was incredible, belying his apparently fragile state. If his magic was still strong, then perhaps whatever had reduced him to such a state wasn’t as dire as she feared.

  Hell, the last time she saw him had been at Ash and Selena’s wedding not that long ago. He’d looked tired, but otherwise fine, and she’d chalked it up to being Ash’s best man. Perhaps she’d been wrong to think so, because he still seemed exhausted, like a dryad about to commune with his tree.

  She’d find out what was wrong with Greer if she had to stalk the damn man, but she’d save that for tomorrow. Mollie needed to let the others know what had happened and the danger they might be in. She turned her gaze to Dragos. “Bernadette.”

  His brows rose. “What about her?”

  Noah was suddenly filling her field of vision. “Why do I smell my cousin all over you?”

  She gulped in fear. She’d forgotten Noah would be here, guarding his vulnerable mate. “She tried to kill me.”


  Noah snarled. “Why would she do that? What did you do?”

  Greer’s arm shot out, and Noah was halfway across the Throne before she could even open her mouth to reply. The truly amazing part was that Greer kept singing, not one note out of place.

  Ash coughed, obviously amused. “Yeah, I wouldn’t say anything about Greer’s mate in his presence.”

  Mollie blinked. Greer was defending her? Maybe things weren’t as bad as she’d thought. He’d barely spoken to her at the wedding, and afterward, when she tried to find him, he’d been gone. Greer was surprisingly good at not being found when he didn’t want to. She’d been forced to go on with her investigation without speaking to him again, and now it appeared she might have to give him up to his tree before she got a chance to clear the air with him.

  “So I see.” Noah was back, but this time he kept a respectful distance from Greer’s throwing arm. “Tell us what happened.”

  Mollie nodded and took a deep breath. “This is going to take a while.”

  Noah crossed his arms across his chest. “We have plenty of time.”

  She closed her eyes. “Bernadette has been acting...suspicious lately.”

  “How so?”

  She could hear the disbelief in Noah’s voice and couldn’t truly blame him. After all, Bernadette had been his cousin, and a valued member of the community. “Little things. Blood samples gone missing, or tainted in such a way that Dr. Tyrone Douglas felt the need to contact me.” And hadn’t that been fun. The clinical pathologist was grumpy on his good days. That...had not been a good day. “As an EMT, she not only had access to the blood, she was the one who often took the initial samples.”

  “She wouldn’t have had access to all of it.”

  “No, she didn’t. Which is why we were worried she’s working with someone else, someone in Dr. T’s lab.” She groaned as her finger, which she didn’t even know had been hurt, snapped into place. “Ow.”