by Calista Fox
“I appreciate your support,” Jade said. “I also want to continue the goodwill effort recently set in motion. We’ll work with the general, as my father once did. He’ll have to be the conduit to Davian, not me.”
The other slayer eyed her speculatively. “You’re taking this change in direction well.” He was surprisingly compassionate enough not to call it a breakup or otherwise jibe about her being dumped by the Demon King.
“On the outside, Toran. On the outside.” She stood. “Let’s get back to training tomorrow. We never got to wraiths. I had no idea what to do with that menacing apparition from hell.”
He snickered. “You never made it past the chicken, Jade. You’re still on shifters. I told you, a raccoon is next.”
She blanched. “You were serious about that?”
“We’ll figure it out.” He shook his head at her, as though to call her the slacker slayer. Evidently, his congeniality and camaraderie only went so far.
Jade marched out of the meeting hall and to the tavern, where she found Michael prepping for the evening ahead.
“Came to see if I’m still alive?” he mocked as he raised his arms for her to inspect him, perfectly intact, from head to toe.
“Ha, ha.” She slid onto a barstool. “Seriously, though, thank you for listening to me and not getting yourself into trouble.”
“Well, except for that shifter,” he said in a contrite tone.
Jade didn’t want him to feel even an ounce of guilt—he’d done a fantastic job when the enemy had attacked. “The beast engaged you. And by the way, nice swing and aim.” She considered how quickly Michael had reacted to her instruction and how solidly he’d delivered a blow to the wolf, stabbing it in the chest and momentarily incapacitating it so Morgan could move in for the kill. “You did great, actually.”
He said, “I didn’t particularly like seeing the wolf’s throat ripped out.”
“Me either, but that’s how you defeat shifters. Toran made me learn on a chicken.”
“That’s disgusting, Jade.”
“Yes, it is.” She paused, then ventured, “Maybe you’d like to join us for some lessons? Toran is still training me.”
He gave her a curious look. “Really, you’d allow that?”
“Doesn’t hurt to know how to properly defend yourself.”
“Interesting offer, especially coming from you.” If she wasn’t mistaken, his chest puffed, as though he was proud of himself that he’d won her approval. “I’ll take you up on that.”
“Good. Now there’s something else. I need to quit my job. It’s impossible to juggle my work here and slayer duties. I barely sleep.”
“Yeah, I can see from your bloodshot eyes.” Though he didn’t know the true source of the redness still burning bright. “I understand,” he told her. “Besides, it’d be undignified for you to be a bar wench when you’re the Demon Queen.”
Her heart sank even further; and not only from his jest. “I won’t be crowned in the near future, if ever, so stop looking glum. I have sufficiently pissed off Davian. For the last time, is my guess.”
Michael seemed to debate whether or not he wanted to continue this topic, but finally asked, “How’d you manage that?”
“Turns out, I’m a huge pain in the ass. Who would have thought?”
His brow furrowed. “That’s not exactly a new world order, Jade. I’m sure he had to know this about you going into the relationship. You did challenge him after Jinx died, remember?”
“Seems there are some boundaries he’ll let me cross. Disobeying him is not one.”
“Ah, yes. You do have a rebellious streak.”
“He told me to stay in the village last night. But I had no choice than to go with Toran, and I defend that action. Still…” Her gaze dropped and she absently rubbed her fingertip along a groove in the wooden bar. “I can see where he’s coming from. I got a healthy dose of my own medicine during our battle.”
“How so?”
Glancing up, she smiled softly at her friend. “I was worried about you, until I realized you were doing exactly as I’d asked by staying out of the way. You reacted when you needed to, rather than purposely putting yourself in danger. I tend to find myself in it when I don’t sit tight the way I’m supposed to.”
“Actually,” Michael mused in a low tone, “perhaps you’re not meant for the sidelines, Jade. As potentially deadly as it could be for you, it seems to me being in the thick of conflict is your strong suit.”
“Wow,” she said on a long breath. “You finally get me.”
“Little late in the day,” he admitted. “But it’s exhausting to keep fighting you, Jade. You’re going to do and say whatever the hell you want, anyway. I’m not the one who can tame you.” He frowned. Then added, “I’m not sure the king can, either.”
With a sigh, she said, “There’s a very good possibility he’s given up trying.” She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers to show she wasn’t wearing his ring, which just about killed her. “I think I’ve gone beyond infuriating him.”
And her heart broke all over again.
She had to shut her eyes against the sting of tears. Take a few moments to compose herself.
Michael reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “This might be for the best. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to gloat. There’s much more to you than I can handle, Jade. I’ve learned that over the past few months.”
Her lids opened, though her eyes were misty. “I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you and me,” she said in a humble tone. “Apparently, I’m a little more complicated than the average female.”
“You can say that again.”
She laughed through her pain. “Let’s not rub it in.”
He was reflective a moment, then said, “I realize it’s time I move on. Maybe ask Jessica Delfino or Krista Kelly on a date.”
Her brow crooked. “Where would you go? What would you do?”
“Damned if I know,” he said with a shrug. “I’ve never been on a real date.”
“Well, whatever you decide, make it romantic. I’ve recently discovered women enjoy that kind of thing.”
He grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
She stood on the foot rail of her stool and leaned over the bar. After kissing Michael on the cheek, she said, “You’re still my best friend.”
“Even though I’m not a demon?”
“Don’t be a jerk.” She jumped to the ground. “Gotta go. I have more work to do.” She headed toward the door, but turned back and commented, “You know, people around town started sprucing up their storefronts and displays when the king began sending all those new items our way. Maybe you should sand the ridges out of the bar and jazz the place up a bit.”
“You’re knocking my joint?” He shot her a sardonic look. “Is this your idea of spreading goodwill?”
She gave it thought, then nodded. “We have to help ourselves out of the Dark Ages, right? I’ll see you later.”
As Jade wandered toward the library, she realized what she was doing with her unplanned visits. She’d consciously chosen not to stay at the cottage and wallow in her sorrow.
Granted, she wasn’t fully facing the agony of heartbreak head-on, but she also wasn’t holding back when it came to discussing her scandalous and now-debilitated affair. Surprisingly, she found a degree of relief in not keeping the tormenting debacle buried inside her. For the first time, she was truly confiding in her human friends. And it felt good.
Entering the library, she smiled as Lisette glanced up from a book.
“No coffee?” her friend quipped.
“Totally forgot. You want some?”
“No, I was only joking. What brings you by?”
Jade pointed to the desk in the corner. “Typewriter. Will it bother you if I peck away a bit more? I’ve decided I am going to write a book. At least attempt to, though it’ll take me several years at the pace of my clicking on the keys.”
“I told you, you�
��ll get used to their arrangement and will gain more speed. But the design of the machine calls for slower progress so you don’t jam the metal arms that hit the paper.”
Lisette came over and demonstrated, pounding out a slew of letters that caused the short rods to stick in a clumped mess before they could tap the paper and leave their mark.
“Gotcha,” Jade said. “Slow and steady wins the race.”
She discarded the sheet and inserted a fresh one. Having no real idea where to begin, she let her instinct and her heart guide her.
Chapter One
North America, 2054
Not all humans are good.
Not all demons are evil.
* * *
“You didn’t enjoy the veal, my Lord?” Sheena asked as she swept into the castle’s formal banquet hall.
It was well past midnight and the wave of diners had long since dispersed. Davian had not joined them earlier, opting to eat alone, as he’d done for over a week now. Tonight he’d merely picked at his food, not having much of an appetite.
Ignoring Sheena’s question, he asked, “Have you been to the village?”
“Not since the night of the battle.” Sinking into a chair at one of the long, wide tables that sat fifty, she said, “I feel bad about that. I chastised Jade and told her she wasn’t in this alone, and then I stopped seeing her. That’s not how friends treat each other.”
Davian mentally concurred, though… He’d not spoken with the woman he loved since that fateful night, either. Therefore, he took great interest in Sheena’s reason for her actions. “Why haven’t you gone to see her?”
The vampire shook her head. “I’m not sure.” Her gaze lifted to meet his. “Why haven’t you?”
Davian pushed aside his plate. Surprisingly, his answer came without thought. “I’ll cave if I do. I’ll let her convince me she did the right thing by disregarding my orders. And I’m not inclined to let her off the hook.”
“But you’ll forgive her someday, won’t you?”
He stood. “Forgiveness isn’t the issue. I owe her that, if for no other reason than the things I’ve done that she’s forgiven me for. But accepting her disobedience will only encourage her to continue doing as she pleases, without much thought to her own safety.”
“I disagree,” Sheena said in a low tone.
He stared at her, perplexed. “Meaning?”
“She’ll be this way regardless of whether or not you condone or condemn her behavior. You can’t change her, my Lord.” Sheena stood as well. “And isn’t that one more thing you admire about her?”
She left the dining hall without another word. Davian hung his head and sighed. With a half-snort, he wondered why he hadn’t taken a page from the book he’d given Jade and fallen in love with a woman with an obsequious veneration. One who would revere him enough to the point of subservience.
But then a sentiment she’d shared with him one evening came back to him.
How boring would I be if I obeyed every command you issued?
Jade Deville could never be boring.
Nor could she ever truly be safe.
Unless, of course, he married her and granted her immortality.
He walked out of the room as he stewed over the conundrum. By the time he reached his study, he wasn’t any more sure of his dilemma with Jade than he’d been a week ago, following the battle. Maybe humans and demons weren’t meant to interact socially. Perhaps they were meant to stay on their own sides of the border, co-existing from afar.
Naturally, the painful part of this theory was the obvious fact that he loved Jade. Deeply. More than he’d ever imagined loving anyone. He agonized over how desperately he wanted to see her, how much he missed her.
Conversely, he’d still not gotten beyond wanting to wring her neck.
So he poured a glass of brandy and sat at his desk. He had ample work to do, particularly correspondence amongst the stewards under his charge and the kings on the six other continents that would occupy his thoughts and time.
Keeping Jade from his mind was not easy, but it was necessary.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Weather-wise, March was a tricky month for Ryleigh. The sun could break through the clouds on a day when the snow didn’t fall and help to melt the drifts. The temperature overnight, however, would turn everything icy. Yet if there were enough sunny days, the banks slowly diminished. Only to be rebuilt when another storm hit.
It had been all Jade could do to keep from shoveling a path from her house to the church, tunneling her way to the snow level that had been about mid-calf deep the night she’d lost the necklace. But doing so would have increased her chances of moving the pendant unwittingly and tossing it aside with a heap of snow.
The white mounds, though, had succumbed to a week of unseasonably warm weather, and only barely covered the ground. So the search was on.
She traded her day shifts for night ones with Toran and scoured the area in front of her cottage, hoping the rays from overhead would catch the diamonds and make them sparkle enough to signal her of the necklace’s whereabouts.
Three days later and still unsuccessful, she branched out to the east. She was in the woods after the sun set, now using a lantern to guide her, when she heard footsteps behind her. They were so light and perfectly measured, she didn’t reach for her sword.
Standing, she turned and faced Sheena. “Hi.”
“Hi,” her vampire friend said, a contrite look on her striking, alabaster face. “I’m sorry I’ve waited so long to see you again.”
A lump of emotion formed in Jade’s throat. Tears prickled the backs of her eyes. “I figured you’d given up on me.” As Davian clearly had. She forced herself not to dwell on that excruciating thought.
“Of course not.” Sheena seemed to put great effort into conjuring the right words, then said, “I’ve been struggling with the difficulty of having a mortal friend. It’s proved most…challenging.”
Jade didn’t dispute that. “It’s not the human blood flowing in my veins that disturbs you, though.”
Sheena shook her head.
With a sigh, Jade said, “You think I’m reckless and that troubles you.”
“No. I think you’re determined and that troubles me. Plus, you’re a danger magnet. It’s unnerving.”
Temporarily giving up her search for the necklace, she said, “I have to be out on patrol. Do you want to join me?”
“I’d like to spend time with you, yes.”
They started a counter-clockwise route.
The vampire asked, “Do you enjoy this?”
“I’m usually on horseback, but the exercise this evening is nice.”
“I meant, do you enjoy being out here alone. At night?”
Jade glanced up at the clear sky and a moon that was nearly full. “It’s peaceful. I like how quiet it is. If I put all my concentration into hearing something—like the crack of a twig in the distance from an animal—I don’t have to think about anything else.”
Sheena glided gracefully alongside her. “What would you think about if you didn’t have something else to distract you?”
With a shrug, Jade said, “Everything.”
“The king?” the vampire ventured.
Jade let out a long breath. “What would be the point?”
“I don’t know, the fact that he loves you?”
Her stomach twisted. “That seems unlikely. I haven’t seen him in over a month.”
“He’s been busy.”
“Right.”
They continued in silence. Jade altered her path every night to cover more territory. The intent of the patrols, Toran had explained, was to search for any sign of a demon inhabiting the woods. Or more than two of them entering Ryleigh.
Jade wondered how the checks and balance system worked at the castle. She surmised the demons had to report to someone that they intended to go into the village to ensure they kept to the king’s law. Not that immortals came into the village all that often. T
hey didn’t hang out at the tavern and shoot the breeze. But they seemed interested in seeing how the humans fared in this new world. She had no doubt Sheena possessed enough clout to supersede another demon’s request in order to make tonight’s visit.
The vampire eventually interrupted the respite by asking, “When you accepted the king’s marriage proposal, which I heard about from Morgan, did you do it simply to keep the humans from feeling threatened by his army encircling the village, or because you really wanted to be his wife?”
“First,” Jade said, “since you and I are friends, you can call him Davian in my presence. I really don’t need the constant reminder he’s the king. Believe me, that reality is never far from my mind, and when he’s mad at me, he makes a point of reiterating his authority.”
“Fine.”
“Second,” she added as they wandered through the west woods, Jade’s gaze scanning the area, “I wanted to say yes to him the moment he asked me. I was completely awestruck when he gave me the necklace, but that ring meant even more to me.” She didn’t bother mentioning the inscription. It no longer held weight…or the same significance as the night he’d placed it on her finger.
And that made her heart hurt even more.
“Is that what you were doing in the forest by your house earlier?” Sheena asked. “Trying to find the necklace?”
“Yes. I still can’t believe I lost such a valuable piece of jewelry. A family heirloom, no less. I’m sick about it.”
“Davian would never hold it against you, Jade. Despite the pendant being priceless, he wouldn’t fault you. He was much more concerned about the fire wraith’s attack on you and the severity of your injuries than the necklace having fallen off during the assault.”
“That’s very kind of him. Doesn’t make me feel any better, though.” They wove their way south. “I’m going to search on hands and knees until I find that damn thing.”
“I’ll help you,” Sheena said. “I can look at night while you’re out on patrol. I have excellent vision and the moonlight will catch the diamonds, which the star is reported to be covered in.”