by R. J. Blain
“Jesse, go first, and then I’ll get the complete and honest answer from the men,” my aunt ordered.
I rubbed Miracle’s nose. “This is Miracle after the Hope Diamond got a hold of her. I guess she was a black. Or she is now. In any case, the stone fixed her. I guess it had seen enough horses to understand what she needed to be to become healthy again. I have what was wrong with her because I disposed of their weapon. I am probably worse off, as it seems as though the only thing keeping me alive at this point is the Hope Diamond.”
Silence.
Gentry inhaled, straightened his shoulders, and thrust his hand out to my father. “Thank you for putting up with my sister, and I’m sorry she’s probably been causing you problems. I’d apologize for my niece, too, but she has probably groveled so much you wish you could gag her to make it stop.”
While true, I resented my uncle’s accurate and blunt description of my tendencies. “I’m not that bad.”
“You’re that bad,” my tiger muttered, but then he smiled, invaded my space, and kissed the top of my head. “When you’re feeling better, I’ll be biting you. I’m keeping count of how many bites I’m owed.”
He would. “You’re lucky I’m tired.”
“No, I’m really not. How are things going, Steph?”
“Randal is delayed, but he’s fine. He’ll be available for you this evening. As soon as word spreads down the line, he’ll show up, and he’ll expect to take your tigress under his wing and hover. We’re in the cleanup phase, and most of the residents are gleefully assisting. The Starfall bursts isolating traitors really helped. Jesse, I don’t suppose you know something about that?”
I shrugged.
My father straightened on his horse and stared down his nose at the President of the United States. “The Starfall stones sought revenge, pure and simple. The Hope Diamond, mother of all of the clan stones, does not approve of what has happened to my daughter. It has bonded with her and it preserves her life when, by rights, she should have died. Right now, she cannot be separated from the stone. I hope that will change in time as her body heals. Right now, she is too sick to sustain her life without the stone’s help. For which I am grateful, of course. But it is a delicate balance. Her tiger says he knows of options, but the Starfall stone needs to learn how she should be, as it is unclear what makes a healthy human.”
“Well, I’m sure Henry and Cleo can talk sense into the Hope Diamond if that’s the issue, They’re both intimately familiar with the human body.” My aunt strode over, ruffled my hair, and kissed the top of my head. My big, black, mean horses followed in her wake, and they snorted their disapproval, their ears flattened back. “Dawnfire is intact, so I’ll have Gentry settle you there. Anatoly, your house is intact; the fighting missed it by a few blocks. Last I heard, Randal was going to stand guard to make sure it stayed that way. He’s winded, so it’s a good way to keep him busy. After we’re done at Dawnfire, you can take Jesse home with you. But to Dawnfire first. They have a full medical facility, Nate. You do not.”
My uncle eyed me as though he planned on settling me by tossing me over his shoulder, hauling me to where he wanted me to go, and sitting on me to ensure I cooperated.
I held up my hands in surrender. “Where’s Todd? Anatoly said he broke his leg?”
“He is busy creating trouble for one of my mystics. He took a bad fall while playing warhorse, but he’ll be all right. His guild building is a bit of a mess, as a great deal of the fighting took place on his doorstep. He’ll be fine, but he is grumpy at the moment. His new lead mare is taking care of things.”
“Who is his new lead mare? What about Cleo? Why would Cleo abandon Todd?”
My aunt’s brow rose, regarding the pair of mystics who ignored us and grunted at my tiger. “You’re getting fussy, little girl. Cleo didn’t abandon Todd. Todd told Cleo to go help people who might die without his help. A broken leg won’t keep Todd down for long. As for Todd’s new lead mare, her name is Kali. I’m not sure you’ve met her. She joined the herd while you were out west, and she’s been handling a lot of matters at the manor while Marie’s been bitching about Todd wandering off. Kali’s about as headstrong as you are, and she’s always butted heads with Marie. For good reason, it seems,” my aunt muttered, shaking her head. “Don’t worry so much. We’re just in the wrap up.”
“And your Secret Service agents?”
My aunt and her lecherous rabbit of a husband pointed down the street. I spotted several of the suited men checking bodies down an alley. Randal joined them and paused long enough to discuss something with one of the men before striding over. Unlike in Tennessee, my agent showed no sign of stress or anxiety, and I doubted any of the blood splattered on his suit belonged to him.
I glared at my aunt. “You said he was at Anatoly’s house guarding it. You are a liar.”
My aunt shrugged. “He, at some point, went to check on the house. I hadn’t known he opted against staying there.”
“I should leash you,” Randal growled, and he gave my aunt a serious dose of side-eye. “As if I would guard a house when it was obvious my charge was here causing trouble.”
While I bristled, Anatoly laughed, wrapped his arm around my waist, and pulled me to his side. “I wish you the best of luck with that. We’re going to take her to Dawnfire. We’re going to need Henry, Cleo, and Blossom. Jesse’s gone and gotten herself into trouble. As usual.”
“What now?”
“It is best if you do not ask quite yet,” my father replied, dismounting from his horse and taking hold of Miracle’s reins. “You need to walk for a while, Jesse, or you will regret your laze tomorrow.”
At my wretchedly slow pace, someone would be carrying me before we got halfway to Dawnfire. Rather than complain about it, I sighed and nodded. “Will I regret it because you’ll beat me, or will I regret it because my mother will beat me?”
“You will regret it because we will both beat you.”
“I solemnly swear I will behave.”
My aunt’s brows shot up all the way to her hairline. “You’ve gotten her to actually listen to you?”
“I speak her language quite well. When she misbehaves, she trains. When she continues to misbehave, she trains harder. When she behaves, she trains, but she trains gently. It did not take long to teach her my authority. Her mother roared once, and our daughter decided it was wise to make some effort to behave.”
Gentry chuckled. “This explains a lot about how a slip of a girl could become such a talented fighter at such a young age. That was her life in the clan from an early age, wasn’t it?”
“I found time to nurture her more delicate attributes, but yes. She survives because of that training, and she shall continue to survive because of that training.”
I wondered at that, but rather than talk back and earn more training, I pointed in the direction of Dawnfire. “I’m walking that way now. With luck, I’ll make it before it’s nap time.”
“Do not wish for miracles not even the Hope Diamond can grant,” my father chided.
I had been born stubborn, I had grown up stubborn, and I would die stubborn. To make it perfectly clear I refused to quit, I made it all the way to Dawnfire before crawling onto the nearest warm, soft surface my uncle allowed. Later, I’d be ashamed of heeding the grizzly’s warning growls without putting up a fight. The oversized arm chairs in the guild’s study made an excellent nest, and once I curled up on one, I matched the grizzly growl for growl until Anatoly dumped a blanket onto me.
“You are too tired to take on a grizzly,” my tiger said, perching on the arm of my chair. “You’re probably too hungry, too. I’ll make sure Henry sets up an appropriate meal plan for you again, especially if you’re suffering from the same affliction Miracle endured. I’ll even let Randal fuss over you all he wants until you’re well enough to put up a fight.”
Somewhere nearby, my agent chuckled, which did a lot to convince me everything was all right despite having given him the slip yet again.
When I spotted him in his usual watchful position near the door, I relaxed. “I haven’t lost my hair at least.”
“You had, but the Hope Diamond rectified that. It recognized your hair loss was a problem. That is how I figured out the stone was trying its best for you,” my father announced. “You were still sleeping most of the time then.”
Well, shit. I remembered my anguish while waiting to learn if Miracle would survive after Fort Lauderdale. My horse had been an excellent teacher and example, and I’d make sure she never suffered so much ever again. “Don’t remind me how long I slept, please. I have done too much sleeping this year.” I cuddled into the blanket, maintaining what little I had left of my dignity through a careful covering of my head. “I’m perfectly healthy, nothing is wrong with me, and I don’t need an army of mystics to get me through this latest incident.”
Anatoly sighed. “You need the army of mystics, Jesse. This is you we’re talking about here. You’re not healthy, and I’m very concerned about what’s wrong with you. You still have the Hope Diamond, right?”
While annoyed he’d watched me put the damned Starfall stone away, I wiggled on the chair, untied the pouch from my belt, and slipped my hand out from beneath the blanket so I could give it to Anatoly. “Sunder is in there with a bunch of other stones, so try not to set them loose.”
“How about you retrieve only the Hope Diamond so there aren’t any incidents?”
I grumbled a curse, but I did as asked, pulling the stone and its broken necklace out of the bag. I handed them over. “Sunder disposed of the weapon, but I was exposed to its toxin before it finished its work. It’s not the stone’s fault. And I’m not sure how the setting broke.”
Anatoly took the Hope Diamond, and I retreated beneath my blanket, debating if I should give into my exhaustion or try to stay awake to listen in on the conversation. Before I could decide, my tiger growled.
“Don’t pick a fight with the Hope Diamond, Ana.”
“If it doesn’t take good care of you, I will fight with it until it does.”
“Be reasonable.”
Everyone in the room laughed, and I scrounged up the energy to hiss at them.
“By your nature, you’re anything but reasonable, Jesse. Keep being yourself. Everyone else can whine if they don’t like it, and I’ll enjoy their misery and suffering. Also, it’s worth reminding you that I’m sure Jesse’s father would enjoy beating you on her behalf if you floor me right now, Gentry.”
The grizzly grunted. “You’re getting cocky.”
“I have my mate back, the Hope Diamond is living up to its name for once, and once we figure out how to treat her sickness, I can provide for my mate properly. Ferdinand’s scheme has fallen to ruin, and while we have some messes left to clean up, Charlotte’s safe. Today’s a good day, and I’ve earned being cocky.”
“You followed Stephanie around while she bashed heads together.”
“That was quite the sight to behold, really.”
Gentry heaved a sigh. “I should have stayed with the damned stallion.”
“Will you two stop?” my aunt demanded. “Jesse, do you remember what happened when the Hope Diamond’s setting broke?”
To a certain degree, I did, but I wanted to shy from the memory of being battered in the ocean, drowning in a fool’s suicidal errand to save the world—or at least a small part of it filled with people I loved. “Can we just say it was exposed to conditions unsuitable for a piece of fine jewelry?”
I suspected Sunder had helped the necklace break. Had the Hope Diamond remained intact, had anything been different, I wouldn’t have been certain of the weapon’s ultimate destruction. Things would have been different.
My body would have joined Ferdinand’s weapon at the bottom of the restless ocean.
“How about I compromise with you, and you can give me a very brief retelling of what happened with your promise to elaborate later.” When my aunt took on her Presidential tone, she’d flatten me to the mat until I confessed.
My mother and her family bore more responsibility for how I’d turned out than the Blade Clan’s ruthless teachings.
Sighing, I considered slithering off the chair and worming towards the door in a bid for freedom. Why had I deluded myself into believing I might dodge the bitter truth? Had I put in any time thinking it through, I would’ve realized I had no hope of dodging any of them. One day, I would learn.
While blood bound us, stronger and deeper emotions tied us together. Love and friendship played their roles, as did something else, something that I still didn’t understand as well as I should. I expected I would spend the rest of my life trying to figure everything out.
But I’d learned an important truth: they would stay through it all.
“I took the weapon out into the ocean, where I believe Sunder broke the Hope Diamond’s chain along with the weapon. It was the only place I could think of that might scatter its poison in a way no one else could ever gather and use again. I thought the ocean was my best option.” I considered the weapon’s initial bubbling eruption in the water before Sunder could finish its dark work. “The Starfall stones worked together, but Sunder destroyed part of the setting in the process. Just carrying that thing for a short period of time made it clear I’d probably not survive exposure to it, just like the horses. By the time I got to the coast, it was pretty clear I wasn’t making it out alive. I did it anyway. I couldn’t let that thing get into Charlotte.”
The silence hung heavy in the room, and I held my breath.
My aunt heaved a sigh. “You were never afraid of making difficult choices. I’m proud of you. It takes a rare person to make that choice for the sake of others. However much I want to protect you from yourself, I will never judge you for making that choice. No matter how much I want to keep you safe, I admire and respect your courage and integrity. I would have done the same. And Anatoly? You best be proud of my niece.”
My mate pulled the blanket off long enough to kiss my cheek. “I am. I’m just angry over the necessity of it. We’ve seen how damaging that thing could be.”
Given a few more months, he’d have me trained to expect affection as his way of telling me everything would be okay—and I wouldn’t mind it. To maintain some of my dignity, I grabbed the blanket and recovered my head. “You’re supposed to be angry with me.”
“I have assigned you a punishment of five bites and an hour of nibbling. I will claim my reward for your bad behavior once Henry and Cleo clear your health.”
After experiencing how one bite tested my limits and patience, five bites and an hour of nibbling would result in a complete removal of our clothing. He’d only have himself to blame afterwards. “What did I tell you about biting?” I growled.
“I plan on enjoying my reward.”
Tigers. Given an inch, they’d take a mile. I’d enjoy the entire trip, but everyone else around us would have their patience tested for certain. Assuming Anatoly’s house had actually survived the rebellion, I’d stage my takeover in his bedroom. No, our bedroom.
The lock on the door might keep our busybody family and friends at bay for a while.
“If you two are done flirting?” my aunt asked.
“Never,” my tiger replied in his smuggest voice. “I will turn flirting with your niece into an art.”
“You can flirt with her later. Just leave any mauling for until we’re gone.”
“I already said I’d wait for my reward until they gave her the all clear.”
I peeked out from under the covers to observe my aunt glaring at my tiger. The pair engaged in a standoff, which my father interrupted through snagging the back of my tiger’s neck, pulling him off my arm chair, and putting him in the corner. “I swear. I thought at this age, I would be dealing with adults rather than overgrown toddlers on a mission of destruction. I remember my daughter’s toddler phase very well. It took the entire clan to contain her, and she did not at all appreciate containment. She was such a source of frustration she was lo
cked in the forge to watch me work, as no one else had hope of bending her will. It is entirely my fault she is as she is now, with a little help from her mother.”
I didn’t remember that, and I regarded my father with interest. He kept Anatoly in the corner, and my tiger grumbled curses over his imprisonment at my father’s hand.
“She hasn’t changed much,” my aunt replied, her tone rueful.
“Never before has a tribe so aptly named a soul. She has run against the wind from the moment she drew her first breath. She brought much change to the Blade Clan. She kept her mother close at hand for the first two years of her life, and her mother learned much from the clan—and taught the clan much. Her mother would not have her child drinking any milk other than hers, and she waged a very brutal war with the clan over it. She emerged the victor—and birthed the seed that daughters could be as strong as sons. I merely encouraged what had begun with her mother. We broke many traditions, as for some reason, our clan believed that only I, her true father, could handle the little hellion she became the instant her mother wandered off.”
“Sounds like it’s the clan’s fault for letting my sister escape,” my aunt replied.
“She stayed close enough at hand.”
Several grizzly growls warned me my mother’s family finally understood where my mother had been over the years.
“Are you saying that brat of a sister of mine stuck around? With you?”
My aunt eyed my father, and as such entertainment could not be purchased, I fully uncovered my head to get a good view of the show.
My father, who still held Anatoly by the back of his neck, smirked at my grizzly of an aunt. “My wife and bride is a true delight. Did you think I alone cared for our daughter when she was too ill to care for herself? She is around, likely taking heads as trophies for their involvement in our daughter’s misery. That is what she does. She will show when she is ready. But she is worth the Blade Clan sword she wields.”
“If she’s out for the blood of those who hurt your daughter, there is a long list, although Jesse does tend to clean up after herself quite well.”