Ren limped up beside me. It had to be done.
I whined, leaning my muzzle against his shoulder. I knew he was right, but I felt sick.
You’re hurt. He pushed against me. Take some blood.
You first. I turned my shoulder to his muzzle. His teeth pierced my skin. I stood still as he lapped up blood.
I’m good. He licked my muzzle. Go ahead.
I bit into his chest. The smoky sweet, wild taste of his blood slipped over my tongue. The sparkling warmth of healing poured over me.
Thanks. I lifted my muzzle to press my nose against his cheek.
Looks like we’re clear. My father padded over to us. His muzzle was bright with blood, but I could see no sign of injury on him. Behind him the corpse of an elder Bane lay sprawled on the ground.
He looked at Dax’s body and then at Ren. Your packmate?
Ren lowered his head. My second.
I’m sorry. My father rested his muzzle on Ren’s shoulder.
Ren whimpered softly, leaning into my father.
I dropped to the ground, grief heavy in my bones, and stared up at the night sky. Bryn, covered in snow, snuggled in beside me with a low whine. I rested my head on her back, catching the scent of Fey’s blood in her fur. The moon was gone now, covered by thick bands of clouds. As tiny silver flakes drifted down to settle on our bodies—both the living and the dead—I thought perhaps the moon had hidden her face from us, as full of sorrow as we were. But she couldn’t stop her tears from spilling out in the form of silent snow.
TWENTY-FOUR
CONNOR STOOD BEFORE THE DOOR, reaching in his pocket for lock-picking tools. Ethan shook his head.
“Logan was supposed to leave it unlocked.”
Connor shrugged and tried the door. It swung open.
“That’s a good sign,” he said. “Right?”
“It’s a sign that Logan is at least pretending to be on our team,” Ethan said. “Let’s not read anything else into it.”
“Agreed.” Connor had his swords drawn and moved slowly into the kitchen.
We followed him into the cavernous room. In the darkness I could make out pots and pans hanging from the ceiling. A long prep table stretched nearly the length of the room, and a huge brick oven took up most of one wall.
“You could cook for all of Vail in here,” Adne said. “How many big parties does your uncle host? Like one a week?”
“None,” Shay said. “At least not that I’ve seen.”
“Does anyone even use this kitchen?” Connor asked.
“I came down here for snacks,” Shay said. “They keep the fridge stocked.” He pointed to a walk-in refrigeration unit beside an equally huge pantry.
“You ever find bodies in there?” Ethan muttered.
Shay didn’t answer, but he shuddered. I was sure he hadn’t ever considered that possibility before he learned the truth about his uncle. I wondered if coming back to Rowan Estate was as frightening for Shay as it was for me. The more I thought about it, the more I became convinced it was probably much worse for him. He’d lived here, called this place home without knowing what lived in the walls, the tortured prisoners trapped in paintings. He’d laughed at statues of incubi that he now knew could come to life and attack. He must have felt as if the very ground was constantly rolling under his feet.
I trotted to his side and licked his fingers, hoping I could lend him some comfort. He smiled down at me.
“Home sweet home,” he said, but the haunted quality of his gaze let me know I’d been right about his feelings.
This has to be the creepiest house of all time. Bryn stayed closed to my heels.
I glanced over my shoulder. It’s definitely in the top ten.
Did you guys really make out here? ’Cause I think I’d be too freaked out to focus.
I bared my teeth at her. Speaking of focus, now is not the time to be asking about my love life.
When we were about to exit the kitchen, Shay paused. “Do yourselves a favor and don’t look at any of the paintings.”
Connor nodded, moving quietly into the hallway.
The corridor was dark. Connor led us at a cautious pace. I knew it was wise, but creeping forward set my teeth on edge. A stifled gasp hit my ears. Ethan’s head was bowed. Adne laid her hand on his arm, leaning in to him to whisper in a calm voice. When he lifted his face, I saw his jaw clench and the veins in his neck throb.
Shay glanced at him. “I told you not to look.”
“Just keep walking, Scion,” Ethan snarled, but his voice shook. “He wasn’t your brother, he was mine.”
I made the mistake of glancing over my shoulder at the painting Ethan had just passed. A man in tattered clothes lay stretched out on a table, agony etched on his face, his mouth open in an eternal cry of pain. Dark shapes loomed in the shadows at the edge of the painting, watching him. I wished I didn’t recognize the man, but I knew Ethan’s brother, Kyle, the moment I looked at the painting and I felt sick. It was my fault he was trapped forever, his torture feeding the wraiths. I’d thought I was doing my duty, protecting Shay, when I’d killed his partner, Stuart, and handed Kyle over to the Keepers for questioning. How many other choices had I made while serving the Keepers that had destroyed the lives of people I now called allies and friends?
A hand brushed my fur. I turned to find Shay watching me, his eyes bright with concern.
He offered me a thin smile. “I’m not trying to pet you. I just want to say that the past is the past. You didn’t know. Neither of us did.”
I pushed my nose against his palm as I tried to erase the horror of the painting from my mind.
We had turned the corner to enter the manor’s central corridor when Connor gave a shout. His blades flashed out, hitting something solid and then clanging off as the blow was deflected.
He spewed curses, stomping his feet and kicking the wall. “Statues! For the love—” He began to swear again.
“Connor, you’re making me blush,” Adne said, stepping forward to inspect the marble succubus.
I barked at Shay, wagging my tail. He flashed a grin at me, sharing the memory of my first visit to Rowan Estate. I couldn’t blame Connor for his reaction. The statues were just too realistic.
“You’ll have to watch out for that,” Shay said. “The statues are all over.”
“A ready-made army,” Connor said. He glared at the statue. “Just waiting.”
“An army that we fought during our last visit,” Ethan said. “Remember? How come these aren’t outside playing with their friends?”
“Rowan Estate’s creatures are still dormant.” Shay rapped his knuckles on the succubus’s stone forehead. “The minions outside must be the Keepers’ pets from Eden. That means Bosque isn’t here. He hasn’t summoned them.”
“Or he wants us to think he isn’t here,” Connor said.
Shay frowned. “I don’t think so. Only the wolves are fighting. Bosque had all his creatures in the mix in the last fight. He’s not here. Not yet.”
“Only one way to know for sure.” Connor made a rude gesture at the statue and then continued down the corridor.
My heart seemed to be stuck in my throat, beating hard as we stepped into the grand foyer of the manor. Suits of armor and more hideous creatures cast in marble circled the room, standing like guards before the immense staircase.
The Searchers’ footsteps and the clatter of our wolf nails echoed in the enormous space, bouncing off the walls all the way to the immense crystal chandelier hanging above our heads.
“Up the stairs,” Shay murmured.
Connor nodded and we began to ascend. With each step my body felt colder.
Ren brushed up against me. Did you really spend time here?
Yeah. I glanced around. Quite a bit, actually.
Ugh. He shuddered. You’ve got a stronger stomach than me.
It’s better when you don’t know the whole place wants to come alive and kill you. I flashed my teeth at him.
Oh, I’m sur
e it is. He nipped my shoulder.
When we reached the top of the stairs, Connor drew a long breath. Then he reached for the library door. The handle turned and I heard a soft click.
“Open,” he murmured. “I don’t think I can take this one as a good sign.”
“It’s not,” Shay said. “But I didn’t expect this to go well. Did you?”
“Go on,” Ethan said, jerking his chin at Connor. “No rest for the wicked.”
“Is that our slogan?” Connor asked as he pushed the door open. “Or theirs?”
“Take your pick.” Ethan lifted his crossbow.
A soft glow filled the library; the subtle light of lamps ensconced among the shelves made the room feel warm and inviting. If I hadn’t known any better, I’d have thought it a peaceful place to curl up with a favorite book.
My father stiffened as a growl rumbled in his chest. His nose crinkled up.
Emile.
Bryn began to snarl, her hackles rising.
Familiar scents drew my attention too. The Bane alpha was here, but he wasn’t alone.
“Welcome.” Lumine stood alongside the bookcase that contained the Haldis Annals. She extended her hand to us.
“We’ve been expecting you.” Efron smiled. He was sitting beside her in a high-backed leather chair. Two wolves lay at his feet, their eyes fixed on us. Sabine’s gaze was steady, while Emile’s gleamed with malice. Logan stood behind his father, his face fixed in a mask of indifference.
“That’s disappointing,” Connor said. “Now we can’t yell ‘surprise!’”
“Glib. How charming.” Lumine offered him a condescending smile and arched an eyebrow. “We can make you this offer. Leave the Scion alone with us and your lives will be spared.”
I snarled and Ethan lifted his crossbow. “That’s an offer?” His eyes were on Sabine, and he was gripping his weapon so tightly the blood had left his knuckles. She returned his gaze calmly, remaining so still she could have been one of the statues in the hallway.
“Not very tempting, is it?” Adne’s whip hissed along the floor.
“Fine.” Lumine’s ruby red lips parted, her smile revealing gleaming teeth. She raised her hand and began to draw a flaming symbol in the air.
“Here comes the wraith,” Connor muttered.
“I’ve got this.” Shay stepped forward as the fiery symbol exploded into a writhing, dark creature.
“Kill them,” Lumine said, waving her hand lazily in our direction.
The wraith slithered across the floor. Shay took two bounds and launched himself in the air, flipping across the room to land in front of the wraith.
“Now he’s just showing off,” Connor said.
The Elemental Cross sliced through its shadowy form. The wraith shrieked, its body boiling away into smoke.
Lumine didn’t flinch, but I saw her throat move as she swallowed. “How interesting.”
“Let’s try that again,” Efron said. “But make it sporting, shall we? Emile! Sabine!”
The two wolves leapt to their feet. Emile bolted toward Shay, but Sabine whirled on Efron. She lunged at the hand he was using to summon the wraith, crushing his fingers in her jaws. He shrieked, falling to his knees in front of the chair. His eyes bulged in disbelief as Sabine dropped his bloodied hand only to knock him onto his back.
Efron’s blood-choked screams pulled Emile around. He howled his fury and barreled down on her. Sabine’s focus didn’t waver. She had Efron pinned. Still snarling, she struck again and again, tearing his throat apart. When he stopped clawing at her fur, she shifted into human form and spat on him.
“Weren’t expecting that, were you.” She gazed at his body. “Bastard.” She spat again.
Logan ran to his father’s side, but the elder Keeper was already dead. Efron’s throat had been so ravaged that his head was nearly severed from his body. Logan fell back, drawing his knees to his chest and hiding his face. Sabine turned on him, snarling as he cowered beside Efron’s corpse.
“Sabine!” Ethan shouted. His crossbow bolt whizzed past Emile, who slammed into her. She was sent spiraling through the air, crashing in a heap against the stones of the fireplace. My father howled and hurtled across the room. Ren and Bryn chased after him with Ethan firing bolts as they rushed to her aid. Emile spun around, ignoring the bolts that hit his shoulder and flank. His eyes were locked on my father.
Ethan jumped over Emile’s crouching, snarling wolf form, throwing himself protectively over Sabine’s limp body. While the Searcher kept watch over Sabine, my father and Emile stalked toward each other, ignoring the chaos around them.
Lumine gasped, her hands going to her neck. She began to tremble, but she quickly drew another flaming symbol. A wraith bloomed before her.
“Protect me!” she shrieked at it.
The wraith swirled around her like a cloak as she scrambled for the door.
I snarled, wanting to fight, but Shay was the only one who could fight off wraiths.
“Shay!” Adne screamed as wraith-draped Lumine approached us, forcing us away from the door.
“Stay with me!” Lumine hissed at her slithering bodyguard as she ran from the library. “Don’t let them near me!” The wraith oozed away from us, taking Lumine out of the room as it moved.
Shay ran to us, gazing after her retreat, but Connor grabbed his arm. “Let her go. Our fight is here.”
Shay nodded, though his jaw twitched in frustration.
“We have to be sure Logan doesn’t make a run for it,” Connor said to Shay. “You need to watch him while we help the others.”
Shay glanced at Logan, who was rocking back and forth where he sat, his head still hidden behind his knees. “I don’t think he’s going anywhere.”
“I would say the same thing if he were unconscious,” Connor said. “We need to keep him here.”
“I’ll stick with Shay,” Adne said, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward Logan. “You help the others.”
Bryn! I called to her. Get to Adne and Shay. You need to protect them.
She wheeled around, rushing to act as a sentinel for the Scion and our Weaver. On it!
I ran with Connor across the room to where Ethan was cradling Sabine against his body. She wasn’t moving, and we weren’t close enough for me to know if she was even alive. I needed to help her if I could.
But my eyes kept moving to the other side of the library. Emile and my father squared off, now only a few feet apart, snarling at each other while Ren stood bristling at my father’s flank. But the younger wolf could have been invisible for all the attention the other two wolves gave him. Their gazes were locked, full of hate.
My father lifted his muzzle and howled a challenge. Emile responded with an answering cry, his bulky muscles rippling as he pawed the ground, fury building. The fight they’d both been waiting for as long as they’d been rival alphas was about to begin.
TWENTY-FIVE
MY FATHER SNARLED, dropping his muzzle low as he stalked sideways, watching Emile.
The Bane alpha shook spittle from his jaws, giving a final howl.
They both leapt, throwing their bodies at each other with such force that I thought their bones would shatter.
“Calla!” Connor’s shout pulled my gaze off the battling wolves. “Help us!”
Ethan repositioned Sabine against his chest, propping her up. “She’s breathing, but I think she’s hurt.”
Sabine stirred in his arms, groaning softly.
“Better safe than sorry,” Connor said, locking my gaze.
I nodded, shifting forms to bite my wrist. Taking Sabine’s chin in my hand, I opened her mouth, pressing my bleeding arm to her lips. She swallowed immediately.
“If she’s hurt, it’s not bad,” I said as she drank. “Maybe a broken bone or two.”
“That’s not bad?” Ethan asked, stroking her hair.
“Not for us,” I said.
Sabine’s eyelids snapped open. She pushed my arm away, wiping off her mouth.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” I braceleted the wound on my wrist to stop the blood flow and let the punctures close.
Her gaze moved to Ethan. His Adam’s apple moved up and down as he swallowed hard, running his finger over her cheek.
“Ethan,” she whispered.
He drew her shaking body into his arms. “It’s over now.”
He was partly right. With Efron dead, one nightmare had ended for Sabine. But that was a single battle and we were still in the middle of a war.
Connor went to join Adne and Shay as they watched over Logan. The Keeper was still huddled in a ball. Bryn stalked around him, snarling.
I shifted forms, moving as silently as I could toward my father and Emile. They were both bloodied, despite the short time they’d been fighting. Gashes marred my father’s right side, while a flap of torn flesh hung from Emile’s chest.
I slid behind Emile, ready to spring. But my father’s voice was suddenly in my mind.
Stay out of this, Calla. That’s an order.
But— I snarled, drawing Emile’s attention. He barked a warning at me.
Relying on your whelp, Stephen?
Like I said, Calla. My father growled. Stay away. This isn’t your fight.
I backed off, but not far. My instincts still compelled me to submit to my father’s will, but my blood was singing, screaming that I should attack.
Ren was still behind my father, also keeping his distance as the two wolves circled each other, watching for any opening, waiting for any sign of weakness. Ren paced back and forth, as agitated as I was. I could only guess that my father had ordered him out of the fight as well.
Emile lunged, but my father dodged the attack. He wheeled around and struck Emile’s flank, tearing out another chunk of flesh. Emile howled in pain as blood spurted from his body. My father struck again, but this time Emile was ready for him, kicking his back legs high. He caught my father in the face. The blow sent my father crashing back. He landed with a loud crack half onto a table, his body folding around the wood. The table’s edge splintered with the force of the impact.
Bloodrose Page 25