by Lexi Blake
The goblins fought and tried to claw their way out, but the vines just pulled harder until there was no one left on the field. I was struck by the sudden quiet and how the ground shifted easily back to its formerly perfect state. It was like nothing had happened. No one who had not seen the deed could believe an entire army was now held in hard dirt.
“Damn,” Zack said beside me, respect plain in his voice. “I’m totally not pissing Bris off.”
Bris, however, was not through. He looked back at me. “Are there more, my goddess?”
I nodded silently before finding my voice. I was with Zack. I was impressed, too. “There were several in the house. Six, I think.”
Bris held his hand up and a dozen thick vines with wicked thorns appeared from the ground around him.
“Bring them,” he commanded, and I watched as they sank back into the dirt, their movement visible as the ground swelled above them. They raced toward the house to do their master’s bidding. It wasn’t long before the goblins in the house were pulled screaming into the yard to join their brethren in an earthy grave.
“Goddess,” Bris commanded me, and Lee allowed me to go to him. “Was the man named Con the one who tried to harm you?”
“Yes,” I replied, still coming to terms with what I had seen. “He thought if he killed me, he could make sure Dev wouldn’t back down.”
Bris arched an eyebrow as he walked out into the now perfectly kept yard. He moved methodically, as though he was looking for something. My attention was taken away from him as the Hunter and Arawn entered the yard at a run. They pulled to a stop as they saw our party.
“Zoey, what’s happening?” Arawn asked. “The goblins guarding us were taken away by vegetation.”
“Well, I didn’t get beheaded, asshole,” I said, looking at him with a frown.
Arawn wasn’t taking my shit. He took me by the shoulders and shook me. “Answer me, Your Grace.”
Lee and Zack growled and Bris looked up from what he was doing.
“I suggest you take your hands off my goddess, Death Lord, unless you wish to discover firsthand what I did with the red caps,” Bris warned.
Arawn immediately let me go and took a healthy step back. “I apologize, Bris. I didn’t realize you had joined us. It’s been a trying afternoon.” He looked back at me and I saw some emotion in those dark eyes. “Do you know where Nim is?”
“She took your advice,” I told him shortly. “She’s probably halfway to the Earth plane by now. I’m sure she will wait for you there.”
He nodded and seemed satisfied. Bris stopped over a spot and seemed to have found what he was looking for. He held his hand low to the ground and then pulled it up in a sudden motion.
Con was spat from the ground and came up coughing. Before he could clear his lungs of the dirt, he found himself suspended in midair by thick vines. Bris looked up at him.
“What did you intend to do to my goddess?” Bris asked, his voice terse.
Con glared down at the fertility god. He wasn’t one for begging or pleading. As the Hunter had explained to me the night before, the Unseelie were a direct lot. “I intended to have that bitch’s head on my pike when I marched into war.”
“Did you believe she was undefended? Did you think because my power is fertility and sex that I could not defend my own goddess?” Bris bit out the questions with barely contained rage. “Do you think a god like me is soft and will let what he loves go because he would rather not fight?”
“I don’t give a shit.” Con took a deep breath and seemed to ready himself. “Put me back in the ground. I’m immortal. I am Unseelie sidhe, and a few years in the dirt will do nothing but harden my resolve.”
“Then you leave me no choice,” Bris said evenly. “Though the truth is you sealed your fate the moment you laid hands on her.”
The fertility god’s hands twisted and a new vine popped up and wrapped itself around Con’s throat. The sidhe struggled but he was held tightly and after a horrifying moment, I realized that vine wasn’t attempting to strangle him. Bris was proving he didn’t need a piece of steel to accomplish what Con had failed at. That vine squeezed until blood began to flow.
Con’s head popped off with a sickening click and fell to the ground.
“Damn.” Lee breathed beside me, his brown eyes wide with awe. He actually took my hand and pulled me back.
Bris looked down as Con’s body disappeared into the ground once more, never to rise again.
“So much for your immortality,” he said to the man who would never answer. Bris turned toward me, and I saw his face fall as he noted my wolf’s protective stance.
“My violence has frightened you,” Bris said in a quiet voice that made me worry he was ashamed.
I wasn’t having that. My head was on my body and that was a win. Wins should be celebrated. I pulled free from Lee and launched myself bodily at my savior. Bris braced himself for impact and allowed me to wrap my legs around his waist as my arms found his neck and I kissed him with a laugh of great joy. I pressed my lips to his as I stroked his face.
His hands found my rear and cupped it. He returned the kiss, slipping me his tongue at the first opportunity. “Do I take it my violence has incited a need to mate, my goddess?”
I kissed him again. “The fact that my head is still on my body has made me joyful, Bris.”
“I’m glad,” he said sweetly. “My host is eager to greet you again, goddess. Know that I am happy to have rendered this service to you. I look forward to our next ritual.”
“I look forward to it too, My Lord.” He looked surprised but pleased as I used his traditional title for the first time. He had more than earned my respect.
Dev’s smile was wide as he returned to me. “Hey, my lover, you’re finally relaxing around Bris. This is a good thing.”
“Yeah, well, I kind of love him today,” I admitted. “And I definitely love you. Thank you for coming for us, baby. We should go and find Danny. He’s weak. The death god has been feeding off of him.”
Dev allowed me to slide to the ground beside him and took my hand as though he were afraid to let go of me. He turned his attention on Arawn, his mood becoming dark. “And how did you come to be here with my wife, Arawn? You have your own woman. Where is she?”
“I’m here, Devinshea.” Nim rounded the corner of the house. She walked to her boyfriend and kissed him softly. “Please tell Roarke I’m so glad he is well.”
Arawn nodded his head, shame in his eyes. “He’s angry with me, love, not you. I’ll let him tell you himself once I’m certain we’re out of danger.”
She nodded and turned to me. “Chima is behind me. She’s just slower because of…”
Dev ignored her. “I want an answer, Arawn. My goddess’s wolf was able to track her even through the eddy wind we rode. We tracked her from the entry of the sithein to your cabin. I know what you used that cabin for in the past. I spent time there myself. If you bought her as a slave then she better have been scrubbing your floors or we shall have a problem.”
“He refuses to share his goddess,” Declan pointed out. “Well, with anyone but the vampire. He is quite unreasonable about it.”
Arawn smiled, an arrogant challenge. He seemed to be getting back on his feet. “She was purchased as a pleasure slave, of course. She’s scarcely suited to kitchen work. She’s obviously meant for the bedroom.”
“Don’t tease him, Arawn,” Nim said with a tired sigh. The cute brunette stepped forward and faced Dev. “Arawn never touched her. I bought her for me. If you’re upset then you should be upset with me.”
I rolled my eyes as my husband clutched his heart. “Please, please tell me Daniel took video.”
“I have it on the highest authority that he intends to embellish the tale with great relish,” I offered.
Dev nodded, his eyes alight with anticipation. “I would do the same for him.”
Lee looked up. “Someone’s coming.”
I saw Chima walking around the house.
She hesitated for a moment and when she saw who was in the yard, she stopped completely. I had to tell him. There was no way Dev could look at the child in Chima’s arms and not know. I needed to make it clear to him that I would accept his child even if I wasn’t the child’s mother.
“Baby, I found out something while I was here.” I kept my voice low so only Dev and his brother could hear me. I was sure Declan knew about the affair since he’d been here at the time.
“Why is Chima carrying a child?” Declan asked.
“Dev, Chima had your baby.” I spat it out before I could change my mind. “I don’t know what happened between the two of you. I don’t know why she didn’t tell you.”
“Oh, I can think of a reason.” Dev turned to look at Chima, who was now walking boldly across the yard, her son on her hip.
Declan turned to his brother. His face had gone a stark white. He let his bow fall to the ground. “Zoey, move out of the way.”
“Now, brother…” Dev began, but there was no stopping Declan. He reared his hand back and slapped Dev as hard as he could. Dev wasn’t ready and he staggered back and ended up on his ass in the grass, looking up at his twin.
“Your choice of weapons, brother,” Declan declared.
I shoved my asshole brother-in-law out of the way and knelt down by my husband. Several things were apparent to me now. I was glad I’d been so open and magnanimous or I would have been eating some serious crow.
“Are you all right, baby?” I asked. I looked over his face, which had an angry handprint on it now. I stared up at Declan. “Jerk.”
Dev managed a completely angelic look. “I think I will be all right, my goddess. I can only hope my jaw isn’t broken.”
I rewarded his bad acting with a kiss. “So, I was wrong, huh? No baby with Chima?”
Dev grinned. “Not unless I have some amazing powers I was unaware of until now.”
I stood up to my brother-in-law. Chima looked surprised that Dev was on the ground. Her mouth hung open so I decided to speak for her. “You’re an asshole, Declan. And you don’t deserve her.”
Nim walked up to join me. “King of the Seelie? You aren’t even brave enough to face your responsibilities. You should be ashamed of yourself. She’s not good enough for you? Let me tell you what I think of that…”
I could tell that Nim had been holding that speech in for a good long while. Now that she was let off the leash, she let Declan have it. Declan looked truly frightened for the first time in our acquaintance as Nim and I cornered him.
“Why are the females berating Declan?” the Hunter asked. “I thought the priest impregnated Chima.”
“No,” I announced loudly. “The person who knocked up his girlfriend and then left her high and dry wasn’t Dev, and I should have known that. Sorry, baby.”
He winked. “I forgive you.”
Chima bent her head apologetically my way. “I am sorry, Zoey. When you appeared on my doorstep, I thought you had married Declan, not Devinshea. As I explained, I heard only that the Seelies had a new royal. As Dev has been gone, I made a mistake and assumed wrongly. Please forgive my rudeness to you.”
“Hey, I’m just glad we cleared that up.” I couldn’t imagine having to be married to that jackass.
“Do you want to know why Chima let the entire court believe she had Dev’s baby instead of yours?” Nim continued to rail at her opponent. She had him backing up now. “She was ashamed. She only told her best friend and her father. She was ashamed she had taken you to her bed.”
I hadn’t thought Declan’s face could fall further but it did. I felt Dev get up beside me as his brother looked at his former lover.
“Is this true, Chima?” Declan asked quietly, no arrogance to hide behind now. “Were you ashamed you slept with me?”
“I was ashamed I loved you,” Chima admitted, her eyes misty.
Dev walked up to her, his eyes on the child. “May I take my nephew? You can’t beat on my brother while you hold the child.”
Chima actually managed a laugh as she passed her son to Dev. “This is your uncle, Sean. He’s a good man.”
“And I am not?” I heard Declan start to get his spine back.
Sean smiled as Dev took him and raised him high. “You’re tall.”
“And you will be too, Sean Quinn,” Dev promised. “You’ll be tall and strong like your father. It’s a great honor to meet you. This is your Aunt Zoey. She’s completely crazy and can tell you the greatest tales of her adventures. You’ll have to meet your Uncle Daniel. He’s a vampire.”
“Really?” Sean asked, his eyes wide.
Dev put his arm around me and I saw him try to contain his emotions as he looked down on that sweet face. Our son would have had that face.
“We’ll get our chance,” he vowed even as Chima started in on her ex. They were screaming at each other but Dev and I were in our own world.
“We will,” I promised. “And I definitely want twins.”
“I shall work hard to see that you are satisfied, my goddess.” He gestured to Nim, who took Sean. “Let us go and get our vampire so we can stop this war, take our revenge on the duke, and get to the part where we practice making Sean a cousin.”
“What about those two?” I asked because they were going at it.
“What did you gain by keeping this from me?” Declan was swearing.
“Oh, I don’t know, Declan. How about my dignity?” Chima shot back. “How about my self-respect and the ability to look at myself in the mirror?”
“Fuck your dignity now, Chima,” Declan responded. “And screw your self-respect because we’re married and there’s no room for any of that in our bed.”
“Married!” Chima screeched, and I was pretty sure the goblins buried underground could hear her.
“They’ll be fine,” Dev said, starting to lead me toward the house. “It’s foreplay for them. Lee, if you would lead us to Daniel, I would appreciate it.”
Lee took the lead even though I could have told him where our room was. Zack took our six just in case there was anyone hanging around. We turned the corner to go up the stairs just as Neil was coming down. He carried Daniel and his eyes darted around like he was expecting to get jumped any minute.
“Zoey! Thank god. I’m so glad to see you.” Neil’s face fell as he glanced down at the man he was carrying. “Zoey, I think he’s dying.”
Chapter Thirty-One
“Move him to the couch,” Dev ordered Neil.
As Neil laid Daniel down on the large sofa, I dropped to my knees and reached for Daniel’s hand. I was shocked at the terrible chill I found there.
“Oh god, Dev, he’s so cold.” I ran my hands along his chest and up to his face. Everywhere I touched was cold and dead. He was utterly limp on the couch, with no spark of animation to light him. Normally when he slept the way a vampire slept, he was stiff and unmoving.
Daniel was like a corpse. Nausea swamped me. I’d been here before. I’d seen him dead and laid out on an autopsy table. Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t handle this. He couldn’t be gone.
Dev reached down and placed a hand on his arm. He initially shrank back from what he felt there, but then he forced himself to sink down beside me and placed his hand over Daniel’s heart. “What the hell is wrong, Dan?”
“He wasn’t like this before,” Neil said, gazing down on all three of us, worry plain in his eyes. “He would get cool but not cold.”
Neil was the only one of us who knew what Daniel had been like before he began his relationship with Dev and me, before Daniel had gained the ability to daywalk. Neil had been his servant for years after his turn. He’d protected Daniel when he was vulnerable. Neil was the only one who truly knew this wasn’t normal. “His body would be cooler than it was when he was awake, but it was never like this. Z, I told him what was happening. I told him you were going to die. In the past he would have tried, at least. He could hear me and he would let me know by shifting just a little. I got nothing from him. I
t’s like he’s not there anymore.”
Dev’s face was a mask of guilt. “I stayed away for too long. His body has grown used to having more blood.”
“That’s not it,” Neil insisted.
“He was used to feeding from my magic.” Dev plunged forward. He was beginning to look a little desperate now. “I’m so sorry, Zoey. I should never have allowed us to be separated. He’s grown reliant on both of us, and I was too selfish to see it.”
“Dev, stop.” Guilt wouldn’t solve anything at this point. We needed to figure out how to wake Daniel up. He had to wake up.
“After you lost the baby, I knew he was hungry and I knew he wouldn’t feed off of you because he thought you were too weak, but I was angry.” Dev’s face knotted in an expression of self-loathing. “I knew he wouldn’t take blood from anyone else. I let him go hungry.”
“Dev, this is not your fault,” I said.
He shook his head. “This isn’t the type of relationship where I can tell him to fuck himself and not talk to him for days. He needs me. He needs us.”
“Stop it.” I forced him to look at me. “This isn’t your fault. I was with him for days, baby. I fed him and he was full. He was full of blood and he had plenty of sex. The two days he went without were uncomfortable but it wouldn’t do this to him. Lee, bring the death god in here. This is Arawn’s fault. Daniel was tired when we went to bed last night but he certainly wasn’t cold. I want to know what that bastard did to my husband.”
Dev pulled his Sig Sauer from the holster in the small of his back. “Zack, take Neil as well. Convince Arawn to join us by any means necessary. I’ll protect us if it’s needed.”
Zack nodded, looking forward to a little intimidation. Neil and Zack followed Lee out the door.
“I’m so sorry, my love,” Dev said, his arm going around my shoulder.
I looked down at Daniel, praying there was some way to bring him back to us. It wouldn’t mean anything to have come so far only to lose Daniel. I reached out again and clutched his cold hand. His body was a perfect slab of marble, as if Michelangelo had carved him. He was so still it reminded me of the last time I’d seen him this way. He’d been on a gurney in the morgue. I had needed to identify his body. I took a deep breath. He’d come back to me that time, and he would come back again.