by Alanea Alder
"I will see it set to rights My Queen," Etain promised.
"Good. Now what is this about a virus?"
Nervously Ellie began to go over what had been happening in the city. Vivi's mind wandered back to Meryn. To her, it seemed as if he was just being a Grade-A dick, but the tunnel escort must have hit on a painful issue for Meryn to be affected to greatly.
Ellie's voice brought her back to the conversation at hand. "And this morning we started a trial run from the blood gathered from the warriors. Not even an hour later, we began to get notifications that city's portal wouldn't open," Ellie concluded looking a bit winded.
"I have also issued an edict that the doors to the city shall remain sealed until we can figure out what is going on. If the fae portals are refusing to open to prevent this from spreading, we must do our part and keep city locked down," Magnus added.
"It must be the virus," Aleksandra concluded. "The portals wouldn't recognize shifters getting sick as they are not the majority race in the city. However, with vampires now sick, the portal has shut down to protect the fae. I'm afraid we won't be able to reestablish a connection until the sickness is gone from the city."
"We're working on it." Vivi replied. "Just before coming here I checked in on the results of the blood work from this morning. Tentatively, we're looking at a sixty percent success rate," she shared.
"Thank the gods!" Magnus whispered.
"Indeed," Aleksandra echoed. "Now, on to our other pressing issue,"she continued.
Everyone shared confused looks with one another.
"Is there anything I can do to help cheer up that adorable little human?" she asked.
"One of the things that she really wants is a bag like Kendrick's," Anne volunteered softly.
"Do you still have that silly thing?" the queen asked laughing.
"As if the fae has ever created anything that could be silly?" Kendrick refuted playfully.
"There's the other flirty bastard. Though I heard he has mated. Good." Brennus groused.
"I flirt with Aleksandra because you wouldn't give the time of day you stud," Kendrick bantered back winking at Anne. She shook her head grinning.
Vivi glanced around. She wasn't the only one shocked by Kendrick urbane teasing of the Queen's consort.
"He has you there Brennus," the queen giggled.
"Tricky witch," Brennus muttered.
The queen laughed again. "Tell Meryn that I will get one started just for her. I have been meaning to send her something anyway. Her Facebook posts had me laughing harder than I have in a very long time." The queen chuckled.
"It is true. One of the happiest days of my life was the afternoon I watched my love roll around on the bed snort laughing," Brennus admitted.
"Brennus! I do not snort!" the queen said indignantly.
"Of course not darling. What I meant to say, was when you breathed through your nose while laughing and convulsing on the bed," he corrected.
"Oh you!" The queen laughed. "On that note, I will let you all go. But Etain, Magnus, keep me abreast of any and all progress." Her voice was pleasant, but an order was an order.
Magnus grinned cheekily at the phone. "Any excuse to speak to you again," he teased.
"Etain you may call our queen with any updates. Magnus you call me directly," Brennus corrected.
"Of course sire," Etain said and ended the call. He leaned back in the chair before turning to Magnus. "What was with the flirting?"
Magnus shrugged one shoulder. "There are days when I feel as if people forget that I am a person as well as the Prince. After so many millennia being in charge, I think maybe your queen likes to be treated like a woman now and then."
Vivi looked at Magnus with new respect. He seemed to go out of his way to make sure people were taken care of. Their people couldn't have asked for a better leader.
Cracking wood had everyone turning to Aiden. He looked at Etain. "What the hell happened to my mate?" he demanded.
CHAPTER SIX
Etain's expression darkened. "Earlier this afternoon when Vivi and I took the injectors up to Level Six, Meryn joined us. She wanted to install speakers there for her new PA system. One of the tunnel escorts said some things to Meryn that hurt her feelings."
Vivi rolled her eyes. "Men." She turned to Aiden. "From what I heard Meryn has had run-ins with this particular escort before because she said, 'Not you again,'. The tunnel escort said that people were talking about Meryn saying that she was an embarrassment to you and how people felt sorry for you."
Rheia sucked in her breath, and Aiden snarled. Vivi looked down the table at Rheia. "What?"
Rheia's eyes were misty. "Meryn had a very difficult childhood. We're still getting details as she's not one to share, but one thing has become extremely clear. She must have been told on an almost daily basis how worthless she was. Her grandmother ignored her to the point of neglect and put her down often. Meryn has been walking around for the past couple months waiting for Aiden to announce that he has changed his mind, and that he would never be with someone like her."
"Oh gods! Hearing that from the tunnel escort must have been like her worst nightmare coming true," Ellie said sniffling.
Aiden stood chest heaving. He looked over to Etain. "You're with me."
Etain stood. "Yes, sir."
"Aiden," Magnus called out as the Unit Commander stalked from the room.
Aiden spun a dark-brown muzzle semi-imposed on his face. "Yes," he snarled.
"Whatever you do. You have my blessing." There was a dark look in the prince's eyes.
Aiden simply nodded and headed for the door. Etain dropped a kiss on the top of her head.
"Have fun storming the castle," she called out after him.
Etain frowned. "What castle?"
Vivi shook her head. "Never mind. Give em hell."
"That I can do," he promised, grinning evilly.
*****
Etain had to almost jog to catch up the commander by the transport tunnel. Etain held out his arm. "What level, sir?"
"Give me a second. If we go up there now, I will kill someone." Aiden put his hands on his hips and took a few deep breaths.
Etain noticed that when Aiden rested his hand on his arm, his claws were out despite trying to calm down. "Level Five first," Aiden said.
First?
Once on the level, Aiden walked up to the door of the first set of quarters. Etain inwardly groaned. The quarters next to the tunnel were always those of the highest ranking family, in this case. DeLaFontaine.
Aiden raised his hand, but instead of knocking, he beat on the door so hard it split down the middle. A moment later, a frightened looking squire opened the door. "Y-y-yes?"
"Tell DeLaFontaine he has two minutes to assemble his people before I start pulling people out of their houses and considering how pissed I am. They may not make it out in one piece."
"Yes, sir!" the squire left the open door at a run.
Less than a minute later DeLaFontaine was standing in front of him. He opened his mouth to speak, a sneer on his face. When he saw the state Aiden was in, he swallowed hard. "Unit Commander, what can my people do for you?"
"With Etain Vi'Aerlin as my witness, I am challenging anyone on the level that feels that they have a right to hurt my mate. Once I leave this level any future insult will be seen as a direct challenge to me, and I will respond in kind with a fight to the death," Aiden announced in a quiet tone.
DeLaFontaine's face drained of color. "Gods, what has that idiot escort done now?"
"Five minutes I will wait. After that I will assume everyone on this level has nothing to say. After I leave this level all bets are off," Aiden looked at his watch. "Four minutes and thirty seconds."
DeLaFontaine scrambled away from the door and a moment later runners were heading in every direction.
Aiden cracked his knuckles. "While we wait, fetch your mouthy tunnel escort, I am challenging him directly."
DeLaFontaine nodded. "Of course."<
br />
Etain had never been more proud to call himself a unit warrior. Aiden McKenzie through action and deed had proven over and over again through the centuries how deserving he was of his rank. It was moments like this, not his bloodline, that earned him the respect and admiration of every unit warrior across the country.
Etain knew he would never forget this moment for as long as he lived. He knew he was witnessing something that would live as legend throughout his long lifetime. He would do anything and everything possible to ensure that Aiden saw this through to the end.
DeLaFontaine dropped a struggling man at their feet. "Commander, he is all yours. I hope that this small show of support on my part helps to prove that I do not share this worm's feelings."
Aiden simply nodded before kicking the escort in the teeth, much in the same way Vivi had earlier that afternoon. "Get up you sack of shit. I am going to remove my mate's name from your mouth physically. When I am done with you, you will never again look in her direction. You won't even stand in the same proximity as her, stealing her air."
Etain stood feet spread, hands clasped behind his back and watched as Aiden McKenzie beat the living hell out of the man who had hurt his small mate. Now he understood what he had meant by Level Five first. The commander was only getting started.
*****
"Do you think they're okay?" Vivi asked for the third time.
Anne snorted. "I think they are just fine. I would hate to be anyone standing in their way."
Ellie's eyes were huge. "I've never seen a shifter that close to third form before. He was hanging on by a thread."
Anne sighed happily. "That's how much he loves her."
"I would tear apart continents for you my love," Kendrick interjected.
The three women looked over at him, and Anne nodded. "Of course you would." They exchanged looks and laughed.
"I am feeling very left out over here," Kendrick said pouting.
Anne popped up off her stool. "My poor mate." She walked over and kissed his face repeatedly.
Vivi relaxed against the lab counter. Rheia and Marjoram were doing another sweep at the hospital seeing if there were any major changes with the children. So far, the children were doing well. According to Ellie, they looked better than she had ever seen them.
Rheia was also responsible for securing three new donations for further trials. Per Magnus' request, the second batch of donated blood would be coming from the citizens on Level Six. He didn't want the warriors contributing to the point of being pulled from their normal duties. His reasoning was that there was plenty of vampire blood in a city of vampires.
Vivi watched as Anne placated her mate when the book he was holding caught her attention. It was black with blood-red lettering. "Kendrick, what's that book?"
Kendrick held up the heavy volume. "A gift from our little midget. She saw it in Magnus' treasure trove and picked it up for me. She said and I quote, 'It's black and looks like it's written in blood, I thought of you.'" He glanced down at the book. "I am very glad she brought it to me. I hate to think what this could do in the wrong hands."
"Black magic?" Vivi asked.
He nodded gravely. "It makes your stone look like a fidget spinner."
Vivi winced. "I wonder what else she got."
Kendrick's answering grin was terrifying. "Something for Felix."
"I don't even want to know," Anne admitted.
"Did she get anything for herself?" Ellie wondered out loud.
Anne nodded. "She got this little necklace. It's very simple, but she said she liked it."
"So she got a free pass to pick out any three things from Prince Magnus' vault, and she only got one thing for herself?" Vivi was impressed.
Kendrick shrugged and turned back to his book. "That's just Meryn. If she didn't see anything she wanted she would have just walked away. She never would have taken something just to take it."
Behind Vivi the door opened and Rheia walked in smiling. "Getting donations was a breeze. Though, we are starting to get questions from the vendors about a possible treatment for the vampires." She walked over and handed Vivi the bags of blood.
Using her thumb, she unlocked her biometric case. Kendrick shuddered. He was the first witch she had met who showed such a sensitivity to black magic. Carefully, she lifted the stone out the case and carried it over to the refrigerator. She set everything inside and shut the door before looking up at the clock. It was already time for dinner.
"I don't know about you all, but I'm starved." Vivi stretched her arms over her head.
"I know I am. I want to check on Meryn too. She hasn't left her room all day." Rheia said looking worried.
"Let's get ready and meet in the antechamber. We can check on her together," Ellie suggested.
"Sounds like a plan," Anne agreed.
Vivi followed the women out of the room and headed toward her quarters. She wondered if she would see her mate before dinner.
*****
"Did I tell you about how he picked up the tunnel escort and used him to beat one of the Noble Family's sons?" Etain asked.
Vivi hid a smile. He had, in fact, twice, since arriving in the suite an hour ago. "Yes, but you can tell me again."
Etain laughed, his eyes shining. "I wish I had recorded it, for posterity of course."
"Of course," she murmured as she applied the last of her make up.
When she turned around she could only stare. Etain was in full fae dress. His long robe was a cream color that draped over his body beautifully. The full body overvest that hung to the floor was a burnt orange accented in embroidered gold. She sighed. "You are so beautiful."
He sauntered up to her and nuzzled her neck. "If I hadn't just watched you perfect your make up for the past half hour, I would kiss you senseless."
"You're too good to me," she teased and leaned her head away from giving him better access to her neck.
He gave her one final quick bite that her knees threatening to buckle before he stood back and offered her his arm. "Shall we?"
They left her quarters and headed to the antechamber. When they walked in she was struck by how very quiet it was. She glanced around, and everyone stood looking grim. Under her hand, she felt Etain's body tense. She followed his gaze and saw Meryn, or at least, she believed it was Meryn.
The small human sat on the edge of the chair her back ramrod straight. Instead of her normal tee and sweatpants she was dressed immaculately in a stylish black cocktail dress. Her hair was perfectly coifed, and jewels dripped from her neck, ears and wrists.
"Who's that?" Vivi whispered.
Meryn gave her a short smile. "Don't be silly. It is just me."
Ryuu stood off to one side. His face was an unreadable mask, but his rage seemed to simmer just below the surface. Waves of anger radiated from him like heat off of asphalt.
Aiden just looked confused. "Are you comfortable baby?" he asked.
"I am very well, thank you," she replied.
Beth, Anne and Rheia exchanged worried glances, which had their mates frowning, their concern doubled, both for their mates and for Meryn.
Sebastian cleared his throat looking anxious. "Dinner is ready," he announced to the subdued room.
Meryn turned to Aiden and waited for him to stand before offering him her gloved hand. He instinctively helped her to rise and escorted her to the dining room. When the door shut behind them, Rheia turned to Kendrick. "What the actual hell?" she growled.
Kendrick shrugged. "I scanned her. She's not under any influence; drug, magic or otherwise. This is all her."
"Come on, we don't want them thinking we are talking about her," Anne said pulling Kendrick toward the door. He frowned. "But we are." Rolling her eyes she walked beside him through the doorway.
Colton looked down at Rheia his eyes shiny. "I want our Meryn back. Fix her," he pleaded.
Rheia bit her lip. "This may not be something I can fix, my love." Growling under his breath, he escorted his mate to dinner.
<
br /> One by one, the couples made their way into the dining room. No one spoke. The silence was overwhelmingly oppressive. Everyone grasped for something to say and all efforts at small talk fell flat, creating an awkward miasma. As the courses were served everyone ate quietly. No one was laughing at some silly prank or story.
Across the table, Vivi watched Meryn closely. When she wasn't eating she sat with her hands folded in her lap. Her manners were impeccable to the point of being too proper.
"Uh... We've made some progress today," Ellie started, unable to take the silence anymore.
Magnus turned to Vivi. "Yes, please update us on the results of your trials." Even Vivi could tell he was trying to get a conversation going based on Ellie's cue.
Vivi cleared her throat. "We chose to inoculate half of the children with the first batch of donated blood from the warriors. Under the microscope, we are now able to see reactions from the virus as it fights off the vampire blood. I am estimating that the blood is able to destroy at least sixty percent of the virus before it begins to replicate itself."
"Sixty percent on the first trial? That is wonderful news." Magnus exclaimed sounding overly enthusiastic. He turned to Meryn. "Is that not joyous news Meryn?" he asked.
She nodded primly. "Yes, Your Highness, that seems to be felicitous news indeed."
"That is it!" Law growled. "Meryn, what in the hell is wrong with you?"
She gave him a frosty look. "I don't know what you mean."
Law waved at her. "You, all of you. It's not you," he fumbled.
Kendrick patted his shoulder. "Good job."
"He's just worried about you baby," Aiden said. He reached over to pull Meryn into his lap as usual when she slapped at his hands. "Don't act childish, it's embarrassing," she snapped.
Aiden recoiled back in shock looking sick. "What?" he whispered.