by Ophelia Bell
“Uncle, wait,” Calder called just as Neph stepped out onto the chilly balcony, preparing to drift back to the cabin as soon as Sophia opened the barrier for him again.
Calder approached him alone, his brows drawn.
“What is it?” Neph asked.
“The blood meld … Are you sure we really ought to do that? It’s been against Haven law ever since Meri was expelled. I don’t want to go down that path if it’s going to jeopardize my relationship with my mates.”
“It’s likely to have the opposite effect,” Neph said. “Do you love them? And do you believe Fate has tied you to them?”
Calder chuckled. “Aurum does. And I do too. Nicholas … well, he’s never exactly hidden his feelings.”
“A blood meld will only make you stronger in every way. Don’t worry about what the rest of the Haven thinks … The safety of our home may depend on you taking this step. If the love is truly as strong as you say between the three of you, there is nothing to fear. The bond is permanent. Even without love involved, the power of shared blood never leaves. It can only be overridden by a stronger bond.”
“Like the bond you have with Aodh … That’s how you broke Meri’s spell over him, isn’t it? I remember the day it happened. You and Mother caught Meri when she flew off as the dragon. You gave him a drop of your blood to banish her from his mind. Why didn’t you ever complete the meld with him?”
Neph swallowed and shifted his gaze into the distance. The old memories rushed back uninvited. Old regrets.
“I couldn’t,” he finally said. “And it’s one of my greatest regrets. To publicly claim a dragon as my blood-melded mate—especially a male dragon who I couldn’t breed with—would have turned the entire Haven against me. The blood meld would have signaled our exclusivity, even though we’d have been willing to accept a third. And after Aodh’s mistake, we had no choice but to banish him from the Haven.”
“But it was Meri’s doing.”
“I know that, but she’d already had all the female Thiasoi convinced otherwise—that Aodh was the instigator. I knew he was better off away from the Haven. Meri’s actions should have resulted in execution, but we banished her as well.”
Calder nodded, and Neph was grateful that his nephew didn’t bring up that old mistake. It was something they’d all become painfully aware of as soon as they recognized Meri’s stamp on the atrocities that began less than a century after her expulsion from the Haven.
“For what it’s worth, I hope you find him soon,” Calder said. “I regret not staying with Nicholas and Aurum to begin with. If I had, none of this shit with Mother would be happening.”
He gave Calder a long-suffering smile and a pat on the shoulder. “Your path was written the moment you were born. You should know this by now. Do the right thing as a satyr who loves his mates. Blood meld them and make your bond an everlasting one. You may need their power on your mission to infiltrate the enemy’s base.”
Calder stiffened. “You’ve seen something, haven’t you? Tell me before I go.”
Neph shook his head. “You know the visions don’t always make sense. All I know is that you will find your father. What happens beyond that is up to you.”
Calder gave him a curt nod, his throat working with barely checked emotion. Neph pulled him into a tight hug and squeezed. “If I believed my path was beside you, nothing could keep me away. It’s time for me to return to where Fate wants me.”
Chapter Four
Vrishti
Vrishti was grateful for the clothing Emma had loaned her when she passed through the Stonetree portal into the bitter chill of winter on the other side. When she’d first entered the Sanctuary a few weeks earlier, she’d come from one of the warmest, wettest spots on the planet, so she hadn’t brought the type of gear necessary to trek through the winter wilderness of Appalachia.
The dense forest around her had a thin layer of snow still covering the ground, though if the gray clouds were any indication, it might soon be replenished. She easily found the path Emma had described and followed it down the mountain, her boots crunching along the frozen ground and the dead leaves as she went.
She hiked for an hour, pausing periodically when she caught a glimpse of the majestic views through the bare trunks of the trees. She wasn’t in the remotest place in the world, but it certainly felt like it. She saw no signs of humanity until after more than an hour when she finally spied a thin trail of smoke rising up from a valley in the direction the path was taking her.
She stopped and took a deep breath, suddenly filled with trepidation about the meeting she was about to have. The meeting she both hoped for and dreaded, if Nyx had been right and the Dionarch’s brother was staying at the cabin the ursa Queen’s father and uncle had built in these woods.
“He’s going to understand,” she told herself, though she wasn’t sure if she believed it. How much should she tell him, anyway? Would he laugh at her when she said Aodh had promised himself to her? Aodh and Nyx’s brother had thousands of years of history behind them. Even if they were estranged, that counted for a lot, especially compared to some naïve, virginal woman who’d shared one kiss with the man they’d be looking for. One kiss! Sure, it wasn’t her first kiss, but it hadn’t been far from it.
And would Neph even be willing to entertain the idea of what she was going to propose? Could she find the guts to even ask?
The toe of her boot snagged on something hard and she let out a squeal, flailing her arms to try to catch her balance. Just as she was about to fall on her face, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, yanking her backward.
“I gotcha,” a rough voice said against the back of her neck.
Vrishti stiffened, her heart racing to the edge of panic. The arm released her and she turned around so fast her heel caught on the same errant root and she nearly toppled again. The man grabbed her arms and steadied her a second time.
“Whoa, kiddo. Steady there.” He held onto her for a second longer and then slowly released her once she stopped moving, as though she might tip over if he wasn’t careful. This gave Vrishti a second to take in the huge man’s bearded face and shaggy blond hair. Just about all she could see in the midst of the mess were laughing eyes the color of glaciers. She thought he might be smiling under that thick beard, but she wasn’t quite sure.
“Are you Neph?” she asked, blurting the question out before she could censor herself. She’d been so focused on her eventual meeting with the satyr it hadn’t occurred to her whether she might run into anyone else.
The man’s brows shot up and he barked a laugh. “That thin-skinned bastard? Hell no. He sticks to the indoors in this weather. Satyrs never could handle the cold. I’m Cade, Windchaser ursa, through and through.”
He stood back and stretched out his arms, giving Vrishti a full frontal view of his very, very naked body. She gaped as she took in all his muscular, furry glory, right down to the thick length of flesh hanging between his thighs. After a second, a big hand drifted down and covered it up and her eyes shot back up to his.
“Don’t pay no mind to him. He shrinks up in weather this cold.”
Vrishti’s mouth fell open, but she caught herself before she could comment on his so-called shrinkage. If what she’d seen had been a shy penis, she’d better avoid him when he warmed up.
When she didn’t manage to find words, Cade leaned toward her and said, “So, you’re here for the old stag, eh? I was headed back that way anyway after making a circuit around the stones. Somehow had a feeling something would be different today, and I wasn’t wrong because here you are. What’s your name, kiddo?”
“Vrishti Rainsong,” she said. “And yeah, I’m looking for Neph. You must be the Windchaser who came to bring the message to Aurum and Nicholas. How are they?”
“Not sure. They were in a hurry to move on once I gave them the news about Aurum’s brothers. I guess it’s
my turn to ask you … is everything all right at home? They set things right inside? Did the dragons make good?”
He started walking and she fell into step beside him as they headed down the mountain, still awed by his utter lack of modesty or sensitivity to cold—at least aside from his shrinkage.
“Sort of. The Sanctuary’s safe and so is the Haven. I’ll tell the whole story once we get to Neph since it’s all stuff he needs to hear anyway, if that’s all right.”
“Good, because that poor bastard’s been bouncing off the walls since he got here. Gives new meaning to cabin fever.”
“Is he … is he all right? I met his sister and she went a little nuts, so I worried whether that was something that affected them both because they’d been separated, you know?”
Cade frowned and rubbed his beard. “Well, if you mean is he sane, then I suppose. If I had to guess what’s troubling him, I’d just say he needs to get laid, but that’s no surprise seeing as how he is what he is.”
“What he is?” Vrishti asked.
“Yeah, the ruttingest rutting stag in history. Only Dion himself ever had more play this guy. Funny thing is that even though he acts like he’s all full of pent-up lust, he hasn’t so much as glanced at my ass. Been perfectly behaved save for the stiffy he sports half the time. Puts me to shame. Which is why I’m perfectly happy he hasn’t asked. Much as I’d love to help him out, my backside isn’t ready for another commitment of that … ah … magnitude. Tell me, why’d they send a Rainsong out, anyway? I’d have expected another Windchaser.”
Vrishti took a second to register his question after the fascinating commentary on Neph’s legendary libido. For the first time, she was surprised that this ursa didn’t know who she was.
“I’m Sathmika’s daughter …” she began slowly, not sure how much she really wanted to divulge just yet, but this big ursa seemed genuinely curious.
“The Summer shaman,” he said thoughtfully. “I knew she had to have a secret love child out there somewhere. It’s like all the shamans made some kind of pact. I wouldn’t be surprised if Solina and Brigit did the same thing. That doesn’t explain why you’re here, though. And what it’s got to do with Neph.”
“You are curious, aren’t you?”
“Hey, I fully expected to be stuck in that cabin alone for the winter, but somehow people keep showing up. Well, I was the one who showed up first, but then when Nick and his mates left, I had a whole couple days to ponder my solitude before Neph crashed my one-bear party. Said he was waiting for a friend … Didn’t say who, but I got the distinct impression that friend was a male. Figured it was one of those dragons, and he didn’t look happy about having to wait. Except he did look awfully excited just the same. Fucking confusing fucker.”
Vrishti laughed as Cade shook his head. “You’re the most talkative recluse I’ve ever met.”
“Known a lot of recluses, have you?” he asked, a spark of humor in his eye.
“One, at least … My dad was pretty solitary. Unless I was at home, he didn’t really socialize. I think he secretly always wished he could be with my mother again.”
Cade was quiet for a moment before saying, “I take it he didn’t get that chance.”
She swallowed and shook her head. “He made it through the portal at the end, at least, but Mom says if he was dying, the power of the barrier would have absorbed him. That his spirit is part of what protects the Sanctuary now.”
They remained silent, Cade’s mood bordering on broody.
“I’m sorry,” she finally said. “I didn’t mean to ruin the mood. Dad was a recluse, but he wasn’t much of a talker even when I was home. All he wanted to hear about was how my life was going, so I did the bulk of the talking. Not a lot happened in the village where I grew up, so he loved hearing my stories from school. I guess I’m glad I get the chance to listen for a change.”
Cade shot her a warm smile, which really just amounted to a crinkling around his eyes and a slight upward curve in his mustache, since she couldn’t see his mouth.
“Don’t tempt me, kiddo. I can talk your ear off all night. Neph isn’t one for conversation, so if you’re around for a while, I’ll have plenty of stories to make up for it.”
“I’d like that,” Vrishti said. “If I’m around for a while, but I don’t know if I will be.”
Cade frowned, then let out a sigh. “Story of my life, I guess. People come into it, then leave again. I suppose there are worse places to spend my solitude, though. I get plenty of visitors even if nobody stays, and it’s beautiful here. You should see these woods when they’re alive. Every season is magic. Especially winter, though you wouldn’t know it now. Just wait until tomorrow—we’re getting snow tonight, so you’ll see the magic when you wake up.”
“But if you’re alone all the time … Don’t male ursas have to worry about their pheronesis every month?”
Cade snorted. “Kiddo, when you get to be my age, a quick yank is enough to settle that right down, but I can always go down to the human town and find a willing partner for a night. Females have it harder until they mate. I’m sure you’re no stranger to the issues.”
Vrishti darted a quick glance at him, biting her lip. Cade narrowed his eyes and stopped in the middle of the path. “Tell me you’ve hit your estrous and are done with it. You’re the prime age for your first one. Your mama wouldn’t have let you leave the Sanctuary without getting through that.”
“I didn’t exactly give her a choice,” Vrishti said. “There’s too much at stake for me to sit in there and do nothing. Besides, I knew that you … and … and Neph would be here, and …” She trailed off as his shaggy brow descended, and backed up a step at the ominous look he gave her.
“Kiddo, I may be trained to help you, but your first estrous is a big deal. You’d need two of me to get through it, if you’re Summer’s daughter.”
“But Neph …”
Cade’s eyes widened and he let out an amazed laugh. “You think you’re gonna rely on the stag to help? You get within a mile of a satyr that powerful when you’re in heat, helping will be the last thing on his mind. Satyrs fuck, kiddo. It’s just how they’re built, and this one hasn’t been laid in far too long.” He stood, shaking his head at her with his hands on his naked hips, then stared up at the sky. “Gaia’s tears, this must be a test. Fate’s fucking testing me, the old bastard.”
“I haven’t hit it yet … not even close,” Vrishti said meekly. “If anything, I was hoping to have it happen with you because I need access to that power. I know a spell to help Neph get home, but I won’t be strong enough to cast it without hitting my estrous.”
“Is it really just about getting him home?” he asked, his eyes narrowed again as he regarded her.
Vrishti pressed her lips together.
“Didn’t think so,” Cade said. “And I take it you’d rather wait until we’re at the cabin before you talk. Fine. Come on, we oughta keep moving.”
He brushed past her and lumbered down the path at a pace that had Vrishti jogging to catch up. Out of breath, she asked, “How much farther is it?”
“’Nother half hour.” His clipped tone told her he was done with conversation.
She’d just barely arrived, and already she’d fucked things up. She’d been hopeful when she crossed through, but her optimism was quickly eroding the longer she jogged after the big ursa.
Her mother had tried to talk her out of going, at first. Then when Vrishti had refused, Sathmika had offered to send a pair of ursa males with her “just in case.”
But it’d been the same pair who had serviced her cousin Revna, and she had trouble even looking at the pair without imagining all the filthy things Revna had described about their time together.
In the end, Sathmika had kissed her goodbye and said a brief spell that had left a tiny sunburst mark in the center of Vrishti’s chest. She could still feel t
he mark pulsing with power.
“For protection, baby,” was all her mother had said when she’d asked what it meant.
After about twenty minutes, the path emerged onto a gravel road that Cade followed up an incline. Vrishti was winded and sweaty beneath her layers of warm clothing. She tugged off her hat and scarf and unzipped her parka, shrugging out of it. They had to be close.
Cade glanced back at her and chuckled, slowing to a walk again so she could catch up.
“For an ursa girl, you sure do bundle up.”
“I’m a Rainsong,” she muttered. “Not used to cold weather.”
“I guess there is that. The Queen’s mates hated it last year when they had to man this post until they got Windchasers to take over. Those boys of summer do have thin skins, but still, you’re ursa. You’ve got nothing on that stag where hate of the cold is concerned. Which reminds me, I need to get more wood chopped so his delicate constitution isn’t offended. Gotta keep the man warm, and I’m not about to offer a snuggle at night. You go on in and introduce yourself.”
He paused in front of a huge block of wood that looked like a tree stump and wrenched an axe out of the edge of it.
Vrishti stared at the idyllic cabin with its pretty eyebrow dormers and rambling porch that wrapped around the perimeter. The building wasn’t quite the cabin she’d envisioned. She’d pictured something built out of solid logs like the clan lodges inside the Sanctuary, but this house had been meticulously constructed, every detail showing the immense care that had gone into its design.
“Emma grew up here?” she asked.
“And her cousins,” Cade added, then brought the axe down hard into a big block of wood, sending two halves flying off to either side. Vrishti took a few steps forward to stay out of the path of more chunks, but couldn’t bring herself to walk up the steps onto the porch. After what Cade had told her about Neph, she was even more anxious about meeting him.