“Liv,” I heard Darius, “while you’re here, would you mind having a look inside Heather’s head?”
“Oh, with pleasure,” Liv said and cradled Heather’s head between her palms.
“They all owe Rowena a huge apology,” she said merely a few seconds later and shook her head. “Although even this pathetic creature didn’t want Brian and Hal killed. Especially not Hal. She was in love with him, sort of. And she did believe Rowena was responsible for their deaths. How sad, how terribly sad.”
MY GRANDPARENTS were now with my mother and Tristan, who was checking her vitals.
“LET ME GO!!! LET ME GO!!!” The high-pitched words inside my head finally found their way to my lips. “LET ME SEE MY MOTHER!!!!”I screamed, fighting with all my might the strong hands that held me in place.
“It’s okay, baby, it’s me. She’s gonna be fine.”
A crazy carousel inside my head came to a halt. “Jack! Oh, Jack! Are you okay?” I collapsed in his arms, sobbing heavily. My body suddenly felt boneless and heavy, but there was enough strength in my hands to run across his body, checking for injuries.
“I’m okay, not a scratch. Are you okay? The baby?”
I panted heavily. “She’s okay and safe. Here, feel her.”
Jack flattened his warm palm against my abdomen and Rose responded with a strong kick. “She sure seems well,” Jack said and kissed me. “Astrid, thank you for keeping her safe,” he whispered in a thick, raspy voice.
“Louise… came to protect her,” I stammered.
“Louise?”
“My wolf. A long story, never mind that now. Jack, a blaidd knocked me down. And another one saved my mother… I want to see my mother.”
“In a moment, Astrid,” Morgaine said from behind us. “Let me remove that bloody knife tip from your necklace.”
She unclasped the silver chain from my neck and carefully pulled out a triangular piece of black metal stuck firmly between the wolf’s teeth.
“Powerful protection, this pendant, I have to admit,” she said. “Good thinking, Jack.”
“I thought it might come in handy.”
“There,” Morgaine said securing the necklace back around my neck. “Beautiful piece. You should always wear it, Astrid. Now, go see your mother.”
Jack wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed my temple. “She’ll be okay, Astrid. Check for yourself.”
MY MOTHER seemed unconscious, but her cheeks were rosy, and her heart beat in a steady rhythm. Ella and Arnaldur were kneeling beside her, each of them holding one of her hands. Robert, Anwen, Darius and Tristan stood beside them. I sunk to my knees, dizzy with relief, and gently ran my fingers along her face.
Ella brushed away her tears. “She’ll be fine. But you, Astrid, you scared the shit out of us!”
My jaw dropped. It was the first time in my life I’d heard my grandmother swear.
She gave me a lopsided smile. “Worse than in your most glorious teenage days. Remember, Tristan?”
“Do I ever? It was me who tracked Astrid and Ingmar down in Cairo and tipped you and Ingmar’s father.”
“What was she doing in Cairo? How come I don’t know about that?” Jack said.
“Some things are better left unsaid,” I murmured and smiled, thankful for this ordinary conversation. It was an additional assurance that everything was going to be fine.
Jack bent and kissed my lips. “I still want to know them, eventually. Listen I gotta go now. Don’t forget to eat. Find some warm clothes and better shoes. You should rest for a while.”
“I will, I, will. You go, Jack. They need you there,” I said and hugged him. “I’ll see you later. I love you, Jack.”
“Take a rest, Astrid. Please. I love you, too.”
I KISSED Mom’s cheek. It was soft and warm. “Let’s take Mom inside. It’s cold here.”
My grandfather lifted her up as easily as if she was a small child. “Where shall we take her? Where’s Darius?”
“I’m here,” my stepbrother said and then turned to his aunt Arina, who’d joined us a moment before. “Aunt, we’ll take my mother to your house. Dr. Vandermeer,” he said to my grandmother, “Ingmar wants you to come to the hospital as soon as possible. Grandmaster Arnaldur, Einhamir Robert, I need you with me. We’re opening Seth’s treasure vault.”
Ella nodded, gently brushing away a dark lock from my mother’s face.
“Rowena will be sleeping for a while. Stay with her, Ahmed. She’s your patient now.”
“I will,” he said softly. “I’ll send for you as soon as she wakes up.”
“Wakes up? Does it mean she’s not unconscious anymore?” I said.
“No,” Ahmed said. “She’s in a deep sleep state. That’s what her body needs the most now. I induced it, to help her recover. You come with us, Astrid. I’ll see that you put some food in your belly and rest a bit.”
I shook my head. “Find me when my mother wakes up, Ahmed. I need to talk to Darius now.”
“Let’s go, Ella,” Anwen said. “I will help you in the hospital.”
“I’ll take Heather with me as well,” Ahmed said.
I’d almost forgotten about the other injured woman. I turned around.
Arms wrapped around her legs, head resting on her knees, Peyton was sitting next to her mother. She looked lost and fragile.
I walked to them. “How are you?” I asked, sitting beside Peyton on the ground.
“Okay, I guess. Don’t sit. The ground is cold… They’ll sentence her to death, won’t they?”
“Not if I can help it.”
“She’s a terrible person and mother, but I don’t want her dead.”
“She saved my life.”
“I saw it. Before that, she betrayed you. She endangered your life. That is a capital crime. I don’t know what to think.”
“Endangering the Ellida’s life should be the same as endangering anybody else’s life, Peyton,” I said. “It will be fine. Heather’s my problem now.” I hugged her tight. “I don’t know what we’re going to do with her, but I give you my word, I won’t let them kill her. If it hadn’t been for her, I could’ve been dead. I owe her. Look, Ingmar is in the hospital. Go find him. He needs you with him.”
Ahmed came back to take Heather inside. He gently placed his hand on Peyton’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Peyton.”
She gave him a weak smile. “I know. If you need me, I’ll be at the hospital.”
I walked with Ahmed to Arina’s house. My stepbrother and his two men met us at the door. “Ahmed, call me immediately when Heather awakes,” he said. “The sooner we talk to her, the better. I’ll leave two of my people with her, just in case.”
“Is Lady Rowena going to be okay?” one of Darius’ men asked.
Darius patted his shoulder. “She’ll recover completely. Make sure the house is warm. Take one of your people and stay with Heather Kincaid. She’s a prisoner. Don’t let her out of your sight, not for a moment. Understand?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Darius, I need a word with you,” I said.
He wrapped his arm around my shoulder as we took our leave. “What’s up?” he said and then stopped and looked at me, assessing my overall condition. “How are you, Astrid? Everything’s okay?”
“Everything’s fine. I need to tell you something. Let’s find a quiet place. It won’t take long.”
“You want Red Cliffs to prosecute Heather?” Darius guessed.
“I want to talk about that too, but first—”
“So you want to save her, right?” He shook his head and smiled. “You know you didn’t kill those two vampires you attacked? It takes considerable skill to use that kind of sword and not kill your enemy. You diced them nicely, but they’ll live. But then, why am I surprised? You’re an Ellida, your mandate is to preserve life, even when it’s wiser not to.”
I laughed. “You say that as if it’s a disease. Believe it or not, I wouldn’t have lost sleep if those two had decided to die. B
ut I won’t let anything happen to Heather.”
“You feel you owe her your life.”
“I do. She did save my life.”
“From what I saw, it was a group effort, including two of Ariel’s werewolves.”
“It doesn’t diminish her part or her intentions. I wanted to talk about something else, more important than Heather, but since you insist, let’s finish with her first. She is my prisoner, Darius.”
Darius ran his hand through his bushy hair. “She’s a wicked woman if ever there was one, but I also don’t want any more blood spilled. If you want her, she’s all yours. I’ll talk to the High Council and let them know. They won’t be happy, just to let you know.”
“Heather’s current address is in Red Cliffs, and she’s going home with me. Darius, I wanted to talk to you about an entirely different matter—”
At that moment, Darius’ phone rang. Jack wanted him to go immediately to the castle.
“Can it wait? I’ll catch you later,” he said and hurried to meet Jack.
I WANTED to go to my mother and just curl up beside her in the bed, but there was so much to do. I had to find Graeme and let Frances know he was okay and tend the sick and injured, no matter on which side they had fought.
And find Darius as soon as possible and tell him about his real father.
Adam Mackenzie caught me in passing and passed on a message from Dr. Altman. “Henry Flanagan’s recovering fine. Here,” he dug into his pocket and took out my phone, which I’d had to leave in my office. “Leslie thought ye might need it.”
“Recovering from what?” I asked, panicky. “What did they do to them?”
“They didn’t hurt him. I heard he deliberately took a drink of milk and raised a Code Blue. To alert the hospital about the kidnapping. A brave lad. Put himself in grave danger.”
“What?! Is he okay?”
“Aye, he’s fine, dinna fret, Astrid. The wee bugger’s sort of a celebrity now.”
Dear God!
Forty-Six
Astrid
ONE HOUR later, I was still looking for Darius. Somebody told me to go to Tariq Arslan’s house, where I found Jack, huddled over a town map splayed over the table, but my stepbrother was nowhere to be seen.
“Where’s Darius?” I asked from the door.
“He’ll be back in a minute. He went somewhere to make coffee.” Jack’s arm made a vague movement toward an old coffee maker on the countertop. “Blackout. Half of the town’s without power.”
“And Morgaine?”
“In the hospital, helping Ingmar and Tristan. She’s a combat nurse, or at least she used to be in both World Wars.”
My throat tightened. “Jack, I didn’t even have time to ask. What are our casualties?”
He gave me a broad smile and pulled me to his arms. “No civilian casualties! Except Seth and a few of his men, nobody else was killed.”
An intense relief washed over me. “That’s wonderful! The wizards cast protective energy shields around everybody who fought against Seth. It worked so well!”
Jack shook his head as if he was trying to shake off the image in his head. “Only the shield around you collapsed. The damn knife broke through it,” he said quietly. “Seth could’ve killed you if it hadn’t been for those two wolves from Winston.”
“Do you know their names?”
Jack shook his head. “Didn’t have time to ask. I just know they’re from Winston. I have to find them. I’m in their debt forever. God, you were within arm’s reach, but Seth almost got you.”
I took his face between my hands and looked into his eyes. “He didn’t. He’s dead now. It’s over. We won the battle without civilian casualties! Great job, Commander.”
Jack hugged me tight. “You’re welcome, Chief Commander.”
A MOMENT later a double set of steps on the porch announced Darius and Maggie. He opened the door for her. She carried a tray with three mugs. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the kitchen.
“Look who I found in my house making coffee,” Darius said. He carefully folded the map spread on the table, took the tray from Maggie’s hands and set it there.
Jack looked at his sister. Adopting his best Einhamir voice, he drew his eyebrows together. “Margaret Alice Mohegan,” he said, “I’m very glad to see you because I have a question to ask. Would you kindly explain your presence here?”
“I’ve brought you coffee, Jack.”
A tiny smile twinkled in his gold eyes. “Here in Copper Ridge, Maggie. If you think you can disobey my orders without consequences just because you’re my sister, you are mistaken. You, and your mother and your friend, you’re all mistaken.”
“Hold on, Jack,” Maggie said. “You ordered us to, I quote, stay with Astrid, right? We did stay with her. You didn’t specify the place.”
Darius laughed. “She got you there, didn’t she?” He had a hearty, resonant laugh that made him look much younger and happier.
Maggie smiled at him and offered him a cup. “Thank you Darius. Here, take a coffee.”
Their fingers brushed, and they both jerked away simultaneously, as if they had touched a live wire instead of each other’s skin. Darius dropped the cup, which broke and the coffee spilled on the floor. His shocked eyes fixed on Maggie’s, wide-open with astonishment.
Astounded as I was, I almost laughed at their matching thunderstruck expressions.
Jack’s eyes moved carefully back and forth from Darius to his sister. “Well, well, life sure throws you a curve when you’re least expecting it, doesn’t it? Bond-mates, huh?”
Darius took a deep breath and regained his composure. “Maggie Mohegan,” he said in a low voice, holding her gaze, “in case anything crossed your mind, I’ll let you know that I may suffer from the same disease my father had, and if that isn’t enough, this very morning I committed patricide.”
Blood rushed into Maggie’s head, coloring it bright red, her eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared in anger. “Nothing has crossed my mind. I don’t even like you!”
“Good!”
“In case something crossed your mind, I’ll tell you this: I do not plan to stay here, and I certainly do not plan to have anything to do with you. Do we understand each other?”
“Perfectly. I’m not staying here either.”
“That’s good. Pick a continent, so that I’m sure I go to the opposite part of the globe.”
So, the light and happiness I’d seen inside my brother a few weeks ago, that was Maggie, I thought, amazed.
“I won’t let a bond dictate my life!” Maggie continued angrily. “I’m not bonding material. I’m anti-bond!”
I felt it was time to intervene. “Whoa, whoa! Hold on, you two. I know you’re pissed off, bonding can do that. It’s a shock, I know, but you have to take it easy.”
I placed my hand on his upper arm and looked into his eyes. “Darius, you didn’t inherit Seth’s mental disease. It wasn’t possible. Jack, you tell him.”
Jack took a deep breath. “I couldn’t tell you before, and I’m truly sorry. Morgaine wouldn’t let us. Astrid tried to tell you… Darius, Seth isn’t your biological father. Your mother was a few weeks pregnant when she was forced to marry Seth. Morgaine has the proof, if you need it,” Jack finished. His body visibly relaxed as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
For the longest moment Darius stood motionless and expressionless, and then a hot rage lit his blue eyes as he gasped for air. For a brief second I was sure he would unleash the fury of his wrath on Jack for keeping the truth from him, but that passed quickly. He moved his eyes between Jack and me.
I smiled and confirmed Jack’s words with a nod, pushing back tears.
The last traces of doubt and anger slowly disappeared from Darius’ face, only to be replaced with the untamed, pure joy of a man who’d received a pardon on his way to his execution.
He’d gotten his life back, a full, sane and normal life. And Maggie.
His eyes locke
d with mine. “Who’s my father, then?”
I briefly told him what I knew. “His name is Raymond Arnevald. He is—or was—from Malta. He disappeared before you were born. Nobody knows what happened to him, but we’ll find out. We’ll talk about that later.”
“Later, yes…” he repeated slowly and, as if in a light trance, he turned to Maggie. “I need to have a word with you.”
“I’m so happy for you, Darius,” Maggie said warmly, all her anger caused by the sudden bonding forgotten. “I can’t imagine the nightmare you lived in for so long. Now you’re free to live your life however you like.” She turned to her brother. “It’s your fault, Jack. Why didn’t you tell him about his father before we… we brought in the coffee? Darius, let’s pretend it didn’t happen, please. At least for a while.”
“We can’t ignore it, and you know it.”
“It’s too sudden. None of us is ready for it.”
“Neither was I,” Jack said. “Yet here I am.”
Darius took a step closer to Maggie. “Speak for yourself, Maggie Mohegan. I am ready. I’ve been in love with you for a long time. And it would be great if your brother and my sister could give us some privacy.”
“From that day in Austin?” she asked quietly, keeping her amber eyes on his.
Darius nodded.
Jack’s eyebrows shot upward, and he opened his mouth to say something, but I stopped him with a warning look.
Darius’s hand reached out and took Maggie’s. “Austin, your freshman year. You were at that small café near the University, you sat there with another girl. You were both laughing. I stopped to say hello, and we talked briefly. I fell in love with you that very moment. But you were James’ daughter, and I was the son of his mortal enemy, and possibly an insane man.”
Maggie smiled, keeping her eyes on Darius’. “You were in a white polo shirt and jeans.”
“You remember?”
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