Bahlin turned back to face me, and a look of remorse passed over his features. “I’ve missed you, Maddy. Won’t you come home?” He approached me very slowly and reached for my good hand. Static jumped between us and, lifting my hand to his lips, he never took his eyes off my face. But when his lips met the cold weight of the stones, he glanced down.
I choked on a sob and shook my head. “I am home, Bahlin.”
“Gods alive, I swore to Aiden you wouldn’t do this,” he said, visibly reeling from the shock the ring had brought. “I swore you were just punishing me, but that’s not it, is it?”
“No, it’s not.” I shook my head and gently took my hand back.
“I was wrong to come.”
“Particularly if you only thought to try to coerce me to leave.”
“I was actually showing up for duty,” he said, bitterness tingeing what should have been benign words. “Seems you’ve got everything under control, so I’ll just be going.” He grabbed his leather motorcycle jacket and headed for the parlor door but he couldn’t go without one parting shot. “Connell Darach is my magus, Madeleine. At least I didn’t have to fuck mine to keep him.”
I stood quietly until I heard the front door slam, and then I folded in on myself and sank to the carpet, my one good hand clamped firmly over my mouth so I wouldn’t scream in rage or pain. I was too far gone emotionally to give over to angry tears, so I lay there, curled on my side, thinking of all the things I would have loved to have said. Unfortunately, there was no one there to hear me.
Darius wandered into the parlor a while later and froze when he registered the heartbeat in the otherwise silent, dark room. Looking around, he saw my prone form on the floor, and he took a half a dozen large steps to my side and lay cool fingers on the side of my neck. “Maddy? Darling?” he said softly. “Sweet Cain, what is going on in this house while I sleep?” Scooping me up in his arms, he headed for the stairs.
“I don’t want to go back to the master,” I rasped, my voice rough after the tension it had been under.
“That’s fine, love. What kind of man would I be if I were to try to get you into bed in another man’s room?” he teased, but I wasn’t sure there wasn’t some underlying truth to his words. He carried me passed the curious staff and, in particular, a goggling Mark, and headed for the second floor. I hadn’t explored the house, so I wasn’t sure what the second floor held beyond a couple of bathrooms and bedrooms. Darius held me easily, and I curled into his arms, strangely comfortable with my head tucked under the vampire’s chin. Opening the door to a room I wasn’t familiar with, he stepped inside confidently and kicked it closed. Darkness enveloped us like a shroud, and I felt inexplicably safe, as if the world couldn’t see me because I couldn’t see it.
“Foolish girl,” Darius chastised, but there wasn’t an ounce of malice in his voice. “Don’t you know to be afraid of me?”
“How do you know I’m not?” I whispered into the front of his soft silk shirt.
“Your heart rate slowed when the door closed behind us, and you took a deep breath and just…just…well, I suppose you sighed.”
“I suppose I did.”
He stopped and held me out from him but I clung tightly, turning so I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Would it bother you terribly, Darius, if I asked you to just hang on to me for a moment?”
“Oh, Maddy. I don’t mind, my little chick. What will you say if Hellion finds us cuddled up on the sofa?”
“To hell with Hellion,” I whispered harshly. I imagined the look on Darius’s face and I shook my head and said, “Just pretend he doesn’t exist.”
“You don’t want me to do that, love. Trust me.”
“I don’t know, Darius. You’re the only one who’s been honest about just wanting to get into my pants.”
He snorted out a laugh, and I felt him sink down into a deep sofa with my weight still held comfortably in his arms.
I turned my face into his chest and whispered, “If I asked you for a favor, would you do it?”
“I’ve been alive too long to blindly agree to anything, Maddy. But I will agree to help you if it’s a reasonable request.” He was silent as he waited on me to decide whether to ask or not. I slipped off his lap and settled into his side, and his arm wrapped around my shoulders in a casual manner.
“I’m close to catching the killer, and Hellion and I were going to go out with you and some of your people tonight to hunt. But now Hellion’s gone, and Bahlin’s been here—”
“Oh sweet hell,” Darius snapped, pulling his arm away from me and sitting forward to turn on the lamp.
I squinted into the sudden brightness.
“When were you going to mention this?” he demanded.
“Which part?” I snapped. “Because a lot happened while you were out.” I waved my hand under his nose, and he snatched it out of the air.
“Is it official then?” he asked quietly.
“No,” I answered, equally quiet. “It’s not. It’s more a promise now that we’ll make bigger promises later. But it wasn’t twelve hours this time before it all went to hell.” I took my hand back and slipped the ring off, intent on putting it in my pocket.
Faster than thought, Darius snatched the ring out of my hand and was slipping it back on my finger before I could react. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered. “You’re going to turn me into a flippin’ bleeding heart yet. Look, don’t take it off, Maddy. Hellion may be quick-tempered at times,” he said, and I snorted, “but he’s a good bloke. I’ve known him since he was a lad. If he saw fit to commit to you, it’s for the right reasons. He’s a strong sense of right and wrong for all he’s a hot-headed prick.” He rolled the ring back and forth on my finger and looked at it speculatively. “I’ve envied him a time or two, Maddy, but never so much as the first time I met you.” He looked up, and the depth of feeling in his normally aloof eyes startled me. Darius tightened his hand around mine and lifted it to his mouth for a kiss. “If it had been different, if the Fates had seen fit to put me on the Council before Imeena’s disappearance, I like to think destiny would have offered you a third choice.” He leaned forward and brushed firm, cool lips over mine and I gently kissed him back. It was superficially platonic, but words went unspoken between us in the seconds he held his lips to mine.
I gently disengaged from the sweet kiss. “You’re a good man, Darius.” He shook his head, and I reached over to still his face. “You are. Which is why I know you’ll honor what I can offer you now instead of looking back at what might have been. I have two suitors, which is one too many. What I don’t have, though, are friends. And friendship is what I need the most.”
Darius slid off the sofa and pulled me to my feet. Holding my hand over his still heart, he said, “My voyen is at your disposal, Madeleine Niteclif, whether in an official capacity or a private one.” Ba-boom! His heart pounded once under my hand and it felt like the house shook. My fingers clutched at his shirt as a primal sexual response was pulled from me at the noise. His eyes widened and he hissed, “No.”
“What the hell was that?” I demanded, embarrassed at the moisture collecting between my thighs.
Darius closed his eyes and scented the air, and when he opened his eyes to gaze at me I gasped. They had gone the color of the night sky, that deep purplish-black. “You made my heart beat. It’s a mythical talent.”
“What—”
“I’ll not answer anything else tonight, Maddy. Please, for the sake of our friendship, don’t push me on this. All I’m willing to say is that it explains the draw I feel toward you.” He rubbed his chest and took a short breath. “Do you want me to gather members of my voyen and help you hunt tonight?”
I watched him carefully and was surprised to see his movements were far from smooth. Deciding to honor his request to leave it be—didn’t I have enough trouble without seeking more out intentionally?—I answered him as strongly as I could. “Yeah, I want to catch the bastard.”
“Do
you have a plan?”
“Sort of. But I could use a real predator’s help.”
“Then you’ve come to the right monster.” His arctic smile and dagger-like fangs told me I had, indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The plan was that we would contact the Council and ask for three warriors from each sect. The vampires would provide more because Darius was going to partner with me on point. With Hellion missing and Amaly dead, I had no one to approach and ask for help within the magical sect, so I went to Mark. The poor man nearly had a heart attack.
“I’m not qualified to make those determinations, madam,” he said, sweat popping out at his hairline.
I rubbed my forehead and frowned, staring at my shoes. “Mark,” I said in exasperation, “the name’s Maddy, not madam. Look, just tell me who to ask, because Hellion’s MIA, and I’m not waiting on him to get over his temper tantrum.”
“I can’t, Maddy. I just can’t.” I suddenly realized what a horrid position I’d unwittingly put Mark in, and I felt like an ass. I’d indirectly asked him to pick a side in the fight Hellion and I were having, and it wasn’t his job to do that.
“I’m sorry,” I said, and reached out to take his hand. The middle-aged driver and footman, Stearns, who was quite the healer within the coven, had taken the bandages off my right hand, and it was healed with the exception of a small, pink scar where the knife had gone through. “Forget I asked.”
His hand shot out and grabbed my arm. “Devlin is Hellion’s third. He’d know.” He dialed a number on his cell, and I reached out and closed it before the call went through.
“I don’t want to put anyone in the coven between Hellion and me. So I’ll do without.”
“But, Maddy—”
“No, Mark. It’s okay. I’d rather not create any hard feelings anywhere.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded and walked back to the second floor where Darius was having a small, impromptu meeting with ten of his most lethal vampires.
While I felt safe with Darius, these vamps gave me pause. Efein was there along with nine others, all males save one. Introductions were made, and Darius broke down where we were.
“Sarenia can’t get here in time, but she will be contacting some of her people and having them meet us at Hyde Park near the fountain. We’ll coordinate our efforts by spreading out around the park. It’s very important that you stay strictly with the plan, Maddy, because there will only be a few of us nearby to watch you, as you’ve requested.” The tone of his voice made it clear he still didn’t agree with me. We’d argued and I’d won, but only when I’d threatened him with rock, paper, scissors. He’d been so shocked he’d laughed and finally acquiesced. Drawn back into the present, I heard Darius giving final instructions to his vampires, and they slid from the room like wraiths to go assume their positions around the park.
Darius came up behind me and rested his hands on my shoulders. “Are you sure about this? You don’t want to wait for Hellion?”
“I’d love to wait, but I’m back in London, and another woman’s going to die if I don’t get this right, Darius.” I didn’t mention my own consequences should I fail. Shaking my head, I tilted it back to rest on the vampire’s shoulder. “No, I can’t wait.”
“Then let’s away, Maddy, before he gets home and threatens to disembowel me with his bare hands.”
I nodded, my stomach in my throat. It was easier to be brave when the person with you didn’t realize what a coward you really were.
We headed down the stairs when I thought to ask about the shape-shifters’ sect. “Did you get in touch with Bahlin?”
“I did. He said he’d send people, but he won’t be there himself. I take it whatever happened between you this afternoon was bad.”
“Bad enough.” If he could be vague about his heartbeat, surely I had the right to be equally vague about my love life.
“Punishing me for not answering you, huh?”
“Shit!” I’d forgotten he could read minds. “Stay out of my head, leech.”
“Sure, flower, if you’ll stay out of my heart.”
I had no idea what he meant, so I kept my mouth shut. I rarely got in trouble when I stuck to that edict.
We got to the park’s main entrance along the A4, and I realized what a motley crew we were. At a distance I was sure we looked like a rather normal group of friends, but up close the vampires were lethally beautiful, the weres seemed to have slightly animalistic traits, the random species were smaller and more reserved and the fae were just somehow wrong when you stared at them too long. What they all had in common with each other was that at least one member of each group stared at me with undisguised hostility.
Kelten, king of the fae, walked up to me and bowed slightly at the waist. “Maddy,” he said by way of greeting.
“Kelten. How is Gaitha?”
His eyes clouded over, his eyes tightened and his breathing changed slightly. “She’s not well, Maddy. I’m afraid there’s naught to be done for her at this point. I’ll keep her contained as well as I may, but if it comes to it, she’ll have to be executed.”
I reeled with shock at his heartfelt pronouncement. First the loss of his son, then the potential loss of his wife. It seemed so unfair. I held out my hand and he took it, looking at me with grief clearly marring his otherwise lineless skin. “I’m so sorry, Kelten.”
“Thank you, Maddy. It means a great deal to hear.” He moved away and Praen, his niece, approached.
“Niteclif,” she said, holding out her hand to shake in a more modern greeting than her uncle’s.
I froze with a smile on my face though I managed to briefly shake her hand.
Darius laid his hand at the small of my back. “Praen. How do you fare?” he asked the fae.
“Well, though Aunt Gaitha is not. I’ll tell her you asked after her, Niteclif.”
“Do that,” I said softly, and she inclined her pale blonde head before walking away. I turned to Darius, my eyes undoubtedly wide. “Do you think—” I began.
“It’s possible. She’s very brazen in coming here if it’s her.”
“True.” I relaxed and felt him lean in closer. Turning my head toward him, I met his sharpened gaze. “I’m still bothered by the peripheral sound I heard when I was attacked. I’m pretty damn sure there was another person in the room. If I’m right, the person watched the assault and did nothing to intervene. Do you think Imeena could be a part of this?”
“Hm. I suppose it’s possible, though she’s never been the type to passively sit and watch violence occur.” He idly ran a hand up and down my arm. “She’s much more inclined to participate.”
I shivered and closed my eyes briefly.
Darius stopped stroking my arm and tightened his hand on my bicep. “I’ll be near all night, Maddy.”
“Thanks.” I stood straight and saw a shorter woman with long, brown hair weaving through the foot traffic as she made her way toward me. The towering younger man who followed in her wake had eyes only for me.
“Darius, stay here,” I commanded. “Don’t leave me.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
The petite woman stopped in front of me, and I had no doubt she would have done me physical harm had we been locked in a room together.
“Adelle,” I said, greeting Bahlin’s mother. “Aiden.”
“You are not good enough for my son, you…you…” she sputtered, stepping well inside my personal space. She raised her hand to slap me, and I grabbed it in an instinctive block before letting my hand fall away from hers. Aiden reached out and grabbed my arm as it fell away.
“Hands off, junior,” I said quietly, aware that most of the supes were watching us, either openly or indirectly. Either way, we had an audience.
“You’re going to want to back off, madam,” Darius said, and his voice was cold enough that it felt like the air just before a heavy snow, the bitter promise of a storm held in check. He stepped up next to me and laid a hand on her
arm. “Step back. Now.”
“You bitch,” she hissed. “You’ve cost me the last you’ll cost me you…you…whore!” she spat. Spinning out from under Darius’s arm, she stalked off, taking Aiden with her. They stopped at the edge of the fountain area, and Aiden looked back at me like I was a delicious treat he’d get to carve up later.
“Okay, this is just getting freaky,” I said, slipping under Darius’s outstretched arm and tucking into his side. “I’m seeing murder suspects everywhere I look, and I’m not liking it.”
Darius bent his head to whisper in my ear, his voice tickling as it skated across my skin. “Tell me what you see.”
“Kelten’s got darker hair, and his skin is darker than most of the fae’s, though I’m not sure it’s dark enough. But his wife, Gaitha? Blond hair, wicked powers and bat-shit crazy enough he’s considering executing her for everyone’s safety. Praen’s got the hair, the skin tone, the power and the ability. I’d bet my life on it.” I paused, thinking that might not be the best bet to make. Darius rubbed my back briskly and I continued. “Adelle referred to me as a whore, just like in the letter, and obviously thinks of me as a traitor. She’s got the hair and skin color of my attacker, and is undoubtedly strong enough. Aiden’s just a kid, but he’s turning into a violent little shit, and he’d do anything for his brother or his mother.” I looked around, taking into consideration all the other hostile glances I was gathering. “Too many suspects,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t know, Darius…”
“Don’t doubt yourself.” He pulled me in for a tight hug and then set me back from him. “You’ve been clear you’re living at Hellion’s, Hyde Park is near his home, and we expect the killer to have followed you out. He, or she, will see you out with a bunch of supes and either run, and we’ll catch him, or he’ll attack, and we’ll catch him. Go out and know I’m watching over you.”
Wrath: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 2 Page 29