Bury Their Bones (Wicked Fortunes Book 2)

by AJ Merlin

  He also looked fine, and I couldn’t help but be jealous.

  “Did you know,” the vampire began slowly. “That this house is full of supernatural creatures with excellent hearing? If you need something, you could’ve just said something.” His tone was chastising, but I didn’t have the argument to fight him for it.

  Instead, my knees shook with the task of holding me upright.

  Cian’s gaze sharpened as my hand gripped the doorframe, fingers digging into the wood.

  “Merric,” I gasped through lips that hurt to open. “Are he and Yuna–“ My legs gave out, and Cian surged forward, just fast enough to keep me from hitting the floor.

  “I’ve got you,” he murmured, drawing me close to him while minding my injuries. “Yuna is fine. She’s the one who called us when she realized the three of you wouldn’t be able to take care of it.” He lifted me carefully, my hand gripping his shirt.

  “I don’t want to lie down,” I told him, only lying a little bit. I wanted to see everyone. I wanted to make sure they were all right.

  Cian hesitated. “You should really sleep,” he said, voice low.

  “Is Merric okay?” He hadn’t answered that, and I needed him to be okay.

  “He will be,” the vampire promised. “I swear to you. He’s in better shape than you, but he is sleeping. As you should be.”

  "Let me see him.” It wasn’t that I didn’t believe him, exactly. But I worried that he was trying to soften the blow.

  “I’m not lying to you.” He shifted his grip on me, but I didn’t have enough time to wonder why before he picked me up in his arms, cradling me with one arm around my shoulders and the other under my knees.

  Hissing out a pained breath, my hand gripped his shirt tighter as I waited for the pain to ebb.

  He waited, watching my face as the pain lessened again.

  “Sorry. It was going to hurt however I picked you up,” the vampire said, stepping back into the room I’d just left.

  “If you put me on that bed then I will get up and go find him, no matter if I have to crawl,” I promised, the words soft.

  Cian blinked, one brow raising. “Is that so? There are a lot of restraints in this house–“

  “I need to know he’s okay.” I wasn’t in the mood for jokes. Not now, when unshed tears burned my eyes, and I feared for the safety of my fox.

  I refused to reflect on how right that felt. Calling him my fox. My kitsune. My nogitsune.

  I doubted Merric felt the same about me, and I wouldn’t tell him that he’d risen through the ranks rather quickly in my emotions.

  “If I show you he’s fine, will you sleep?” Cian asked after a moment’s consideration.

  “Yes. I mean, I don’t know if I can sleep, but I’ll try to.” How could I sleep when my brain threatened to overwhelm me with all the mistakes that led to Merric being injured?

  It was different when it was me. When my own mistakes led to injuries or harm, that was fine. I had no one else to blame. I’d get hurt for any of them, as well. That was also fine.

  But I had fucked up, and now Merric was hurt.

  That was unacceptable.

  A tear slid down my face, burning a trail against my skin. I wiped it away, hating that I was crying in front of Cian when he already thought me less powerful and naive.

  Admittedly, I was both of those things compared to him.

  But it was still a sore point for me.

  Cian opened another door, this one leading into their small office. I’d never really been in here before. I never came over to do much office work, but the room had been cleared out, the desk bare, and against the far wall was a large, plush sofa under a small window.

  Merric lay there, blanket tucked up to his chin and eyes closed.

  I could see him breathing. The blanket rose and fell with every slow, sleeping breath that the kitsune took.

  There was no facade now. His white ears were nestled in his hair, and the shadows under his eyes had never looked more prominent.

  As I watched, he shifted slightly, mouth curling into a small frown.

  Cian closed the door, cutting off my sight of the fox.

  “Is he all right? Is Yuna okay?” I murmured through aching jaws. My heart pounded, and there was no way I was going back to sleep.

  I wouldn’t tell Cian that.

  “Yuna is fine, and Merric is all right,” Cian repeated. “He wasn’t hurt as badly as you, and he was already starting to heal when we brought him back. Unlike a certain hybrid.” He fixed me with his scarlet eyes. “I thought you healed faster than this.”

  Once back in the guest room, he sat me on the edge of the bed and straightened.

  “I normally do,” I agreed, gently running my fingers over my bruised jaws. “But if I get hurt really badly over and over again, it slows down.”

  “What exactly does ‘really badly’ mean?”

  I ducked my head. “I got thrown off the catwalks in that building. And Merric and I were fighting off those things for a while.” My tired brain reminded me of my other problems. “Did you guys kill them? And him? The necromancer?”

  Cian hesitated. “I don’t suppose I could convince you to sleep first?”

  I did not need to sleep. I was up, and I wanted to be up so I could figure out what in the world I was doing.

  Or reflect on where I’d fucked up.

  “Where’s my phone?” I said, ignoring his question. “I need to text Aveline.” And do about sixty other things. Could I text Yuna? Ask her what happened while making Cian think I was sleeping? I gazed up at him through wide eyes, playing up the helpless look he liked to pin on me.

  “Your phone is on the charger,” Cian replied with a smile.

  “Oh?” I looked for it on the nightstand, wondering if I’d missed it before.

  “With Indra.”

  “Oh.”

  “Downstairs.”

  “Oh.” So much for that. “Summarize what happened for me, and I’ll go to sleep?”

  More likely, I’d close my eyes and whisper for the Loa until I ran out of breath or one of them showed up.

  Cian shot me a disbelieving look and walked around to the other side of the bed, sinking down onto it.

  “Down,” he reminded me, pointing to the bed beside himself.

  “Certainly can’t sleep with you in here existing,” I mumbled, but I struggled back under the soft blankets anyway, the sheet cool on my hip where my borrowed shirt rode up.

  Cian waited until I was comfortable, then did the unexpected.

  The vampire curled around me, arm over my hips to hold me gently.

  Invisible fingers squeezed my heart tightly and I couldn’t help but feel comforted by his presence behind me and his arm over my waist. I swallowed around a lump in my throat.

  “Akiva was the one who pulled the necromancer’s pet off of you,” Cian began in his quiet voice. "He brought it to us for Indra to burn.”

  That sounded easy. It sounded simple.

  What had we done wrong?

  “But we had an advantage you didn’t,” the man went on as if reading my mind. “Fire is always your best bet against the dead, and Indra is a never-ending supply of hellfire. Akiva is a lich, which is very similar to a necromancer, all things considered. Fighting the dead is second nature to him, and he takes them apart much more easily than the rest of us.”

  I felt his lips press comfortingly against my hair before he leaned back and spoke again.

  “It’s not a question of talent. Not at all. It was a question of attributes. The three of you are powerful, you know that.”

  I snorted. “Is this really you, Cian? Am I dreaming? You’re the last person to tell me that I’m powerful.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” he denied. “But I am the first person to tell you when you’re outmatched by no fault of your own.”

  “Thanks,” I sighed. I stared at the wall, still very aware of where he was pressed against me. It wasn’t sexual. Not with the way I
felt.

  But it was comforting. More than comforting. I wanted him to stay. I wanted him to hold me and to talk to me.

  “You’re supposed to be sleeping,” he reminded me. “The more you sleep, the faster you heal. I doubt that’s any different just because you’re a hybrid.”

  He was right, of course. I healed just the same as they did, and sleep would boost that back to normal.

  But I didn’t want to sleep.

  “We killed his pets, but not him,” Cian admitted after a few seconds of silence. “And I don’t think you should go after him again…is what I would like to say.” He let out a long breath. “But I won’t. Though, I will ask that you take someone with you like Akiva or Indra. You need fire, or you need someone with an affinity for death.”

  “What about Merric?” I fought the urge to reach up and grip his fingers. “He has foxfire.”

  “It’s not really fire,” Cian explained. “It doesn’t have the same effect on them as regular fire does. Hellfire is even better, but that’s exclusive to hellhounds.”

  Maybe I should start letting those triplets come with me.

  Without thinking, I rolled over, blinking up at Cian in slight surprise when I realized what I’d done.

  “You okay?” He reached up to run his finger over my bruised cheek, his touch light. “Does this hurt?”

  “It doesn’t hurt,” I promised, heart thumping hard in my chest.

  It was easy to remember all the things that drew me to him. He held an authority that the rest of my lovers didn’t. Even if he wasn’t as old as Merric, he felt powerful. He felt like he knew what he was doing and what needed to be done.

  That, along with his easy going personality, drew me to him like a moth to a flame.

  “Sweetheart, you’re thinking too much,” he told me, still wearing that easy smile. “Can’t you let it go? Just for today?”

  “But it’s my fault,” I said in a whisper. “I messed up, and I got Merric hurt.” Later, I would imagine all the ways that I would make the necromancer suffer for what he’d done. Later, I would tell the others that I had a plan and that the man who hurt Merric would suffer.

  But for now, I could be like this. Grateful that he was okay, but with the dreadful feeling of what if as I considered all the different scenarios where this didn’t work out the way it had.

  Cian pulled me to him, his arm lifting to rest against my face and cover my own arm. He was very careful, and his touch didn’t hurt at all.

  “It’s not your fault.” The vampire spoke firmly, his eyes locked on mine. “This is not your fault. Would I lie to you, if I thought you had done something wrong?”

  When I didn’t answer, a small smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I wouldn’t,” he assured me. “I didn’t in the bayou. I told you what I thought. And I’m not lying now. You deserve none of the blame for this, and you have got to sleep.”

  When I glanced down, he leaned forward again, lips brushing my forehead.

  “Sleep,” he repeated. “So that when you wake up, you and I can plan on how we’ll make him suffer for what he did to all of you.”

  His words comforted me. Undid a knot inside of me that I hadn’t realized held me tight. My shoulders sagged, and I tilted my chin upward very slightly, lips parted in a question.

  Cian answered immediately, pressing his lips to mine in a light, chaste kiss and pulled me more firmly against him.

  He was right, I thought as I felt the beginnings of exhaustion slipping through my bones. Sleepiness followed, and I closed my eyes as he pulled away to watch my face.

  All I needed was a little bit of rest.

  Chapter 23

  My fingers curled into the pillow as I awoke, and I didn’t need to open my eyes to know that Cian was gone.

  Of course he was. I couldn’t expect him to hang around all day, could I?

  When I did open my eyes, I was greeted with the sight of white fur and glittering yellow eyes in the mirror.

  Merric in his fox form sat on the pillow behind me, his tails waving behind him like an irritated cat.

  Or, he did in the mirror, anyway. I knew for a fact that if I turned over, there would be nothing on the bed behind me.

  “I’m glad you’re okay,” I murmured to his reflection, my eyes finding his.

  The waving of his tails halted. He stared at me, eyes narrowing like I’d said something strange.

  “You don’t have to believe it,” I shrugged, happy that only a small ache remained in my jaw. “But I was really worried about you. And…” I looked away from him, at the white sheets under my hand as my fingers curled into them.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you sorry?” A hand gripped my shoulder and turned me onto my back, eliciting a gasp from me.

  “You’re not just in the mirror?” I looked up into Merric’s face with wide eyes. The kitsune rested above me, braced on his arms, and stared down into my face with puzzled irritation.

  “Of course I’m not,” he dismissed. “Why are you sorry?”

  I itched to reach up and touch him. Just to make sure he was real.

  But I didn’t.

  “Because it’s my fault you were hurt,” I said flatly, my insides clenching uncomfortably at the admission. “I didn’t mean to. I shouldn’t have asked you to come. You could’ve died.”

  He stared at me for a long moment. Then another. As if he didn’t know what to say.

  “Wow,” he finally announced, leaning away from me slightly.

  I bit my lip. Had I said something wrong? His reaction didn’t make me feel any better about anything.

  “I don’t know if I’m insulted or really insulted.” Leaning down again, Merric reached out to wrap his fingers very loosely around the base of my throat.

  A warning, almost. To stay where I was, just under his hand.

  “I was nowhere near dying,” the kitsune promised, leaning close to me again. “You were. In case you don’t remember. I just needed to rest.”

  I wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but I wasn’t sure how to push him into telling me if he didn’t want to.

  “I don’t want you to get hurt,” I admitted.

  “You don’t want anyone getting hurt,” Merric amended, rubbing his thumb over the hollow of my throat. “But that’s the thing, George. You can’t go through life on this path like that. Someone always gets hurt.”

  He leaned closer to me until his face was barely inches from mine.

  I wondered if he would kiss me again.

  Unthinkingly I lifted my hand, extracting it from the blankets and reaching out for him.

  The kitsune leaned back, staring at my hand like it was a snake that could bite him. “Can I touch you?” I asked, halting my movement.

  He didn’t answer. His eyes narrowed very slightly, and then he turned and pressed his face against my palm.

  I took his lead, slowly sliding my hand up from his jaw to his cheek until I could curl my fingers into his thick, tousled hair.

  It was surprisingly soft.

  “Do you know how you stop someone you care for from getting hurt?” Merric asked, eyes never leaving mine as I ran my fingers through his hair.

  “Make a better plan?” I asked bitterly. “Know what I’m going up against?”

  He blinked. “No. You’re thinking about it too hard.” He leaned down until our faces were only inches apart.

  “You hurt them first. You cripple them. Kill them if you have to, so they can’t take away what you care about.” His gaze was direct and very intense. It made me slightly uncomfortable, along with the way his voice had dropped to something very dangerous.

  “I don’t hurt people who haven’t given me a reason,” I replied just as quietly.

  He tilted his head to the side. “What if the reason is that they’ve already taken away the thing you care about? What good is all your power then, when it’s too late?”

  Because I wasn’t a monster like him. Like Yuna. Like everyone in thi
s house.

  I knew what they were, and I didn’t condemn them for it. I knew that any of them would kill at the barest hint of danger to themselves or those they cared for.

  I knew, and I didn’t care.

  But that wasn’t me.

  “I feel terrible,” I admitted. “You shouldn’t have been injured for me.” Saying this was difficult. I didn’t want to push him away, but I didn’t want him to stay out of some obligation that I could only guess at. “You don’t have to help me,” I said at last.

  Was that shock in his eyes, when he recoiled like he’d been slapped?

  “You don’t want my help,” the kitsune accused. He turned towards the door, lips twisting into a sneer. “Of course not. Why would you, since Cian and his lovers saved your life again. I get it–“

  “You don’t,” I interrupted, grabbing his arm before he could go any further. I shrugged free of the blankets, very aware that I still only wore the t-shirt I’d been given.

  Judging by the way Merric’s gaze traveled down my body and to my exposed thighs, he noticed too.

  “They can’t replace you. They’re nothing like you.” I kept hold of his hand, trying to draw him back to me. “I don’t want you to think you’re obligated to help me, that’s all.” My words sped up in time with the beating of my nervous heart. I was rambling, I knew, but I had to explain.

  “I worry that you think that you owe me or that you have to help me. Otherwise I won’t give you those favors I owe. But that’s not true. You don’t have to do anything, but I appreciate anything you–“

  I wasn’t expecting him to crush his lips to mine, effectively cutting me off.

  And I could have never dreamed that he’d push me back onto the bed and crawl over me, until his legs bracketed my hips, and he could tangle his fingers in my hair to force my chin back so my neck was arched to him.

  “Oh, George,” he tsked, like I’d done something stupid and he was here to correct me. “George, I think you have a problem here.”

  “What’s that?” I breathed, close enough to him that our lips brushed when we spoke.

  “You’re getting attached.” A small smile curved over his mouth. “What a foolish thing to do–“