by Heather Karn
"I think it's time I rested after all." Gerald moved to stand, but Raven was by his side the next second, helping him to his feet as the man pointed a trembling finger toward the closest bedroom, the one with a small twin bed. "I'll sleep in here."
I eyed the second room, the one with the large queen bed. "I call the other bed." Without waiting for a response, I grabbed my bag and trudged toward the open room. To my surprise, Alex didn't argue, but then again, I was sleeping under his roof. I couldn't go anywhere without him knowing. He'd likely place guards outside the unit to make sure we didn't leave without his knowledge. This guy was creeping me out.
Entering the room, I closed the door, tossing my bag aside and removing the sword from my belt. I laid it across my bag and tugged my boots off before collapsing on the bed. Even with my tired, muddled brain, I'd been right. I was in no condition to fall asleep. Minutes ticked by, but sleep never claimed me like I'd hoped. If I didn't fall asleep soon, I'd convince Raven to head back to our team and make sure they were safe and tell them what we'd found out. We should've told Alex to keep the news to himself, but I doubted he'd listen. It was obvious he had his own agenda.
A soft click had me on high alert and reaching for the knife I carried on my hip before Raven stepped into the room and closed the door. He deposited his belongings on the floor on the opposite side of the bed, and in the next second, he sat down to remove his shoes. Was he really thinking of sleeping in here with me? Technically we were both too long for the couch in the other room and it would be an uncomfortable sleeping arrangement, but certainly less awkward than this would turn out to be.
"Relax," Raven groaned when he laid back on the bed, his head sinking into the fluffy pillow. "It'll be easier to defend you from in here, and more comfortable."
"You think someone's going to attack me here? I thought this was about the only safe place there was for our kind."
"I thought it safe too, until Gerald's announcement earlier. Now, nowhere is safe for you. Not even here. They may not be trying to kill you, but I promise, they'll try to use you."
I groaned and shoved my face into the pillow. "That's what I'm afraid of."
It took Raven a few minutes to respond, and his light, airy response turned my muscles to goo. "I may not be able to claim any House, but I promise you that I will not let anyone harm you, body or soul. I give you my word as an Elite, that I will die to protect you, and I'll do everything I can to teach you how to keep yourself alive, and about your people."
"But you've been doing that already."
"And I've been failing. Miserably at some points. I will do better."
I reached for his hand and squeezed it. "Thank you. For everything. For bringing me here. I couldn't have made it without you."
"And I would do it again in a heartbeat. Now, sleep. You need it, and then we'll find the team."
"And get out of here?"
"Are you finished speaking with Gerald?" Raven's tone sounded shocked.
"Nope, but I fear if I don't get out soon, I might not be able to."
"That's fair. We'll see where we stand in a few hours. Sleep."
Several minutes passed, but I was still no closer to sleep's hold than I had been when I first laid down. By Raven's steady breathing, which hadn't changed, neither was he. Either he was trying to stand guard or we were both too lost in our thoughts.
"Raven?"
"Yup."
"I keep thinking about what Gerald said about the undead."
"Yup." Well, that must've meant he was contemplating it too.
"And I've been thinking about what Lance said about the undead in the city."
"Yeah, I've made that connection too."
"So...you think the mastermind is behind the greater numbers of undead?"
Raven rolled to his side to face me, his bright, magenta eyes glowing in the light of the blue stones. "Does it scare you?"
"Yes. Do you think it's possible?"
"I think it's quite probable. And I think he has more on his mind than to find the last survivor of Third House. With that much power, why waste it on finding one person? No, his main goal long ago when he attacked St. Louis was to gain even more power. I doubt he's lost sight of that. Revenge on you for your ancestor's deeds against him, or whoever they hurt, is icing on the cake."
"You think he wants to destroy the world?"
Raven's gaze hardened. "Destroy? No. He wants to dominate. Rule."
I shivered under the blanket. That was a terrifying thought. How could I survive such a person? He already knew who I was, and obviously where I was if he sent new hordes of the undead to my location, in a city that was long ago destroyed.
"You might want to check in with Lance when you find a phone and make sure he and his team are okay and they wiped out the creatures."
Chuckling, Raven rolled back over to stare at the ceiling. "I know Lance. Trust me, he has it all under control."
"Okay, well, good."
Turning to me, Raven's eyebrows drew low. "What else is wrong?"
I didn't want to tell him. I didn't want to appear weak. It didn't matter that I was, but the last person who I wanted to see it was Raven. That didn't stop my tear ducts from ratting on me and giving me away as a few tears slipped out and trailed down the side of my face toward the pillow.
"I'm afraid. I shouldn't be, but I am."
Shock stole my breath when my trainer reached across the space between us to wipe the tears from my face. "You should be. You have every reason to be afraid. Your life is being threatened, and you've already been attacked. You should feel scared, but the key is not to let it control you. Use it as motivation to learn to defend yourself. And know that as long as I breathe, I will keep you safe." He rested his hand on my cheek and leaned in close. "Now sleep, Koda. Alex has a set of guards stationed outside, and Buckley is with them. No undead is going to make it into this apartment, especially without us knowing about it. I give you my word."
"Please don't think I'm pathetic."
He chuckled and rolled me over, wrapping his arm around my waist, holding me against his solid body. "You're exhausted, Koda. You've handled more in the last forty-eight hours than most do, and you're still halfway sane. Sleep. I've got you."
And if Luella or Shannon walked in right now, I'd never hear the end of it, but I was too tired to argue the sleeping arrangement. It wasn't like Raven meant anything by holding me. I was upset, and he was helping calm me down. There was no way I wasn't going to regret any of this in the morning.
When my heart wouldn't stop beating to its own crazy rhythm, I focused on Raven's steady breaths and mimicked them. They were calming, and put my body at ease. Within a few minutes, sleep began tugging me into its hold, and the awareness I had of being held faded as the world disappeared.
A light squeeze to my shoulder woke me, and it took until I saw a blue stone in my vision to remind me of where I was and what had happened yesterday, or what I assumed was yesterday. I was missing the sun. How did everybody here not go insane from lack of sunlight, or being able to tell night from day?
"Koda, it's time to wake up." Raven's words pulled the last bit of sleep from my mind, and I was comforted to know his body was several inches away from mine, enough to leave a cold streak of material between us.
"How long did we sleep?" I asked him, my words slurring together from cotton mouth. Licking my lips and clearing my throat, I tried speaking again, this time a bit more clearly. "Do you know if it's day or night?"
"Day. The stones shine brighter when the sun rises."
"Good to know."
"And we slept for four hours. Not long, but long enough for now. We need to go meet the others and tell them what we've found out."
The others. I groaned and worked to pull my boots on, trying not to think that I needed to shower and change my clothes. These were clean when I put them on before traveling to meet Gerald, but I'd just slept in them. Hopefully they weren't too wrinkled, and hopefully I didn't stink.
Before we left the apartment type rooms, I did my best to clean up in the bathroom and then gave Raven his time. Gerald was still sound asleep, and I wasn't about to wake him to say goodbye. That would be cruel. So was leaving our friends and hoping they'd find a comfortable place to sleep while me and Raven crashed on a bed.
The guards in the hallway jerked when Raven opened the door and stepped out into the hallway with me close behind. He spoke to one of the guards, but his words were too soft to carry to the rest of us, which was impressive to say the least. The other vamlure nodded and Raven turned to his brother, who was a bit blurry-eyed. I should've thought about him needing sleep as well as us.
"Can you take us back to the others?"
"Of course. Follow me." Buckley moved a bit slower on the way back down the tunnel, but from the dark circles I'd seen under his eyes, that was understandable. Neither Raven nor I commented, but kept up with him.
"Hey, Buck, congratulations on the baby," Raven murmured as we traveled the hall, his voice hesitant and unsure.
Buckley jerked to a stop to face his brother, his eyes narrow, but not with anger. More like curiosity and the same uncertainty Raven's tone contained.
"Thanks. I know how you and Hailey felt about one another-."
"She's happier with you. Trust me. It never would've worked, and I need to let it go. To be honest, the two of you are a better fit. Do you have any other children?"
Buck bit the inside of his cheeks and shook his head. "No. We lost the first one."
A piece of my heart went out to the older version of Raven. He couldn't even look at his brother, and even I could see he was fighting to stay composed. Too many emotions filled his eyes, all there and gone in seconds, and constantly on repeat. As if Raven was letting all his guards down in a matter of hours and days, he released a deep breath and closed the distance between him and his brother, wrapping Buckley in a tight embrace.
"I'm so sorry, Buck. I had no idea."
"We're so scared for this one. The lack of nutrition is killing all the babies, and I'm afraid it's going to take Hailey with it this time. She's so weak. She acts strong, but she isn't."
Raven's arms flexed as he held Buck tighter. "I'll give you blood for her before I leave, and if anyone else in my group can spare it, they'll donate. We gave some to Mom already to hand out, but I'll give as much as I can for you. I won't let you lose either of them, Buck. Not if I can stop it."
"Thank you."
After a few more seconds, the brothers released one another, Buckley wiping tears from his cheeks. I didn't pipe in that I'd donate blood because it didn't take much to know Raven wouldn't let me, especially now that we knew I was the head of Third House. It also went without saying that I wasn't going to be taking any blood from Raven today like he'd planned. All of it would be going to that baby and its mama.
Buckley once again led the way down the tunnel, and Raven fell back to walk beside me. With their moment over with, silence descended upon us again. It wasn't awkward, more thoughtful as we were all lost in our minds. So much so for me that I didn't realize we'd gone so far until a commotion of voices echoed up the tunnel.
"Someone must've made it already," Raven muttered when the noise grew louder.
"From the sounds of it, both First and Fifth Houses are here." Buckley sighed, not any happier about this than his brother. "I was hoping to avoid this festival, but with me being assigned as your escort, it doesn't appear that I'll be that lucky. And once everyone finds out who she is, they'll be bombarding you with attention."
I grimaced at the image that conjured up. "Can we hold off on telling anyone?"
"Doubtful. I'm fairly certain half of each House already knows, and I'm sure every eligible male was informed right away. If I had to guess, Alexander was making a lot of phone calls last night."
And that spurred on a wave of nausea.
"You'll help me protect her, right?" Raven asked his brother, anxiety making his voice rise in pitch. If I hadn't known him, I wouldn't have noticed, but I did, and it made my stomach twist.
"I'll do my best, but if they're male and single, I can't use that as an excuse to keep them away. I'm not her bodyguard, just her escort, but if anyone attempts to harm her, you bet I'll put a stop to it."
"I can also protect myself from unruly males," I muttered, "Or do none of them know what the word 'no' means?"
Buckley snorted and chuckled, but Raven's growl was proof he didn't find that amusing. "They're stubborn."
Arching an eyebrow at him, I grinned wide. "And you aren't?"
"It's not the same."
"Nope, not at all. Not even in the same realm." My tone dripped sarcasm, earning me a playful scowl from Raven. Playful because it didn't make me want to pee myself. Or I was becoming too used to his dark looks for them to bother me anymore.
"Try not to let too many males near you," he muttered as we finished our walk up the tunnel and got our first look into the expansive room since leaving our team in it.
My jaw dropped. The place had been transformed, and not just with the amount of people who now occupied it. Tables were lined up throughout the entire room, but one end was left open, likely for any activities they had planned. Garland and strings of purple lights hung from the ceiling, congregating in the center to expand from there, making the room have a tent feel to it. Smells of various foods made my mouth salivate out of control and my stomach rumble over the sound of music being played in a far corner.
Raven leaned into me, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke. "Another warning: don't give any males your blood. They'll take it as approval to advance a relationship. So, when they ask, always decline, no matter the state of their eyes. In fact, with you being so new, don't give blood at all, but also don't tell them that's the reason you can't give of your blood or they'll continue pursuing you, thinking you'd give to them if you could. Am I clear?"
"Crystal," I grumbled, not liking this next complication. This time, Raven found my words and mood amusing and chuckled, following his brother into the room, tugging me along with them. If he kept my hand in his, then I wouldn't need to worry about anyone approaching me with interest. All Raven would have to do was glare.
But, I also couldn't use Raven as a shield to hide from my troubles. It would be far too easy to do it, and I didn't need him to be my crutch. In some ways, I was already thinking that of him. Slipping my hand from his, I followed his wide shoulders and strong back across the room, noticing in my peripheral vision that heads turned in my direction, people pointed, and whispers erupted from those nearby.
"We thought you'd forgotten all about us," Avery snickered when we reached the end of the table where our team was sitting, eating platefuls of food. His attention bounced between Raven and I, his grin shifting into a slight grimace. "We also heard the news. Gossip flies quick around here."
"Yeah it does," Raven grumbled, his eyes scanning the crowd. "It looks like all but Second House are here."
"Aren't they the closest ones?"
Shrugging, Raven continued to stare. "Yeah, which is why they're last."
"Where'd you get that?" I asked Lee, pointing to the plate of food in front of him on the table.
He pointed to a line of tables sitting behind me against the opposite wall of the band. "Over there. They're serving breakfast for all those that are arriving. You'd better hurry. I'm not sure how much they have."
Not wanting to bother Raven since he was still talking to Avery about what had transpired since we left, I nudged him and pointed toward the tables. It didn't surprise me when he adjusted his stance to allow him to see my every move. What surprised me a little was that he hadn't cut his conversation short to follow me. Maybe he was feeling the same way as Buckley: he wouldn't stop single males from approaching me if they meant no harm. I wish he'd consider them a threat.
I sure did.
Chapter 12
The walk to the table was a far cry from comfortable. Everyone I passed stared at me, and
more than one conversation died mid-sentence and began again with more vigor after I was beyond hearing what they said. With so many voices echoing in the room, that wasn't difficult, especially if they were quiet. All I'd hear was the rumble of voices.
I was more than happy to pick up a paper plate and breathe a sigh of relief that the room was to my back when I reached the food. It wasn't the smartest idea to turn my back on so many people, but Raven was keeping watch, and I was certain the rest of my team and Buckley were as well. Plus, most of the people here were curious, and likely not intending to harm me in any way.
"Your eyes are beautiful."
I jumped at the closeness of the voice, it's baritone timbre almost vibrating through my bones. Turning my head, I took in the view. And it was a view. If Raven had any competition in the looks department, which I would never comment on publicly, this male would be it. Like every other vamlure, his hair was black, and the way it swept across his forehead begged any single female with a brain to touch it, to brush it out of his face to see his eyes better. Too bad they were the same dull purple as everyone else so that they almost appeared black. They ruined the ensemble, making Raven the clear winner. However, the sheer amount of muscle in the man's body could easily tie with my trainers.
When he cocked his head, heat flooded my cheeks. I'd been staring. How the heck had I allowed myself to be caught staring at him? I wasn't even interested. Not in him, not in any male. There was too much going on in life to complicate it even further, and I wanted to keep my dream of being an Elite. That didn't mean I couldn't window shop along the way, but I certainly didn't want to give any of the wares the wrong impression that I was more than casually ogling them.
"Uh, hi." I shoved my hair behind my ears and moved to the first covered dish of hot food. "I'm sorry for staring. You startled me."
He snickered, moving into the line right behind me, too close behind me. Little space separated us, and as he followed, he kept bumping into my hip, arm, and shoulder. It wasn't obnoxious, but it definitely was messing with my breathing.