Adric's Heart

by Rebecca Rivard

  His nostrils flared. “I can’t pick up her scent. But if she was in a car, she wouldn’t leave one.”

  Cleia narrowed her eyes to the south, as if she could somehow see where Rosana was now. “New Moon is right across the river in Virginia.”

  “I know.” Dion glared in the same direction. “If that fucking cabrão thinks he can use my sister as a bargaining chip…”

  Cleia’s stomach hollowed. It was exactly what a night fae would do.

  “We’ll go after him with everything we have. Rosana isn’t just your family, she’s mine.”

  “I know. And I’m grateful, querida.” Dion squeezed her hand. “But first, let’s make sure that’s where she is. Take me back to Rock Run. I need Rui—his shark can track anything.”

  “At least she has my protection charm. It’ll give her an edge.”

  He nodded, expression grim. Humoring her.

  Because they both knew Rosana might not be wearing the charm.

  They found Rui in the training cave. The shark fada had once been Rock Run’s top assassin until the job had taken its toll. These days Rui spent his time training the younger warriors, a position to which the hard-faced, taciturn man had taken like a duck to water.

  “Be right there,” Rui called over his shoulder, his gaze on the two young males he was sparring with. Another seven young men and women stood in a circle, observing.

  The man on the left lunged. In a few swift, scarily efficient moves, Rui dropped him by hooking a heel behind his knee and then spun around to kick the other in the chest. The man flew backwards.

  Cleia winced, but the two males bounded back to their feet.

  “Good work,” Rui said with a nod. The younger men beamed as he turned to the observers. “The rest of you, form groups of three and practice the sequence I just showed you.”

  He strode across the cavern to Dion and Cleia, big body naked except for a pair of shorts. “What’s up?” he asked as he pulled on a T-shirt.

  Dion tipped his head at the exit. “In the ops room.”

  “Sim.”

  The operations room was in its own private corridor near the base’s center. A couple of warriors were always on duty to sift through communications and respond to emergencies. Like most of the base, it was a utilitarian space with a handful of chairs and a sturdy plank table, the only lighting a handful of watery blue and green fae lights.

  By the time they arrived, Dion had brought Rui up to date. Dion jerked his chin at the pair manning the room. “Wait outside.”

  They nodded and exited, but before they could close the door, Isa bustled down the corridor, her round face anxious.

  “My lord, my lady. I need to see you, por favor.”

  Dion nodded for the men to let her pass and then shut the door behind her.

  Isa thrust a folded piece of paper at him. “I found this on Rosana’s pillow.”

  Cleia read the note over his shoulder.

  Dion, Cleia, Isa—

  I’m on my way to Baltimore. But don’t worry. You might as well know, I’m with Adric. I’m tired of hiding it. I love him, and he loves me (even if he hasn’t told me yet).

  More, he needs me. I’ll be back in a few days—please, don’t worry. Hugs and kisses, Rosana

  “I’ll kill him,” Dion said calmly. “I’ll wring his goddamn neck.”

  Cleia eyed her mate warily as he passed the note to Rui.

  “If he’s hurt her,” Dion continued. “Forced her to go with him against her will—he’s dead.”

  She set a hand on his arm. The bicep was balled tight. “Let’s not jump to conclusions,” she murmured.

  “No?” The eyes he turned on her were the cold silver of his animal. “She goes to Baltimore and somehow ends up in a car a hundred-fifty miles south of here. She calls on you for help—which she’s never done in her life? Tell me, what am I supposed to think?”

  “I agree it looks bad, but I’ve seen how Adric looks at her. We’ve all seen it.”

  Dion snarled. “Like a fucking cat stares at prey.”

  “No. Like a man who wants a woman with everything he has—but knows he can never have her. He’s stayed away from her for her own good. And she feels the same. If he’d wanted, he could’ve lured her away years ago.”

  Beside her, Isa murmured agreement.

  “Then why is he taking her to Virginia?” Dion demanded.

  “We don’t know it’s him.”

  “Who else could it be?”

  “I’m just saying, keep an open mind.”

  “Of course,” he surprised her by saying, and then spoiled it by adding, “as long as you keep an open mind when I tear his lying, cheating throat out.”

  He turned to Rui. “I’m leaving ASAP. Who’s available?”

  “Three men plus the two of us?”

  “Sim.”

  “Then Ed and Jaxon can come.” Ed was an older, canny tenente, and Jaxon a young, hard-driving warrior. “And Tiago—he’s at the marina right now.”

  “That works. Tiago would want to come anyway. I’ll tell Davi he’s the tenente in charge.”

  Cleia chewed her lip, wishing she could help. But she wasn’t strong enough to teleport even Dion and his motorcycle to Virginia, let alone four other men. They’d have to get themselves to southern Maryland.

  Dion nodded at Isa. “Thank you. You did the right thing, bringing this straight to me.”

  His former nurse inclined her graying head, fingers twined tightly in front of her waist. “I don’t know when she left. I didn’t even know she was gone until after breakfast. For that, I beg your pardon.”

  “Senhora.” Dion gently took her hands. “You have nothing to apologize for. You’re not Rosana’s keeper. Now, go back to whatever you were doing, but let’s keep this between us, okay? Until we know exactly what we’re up against, I’d rather the whole base didn’t know.”

  “Of course,” the woman said, and with a dignified nod to all of them, left the room.

  “If that’s it, then?” Dion asked, clearly impatient to be off, but Rui held up a staying hand.

  “I’m afraid we’ve got another problem.”

  “It can’t wait?”

  “No,” Rui said bluntly. He closed the door behind Isa. “Merry believes her grandfather’s been watching her.”

  “The hell you say. Is that possible?”

  Both men looked at Cleia.

  She spread her hands. “Anything is possible. Our wards can block him from entering the base physically, but if he has the farsight, that wouldn’t stop him from keeping a watch on her.”

  “Valeria knows?” Dion asked.

  “Sim,” said Rui. “She’ll keep her inside the wards.”

  Dion squeezed his nape. “So the prince knows she’s alive.”

  Rui nodded, his strong, sculpted face set in grim lines.

  Dion swore. “I don’t like this. There is no way to keep him out?”

  “He can’t do it constantly,” Cleia said. “Only intermittently. Using any kind of Sight requires your whole attention. But I’ll talk to Olivia, see if there’s anything she can do to block him.” Her cousin was a spell-worker and ward-maker. “Maybe a look-away spell would work.”

  “Good.” Dion wrapped a hand around her nape and gave her a hard kiss. “Go home. Stay close to Brisa. Just in case.”

  Cleia’s breath snagged. “He wouldn’t dare.”

  “I don’t think so, no. But I don’t want to take any chances.” He turned to Rui. “Have the men at the garage in fifteen minutes.”

  “Will do.”

  Cleia waited until Rui left before telling Dion, “Let me know the minute you find out anything. And if there’s anything I can do, you’ll call on me.”

  His black brows lowered, but he nodded reluctantly. “Fine. If it will make you happy.”

  “It will. And I want your promise that when you do catch up to Adric and Rosana, you’ll hear them both out before you do anything. If she’s his mate, and you hurt him…”
>
  His chin jerked back like she’d hit him. “She’s not his mate. That—it’s not possible.”

  “But if she is, and you hurt him, she’ll never forgive you.”

  “I can handle my own sister,” he growled, and stalked after Rui.

  Cleia pinched the bridge of her nose—and ’ported back to Rising Sun and her baby girl.

  There was only so much a woman—even a powerful fae queen—could do. Some things her mate had to work out for himself.

  24

  The New Moon Court was in a densely forested state park near the mouth of the Potomac. A powerful look-away spell meant the local humans didn’t even know they had a night fae compound in their midst. The court didn’t appear on maps or satellite scans, and if hikers somehow managed to bumble too close, they couldn’t penetrate the court’s wards.

  Adric downed a plate of sausage and eggs at a local diner without tasting them. His chest still felt like a black hole had opened where his heart used to be. He ground the heel of his hand into his breastbone, trying to rub the ache away.

  He kept seeing Rosana’s face when she’d realized he was leaving without her. Anguished. Betrayed.

  You did the right thing.

  He couldn’t mate with her, not when he might be dead before the week was out.

  He forked up a bite of egg and stared at it. She’s back at Rock Run by now. Safe.

  So why did he feel like he’d left something vital behind?

  Don’t think about it. Do the job. You can make it up to her afterwards.

  If there was an afterwards…

  He grimly shoveled down the rest of his meal. Ten minutes later, he was checking into a cheap motel a few miles from New Moon, paying cash and requesting a room facing the strip of trees at the back. He wheeled his bike around back and went inside.

  The room was a beige box. A king-sized bed vied for space with a flimsy armoire and a desk with one chair. Dropping his helmet and duffel bag on the bed, he stripped to the skin and then sheathed his iron dagger in a leather case with its own cord before dropping it over his head next to his quartz.

  He cracked open the door. Other than his motorcycle, the only vehicle in the back lot was a dirty white sedan, and the sole sign of life was the humming of a vacuum cleaner two rooms down.

  He locked the door and jogged into the trees behind the motel. He’d researched the area around New Moon until he could’ve navigated it blindfolded. The narrow strip of trees connected with other wooded patches, enough to provide cover for his cougar until he could disappear into the state park.

  On the deserted country road, a truck rumbled past, accompanied by a belch of oily fumes. From the fenced-in yard of a nearby house, a dog barked, its scent a tart mix of bravado and fear.

  Adric snarled, and the dog gave a startled yip before cowering next to the back steps.

  He tucked the key card into the crook of a crepe myrtle, then closed his eyes and opened himself to the change. Hot sparks danced over his skin. Power surged through him, obliterating his human form. For a time, he was both Adric and not-Adric; pure, formless energy. And then he was on all fours, the wet brown leaves cool beneath his tawny paws, his senses a hundred times sharper.

  He gave himself a shake, settling his fur into place, then set out for New Moon, intermittently cloaking himself. He hadn’t forgotten Rosana’s warning that Langdon had Seen he was coming to the court. The bastard might know Adric was on his way, but he couldn’t know the exact moment. No Seer was that powerful.

  A half hour later, he entered the state park. He was in a stand of sharp-scented longleaf pines, the sun high in the pale blue sky. He aimed for the park’s center.

  As he neared the New Moon compound, gray clouds blotted the sun, and the pines changed to menacing hardwoods that loomed over him like grim soldiers. His fur bristled. He crept forward, scanning the dark spaces between the trees.

  Gradually, he became aware of the look-away spell pressing at him.

  Turn away. There’s nothing here.

  When he continued, shadows gathered, and the warnings grew more foreboding.

  Danger. Run…while you still can.

  He closed his eyes, drew on his tracking Gift. The compulsion to look away passed. When he opened his eyes, the shadows parted to reveal a shimmering trail winding through the trees, the kind of path only a fae—or a fada with their touch of fae blood—could see.

  Gotcha.

  He avoided the shimmering fae path. The look-away spell was just the first layer of security around the court. The trail would be watched, possibly even booby-trapped. Instead, he ducked deeper into the woods, taking a parallel course to the trail.

  A gravel road barely wide enough for a single car intersected the trail. He dropped to his belly and slunk forward to investigate.

  The scent of rainwater and woman.

  His nostrils flared. Rosana?

  No fucking way. She was in Baltimore, or more likely, safely back at Rock Run.

  Unless she’d followed him.

  He shook his head. Impossible—he’d have noticed her and her motorcycle.

  But she could’ve come straight to Virginia. After all, she’d guessed he was going after Langdon.

  He inhaled, sifting through the forest scents. There, to the west. It was Rosana, all right.

  He clenched his jaw so hard his molars hurt. He should’ve known she wouldn’t return tamely home.

  He muttered a cougar’s equivalent of a curse and faded back into the trees, following the gravel road to the west.

  Rosana’s scent grew stronger, entwined with the scents of two others—Luc and a fae.

  His heart stuttered. His curses changed to a low, continuous growl.

  He entered a clearing. In the leaves and mud were the tell-tale prints of three people. The sharp indentation of a woman’s high heels. A man’s lug soles. And a single imprint of a long, narrow bare foot.

  He sniffed. It was Rosana, all right, her pores leaking fear.

  His body went taut as a stretched wire. He already knew the man was Luc, and he suspected the high heels belonged to Lady Blaer.

  He could think of only one reason Rosana would be with them.

  Luc had captured Rosana for Blaer. The fae who put fada in cages.

  Rage blasted through Adric, a fury edged with panic. His claws dug into the mud. But the rest of him remained icy-calm, cat and man fusing into a single cold-eyed predator.

  First, he’d rescue Rosana. Then he’d take revenge on those who’d dared to abduct her.

  He scrutinized the foot prints. The story they told was clear. Luc had returned to a nearby car, but the women’s tracks ended in the clearing. The only explanation was that the fae lady had ’ported out with Rosana.

  He stilled, drew on his quartz. Tracking Rosana with every ounce of power he possessed.

  But it was as if the earth had opened up and swallowed her whole. Still, that in itself was a clue. If she was at New Moon, the wards would shield her from him.

  He raced back along the gravel road to the shimmering fae path and then turned north again, following the trail as closely as he dared, torn between the need for speed and concealment. He was closer than he’d realized. Within a few minutes, the half-buried, vine-covered buildings of the New Moon Court were visible through the trees.

  He took to the treetops, leaping from branch to branch. Even another fada would have trouble tracking him high in the forest canopy. A few yards from the perimeter, he halted in a sturdy oak and crouched on a branch, a shadow in the trees.

  The clouds dissipated, allowing the sun to melt the last patches of snow. The compound was arranged as Fane’s map had depicted, with Langdon’s lair near the center. Fog snaked around the eerie, cryptlike building. Walking paths of smooth white pebbles meandered through a lush landscape of azaleas, crepe myrtle and southern magnolia, and huge willows wept over the still black pond.

  Adric’s gaze returned to Langdon’s lair. The tallest building at one-and-half sto
ries, it was draped in the same ivy as the others, with vines and flowers chiseled into the creamy granite beneath. At its apex, a giant bat flew past a crescent moon.

  He narrowed his eyes at the windows. If only he could see in…

  At this hour, the prince was probably asleep, but Adric couldn’t be sure. The powerful old fae was one of the few night fae who could tolerate the noonday sun.

  And was Rosana with him, or elsewhere, with Blaer?

  His stomach twisted into icy knots.

  There was no choice but to hunker down on the branch to wait for someone to open a portal into the court. If possible, he’d slip inside before it closed, using his Gift to cloak his presence from the guards. But if not, he’d use his quartz to compel the person to allow him to pass through the portal.

  Long minutes ticked by with nobody entering or leaving. In fact, it had been at least an hour since he’d seen anyone at all, even a human servant. Adric frowned. It was as if the shadows had thickened to conceal the court’s inhabitants. Could the wards have sensed him and reacted accordingly?

  If only he knew more. But the night fae were the most secretive of the fae. He was lucky to have Fane’s intel; without it, he’d be going in completely blind.

  He settled deeper into his cougar, drawing on its patience. Only his twitching tail betrayed his growing agitation.

  More time passed. He’d been on the branch an hour now.

  How long had Rosana been inside?

  A fist squeezed his bowels. He knew—too well—what the night fae did to their prisoners. And it wouldn’t be quick. The motherfuckers liked to toy with their prey.

  Don’t think about it. She’s smart—she’ll play for time.

  Something rustled in the forest below.

  Very slowly, he turned his head, scanning the undergrowth.

  The big brown wolf was almost as good as Adric at concealing himself. But he couldn’t hide his musky scent…or his gleaming amber eyes.

  25

  In person, Prince Langdon was even more beautiful.

  Tall and lean, with silky black hair framing his narrow poet’s face. Against his pale skin, his lips were a dark, sensuous red, and the diamonds that outlined his ears and brows sparkled like tiny stars.