Taking a deep breath, I stood as my brother entered through the dark-stained, oak double doors across the room. The warrior-woman of a vampire who’d arrived with Diana walked quietly behind him. Neither made a sound as they crossed the room on the plush, ivory carpet.
Eli walked up next to me and bent down, pressing a kiss to Diana’s cheek. The female stopped at the foot of the bed.
“Miles,” Eli spoke softly, “I need to talk to you in the other room.”
I growled and shook my head. “I’m not leaving her side.”
“Eira will watch her. You know the spell will keep her under at least a day or two. It’s important.” Eli urged, but the hesitation in his voice made fear tighten its hold in my chest.
The vampire he’d called Eira regarded me coldly. She was pissed, but it wasn’t directed at me. That was a first. I tended to be the one accused of gruff, unfriendly behavior. Eli tended to be more charming and witty.
“Fine.”
We walked together, crossing my large bedroom quickly. Eli closed the doors behind us and then we entered his suite of rooms across the hall. We’d shared a bedroom in Orin, but always with Diana. Without her, we preferred our own rooms.
Those arrangements might have to change soon and I couldn’t help but smile at the thought of the three of us finally being back together. My brother and I had shared a few women through the centuries and found our pleasures individually, as well. We’d become masters at being Dominants in the process, but no woman had ever remained in our bed more than a few days’ time. Nothing and no one could ever fill the void Diana had left in our hearts. Now it didn’t matter. She was here.
But something was off. Eli was far too serious.
I didn’t like this. “We have her back. What could possibly be wrong?”
Eli shut the doors to his suite and leaned against them. He looked green.
“Spit it out.” I sank into one of the large, leather chairs in the sitting area. It felt as though I might need to be seated for this conversation.
My brother walked to the chair opposite me and sat—his body stiff and tense. “She has no memory of us, Miles. Eira said our faces came to her in dreams, but she cannot recall who we are or were.”
It was like a sword through the heart. I didn’t want it to be true. But I knew it was. Eli might like to joke around and keep the mood light, but this was no prank.
“Are you sure?”
He rolled his head to the side. “That’s what the vampire said. She doesn’t really have any reason to lie. And it does explain why Diana allegedly shifted in front of humans.”
“She did what?” I stood from my chair, fire burning at my core. Not only had the Incantis stolen precious memories from our wife, now the human governments knew dragons existed and were probably headed straight for Sanctuary. The Texas Republic border would only slow them down. It wouldn’t stop them.
“If she didn’t know, we can’t blame her. These beasts within us are strong. It never occurred to me how different the world would look to her if she ever escaped from the Veil. It had to have been terrifying. Her dragon would only have tried to keep her safe.” Eli waved a hand at my empty chair. “Just sit with me, brother. I’m still processing what this means for us. If she has no memory of us or what happened—”
“How do we explain that she’s wed to us both? How do we ask her if she had a baby? What the fuck do we do? When she wakes up, she won’t be able to deny her dragon’s heat cycle. The need will consume her until it’s fulfilled.”
“In the meantime, we need to find out just how much Eira knows,” Eli said. “I just wanted to give you space to absorb the shock of—”
“You mean the loss.” I snarled. “We got her back only to have her taken from us again. Kevan and Leif are bastards who don’t deserve the air they’re breathing. They did this to her on purpose. Stole her past … and our future.”
“Don’t lose hope, brother. If magick did this to her, it’s possible we can find the right magick to undo it as well. I’ll speak to Meredith as soon as she gets back into town. Between her and her sister, Hannah, they will be able to come up with something. They’re two of the strongest witches in the country.” Eli stood. “We should check in with Rose and see what plans of defense need to be discussed. Soldiers will be here in fewer than seventy-two hours.”
“Let them come,” I growled. “I’ll burn them all. Problem solved.”
Eli smiled a menacing, bloodthirsty smirk—the I’m-going-to-kill-them-all look did not often appear, but when it did, it was usually before a killing spree. The last time we reached the point of combustion was during the American Civil War.
“I completely agree, brother.”
Chapter 21
ELI
We left my room and returned to check on Eira and Diana.
The vampire turned at the sound of the door opening. Her face and neck were visibly tense. Too bad. This was our house, and Diana was our wife. She was just going to have to get used to us or leave.
“How are you keeping her from icing the room? Every time she was unconscious previously, we had ice forming on the walls and across the floors within an hour.” She gestured to the pristine room around her.
Classic artwork hung on the dark, paneled walls. The merlot-colored, crushed velvet drapes hung open just enough to let some light drift across the bed. The rays caressed Diana’s milky white skin, giving her an ethereal glow. Between her absolute beauty, the fact that I hadn’t seen her in over a thousand years, and the maddening scent of her heat, I wanted nothing more than to lie next to her in Miles’ bed and forget about everything else around me. My brother’s face betrayed that his thoughts were running along the same carnal line as mine.
“Well?” Eira asked again, impatience sharp in her voice. “What did you do to her?”
Miles huffed and walked to the side of the bed to kiss Diana’s cheek. He moved aside and let me do the same. Her scent filled my lungs and just that tiny taste of her skin helped to control the beast within me.
“It’s part of the spell we cast using our bond to heal her,” I responded, straightening to my full seven-foot height. She didn’t bat an eyelash. I wasn’t sure what would intimidate this vampire, but apparently two seven-foot men capable of breathing fire wasn’t on her list.
“The magick puts her into a peaceful hibernation until her wounds are healed. From the look of her injuries, I don’t expect her to wake or be disturbed by anything for at least twenty-four to forty-eight hours.” Miles crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. It was his normal look.
“So, she’s not dreaming?” Eira asked, a flash of concern crossing through the Caribbean blue depths of her eyes.
I shook my head.
“It’s like a magickally induced coma?”
“Yes,” I answered.
She sighed and sank into the high-backed, leather chair against the wall near the bedside. “At least she’s finally getting a break. Her emotional roller coaster is bad enough without all the soldiers and shooting coming at her from every direction. Though I have to say she handled herself pretty damn well for a woman with no memory. Her dragon can kick SECR ass.” A grin tugged at the corners of the vampire’s mouth. “She’s one tough cookie.”
“She always was,” Miles said softly.
“Will you stay with her for now?” I asked, hating the idea of asking her for any kind of favor. “We need to speak with Rose about the possibility of a human assault force headed toward Sanctuary.”
She nodded. “I was afraid you were going to try and get me to leave.”
I wanted to. I shook my head. If she was the one person Diana trusted through all of this, the last thing I needed to do was alienate the vampire. “Do you need to feed? I can bring you back blood from the cafe.”
“They have it on tap?” She half-snorted, half-giggled. “I should visit here more often.”
I couldn’t stop the grin tugging at my mouth. Perhaps she wasn’t going to be quite the
painful irritant I’d thought at first. “We have five vampires living in town. We’re well-equipped to handle the demand.”
“If it’s cold, I’ll just wait. She fed me last week. I can last—”
A snarl tore from my brother’s chest and I caught his arm a second before he lunged at the little female. “You fed from Diana! You bit her!?”
The little brunette blurred past my brother and me, but paused at the door. Her eyes were wide and she watched Miles’ heaving body as if her life depended on it. Which it probably did. I’d held back my brother’s lunge, but I wasn’t pleased either at the thought of her biting Diana. A vampire drinking directly from a being, human or supernatural, created a bond. One that was impossible to completely break.
“I didn’t bite her,” she spoke gingerly, her voice laced with a fear I hadn’t heard yet. And I rather enjoyed it. At least I knew something could spook her. She might be a bit on the mouthy side and not willing to back down from a challenge, but this proved she wasn’t stupid. When a pissed-off dragon-shifter lunged for her, she’d run.
“Miles,” I growled, wrenching his arm back until he snarled and shook off his initial upset. “She’s our guest.”
“I don’t give a shit.”
I couldn’t believe what I was about to do, but I turned back to face her anyway. “Please forgive my brother, he overreacted.”
She gave me a suspicious glare and came out from behind the bedroom door that had hidden most of her body from view. Her movements were graceful, but strong like a person trained for combat. She placed her feet well and circled the furniture, giving us a wide berth as she made her way back to the opposite side of Miles’ bed. She was a fighter. Of course the samurai sword on her back and smaller blades strapped to her thighs should have made that an easy guess. They seemed to be a part of her. Not flashy accessories, but items she probably always carried.
I walked to the bar cabinet across the room and removed a wine glass. Setting it on the marble top, I pulled open a drawer. The knife we’d used to cut our palms for the spell lay shining in the shallow, black-velvet-lined drawer. I picked it up and drew the sharp dragon steel blade over my palm again, holding my hand above the glass. My blood ran freely from the wound. When the glass was half full, I blew a focused stream of my warm breath across my palm, sealing the wound.
Taking the glass in my other hand, I approached her and offered her the glass. “I was a bit on the grouchy side earlier and I apologize as well. This has been a difficult day. Being able to feel the life of your mate slip away without any recourse is—”
“Beyond terrible,” she finished, accepting the glass from my hand. “Thank you for this.” She raised the glass. “But you didn’t have to.”
“It was and is the least I can do for now, Eira. You helped to protect her. For that, there’s nothing my brother and I wouldn’t give to repay you. You’re our guest. And if what you’ve said is true, we will need you present and on our side when she wakes.”
She nodded. “I just want her to be happy. She’s never at peace, awake or asleep. It’s as if the weight of a world clings to her shoulders.”
I backed away a few steps, then turned and walked back to my brother’s side. Miles’ hands were at least unclenched now and his breathing had returned to normal. Pulling out my mobile phone, I texted Rose’s number, letting her know we were headed to the cafe.
“Don’t you know they monitor everything? Why are you using a mobile phone?” The vampire’s voice raised in pitch, her anxiety about the phone clearly evident.
“Ours are special. The only thing the government hears is static.”
Her eyes widened. “How?”
“It’s a town secret.” I gave her a quick wink and looked back down at the screen. Rose had texted back to hurry. “We’ll be back shortly.”
She nodded and returned to the leather chair, her gaze falling gently to Diana’s peaceful face.
I inclined my head toward the door and Miles moved ahead of me hesitantly. He exited first and I gave Eira and Diana one last glance before closing the door behind us.
“I don’t like it, Eli.”
“Don’t like what?” I asked as we walked down the hallway to the main foyer. The lights were dim and moonlight flooded the hall at each window. It was like walking through a cave of shadows. I could hear the da thump, da thump of the music in the basement below. There were six guests in the club right now and they were all in the excellent hands of our faithful pixie dungeon monitors. One less thing we had to worry about right now. The only thing we wanted on our minds was Diana.
“She could be lying about everything. What if she did drink from Diana? We have to kill her, Eli.”
My eyes widened in surprise. I hadn’t seen that coming. “I believe her, Miles. Give it a few days. Diana will be able to answer that question when she wakes.” I lifted the heavy beam barring the front doors and set it against the wall of the foyer.
Miles yanked the heavy door open and I followed him out into the cold, December evening. Something wet touched my face and I huffed out a foggy breath, shaking water droplets from my hair. It was a wintry mix of rain and snow. Just the kind of mess that fell every year about this time. None of it was sticking to the ground. It wasn’t cold enough, yet. But come late January in Sanctuary, usually there would be a couple of inches of snow. When the white blanket covered the ground, it was the only time I let myself remember home. I hadn’t lived in the Veil for millennia, but for some reason, snow always reminded me of the Brechin Mountains above Orin in the winter.
The door closed behind me and I glanced to my brother. He wiped his face with one hand and sighed. The steely glare and stoic face he showed most of the time was crumbling away. I could see his worry and concern. His brown eyes were glassy from unshed tears and my eyes watered in response. Rarely was he ever this worried about anything. Facing him, I placed both hands on his shoulders and he met my gaze squarely.
“She’s going to be fine. We’re together again,” I said, trying to convince myself more than him.
“I’m fine,” he grumbled. “I just never thought we’d get her back. Now that she’s here, I can smell her, taste her, and that snip of a vampire’s telling me she won’t remember anything about our life. Nothing.”
“Then we make her fall in love with us all over again.”
“What if she doesn’t want both of us?” His bass voice cracked and my heart dropped to my stomach.
I hadn’t considered that.
Chapter 22
MILES
It was still dark as Eli and I crossed the town circle again. A cold wind blew through my loose hair and I took a deep, cleansing breath, allowing the chill to tamp down the fire inside. The street lamps illuminated the sidewalks, giving the town buildings a soft, ethereal glow. The old brick and chipped paint made most of the town look like it was from the 1940s. We purposefully kept the old town look to discourage anyone from thinking they needed to stay in Sanctuary. Visitors who fell in love with its quaintness were quickly influenced by one of the vampire Protectors and put on the next bus out of town.
Here and there, visitors trickled in to buy merchandise at Calliope’s shop. They were all supernatural and knew the moment they met Rose that staying in Sanctuary was not an option for them without explicit permission. Our other visitors stayed in the Castle, and several of the pixies in town took care of all their arrangements. We were only called on when and if things escalated.
It didn’t happen often. The pixies could be convincing when they needed to be.
Eli pulled open the cafe door and I frowned at the jingle of the little bell Rose insisted stay above it. I hated that little thing and always had to duck or it hit me square in the forehead.
The bus driver who’d brought Diana back to Sanctuary sat in the far corner of the cafe. He, like most of the buses that came and went from Sanctuary, was family to the two red-headed witches in town –Meredith and Hannah. He waved when we came in and rose from his table
where he sat sipping a mug of coffee. The scent of the roasted hazelnut blend clung to his shirt.
“How is she?” he asked, stopping a few feet away. Neither Eli nor I were in the mood for conversation.
“She will make it,” Eli answered, before I could even open my mouth. “Thank you for getting her here safely.”
“Anything for the people who take such good care of my girls.”
“We very much appreciate everything you do for the town, Harrison. Please excuse us, though, we have to speak with Rose,” I added.
“What about the bus? I can’t leave until you boys defrost it for me.”
We’d walked right past it without even noticing. Diana was distracting both of us and we needed to get our heads straight before soldiers showed up. “I will make sure it’s done by the morning. Do you need a room to stay in for the night?”
Harrison shook his head. “I’m good. Meredith has a spare room since her sister’s in Ada right now. I just wanted to check in with you both before I left for her house. Rose said you were on your way.”
I nodded.
“Thank you again, Harrison,” Eli repeated.
“I know what it’s like to lose someone,” Harrison spoke again, his eyes watering. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do to have another moment with the girls’ mother. Annie was everything to me. I’m just glad you both have a second chance. It doesn’t happen often.” He rubbed his hands through his bushy head of gray hair and sighed. “Goodnight, boys.”
We were centuries older than him, but he still insisted on calling us boys. At first, we’d balked at it, but as you grew to know Harrison Bateman, you only grew to care about him more. As many years as his girls had lived in Sanctuary now, we were used to their dad saying just about anything he wanted to. The old warlock had been invited to move back to Sanctuary several times, but he always told Rose he liked being on the outside. That he felt like he was more help that way. We all knew it was because he’d lost his wife here. He just couldn’t bear the thought of living in Sanctuary without her. Too many painful memories. The girls, on the other hand, couldn’t stand the thought of leaving the town their mother had guarded her entire life.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 34
