I wasn’t about to let a handful of Djinn change that. Storm or no storm. They wouldn’t get close to the Castle I now called home.
Chapter 42
DIANA
Miles and Eli carried Mikjáll through the Castle and down to the lower level where there were private areas of the club. As we passed through the large hall with the play cubicles, no one said a word. We passed group after group of Sisters, huddled on this couch and that. Babies in their laps and small children were being hushed.
It’s a fortress within a fortress.
“Stay here with Mikjáll, Diana.” They opened a white door and helped their son stretch out on the large, four-poster bed in the center of the room. “There’s food in the kitchen down the hall if you need anything. The Sisters also know where everything is kept, so just ask them if you can’t find something.”
I grabbed Miles’ arm as he turned to leave. “What are you going to do?”
“We’re going to the towers. Rose intends to box as many of them as dare to enter the town, but everything has to be done carefully and quietly. We call out positions on the coms while the vampires do the hunting.”
Eli stepped up behind me. “Be safe, Love. We’ll be back soon. Take care of our son.”
Miles kissed me on the forehead and they both left the room, closing the door softly behind them.
I turned back to Mikjáll. The chains connected to the collar and wrist cuffs clinked with every shift he made. “I’m going to find a pick to get those off of you.”
He nodded and then turned away.
I knew he was in pain, but I also wanted him to be glad he was alive and well … and back with his parents. With me. His mother. I’d missed everything in his life. He was a stranger and that was the most painful thing. I wanted to know everything about him and he didn’t even want to look at me.
I slipped through the bedroom door and wandered into the main hall. Tears ran down my cheeks and I sat down on a strangely shaped bench to cry. I’d been holding it back, but now it poured out like water breaking through a dam.
I jumped when a soft hand touched my shoulder. Opening my eyes, I looked up to see the loveliest, green-eyed, little girl with red curled tresses. She couldn’t have been more than five or six.
“Don’t be sad. The dragons always come back and let us out,” her little voice assured me. “I’m Issa, what’s your name?”
I couldn’t hold back the smile. Wiping my face, I nodded back at her. “I’m Diana. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Is the man they brought in hurt?”
“Yes, Mikjáll was hurt. Do you know where I might find something long and sharp? Perhaps a hair pin?”
A woman stepped around the corner and stopped suddenly when she saw me. She was dressed in the white shift I now knew was what the Sisters wore most of the time.
“Issa, you shouldn’t bother the nice woman. It’s not polite. Come, let’s give her some privacy.”
“She wasn’t bothering me,” I said quickly, drying the last few tears that trailed down my cheeks.
The little girl skipped away and leaned against the Sister. “Auntie, she needs a hair pin.” Then the little girl pulled the woman down and whispered something in her ear. I couldn’t hear what she said, but the woman’s face changed from a frown to a smile.
“You need a hair pin?”
“I need to pick a cuff lock.”
“Ahh, Seely can do that. Issa, run and tell Seely we need her over by the white room.”
The little girl dashed away, her red ringlets bouncing with each step.
“She’s a beautiful child,” I said, trying to break the awkward silence.
The Sister beamed. “Issa is special and has such a big heart. She’s my niece. I don’t have a baby of my own yet.”
“I had a baby.”
“The man in the white room?”
I nodded, surprised she knew the man was my son. But then I remembered they were all seers. Born knowing things others had to seek out.
“Don’t be unhappy, Diana. Issa said he will come around. The new brother will soften his heart in time.”
“The new brother.” I repeated absent-mindedly. “Issa said?” I flicked my gaze up to hers. “What do you mean?”
“Issa is a powerful seer. She came to you because of your sorrow. It pulls at her. But she wanted me to tell you not to be sad. Your family will be whole. The baby you carry now will be the bridge to link the four of you together, stronger than ever.”
I touched my stomach and took a deep breath. “She’s just a—”
“A little girl?” The woman laughed.
“Yes, but she’s nearly as powerful as our current Oracle, Arlea. Even though Astrid is being trained to take the position next as Oracle, Issa will most likely also be trained to take that position in the house when she comes of age.”
The conversation was interrupted when Issa reappeared around the corner trailed by the Pixie named Seely I’d met last time I’d been down here.
“Diana, my little friend says you need a lock picked.”
“Yes, Mikjáll is bound with dragon-steel cuffs. I can’t break them.”
The pixie shook her ocean-blue hair and opened the white door. “You should come with me. I’m not really in the mood to get melted.”
“Of course.” I stood from the bench and thanked Issa and her aunt before following Seely into the white room, rightly named for its bright white carpet, walls, and white bedding. Well, it was white before we had put Mikjáll on the bed. Now it had smudges of dirt and blood all over it.
“The guys had to choose the white room,” Seely muttered, taking in the vision ahead of us. She shook her head and cautiously approached the bed.
I stepped ahead of her. “Mikjáll, this is Seely. She can help with the chains.”
He turned his head and I winced at the purple bruises covering half his face. I wanted to heal him. To stop the pain I knew he was in. But the dragon-steel hindered magick.
“Thank you.”
“Wow, you look just like them,” she said, stopping in mid-stride. “Even with the bruises, no one would mistake you for being anything other than Miles’ and Eli’s son.”
“I wouldn’t know,” he mumbled. “I barely got a look at them.”
“He has your nose, though,” she added, catching my gaze and winking.
The tiny compliment warmed my heart. I knew Mikjáll didn’t resemble me at all. He was all Miles or Eli. But it still made me feel good to hear the words.
“It’s more likely he has Diana’s stubbornness,” Miles’ voice rumbled from the doorway.
“And her heart,” added Eli.
I turned, surprised to see both of them.
“The storm has passed, my love,” Miles said, walking to my side.
“For now,” Eli said, going to the other side of the bed. He sat at the foot and sighed. “Seely, can you break the locks?”
“You know it,” the pixie answered. She waved her hand over the cuffs, dropping some sparkling powder inside the lock. The tumblers clicked and the cuffs opened, falling to the bed. She did the same with the collar and a second later it too fell away from Mikjáll’s neck.
His eyes flashed orange and he moaned as his magick surged through his body. He pushed the bonds away and they hit the floor with a heavy thud.
Seely backed away from the bed.
“Thank you,” he said, holding out his hand.
The pixie placed her small hand in his and smiled. “Anytime.” She looked over at Miles. “Everything good topside?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Miles answered.
“I’ll let you have some privacy then.” She backed away quickly and slipped out the door.
I turned back to Mikjáll, not surprised to see him sitting up and trying to get off the bed. His bruises were fading already. In an hour or two, there wouldn’t be any trace of them left.
I reached forward to touch his face, but stopped myself. He wasn’t a child. The last thing
he wanted was some strange woman hovering over him.
He looked up at me, his brown eyes filled with emotions that made my heart hurt for him.
“I know you want to make up for lost time, but I had a good life. I had a good mother and father. I’m glad I got to meet you three, but you’re not my parents and I need to grieve for my wife. I would very much just like to be alone.”
I bit my lip and took a deep breath to ward off another avalanche of tears. Instead, I nodded and took Miles’ hand in mine.
Miles squeezed it and motioned for Eli to leave. The three of us exited the white room without another word. Eli closed the door behind us and I leaned into Miles’ chest, muffling my sobs against his thick sweater. His arms encircled me and lifted me from the floor.
Chapter 43
I took a deep breath of Miles’ scent and snuggled closer. We were stretched out together on his bed upstairs. Eli lay behind me, his hand resting on my hip.
“I’m sorry.” The apology wasn’t enough, but it was a start. I had acted rashly and endangered so many people. Children. Families. This town was my husbands’ world now. They cared for them as they had when we lived in Orin. I understood that now.
“We know, Love,” Miles murmured.
I rolled to my back and took one of each of their hands and placed them on my abdomen. “I’m so thankful to be with you both again. We have a chance to start over. This home that you’ve made is good. I think both of our sons will learn to love it in time.” I hoped Mikjáll would eventually find peace. I knew the pain of losing a spouse, and he had no chance of ever being reunited with his, unlike me.
Eli lifted his head and stared down at me quizzically. “Both?”
Miles hand tensed beneath mine. “How can you know so quickly?”
“A little birdie told me,” I answered, stroking his hand gently with my thumb.
The tension melted from both of them and they buried their faces against my neck, both kissing up the sides of my neck to my temples.
“Issa?” Eli asked.
“How did you know?” I laughed, wrapping a hand around each of their heads, pulling them closer.
“She always knows when babies are coming,” Eli answered, a chuckle rolling up from his chest.
They shook free from my grasp and Miles moved, laying his head over my abdomen. “She said it was a boy?”
“Yes. Are you pleased?”
He kissed my stomach and looked up, catching my gaze. “More than you could ever know. So much has happened. We have a son we never knew existed. We have you back in our arms where you belong. And now you tell us we have another son on the way.”
“Love, we couldn’t be happier,” Eli added. “The town’s safe for now. Xerxes failed. Rose boxed six more Djinn. And we have everything we’ve dreamed of having for a thousand years.”
“I love you both so much.”
“We wouldn’t have it any other way,” said Miles, leaning forward to capture my mouth in a passionate kiss. His tongue plunged deep and he slipped his hands beneath the hem of my shirt, sliding them up to fondle my breasts.
Eli’s hands moved lower and I gasped for a breath when I felt his lips trailing kisses up my thigh toward my core. My body tightened under their touch, and that familiar ache began to thrum between my legs.
Ecstasy was on its way, and I needed it.
We were together and starting fresh. For now, I couldn’t ask for anything more.
My Eternal Soldier - Book 3
My Eternal Soldier
The saga continues with the vampire Eira and an immortal Elvin from the Veil. Join me in Sanctuary again for an adventure that will knock the breath from your chest, bring tears to your eyes, and keep you turning the pages all night. Its Werewolves, Djinn, Dragons, Vampires, and more!
The last time he saw her, his sword was in her chest.
Inner demons have haunted Killían North since he killed the only woman he ever loved on a battlefield a thousand years ago...at least he thought she’d died. He unexpectedly gets a second chance to win her heart again, if he can just stay alive to do it. Evil lurks around every bend in the road. Magick, romance, and heart-pounding suspense greet them at every turn. But he’s determined to find a happily-ever-after with the woman he loves no matter what.
The last time she saw him, she was dying...
When the werewolf rescue squad Eira Rennir sets off with is ambushed by SECR military forces, she barely makes it away with her life. Willing to do anything to save her friends, Eira agrees to the mysterious destiny in Sanctuary she’s been avoiding for months.
Only with help from Sanctuary, can they find a way to save her friends from the treachery of Xerxes and forge a new destiny with each other in a world that’s been torn apart by hatred and prejudice.
Chapter 1
KILLÍAN
Texas Republic, 2097
No one ever forgets the cry of a dragon.
The heartbreaking bellow cut into my chest, strangling my soul with rage-filled agony. Her second scream split the gray Texas sky, nearly sending me to my knees. Searing pain radiated through me as her anguish became mine. I gasped for breath and dug my fingernails into the bark of the tree I stood behind, welcoming the pain of the splinters as a distraction from the burning fire blazing through every cell.
Straight ahead a silver-white dragon, the size of a large house, lunged toward several men about thirty yards south of my position. As far as full-grown dragons went, she was no shrimp. Distinct silver streaks on her otherwise white wings made my heart clench. I know her. A thousand years ago, she had been princess in a land called the Veil, separated from Earth by a secret gate. A land I called home. A land all supernatural beings called home before the gate was discovered.
Now I stood on the edge of a Texas field watching the Drakonae princess I thought long dead attack a man I didn’t recognize. The shining golden blade hanging from a chain around his neck was familiar, however. Even from this distance, the familiar hilt of the dagger elicited a sudden rush of homesickness.
A Shamesh dagger was as rare on Earth as finding a diamond in a cereal box. I couldn’t believe he wore one so openly.
She leapt forward again. This time her sharp claws sliced through the man’s chest, leaving jagged bloody streaks in their wake and flinging the chain and dagger to the ground.
Half a second later, the wounded man disappeared through a teleportation vortex with a Djinn at his side.
She roared again and stomped the ground with enough force to shake the trees around me, all the while carefully circling a man lying on the ground. He was a goner for sure if a Djinn didn’t return for him quickly.
But no one came.
And no one moved toward the fallen dagger sparkling in the grass a dozen yards from her position. My hand itched at my side. Desire to retrieve the dagger made me consider leaving my hiding place in the trees for a moment, but common sense and the will to survive overrode that craving, stilling my body and calming my racing pulse.
Just because I recognized her didn’t mean it was safe to be in her presence. She was the size of a small apartment building. Nobody and nothing could fight a dragon unless they too were some type of oversized, lethal mythological creature.
No fucking way.
My throat closed up as two enormous shadows glided by, shading the entire grove of trees for several seconds. I peered up and couldn’t help the tightening of my chest or the way my heart pounded. I struggled for my next breath. Two more dragons circled, their black, winged forms cutting a swath through the grey-blue sky like something out of an old science fiction movie. Their wings stretched easily a hundred feet across, and their length was equally as much —a magnificent sight. But one that did not belong in the Texas sky. No one knew dragons existed. No humans, anyway. If someone spotted them, they were in for a shit load of trouble.
My heart continued to pound in my chest like the hooves of the wild mustangs that used to roam the Texas prairies. Living through the firs
t purge in the Veil, even though I knew and respected the Blackmoor Drakonae family, had not prepared me to see shifted dragons again. Memories and emotions rushed to the forefront of my mind. Terror. Anger. Hatred. I’d lost everything because of the war between the Blackmoors and the Incanti.
The white dragon, Diana, shifted to human form and helped the bleeding man on the ground to his feet. She carried him toward Sanctuary, cradling him in her arms as she ran. The two black dragons flying overhead, Miles and Eli Blackmoor, stayed in the air and followed her to the edge of town.
As soon as the Blackmoor brothers landed and shifted to human form out of sight, I pulled a sword from one of the leather sheaths strapped to my back and crept from the tree line to where they’d been in the open field.
Kicking through the thick grass carefully, I located the dagger, tucked it into my vest, and moved cautiously to my parked bike. The Djinn could appear again at any moment, and I didn’t want to be anywhere nearby when one of them realized the dagger was missing.
I threw my leg over the seat of my vintage Dyna Guerilla motorcycle, turned the ignition, and gripped the clutch. As I gave the custom designed bike a little gas, the v-twin cam engine purred to life. Satisfaction filled me, knowing my hands had modified her from the torn down body of a Harley Fat Bob to the progressive shocks and controls. Besides hunting and killing South East Coast Republic (SECR) soldiers who snuck into the Texas Republic (TR) to kill Others, fine-tuning this machine was my only distraction.
I rode cautiously through the wooded area and made my way to the main road. The small golden blade was cold against my skin. Icy daggers shot through my heart as my mind flooded with memories of fleeing the Veil a thousand years ago.
Even though I was still young by Elvin standards, I had lived through two generations of Blackmoor kings on the throne of Orin. The young twins Miles and Eli, along with their mate Diana Karlson, would’ve made good rulers for the land had the Incanti family not betrayed and murdered their family, seizing control not only of Orin, but the entirety of the Veil kingdom.
Sanctuary, Texas Complete Series Box Set Page 47
