Black Blood

by S. D. Grimm

  Maybe Morgan had seen her death.

  Maybe Morgan would tell her she’d survive.

  Jayden closed her eyes. If the Creator chose her, would he answer her if she asked for help?

  Yes.

  She sat up. That voice in her head sounded like a storm. Felt like a strong wind and a bolt of lightning. She breathed deep.

  She would persevere. Until the end.

  “You okay?” Ethan’s soft voice was sun breaking through clouds. He sat up next to her. Hugged her close from behind.

  She leaned back into him. She wasn’t looking at him, but she opened her talent. Now that she’d bonded to Stormcloud, she didn’t need to look at certain people to sense their emotions. Ethan’s always lapped against her, unless he was guarding them. And right now he was certainly guarding them.

  She pushed to feel them. Love pulsed into her. Warmed her. Then his fear chilled her to the core.

  Those emotions battled one another.

  She grabbed his hand and squeezed and whispered. “What’s wrong?”

  He squeezed back, but the wind might have swallowed her words. He didn’t respond. Didn’t breathe in as if he were about to speak. She turned to look at him. His return smile was soft. Perhaps he didn’t want to tell her. He must have sensed her probing because he turned his attention to the river. His hand rubbed her arm. She cuddled into him and kissed his left cheek. The corner of his mouth. Whispered in his ear, “What’s wrong?”

  He kissed her. Deep and sorrowful.

  His touch feather-light on her neck, her jawbone. Then his eyes scanned her face, as if memorizing every detail. A flush warmed her cheeks. She smoothed down her hair, wondering how terrible she looked with it all windblown and slept on. Still he stared at her. She skirted her eyes away from his. “What?”

  He shook his head. “Nothing.”

  “Nothing?”

  A small smile tugged the corner of his mouth, and love pulsed stronger than fear. “You’re beautiful.”

  Oh? “Is that all?”

  He smiled and then strong arms wrapped around her, pulling her close. Never in all her life had she been so safe. But the worry in him surged so that her own heart ached with it.

  “What’s wrong?” she whispered into his chest.

  Nothing. Yet worry wrestled within him. She looked into his eyes. “Why won’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” He seemed willing to bare his soul.

  She offered a sideways smile. “You’re going to sit there and pretend you didn’t hear me asking you ‘what’s wrong?’ over and over?”

  His lips parted slightly, but surprise flooded him, followed by a spark of worry. She backed away slowly so she could see his whole face. “You’re hiding something from me. I keep asking you what’s wrong.”

  “I didn’t hear you.”

  “Really?” She smiled but he didn’t, so she lost hers. “Wow, something’s got you really worried if Ethan with the magnificent hearing missed something.”

  “I don’t have great hearing, Jayden. And you shouldn’t rely on it.” He glared and a flare of heat she didn’t expect fanned her chest—his anger.

  She studied his face. “You want me to leave you alone?”

  He paused for a very long time.

  “I asked—”

  “I heard you . . . that time.” He looked at the ground. “I’m a Deliverer now, so Logan’s not going to get rid of me. I guess I can tell you.” He swallowed. “Besides after I bonded to Zephyr, I can hear better. Just—it’s not the same. As it was.”

  He wasn’t making sense.

  He looked at her and opened his mouth, closed it. Touched his left ear.

  Jayden cupped a hand over his ear. The same one that soldier had punched over and over. Her fingers trembled. “You can’t hear out of it.”

  He shook his head.

  She pressed her hand to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, Ethan. I—”

  “It’s not your fault. I should have told Logan. I just—”

  “It’s okay.” Jayden trailed her hand over his neck. He’d protected her. That was how it happened. “Thank you.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers. “For what?”

  The smile in his voice was beautiful. “For protecting me. You make me feel safe, Ethan.”

  He stared at her for a moment, then pushed her back gently, keeping his hands on her arms. “Well, I’m not keeping you safe, not as long as Belladonna has a link to me. She can find me. You understand that, don’t you?”

  “I do. But your talent—”

  “I’m not going to take any chances.”

  She grabbed his hand and clutched it up to her heart. His fear was her fear, too. “Don’t you dare do anything stupid.”

  “There you are.” Chloe popped through the trees and stared at them, arms crossed. “Where’s Serena?”

  Ethan shrugged. “Haven’t seen her.”

  Chloe’s hands fell to her sides. “Then she’s nowhere.”

  Ethan’s voice became hard. “What do you mean, nowhere?”

  “I mean no one has seen her.”

  “Since when?” Ethan stood.

  “Heavens, Ethan. What do you take me for? When I tell you she’s missing, I mean Logan has been looking for her.”

  Stormcloud landed, fluttering her wings into place. Worry pulsed from her. Jayden’s heart dropped into her stomach and she rose. “Why didn’t I see this?”

  Ethan turned to her. “See what?”

  Chloe pushed Ethan aside and grabbed Jayden’s arms. “She did it, didn’t she?”

  Ethan’s eyes pleaded with Jayden. “Did what?”

  Chloe shot him a look over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

  “Snare me,” he whispered and walked away. A growl rose up from him, and he slammed his fist into a dried tree. The branch splintered and snapped in two.

  Jayden stepped back from him.

  Chloe didn’t. She caught up to him and grabbed his arm before he could throw another punch. “Ethan.” He pulled against her grip, but she held tight to his arm. “She did what I would have if Logan hadn’t left that wolf guarding my tent last night.”

  Ethan thrust a finger toward Chloe’s face; she didn’t flinch. “What she did was stupid.”

  “Right. I forgot.” She slammed her finger into his chest. “Only you can run off in the night without a word.”

  He clenched his jaw. “This is different.”

  “Is it? I know you were out here with Jayden all night.”

  “It was an accident. Nothing . . . happened.”

  Chloe smirked. “That’s not what I mean.” For a moment her eyes met Jayden’s and filled with pity. Why? Jayden’s heart jumped.

  Chloe turned back to Ethan. “You meant to say goodbye to her—without truly saying it. You mean to go after Ryan. Alone.”

  He stood there staring at her.

  A cold shiver spread through Jayden’s core.

  “Tell me you didn’t plan to.” Chloe put her hands on her hips.

  He held out his hands as if to calm her rising temper. “Chloe—”

  “Tell me!”

  Jayden stepped closer to them both, still too far away to touch him, but his emotions poured into her even so. Regret pulsed strongest. “Ethan? Is it true?” Her voice seemed so fragile in the open air.

  His shoulders slumped. “He’s my brother.”

  Jayden’s heart sped. “You planned to go after him?”

  Chloe’s voice rose and tears joined her anger. “Of course he did.”

  Zephyr landed behind Ethan and tilted his head. Jayden’s throat tightened. Was he here to take Ethan away? “Ethan?”

  Ethan headed toward the gryphon. “Serena can’t be far. And Belladonna can sense me. If you’re with me, you’re in danger because of me.”

  Jayden stood rooted. Her eyes stung with coming tears. “Ethan, please.”

  Chloe grabbed his sleeve. “Wait. She could be a night away. And the unicorn wi
ll be traveling invisible—if she’s riding him, you won’t see either of them.”

  “I have to do something.” He snapped.

  “I’m coming with you.” Jayden was surprised to hear Chloe say the same thing, only Chloe was still holding Ethan’s shirt. Jayden looked down at her leaden feet. Where was she? Standing on the other side of the tree, practically worlds away, all because she hadn’t rushed to comfort him when he was angry, and Chloe had. Chloe . . . had.

  “Chloe,” his voice was soft, and he gently removed her hand from his sleeve. “I’m just going to find Serena.”

  She shook her head wildly. “You’ll join her.”

  He stared at her.

  Tears brimmed in Chloe’s eyes. “Ethan, please.”

  “Please?” His eyes traced her face. “You want me to join Serena? I will. I will if—”

  “No!” She flung her arms around him so hard he staggered back, but remained in her embrace. “I want you safe. I’ve already lost one brother to the Mistress’s hands.”

  Shock shot through Ethan like a bolting deer; Jayden felt it in her own heart. He looked at Jayden over Chloe’s shaking shoulder and spread up his palms as if to tell her Chloe’s behavior confounded him. Jayden could do nothing more than stare at Chloe’s back. At the way she buried her face in Ethan’s shirt. At the way she hugged him. How could Jayden have missed it? Chloe was . . . she loved Ethan. Not like a brother. She loved him. And it looked like Ethan had no idea. He put his arms on her as if to try and see her face. She squeezed him tighter.

  “Hey.” He rubbed her shoulder. “I’m—all I want to do is protect those I love.”

  “You always say that.” Chloe’s voice muffled against his shirt.

  “I always mean it.”

  “That’s what scares me.” She looked at him, voicing Jayden’s thoughts.

  “Wait a minute.” He shook his head. “You—you’re—this whole time you’ve been trying to keep me here, haven’t you? Everything you did was to get Ryan rescued and make sure I had no cause to go after him myself. Wasn’t it?”

  She turned away from him, her face scrunching up. Jayden opened her talent. Of course love bloomed in Chloe. And fear. And so much pain.

  “Chloe?” He tried to turn her head to look at him and she wouldn’t. “You were protecting me?” He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. “Thank you.”

  Tears spilled out of Chloe’s eyes and she wiped them away. Turned and faced him. “You’re not mad?”

  He smiled. “I didn’t say that.”

  She laughed and pushed his chest, but he didn’t let go of her. She sank back into his arms, closing her eyes. “You never let anyone protect you.”

  A ball formed in Jayden’s throat.

  He rubbed Chloe’s back. “That’s not true.”

  “It is. And you need protecting.” The love exploded. Jayden’s breath caught. If Ethan knew how Chloe felt, would he? . . . She blinked her thoughts away. She could not think about this right now. Serena was the first problem. “Take Chloe with you on Zephyr. I’ll ride Storm.”

  Ethan’s eyebrows pulled together. “Jayden—”

  “If we split up, we have better odds of finding Serena.”

  He let Chloe go and walked closer to Jayden. “You can’t go alone.”

  “Go where?” Gavin’s voice caused Jayden to turn.

  “To look for Serena,” Chloe answered.

  Gavin sighed. “I’ve already sent Glider. And Kara’s gone, too.”

  “Snare me,” Ethan whispered. “Did they leave together?”

  Jayden’s heart jolted. So Kara had betrayed her again. “She’ll give Serena to the Mistress.”

  Ethan whirled to face her. “I felt no threat for her.”

  “Meaning?” It was Logan who had found them now. Melanie and Rebekah and Quinn followed close behind.

  “Meaning if she left with Kara, Kara wasn’t planning any harm to her at the time.”

  “But if Serena followed Kara?” Logan rubbed his hand over his face. “Westwind can’t track the unicorn.”

  “What about Kara?” Ethan asked.

  Logan shook his head. “He can’t find her scent. It disappears.”

  Ethan balled his hand into a fist.

  “So they are together,” Quinn said. “Dash will hide their tracks, their scent, everything. We won’t be able to find them. The trees will not betray a unicorn in hiding. It is against their code.”

  “Trees have a code?” Ethan practically yelled.

  Quinn’s eyes widened.

  Ethan turned away from her, running his hand over his face. Jayden wanted to calm him, but Stormcloud’s thoughts interrupted her.

  “Dash and I walked in the woods last night. Together. He seemed to say good-bye to me. I didn’t realize he meant this. I thought he meant just in case we didn’t . . . make it.”

  Jayden stared at Stormcloud and felt her friend’s sadness. Then she shook all the feelings from her and turned to Logan. “Kara promised to help us defeat Franco. This might be part of her plan.”

  “Plan?” Ethan’s voice sounded harsh. “Kara has a plan all right. She always has a plan. That doesn’t mean it’s trustworthy. In fact—”

  “Let them be.” Morgan walked toward their circle. The way she clasped her hands in front of her made her look unsure, which wasn’t normal.

  Ethan walked right up to her, Chloe in his wake. “What do you see?” Ethan’s voice grew quieter, yet harder.

  “It’s Ryan’s best chance of survival if Serena gets into the palace.” Morgan held up her hands. “I met Ryan at the Winking Fox one night. I knew this Belladonna you speak of would take him because I’d seen him saving someone. If you go after Serena to stop her, Ryan will give his allegiance to the Mistress. And she will take his portion of the Creator’s power and kill him. You have to let Serena go. She’s his best chance.”

  “You knew she would capture my brother?” Chloe screamed and lunged at Morgan, but Ethan caught her and held her back.

  Jayden walked over to Chloe and touched her shoulder, letting her talent calm Chloe down.

  Chloe breathed in and stopped struggling to get to Morgan.

  Then Jayden rubbed her hand over Ethan’s arm. He glanced at her and grabbed her hand. Squeezed.

  Morgan stepped back, staring at the ground. “I didn’t know who Ryan was. Only that I’d seen him before. My sister is in the palace, too. She’ll help—”

  “Your sister!” Chloe lunged again. “You let him get captured so he’d save your sister?”

  Morgan backed up with her arms out.

  Jayden swallowed, her throat thick. “Does Ryan survive? In your vision, does he—”

  “I don’t know.”

  Ethan gripped Chloe’s shoulders, but this time she fell to her knees.

  “Their best chance of survival is if we are there, at the palace, waiting to fight off the army that will chase them out.” Morgan glanced at Logan and remorse poured out of her.

  “Army,” Rebekah whispered. “Then the Mistress knows Ryan is a Deliverer.”

  Exhausted, Jayden lay back on her bedroll and watched the last of the cookfire burn out. Logan had led them fast today. Chloe and Quinn already slept, curled up close to her. Jayden couldn’t. Instead, she strained to see any stars breaking though the red haze that grew denser as they neared the northern edge of the borderlands.

  They were close to the levels now.

  The first level they would face contained monsters called shadow wolves. Strange, strangled cries rode on the wind and sent a shudder through Stormcloud. Jayden felt it over the bond.

  “The Whisperer says these creatures fly?”

  “Yes.” Jayden could only hope the map from Quinn’s trees was accurate. It meant they were in a safe spot tonight. And Jayden didn’t want to be bitten by something that could take over her mind while she slept. She rolled onto her side to see if Ethan had returned from talking with Logan. She caught sight of him, but he’d stopped to talk to
Morgan. Jayden’s stomach tightened. He stood with his right ear tipped subtly toward Morgan.

  As she spoke, Ethan bowed his head. Stared at his folded hands as he nodded.

  Jayden’s heart clutched.

  What had Morgan seen now?

  Ethan nodded, and their conversation ended, but Morgan glanced at Jayden with a sad look.

  Jayden gasped and sat up.

  “Not sleeping yet?” Ethan sat next to her. He smiled, but his heart felt heavy to her.

  She shook her head. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”

  “About what?” Ethan faced Jayden and, though he wore a smile, the depths of those brown eyes revealed how much his heart ached. Jayden placed her hand on his arm, and he took her hand in his, rubbing her fingers like a worry stone.

  Why hadn’t she thought to comfort him before? “Are you okay?”

  He looked into her eyes and took a deep breath. “Chloe worries me. I think she’ll take off like Serena did and get herself killed.”

  “You’ll keep her safe.”

  His heart seemed to stop, and he looked at her, his eyes dark, narrowed. And he studied her face. His emotions leeched away from her.

  She touched his arm. “No. Don’t shut me out. Please.”

  He looked up at her, brows furrowed. “You feel that?”

  “It makes your emotions unreachable to me.”

  “I’m sorry.” Nothing changed, but he dropped her hand and looked at his lap. “I’m not doing it to hide anything from you. I’m doing it for me. It’s too overwhelming to feel everything.”

  She touched his cheek. “Then let me help carry your burden.”

  That familiar lopsided smile filled his face, and he leaned in and gave her the gentlest kiss. “You help me more than you know.”

  She rested her head on his shoulder. “Good. I couldn’t bear it if I wasn’t helping you.”

  His fingers trailed the length of her arm and stopped at her hand, which he took hold of.

  She whispered, “What did Morgan say?”

  He remained quiet for too long.

  Perhaps he hadn’t heard. She looked at him. “Ethan? What did—?”

  “I heard you,” he said quietly. “I asked her about Ryan, but she said some other things that . . . that I think she meant to say without saying them.”

  Jayden’s throat tightened. “A hint at your future?”