Never More

by Dana Marie Bell

  Raven shrugged. “We do what we have to do. You know that.” But he’d promised Amanda he’d be home in time to eat, so he wanted this over with as much as Robin did. He sniffed deeply, the scent of death still hanging heavily in the air. “Which one was this?”

  Li’s eyes flashed. “Lady Mei-Xing Zhuansun. White Court, two hundred and ninety years old, fairy. Her head was severed cleanly from her body by a strong blow with a magical sword. Faint traces of fairy dust have been found, but all indications say that it’s the lady’s own dust, not the intruders.”

  Raven nodded as Robin left the room. Where Robin was going, Raven didn’t know. He’d left without a word. “Okay. So, no feather was found, right?”

  “Right. Unlike Lady Ernestina Solano.” Li rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I’m tracing the lines now, but I’m not seeing anything going in or out during the time period she was murdered.”

  “Nice to have that confirmed.” Raven looked around. The room was a feminine study, baroque whites and pale blues dominating the space. The rug he stood on, now covered in blood, probably cost more than he’d made in his life. “Death is strong on the wind, but I’m not smelling anything other than that.”

  “So the trace scent of the murderer has been cleaned away?”

  Raven nodded. He hopped lightly on top of a bookcase, glancing down at Li as he walked the edges of it. “The vents here are certainly wide enough for someone like me to get in or out.”

  “You could follow them, see if you pick anything up.”

  “And leave you alone in here? What if someone decides you need to be shorter?” Raven crouched and tilted his head, aware he looked like the bird of his namesake. “No. We wait for Robin, then I’ll check it out.”

  Li rolled his eyes but didn’t argue. “Then we need to cover every inch of this room.” He spread his arms wide, and…

  Whoa. Raven had never seen a gremlin work like this before. Every single electrical line in the walls was suddenly visible, tracks running up and down them as Li followed them to wherever they led. “Whoever it was didn’t tamper with…wait.” Li flexed his fingers, and one line in particular lit like a firework. “This one.”

  “This one what?” Raven continued to crawl along the bookcases, looking for any trace evidence the other Blades had missed. They were good, but they weren’t him.

  “It leads to the fireplace.” Li walked over and studied it. “It’s gas.”

  “And?” Raven reached behind the second-to-last bookcase and plucked out a black feather. He twirled it between his fingers, reading the messages there. It was his feather, but one lost to him months ago. How it wound up here had been erased from it, the images hazy until Lady Mei-Xing’s death. And even that image was confusing, as the feather had somehow been placed before the fairy’s death, limiting its range of perception.

  “To light a gas fireplace, you need an electric starter.” Red knelt at the base of the fireplace and tugged, pulling free a small cover. He grunted in satisfaction. “There.”

  “What?” Raven jumped down, landing so lightly he made no sound.

  “Look here.”

  Raven knelt beside Liam and took a look at what he was pointing toward. “Fuck.”

  “Mm-hm.” Li pulled out a baggie and a cotton swab, swabbing the glittering purple dust in the grates. “I’m surprised Robin’s guys missed this.”

  “They didn’t.” Raven pointed to where an obvious mark had been left behind, a mark he knew all too well. “Jaden checked it out.”

  “Blackthorn missed this?” Li whistled low. “Someone hid it, then.”

  Li didn’t question Jaden Blackthorn’s credentials. The vampire had a hell of a reputation. “Hard to hide this sort of thing from him.”

  “What sort of thing?” A fall of red hair obscured Raven’s vision before his father pushed it out of his way. “Ah. I see.”

  Raven held up the feather. “I found this behind the second-to-last bookcase.”

  “It’s an interesting place to find the lady’s dust, wouldn’t you say?” Raven stared at it, caressing the feather, trying to bring together the tattered images the feather was providing him.

  “What are you getting?”

  Raven sighed at his father’s quiet question. “Once a feather has been away from my body for a while, all the information stored within it begins to fade. It’s not like filming something.”

  “But you are getting something, right?” Li studied the feather thoughtfully. “Want me to see if I can amp it up?”

  “No.” Raven almost snatched the feather back.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t like the smell of burnt feathers.” Raven stood. “What I do know is this is an older feather, probably six months or so.”

  “From your time in the black?” Robin shook his head, his blue eyes bleeding over to green. “What fools they are that would attack you thus.”

  “Down, papa bear.” Li put his arm on Robin’s shoulder. “No one will take Raven’s word for this, especially if it becomes known that his feathers have been found at two of the murders.”

  “Any of my brothers would have had access to my leavings,” Raven mused.

  “Sayyid.” Robin stared at the small amount of fairy dust. “A focused trap.”

  Raven nodded. “It must have been. And look here.” He indicated a small bit of the grate that was missing. One that was shaped like a sword. “The murder weapon.”

  “He’s good.” Li stood up and also stared at the fireplace, where the death trap must have originated from. “I’ve never seen one that left so little of itself behind.”

  “He’s one of Robin’s lost children.” Raven shook his head. “And utterly loyal to the Black Queen, so don’t think negotiation is possible with him.”

  “Got it.” Li flexed his arms, his muscles bulging, his voice deepening. Even his skin tone darkened and reddened. “We’ll get him and clear your name.”

  “We need to check the other feather and murder site, see if we find the same thing.” Robin put his hands out, taking theirs. In a swirl of gray they disappeared, reappearing inside the home of the second victim, Lady Ernestina Solano. “Lady Ernestina wasn’t a fairy. She was a Sidhe.”

  Li’s eyes flashed. “Lady Ernestina Solano, Sidhe, aged one hundred fifty years. Marriage of convenience. If not for the black feather some would have accused her husband of the murder, but the similarity between this one and Lady Mei-Xing put him out of the running.”

  “Where was the feather found?” Raven wanted to investigate the area, see if there were any vents that could have blown it there.

  “Behind the desk.”

  Raven walked over and checked all around the desk. “No air vent.” He followed the walls until he found all of them. “And none in line to blow something behind the desk.”

  “No fireplace either.” Li scratched his chin. “Let me check the electrical lines.”

  Li did his thing while Raven continued to check out the room. What he found surprised him. “Li?”

  “Hmm?”

  “I think you can stop now.” He held up a delicate Tiffany lamp in purples and greens. “Take a look at this.”

  Li came over and examined the lamp. “What? What am I missing?” Little sparks ran up and down the lamp as Li held it. “I don’t get it.”

  “Look here.” Raven pointed to a very tiny bit of green glass. “It’s missing a sliver.”

  “And?” Li’s eyes went wide. “Oh.” He traced the outline of the missing glass shard. “I see what you mean. It’s sword-shaped.”

  Raven nodded. “I bet this was the murder weapon.” He glanced down to where the lamp had been resting…right on the desk where the feather had been found. He found what he was looking for quickly. “There.”

  Li nodded. “I see it.”

  A smudged bit of white chal
k, almost invisible against the white desk, was all that was left of what Raven suspected was the death trap that had killed Lady Ernestina. “Robin?”

  “One moment, if you please.”

  Raven glanced toward where Robin was looking out the window. “Do you see something?”

  Robin nodded. “Shadows.” He glanced toward a light switch and turned it off, bathing the room in moonlight shadows. “Lots of shadows.”

  “Well.” Li set the lamp down, but not on the chalk. “We know how he got in.”

  “Who checked this scene out?”

  Li answered. “Kim Bridges. She’s a brownie.”

  Raven blinked. “A brownie Blade?”

  “They’re very good at investigating murders committed indoors.” Li touched the lamp. “Which means—”

  “The murder weapon was cloaked again.” Raven was clenching his jaw so hard he was surprised his teeth didn’t crack. “He can get in anywhere.”

  “Anywhere there’s a shadow.” Li grimaced. “Anyone could be a target.”

  “Including Amanda.” He exchanged a look with Robin. “Or Michaela.”

  The room damn near fell down around their ears as what felt like an earthquake rocked the mansion.

  When the ruckus quieted down, the room was in shambles. Raven helped Li to his feet, both of them staring at Robin.

  Robin flicked a tiny piece of plaster off of his otherwise pristine outfit. “Nothing will happen to my bondmate.”

  Raven and Li were both quick to shake their heads. “Of course not.”

  “Nope. Never happen.” Li’s smile was sickly. “Can we go back now? I bet she wants to see you.”

  “Yup. That would be great.” Raven held out his hand. “Let’s go, Dad.”

  Robin’s gaze met his, and the Hob smiled sweetly. “Of course, my son.” Robin took his hand. Raven prayed his father didn’t notice how cold it was. “Of course.”

  “So.” Amanda sat on Ruby’s bed and stared at her best friend. “Talk to me.”

  “What do you want to know?” Ruby fluttered around the room, picking up discarded clothing and placing it in the hamper off of the bathroom.

  Amanda lay down on the bed, perfectly at home in Ruby’s space. They’d done this sort of thing too many times for Amanda to feel anything but at peace in Ruby’s domain. “Tell me about loving a fae.”

  “You asked Raven out?” Ruby seemed way more excited than Amanda expected.

  “He says he’s my truebond.” Amanda cushioned her head on her hand as Ruby squealed with delight. “I think someone he loved was raped.”

  “What?” Ruby froze, dropping the flimsy little camisole she’d been holding back onto the floor. She looked horrified. “Are you sure?”

  “I think so. It was the way he spoke, about never ever forcing himself on me, and the way he looked when he said it.” Amanda paused, recalling how Raven was in that moment, the fierceness in his gaze as he swore never to hurt her that way. “No, I’m positive.”

  Ruby crawled into bed, and Amanda rolled over so they were face to face. “What do you want to do?”

  Amanda bit her lip, thinking hard. “I want to take whoever made him feel that way and rip out their insides with an ice cream scoop.”

  Ruby smiled. “I thought so.”

  “This is fast, isn’t it? I mean, should I be feeling so protective of him already?” Amanda hadn’t ever wanted to protect a lover before, and she hadn’t even gotten to ride the guy yet. Hell, they’d made it to first base, but he’d stopped her from making it to second.

  “It’s why I double-dog dared you. I saw the way he looked at you, and the way you looked at him.” Ruby grinned. “I thought he’d do it for you.”

  Amanda rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t deny that Ruby was right. “Okay, yeah. He does it big-time. He’s…sweet.”

  Ruby giggled.

  “Shut it.” Amanda swatted her best friend, but Ruby only laughed harder. “I mean, he wouldn’t go far until I understood everything, and I mean everything, about who he is and what would happen if we had sex.”

  “Really?” Ruby blushed bright red. “Damn. Leo screwed me and then told me everything.”

  “He kisses like a dream too.” Amanda could still feel his lips on hers, the taste of him lingering on her tongue.

  “Mm. So does Leo.” Ruby’s expression turned dreamy.

  “So how does this whole bonding thing work?”

  Ruby shrugged. “For the Sidhe, it’s the Claim, the Binding, and the Vow.”

  “Huh?” Raven hadn’t mentioned any of that.

  “Basically, the Sidhe confirms you’re his bondmate with a kiss, sealing the Claim by fucking you. But it’s the kiss that starts the whole process.”

  All right. So far that matched up to what Raven had told her. “And the Binding and the Vow?”

  “Sort of go together, like peanut butter and jelly.” Ruby grinned. “The Sidhe exchange Vows, and their magic reacts, Binding the couple together.”

  “Oh.” Amanda frowned. “Somehow I got the impression that the sylph binding isn’t nearly as complex as that.”

  Ruby shrugged. “I have no idea. It’s possible that all that’s necessary is the act of sex and the acceptance of the bond. I get the impression that’s how it happened for Robin and Michaela, anyway. Shane and Akane’s Binding was…under unique circumstances, but he spoke the Vow.”

  “Can you say the Vow?” Amanda wanted to hear it. Hell, she wished she’d been there when Leo had spoken it. She felt like she’d missed her best friend’s wedding.

  Ruby spoke softly, without hesitation:

  “I vow that from this day forward you shall not walk alone.

  “My strength is your protection,

  “My heart is your shelter,

  “And my arms are your home.

  “I shall serve you in those ways you require.

  “I pledge to you my living and my dying, each equally in your care.

  “Yours is the name I whisper at the close of each day and the eyes into which I smile each morning.

  “I give you all that is mine to give.

  “My heart and my soul I pledge to you.

  “You are my Chosen One.

  “You are my Mate.

  “You are bound to me for eternity.”

  “That’s beautiful.” Now Amanda really felt like she’d missed Ruby’s wedding.

  “It is.” Ruby smiled softly. “But as far as I know, it’s a Sidhe thing only. Without those words, the magic doesn’t take hold, and the bond doesn’t completely form.”

  “Huh.” She sort of wished something like the Vow would happen when Raven finally finished claiming her, but if it wasn’t to be, she’d figure something out. After all, if Michaela could marry her fae and exchange vows, Amanda could too. “What’s it like being married to a fae?”

  “There are a few things you’ll need to understand right off the bat. When I say they are crazy overprotective, I mean it.” Ruby rubbed her hand over her stomach. “Especially when you’re pregnant.”

  “Any guy would be.”

  “Not every guy has the kind of power someone like Leo does.” Ruby’s face went from dreamy to no-nonsense. “Listen. We’re human. We don’t have the kind of power these guys do, and for anyone who wants to hurt them? We’re prime targets. When I was taken, Leo came after me like an avenging Fury. He killed the vampire who was torturing me, and didn’t even hesitate to hand over the woman who’d arranged not only for Shane to be taken but me as well. I know Jaden and Robin killed her. Their world isn’t pretty, Mandy.”

  “Does Leo make it worth it?” Because now Amanda was beginning to have some doubts. Was Raven enough to put up with threats of kidnapping and/or death?

  “More than.” Ruby’s expression didn’t change. “Without him, I don’t know wher
e I’d be right now. Probably still sitting in my cubicle, wondering when someone would love me.”

  “Aw, Ruby. I love you, remember?” Amanda hugged her BFF.

  “I meant in a bang-me-till-the-headboard-breaks sort of way.”

  Amanda chuckled. “Anything else I should know?”

  “Hmm.” Ruby frowned. “You’ll probably pass out after you’re bound to him. There’s a lot of…energy…involved in the Binding.”

  “Okay.” Being fucked into oblivion? Yeah, not even Raven was that good.

  “Doubt me all you want, but just you wait.” Ruby’s expression turned gleeful. “I can’t wait until you’re down for the count.”

  “He has to hit it first to get a KO,” Amanda scoffed.

  “From what I can tell, you’re ready to step into the ring with him.”

  She nodded slowly. “It’s not love, not yet, but it’s definitely lust. Lots and lots of lust.”

  “Then go with that. He’s giving you time to get to know him, but in the end the result will be the same. You’re his truebond. You’re going to feel that pull to him, despite being human. For him, I understand it’s ten times worse.”

  Ruby was right. She could already feel the need to get up and find Raven, breathe the same air as him. “Well.” She nodded firmly, making up her mind. “I wonder how difficult it is to seduce a fae?”

  Ruby’s face lit up. “Need help?”

  “Fuck yes. You so owe me, remember?”

  “I owe you?” Ruby scowled and sat up. “That devil outfit was ridiculous.”

  “Leo didn’t think so.” Amanda smirked. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he had a blast peeling it off of you.”

  Ruby blushed. “Hush your face.”

  Amanda laughed and sat up too. “C’mon, you. Let’s get into trouble.”

  “Oh, boy.” But Ruby got off the bed, following Amanda as she always had. “Why do I have a bad feeling about this?”

  It probably didn’t help when Amanda gave an evil laugh. “I’m going to have some fun.”

  “Yay.” Ruby glumly followed Amanda to her room. “Let me guess. Dress up?”

  “Damn straight. Help me pick out an outfit to seduce a Raven in.” Because once Amanda made up her mind to pursue something, she wasn’t one to waste her time.