by Sharon Kay
She turned to him and the smile that lit her face reached deep into his heart. He felt his own grin, felt his tension lift and his blood heat. Mine.
He was sunk.
Crossing the distance between them, he pulled her into his arms. She melted against him like she belonged there, nuzzling her face against his pecs.
“How was Bedwyn?” he asked.
“Windy, warm, and friendly. Except for this.” She held up a metal tube.
Goddamn it. He shook his head. He knew Splinter had arranged this, but he didn’t want to get into why. He took it from her, directing the force of his anger into his fist. The cylinder crumpled into a tangled, jagged mess.
Wide eyes looked up at him. “How many?”
“Thirty, at last count. All delivered to Lash cities and villages.”
Her shoulders sagged. “This makes no sense.”
He walked her toward the elevators and pressed the button. “Like I don’t have enough shit to deal with.” The doors slid open with a ding and they entered the car.
“How’d it go with the landowners?”
He pressed her against the wall and pushed the button for his floor. “They were incredibly pleased.”
Her face brightened. “Really? Oh, that’s great. I can help you with this stuff as much as you want.”
“Deal.” He traced a finger along her jaw. “Why’d you decide to visit Bedwyn, anyway?”
“To visit Della.” Ria bit her lip. “It was a spontaneous trip. I just…I don’t know, I wanted to check on her. Let her know we care.”
We care. Not I care. She knew full well she represented the Watchers, and she took the responsibility to heart. Her compassionate strength never failed to make him proud. “I’m glad you went. With all the other crap, I hadn’t thought to send someone just to check in.”
She smiled. “Gaps.”
His brow furrowed. “What?”
“I can help you with the stuff that you’d rather delegate, or things that may not come as naturally as fighting. And there are things you do way better than anyone else—”
“That would be mostly everything.” He dropped a kiss to her ear.
She smacked his chest. “My point is, we have different strengths and together we fill in the gaps.”
The doors opened and he grabbed her hand as they exited. “Smart. Think I’ll keep you around.”
She raised a sassy eyebrow. “Good. I dare you to try to get rid of me.”
He chuckled and unlocked the heavy wooden door of his room. “Doubt that’ll cross my radar.” They stepped in and he yanked her flush against him, covering her mouth with his. He needed her soft lips, needed her sweetness, because he’d never spoken truer words.
The question was, would she run in horror when she knew? The truth pushed at his mind even as the bond tugged at his soul, wanting to drop all barriers between them. Nothing hidden. It was as inevitable as the coming, fate-filled constellation.
Ria sighed into him, running her hands through his hair and letting him plunder her mouth. Pliant and accepting as he nipped at her lips. Like she knew what he needed…
There was no more perfect female in all the realms. He pulled back, loving her kiss-swollen lips and her tough-and-tender spirit.
I love her. The words exploded in his mind, unbidden, but not unexpected. Gods above…
She smiled, unaware of his mental epiphany, and traced a finger down his chest. “I also met the witch today.”
His brain and mouth fumbled to form normal words. “Witch?”
“The one who did Nevo’s ceremony. Her name is Jade.”
“Ah.” He cleared his throat. “Did she impart any witchy wisdom?” He ran his hands down her back to grip her hips.
“Yeah. Well, she was kinda cryptic.” Ria scrunched her nose.
“Aren’t they all?”
“True.”
He scooped her up and walked to his bedroom, depositing her on his bed. “What’d she say?”
Ria kicked off her boots and drew her legs underneath her on the duvet. “That you carry a heavy burden.”
He paused. What the hell? Deciding for nonchalance, he said, “I do have a few things on my plate.” He sat and took her hand, rubbing his thumb across her palm.
“I know, that’s what I told her. But she said it was something…deeper.”
He scowled. Goddamn witches.
“Look, I don’t know why she said that. It could be bullshit.” She picked at a thread on her sock. “But whatever it is, if it’s anything at all, I don’t need to know right now. Not until you’re ready to tell me.”
Well, shit. She knew when to push him and when to give him room. How was it possible that her perfection kept building? Maybe…there was a chance she’d understand? He sifted his fingers through her hair and the weight of his tainted blood, combined with his feelings for her, stole his breath. He didn’t want to lose her, but only she could decide if he was deserving of her. “Perfect girl.” Because she was, and those were the only words that he could manage.
“She also said that you need me.” Blue eyes met his in question.
“I do need you.” Every second, from now on. “Come here.” He wrapped a hand around her nape and pulled her down with him. If he couldn’t say the words, he would show her. He’d pleasure her until she passed out, covering her with his body, his need, his awe at being given a second chance at mated life. Take her over the edge so many times that the only word she could form was his name, and the strongest emotion she’d feel in her heart was his love.
The day that the stars and moons were due to move into perfect alignment dawned sunny, the sky a brilliant, cloudless blue. But from the moment she awoke, Ria couldn’t escape the feeling of being chilled to the bone.
Arawn had lavished affection on her in the last few days and even now that it was late afternoon, her body heated at the memory of him driving into her this morning. She hadn’t seen much of him all day, as he and the teams went over details of the mission.
Her team wasn’t going, much to her dismay. But Arawn had reminded her of his rotation schedule, and her team had handled the job of recovering Renata’s message. Tonight, it was someone else’s turn.
Tension peppered the mood at HQ. No one gave credence to the mysterious hawk-delivered messages about Arawn, but the sense that tonight was their one shot at solving the situation hung in the air. Though some of the Watchers were completely pumped about tonight’s mission. Brenin, whose team was going to the Carapace Mountains, vibrated with anticipation.
Ria had sparred with Jude, then showered. She pulled on a hoodie, despite the moderate air, and stood before her mirror, twisting her hair into a ponytail.
Arawn had worshipped her body like she was a goddess, but her hunch that something simmered under his skin persisted. Something so big that she sensed pushing him to tell her would be a very bad idea.
No, whatever this was, he had to open up to her on his own terms.
Though part of her ached for him to let her in. She had no idea why he wouldn’t. Her only guess was that this unnamed thing was too painful to broach yet. But someday, would he? Would her huge, lethal warrior ever let down his last line of defense?
She grabbed her phone and dialed Gin.
Her friend picked up on the second ring. “Hey. I was just going to call you.”
“Let’s do something. Can’t sit around tonight, wondering what’s happening.” Ria walked to her window and peered out at the twilight. Only the western horizon held a tinge of gold; the rest of the sky was a velvety deep blue. Bright stars dotted the vast blackness without a single cloud.
“Me neither. Why don’t you come over to my room? I have a new stack of movies from Mathias. Romantic comedies and action. We can trade off.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be there in five.” Ria ended the call and debated calling Arawn, but decided against it. He’d been preparing for this night for weeks, and in tactical planning he had no equal. She’d leave him to it. She w
as only a phone call away if he needed her.
As if on cue, her phone rang. Arawn. Her heart flipped, as it had whenever she’d seen him in the last few days. “Hi.”
“Hey, Princess. We’re leaving in a few. I just wanted to let you know.” His voice was calm, but she felt a spike of tension in her gut.
“Oh. Okay. Be careful. There are a lot of crazies out there.”
“And that’s another reason I’m glad your team is off rotation tonight.”
“No need to worry. I’ll be watching movies with Gin all night.”
“Good. I’ll find you when we get back.” He ended the call.
Ria pressed her phone to her chest and drew a deep breath. She’d been feeling odd things over the last two days, like emotions barreling into her from out of the blue. She didn’t understand it. Like just now, she’d felt tension at the beginning of her conversation with Arawn, and relief at the end. But shouldn’t it be the other way around? She was the one staying home—she should be worried now that his departure was imminent.
Shaking her head, she shoved her phone in her pocket and made her way to Gin’s room. She knocked, but followed it by walking in to find Gin digging through a pile of DVDs on her bed.
“Oh good, you’re here. Sit.” Gin patted the duvet. “How are you?”
Ria sat on the plush cotton and rubbed her sternum. “Apprehensive.”
Gin nodded. “Me too. Mathias is psyched to be heading Willow’s team at the cemetery, but I’m not feeling it. If Splinter gets involved tonight, I…” She shook her head. “This sucks. I can’t help but worry.”
“Mathias will be fine. I’ve honestly never worried for him in battle. Well, almost never. He’s one of the toughest males I know. And he can always tell who’s hidden, or who’s sneaking up on him.”
“True, but I still worry. And anyway, speaking of tough males.” Gin gave her a pointed look. “How’s Arawn?”
Ria tilted her head. “He’s in tactical mode.”
Gin folded her arms. “And?”
“How do you know there’s an ‘and?’”
“Because I know you. Your expression gives you away.”
Ria sighed. “I think there’s something on his mind, something big. But I won’t push him.”
“Smart.” Gin shuffled through the movies with impatient flicks of her fingers. “One thing I’ve observed about these guys is that they’re stubborn as shit, and won’t do anything they don’t want to do.”
“Says the most stubborn woman in the building.” Ria held up a hand at Gin’s dropped jaw. “Nope. Your sisters all attest to it. It’s a fact.”
Gin sighed and set a second stack of DVDs on the bed. “Fine, fine. I’m the same way. My point is, it may take stubborn people a while but then…” She snapped her fingers. “Everything becomes clear. But we need to realize it on our own.”
“That’s what I thought. But this vibe is so strange. It’s in between knowing and not knowing.” Ria idly poked through a set of romantic comedies from the nineties. “How’s Alina?”
“Sound asleep at seven pm.” Gin paused. “You know, she and I were talking today about how things went down with Elegia. I don’t remember how we got on the subject, but we ended up talking about the Makara warriors.”
“Yeah?” The Makara were a race defeated centuries ago, and with no way to avenge their people, they remained cursed to an undead existence. Until Alina freed them in the fight against Elegia.
“Remember how they looked when she summoned them? Sort of transparent and red?”
“Yes.” Ria nodded. A little creepy, but as long as they were on the side of the Lash, she didn’t care what they looked like. “And?”
Gin abruptly drew a sharp inhale and laid her hand over her heart. “Mathias and his team just left.” She sighed and lay on her back. “You know, something about this sword riddle bugs me. I feel like we’re missing something.”
“It’s hard to interpret a message left by a long dead unhinged demon,” Ria said. “Why? What are you thinking? And that’s an abrupt subject change, Einstein.”
“No, it isn’t. That’s the thing.” Gin propped her head on her hand. “I keep going over the line about ‘the dead have gone to rest’ and how we talked about ghosts and stuff.”
“And?”
“And I keep coming back to the Makara.”
“They weren’t dead,” Ria mused. “But they weren’t alive. They were somewhere in between.”
“But everyone said Torth has no purgatory. So they were in that weird limbo until they helped us, and now they’ve gone to permanent rest. Their leader said so.”
“Okay.” Ria turned to Gin. “So that line could refer to the Makara—“
“Because the dead truly have gone to rest. Very recently. So if it does refer to them, the line wouldn’t be true until this year.” Gin sat up and jabbed a finger into the comforter. “And the sword…could be at Ravenbane.” Then she winced. “Or is that insane?”
“We don’t know if Verdak had anything to do with them, or ever was at Ravenbane.”
“We don’t know if he was at the Carapace Mountains either.” Gin arched a brow. “But Brenin’s team is there.”
“Hmm.” Ria folded her arms. “It’s a long shot…”
“But?”
“But I like it.” A grin tugged Ria’s lips upward. “I say we check it out.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Why not? It has to be tonight. You and me. Mathias and Arawn are in the field. No need to bother them because like I said, I think it’s a long shot. We just take a peek and if we see anything, we can let them know.”
“But what if we’re right?”
“We just call them. We don’t need to go inside.” Ria patted Gin’s knee. “Come on. Between you and me, we’re pretty tough. And I can create fire balls for you if you need.”
Gin studied her for a minute, then nodded. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
Ten minutes later the girls were in Ria’s room, sliding dagger holsters onto their thighs and extra blades into their boots. Ria had made a quick detour to the spell group’s room to swipe a transportation amulet that would get them close to Ravenbane. No sense hiking around in the dark more than they needed to.
Ria grabbed Gin’s hand. “Ready?”
“Ready. Just don’t puke on me when we land.”
“Ha, ha.” Ria palmed the amulet and spoke the spell that would activate it. The shimmery ring of the portal opened in the center of her room and, together, she and Gin stepped in.
The weightlessness yanked them into a jerking spiral with such force that Ria almost lost her grip on Gin. Shit! If she lost her, the plan would be over before it had begun. She pulled Gin closer and wrapped both arms around her narrow shoulders.
Gin squeaked as they tumbled through darkness. The rapid flashes of color threatened to churn Ria’s stomach, so she closed her eyes. Don’t throw up, don’t throw up.
Thud!
Ria’s breath whooshed out as they hit the ground in a short fall. Instinctively she rolled away from her friend, mindful of her poor track record post-portal. But the cool night air felt good on her skin. Her body was calm, her mind relishing the possibility of being on her own mini-op with Gin. Even if all they did was stare at a crumbling wall for hours. “Gin?”
“I’m fine.” Gin stood and rubbed her backside. “That shit hurts.”
“I know, but I’d rather get a bruise than puke.” Ria sat up, surveying their surroundings. They’d landed in a sparse pine forest. She listened for any other creature, but heard nothing. “Remember last time we were here?”
Gin shuddered. “Like I’d ever forget. Thinking the Makara were chasing us was creepy. Thank goodness for Tarsa being close.” She glanced around. “Which way?”
Ria looked up at the stars and sucked in a breath at the beauty of Torth’s two moons, hanging full and low in the sky. As they rose, they’d move into position with the chain of tears. She checked her phone’s locator ap
p and pointed north. “That way. We’re only a half mile out.”
Once they cleared the trees, the imposing tower of Ravenbane loomed on the horizon, even across the distance. Bone white and the tallest thing around, its crumbling turrets were a stark reminder of the battle that had taken place here so long ago.
“We should get into position so we can look at the east side of it,” Ria said.
“Right. And hopefully hide.”
A pair of nighthawks darted overhead, wings beating in huge strokes as they pursued a less fortunate creature. Ravenbane’s river snaked through the quiet landscape, bubbling gently, and the women walked along its bank until they stood east of the structure.
“Okay.” Ria squared her shoulders. “Here we are.”
“And thank goodness for shrubbery.” Gin walked back six feet to the other side of some overgrown prickle bushes.
Ria joined her on the ground and pulled out her phone, scrolling to find the email with the message. “In case we need a reminder,” she murmured, turning the screen to Gin.
When the moons weep
When the dead have gone to rest
Where light forms blood
And stone is steel
Beware the poison
When my kin wield
The eastern wall
The sword, revealed.
“All right,” Gin said. “East wall, check. Dead that have gone to rest, check. Weeping moons, almost in position. We’ll call that a check.”
“Now we watch and wait.” Ria turned her focus to the white imposing tower.
C
HAPTER 27
ARAWN CROUCHED WITH BRENIN AND his team in the Carapace Mountains. They’d scouted the rock formations and chosen the most likely spots to view something that may or may not appear on an east-facing wall.
His right hand tingled with the anticipation of holding the Atropa sword. All day, he’d had the sense that tonight would shape his future. At the same time, foreboding that something wasn’t quite right had settled over him.
