He shivered and squeezed his eyes shut, lips white, pressed in a line.
And that was it. Resistance was futile. She placed the gun on the floor and sat beside him on the bed.
“I’m here. I won’t let anyone take you.”
He reached for her and she climbed into the bed with him, resting her head on his chest, bruises and all. He clasped her close, and she drew up the covers. He was warm and solid, and his heart thumped steadily under her ear. His arms enclosed her, and as she started to relax, his body lost its rigidity and he molded against her, his chin coming to rest on top of her head. Scent of spice and sugar, filling the world.
She sighed, content, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
Chapter Seven
Torn
Warm. Safe. Quiet. Sunlight fell in golden lines through the blinds, striping the broad bare back she held onto. On one shoulder, a dark starburst caught her eye. A birthmark. Her fingers moved on his side, and found gauze taped in place. She buried her nose in silky, pale hair and inhaled its sweetness, laced with a hint of musk and spice. Mmmm, nice. A dark-tipped ear poked out of the pale hair, pointed like a cat’s.
Finn. She blinked. The night’s events rushed back. That wasn’t her room. She was in Finn’s bed.
Uh oh.
Gently she drew back. Still dressed in her pajamas. Oh, good. Not that she hadn’t imagined what it would be like to make out with Finn. There were moments it was all she could think about. But however she looked at it, it seemed a royally bad idea.
Extricating herself from the knot of covers, she was about to leave the bed when Finn stirred. She hesitated. Go or watch him wake?
Decisions, decisions... And she found she couldn’t take her eyes off him. It was a guilty pleasure — yet another. Indulging a lot these days, Ella.
Kneeling on the mattress, she waited as he let out a puff of air and rolled on his back, tensing, then relaxing when he saw her. She saw the moment his eyes softened and he smiled.
Breathtaking.
And when had she fallen so hard, dammit?
“Rise and shine,” she said brightly, turning away and getting up, hoping to hide whatever was showing on her face. Never was good at hiding her emotions and the way she felt...
She rushed across the hall to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, leaning against it and letting out a breath. A shower, that was what she needed.
With jerky movements, she tore off her pajama and stepped under the hot spray. God, too much on her mind without her lusting after Finn. The Gates, the Shades, the dragons... The invasion. Grabbing the shampoo, she rubbed her skull roughly, the foam burning her eyes. A good distraction. She scrubbed her skin until it was red and raw, and let the water wash it all away, down the drain.
Not the best of renewal rituals but it’d have to do.
Wrapped in a towel, she checked if the hallway was empty. It was. She trudged to her bedroom where she dressed and combed her hair, squeezing the excess water in a puddle on the floor. She bent to wipe it and caught a whiff of spice on the air.
Goddamn, now she could smell Finn from across the apartment? Definitely not a good sign.
She pulled on her boots and went in search of breakfast.
Finn was in the kitchen, heating water in the kettle. She stopped and he looked up, his blue eyes uncertain.
“Coffee?” he asked.
“Tea, actually.” She forced herself to enter and take a seat. “There’s that instant coffee crap if you want.”
He nodded, pulled it out of the cupboard.
“Do you have coffee over there? In Aelfheim?”
He shook his head as he measured the instant coffee in one chipped mug, and dropped a bag of tea in the other.
“Nothing to help you wake up in the morning?” God, she was babbling. Why was she so nervous? They hadn’t even slept together — well, they had, but not that way. Awkward.
“Ka leaves.” Finn poured the water into the mugs. “We chew them.”
Oh. Her mind blanked and she accepted her mug with a nod. Finn sat across from her, the plastic chair squeaking. He looked good. Rested. Yes, rested, not good. That was all. “And what do you have for breakfast?”
She thought he wouldn’t answer. He stirred his coffee, threw her another uncertain look. Tension hummed along the lines of his body. “Whatever is available,” he muttered.
Right. Raised by a hunter in the mountains, hunting for scraps of food, not in the elven palaces, his breakfast served on silver platters. “And what did you hunt—”
“I want to help,” Finn said.
She gaped. “Sorry?”
“To stop the invasion.” He clutched the mug until she thought he’d crush it.
“Good, I...” She tried to untangle her thoughts. “You know a lot about the elves... about your people, I mean.” God, what was it with her today? One night sleeping next to Finn and her brain was a knot. “You can tell us about their weapons and machines and...”
“I want to fight with you.” He pushed back his mug, his expression determined. “I don’t know much about their army, their plans, or why they want me now. But I do know I don’t trust them. And I don’t want to go back.”
***
Finn was in the bathroom, salvaging what he could of their blades. After the dragon fight, for the first time since she’d joined the Bureau, she’d forgotten to clean her knives.
Well, Finn had forgotten, too. Small consolation. The blades had been corroded with ichor, eaten away and rusted.
Dave hadn’t called yet, which meant no attacks, or at least nothing so big he couldn’t handle it with the others.
She sat at the kitchen table trying to decide what to do next. Finn seemed serious about helping. He’d rattled off types of weapons and vehicles, tactics he thought the elves might follow. He hadn’t been in the army long enough to know more, apparently, and his rank had been the lowest. He’d also been far from the Boreals’ palaces and tables, so he hadn’t overheard anything. Of all the Boreals, he was the least suited to advise her on how to tackle the invasion.
But he was on the humans’ side.
She had to find a way to tell Dave this without betraying Finn’s nature. Of course, Finn didn’t know anything about the Gates or how to close them, something the elves apparently knew. Or did they?
And what about Simon? What about John Grey? What was his role?
She got up and wandered to the bathroom. Finn knelt in the shower, scrubbing away the rust from a blade. His hands seemed dipped in blood. She shuddered.
“Hey.” She leaned on the door frame, folding her arms over her chest. “Question for you.”
Finn raised a pale eyebrow and went on scrubbing.
“A Guardian. A Duergr. Would he consume food?”
“No.”
Clear and to the point. At least Finn and the old epic agreed. “Not even the newer models?”
“Liquids.”
Okay, this had to be clarified. “The newer models can drink but not eat?”
Finn nodded.
“But that means Simon can’t have been a Duergr.”
Finn grunted. It sounded like an affirmative.
“You don’t believe he was one, either. Why? You never knew him.”
“Wolves killed him. Duergar are hard to kill.”
Aha. “Are elves hard to kill as well?”
Shaking his head, Finn put down the knife he’d been cleaning. “We’re resistant to illness and infection. But a blade or bullet can kill us the same as you.”
It was her turn to nod. Interesting.
Finn was looking at her, his eyes wary.
Ella slid down the wall until she sat across from him. She could see every muscle, defined through the material of his t-shirt, the curve of his neck, his soft lips. His scent reached her nostrils and she inhaled, regretting it an instant later when her body reacted and heat climbed her cheeks.
“Tell me more about your world,” she said. “About your queen. About
her plans. It looks like the Gates are stabilizing.” And I may be playing a role in this, although I don’t know what it could be. “Your people may cross over any moment now.”
Finn’s mouth flattened. He let his rust-stained hands hang between his knees and leaned his head back against the tiled wall. “Queen Adramar.”
“How would she attack?”
“On dragonback and with flying machines. Distortion guns, absorb swords, hurricane engines. Unless she has weapons and vehicles I never saw.”
Her lips moved, going over the words he’d spoken. “You told me about the absorb swords, but what are distortion guns and... never mind. You can explain these things when we have a meeting with Dave.”
Finn tensed, head coming up.
“I know you don’t trust him,” Ella said, raising a placating hand, “but in this at least we need to collaborate. We need to stop the invasion, and without Dave’s backup we won’t do much. He’s the one with the power and the connections to the defense ministry. Besides.” She shrugged. “It’s not like he trusts you, either. But we have to work together or we’re toast.”
Finn’s jaw clenched. He glared. Joy.
“Finn?”
“I don’t trust him because something is off about him.”
“Excuse me?” Ella hadn’t expected that. “He’s secretive, sure, but if there’s someone who’s off here is you.”
Finn twitched, and his face went blank. Well, blanker. He grabbed the knife he’d been cleaning and bent over it, raising the whetstone.
Oh. Oh! Damn. That hadn’t come out so good. “Hey, Finn, listen. Don’t take it like that. What I meant is he’s human. You’re an elf, right? That’s all. And he doesn’t trust elves.”
“How about you?”
Ella stilled. She tugged on her ponytail. “I don’t trust elves either.”
The sound of the whetstone on steel raised gooseflesh on her arms. “I see.”
Shit. “I want to trust you.” She rose and brushed the dust from her pants. “Please. If you know anything about John Grey, about the attack plans of the elves...”
She waited but Finn went on polishing, face hidden by his hair.
Great.
With a sigh, she turned and walked out of the bathroom. Finn’s quiet voice stopped her.
“The Gates.”
Shoving her hands in her pockets, she swung around, tried to look cool while her heart tried to thump its way out of her chest. “What about the Gates?”
“John Grey’s role.”
“What? He guards the Gates? I thought that was the job of the Gua—”
“Opening the Gates.” Finn peered up at her through his hair.
Oh, shit. Her knees shook. No wonder the Light elves wanted John Grey, and wanted him safe. And if the Dark elves were against the opening of the Gates, no wonder they wanted to harm him. Jeez, it all made sense. Not a weapon per se, this Johnny person, but a means to an invasion. An irreplaceable one.
“And do you know where he is? What he’s like?”
Finn shook his head.
Not enough to dampen her elation. She could kiss Finn for this. Okay, she could kiss him no matter what, if she thought he wouldn’t punch if she tried — but whoa... “Thank you, Finn.”
Flipping her phone open, she called Dave.
***
“Yes, it makes sense,” Dave said, standing at his desk, hands clasped behind his back. His eternal three-day beard shaded his cheeks and chin. “Of course everyone would treat him, or her, like gold.”
“Her?” Ella muttered, propping her feet on Dave’s paper-laden table.
“Feet off,” Dave said and turned to glare at the door and Finn. “Close it.”
Finn kicked the door shut. Dave’s face spasmed and his fists came forward as if he’d grab Finn and beat him into the wall.
Whoa. Ella dropped her feet and shot upright. “Dave. Calm down.”
Dave turned his back to them. “I’m perfectly calm. Yeah, it all makes sense now. Why the Guardians and the Dark elves would be after him. He must be alive or the Gates wouldn’t have opened.” He took a shuddery breath. “He can’t be allowed to live.”
“Or she, huh? Joanne Grey or something?” Ella walked around the desk to face Dave. “Killing him presupposes finding him, and if the Light Elves are the ones with the urge to invade worlds, then we can safely assume that they have him and are keeping him safe.”
Finn scowled at nothing in particular, muscular arms crossed over his chest, legs apart. His gaze snapped to her, eyes narrowing.
Hurriedly she looked away. Stop panting after him, Ella. Very unbecoming in a special agent. “So what next? Does the organization have any guidelines for this sort of situation?”
“I’ll have to notify my superiors,” Dave grated out, turning to nail Finn with his gaze. Finn shifted his stance and lowered his chin, glowering daggers.
Oh boy. Alpha males.
“We need to talk numbers here,” Dave grumbled, lifting his chin at Finn — what, a challenge? “Do you know how many elves we’re talking here, son? And weapons?”
Finn didn’t miss a beat. “They don’t need many to defeat you, old man.”
“Humor me,” Dave hissed and rounded the desk, advancing on Finn. “Do that and I won’t take you into custody to make you confess who you really are.”
“Dave.” Ella rushed to insert herself between the two men, raising a hand to stop Dave. She’d punch him if she had to, boss or not. “Back down.”
“How can you ask me—”
“She has over a hundred dragons,” Finn said, his voice cutting through. “And at least forty hurricane engines. And that’s just the ones I know of.”
Dave wiped a hand over his mouth. “What do hurricane machines do?”
“Create hurricanes.” Finn cocked his head to the side. “And storms.”
Ella sucked a sharp breath. “With added magic.”
Finn nodded.
“What’s the fuel they use?” Dave asked.
“Natural gas. Similar to yours.”
Dave cursed. “That means they can recharge their machines here. Any chemical weapons?”
“Seeds. Of special mushrooms.” Finn swallowed hard. “They take root inside you, eat you up.”
“Lovely,” Ella muttered. “Finn has told me of more crazy weapons the elves will use on us. Sick stuff, I tell you.”
“What can we do to survive?” Dave asked.
Finn shrugged. “Run.”
“Run where?” Dave snapped.
“Far,” Finn said, baring his teeth. “Very, very far.”
“We must find John Grey and stop him,” Dave said. “Closing the Gates permanently is our only chance. And you.” He jabbed a finger at Finn. “You know more about this, as you’ve just proven by telling us about John Grey’s abilities. I’d bet my life on it. And you’d better start talking.”
“Or what?” Finn said, lips peeling back in a sneer, ice-blue eyes fixed on Dave.
Shit. “Guys. We’re working on this together, right? Killing each other won’t help.”
“You’re not one of us,” Dave hissed at Finn. “Are you?”
“As much as you are,” Finn hissed back.
“We’ll see about that, sonny.”
“Dammit, stop!” Ella got in Dave’s face. “Get off his back.”
“Are you on their side now, too?”
“Their side? What, the elves’? Are you out of your mind?” She placed a hand on Dave’s chest, intent on shoving him back, but an electric shock went through her arm and she jerked back. “The hell?”
“Don’t,” Dave ground out. “Don’t tell me you’re not pro-elf, Ella. You’re fascinated by them, aren’t you? I read Simon’s notes, you know. You can see through to their world, can’t you?”
Cradling her numb hand to her chest, she took a step back, fear spreading like ice inside her. “I can’t remember any of it, Dave. We’re trusting in the notes of someone we never really even knew.”
“He had no reason to lie. How could you see through the Veil?”
“I don’t know.” She took another step back and a hand landed on her shoulder, startling her so badly she yelped.
Finn stepped in front of her. “What is it you want?”
“I want to know what’s going on,” Dave spat out the words. “I want to know how she can see Aelfheim, and what a Stabilizer is. I want to know who you are and your role in this mess. I want...” He heaved a breath. “I want to understand and to protect this world.”
“Then we want the same,” Finn said, his voice steady and calm. “I said I’m on your side, and I meant it. I don’t expect you to believe me, but it’s the truth.”
So if your mother beckoned once more, wouldn’t you run back to her? Ella shook her hand, trying to bring back some feeling into it. God, she wanted to believe Finn wouldn’t betray them — but one had to be as objective as possible, right?
Even where it concerned a really hot elf.
Said elf turned to her and sniffed. “Vaettir,” he bit out, and oh, boy, did she hate that word.
“Where?”
“Outside.”
Ella drew her gun in one movement and went to the door, easing it open.
“What’s going on?” Dave asked.
Ella pointed her gun through the crack, checking the corridor. “Shades.”
***
Ella had hoped Finn would hang back — after all, for whatever reason the Shades seemed to want him — but of course he didn’t. He fought by her side moving down the HQ main corridor, Dave at their back. Terrified people scurried about, trying to keep out of the way, hiding inside the offices, under desks and behind chairs.
“No warning,” Dave grumbled.
“Told you,” Ella hissed as she spun to kick a goblin solidly in the middle, then stepped in to bury her knife in its gut. Or whatever it was it had. The goblin shrieked and puffed out of existence.
Finn grunted as he stabbed into a rock troll and dropped to one knee to avoid the fist of another. Ella drew a shuriken from her belt — a girl could never carry too many weapons — and threw it at the creature. It struck the troll in the forehead, sending it backward, and it wavered and fizzled out.
Boreal and John Grey Season 1 Page 22
