“Just hold still,” his father said, and his tone held no room for argument.
Magnus returned with their mother’s version of an emergency kit. Unlike the one humans had with band aids and antiseptic sprays, theirs only consisted of healing ointment made from items even Gideon couldn’t identify. But it healed all otherworldly creatures, except demons, or the strigoi, like Riley. Magnus set the basket down next to Valkyrie’s hip, near their father’s reach and leaned back on his hunches, waiting for further instructions.
A strangled whimper drew their attention. All heads turned to Octavian and the tiny figure he held tightly, but with great care in his arms; Riley was staring at her small, slim hands, caked in Valkyrie’s blood. She was trembling violently so that even her hair vibrated. Octavian scooped her up into his arms and, without a word, carried her from the room.
Magnus and Gideon exchanged glances. They both knew that whatever self-esteem Riley may have possessed, was now irreparably damaged. She would never forgive herself for attacking another person, no matter what the reason. But that was a problem for later.
Magnus and their father stood outside the door while their mother liberated Valkyrie of her sweater after dislodging the dagger from her chest. But not even the sight of her full, generous breasts cupped in lacy, black silk was enough to distract Gideon from the bigger problem, like the hole expelling her life force with careless abundance. He knew he should stand with his father and brother, give Valkyrie her privacy, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave.
“Take off your pants,” his mother ordered while dabbing delicately at the gash with ointment. The white turned a sick pink as it mixed with the blood.
“Yeah, no,” he decided evenly. “I am now a big boy who can mend his own boo-boos. Plus, I would rather not flash the room with my skivvies, but thank you for offering.”
His mom looked ready to argue only to be distracted by the arrival of seventh figure to their small group.
Reggie halted just outside the door. His brown eyes went enormous against his chiseled features as he took in the disheveled state of the room and Valkyrie clad in nothing but a bra sitting propped against the wall with cream slathered across her chest.
“What happened?”
Their father looked up, his expression harder than Gideon had ever seen them. “Where were you?” he demanded.
Reggie looked away from the puddle of blood staining their mother’s hardwood to meet their father’s gaze with surprise.
“I had something to take care of.”
“That is not good enough.” He looked from Reggie’s stunned face to Magnus’s before stopping on Gideon. “Get cleaned up,” he told Gideon sharply. “I want the four of you downstairs.”
“What did I do?” Gideon muttered, climbing awkwardly to his feet, careful to keep weight off his injured leg. “Yell at her,” he waved a hand towards Valkyrie. “She stabbed me.”
His attempts to lighten the mood failed miserable when his father’s icy stare burned Gideon to the core.
“Now is not the time.”
Gideon snapped his mouth shut.
Magnus shifted an inch. “Octavian might not—”
“I don’t care!” Their father’s snarl shut the entire room up as though an arctic gust had blown through it. Even their mother gave a start. “You will tell him to be downstairs, or I will retrieve him myself and it will not be pleasant.”
With that, he whirled on the heel of his shoes and marched from the room. His footsteps thundered down the hall and disappeared at the stairs.
The room remained silent, no one knowing what to say. Fearful glances were exchanged, but no one dared speak.
Like naughty little boys caught doing something they shouldn’t, the three moved to the door. Reggie shuffled in the direction their father had taken while Magnus and Gideon turned towards the living quarters. They stopped at Gideon’s room first.
“Wait for me,” he told his twin before limping inside and shutting the door.
He stripped quickly and hobbled into the bathroom, leaving a trail of blood in his wake. He washed the nasty gash in his thigh, applied cream and wrapped it in gauze to keep it from wiping off on his clothes before dressing quickly.
Magnus was waiting for him outside the door. They walked in silence towards Octavian’s chambers.
Magnus knocked.
Several minutes passed and Gideon got the impression Octavian was ignoring them.
Magnus knocked again, louder and harder this time. Gideon had a feeling it was his final warning before he threw the door open and simply marched in. He prayed the two on the other side were dressed.
The door flew open and Octavian glowered at them. He glowered a little longer at Gideon.
“What?” he snapped.
“Dad wants us downstairs,” Magnus said.
Octavian narrowed his eyes. “I’m busy.”
Magnus shook his head. “You need to come downstairs. Dad’s not joking.”
“He’s royally pissed,” Gideon chimed.
Octavian squinted from one to the other. “Why?”
Gideon shrugged. “Your guess is as good as ours.”
Face bunching in deliberation, Octavian straightened. He cast a glance over his shoulder, sighed, and then turned back to them.
“Give me a sec.” He shut the door in their faces.
It took much longer than a second. It actually took five minutes before he stormed out of his room, looking like someone had taken his favorite cookie, annoyed and frustrated. He charged past Gideon and Magnus and made a beeline for the stairs.
“How is she?” Gideon asked, catching up to his brother’s long strides.
Octavian shot him an accusing scowl. “How do you think?”
Gideon frowned. “What’s your problem?”
“You’re the reason this happened, you and Valkyrie. You’re like children. Grow the fuck up.”
“Hey!” He grabbed Octavian by the elbow and jerked him violently to a halt. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Octavian whirled on him, every muscle rigid like he was barely controlling the urge to beat his bunched fists into Gideon’s face. “It means that the only reason my wife is in emotional pieces right now is because of you, because she was defending you, because you can’t keep your mouth shut. Valkyrie is your mate. Show her a little fucking respect instead of antagonizing her every chance you get.”
The truth of his words pummeled Gideon in the chest. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Octavian shook his head, a look of disgust twisting his face. “Don’t I? You think you’re making this big sacrifice, being noble and protecting her, but instead of being a man about it, you’re acting like a little punk. You goad her, mock her, you insult her and belittle everything that makes her what she is, everything that makes her special. You have no respect for her.” He drew himself up, his loathing and disappointment a sharp slap. “And I have no respect for you.”
Not waiting for Gideon to generate a response, Octavian swept away without a backwards glance. Gideon didn’t look, but he could feel Magnus watching him, studying his face. It only heightened the anger born from self-hate and humiliation.
“Agree with him?”
Magnus didn’t even wait a full heartbeat before answering, “Yes,” and followed their older brother.
Their father was waiting in the dining area when Gideon pushed through the kitchen doors and stepped into the room. He stood by the window overlooking the front porch, hands clasped at his back, shoulders squared. A respectful ten feet away, Octavian, Reggie and Magnus stood waiting. Gideon joined them.
No one spoke for what felt like hours.
“Do you know why I have asked you here?” their father said suddenly. No one spoke and he didn’t push for an answer. He turned to face them. “Because we seem to have forgotten our purpose, who we are and what is expected of us.” He moved away from the window and moved carefully towards a table. He touched the
top with the tips of all five fingers, making a dome with his hand. “We are the balance,” he said. “It is our job to fight, to protect, and to keep this world from crumbling into something you are all much too young to remember. But take it from someone who has lived in that darkness...” He raised bright, hard eyes and pinned them in turn on each of his son’s faces. “It is infinite and it will make you long for a death that will never come.” He paused, visibly collecting himself before speaking again. “The women you love, the life you crave, the future you deserve ... will mean nothing if you do not fight for it. Baron is right, there is a war coming and we will lose if we are not prepared. That means...” His gaze shot to Octavian. “Standing with your brothers and protecting your home.” His gaze moved to Reggie. “Making choices even when it seems impossible.” He locked eyes with Magnus. “Trusting your enemies but always keeping both eyes open.” Finally, he faced Gideon. “Accepting the truth and conquering our own doubts.” He moved to stand before them. “We are nothing apart, but together ... we are a force to be reckoned with. We are the guardians of the north, but above all else, we are family and family always stands together. Understand?”
Four heads bobbed mutely in unison.
Their father smiled. He rested one hand on Gideon’s shoulder, the other on Octavian’s, but he peered closely at all four of them.
“Now, more than ever, we must protect each other and our home. This is where we need to be.”
“I can’t just be here,” Reggie said evenly. “I can’t leave Daphne unprotected.”
With a squeeze, he relinquished his hold and faced his youngest son squarely. “You have not imprinted with her. She is safe so long as it remains that way. No one, but us, knows of your bond to her.”
Reggie seemed to stiffen at the logical response. “That isn’t the point,” he said, his tone tight now. “It’s my duty to keep her safe. My scent is all around her house. There is no better way to get to me then to get to her and I won’t let that happen.”
Their father took in a deep breath, held it in his chest and then released it slowly through his nostrils with a slow, understanding nod.
“I understand.” He clasped his hands behind his back. “Daphne is as much a part of this family as Riley.” His gaze flickered to Gideon. “And Valkyrie.” His gaze shifted back to Reggie. “Let me speak to your mother. We will think of something together. But in the meantime, I expect each of you to remain close to home. Veil creatures are being hunted and slaughtered, and we were attacked one too many times for my peace of mind.”
“What about hunting—”
“Will continue,” he interjected, cutting Magnus off. “But this matter takes precedence over all else. I want the person responsible captured and sentenced. They can’t be allowed to harm another family.” His attention fixed on Gideon. “I expect you to begin behaving like adults. You will be civil and conduct yourself in a manner befitting your upbringing. What transpired in the parlor moments ago ... I have never been so appalled. Not only did you insult the head of another house, but your arrogance got Valkyrie injured. Not to mention the damage you caused Riley. I expect you to beg for Valkyrie’s forgiveness, as well as your mother’s, Riley’s and Imogen—”
Gideon frowned. “Imogen? Why—”
“Because I will not have her believe that your mother and I raised a man who has such little regard for others!” his father snapped, blue eyes crackling with an icy anger that made Gideon flinch. “You behaved horrendously, Gideon. Your mother and I have never been so disappointed in you.”
Without even allowing Gideon a moment to scoop up his insides off the floor, his father turned his back and charged from the room, leaving his sons watching after him. Waves of shame and humiliation washed over Gideon, making him feel about an inch tall standing next to his silent brothers. Not one spoke as they too left him.
Gideon remained standing in the center of the room, watching as the sun slowly set outside the window. He wasn’t wholly certain what he was supposed to do, because, while he had been admonished and berated by his father in the past, he had always been able to shatter the tension with a witty comment and that would be the end of that. He had never, to his knowledge, ever been a disappointment, or at least, never been told so to his face. The fact that he had hurt his mom was the sharpest sting of all. All his life, his number one lesson had always been to take care of and protect his mother, to always make certain he never did anything to cause her grief. He had been raised with the knowledge that women were to be respected and cherished the way his father respected and cherished his mother so it was no surprise that his father was so irate by Gideon’s behavior towards Valkyrie. After being verbally smacked by Octavian, then Magnus, and finally their father, it really hit Gideon that he truly was an asshole.
Insides clenched with fury and self-loathing, he limped his way to the kitchen doors, only to have them swing open to reveal Reggie.
“Dad says you’re helping Mom with the applications tonight.”
Gideon began to groan in protest, but stopped. Now was not the time to get whiney, even if application sorting was the worst job on the planet.
His mother was already in her office, glasses perched on the edge of her nose as she shuffled through the mound of papers in her hands. There was another pile by her elbow and Gideon knew there was even more filed away in the cabinets behind her. They would need a three hundred man crew to go through all of it. As it was, his mother only allowed fifty passes a week. Two hundred a month. Considering this was country wide, it was a fairly small number. Other gates released thousands a week. His mother had one rule; no harming children, but seeing as how demons didn’t really care how old their meal was ... the choices were fairly slim. Nevertheless, the endless hours of shuffling through each application were the reason no one else wanted to do it.
“Mom?”
“Hmm?” She raised her head and squinted blue eyes. “Hello darling.”
She didn’t seem angry with him, but she wouldn’t say even if she was.
Gideon edged deeper into the room, feeling every bit the scolded child. “Dad said ... I came to help you with the applications.”
“Oh!” She straightened in her chair. “That’s all right. I think it will be an easy night.” She patted the pile next to her elbow. “See?”
Gideon shifted his weight from his right foot to his left. “Well, can I help you summon them? You know we don’t like it when you do that alone.”
His mother smiled, then chuckled. “You four...” She shook her head. “You really need to stop worrying about me. I will be fine.”
“We know.” He walked deeper into the room and dumped his frame into the chair across from her desk. “But we can hardly allow you to have all that fun alone.”
Laughing, she lowered her attention back to the papers in her hands.
“Mom?”
Papers forgotten, his mom raised her head once more and waited for him to continue with curiously raised eyebrows.
Gideon dropped his gaze to the hands folded between his knees. “I’m sorry for what happened earlier. It was my fault and it never should have happened.”
“No,” she agreed, slipping her glasses off. “It shouldn’t have. Your father and I raised you boys better and that display was ... atrocious.”
It was clear that she wasn’t going to cut him a break.
“I told Dad not to let her stay here,” he mumbled. “She drives me crazy.”
A frown creased the space between her eyebrows. “Gideon, you are a grown man. Your behavior is one I would expect from a spoiled child. Valkyrie is your mate. No matter what the circumstances, she deserves your love, devotion, and respect. I understand the situation is not ideal, but your father and I expect you to behave like a gentleman.”
Gideon sighed. “I don’t like hurting her.” He scrubbed a vicious hand over his face. “It kills me, but when she looks at me and I see it in her eyes...”
“See what in her eyes?”
He lifted his head. “Love.” He snorted bitterly. “I don’t know how the hell she could still love me after the things I’ve said to her, but it’s always there before she remembers and hides it away.”
His mother’s head cocked to the side with her deep exhalation. “Sweetheart, whether we are imprinted, or not, a woman can sense her mate, just like you can sense her. Deep in our hearts, we know you belong to us and no matter what, that love we feel for you never goes away.”
“But I need it to.” He rubbed a hand over his mouth, trying desperately to scrub away the vile taste of hatred. “If he knew she loved me, he will kill her and that’s only if she’s really lucky.”
His mother shook her head ever so slightly. “Arild Devereaux may be the god of his kingdom now, but kings like him have very short reigns.”
Gideon propped his weight forward. “Yeah, well, he’s king now and until he’s not, I have to protect Valkyrie. I can’t let her love me.”
“Would it be so bad?” she murmured.
“Mom—”
She put her hand up, cutting him off. “What have I always told you boys?”
“Mom...”
“Humor me.”
Gideon exhaled. “Your heart is your greatest weapon.”
“Your heart,” she repeated. “Not your sword. Your heart. There is nothing more powerful. You can conquer anything, win any war, as long as there is hope in your heart. Why do you think there is such a strong connection between love and hate? Because both can make, or break, you. But love can make you do impossible things.”
“You mean like convince Arild Devereaux I’m worthy of his daughter?”
He had to give it to his mother, she almost kept a straight face. Almost. But even she couldn’t help the slight twitch just under her right eye, a barely concealed grimace.
“Maybe you should start somewhere smaller,” she admitted almost sheepishly. “Like talking to Valkyrie.”
He couldn’t help it, he slumped back in his chair and threw up his hands. “What good will that do?”
His mom shrugged. “Maybe nothing, or maybe...” She inhaled deeply, held it and rolled her shoulders again in another shrug.
Gideon's Promise (Sons of Judgment Book 2) Page 18
