by Jaymin Eve
I stepped down the middle path. The floor was stone, dirt and debris scattered across it.
“She’s over here,” a soft melodic voice said. I followed that voice, using vamp speed to get there in an instant. It could be a trap, but since the staff was a formidable weapon, and it was in my hand, I wasn’t too worried.
The female who’d called out to me was pressed against her bars. She was thin to the point of wasting away, her long blond hair matted with blood and soot. She was tall, almost six foot, and swaying in her attempt to remain standing. Her very white-blond hair contrasted with her cocoa-colored skin – striking in every way, but they were not the beautiful features I was looking for.
“Mischa is here.” She pointed to the cell next to her, and I growled at the sight of my wolf shifter sprawled across the ground. She was on her left side, arms wrapped protectively around her belly, and she was unconscious, her skin pale and waxy. The scent of death was hovering over her. Fuck! If not for the occasional shiver racking through her, I would have wondered if I was too late.
I dived forward and wrenched at the bars of her cage. There was a crack and the door dropped off with ease. These cages had not been built to withstand vampire strength.
The female’s words shattered any calm I’d been hanging onto. “You have to save her. He used some kind of oil.”
A bellowing roar shook me and I almost dropped to my knees as the agony of Mischa’s pain slammed into my senses. Needing to touch her, I went to her side, and with as much care as I could manage, wrapped my arms around her and gently lifted. She whimpered weakly, which scared the hell out of me, but at least she was alive.
Blood coated her. Her skin was like ice, her pulse ragged and unsteady. I didn’t need the stranger’s words to know she was in grave danger. I could smell the Lunarti all over her, even in her blood. It had been burning through her for a while now, infiltrating deep.
Her heart started to stutter then, and with a growl I spun and ran for the door. She was fading, and I couldn’t live in a world without her and our child.
Knowing I had to do something to stabilize her before we traveled, I paused at the base of the stairs and lifted my wrist to my mouth, scouring across it with my fangs. Vampire blood was strongly regenerative. It could help to heal minor wounds, and would maybe slow the deadly path of oil through her body. Lifting it to her lips, I let the red drip slowly into her puckered mouth. I had to open my wrist a few times, getting as much of the liquid life into her as I could. I didn’t have time to examine her closely, but I could smell burned and seared flesh. The more of the healing blood she got, the better.
She moaned again, her lips closing around my wrist, and then the burning spot in my chest exploded. There were bursts of magic in the room, and I expected to see glittering lights drifting down around us. But there was nothing. This magic was internal.
Everything in my body tightened, and with no warning the bond in my chest snapped into place. My legs weakened, dropping me to my knees. I managed to keep Mischa safely tucked to my chest, and as I held her close a furry beast loped across my mind. Mischa’s wolf.
Sweet fey angels! It was the bond, a true mate bond. It had cemented between Mischa and me, and for the first time I could feel her in my soul, feel her beast and mine connecting. It was nothing like what had happened with Cardia. That bond had been a tingling in my blood, a sense of where Cardia was at times. With Mischa it was as if her soul and mine merged together and there was a small part of her residing inside of me.
And now, more than ever, I could tell how close she was to dying.
Not on my damned watch.
I was up and on my feet so fast the room spun. Footsteps clattered at the bottom of the stairs, and my head whipped around to pin the intruders with my gaze. Thank fuck. It was Braxton, back in human form.
“Kristoff escaped,” he said. “When the wall shattered, my dragon went for him, and the demon must have realized he was in trouble and disappeared.”
The sorcerer would be back. That much I knew for sure. He had not achieved his goals here today. He would come for these girls again. Braxton was looking at me strangely and I wondered if I looked different. Was the burst of emotion rushing through me already showing on the outside? Was the bond visible between us?
I was in panic mode, but there was something I had to tell my brother first. “There’s another female here. She’s in one of the cells; can you get her? I also dropped the staff back there somewhere.” My voice was almost unrecognizable, low and thrumming with emotion. “I need to get Mischa to a healer. She’s in a bad way. He used the oil on her.”
Louis must have been close behind. He stepped into sight. “There are few healers in the world who know how to deal with the effects of Lunarti. The best I know is Chan. He’s in Shanjoin, near the Chinese prison community. I’ll open a step-through.”
By the time Louis had the portal open, Braxton had the white-haired girl in his arms. She’d told him her name was Justice before passing out. Seemed she’d been doing everything in her power to remain conscious. To help Mischa. Or herself. Either way.
“The staff was gone,” Braxton said, his brows raised, his eyes beaming yellow. “And the girl is human. Why the fuck would Kristoff be keeping a human locked down here? He’s practically starved her to death.”
Human. That was not what I’d expected. Granted I’d taken no time to try and figure out her race because I simply didn’t care. Mischa was my focus.
Gathering her frail form closer to me, I reached out with my senses toward our baby. Fear like I’d never known clenched my chest. What if there was no life there? Generally, the weakest would be affected by the oil first.
When a strong thrumming heartbeat filled my mind, I coughed a few times to hold back my tears. Yep, I was about thirty seconds from breaking down and crying into Mischa’s still form. I hadn’t shed a single tear for Cardia. Not one. But it felt as if I had a million for Mischa and our child.
Please, don’t let her die, I prayed as the step-through took us across the world again. I hoped Louis was right about this Chan, because if he wasn’t he’d just signed Mischa’s death warrant.
Mischa Lebron
My body was hovering on the thin edge between life and death. I could feel the cold tendrils of the next life tugging at me. But I would not give in. I needed to fight for my daughter because she was not free of my body yet. She needed to live.
I worked hard, holding on to all the anchors I had left in this world. The strongest was this stunning cord in my chest, white and shimmery, shot through with strands of silver and purple. The power in that cord held essence from all of the supernatural races. I sensed the wild shifter energy, the cold power of vamps, the earthy magic users, and the elemental ties of fey. It was everything, and it was keeping me bound to this plane.
Pain was my constant companion, and in some ways I clung to the agony. It was another thing connecting me to the body, which was already starting to feel like it didn’t belong to me any longer. My wolf howled, wrapping her strength around us both. She was a fighter; she was helping me fight.
I continued calling to Maximus in my mind, through our bond. A few minutes ago something had happened. A warmth had washed through my tired and cold limbs and that had brought me closer to the land of the living. Closer to him. But then death had tried to steal me again.
It felt like years that I hovered with one foot in either veil, drifting in and out of the pain, not enough free thought to worry but enough to hold on to life. The darkness of the oil was seeping closer to the womb at my center, and it was this I fought to hold back. It would not touch my daughter.
A slicing pain cut through me then and I screamed out. Somehow there was still enough strength in my body to scream and thrash. Strong warmth wrapped around me, holding me close, caressing my skin.
Soft words were whispered but I could no longer hear or understand such things. There was nothing in my world but pain now. I couldn’t even hold ont
o the last tendrils of protection around my child.
Then, as more murmurs surrounded me, some of the pain faded from my limbs. It was very minute, but even this tiny lessening of agony was enough for me to calm. I could feel the fire tingling its last spark of life before dying off completely. As the agony left I was able to sink into the darkness further.
Mischa. Don’t leave me. My sister’s voice was soft, barely registering in my mind, but my soul felt her. You’re safe. We’ll keep you and your baby safe. Her warm reassurances were enough for me to let go of my tenuous hold on my child. She spoke truth. I could sense that my daughter was safe now. The darkness would never touch her.
“Mischa!”
The sharp tone of whomever was using my name cut through the nice squishy place I was living in my head.
“I swear to God, Mischa Lebron, if you don’t open those gorgeous green eyes I’m going to start cursing. I’ll do it. I know how you feel about the f-bomb. I might even pull out the c-bomb.”
Even in my semi-conscious state, I now knew exactly who was demanding me awake. No one loved to curse like my twin. I swallowed roughly, my mouth bone dry. “You wou— ” My rasp was cut off as I started coughing. A smooth, cool object was placed at my lips and small dribbles of water soothed away some of the dryness.
“I’ve never heard you use the c-word,” I finally said, opening my eyes to find my twin’s worried face hovering over me. “I bet Lienda would kick your butt if you did.”
Jessa scoffed. “I’d like to see her try, and I was talking about cockswabbler of course. What did you think I meant?”
Even though every muscle in my body, including my face, felt tired, I still managed a smile. Which disappeared with Jessa’s next words. “Of course, the other c-word is quite appropriate for Kristoff.”
At the mention of the sorcerer’s name, memories crashed through me with the force of a freight train. My hands flew down to my stomach, which was covered with blankets. Despite the panic in my body, I was easily able to detect a strong and steady heartbeat within.
I still had to check. “What happened? Is she okay?”
Jessa’s eyes dropped to where I was still clutching my stomach and pure joy lit up her face. She placed her hand on mine and our twin bond flared to life. That energy washed through me and into my daughter, who started to wiggle and kick.
“It’s a girl? I’m going to be an aunt to a beautiful baby girl?” Jessa said, her voice thick with emotion. “When did you find out? Does Max know?”
At the mention of his name, everything inside of me stilled. I hadn’t forgotten anything from my time in Kristoff’s messed-up lair, including his little reveal that Maximus Compass might be my mate. My true mate. Was that why I could feel him so strongly in my chest? I would swear we already had a bond in place, it felt so real.
I had to tell someone. My eyes darted around the room, confirming we were alone, and I couldn’t scent anyone close by. “Jess, I need to tell you something, but you can’t freak out on me, okay?”
She regarded me for a moment before nodding. “Lay it on me.”
Without wasting any time, I detailed everything that Kristoff said. About Cardia being his daughter and a fake mate. About the Compasses’ mixed heritage and how they could tap into any of the four races that they were born from. Jessa’s mouth was hanging open at this point, her hand wrapped tightly around my own.
She shook her head. “That explains a lot. Kristoff’s plans were always about power, he wanted it no matter what. The dragon king thing was the perfect ship for him to board. Then when that plan failed and he lost his chance to rule with dragon dickhead, he went bonkers. Not to mention he’s demon touched.”
Huh. “What’s demon touched? Tell me everything that happened? How did I get here?”
Here was a small, very white, very sterile looking room. Nothing in it but my bed, the chair Jessa sat in, and a single set of white shelves in the right corner. I would have guessed it was a hospital, except the bed I was in was large and comfy. Thick quality linen, not the usual hospital starchiness. Although, supe hospitals were probably much better fitted out than human ones.
Jessa sighed then, and a few tears sprinkled her eyes. “We almost lost you, Misch. You and our little girl. Kristoff used Lunarti oil on you. It’s this horrible demon-brewed stuff which burns through your skin and pollutes your blood. It was almost through your whole system. We had to bring you to Shanjoin, in China, to Chan, this healer Louis knows. He’s been healing you for almost a week.”
“Holy. I’ve been out for a week? I don’t … remember.”
I ripped the covers off my body and examined my leg. There were red and purplish marks up and down my thigh, ugly and scarred. I ran a hand across them and could feel the tugging of the disfigured skin.
“When Max saw your leg he lost his mind,” Jessa murmured. “Let’s just say this is not the first room you were in.”
“Where are the Compasses?” I asked, casual-like.
Jessa shifted on the chair, running a hand through her dark hair. It was a mess of tangles. “Max is asleep in the room next door. I made him get some rest a few hours ago. Had to pry him away though, and he’s going to be pissed that you woke up when he wasn’t here. He has not left your side for a week.”
Jessa reached out and grabbed my hand. “He’s going to want to tell you this, but the mate bond kicked in between you both. You’re definitely his true mate. And we all owe you the hugest apology from how we treated you in the sanctuary.”
My silly heart started fluttering then, the mate bond pressing in on me. I couldn’t believe what she was saying, and yet I felt the truth of it in my heart. In my soul.
I needed to see him, needed him here holding my hand too.
Jessa’s blue eyes were shrewdly watching me, probably waiting for me to fall apart or something, but after everything that had happened, almost losing my life and my daughter’s, a true mate bond with Maximus was the least of my worries. It was kind of a gift.
“The rest of the boys are back in Stratford. Braxton took Justice to the sanctuary. She’s going to stay there until we deal with Kristoff. He clearly wanted her for a reason.”
I sat straighter, relief flooding through me. “Thank the gods. She was so kind to me, Jess. I promised I wouldn’t leave her there, and then I passed out before I could tell anyone.”
She shook her head at me. “Most supes would have died long before anyone arrived. You did good, sister. Very good.”
I let my weary body drop back against the pillows. “Braxton must love being separated from you.”
Her laughter was brief. “Yeah, he’s not too happy about it, but he’s dealing. The boys can’t all leave for too long. Their power is needed to maintain the securities. It’s okay if they arrange something first, but right now, especially with crazy-Kristoff, they’re the only ones keeping America and Vanguard safe. They pop back and forth to check on you.”
I remembered something then, and lifting my hands I was actually surprised that no cuffs bound my wrists. Jessa followed my gaze.
“Ah yes, another nasty little surprise from that cockswabbler. Those cuffs took Louis and Tyson about eight hours to get off you and Justice. We couldn’t do anything until they were removed because your essence was tied to Kristoff and we were afraid he’d do something to hurt you worse.”
“Has anyone figured out why he had Justice there? She’s hu—”
I was cut off by a scraping at the door. We both turned to find a tiny man standing there. He was barely five feet tall, wearing a black and white, draping robe, with a cross design on one lapel. He was definitely Asian in descent, and had an older face, looking early sixties. I wondered briefly if he was human. If he was a supernatural, he was ancient.
“Nice to see you awake, my dear.” His voice was low and soothing, strumming along the wind like chords on a harp. “I wasn’t sure my skills would be enough this time, but I’m glad to see that your supernatural strength is kicking in for
the final healing.”
My eyes fell to the scars on my thigh, a reminder me of how close I’d come to losing my life. I might never have seen Jessa again. Held my daughter. Known for sure I was true mate to Maximus.
So many things to live for. It was overwhelming.
Chan crossed the room to stand on the opposite side of my bed, his eyes also landing on the burned skin. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more to heal the physical wound. The oil destroyed all the skin and tissue there. This was the best I could do with the time I had. Continued healing will improve how it looks.”
With a shake of my head I lifted my eyes and let them rest on the kindly fellow. “Please, don’t apologize. This scar is nothing. As long as my baby is safe, I wouldn’t care if I wore these marks all over my body.” I reached out and grasped his hand and it was warm and dry. “Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for saving her.”
He gave my palm a squeeze before releasing me. “You’re welcome. You carry a very special child here. I was pleased that none of the oil touched her in any way. I don’t know how this miracle happened, but it was a blessing for you both.”
Whatever my wolf and I had done must have worked. We had stopped the oil from touching her. “What do you mean special child?” Most probably he meant the power of a Compass offspring, but the way he said it felt like something more.
Before he could answer there was another set of footsteps at the threshold to the white room. I felt the pull in my chest; warmth flooded my mind and body. I knew before I even looked up who it would be – Maximus Compass, in all of his beautiful glory.
I couldn’t stop from locking onto his face. He returned the gesture, zeroing in on me, eyes as black as pitch with a slight shine to them, the sort of darkness which would reflect its surroundings.
He didn’t say a word as he stalked across the room to my side, he was dressed casually, but somehow made jeans and a long-sleeved Henley look like a million bucks. By now Jessa and the healer had disappeared. They probably just left normally and I was too entranced by Maximus to notice, but it sort of felt like they’d evaporated into the air.
