Ellowyn Found: An MM Vampire Trilogy Omnibus Edition Books 1 - 3

by Kayleigh Sky

  “What is your name?”

  “Gabriel Lotis. My mother was a Frenn.”

  Isaac bit back a gasp, reminded to look for Solomon, but he couldn’t see him. He stood next to Rune’s throne, startled at the touch of the fingers that twined in his.

  “Your name is fitting, Gabriel Lotis. You will recall the others, however long it takes, and you will not fail me.”

  “Sire.” The vampire sank onto a knee. “You have my word of honor.”

  “There is little honor in you, Lotis. I will have your oath.”

  “Yes, majesty.”

  The vampire stood and extended his arm. Oh god. Isaac’s gorge rose. He averted his gaze a second before Rune’s fangs… fang? …sank into the vampire’s arm.

  He was missing a fang. The pain from that kind of injury was supposed to be terrible. But it would grow back. It would be okay again. He swallowed, not sure why it bothered him to see Rune drinking blood. He’d spent most of his life feeding vampires. It wasn’t a new sight.

  Where is Solomon?

  He scouted the hall again, following Uriah’s path around the perimeter of the room.

  This was where Rune had grown up, where Jessa was born. And it was nothing like what it must have once been. He’d seen a few photographs taken when humans had attempted the first excavations. With the camera flashes, color had popped from jewels and glittery granite and painted surfaces. But they hadn’t been able to continue. In the early years the earthquakes were unnervingly frequent and worse underground. But now his eye took in the arches and columns and remnants of paint. Could vampires see the colors?

  He glimpsed Rune from the corner of his eye. He sat with his head tipped back against the throne as the vampires came to him. Isaac’s hand was sweaty, but so was Rune’s. Hot and sticky. Isaac stared at him full-on now and pushed away his pity. Rune was a brave and powerful king who’d gone through hell. That wasn’t something to feel sorry about. Pity was cheap, which was why Isaac loved Jessa so much. He’d never pitied Isaac. He’d admired him. Wanted his advice. Listened to him. Asa didn’t want to listen to him, but he did. Maybe Isaac would be like Marcus one day. Full of experience and good advice.

  And Rune? He’d already swallowed his own grief. There was no sorrow on his face. His eyes gave away nothing, not even the haunted expression he used to have. He was a king.

  And what am I?

  He tightened his grip, and Rune squeezed back. Then he looked away again, glad when the last vampire retreated. Uriah approached. “The dungeon is secure. No breaches.”

  Rune nodded. “Good enough. We’ll let them go tomorrow.”

  “What if they don’t obey?”

  “They have no choice,” Rune said quietly.

  Uriah turned and snarled at the huddled vampires. “Get out! Go. That way.”

  The tug of Rune’s hand drew Isaac’s attention back to him. He let go and Rune drew his hands down his face. “We need to cover him.”

  “I can do it. I just need something to do it with.”

  “I needed you,” Rune murmured.

  “I know.”

  Of course, he did. That was why Isaac had followed him. As much for Rune as for himself. He’d fallen in love with him the day he’d helped Jessa put Rune’s broken statue back together. He’d seen it before, of course, and thought it beautiful, but not as beautiful as when it was broken, as though it had only been made to be broken and put back together again.

  Rune pushed himself off the throne and strolled to the long line of tables under the windows. His gaze roved the collection, a spark of life flaring in his eyes again. “Look at this.”

  “It’s stuff they’ve been taking out of the tunnel.”

  Rune appeared confused. “What tunnel?”

  Isaac pointed at the wall with the water splashing down it. “The one over there. That’s what your— The king said.”

  “The portal. It was barely useable.” Rune’s gaze grew distant, absentmindedly twirling the bracelet on his wrist. “I got turned around in there trying to get back here after the Upheaval. I lost this.” He looked down at his wrist. “She told me to never take it off, and I lost it.”

  “And got it back.”

  Rune cocked his head. “You got it back. How?”

  “It was right here.” Isaac pointed in the area it had been lying. “I saw it and took it. I don’t know why. I didn’t even know what it was. It’s dirty.”

  Rune nodded. “I’ll clean it. You saved my life.”

  Isaac got up close, the tip of his nose brushing Rune’s, his voice whisper soft. “Is that a thank you?”

  The proximity of Rune’s face hid his mouth, but his lips whispered across Isaac’s as he smiled, and his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Yes.”

  “You’re welcome.” He took a step back. “Why is Uriah alone? Where is Anin and Camiel?” At the expression on Rune’s face, his stomach dropped and his skin prickled with goosebumps. His voice fell to a hush. “What? What happened?”

  “Anin was hurt. We went back through the knot, and he got caught in the fire—”

  “Oh my God!”

  “It’s okay. I fed him.”

  Isaac frowned. “Fed him? Vampires can’t feed vampires. And what good would that do anyway?”

  “I don’t know.” He lowered his gaze and swept it over the things on the table. He picked up a metal goblet and tapped it with his finger. “Mama would have known.”

  Regret rose inside Isaac’s body like a tide, but it wasn’t his. “I don’t care what Camiel says, and I really like him, but we can’t see into the future. I wish I’d known a lot of stuff before it happened. I would have saved Mateo and Mr. Wrythin without thinking twice about it, but I didn’t know. You didn’t either. Besides, you were the kid. It was your parents’ job to tell you what you needed to know. Vampires aren’t any different from us that way.”

  Rune snorted. “I thought you were shy.”

  “I am. I hide it.”

  He stared into the eyes Rune turned his way. Dark and secretive and… hidden. “Me too.”

  Moving in close again, Isaac took his face between his hands and brushed a kiss to his lips. Rune turned his head, the weight heavy against Isaac’s palm. His breath was soft, and Isaac was afraid of the taste of blood, but all he got was Rune—warm and soft. He liked Rune’s plump lip between his teeth, his grip on Isaac’s waist, strong hands dragging along the muscles of his back. Rune pressed in, and Isaac let go of his lip and opened to him. The slide of Rune’s tongue pulled more goosebumps to the surface of his skin. It was a gentle kiss, no clash of teeth. Only soft lips and sweetness. He sank against Rune’s chest and slung an arm around his neck.

  He forgot all about the body on the floor. The dead king who had forgotten how to love.

  He hadn’t.

  When Rune broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against Isaac’s. Without you I’m only a king. I need more. I want you to make me more.

  You want to be a fish.

  Isaac’s head vibrated with Rune’s laughter and the rumble of his voice. Yes, I want to be a fish. Your fish.

  Isaac straightened and rubbed the corner of Rune’s mouth with his thumb. “What now?”

  A slight smile appeared on Rune’s worn face. “I want to see my old room.”

  50

  Rune’s Surprise

  Rune sat in the back with Anin, Isaac up front, the way they’d started this journey. Cammy was quiet for Cammy, spying on him in the rearview mirror as he whipped around cracks and potholes in the highway. They had to get onto the side roads where the pavement had washed into the ocean years ago, then they were blazing through New Seaside and soon pulling into the driveway at the manor. They were expected, and though enforcers emerged from the trees, nobody stopped them.

  Camiel idled near the front of the manor.

  “Shut it off, Cammy. You’re staying. I’m not mad at you for lying, deceiving, and manipulating me.”

  Camiel turned his face toward the back seat
and raised an eyebrow. “Well… Good to know.”

  He switched off the engine.

  Rune smiled at Isaac. “Let’s go.”

  The front door of the manor flew open as Rune stepped out. So many things he’d thought were forever lost. His loneliness something he could never shed. But now, heart light, he opened his arms, catching Jessa as he leaped into them and crushed him in a hug. “I knew… I knew you’d never leave me.”

  Rune chuckled. “I promised, didn’t I?”

  “Not gonna prevent you from getting your ass arrested,” came a gruff growl.

  Rune grinned at Otto Jones who stood behind Jessa. “Detective. It’s been a while.”

  “Otto’s just joking,” Jessa looked over his shoulder. “Aren’t you?”

  Otto gave a slow shake of his head. “No, actually.”

  “Well…” Rune clapped him on the shoulder before he stretched his hand to Isaac and turned back. “Luckily for me, you’re no longer employed in that capacity, and I’ve been exonerated anyway. Sorry to disappoint.”

  Laughter rumbled on his voice, but inside, he was wrecked. His stomach twisted, and only Isaac’s tight grip soothed him. He met Mal a few steps away. She grabbed his head and kissed both cheeks. “The prodigal returns.”

  He smiled at Clara, who hung at the back of the small crowd, arms folded under her breasts. Isaac squeezed his fingers, let go, and approached her. She smiled at him—roses in her cheeks, cornflower blue eyes. Rune wouldn’t paint her, though. He didn’t have Jessa’s talent for that, but she was made for the flow and delicacy of glass.

  His gaze shot to the wide open door again. Enforcers stood at the periphery of the yard. Chins dipped whenever he caught someone’s gaze. He held his breath at the sight of Zev descending the steps. The human Rune had plucked from a snowstorm at Zev’s lodge came after, behind him a dog that dashed down the path to Isaac. The human, somber-faced a second before, grinned as Isaac staggered back from Clara, giggling as the dog jumped up on his chest, madly licking his face.

  Rune stepped toward Zev, his heart speeding up. Zev said nothing, but a smile built on his face the closer he got. Before Rune reached for him, he dropped to his knees. “Majesty.”

  Rune crouched in front of him and seized his shoulders. The words, It’s over, screamed to get out, but it wasn’t over, and he swallowed them back down. He pulled Zev into his embrace. “Solomon got away,” he whispered in his ear.

  “His king is gone,” Zev said. “You are king.”

  Rune shook his head, but Zev grabbed his hand. He swayed on his haunches and kept his other hand on Zev’s shoulder. Zev stared him in the eye. “But I have one last command.”

  “What? Anything.”

  Zev rose, Rune coming with him. “You rest first. We can talk after dinner. Some of the families are here. Those that could arrive on short notice.”

  “Why?”

  Zev’s smile turned rueful. “You might be done, but I have one more thing to do. Come inside.”

  Jessa darted back to his side, Otto striding by with a glower. Mal took Clara’s hand and headed inside. Isaac thumped the sides of the wriggling dog. I’m okay. You guys can talk.

  Rune took a breath. “Jessa, what do you know?”

  The sunniness in Jessa’s eyes disappeared, and Rune sank inside. “About Papa?”

  He nodded.

  “I guess I always knew, Rune. Not that he was alive, but that he’d changed. I was never afraid of him. I always felt loved, but I was lucky. Nobody but us got that. I knew what he was. That’s why I knew you weren’t like him. Otto’s not quite convinced though,” he added with a smile that seemed far older than Rune had ever given him credit for.

  “I’m sorry for trying to wrap you up like a glass figure.”

  “I’m not. I met Otto because of Wen, and I met Wen because of you and Mal. Things turn out sometimes. You just have to believe.”

  He smiled. “Did you read that in a romance?”

  “A Jackson Stork detective novel.”

  Rune laughed. “You and Isaac. Come on. Let’s go inside.”

  Jessa went on ahead, and the brown and white dog at Isaac’s side, dashed over, stared at him, darted back to Isaac, and raced in a circle around them until Zev’s human glanced back outside and whistled. The dog bolted back into the house.

  “That’s Rowena,” said Isaac.

  “The dog, you mean.”

  “Ha ha.”

  Rune put out his hand, and Isaac took it. “Is she your dog?”

  Isaac nodded. “Asa gave her to me. When he was a kid he had a dog named Lady.”

  “I know.”

  Isaac shot a stare at him. “That’s right. Zev met him on purpose. You guys already knew who he was.”

  “I haven’t been happy with this world in a long time. Maybe ever.”

  “You need to work on that.”

  Rune’s laugh sounded more like a gasp. “Oh?”

  “Yeah. You’re gloomy.”

  “Gloomy?”

  Isaac nodded. “In a sexy romantic way though.”

  He chuckled without saying anything else and stepped into the dark foyer. But it made him chafe at the heat inside him. That burning core that drove him into strange places: cities ravaged by the Upheaval, sunken underwater, or devoured by the wilderness. The going away and staying home had torn him apart, flooding him with a pain he welcomed as natural. Now what? Drag Isaac with him?

  Was that what he wanted?

  He wasn’t sure.

  A vampire approached and dipped his chin.

  Isaac grinned. “Hello, Abby.”

  The vampire lifted his head and pinched his brows together. “Good to see you, Isaac. Sire? Will you follow me to your rooms?”

  “That’s Absalom,” Isaac whispered. “I’ll show you my room later. The king said he’d keep it for me.”

  Maybe they’d part ways now. But the thought hurt Rune’s heart.

  Absalom took them upstairs to a corner suite that Rune was fairly sure was above the sunroom. A pair of enforcers stood on either side of the door. They dipped their chins. One had hints of red in his hair, signs of his human blood. The other was taller and sturdy with a strong nose and chin.

  “Are you Nezzarram?” Rune asked.

  “Yes, sire.”

  “I am not your sire,” Rune reminded him.

  “But I am your servant.”

  “They were hired for you,” said Absalom, “and vetted by the king’s head of security.”

  “What are your names?”

  “I am Ryka Nezzarram, and this is Noal Pith.”

  Ryka. The name was familiar, but the reason it was slipped from Rune’s grasp. He nodded, and Noal pushed open the door for them.

  “This is Isaac Hart,” Rune said, “and his word is the same as mine.”

  The vampires dipped their chins.

  He ushered Isaac through the door and closed it behind them.

  His old room in Celestine had lost its outer wall, but Qudim or someone had repaired it. Everything but his old wardrobe was gone, but it had still transported him back in time to when the air had hummed with the sounds of Celestine alive and busy.

  Here, a cool breeze brushed against him from the open windows. Beams of light shone on the wood floors. Multi-colored roses filled several vases throughout the space. The bed was a four-poster of dark wood, the comforter a downy, ivory white. He fought off the urge to fling himself down and let sleep relieve him of his uncomfortable rootlessness. Before, he’d have taken a job. Gone away. Come back homesick and been glad to forget his life for a while. But now…

  He looked at Isaac, who had plopped down on the side of the bed, patting the comforter on either side of him.

  “Comfy.”

  Would Isaac come home with him? Would he want to? Or would he want to take up his old life? The one he’d made for himself.

  Rune scrubbed his face. “I’m filthy.”

  “Take a bath.”

  He dropped his hands. �
��Take one with me.”

  A slow smile swept over Isaac’s face. He slipped off the tall bed, came over, and kissed Rune’s cheek. “Not yet.”

  Not yet?

  As you wish.

  It wasn’t what he wanted to say, but he didn’t think his voice was strong enough to hold together out loud. Easier to let Isaac call the shots and pretend it didn’t matter. Even if he wasn’t sure what did matter anymore.

  He stepped away from the door as Isaac opened it and slipped out.

  51

  True Honor

  A racket came from the kitchen, but Isaac hurried past it. He dashed around the corner and made it halfway to his room before he burst into stupid tears. Not that he was sad—at least, he didn’t think so. It was probably nerves, though a stupid reason to cry too.

  For fuck’s sake. Grow up.

  He hadn’t thought to cry when he’d been stuck under Qudim’s throne. Mostly because he’d thought of Rune hiding under there, seeing things worse than Isaac had, and Isaac had seen a lot of terrible things. He didn’t know what he wanted. Rune had saved him. How romantic was that? And he had saved Rune. It was perfect. He could wow Jessa with a story like that. It ticked all the boxes, except…

  Something wasn’t ticked.

  He swiped his eyes. Rowena barked somewhere outside. He hadn’t seen Adalyn or Dot or any of the guys. He would, he guessed. Rune would return home, and Isaac would get his old job in the kitchen back. Zev had promised. Zev was the kind of vampire who kept promises.

  Come to me…

  He’d set so much stock in those words and his fated. “I talk to him,” he’d told Asa once. “I think he’s an artist.”

  What a sap.

  Rune was a king with a destiny to fulfill, and Isaac had played the same part that Anin, Camiel, and Uriah had.

  He turned on the shower and got into it, letting the water sluice his tears away. By the time he reemerged, steam filled the room, and his skin was rosy red. He put on his best clothes and headed back to the kitchen. It was quieter now. He poked his head in.

  “Isaac!”