by Jaymin Eve
With a deep breath, she turned to head deeper into ruby-town, before quickly doubling back and touching the open gate. “Close, please.” Her voice was light and airy, no command in it this time. But it didn’t matter, the gate silently swung closed.
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jacob said, disconcertion showing on his face for the first time. “No one is going to be able to explain that.”
I swallowed my reply, because what could I say to disagree? Grace had always been a supe with a very run-of-the-mill, mid-level power. Besides being a talented healer, she never exhibited abilities outside the norm. This demonstration was the sort of thing which happened to Jessa and Braxton, to supernaturals blessed with more than just a regular soul. Which led to the question: what was Grace?
Grace Carter
I could control ruby doors. Totally normal, right? Maybe I should have been trying this years ago, asking inanimate objects to do my bidding. I had been wasting a lot of energy opening my own doors, and cleaning my own room. Being a healer was probably not my true calling. I could be a gemologist, bringing jewels to life.
The swirl of thoughts had me half on the verge of hysterics as I fought to control all the parts of me that were freaking out. Earlier today, I had thought I was going to die – shadows and ice burst to life inside of me, and now I was in Faerie, with Tyson – who was my mate – making ruby doors move. Might as well just call me a fairytale character.
No doubt this was a pretty normal day in the world of the Compasses. Probably should have taken that into account when I tried to figure out how I was doing these things. I’d just blame it on the close proximity to the quads. It was as good an explanation as any.
Both of the boys were staring at me with the same sort of look. It wasn’t a bad look, per se – seemed to be a lot of interest and awe in there, but it still made me feel uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention. I also wasn’t used to being the one who saved the day with secret awesome skills. I was a healer, one whisked away from Stratford when I was sixteen, homeschooled, privately educated in the healing arts, and basically sequestered away from the supernatural world. I had always felt like I stood on the outside, and I probably always would.
I did not save the day.
You saved Mischa’s life, a little voice reminded me.
Followed by another that said, You didn’t save Cardia.
Ever since the battle with the dragon king, I had tried my best not to think about the vampress who had been killed right in front of me. We had bonded over our place in the pack; we were both outsiders. Even Mischa, who had been raised as human, seemed more a part of it all. She was Jessa’s twin; she was a shifter; she was important to them. I saw that when she almost died. Cardia hated her the most because of Maximus. She believed he had never truly gotten over Mischa, which was surely a pain that ate at her, even though she had never said as such.
Through my own guilt, I had not asked how Maximus was doing, or Mischa. I was sure there was a lot I had missed. When I was captured I lost interest in anything but my own pain. Pretty much figured I wasn’t seeing any of them again anyway. Now though … now I had another chance. Maybe I could find my place in their pack. I was a great healer. I could sense the minor nuances of a supe’s pain, pinpoint the problem, and fix it to the best of my ability. With all my homeschooling and training, I was damned good at my specialty. But after Cardia, I’d lost heart for it all, and then Trevor had destroyed my healing side even further.
I would find my way back. I would not let him affect me from the grave. I would not let him win.
There was a new beat of assurance in my step as I turned from the now-closed gate and started into the city. A Compass fell in on either side of me.
“Pretty kickass, little witch,” Tyson murmured, leaning in close to my ear.
I fought back dual urges to smile and throw myself into his arms. He was making it very difficult to not touch him – constantly. But it was a bad idea. I was just too much of a freaking mess, and really needed to sort myself out before I lost myself in our bond.
We both needed time.
But … dammit. Did he have to be so perfect? Not just his looks, or the fact he was one of the few men who made me feel protected, but the kindness of his heart and soul, the way he had always cared for the animals in the forest, tended the trees, gave back as much as he got. The intense way he watched me. The way he had my back. I saw how he struggled to care for me while not infringing on the freedom I craved. The fact that he was trying at all, well, it meant everything to me.
The first thing I had ever noticed about Tyson, back when we were teenagers, was his sense of humor. He was always smiling this lopsided, dimpled grin. At fourteen, his boyish looks had been beautiful, but in a more innocent way. Now there was nothing soft or innocent about him – I kinda liked both versions.
“You’re more like your brothers now.” The words slipped out before I could halt them, but as they echoed back to me, I realized how true it was. Not in all ways, of course, but the gap between their personalities was shrinking. I wondered if this was to do with their bond. I’d seen them join together and it was magic on a whole other level, a true combination of power and energy and raw strength.
Tyson brushed against me and my body reacted immediately … skin tingling, palms damp, low in my gut tightening.
“Our quad bond is changing us,” he said, confirming my thoughts. “We don’t have pure souls. Apparently, each of us hold souls of the four supe races, and we’re now starting to blend into this weird hybrid.”
Holy crapola. That was something new. I examined his features but couldn’t see an ounce of joking. “So you might be able to shift and … need to drink blood?”
He shrugged. “No idea. For now we remain more connected to our original race. But over time … who knows.”
“Did you learn this while I was gone?” I had never been more upset about my kidnapping. The torture … I dealt, but missing out on everything? I didn’t like it.
He nodded. “We learned a lot in the last few months.”
I swallowed a roughness in my throat. “We wasted so much time. I … I should never have been such an ass when I first returned. Nothing good came from me holding on to my anger.”
“Where did you go when we were teenagers?” His question shocked me. I hadn’t expected he would ever think about me leaving the first time. “I really hope you didn’t leave because of me?”
I couldn’t stop my grin. “Arrogant much?”
He chuckled, not even trying to deny it.
“My parents are teachers. They got a job in a private supe school near Gran. We moved closer to them.”
He had been close on the timing, but my parents got the job before I confessed my feelings. It had been the reason I’d done it, my last chance before we would leave.
“Jessa should have slapped some sense into me,” Tyson growled, gold flashing in his eyes.
This time I actually laughed. “She shouldn’t have had to relay a message like that anyway. I should have known that if I wasn’t ready to tell you myself, I wasn’t ready for the relationship.”
His arms hung loosely at his sides, hands clenched. Energy buzzed between us and I wanted more than anything to touch him. “You came back, though.” I heard the half-question in that statement.
“My parents decided they wanted to do some travelling, and I was ready for a break from the country life. As a fully qualified healer, I petitioned the council to return. There was no issue at all.”
“What the hell is happening here?” Jacob’s words broke through our conversation and I realized he had wandered off and was examining a nearby ruby water fountain. Tyson and I kept doing this, getting lost in our own world, forgetting that real life … serious stuff, was happening all around us.
As we turned to find Jacob, Tyson’s hand brushed across my cheek. It was so fast I might have wondered if I imagined it, except for that burning path it left in its wake.
I swallowed hard, my breath ragged and uneven as we locked eyes. My gaze drifted to his lips, and everything inside of me clenched with need. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take…
“You two need to get a room, and by get a room, I mean you need to stop eye-screwing each other and start helping me figure out what happened here.”
Tyson’s lips twitched slightly, although he didn’t take his eyes off me. “I’m going to enjoy beating you into the ground, Jake.”
The fey chuckled, turning back to the fountain. With another deep breath, I shook my head and somehow managed to turn away. Jacob was right, we had things to figure out. I had family to save.
Moving to Jacob’s side, I stared into the odd ruby fountain. “Do you think this was one of the cities abandoned when the fey crossed to Earth?”
Tyson ran a fingertip along the smooth stone. “This is one of the weirdest things I’ve ever seen, and considering our life, that’s saying a lot.”
Beyond the fountain was a path wide enough for two cars to drive along. Running along either side of it were small buildings, houses or huts, with thick ruby walls and doors. There was not one thing here that wasn’t carved from ruby.
Tyson wore a hard expression again, his arms tense, held loosely at his side, like he was waiting to be attacked. “I still cannot sense a single living being in here besides us, but with so much magic in the air it’s impossible to know what’s being hidden.”
We started to step through the city, keeping to the main path. Tyson kept maneuvering himself so that he was partially blocking my back and side, while also keeping me firmly positioned between him and Jacob.
We approached a huge statue situated right in the center of the path. It looked like a male fey, standing twenty feet in the air. Details were lost in the red stone, but he wore a crown with lethal points, and his smile was broad and creepy.
“Last ruler?” Jacob laughed. “I think he could have gotten a bigger statue.”
I let out a chuckle. “Come on, don’t tell me you four haven’t commissioned Compass council leader statues for Stratford already?”
Tyson grinned as he leaned back to take it all in. “I could just imagine suggesting that to Braxton. He’d want his a hundred feet tall, because that’s how big it would need to be to accurately represent his power.”
I shook my head. “And you’re so much humbler than him? Yeah, right. All of you have an unhealthy level of confidence.”
He shrugged. “We’re just well aware of our abilities. Besides, a certain level of confidence is important. It’s how we keep others in line.”
“You could try for respect,” I suggested, my tone not as biting as I would have liked. Their confidence was kind of cute, and annoying.
Jacob’s smile broadened. “Supes respect power, so we have their respect from that alone, but our confidence is what makes them truly believe in us. In our abilities. How can you expect others to rely on you when you don’t seem sure of yourself?”
Hmm, well, that was actually a fair point. I’d give them this round. I inclined my head at Jacob and he winked lazily at me. Cocky bastard.
As we passed around the statue, some of the darkness that had been hovering under my magic shot up, and my vision wavered. Ruby bled off the statue to reveal the fey beneath. He was a dark-skinned male with thick, coarse, raven-black hair. His nose was long and sharp, eyes wide and assessing. I blinked a few times and the image faded so I was once again staring at a ruby monument.
What the hell? Okay, it was official … I was losing it.
To distract myself, I blurted out the first question I could think of: “How’s everyone in Stratford? Has anything happened since the dragon king battle?”
Jacob and Tyson exchanged a minute glance above my head, and from what I caught of that look, a lot had happened. I immediately forgot about my shadows, and the weird mental breakdown, and focused closely on them both.
“Are Jess’s babies okay? She’s had them by now … right?” My voice sounded a little panicked. Guilt over not being there to help with the birth hit me. I loved that pack. I had claimed them a long time ago, even before they knew who I was. I should have been there.
Tyson relaxed his fighter stance; he’d been tense since we stepped through the ruby gates. With a wave of his hand, we all started walking again. Talking as we moved deeper into this weird city.
“Her babies are fine,” he said, a soft sort of emotion touching his features. “Jackson and Evie. They’re already amazing, and they have their parents and the rest of us completely wrapped around their tiny, demanding fingers. Not to mention all of the doting grandparents following them around.”
Grandparents. The word hit me like a bullet to the chest. Here’s hoping those little ones would never know a betrayal like I had.
“Mischa also had her little girl,” he said, “and she’s just as stunning and clever as her cousins. Maximus is obsessed. He’s not a daddy you’d want to cross in a dark alleyway. He’s as fierce and annoying as Braxton right now.”
“Mischa and Max had a baby?” I blurted out, blinking rapidly as my brain tried to compute what I was hearing.
“Shit…” I heard Tyson mutter, before he spoke up. “I forgot how much you missed. A lot happened after the battle.”
“Here’s the CliffsNotes version,” Jacob chimed in. “Mischa got pregnant when she was with Max during her first days in Stratford. She didn’t have normal fertile times because of her powers being locked up…”
His words continued for some time, as he explained the crazy events I had missed. Kristoff’s part in it all didn’t surprise me. I had always hated the former leader of the magic users. He bled evil from every pore.
“So Max and Misch were true mates all along? His bond with Cardia was fake?” I must have looked like a stunned fish, bug-eyed with my mouth wide open. “The things which happen to you four…” I finished. “It’s like you’re one of those human soap operas.”
Tyson made a noise of disbelief. They’d never consider themselves like humans, but it was the closest comparison I had.
As we passed what looked like a ruby playground, I said, “I trusted Cardia.” My words were laced with fury. “I confided in her. She did the same with me. Now you’re telling me it was all a lie?” Maybe I didn’t need to mourn her any longer. She made her bed long ago when she tried to hurt my friends.
Tyson’s chest rumbled, and I felt like if I could see inside of him, I’d see dark swirls of magic. “It was Kristoff more than anything. He wanted to rule the council again. Wanted the power back. He decided to mess with the demons, got demon-touched, and then lost control.”
Demon touched? That was … scary. Dark spirits were not to be messed with.
I had a thought then. “Could demons be the reason my gran took me?”
I was desperate for an explanation, but something about that didn’t seem right. Tyson reached out and took my hand. “There’s a chance. Demon activity is on the rise. Maybe you should tell us everything that happened, everything she said over the last few months.”
I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t hold off any longer. Jacob moved closer again, listening as I spoke in hushed, hurried tones. I was as clinical as I could be, which helped me not to fall apart. I started with the phone call, the ambush at the airport, and then my time at the farmhouse. I didn’t leave anything out, describing the torture in some detail.
I finished up with: “I never knew until today that my gran was behind it all. I only ever dealt with Trevor and the other one. They would mention needing information, but it was more like they were just enjoying breaking me.” I tried to recall what had happened once I was brought out of the basement, but it was quite blurred. So much shock and adrenalin. “My gran did mention opening a cage, needing me later, but … I don’t know what any of that was about.”
Tyson’s rage was palpable, coming off him in waves, smashing against my center and send
ing tumults through my own energy. The shadows didn’t like his energy, but the ice magic did. For the first time since I was stabbed, it started to unfurl again. Chills slid into my veins, and my eyes fluttered closed for a beat.
“Are you okay, Grace?” Tyson’s concern had my eyelids flying open and I stared at him.
The icy energy disappeared in a flash, slipping back into its small bud. Disappointment stole over me, but I ignored it, stepping closer to Tyson. His arms automatically wound around me, and I found myself resting my forehead against his chest. “I’m okay. You saved me.”
He clenched his teeth so hard I heard his jaw crack. I tilted my head back to see him open his mouth, but no words emerged.
Jacob shot him a look. “The recent spate of demon issues is concerning. We might need to do some investigating in the demon realm.”
Tyson’s arms tightened, bringing me firmly to his chest. A brief spark of panic hit me at the sudden movement, and my recently developed survival instincts kicked in – I was about to wrench myself backwards – until his scent hit me. With a low, deep breath, all of that panic calmed, and I felt myself relax.
Low words rumbled around me. “I’m not sure I’m going to be able to stop myself from killing your gran,” he said.
His confession did not scare me. If anything, it was comforting. “Even if she is demon-touched, she had to have invited the darkness in. So … I get first shot at her.”
Some of the rigid anger relaxed out of Tyson and I was released back to my own feet. I hadn’t even realized he’d lifted me off the ground. He kept one hand tangled in mine as he turned to Jacob. “I agree with you about the demons. Ever since we crashed that supe auction, I’ve had a bad feeling about their kind. Doesn’t seem as if they’re content to remain in their realm any longer.”
Clearly a lot had been left out of the CliffsNotes version of events. Supe auction? How much had gone down while I was being tortured? Even worse, it looked like I wasn’t the only one to suffer recently. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t there to help you all. I feel like I let everyone down.”
