Emerald Fire (A Blushing Death Novel Book 6)

by Suzanne M. Sabol

  He pressed his forehead against mine and closed his eyes.

  “The Packs won’t agree to exposure. Our nature is to protect our own.”

  “Humans will find out eventually,” Patrick offered. “There science is uncovering things every day. We can’t possibly avoid every cell phone and camera. It’s a matter of time before the unexplained is explained. This is our time to make it what we want. To shape the conversation,” Patrick offered, the vehemence in his voice strong and clear. This wasn’t the first time he’d considered revealing what he was but maybe it was the first opportunity that proved its worth.

  “What do we do?”

  “We make your names synonymous with charity and goodwill. When humans think of Patrick Cavanaugh or Trevelyan Dean, I want them to think ‘They’re a hell of a good guy.’ I want them to think that if either one of you is a vampire or werewolf, then they can’t be half bad.”

  “We will need to reach out to other packs and colonies. We will need them behind us as well,” Patrick said, stepping up behind me. He rested his hands on my shoulders. “It will require a diplomatic flare from all of us.”

  “That’s easier said than done for some people,” I said, holding in the laugh at Dean’s pained expression.

  He grinned, the corner of his mouth twisting in a smirk.

  “Right now, I just want to crawl into bed and sleep for a year,” Dean answered.

  “I wish we could,” I almost whined. A nice warm bed with Dean on one side and Patrick on the other sounded like heaven. I did, however, still have one outstanding matter that I couldn’t ignore any longer. Dean opened his eyes, stared down at me, and furrowed his tanned brow.

  “The mole,” Patrick offered, probably sensing my unease.

  I nodded. I couldn’t bring myself to say his name aloud. It hurt too much, and I didn’t want him to know I was coming. Nova would serve one last service for me. As an example.

  Chapter 33

  I drew away from them, unwilling to take the comfort they offered. If I didn’t shut down and bury all my emotion deep, I didn’t think I would be able to do what needed to be done.

  I stepped inside the attic, putting some distance between Patrick, Dean, and me. Once I could breathe without the scent of either of them filling my nose, I shoved those emotions down deep and closed everything else out.

  “It’s creepy when she does that,” Dean growled.

  “It’s precisely her ability to compartmentalize that has allowed her to survive for so long,” Patrick offered, striding by me and down the stairs.

  I followed, not feeling the need to contribute.

  “It still makes me uneasy,” Dean grumbled.

  Patrick stopped. “How so?” Turning to face Dean, Patrick cut me off and I stopped too.

  “One minute she’s in my head and the next she’s gone. Like I’m missing a part of me.”

  “Then it is the same for both of us. We must remember that for what is to come,” Patrick said as he turned back down the hall.

  I could already see the wheels turning in his head. I couldn’t even fathom what he was strategizing about but at that very moment, I didn’t care. We descended the stairs into the foyer and the sound of conversation seemed easy as Alex, Niyati, Tag, and Nova talked about what happened next. Kurt and Konstantin stood as silent sentinels with grim expressions and folded arms over their chests, blocking Isidro’s exits at the dining room and the foyer doors.

  Patrick entered the living room first, then me, followed by Dean. Isidro watched from his position on the couch but didn’t say a word.

  I turned my gaze to Nova, the dark, almost-black hair shining, his bright blue eyes open and clear, and the perfection of his porcelain white skin. No matter how beautiful he was or how much I loved him, retribution churned in the pit of my gut.

  “I would have protected you with my last breath. You know that, don’t you?” I said as the room fell silent.

  Every gaze turned to me with confusion. All except Isidro and Nova. Nova’s blue eyes stared at me in horror, the muscles along his jaw jumping as his teeth clenched.

  “Why?” I asked, hearing the rage in my voice. “Why would you betray us to him?” I shot my arm out, pointing a finger at Isidro.

  Several things happened at once. Alex stepped over to Isidro, shoving him back down into the couch when he started to rise. Niyati and Tag flanked Nova. They didn’t touch him, but they made it clear he wasn’t to move. Patrick stepped to my left while Dean held his position at the dining room, mirroring Kurt on the either side of the pocket doors.

  “Dahlia?” Nova’s voice quaked. I could smell the fear radiating off of him like smoke. “What do you mean, my little—” he began but I couldn’t let him finish that name. Somehow his pet name for me was now tainted, a symbol of his betrayal. It turned my stomach to hear him use it.

  “Don’t,” I whispered, keeping my voice even. I took a breath and then another, trying to wipe his pitiful, pleading eyes from my mind. There was still a tiny part of me that wished I was wrong. I’d loved him, protected him, cared for him because he was mine. As I met his gaze now, I realized I’d been wrong or he wouldn’t have been able to betray us as he had. “Just tell me why.”

  “I had no choice,” he said so softly that I almost didn’t hear him.

  “You coward!” Patrick roared as he stepped forward and struck Nova across the face. Nova slumped back and blood dripped from his mouth as he turned pain-filled, sorrowful eyes up to me. “How did you break the bond? You took a blood oath!”

  “The sire bond,” Alex hissed. “Who is your sire, Nova?”

  His eyes darted from me to Alex and back again. “I-I can’t,” he almost stuttered. “I’ve been ordered not to tell.”

  Rising from the couch, Isidro stared down at Nova. “It’s all right, Nova,” he said before turning to me. “Nova is mine. I am his sire.”

  “Dahlia, please,” Nova begged, his voice shaky as red tears stained his perfectly white cheeks. “I do love you. I would do anything for you. You know that.”

  I nodded to Nova and crossed in front of him. Turning to face the room as I took up my position beside Niyati, I met Isidro’s gaze. “I’ll make you a deal, Isi,” I said with a rage-filled hiss that made Niyati bristle beside me.

  “I’m listening.”

  “You forget that we exist. You don’t tell another soul, either living or dead, what you saw here tonight. Not through any form of communication; written, spoken, telepathic, hell, or even semaphore or smoke signals do you convey to anyone what you know about us and I won’t kill your progeny where he stands,” I ground out.

  Isidro remained quiet, considering my offer as he met the gaze of everyone in the room. Patrick’s expression was cold calculation and Dean’s was bored indifference. Niyati and Tag were like the marines, at attention with no emotion on their faces. Finally, Isidro met my gaze, and I can’t say what he saw there but he nodded.

  “You have my word.”

  “Isidro,” Patrick called, his voice sharp with rage as mine had been, “this colony no longer answers to the board.”

  Isidro took a step forward. His eyes were wide with incredulousness and dread. “This will mean war!”

  I could feel Dean’s heated gaze on me as I rounded behind Niyati and then Nova. I gripped the gun at my back, wrapping my fingers around the butt, and squeezing the metal that seemed too cold in my hands. For the first time, I didn’t relish the feel of cold steel in my grasp.

  “You remain in this territory at your own risk. Come sunset tomorrow, my colony will have orders to kill you on sight.” Patrick’s dark eyes never wavered as he made his proclamation.

  I couldn’t focus on that, though. Slowly, I drew the gun from the holster, careful not to make a sound as the metal slid across leather.

&nb
sp; “The pack can start hunting at dawn,” Dean said casually, still watching me.

  “Any board member or representative will suffer the same fate. We are finished playing your games.” Patrick’s jaw was as hard as granite. He spoke with complete confidence and authority as he shoved his shoulders back.

  I caught Alex’s gaze as I stepped up to Nova. I placed my free hand on his shoulder, putting the slightest bit of pressure on his body. Trusting me without question, he dropped to his knees. I took a step back and put an arm’s length of distance between Nova’s body and me.

  Isidro finally diverted his attention away from Patrick and noticed me. His eyes went wide in horror as I raised the gun only millimeters from the back of Nova’s neck. The barrel, aimed at the place where his spinal cord met his skull, was close enough to Nova’s skin that he should have felt residual cold from the metal.

  “You gave your word,” Isidro growled.

  “Brother,” Alex interrupted, “he is no longer standing.”

  Isidro breathed deep and I saw the first real sign of emotion on his face as realization crept into him. I’d made too many deals with the fae to not find usefulness in their word games. A single red tear slid down the crease of Isidro’s nose. “I’m sorry, my boy.”

  “What? What’s happening?” Nova asked.

  I met Isidro’s gaze and squeezed the trigger.

  THE BLUSHING DEATH SERIES

  by Suzanne M. Sabol

  A Pool of Crimson (Book 1)

  Killing vampires is easy. Trusting one will be the hardest thing Dahlia Sabin has ever done.

  Dahlia has lived a lonely existence as a killer of the undead. Known as The Blushing Death to those that fear her, Dahlia uncovers a plot by Columbus’s Master Vampire, Ethan. He intends to raise a demon from the depths of hell to destroy the city, cement his power, and take control.

  In her pursuit to stop a demon from manifesting, Dahlia sinks deeper into the city’s supernatural underworld and discovers that vampires are not only deadly; one in particular could be dangerous to her very soul and her heart. Patrick, the Master vampire’s second-in-command with dark penetrating eyes and a cool, deadly sophistication, can’t stay away and Dahlia can’t tell him no. There’s something that neither of them knows, Ethan wants Dahlia’s unleashed power for himself and is willing to do anything to get it.

  Dahlia is in a race against time to send the demon back to hell, at war with her better judgment, trusting a dark and intriguing vampire with his own agenda, while struggling to save her own neck. As the portal to hell opens, Dahlia has only herself to rely on in order to survive, if she can …

  Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/pvbncmm

  Midnight Ash (Book 2)

  It’s all fun and games until a dismembered hand gets nailed to your front door.

  When a woman is mutilated and murdered steps from her home, Dahlia Sabin is thrust into the middle of a territorial vampire war with a target on her back and an assassin on her trail.

  When a 500-year-old vampire ninja assassin is unleashed on the city to claim Dahlia’s head, she has to convince the men in her life to work together before Midnight Ash and her group of assassins can claim their prize. But being in love with the most powerful and charismatic vampire in the state incites animosity and jealousy as Dahlia sinks deeper into the werewolf Pack, becoming entangled with its Beta.

  In her race to uncover the plot behind Midnight Ash, Dahlia is confronted with old arguments, forgotten traumas, and a new complication in the cogent and all tempting Pack Alpha. As she’s driven further into the supernatural world, Dahlia is torn between the vampire she loves and the primal pull of the Pack.

  If Dahlia can’t stop Midnight Ash before blood is spilled, she may never find out who has a contract out on her head, what they hope to gain, or if she’s strong enough to survive losing everything.

  Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ncbkkry

  Sliver of Silver (Book 3)

  Dahlia Sabin is Fertiri, carrying both the ancient magic of the grave and the primal power of the Pack. She’s marked for death by her enemies, protected by the vampire liege in love with her and the Pack Alpha infatuated by her. Strays have moved into the city, terrorizing the innocent and leaving mutilated bodies in their wake as a message that no one is safe.

  Hot on the Strays’ trail, Dahlia must stop them before they can destroy the Pack and rule it as their own. As her life crashes and burns around her, Dahlia has to put all her inner turmoil aside and become the Blushing Death to protect the people she loves. If she can’t expose their plans, she could lose everything, and her most fearsome enemy is still hiding in the shadows . . .

  Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/myrj5pf

  Golden Anidae (Book 4)

  Thousands of miles from home and the people she loves, Dahlia Sabin has found a safe haven in Las Vegas. But no matter how hard she tries, she can’t escape who and what she is, the Blushing Death. Word of her arrival gets around fast and Dahlia is thrust back into the world of shadows and death with the scent of vampire lingering in the air.

  While searching for her missing friend, Dahlia uncovers a conspiracy to destroy werewolves across the country. To protect the local Pack and the Pack back home, Dahlia must stop a renegade cop from killing the innocent and a vampire liege hell bent on possessing her. Dahlia confronts old wounds and internal demons that have shaped her from the beginning while defending her friends and her life. But home is on the horizon, if only she can survive the night . . .

  Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ke4tdzg

  Black Dalliances (Book 5)

  The Blushing Death has made a name for herself across the country but her biggest battle is at home. Reigniting old flames and venturing into new liaisons, Dahlia Sabin is in a battle for her heart. As she earns back the trust of the men she loves, the Fae are plotting behind her back.

  After her lover is kidnapped and hidden in Faerie, Dahlia will venture into an unfamiliar land, battle creatures of myth, and face a foe that will affect the very fabric of power and magic forever. But before they can make the journey home, all will sacrifice something they hold dear.

  Now available on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/ntxtd2u