“I’m so sorry,” she murmured, running her eyes over the six who remained. Channon, Rafe and Dominic were the most senior wolves left. The others, two females and a male, Quinn recognised as Perry, Reagan and Sawyer. In her mind she felt grateful that three females and three males had survived, all unrelated. Between them, they could repopulate. The pack could survive. She kept her thoughts to herself, however. Channon had no doubt surmised the same thing herself, but it was not a thought anyone wanted to dwell on.
“I should’ve told them to hide,” Channon spoke eventually, keeping her voice low so the others wouldn’t hear.
“No,” Quinn shook her head. “If you had done that, we would all have died. We would never have survived the night without the wolves,” she continued, as Channon gave her a dubious look. “You tipped the odds in our favour. Without the numbers, we would’ve been doomed.”
Channon considered her words, holding her gaze as if trying to figure out if she was lying. Quinn didn’t look away. She wasn’t saying this to make Channon feel better. It was the irrevocable truth.
“Maybe,” Channon sighed eventually. “Thanks, Quinn.”
While they waited, Rowena slipped from the house, saying nothing as she crossed the immaculate lawn to the fields further out and started picking blooms that sprouted joyously from the fertile ground.
Isaiah and the others returned sooner than expected, and, wordlessly, everyone got to their feet. Anaise and Harlan supported Isadora and Micah, their own hearts breaking for their friends. Velkan carried Mairin’s body. Isaiah had offered to do it for him, but he had shaken his head vehemently. He walked carefully, as though he feared he would hurt her if he jostled her too much. He remained silent the entire way and Monique cast pained glances across at him. She walked with Jonas, who was in considerable physical pain, but who had refused to lie down. Lenora had called for her surgeon and he would be here in a couple of hours. In the meantime, Jonas was bearing up better than Quinn expected. His bravery was not lost on the others as he grimaced in pain with every step. The other gypsies walked in silence alongside the group, Rowena joining them as they crossed over the post and rail fence that separated the lawn from the fields beyond. Quinn noticed the posy of wildflowers in her hands, no doubt intended for Mairin’s grave and her heart constricted painfully in her chest.
“Here,” Kellan murmured eventually, as they congregated at the base of a tall oak tree. There could not be a more beautiful place to set Mairin to rest. Wildflowers sprung up all around them and the birds twittered happily in the trees above. The oak tree bowed slightly toward them, as though the branches were trying to shelter the spot they had chosen.
Dylan, Lenora’s butler, looked awkward carrying a variety of shovels in his hand, but he stepped forward gallantly, selecting one and hoisting it up to start digging. The shovel never reached the ground. Daniel pulled it gently from his grasp with a tight-lipped smile, and, as he did so, the Guardians stepped forward and each took a shovel of their own. Nobody spoke a word as Balthazar joined them, and silently the Guardians and their gypsy ally began to dig. Mairin had been their ward. She had died on their watch. This was their cross to bear.
The earth was soft and fell away easily, so in almost no time at all the task was complete. Isadora gave a keening wail when the Guardians climbed out of the rudimentary rectangular grave and Quinn bit her lip to keep herself from crying. It was better that Mairin’s parents let it out or their grief would destroy them. Velkan had not set her down, Quinn noticed. He held her still, tenderly, cradled against his chest as though to protect her from a world that could do her no more harm. She was wrapped in a soft white shawl that Lenora had given up without hesitation.
“Micah?” Isaiah asked gently, breaking the silence. Micah looked up, his eyes sunken and solemn. He looked as though he had aged ten years in only a matter of days. Quinn watched, her stomach in knots, as he turned to gaze at his daughter’s body, safely ensconced in Velkan’s arms. Time seemed to stand still, as Micah tried to will his body to move, and Quinn held her breath. And then, it happened. His face crumpled and his eyes crunched together as tears streamed down his face, like a dam that had finally been released. Unlike his wife, Micah’s sorrow was silent. No sound accompanied his weeping, but it was no less cathartic and Quinn breathed a sigh of relief, before finally letting her own tears flow.
Velkan, too, finally gave way to his anguish the second Micah took Mairin from him. He dropped heavily to one knee, his face in his hands, and Monique darted to his side, cradling his head in her arms as she pulled him to her breast and stroked his hair with fingers brown with dirt.
Micah waved away the offers of help as he teetered on the brink of the grave. When he dropped, he landed like a cat on the uneven soil below, bending his knees to take the impact. Mairin’s body was barely jostled, but the shawl slipped from her face and Quinn caught a glimpse of the inhuman paleness and the bluish tinge of her mouth. Isadora gave a scream of unadulterated woe, collapsing back into Anaise and pulling at her clothes in desperation. Micah gazed down at his daughter, seemingly unnerved by the disturbing sight. Through his eyes, Quinn imagined the young girl as he saw her. With pale-rose cheeks and sparkling blue eyes, her lips turned up in the shy smile she bestowed upon anyone who was fortunate enough to be in her presence. Through his tears, Micah smiled, lowering his head to kiss her smooth forehead. Then, slowly, he pulled the shawl back across her face, hiding it from view. He lowered her gently to the ground, straightening her legs and wrapped the shawl more tightly around her as though to ward off the cold. He bent over her, placing his hand over her own, clasped together over her chest. Quinn heard the soft murmur as he spoke his final words; a message that no one but he would ever know; a message to the child he had loved her whole life; the child who had been taken too soon. He emerged from the shallow pit stronger and immediately pulled his wife from Anaise, engulfing her in his strong arms and whispering words of comfort into her hair. Quinn caught the determined nod he gave them and they swiftly set about covering the body with soil.
When it was over, only a small mound of earth marked the place where they had laid Mairin to rest. Rowena placed the small posy on top of the mound and Quinn caught a few foreign words as she spoke quietly under her breath. Rowena was no doubt paying her own respects, in her own custom. Glancing around, Quinn couldn’t help but feel that, as desperate as their situation was, they had never been more united. No separate groups huddled together. Instead, faeries, wolves, Guardians and humans were all interspersed, mourning together the loss of a life that had meant something to each of them. Balthazar’s dust-caked face was indistinguishable from the Guardians’. Channon and Rafe stood close to one another, holding hands. It seemed that the ordeal they had been through had obliterated any tension between them, reminding them what was most important. Channon leaned into Rafe’s body, her head only reaching his chest, and his chin rested on the top of her head. Dominic stood slightly apart from them, lost in his own grief. He and Rayna had been close, Quinn remembered. In a way, Mairin’s burial was a way for them all to mourn all the friends they had lost during the battle; a way to say goodbye and pay homage to those who were no longer with them. They stood that way for a long time, gathered around the nondescript mound of soil that symbolised every living creature she had failed.
Chapter 13
Emotionally and physically drained, the Guardians were relieved to be able to rest, finally. Lenora placed scouts around the entire perimeter of her property so that they would be forewarned if any vampires approached, but even so, the Guardians could not place their trust solely in the hands of strangers. They were safe, however, during the day, so they agreed to sleep until nightfall, when they would take shifts watching over the house. Quinn had offered to take the first, along with Isaiah, but her father had stepped up, insisting that she rest. Too tired to argue, she followed Lenora to her allocated bedroom and crashed on the bed.
She slept for almost twenty-four hours. A deep
rumble in her belly woke her at dawn the following morning, a painful reminder that she had not eaten a proper meal in days. Stumbling down the stairs she finally found the colossal kitchen after a few wrong turns. Dylan, the butler she recognised from their arrival, was preparing coffee and Quinn gratefully accepted a steaming mug. He placed the rest on an impeccably polished ornate silver tray that Quinn suspected was as old as the house itself.
“Breakfast has been laid out in the dining-room,” Dylan remarked shyly, as he carried the tray out of the kitchen. Quinn followed hastily, terrified of getting lost again in the maze of rooms. She found Isaiah, Liam and her dad helping themselves to a literal smorgasbord of food laid out on a massive hardwood table.
“Why didn’t you wake me?” As grateful as she was for the uninterrupted sleep, she was mortified that they had kept watch the whole night without her.
“We slept the whole of yesterday,” Braddon replied. “By the time we took the first shift I felt rested enough. Besides, we thought you should recharge completely before setting off.”
Finding Blair’s crystal had been deemed a top priority and Quinn would be leaving to retrieve it. She would go alone, as was their way. It’s my crystal, she reminded herself. She still couldn’t quite believe that the fierce Guardian was dead. Sobered, she reached for a plate and piled it high with assorted muffins, croissants and jam, and a couple of tea biscuits.
“Lenora has this stuff lying around?” she asked no one in particular.
“Miss Lenora treats us very well,” Dylan replied, his eyes narrowing at her blatant disregard for their hostess. Quinn wondered idly just how many human servants the vampire employed. Lenora had taken them all in, and had proven to be the most gracious host, giving them free rein over all of her property. Kellan and Velkan were still trying to settle the herd who were not used to being confined to stables, and Lenora had insisted that they use one of the larger fields behind the house during the day.
After breakfast and a much-needed shower, during which she luxuriated in the scalding hot water, Quinn stood wrapped in a fluffy bath towel eying her filthy clothes with distaste. A knock at the door distracted her, but, to her relief, Lenora stood in the hallway, a pile of clean clothes in her hands.
“I had one of my girls go to the store yesterday,” she smiled, showing an alarming amount of pointed fang. “These should fit.” Briefly, Quinn recalled that the others had been wearing clean clothes at breakfast. Lenora must have bought entire wardrobes.
“That’s incredibly kind of you.”
“It’s only a few items of clothing,” Lenora shrugged. “Do you mind closing those,” Lenora added, sweeping her arm toward the open curtains. Apologising, Quinn darted into the room, drawing the curtains and plunging them into night-like darkness.
“Thanks,” Lenora’s voice sounded closer than before and a moment later she switched on the bedside lamp. The soft light filled the room.
“It must be frustrating,” Quinn mused, “being confined to the house during the day?”
“I wouldn’t know any better,” Lenora smiled. This admission confirmed a suspicion Quinn had had about Lenora since they had first met. Lenora was an elder vampire – she had been born, not bitten. Vampires, just like the Fae and the werewolves, had been around since the beginning of time. They were able to breed, but, like the Fae, they were, by and large, infertile. Not many vampires were born. Before the Blood War, vampires had fed on humans but they had not turned them. This trend only became popular after Aleksei had declared war on Eldon, in an attempt to increase the vampires’ numbers and create a formidable army.
Lenora seemed to retain many of the values of the elders, without any of the hatred that Aleksei had urged them to emulate, and Quinn was finding that the more time she spent with Lenora, the more she grew to like and admire her. Much as with Sarah back in Brookfield, Quinn suspected that, in another life, she and Lenora might have been good friends.
“Are you going to get dressed?” Lenora prompted after a short silence. Quinn started, glancing down at the clothes in her hand. She had almost forgotten about them. Excusing herself, Quinn stepped back into the bathroom to change. Noticing the designer label on the tight-fitting jeans and the softness of the cashmere coat, Quinn mused that, while the garments might only be a few items of clothing in Lenora’s eyes, the Guardians had never owned anything nearly as extravagant. While she dressed she thought she heard a low conversation. The smile was still on her face when she stepped back into the bedroom to find Lenora perched on the edge of the bed, a silver cell phone in her hand that hadn’t been there a moment ago. Lenora must have been on a call.
“They look good on you.” Lenora held out Quinn’s boots, so highly polished they were almost unrecognisable.
“Have I told you how grateful I am for you taking us in?” Quinn smiled.
“It is my pleasure,” Lenora insisted. “Helping others... well, it makes me feel more human.”
An awkward pause followed this announcement as Quinn fought the urge to ask after Drake. She was desperate to know if Lenora had spoken with him since the battle, but didn’t know how to broach the subject. Lenora eyed her curiously and, embarrassed, Quinn cast around for something else to say.
Recalling Dylan, who had served their breakfast, she seized at the topic. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Haven’t you just?” Lenora teased.
“You have human servants. Are they...?” Quinn tapered off, feeling incredibly rude for even asking, but Lenora gave a twinkling laugh.
“You want to know if I use my persuasion to get them to do my bidding?” she guessed. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but no. They serve me willingly. They know what I am, but they do not fear me.”
“You’re not worried they might tell others what you are?”
“Not really. If they did, who would believe them? And besides, they know I could simply mesmerise others to forget what they had heard, not to mention how angry that might make me,” she grinned, baring her fangs and Quinn laughed. “I pay them well and they have free housing on the grounds. Most of them were living on the streets before I offered them a place here.”
Quinn started at this revelation. “You’re a lot more human than you give yourself credit for.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Do you feed on them?” It was a personal question, but Lenora was, after all, still a vampire, and she relied on blood to survive.
“Some,” she replied easily, “but only if they are willing. I prefer not to prey on unsuspecting humans.”
“You are very different to other vampires.”
“I’m going to take that as another compliment.”
“It is,” Quinn assured her. “So, did you never have any desire to join the Quest?”
“Of course I did,” Lenora smiled sheepishly. “In fact, I once served on the council.”
“You served on the council?”
“Yes. Blindly, I believed in the Quest, just like all the others. We really are a spineless race.”
“What changed?”
“I met Isaiah,” she replied simply. “I fell in love with a Guardian. I saw the goodness in him, and it opened my eyes.”
“And after he... when he hurt you? Why didn’t you go back?”
“As angry as I was with Isaiah, I had already seen the Quest for what it was. One man’s revenge. It’s true that Eldon wronged Aleksei... oh, don’t look at me like that, you know it’s the truth,” she added, as Quinn immediately reacted to the slight against Eldon. “You know, Quinn, years before you Guardians were even created, vampires and faeries were as close as all the other species.” Her words echoed what Freya had told Quinn. “Two men changed that, and I think they’ve been given too much power. The Taboo was a law as old as time itself, but what was the harm in what Enah did? She loved Julian. She loved someone she was not supposed to love, but honestly, how many of us are guilty of that?” She raised a knowing eyebrow and Quinn flushed.
“I’m not saying Enah was right,” Lenora replied, “but she made a mistake. Big deal. Do you think Julian deserved to die for it?”
“No,” Quinn murmured, “it should have been Enah.” Even speaking the words felt like sacrilege, but Quinn had answered honestly.
“Yes, it should have been Enah. But Eldon couldn’t bring himself to kill his own daughter. He loved her too much. Just as Aleksei loved Julian. Both were blinded by their love for their children, and so they began a war that would span centuries and cost countless innocent lives. You believe in protecting the wards, but can you honestly tell me you believe that Eldon didn’t start this war?”
“Eldon was not blameless,” Quinn countered. “But the difference between him and Aleksei is that Eldon realised that. He suffered terribly when he realised what he had done. And he tried to make amends by creating the City.”
“No good deed goes unpunished,” Lenora sighed. “The fact remains that the hatred between vampires and the Fae, including all the species that relied on their magic, is the result of the foolish actions of two men who could not see past their rage. I learned that the hard way. Love destroyed us, and yet love is the one thing that could save us all...” she stopped suddenly, as if she had said too much.
“What do you mean love could save us all?”
Lenora waved her hand airily. “Only that if love changed my way of thinking, perhaps it could do the same for others.”
Guardians of Summerfeld: Full Series: Books 1-4 Page 63
