by Brenda Trim
“No, shijéí. This injury is tainted by Dark magic. You aren’t capable of calling on the Goddess’s light. And I used too much energy healing her heart. I am going to have to do surgery on the arm and save my reserves for reattaching her wing.”
Bile filled Santiago’s throat when Bhric laid the bloody appendage on the table. Cailyn’s gasp was drowned out by the sounds of equipment being pulled out of cabinets and lights coming out of the ceiling.
“Can you save her?” Santiago asked as he stroked blood-matted hair from Tori’s face. Her skin had turned gray and she was cold to the touch. Only the sight of her heart pumping and getting stronger with every beat kept Santiago from losing his mind.
“After managing to heal her heart, yes, I can save her life, but I cannot guarantee anything about her arm or wing. Reattaching those is going to be a challenge,” Jace admitted without stopping in his preparations.
“She needs her arm to paint. She creates amazing works of art,” Santi muttered, then resumed his prayers to the Goddess.
“What the fuck happened? Why did Lady Angelica attack your mate?” Zander barked as he folded his arms across his chest and glared at Santiago.
Apparently, they hadn’t forgotten his previous behavior. Santiago knew coming back to the compound would mean he had to pay for his disobedience. He would do anything if it meant saving Tori’s life. Even spend a century in the dungeons. As long as he was allowed conjugal visits. She was the other half of his soul, and there was no sacrifice he wouldn’t make to ensure she was healthy and happy.
“We were investigating Angel’s Kiss at Bouche à Bouche. Von—I’m sure you know who he is since he is one of your subjects—he was Lady Angelica’s goon. From what we’ve learned, Von coordinated all of the supply here in Seattle and distributed the drug to the dealers,” Santiago said, clutching Tori’s hand.
“Cailyn, have the atracurium ready in the event she comes to. I doubt she will be regaining consciousness anytime soon, but I want her out the moment she stirs. Movement will only cause problems with a procedure this intricate. And you, Santi, I need you to stay on the other side of the room while I work,” Jace said before Zander could respond. Santi looked at his fellow warrior, tempted to tell him fuck no, that he wasn’t leaving Tori’s side.
“I get it. The fact that she is your Fated Mate is the only reason I’m allowing you to stay in the room. Bhric and Zander don’t need to fight to keep you in the hall throughout what will be a long procedure. Sounds like they have more important matters to focus on,” Jace continued before Santi got his argument out.
Santi leaned over and placed a kiss on Tori’s lips and murmured, “I’ll be right here the entire time. You need to hold on. I have a lot of groveling to do when you wake up.”
It was difficult to cross to the other side of the room and leave her side. He never wanted to be parted from her. Worrying whether or not she would survive made him wonder again how Zander, Jace, and Gerrick had survived nearly losing their mates. In Gerrick’s case, he had lost her for four hundred years.
Recalling the staff he’d left in charge of the mess at the restaurant, he turned to Zander. “You need to send a team to Bouche à Bouche right away. I left the staff there in charge of the scene. I doubt Angelica will return, but I’m not sure how many of her goons are still alive. I know Von is dead, but there were five others. Not to mention the room contained a fuck ton of drugs and angel’s blood,” Santi relayed, not taking his eyes from Tori.
Cailyn was helping Jace set more implements than Santiago had ever seen on trays all along the wall next to the gurney where Tori lay. Santi’s heart was unsuccessfully fighting to escape the vise that had gripped it.
“Bhric, Orlando. Go check it oot and call O’Haire for backup. They will need to take the survivors into custody. Or the clinic,” Zander amended after glancing at Tori.
“I want to hear everything. Particularly why you didna call us sooner. I would have thought time would teach you that you are no’ the law, Santiago. We would have been there to help you,” Zander chastised. Santi was grateful he left off what he knew they were both thinking: that Tori may not be lying there dying if he had.
Regret sat like a rock in his gut. He had a lot to regret where his mate and friends were concerned. He hadn’t realized what an uncompromising ass he had become. How narrow-minded and closed. That was all changing as of right now. Tori had to survive so he could tell her. He wanted to earn his place back at Zeum, but more than that, he wanted to earn his mate’s heart and soul.
“Do you have any idea where she is getting her angel’s blood? Illianna, you havena met her yet, is worried ’tis the blood they stole from her while she was in Hell,” Zander continued, oblivious to Santiago’s inner turmoil.
Orlando had told Santiago about Rhys being mated to an angel, but the news that she had spent time being held in the Underworld shocked him. Santiago had left Zeum before Rhys had returned from Hell and had yet to congratulate the male.
Santi glanced at the door and saw Elsie hovering in the entryway with Isobel in her arms. Zander must have waved her in because she hurried to his side. “Sorry, she insisted on seeing you,” Elsie told Zander by way of greeting. “I was afraid she would do her little disappearing trick and end up in the middle of the surgery. The last thing Jace or Cailyn need is to play hide-and-seek with Izzy right now.” Santiago tried to recall what Orlando had told him about the baby and recalled him saying she could teleport, but that was the tip of the iceberg where her powers were concerned.
“Da,” Isobel murmured as she reached her little arms for him. “Fairy hurt, Da. Jace help,” Isobel informed him with a solemn glance Tori’s way. The little girl was far more mature than her few months, and her power poured from her. Santi had never felt more from any living being.
“Aye, sweet. Tori is hurt, but Uncail Jace and Aintín Cai are fixing her,” Zander confirmed, rubbing her back. Izzy stuck her thumb in her mouth and laid her head on his shoulder as she watched the activity on the other side of the room.
Izzy’s calm didn’t last long enough for Santiago to finish telling Zander everything he had learned. Isobel lifted her head and stared right at Santiago, then popped her thumb out of her mouth. He was startled when she laid her tiny hand on his chest and a white light glowed from her palm. Warmth flowed from the baby to Santiago and instantly the tight knot in his chest unfurled the slightest degree and he was able to breathe.
“That’s your Uncail Santiago, Izzy,” Zander introduced, which had Santi once again choking back emotions. “He is a verra stubborn wolf, but one of Da’s best Dark Warriors.” The introduction gave Santi hope he could make this better and firmed his determination to regain everything he had lost.
“Come on, sweet pea,” Elsie interrupted as she took Isobel from Zander’s arms. “Let’s go get a strawberry ice cream and give Daddy time to talk to Uncle Santiago.” Santiago couldn’t decipher the expression Elsie threw Zander, but by the looks of it, she was giving her mate a headful; Santiago was certain that they were communicating telepathically with each other.
“Now, tell me everything,” Zander ordered as he crossed his arms over his chest.
Santiago tugged at his goatee, trying to determine where to begin. Deciding from the time he left Zeum was best Santiago gave Zander a rundown and noticed that Rhys and Gerrick had joined them, along with Kyran. Santiago heard their mates in the training room across the hall, discussing Tori’s condition.
Their desire to get revenge for what had happened to Tori made him want to smile. She would appreciate the females wanting to take their own action. Tori was as fiercely independent as the rest of them and nearly as sarcastic as Mack. Although Santi still thought Mack easily held that title.
Forcing his mind back to the matter at hand, he watched Jace use a huge microscope to sew his mate back together one vein at a time. When Jace switched to a scalpel, Santi headed across the room.
“What are you doing?” he asked at the same t
ime a strong hand came down on his shoulder, stopping his momentum.
“I’m removing dead tissue. If I leave it the Dark magic will continue to kill healthy cells,” Jace explained as he proceeded to slice a chunk of blackened flesh away. Santi’s stomach turned and he lurched forward, but was once again stopped.
“Och, let him do his work,” Zander encouraged. “Shite, I know this isna easy for you, but Jace is the best. You made the right decision in bringing her here.”
“I had nowhere else to go,” Santiago admitted. The reality of what he had shunned and walked away from hit him full force and refused to give him quarter.
Fate, it seemed, was going to put the screws to him at the worst possible moment in his life. But then, wasn’t that how life worked? Sometimes you had to get knocked lower than you’d ever been to get up and stand taller. Santiago’s mother would always tell him that strength and growth only came through continuous effort and struggle.
He hadn’t understood what she’d meant until he’d met Tori. It had been one continuous struggle after another from that night in the alley, but he would never stop trying. The end result promised too much.
“It’s difficult to watch her go through this without being able to take it away,” he admitted to his fellow warriors. The wing lying on the second gurney was the worst sight. It had lost its color and was dulling. Santi worried that meant it couldn’t be reattached. Tori would never be the same if she lost her arm or wing, but he would love her regardless and would do everything in his power to make her feel as beautiful and capable as she’d always been.
“I know,” Zander murmured. Yes, the male would know and understand after the hell he and Elsie had been through. Elsie had become the first, and only, human turned vampire.
“Did you get any clues about where the angel blood came from?” Rhys asked, distracting him from Jace’s slow and methodical movements.
“I have no clue, but I can tell you that I don’t sense the same power I did when I was near the blood, so if it was your mate’s, then she’d already magically altered it,” Santiago responded without taking his gaze from his mate. “I don’t think that’s likely. It seemed as if they were preparing for something bigger. There were herbs, candles, and other magical accouterments I’ve seen used by the Rowan sisters. I didn’t think sorcerers used the same implements in their magic as witches,” Santi directed to Gerrick.
“We don’t,” Gerrick responded. “But Angelica is no longer simply a sorceress. She’s made a deal with the devil, literally, and Goddess only knows what she can do now and what she needs to do it. It makes sense that she needs objects to channel and direct the Dark magic. Being of the light, her natural barriers will prohibit that to a degree. That’s just speculation,” Gerrick clarified.
“What do we do from here?” Santiago asked, looking away from Tori and meeting Zander’s deep blue eyes. He wanted to ask what was going to happen to him and how he could get his position back, but the words stuck on his tongue.
“We find Angelica and take her oot of the drug business. That’s the priority right now. I know you need to focus on your mate, but we need you in this, Santiago. Can you be there with us?” Zander asked.
“Please don’t tell me that you’re planning on capturing that evil bitch and turning her over to the authorities,” Cailyn blurted from across the room. Jace nearly dropped the needle and thread at his mate’s angry words. “This is not the time to play by the book. Angelica is not like her dealers. She is malicious to the core and there is not one redeemable cell in her body. Exposing and undermining the realm is a death sentence and that vile creature has done nothing but try to destroy the realm for centuries. It’s about fucking time she gets her due,” Cailyn finished as she crossed to Jace and they shared a knowing look.
Santiago’s mouth dropped open. Cailyn didn’t curse and she certainly didn’t speak out in meetings. It was obvious she was pissed and for good reason. Angelica had gotten away with torturing her mate for a hundred years and was now the biggest threat to the stability of the realm.
“Angelica willna be walking away from our confrontation. You have my vow, piuthar,” Zander promised Cailyn. “And we need you, Santiago. Are you with us?” Zander asked again.
Santiago appreciated that he wasn’t being benched just yet. He needed to see this through to the end. And not only because he had a vendetta to pay for what had happened to his mate. He wanted to prove to his team that he was trustworthy and start rebuilding the trust that was lost. He wanted them to believe in him again. “I can’t leave until the surgery is over, but after she wakes up I am with you,” Santi offered, hoping Zander understood.
Zander squeezed Santi’s shoulder. “We are no’ going withoot Jace. Besides, I would no’ ask you to leave her side. We have to come up with a plan of attack and figure oot how we can locate the bitch. Somehow, I doona think she is going to call in and give us her address. You didna happen to see any clues about where she is, did you?” Zander asked.
“The flesh,” Santi blurted, recalling the bite he’d taken out of Angelica’s shoulder. “I made sure I spit it in the beaker. I think it’s in my car. Thank the Goddess I didn’t spit that shit out on the floor. That room is a bloody mess and finding it would be next to impossible given how I shredded Von to pieces.”
“Och. I doona know how you had the presence of mind to keep track of that, but thank the Goddess. The Rowan triplets can use it in a locator spell,” Zander boasted.
Santi took another step closer to Jace when he paused in his work. “I have reattached all the veins, arteries, and tendons. I’m going to try and heal the limb now. I don’t know if the Dark magic is still in there. I had to cut a lot out.”
Santiago couldn’t find his voice so nodded to his friend and watched as he applied his healing power once again. Everyone in the room held their breath as they watched the flesh slowly knit back together. After several starts and stops, Jace looked up and smiled at Santiago.
“The arm is reattached. I can’t guarantee its functionality, given the extent of the damage. Now comes the hard part. This wing has far more intricacies than the body, and there is an element of magic. It needs a steady hand for the detailed work, with the way these retract under her skin. I am going to be honest, Santi. I am flying blind with these and am going on faith the Goddess will guide my healing after I get it reattached,” Jace admitted as he removed the bloody gloves.
Cailyn held new gloves for Jace. “I appreciate all you are doing for her and me. After how I behaved, I don’t deserve what you are doing, but she does and I will never forget it,” Santiago admitted.
“Acknowledging you did wrong is the first step,” Zander interjected. “You have a punishment to accept, but that is a matter for a later date. Focus on your mate while we make a plan to infiltrate Angelica’s lair.”
“Thank you, liege. I look forward to getting back in your good graces,” Santiago admitted freely as he watched Jace work on his mate. This was far from over with, but hope filled Santiago for the first time since their info-gathering mission had gone to hell in a hand-basket.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Tori groaned when she tried to roll over. She felt as if a semi-truck had rolled over her a couple hundred times. Everything hurt. Her eyelids ached as she slowly blinked them open, wanting to know where she was. The last thing she recalled was Angelica cutting her wing off.
From her position on her stomach, she knew she still had her arm and thought she had her wing, but couldn’t be certain, because everything hurt like she was being burned from the inside out and someone was stomping out the flames.
“Careful, dulzura. Don’t move yet. You’re still healing,” Santiago murmured before he placed a kiss to her temple.
When he lifted his head, he came into focus. To say he looked like death warmed over was an understatement. Dark circles made it look like he had black eyes, and his dark skin was nearly as pale as hers. There was a sexy five o’clock shadow along his cheeks
and jaw, but it was the tense line of his lips that told her how worried he’d been.
“What happened? Where are we?” she croaked in a gravelly voice.
“Lady Angelica joined the attack, nearly killing you, but disappeared before I got to her. I brought you to Zeum to be healed. I thought I was going to lose you,” he whispered as he gently brushed hair away from her face.
“My wing?” she asked, needing to know if she still had it.
“Jace saved it. Your arm, too, but he doesn’t know what kind of movement you’ll have. The sword was imbued with Dark magic and the damage had to be cut out,” Santiago revealed. “I’m so sorry I failed you. I allowed my anger to sidetrack me. Von wasn’t worth the price you paid.”
“You didn’t fail me, Santiago. I would be dead right now if it weren’t for you. Even if you were paying attention, you couldn’t have stopped her attack. She caught me completely off guard. I can’t believe you came back to Zeum for me,” she said, shocked that he’d taken the chance. He’d always told her he thought their rules stupid and pretended he didn’t miss or need his fellow Dark Warriors.
“I would walk over burning coals for you, Tori. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t sacrifice to ensure your happiness. But I expect you to visit me in the dungeons when I serve my time.” Santi smirked.
“Not if there are rats down there. I hate rats,” she teased.
“When Angus ran the house, there were no rats, but now that Nate is here I can’t say for sure. He’s often busy wooing the females. On a better note, I have some good news,” he muttered, changing the subject. She made a mental note to get back to the issue of his punishment later.
“Is it a double pepperoni?” she asked, feeling more drained by the minute. If she could manage sitting up or rolling over, a large, cheesy pizza sounded perfect. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d eaten.
“No, but I think one can be arranged. It’s about Sam. I had Rhys and Gerrick do a little investigating and they discovered his torture chamber. Turns out you were right. Horus’s grandmother was kidnapped by him but had escaped when he was distracted. Horus began working for Sam as a way to get to the male and destroy him. Rhys and Gerrick were able to rescue Sam’s latest victim and have him arrested,” Santiago shared.
