“You can’t go there alone,” Waverly said. It was a command, not a request.
Levet sent Inga a meaningful glance. “See?”
The ogress flushed. “Why does everyone assume that I’m suddenly helpless?”
Waverly refused to back down. “You’re our queen.”
“I know that,” Inga muttered.
Waverly held the ogress’s gaze. “Do you?”
Inga lifted up the Tryshu. “It’s hard to ignore.”
“The mer-folk were terrorized by Riven for centuries.” Waverly continued to press. “They need a leader they can depend on. Someone who puts their people’s needs ahead of their own.”
Inga released a harsh sigh. “That’s what I’m trying to do.”
“No.” Waverly planted her hands on her hips. “Putting their needs first means that you don’t risk your neck chasing after danger.”
Inga pressed her lips together, sparks of crimson in her eyes as she struggled to control her quick temper. “I’m only going to see if I can find the location of the door and if there’s anything leaking out of it,” she said, the words no doubt intended to be soothing. Instead they were a fierce warning that she wouldn’t be talked out of her foolish decision.
Waverly gave one last effort. “The guards—”
“Need to stay here and make sure we’re not attacked by the darkness,” Inga interrupted.
“She’s not wrong.” Tarak intruded into the argument, glancing toward the door. “Zella might come in search of her pet Were.”
There was a tense pause before Waverly at last heaved a resigned sigh. She turned her head to send Levet a warning glance.
“Don’t let her get hurt.”
Levet could have pointed out that it wasn’t his duty to protect the female on her foolish quest. Inga wasn’t his queen. But he didn’t. In fact, if he was being honest with himself, he would acknowledge that he would have battled anyone who tried to keep him from standing at Inga’s side as she went into danger.
Placing a hand over his heart, he offered a formal bow. “You have my pledge.”
Chapter 19
Rainn released a deep sigh of satisfaction.
The sex had been great. No, not great. Earth-shattering. Better than any fantasy that had filled her dreams. But as much as she savored the climaxes that were still quaking through her body, it was the bundle of awareness that was tucked in the center of her soul that was responsible for her current state of utter bliss.
Ulric.
It felt as if the wolf was entwined with her heart. As if they truly had become one.
Drifting her fingers over his bare chest, Rainn relished the rich musk that drenched the air.
“I feel your wolf,” she murmured. It wasn’t a physical touch, but the sensation of his animal reaching through their bond to connect with her.
It was astonishing.
Ulric rolled to the side, balancing on his elbow as he gazed down at her with smoldering eyes. “He’s eager for another bite.”
Rainn shivered, hot anticipation clenching her stomach. “Insatiable.”
“Absolutely.” Ulric swooped down, nibbling a path of kisses along the side of her neck. “He’s waited his entire life to find you.”
Sharp prickles of pleasure darted through her as he reached the spot where he’d bitten her. The skin had healed, but it remained exquisitely sensitive. The lightest brush of his lips was enough to make her back arch in silent invitation.
“And the man?” she asked.
His lips moved to explore the tender line of her jaw. “The man is utterly enchanted.”
Enchanted. Yes. That perfectly captured what Rainn was feeling.
“Mating magic,” she whispered.
“Mmm. My tasty zephyr,” he rasped, placing a lingering kiss on her mouth. But even as her lips parted, he was lifting his head. Then, without warning, he grabbed her arm and turned it over to study the mark that revealed the Oracles’ ownership. “Mine,” he growled. “I don’t share.”
Rainn’s euphoria dimmed. When she was young she’d bitterly complained about her fate. Why was she the one who had to battle evil?
But over time she’d come to accept her duty. She still didn’t know why she’d been chosen, but it didn’t matter. The Oracles had ordained her destiny, and that was that. She would protect her people, no matter what the cost.
She’d never really considered the fact that someday she might have a mate. And that he would be forced to share her fate.
Now she studied his fierce expression with a pang of regret. “Ulric.”
“Once we’ve destroyed the beast, I want this mark removed,” he insisted.
“It will vanish when it passes to another,” she told him, torn between the hope that she would someday be free, and dread at another of her people being forced to shoulder the burden. “I have no idea how the Oracles will decide if I’ve fulfilled the bargain.”
He studied her in silence, as if trying to read something on her face.
“How did you become indebted to the Oracles?” he demanded, frowning as her lips parted to offer the glib explanation her people always used. “It has to be more than the fact that you are not the most powerful fey creatures,” he contended. “Dew fairies aren’t offered protection, and they are by far the most fragile creatures in the demon world.”
Rainn grimaced. “It’s a history we don’t like to remember.”
“Can you tell me?”
She hesitated. It was a tightly held secret. Then again, Ulric was destined to be a part of her life for the rest of eternity. She couldn’t keep it from him forever.
“I suppose you have a right to know now that you’re my mate,” she conceded, trying to ignore the bad taste in her mouth. It happened every time she forced herself to consider her ancestors. “But I hope you don’t think badly of my people.”
He arched a brow. “I’m a Were. Our history is about as bloody as it gets.”
That was true. Werewolves had a long tradition of death and destruction. Still, she had to force the words past her stiff lips.
“A very long time ago we weren’t weak.”
Ulric snorted, deliberately glancing around the room. “I would never call you weak.”
Heat crawled beneath Rainn’s cheeks as she belatedly realized the extent of the damage she’d caused to the room. The windows were shattered, the pottery tumbled off the mantel and the firewood splintered across the floor. Her blush deepened. She’d sensed she was losing control of her magic.
But…wow.
Giving a shake of her head, Rainn pushed away her embarrassment. She wanted to tell her story and be done with it. Like ripping off a bandage. Quick and painless as possible.
“Our powers were far greater than they are today,” she told him.
“What sort of powers?”
“We could build lairs out of air, which were impenetrable. For a long time we lived among the clouds,” she said.
Ulric’s eyes widened in shock. Rainn didn’t blame him. It truly must have been an amazing sight.
“Like angels?” he asked.
She wrinkled her nose. “We were no angels.”
He brushed his finger over her cheeks. “Tell me.”
“We could also use our minds to enter the thoughts of others.”
He frowned in confusion. “You can still do that.”
“Only on humans,” she corrected. “And while I can wipe memories, or even encourage them to obey me, I don’t have any ability to force demons to bend to my commands. And I certainly never enslaved anyone.”
“Slaves?”
Rainn flinched at the edge in his voice. Ulric had every reason to look disgusted. He better than anyone understood the horror of being held hostage by another demon.
“Unfortunately.” She glanced aw
ay, unable to watch his reaction. “And there’s worse,” she warned in harsh tones. “There were a few zephyr sprites who were capable of becoming the wind.”
She felt him stiffen, almost as if preparing for a blow. “Becoming the wind. What does that mean?”
Rainn considered the best way to explain the unique talent. It was difficult for someone who wasn’t a zephyr.
“They could turn their corporeal form into a mist,” she said.
His brows snapped together. “That’s worse than having slaves?”
“They were completely invisible to their enemies. And they could approach without making a sound.”
A slow comprehension spread over Ulric’s face. “Invisible and silent warriors?” He grimaced. “I wouldn’t want to fight against them.”
“There’s more,” she said.
“More?”
Rainn nodded. Although the history of her people was nothing more than stories to her, she still felt guilt. How could you claim pride in your ancestry without also acknowledging their faults?
“My mother told me that her father could travel through a demon’s body and appear on the other side holding its heart in his hand.”
Ulric hissed, no doubt imagining an enemy that could approach without any hint and rip out his heart. Or throat. Or any other vital organ. “Hell.”
“Or he become a blade and cut off a vampire’s head,” she continued.
“Dangerous.”
“Not in the beginning.” She heaved a regretful sigh.
Everything would have been different if her forefathers had been content with their peaceful lives. There would have been no Oracles, and no need for Rainn to leave her home to battle evil.
Of course, that would have meant she would never have met Ulric…A sharp pain sliced through her, making it hard to breathe. No, no, no. The thought was unbearable.
She instinctively reached out to place her hand against his bare chest. The steady beat of his heart beneath her palm helped to ease her sudden burst of panic.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to continue her story.
“Zephyrs always preferred to live in isolation. Our warriors were trained to defend us, not attack others. But eventually the leaders became greedy.” Revulsion curled through her stomach. Her grandfather had been destroyed centuries ago, but his legacy of violence still haunted her people. “They began to crave the same things other demons possessed. Land. Wealth. Power.”
Ulric smoothed a strand of hair behind her ear. “Did they start a war?”
She shook her head. “They became assassins. They killed whenever and wherever they wanted, terrorizing anyone who refused to give in to their demands.”
Ulric pointed out the obvious. “I doubt that made them popular with the other demons.”
Rainn grimaced. That was the understatement of the millennium. According to her mother, their ancestors would sweep through a territory, murdering indiscriminately until the leader of the local population would offer up obscene amounts of treasure to get them to leave. Sometimes they would simply drive every creature from the area, keeping the land for themselves even if they had no intention of living there.
“Eventually the demons banded together and put a bounty on our heads,” she told him. “And it wasn’t just warriors. Males. Females. Even children were targeted. They paid vast rewards for each kill.” A cold chill wiggled its way down her spine. Although she’d been born after the purge, the zephyrs never forgot how close they’d come to utter devastation. “We were nearly exterminated.”
Ulric leaned down to brush his lips over her forehead. “No one deserves that.”
Rainn blinked back tears. She’d expected Ulric to recoil in horror at her story. Or at least look at her differently. Instead, he offered her the comfort that she needed to continue.
“As our numbers dwindled, so did our powers,” she confessed. “No one knows if it was the result of some divine punishment, or simply the death of our warriors, but we were no longer capable of maintaining our lairs in the clouds, so we retreated to hidden caverns in the middle of the desert.”
Ulric lifted his head to study her with a somber expression. “A heavy price to pay.”
It had been. And it had only been the beginning of the cost.
“We hoped we were finally safe, but the other demons refused to withdraw the bounty. We were constantly in danger, with no true power to protect ourselves.”
Ulric’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “I suppose that’s when the Oracles made their appearance?”
“Yes.” Rainn shivered. She’d known about the Oracles since her birth. After all, she carried their mark. And she’d been warned that they would eventually demand she fulfill her duty. But thinking about the all-powerful beings and actually being in their presence had been two different things. She hadn’t come close to anticipating the crushing fear when she’d actually been standing in front of them. “They promised to keep us from annihilation if we agreed to their demands. Ironic, I guess, considering that’s what my ancestors did to other demons.”
Easily sensing the guilt that had been a part of her from the day she’d been told of their past, Ulric sent her a chiding frown. “None of this was your fault, Rainn.”
“The sins of the father,” she murmured, using a human quote she’d overheard. “Or in my case, the sins of my grandfather.”
“No.” Ulric gave a sharp shake of his head. “You may be forced to pay the price for the sins of your people, but you weren’t responsible for the carnage.”
She moved her hand to brush her fingers over his cheek. “Neither were you,” she said in soft tones.
He flinched, his wounds still raw despite that it’d been over five hundred years since his village was destroyed.
Some pain never healed.
“Touché,” he murmured. “Clearly, we were destined for one another.”
* * * *
Ulric stared down at his mate.
It amazed him to think that all those years of working with her at the casino, he’d never realized the fierce emotions that churned beneath her calm façade. The guilt, the ruthless sense of duty, the fear that she might fail her people…
Or maybe he had sensed the turmoil and had been unconsciously drawn to her. His wolf had certainly accepted that they were two kindred souls.
On the point of wrapping her in his arms so he could convince her to forget the past and concentrate on the future, Ulric was distracted by a prickle of evil in the air.
There was no other way to explain it.
The sensation crawled over him. Like a cobweb clinging to his skin.
“As much as I want to stay here and forget the outside world, I’m afraid we’ve pressed our luck far enough,” he rasped.
Rainn gave a shaky nod, scurrying out of the bed to pull on her clothes. Ulric did the same, shoving his feet into his boots before he led her into the living room.
With a soft gasp, Rainn came to a halt, glancing around the floor that was littered with glass and bits of pottery, along with slivers of wood from the overhead beams.
“Oh,” she breathed in horror. “I’ve made a mess.”
Ulric chuckled. The tempest that had swirled around them as they’d made love had only added to the intensity of his pleasure.
“We made a mess,” he corrected, bending down to place a soft, lingering kiss on her lips.
“Yes.” She pushed him away with a teasing smile. “It really is your fault.”
“I’m good with that,” he assured her. “It lets me know when I’m doing things right.” He paused, pretending to consider the hazards of a lover who could cause complete chaos. “Of course, I need to make sure I clear out any projectiles from our lair. I’d hate to be skewered while I was—”
She pressed her fingers against his lips. “Ulric.”
&
nbsp; He savored the sight of her rosy blush. His wolf wanted to nuzzle against her cheeks, absorbing her delightful heat. Instead he settled for one last kiss.
“We’ll finish this later,” he promised.
She nodded. “After I’ve destroyed Zella.”
Ulric frowned at her choice of words. “After we’ve destroyed her,” he corrected.
“Ulric, it’s my duty—”
“You’re wasting your breath.” He overrode her words. “We’re in this together.”
“Like the Justice League?” she demanded in wry tones.
He tapped the end of her nose. “Yeah, but I refuse to be Wonder Woman.”
“Pfft. You should be so lucky. I’m Wonder Woman.”
He gazed down at her, refusing to be distracted. “What do you need from me?”
“I need you to get out of here.”
He shook his head. “Not happening.”
“I’m serious, Ulric,” she insisted. “If Zella gets her hands on your blood, she can destroy the last barrier. We can’t let that happen.”
He refused to consider what would happen if Zella managed to burst through the barrier and fully enter the world. He wasn’t leaving Rainn. End. Of. Story. “We’re partners.”
Her eyes darkened to a steely gray, her hair floating around her face as her powers leaked out.
“We are, but nothing is more important than preventing the darkness from infecting the magic.”
Ulric stiffened as he caught the sound of running footsteps outside the cottage.
“Too late,” he muttered.
“Dammit.” Rainn sent him a frown of frustration before the door was shoved open and Chaaya rushed inside.
“Showtime, kiddies,” she announced in breathless tones. As if she’d just run a marathon. Then, with a frown, she glanced around the living room. “What the freak did you do to my house?”
Rainn ignored Ulric’s stifled laugh. “Sorry. Things got a little…”
“Catastrophic?” Chaaya suggested when Rainn’s words trailed away.
“Energetic,” Ulric corrected.
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