He might not be so fortunate if this had happened in the human realm. Then where would she be without him? Who would watch her back?
Shrinking back to her normal size, she shook off the remnants of anger that clung to her and took a steadying breath. She would make Daegan regret escaping this room.
When Maeve's throat cooled to where she could speak in a normal voice again, she told Cathbad, "Daegan might win a battle, but he will lose the war and there will be one ruler."
Pinching his chin in a thoughtful pose, Cathbad nodded. "Now you sound like the woman I made a pact with to rule the human world."
She never agreed to share that rule. Cathbad could remain, so long as he was of value to her. "You said you came to talk. What is your idea?"
"We need to find out what is going on in the human world. What has happened now that Daegan is there."
"If he's there," she amended.
"Where else would he be?"
"Treoir Island."
"You think Macha would welcome him to the island?"
"No." Maeve laughed. "No more than I would in her shoes, but he has the right as the first son of King Gruffyn to take Treoir back from Macha if he managed to get into that realm and to break my curse."
"I did not know he could claim the island at this point. When did you plan to tell me this?" Cathbad's grin dissolved into a foreboding expression.
"When you needed to know." She shrugged. "Stop looking at me that way. I have not betrayed you."
He spoke softly with a chilling edge. "No, you told me you needed help creating a prophecy that would create gryphons who possessed Belador and Medb blood in this era. I did my part and there are now Alterants evolving into gryphons. You told me you wanted a partner who would sleep for thousands of years with you and reincarnate when the gryphons rose and the prophecy was fulfilled. I agreed. You told me you wanted to conquer Treoir Island and take control of that power, but you never mentioned that Daegan could take the island simply by right of birth."
"Well, now you know. What's your point?"
He didn't answer at first, just stared so hard he should be driving holes through her chest. "Time and again, you refused to kill that bloody dragon and now he's more powerful than ever if he's on Treoir. We could have killed him, and then the only thing between us and conquering Treoir would have been Macha."
"She's not much easier to kill than Daegan."
Cathbad's fury boiled over. He shoved his arms up in the air and opened his mouth, spewing out a black, swirling cloud that wrapped the room and shrouded Maeve. Her skin crawled at the feel of it, but she wouldn't blink while he showed his power.
Demonic wraiths shot back and forth through the room.
Five of them surrounded Maeve, gaping mouths filled with pointy teeth ready to rip into her.
His power did give her pause, but he'd be a fool to harm her in her own realm.
"Call down your dogs, Cathbad."
He still stared up and his arms remained extended. The shrieking went up a notch.
She had the uncomfortable thought that she might have pushed him too far this time.
But he would never see her sweat.
"Call them down or you breach our agreement," she warned.
Seconds stretched. The wraiths snapped their jaws, moving closer to her.
Cathbad jerked his arms down and shouted a word as old as time. The wraiths sucked backwards into a miniature tornado that spun itself into dust and dissolved into a smoky cloud.
"Are you through?" she asked, sounding more bored than anything.
Smoothing his hands over his perfect hair first, he straightened his sport coat and said, "You need me, Maeve. Don't ever forget it."
She seethed. "I need no one. We have an agreement. If you no longer wish to uphold your end, say so, but do not ever assume that I need anything or anyone."
Confidence purred in his voice this time. "Ah, but you do. You think I don't have a few secrets of my own?"
"I'm sure you do."
He started toward the door, which meant passing her. He slowed next to her and whispered, "You've unleashed a dragon who can kill a deity if he finds a mate."
"I doubt he finds another dragon in this day and age."
"Oh, are you so sure about that?"
She turned to Cathbad and realized she was close enough to enjoy his sculptured mouth, if she hadn't been so angry. "Are you telling me you know of another dragon?"
"I'm not telling you anything. Just as I'm not saying that I may know how to kill Daegan. Think about that when you go down to collect Kizira's body."
"Me? I can't go somewhere he might have the upper hand."
"Then you should think about that before you play games with me, Maeve. One of us has to collect the body when Quinn delivers it, or the Beladors may call foul and default. You have no scrying wall. You need Kizira's body to get your answers."
Chapter 18
As a leader, Daegan rocked in Evalle's book if for no other reason than making her life easier by teleporting her and Storm to arrive inside their building in the middle of the day.
Too bad Daegan couldn't snap his fingers and make this a happy Saturday afternoon like most couples were enjoying.
She followed Storm up to their residence on the top floors, which were far above the conference room she had no desire to visit right now. Not after having a conflict with Storm over Reese.
He'd checked on Feenix, handed Reese over to Quinn and called a time-out for them. She hated the brittle silence between them, but appreciated that Storm would never lose his temper in front of her friends.
Sure, he'd wanted to kill Reese at one point, but that was a natural reaction to someone he'd thought was a demon.
There'd been a time when he'd kept his anger locked down and avoided pushing her. She didn't want him to hold back.
Not that she wanted him to be angry with her, but she'd come a long way in this relationship and would not backslide. Both of them needed to vent at times and both of them deserved to have their say. They were a pair of strong personalities. Storm had pushed her to be honest with him at every turn.
She wanted his honesty as well.
He opened the door and held it for her. Always a gentleman when it came to her.
She took two steps in and turned. He closed the door with a click then leaned back against it with his arms crossed.
She crossed hers. "You might as well get it off your chest. You've been stewing since you walked in and found Reese in the conference room."
He looked down. "Reese?" He lifted his gaze back to hers and the fury was banked, churning and ready to escape.
"That's her name."
"You say her name as if she's a new neighbor. You don't even know what she is, but you still brought her here."
"You're still mad about me bringing her here?"
"Bingo."
She could never talk without being in motion, so she started pacing back and forth. "I had Quinn, Adrianna and Isak with me. Between the four of us I'm fairly certain we could take her down if that had been necessary. But it wasn't. She was unconscious and sick."
"You don't know that she was truly dying. You didn't know enough about who she is or what she is to realize whether you were being gamed."
The fact that his words rang true didn't help.
Now she felt foolish and she liked feeling that way about as much as feeling weak. Not at all.
When in doubt, she went on offense. "What are you saying? I don't have a say in who comes here without your permission?"
He stood up and dropped his arms. "No. That's not ... you're turning my words around."
"I just need this clarified that you're saying I can't decide who comes and goes unless I clear it through you first."
"Of course you can, Evalle. I'm not saying that, I'm just ... " He paused long enough to curse in one of his many languages. Then he drew a breath, but his face still had 'pissed off' written all over it. "Just stop bringing in unknown bei
ngs. That's all I'm asking. Promise me that."
Calling her Evalle was never a positive sign. It was the same as saying he was close to the end of his patience.
She stopped pacing. "How can I promise what I'll do in the future when I have no idea what tomorrow brings? I don't work a normal job. I'm around strange things all the time and I'm not letting something die that isn't trying to harm me. I did think this through first." Counting off on her fingers, she said, "I couldn't take her to a human hospital and I couldn't take her to healers in VIPER headquarters with Sen there and ... wait a minute." She took a step toward him. "What did you mean by keep bringing in unknown beings? What other time are you talking about?"
Storm muttered to himself, but she heard, "Might as well get this done now." His tone came out slow and calm as if trying to explain to someone who might react badly. "You brought Oskar here. In fact, you had no idea what he was capable of and you drove around alone with him in my car, Evalle."
Sweet little Oskar?
He was a witch's familiar the size of a small dog and he hadn't been the least bit dangerous. Well, not to Evalle. She probably should have let it go, but she felt like she'd failed a simple test as his mate.
With no better defense, she grumbled, "I'll get your truck detailed."
Storm crushed the keys in his hand and let the debris fall to the floor. His voice was low and furious. "I don't want the damn truck detailed."
Dishes in the cabinets started rattling.
Evalle lifted her hands. "Then what do you want? If I say I'm not going to do something then I won't break my word to you. But just know that if we hadn't ended up here, plan B was Isak's interrogation room. Are you saying we should have taken her there?"
"No!"
Energy raced through her veins. She had to stop or she'd shift into a gryphon right here. Not that anyone would know but she'd probably take out the ceiling and half the next level.
Storm stood there, saying nothing.
She knew that look. He was giving her time to calm down. Well, that wasn't happening.
"What. Do. You. Want. Storm?" she strode over to him.
He grabbed her shoulders and his hands shook with the energy rocking him. He wouldn't hurt her, she knew this, but he was furious.
His chest expanded and contracted with shuddering breaths. When he finally spoke, his words came out hoarse. "I want to know you're safe. I built this for you so that you would have a place where you know nothing can harm you. I want to know that if I'm not here, you'll be just as safe when you're home alone." The worry behind his anger peeked out from his gaze.
He eased his grip and moved a trembling hand to stroke her hair. "I hated the entire time you lived under that building of Quinn's. I spent days upon days worrying about you. I knew that the day might come when you take on a monster you might not defeat. I have never been so happy as having you here with me."
Her heart squeezed at the mix of love and fear in his voice. Her eyes watered.
Storm feared nothing, except losing her.
She felt the same way about him. In his shoes, she'd probably react even worse.
There were no hard and firm rules for the world they lived in beyond survival being the top priority, which gave even more weight to his words. She'd been caught up in the moment and would have done the same thing in the past when she lived in the underground apartment.
But she lived here with Storm, Feenix, the twins and Lanna, once Quinn's cousin returned. Evalle would not intentionally put any of them at risk.
She and Storm had worked through his overprotectiveness. Since then, he'd been true to his word to give her space to perform her job.
Now she had to do her part as his mate.
He deserved better than to worry about their home.
Before she could speak, he added, "I might have overreacted since that woman doesn't appear to be a threat. But the minute I walked in and sensed demon energy, the next thing I saw was you too close to her. She could have touched you before I got to you."
She hugged him. "I do get what you're saying and I'm sorry. I love our home. I love that it is a safe haven. Living here with you is more than I ever dreamed. You're right. I don't always think before jumping into things."
He squeezed her and chuckled. "Understatement."
She pinched him and he kissed her on the head. She said, "I won't bring anyone, or anything, here again that I don't know for sure is safe."
"Thank you." His voice was now back to the deep tone that soothed her. "But don't get me wrong, sweetheart. This is your home as much as mine, for you to share with your friends ... except Isak."
She smiled. Storm didn't mean that, but he was no longer thinking about Reese.
Storm's hands wrapped her waist. He picked her up and sat her on the counter, pulling open her shirt so fast buttons flew all over the kitchen.
"That's one of my BDUs," she tried to protest, but it died on her breath when he popped the snap on her bra. He covered one breast with his mouth and he filled his hand with the other.
Heat pooled between her legs as he moved those amazing hands to yank her jeans off. His teeth scraped her sensitive nipple, now hard and begging for more.
She gripped his hair, pulling it out of the leather thong so the black silk washed over his shoulders.
He covered the other breast with his mouth. He kissed and bit until she shook with need. Her body levitated off the counter.
He pressed on her thighs, bringing her back down and dropped to his knees, kissing the skin along the inside of her legs. Then his lips moved closer to her heat.
Her voice went up a notch. "Now. I need you now."
His whispered, "Not yet," dragged a groan from her when he spread her legs and nuzzled her heat.
Then he licked her. Again.
She dug her nails into his shoulders, clinging to him, to the man who had given her so much more than a safe home. He'd shown her how to live and to feel.
His tongue tortured her, teasing, and almost there, but not yet. Two fingers pushed inside her and she clamped the edge of the counter to hold herself down.
He sucked her hard, shoving her up to that peak ... then over, free falling. She called his name to the heavens. When she fell back to the earth, there he was holding her to him. She wrapped her legs around him, fully expecting him to be naked.
He didn't disappoint her. Ever.
With an easy move, he lifted her then brought her down as he slid home, groaning at the feel. Somewhere along the way he'd slipped a condom in place. Good thing, because she'd lost the ability to form a rational thought. Muscles bunched and moved on his back as he slowly eased in and out.
He moved his lips to her mouth, kissing her as if he'd never get another chance at her. Every minute with Storm was like that. He made her feel as if nothing mattered more in his world at any moment than her. Every part of her wanted his touch. He made love to her mouth and her body, taking his sweet time at each spot he touched.
She'd been physically exhausted only moments ago, but Storm woke up every nerve in her body again. How he could make her ready to beg so soon after that last orgasm was one of life's little mysteries she didn't care to unravel.
But now she wanted more of what he was giving her.
"Faster," she ordered.
"No." His kissed her slowly, in a seductive way that promised he could do this for hours.
For her.
She loved this man beyond comprehension.
He pulled out and pushed up hard. She clutched him to her, gasping, waiting, ready.
Still, he rained kisses along her face and neck, taking measured moves out and in. His body tightened at the effort of holding back, but he'd pause then keep moving.
Until she whispered, "Please. Now. Come with me."
"Anything for you." He made good on his words then by picking up his pace. His power wrapped around her, holding back until she tightened around him and cried out. He followed close behind, driving harder into her o
ver and over, then the feel of his release sizzled over her.
She draped her arms over his shoulders. Her legs hung loose over his powerful arms.
The kitchen smelled of damp bodies and sex.
She smiled against his shoulder. "Love you."
He leaned her back until he could see her face. His voice had a sex-roughened edge. "I love you more."
"You must. Anyone else wouldn't survive your anger."
He looked chagrined. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."
Evalle smiled. "I'm not."
That confused him. "Why?"
"It means you know I can hold my own with you as your mate. There was a time where you'd have thought twice about it. We don't live in a simple world and I'm not the easiest person to live with--"
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"I don't agree."
She huffed out a laugh. "You're not objective."
"Not when it comes to you."
"Well, you had a point. I heard it. We can't grow together unless we put everything on the table when we disagree. Besides, the make-up sex was worth it."
Storm laughed and hoisted her up, then he threw her over his shoulder and walked off.
She asked, "Hey, where are you going?"
Storm had his hand on her bare bottom. "To fight in the shower. Then we'll have wet make-up sex."
Evalle laughed only until his hand moved to a more interesting spot.
Chapter 19
Quinn led the way through Oakland Cemetery, which normally had tourist traffic on a late Saturday afternoon, even in the winter. But the temperature felt like spring. If not for the rain that had yet to let up, this cemetery would be crowded. He'd passed a few people with umbrellas and cameras, but that had been closer to the entrance. No one was back here.
Reese walked alongside him, wearing a rain poncho he'd gotten her on the way.
Before rushing here to find the tomb missing early this morning, Quinn hadn't been to Oakland Cemetery since placing Kizira here.
He'd stayed away to keep her safe from discovery.
Major fail. He'd planned on never coming back until he'd found their daughter, which seemed further out of reach every minute.
"What is it about cemeteries that fascinates people?" Reese wondered aloud.
"Oakland has been here since the mid 1800s. It's filled with families. There are seventy thousand graves."
"That's not what I'm talking about. I understand when people visit to be with a loved one they lost and I get that some people hunt ancestors through death records, but the rest apparently are just sightseeing."
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