Disgrace

by Kit Bladegrave

  Gabby stepped out of her room, wearing that same damned dress again with her cloak. I held out my hand, and she slipped hers into mine. Then we were gone, out of the castle and hiking through the woods. Our pent-up energy hummed between us, flowing from one to the other with our hands firmly connected. I didn’t dare let go, not yet. I heard the rushing water of the waterfall as we neared it and glanced over to find Gabby’s head tilting, curiosity on her face. Then the trees parted, and we finally came to a stop. Steam rose from the water, resting beneath the waterfall that cascaded out of the mountains. It was cold coming down, but there was a natural spring beneath the pool that warmed it up before it lazily flowed down a shallow stream. Only a few knew of this place.

  Most stayed clear because of how much I came here or used to before this craziness started.

  I was going to ask Gabby what she thought of it, but she was already removing her cloak, eyeing the water, a glint in her eyes. I started to turn away, give her a moment of privacy to undress, but then she took my arm and turned me right back around.

  I swallowed hard as she let that dress slip off her body and pool at her feet, with only undergarments remaining. Time stopped as her gaze locked on mine and then she was backing toward the water, sighing at its warmth.

  “Well? Are you joining me or not?” she called back over the rush of the fall.

  The water lapped at her body. I kicked out of my boots and clothes, and followed her path into the hot water, each step bringing me closer to Gabby. To my wife and the woman I never meant to fall for but clearly had. How could I not?

  In so little time, she’d become the focus of my world, the one I cared about most. And I felt her care and compassion for me in return. As soon as I reached her, she pushed through the water and into my arms, kissing me like we hadn’t been able to in days while we’d rushed to save the pups. But now we could take our time, and I was going to do just that.

  Neither one of us could stop laughing as we tried and failed several times to dry off and get dressed for the trek back through the woods to home. I felt like a brand new being as we fell to the grass once more, using her cloak as a blanket, and holding each other close as the light of day slowly faded into evening.

  “We should be getting back,” I growled as she nuzzled my neck.

  “We should,” she agreed as my arms wrapped more firmly around her, keeping her pinned against my chest. “Or…”

  I ran my hands through her tangled braids, and she laughed when my fingers were stuck. “I think we need to redo your hair, love,” I murmured against her lips as I finally got them free and slid them down her back instead.

  Eventually, we finished getting dressed, and started our way back. She tugged her hand out of mine and with a wink, darted off into the trees. I waited a beat, not sure what she was doing, but then my demon instincts had me giving chase, working to catch up to her. I caught a glimpse of her cloak, and she laughed slyly as she dodged to the right, slipping past my grasp. I wound around a tree, but she was gone again.

  I growled, listening intently for the crunching of leaves and snapping of twigs, rushing silently through the trees to follow her. I knew these woods far better than she did and with a wicked grin, I climbed the nearest tree, silently moving through the limbs as I tracked her down.

  I jumped from one tree to the next, finally seeing her braided head of hair as she peeked around another trunk, searching for any sign of me. I maneuvered two trees over and then quietly climbed back down to the ground. I snuck up behind her and caught her in a hug as she squealed with laughter. I spun her around, kissing her neck and tickling her sides while she gasped for me to stop, though giggling the whole time. I slipped in the slick leaves, and we went down, spinning so she landed on me again before I rolled us over.

  “You, my love, are a mess,” I said, picking leaves and twigs from her hair.

  “My natural state,” she said with a smirk. “You like it?”

  “More than that,” I replied softly and sweetly kissed her lips. She was just reaching up to hold my horns when both of our stomachs growled noisily, and we broke apart, grinning. “Food, we need food.”

  “Yes, sadly.”

  I hoisted her back to her feet and rested my cheek on her head as we walked arm in arm back to the castle. Hattie was in the hall just setting dinner out when we finally walked in, laughing and clinging to each other. She beamed, her brow arching, her hands on her hips.

  “Well now, where have you two been, sire? My lady?”

  “Hot springs,” Gabby answered for me, sighing as I pulled out her chair for her. She draped her cloak over the back of it and sank into her seat. “They’re beautiful.”

  “Yes, they are,” I agreed, but I was looking at Gabby.

  “Dig in, there is plenty of food for you to enjoy,” Hattie instructed. “I’ll go rustle up some sweet wine, perhaps?” She patted my shoulder as she passed, and I swore I heard her whisper, “About damned time,” before she bustled out of the hall.

  I took my seat right next to Gabby, and we dug into our meal, sharing knowing looks and nudging each other playfully until we wound up kissing again, then trying to eat before there were more sweet kisses. This was how a newlywed couple should have been acting all along. I was thankful we finally arrived at this point, something I never imagined happening for us. But Gabby was my match in every way. She had her own personal evils to overcome, just as I did, but she was strong. Fierce. Determined. And she was showing me how happy I could be, loving with everything I had.

  And I did love her. I realized that at the hot springs how much my heart had opened because of this demi who’d come into my life.

  After dinner, we took the pitcher of sweet wine with us and meandered back to our chambers. Outside her door, I was prepared to bid her good night and head off to my room. I did just that, offering her the wine, but she left it with me.

  Today had been better than any dream I had of us together, but I did not want to impose. I kissed her cheek and growled a good night before I walked to my chambers and ducked inside. I was barely in there a moment when I found myself standing at the door that joined our chambers, my hand raised to knock. Just when I was about to let my hand fall, a knock came from her side. I smiled and opened the door to find Gabby wearing a big grin.

  “I was wondering about what just happened,” she said, holding her cloak closer around herself.

  “Same,” I agreed. “I wanted to ask, but I’ve never had anyone sleep in the same bed.”

  “Neither have I, but the thought of it now… bothers me. Not being with you I mean.” She was chewing on her cheek again.

  I stepped aside so she could enter. “Would you care to stay with me tonight? I have more wine.”

  A while later after night had settled in, well after night settled in, I assumed she was asleep, but she stirred, and I felt her looking at me sleepily. I was absently running my fingers through her tangled braids, getting stuck in them again.

  “Can you undo them for me?” she asked and sat up, her back to me. “Just don’t lose the beads.”

  “I won’t,” I promised and gently began to undo her hair. There was something just as relaxing about taking down her braids as there had been with her putting mine in.

  “Can I ask you a question?”

  “Anything,” I replied, grunting when I found a particularly stubborn knot.

  “It’s not just me, right? Feeling as I do right now. It’s not just—I don’t know—the moment?”

  My hands stilled before they rested on her shoulders and I kissed her neck warmly. She moved back into my touch, seemingly without thought and my chest tightened with the raw emotions I had never let myself feel.

  “I have never felt closer to anyone in my life,” I whispered, kissing along her shoulders. “I sense you, even if we’re not in the same room. I find myself pulled toward you, even now when you’re so close to me. I might not have the right words to say what this is, but it is real, Gabriella, and it is c
ertainly not just you. What we have will not fade away with the night.”

  Her head turned enough I could capture her lips as she cupped my face. “Guess I’m still wary of trusting so much good coming into my life so fast. That it’s not all in my head.”

  “No, love, not even close.”

  I went back to removing her beads and braids then ran my fingers through her long strands until they were smooth. She did the same for me, and then held each other until we fell asleep.

  I snarled, drawing Gabby instinctively closer when I heard the banging on my door.

  “What?” I finally snapped when the sound didn’t go away.

  “Sorry to disturb you, sire, but there’s a problem in the kennels,” Josef replied.

  “The kennels?”

  Gabby shifted beside me. “What’s wrong?” She yawned. “The kennels?”

  “We’ll be out in a moment,” I told Josef and frowned. “I hoped for another day like yesterday, but it appears duty calls.” I leaned down and kissed her before throwing my legs over the edge of the bed and stretching.

  “Holden, your back… you can hardly see the scars anymore.” She ran her hands along my lower back to where the worst ones were. I got up and went to look for myself in the mirror, not believing the smooth skin I saw around my tattoo.

  As she stood, worry lines appeared on her forehead as she slung her cloak around her shoulders. “I hope it’s not the pups.”

  “Whatever it is, we will deal with it together. I’ll meet you downstairs?”

  “Yes.” She disappeared through the adjoining door.

  I dressed quickly, concerned the pups had become sick again, or there were more that had fallen ill. I’d just exited my chambers when I heard another door and Gabby was there. We rushed downstairs together to find Josef pacing back and forth in the foyer.

  “What is it?” I asked, but he hung his head.

  “It’s best you come see for yourself.”

  The three of us made our way across the dewy grounds to the kennels where several other demons stood around, heads bowed, a few of them looking angry. I picked up the pace, Gabby right behind me, and when we reached the back room where the two sick pups had been kept, we found them lying still before a fire. Too still.

  “No,” Gabby gasped and pushed past me, falling to her knees. “No… no!”

  “Are they…” I couldn’t even get the word out.

  Gabby held them close, tears slipping from her eyes. “I don’t understand. Yesterday, they were fine. They were playing! What… what happened?”

  “Josef?” I asked. I flinched at first, taken back by the strange look in his eyes, though the rest of his face showed sadness. I blinked, and the look was gone.

  “I don’t know. I came in for my morning rounds and found them like this. I’m so sorry, my lady.”

  Gabby was shaking her head, setting the pups down. “This should not have happened.”

  “But it did, and they’re not the only ones.”

  “What?” Gabby and I snapped at the same time. “What do you mean? Explain, now,” I demanded.

  Josef fidgeted uncomfortably under my furious glare. “Their mother and three more pups have fallen ill… as well as two more adult hounds. We’ve moved them away from the others, but it does not look good.”

  Gabby was already rushing off to go see them as I glowered at Josef.

  “I want to know who was on guard last night,” I growled. “I want to know why I was not told until this morning. These pups were still supposed to be under close watch.”

  “I know, sire, and I will see who was on duty,” he promised, bowing his head.

  “You better.” I stared at him a bit longer, watching how shifty his eyes were, and I swore his lips twitched in a sneer before his face went blank again. I ordered another guard to remove the two dead pups, burn the bodies, and then went in search of Gabby.

  She was examining the other hounds, the pups first, then she moved onto the three older ones. All of them lay shivering around a fire one of the guards had built. I helped her wrap them all in furs and blankets, moving them as close to the flames as we could, and ran my hands over each one, willing them to hold on.

  “Should it have come back like that?” I almost hated to ask Gabby, her already on edge, but I had to understand this plague roving through my kennels.

  “No—I don’t know,” she whispered, sounding at a loss. “I could have sworn I cured it, but I suppose I was too confident. I’m not… I’m not as smart as Tori.” Her words caught harshly in her throat as she stood, wiping at her eyes. She started to leave, but I caught her up in my arms before she could. She buried her face against my chest, and I just held her.

  “We’ll save them,” I promised, but she shook her head. “There has to be a way.”

  “And if I can’t? If I fail? You’ll hate me for bringing this upon them. I know you will, and then you’ll want me gone, you’ll hate me, just like everyone else winds up not wanting me.”

  “Gabriella, listen to me,” I said firmly, setting her back so I could stare into her eyes. “You did not do this, and I am not going to go through this again with you. Tori’s dark magic caused this, not you. I don’t care what you tell me, but I will not lose faith in you, nor will I cast you out. You are my heart, my life. Do you understand me? I will not turn my back on you.”

  A flare of determination burst to life in her eyes, and she nodded. “You’re right, you’re right. I… I can do this. I need to go back to Channon, but… I’ll find a way to stop this.” She stood on her toes and kissed my cheek, whispering, “I love you, too,” before she took off for her workshop.

  My chest swelled to hear those words. I sent two guards to watch over her again, to help her with whatever she needed. I was not going to leave the hounds’ sides. Not this time. I sat near the pups, comforting them the best I could. I wiped the blood from their noses, willing whichever gods might be listening to assist Gabby in fighting against the dark magic and saving them.

  I heard shuffling steps behind me, and then Josef came into view. He was eyeing the hounds, his hands clasped behind his back, a strange twitch to his lips again.

  “Do you need something?” I snapped, a warning in my tone for him to tread carefully.

  “I came to offer aid where I can.”

  “There is not much to do I’m afraid. This falls on Gabby.”

  “Yes, Gabby and her magic, except she has none.”

  I slowly turned, glaring at him. “She has the knowledge to save them.”

  “Does she? From what I heard, there is not a drop of magic in her blood. She cannot counteract this. No, this plague will move through the kennels and then onto us. It will destroy us all unless you let her leave.”

  “What are you saying?” I pushed to my feet and stood toe-to-toe with him. “She is my wife, and she did not cause this.”

  “No, no you’re right,” he agreed. “You did. When you took her.”

  “Took her? I didn’t take her from anywhere.” I studied his eyes, searching for any sign that this truly was Josef, but as far as I could tell, he was the same demon I’d known all my life. “You will cease this talk at once. Do you understand me? And you will not go anywhere near Gabriella, or I will throw you in the pit.”

  Josef flinched at the harshness of my tone and backed up a step. He gave his head a little shake, appearing confused. “Of… of course, sire, my apologies.”

  “Josef, are you feeling yourself?” I asked.

  He held his head but nodded. “Yes, I’m merely worried about the hounds. I will go see to the others, ensure no more have fallen ill. If you’ll excuse me, sire,” he mumbled. And then was gone.

  I considered putting a tail on him, fearing he would go after Gabby, but could not bring myself to doubt a demon I’d trusted since I’d been given this kingdom. I returned to my spot beside the hounds, giving them as much comfort as I could, when a strange, icy touch raced down my spine.

  I leapt up immediate
ly, my hand reaching for my dagger, but I was alone.

  Tori.

  This had to be her.

  I should have told Gabby, but she was kicking herself enough as it was already. I would wait until I had more proof that her mother’s spirit was here.

  Or worse, her mother hadn’t been dead after all.

  11

  Gabriella

  Our day spent together at the hot springs seemed like a lifetime ago. We were right back to where we started, struggling to find any way to stop this plague from spreading. Several more hounds had fallen sick since just last night, and I had spent so much of my time in Channon lately, I hardly ever saw Holden now, unless we were both collapsing into one of our beds from exhaustion. I’d wake up to find him with his arms wrapped around me, dragging me closer to his chest.

  When the pups died, I’d waited for the backlash, for him to be furious and send me away. Each day, I waited for him to lose his patience with me and go back on his word. Except, he never did. Holden’s love for me was real as mine was for him. He showed it to me every day, whenever he had the chance. A quick kiss, a squeeze of my hand. Falling asleep beside me. A few times, I’d fallen asleep in my workshop or near the sick hounds and had woken up to him carrying me back to the castle, bags under his own eyes, but refusing to put me down.

  “You are the mind behind saving them,” he told me repeatedly. “You need rest. The least I can do is carry you when you’re too tired to walk.”

  “You need it, too,” I’d argued just last night.

  “I’ll survive. Promise.”

  “You better,” I’d grumbled, curling into the warmth of his body as he climbed the stairs to his chamber. “I’d be lost without you around. Hope you know that.” I’d peeked up to see him beaming down at me.