by Chloe Hart
Celia shrugged, but it was obvious from her pale, strained face that the news of her queen’s betrayal had hit her hard. “At least I know it wasn’t personal,” she said drily. “She called off the hit as soon as I was no longer a threat.”
“Yeah, that’s a comfort,” Evan said. He was sitting on one of his leather wing chairs with Celia perched on the arm, and now he pulled her into his lap. “I’d take it as a real favor if whatever plan we come up with includes killing that bitch.”
He hugged his mate close, stroking her hair protectively. Hawk stared at them, but it was Jessica he was thinking of.
He should have claimed her as his mate.
He could have done it, could have persuaded her, in those heated moments when she was lost in desire.
If he’d done that, she wouldn’t have left him. She wouldn’t have tried to solve all these problems by herself. She would have let him protect her.
His eyes strayed to Liz and Jack. Liz was still pacing, saying something in answer to a question Celia had asked, while Jack leaned against a bookcase with his arms folded.
Those two had a different dynamic than Evan and Celia. Liz was like a barely contained storm system, constantly moving, her eyes flashing as she talked with her hands. Her mate, on the other hand, was calm and still, like a panther at rest. The eye of the storm.
But even though they weren’t physically touching, the connection between them was as palpable as the one between Evan and Celia.
Hawk had always felt vaguely contemptuous of mated vampires. With a bond that intense, you could no longer call your soul your own. Why would anyone choose to shackle themselves like that?
After more than a century of freedom, he never thought he’d feel any differently. But now, freedom seemed an empty thing. He thought of the way Jessica had come apart in his arms, and all he wanted was to love and protect for her for the rest of his existence. It was agony not to be near her, like she’d taken a part of him with her when she left.
As much as he loved his sister, what he felt for Mary was nothing like this. He felt affection for her, and responsibility, and cold rage for anyone who dared hurt her. And he would see her safe, or die trying.
But none of those feelings had ever made him irrational.
Now, he felt himself hovering on the edge of madness. His love for Jessica, his fear for her, was tearing him up inside.
He didn’t realize he’d slammed his fist on the table beside him until everyone in the room turned to him. “Every minute we delay is dangerous. We have no idea what Jessica is facing in that place.”
To his surprise, the prickly Liz came to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is hard,” she said. “You feel powerless, and that sucks. But you have to remember that Jessica isn’t helpless. She’s a warrior. Plus she’s engaged to the Dark Fae prince, which means she should be received as an honored guest.” She held up a hand to forestall his objection. “I know we’re not sure we can trust their good will, and I promise you that we’ll figure out a way to get to her. But in the meantime, have a little faith in Jessica. She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“You should know,” Jack said, and Liz gave him a quick smile.
Hawk looked from her to Jack. “How do you deal with it when Liz is in danger?”
Jack shrugged. “Not very well, to tell you the truth. My instinct is to clap her irons to keep her safe. But her strength is a part of her. You have to know what you’re getting into, when you claim a warrior. If you can’t handle it, don’t do it.”
There was a short silence. Liz resumed her pacing, but the others stayed still. Then—
“The queen,” Celia said suddenly, jumping to her feet. Her eyes were snapping with sudden energy.
“What about the queen?” Evan asked.
“I always assumed she used absinthe to travel to the Dark Realm, and that’s not really a help to us now. Absinthe keeps the portals open, we know that—it’s the link between our two worlds. But drinking absinthe only allows your spirit to travel from here to there, not your body. And there are a lot of risks involved in that kind of travel.” She took a quick breath. “But Jessica said something about a gift from Navril to Talia. A mirror. It never occurred to me…but if Jessica traveled using an object, not just her spirit but her body, then—”
Hawk’s hands clenched into fists. “Talia has a portal.”
“Maybe. We don’t know for sure.”
“It’s the only lead we have.”
“For now,” Celia said. “I’ve been working on a spell to locate portals, but I put it on hold after Jessica’s engagement. I’ll start working on that again. In the meantime—”
“In the meantime, I’ll get my hands around Talia’s throat and squeeze until she gives us the information we need.”
“Hold on there, cowboy,” Liz said. “We’re going to need an actual strategy.”
“I like Hawk’s plan,” Evan said. “Why do we need to complicate it?”
“Well, not only do we need to figure out how to get to the queen—or her mirror, which might be a better idea—but we need to decide what to do once we locate a portal. Specifically, we need to decide who’s going through.” She looked at Celia and Evan. “Celia, I think you should stay here. You can do more good working on those spells. You can continue doing research, too. On anything related to portals, and the Dark Fae realm. We may need it. And Evan will stay with you, of course.”
“I’m going,” Hawk said in a voice that brooked no contradiction.
“I figured,” Liz said drily. “But you’re going to need a Fae with you, which means I’m going, too. I’ve been to the Dark Fae realm—in spirit, anyway—which means I’ve got at least a shot of being able to find my way around.”
“And I’ll come with you,” Jack said. “That’ll leave Celia and Evan here on this side, while you and Hawk and I—”
“No,” Liz said quietly. “You need to stay here, Jack.”
There was a pause. Then—“No fucking way. If you think I’m going to let you charge off to another goddam dimension without—”
“Listen to me. This is a stealth mission, not an attack in force. I’m going in to do recon. It’ll be bad enough having Hawk there, but we’ll split up as soon as we can. If I’m caught, at least I’m Fae. I can say I was in the mansion and found Talia’s portal by accident, and there’s at least a chance that they’ll believe me. But not if you’re there, Jack. Having you there would compromise the mission and put me in danger.”
“You can say the same thing about Hawk,” Jack growled.
“Yes, and frankly, I think it would be better if he stayed behind. But he’s got a sister there. If he’s caught, he’ll tell them that he’s come for her. That won’t compromise me or my mission.” Liz went to Jack and framed his face in her hands. “You know I’m right about this. We need you here in case we do need to mount an attack in force. Celia’s Fae, but she’s a spellcaster. You’ve got alliances with the Green Fae warriors. They’ll listen to you. If we don’t come back, or if we get a message to you that we’re in trouble, we’ll need you here to organize an attack.”
Jack covered her wrists with his hands. “The Green Fae would never follow me against the will of the queen. And the queen would never support military action against the Dark Fae.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. The Dark Fae may not be our enemies, which is one of the things I’m going to try to discover. But we know that Talia can’t be trusted. She hired an assassin to kill one of her own people, whose only crime was speaking the truth. That’s grounds for deposing her, and that’s the other reason you need to stay here. You and Celia have to contact some key people, and tell them about Talia’s treachery. You need to start planting seeds now, in case we need to take direct action against the queen’s orders—or against the queen herself. That’s political maneuvering, which you know I suck at. But you don’t.”
“If Talia finds out what I’m doing she’ll have me arrested—o
r killed. Not that I mind dying in a good cause, but who’s going to rescue you if I’m not around?”
“I didn’t say it would be easy,” Liz said gently. “But it has to be done, and you have to do it. The job I have to do I can do better alone.”
Hawk reached for his cell phone. “I’ll call my black market contact for another charm to get us into the queen’s mansion. Two charms,” he corrected, glancing at Liz. “And I think you were right, before. As much as I’d like to have a heart-to-heart with Talia, if our goal is to get to the Dark Fae realm as quickly as possible, we’re better off trying to get to the mirror when the queen’s not there. Is there a way to find out her schedule for the next few days? Even if I pay for a rush order, the charms won’t be ready before tomorrow.”
“I can get that information from her personal guard,” Liz said.
Celia was staring at him. “You have a black market contact,” she repeated slowly. “For magic.”
“Yeah.”
A flush of excitement tinted her cheeks. “There are a couple of spell books and a few ingredients I haven’t been able to get on my own. Things that would help with my portal research, and my Dark Fae research. Could you—”
“Name it, and it’s yours,” he told her. “Provided my contact can get it.”
Evan frowned. “That’ll mean a lot of money. I can front you for—”
“I’ve got it.”
“But—”
“I said I’ve got it.”
Evan shrugged. “Fine.” He looked around the room. “Seems to me we’ve all got our marching orders, and that we can’t do much more until Hawk’s contact comes through. I suggest we all get some sleep while we still can, and meet again tomorrow morning. Agreed?”
The others nodded.
“Jack and Liz, you’re two flights up. The guest room on the top floor. Hawk, your room’s down here, across the hall.”
Everyone said their goodnights. Liz was the first to leave, and Hawk caught a glimpse of Jack’s face as he followed his mate from the room.
“Jack’s not happy,” he said to Evan.
Evan glanced after them. “No.”
“He’ll try to change Liz’s mind about the plan.”
“Probably.”
“Think he’ll be able to?”
“Not a chance.”
“Why not?”
“Because she’s right—and Jack knows it.”
Celia had been at a desk, scribbling out a list of magical items. Now she brought it over and handed it to Hawk. “The first three are the most important,” she said.
Evan kissed the top of her head. “Would you mind giving Hawk and me a few minutes?”
“Of course not,” she said, rising up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “I’ll see you upstairs when you’re ready for bed. Goodnight, Hawk.”
Now that he actually had something to do, he was itching to get started. “I need to call my contact as soon as possible. What is it you want to talk about?”
Evan studied him for a minute. “Is there something you’re not telling me, mate?”
“About what?” Hawk asked with a frown.
“About how Jessica left—and why.”
He tensed. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because I detect a whiff of guilt on you. That’s an emotion I’m familiar with, and it made me curious. You think it’s your fault she left, don’t you?”
Hawk couldn’t answer. After a minute, Evan nodded. “Thought so. Now, it may have no bearing on what we’ve got to do, but I’d like to verify that for myself. Tell me why you think it’s your fault.”
Hawk dragged a hand through his hair. “Jesus.”
“No one else has to know, if it’s not relevant. But someone other than you needs to make that decision.”
He shoved Celia’s list into his pocket and frowned down at the floor. His whole body felt tense as he recalled those last moments with Jessica.
“I might have come on a little strong.”
“Meaning?” Evan’s voice wasn’t judging or condemning—just neutral. Somehow that made it easier to continue.
“I used a certain kind of pressure to persuade her to stay with me.” He cleared his throat. “Sexual pressure.”
“Ah. You tried to fog her brain with lust?”
“Something like that.” He swallowed. “She…she’s not experienced with men. I took advantage of that fact. I overwhelmed her. And I think that may be one of the reasons she left.”
“You think she was running away from you?”
“From the feelings between us. Yeah.”
Evan nodded slowly. “Well, that may be. But I don’t think it’s anything we need to worry about right now, and there’s no reason to tell the others.”
“Good,” Hawk said drily. “Now, if you don’t mind, I’d like to call my contact.”
“Hawk.” Evan hesitated, and after a minute Hawk shifted impatiently.
“Time’s wasting, mate. What is it?”
“You asked Jack how he deals with Liz being in danger.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re going to have to deal with that, too. If you think claiming Jessica—assuming she wants that—means that she’ll always do what you want her to do, you need to disabuse yourself of that notion right now. Claiming a Fae woman…it’s not what you think it will be. It solves some problems and creates others. Being together means finding a very delicate balance.”
“A balance?”
“Between your nature and your will. Between instinct and intellect. And between two powerful personalities. The truth is, it’s a constant fucking battle.”
“Are you saying you regret claiming Celia?”
Evan’s face changed then, as though a star were shining on him. “My life began when Celia came into it. My heart lies at her feet.”
Hawk looked away from the light in the other vampire’s eyes. “I guess that’s a no,” he said gruffly.
Evan chuckled. “I just wanted to warn you that claiming the woman you love doesn’t mean you get to call the shots. And that’s a hard thing for a vampire to accept.”
Hawk shrugged. “One step at a time. Let’s start by getting her back.”
Evan nodded. “Good plan.”
* * *
Liz marshaled her arguments as she went up the two flights of stairs. Jack was walking behind her instead of next to her, which was disconcerting. She could feel how pissed he was. The back of her neck prickled, and it took an effort to keep from rubbing it with her hand.
She knew she was facing one hell of a discussion once they made it inside their room, and she was already defending herself in her head.
You know a recon mission goes better the fewer people are involved. And you know you’re better with the political stuff than I am. It makes sense for you to stay and me to go. You know that as well as I do. It’s not my fault you’re so damn protective…
By the time they reached the guest room, Liz was ready to have it out. The room was lovely, with a fire crackling in the fireplace, an oriental carpet on the floor, and a many-colored quilt on the big brass bed. The only light came from the dancing flames, which created as much shadow as illumination.
Fists clenched and jaw tight, Liz strode into the middle of the room and waited for Jack to close the door behind them. When he turned to face her, she opened her mouth to start arguing.
She didn’t have a chance to get the first words out.
“Take off your clothes,” Jack told her, his voice low and dangerous.
Goose bumps swept across her skin.
As he stared her down with those fierce blue eyes, she knew exactly what he was doing. This wasn’t the order he really wanted to give. He wanted to tell her she couldn’t go the Dark Fae realm. He wanted to clap her in irons to keep her safe, just like he’d told Hawk.
But that would violate the trust between them. He’d promised her he would never ask her to stop being a warrior—to stop being who she was. And he was struggling to
keep that promise.
So he was doing this, instead.
When she didn’t respond right away, he took a step towards her with such savage intent that she shivered.
“Now.”
She hurried to comply, trembling as she reached for the hem of her plaid flannel shirt.
“Not that way. Unbutton it.”
She swallowed. “My hands are shaking.”
He took another step closer, and then another, until he was less than a foot away.
“I didn’t ask if your hands were shaking,” he said softly. “I told you to unbutton your shirt.”
She loved him like this in the bedroom, and he knew it. But this was more intense than anything she’d felt from him before. Jack was on the edge. She could never be afraid of him, but she felt that tonight he might be capable of anything.
She managed the buttons somehow, even though every muscle in her body was quivering and her fingers were clumsy. When she could finally let the shirt slide to the floor, Jack stared at the hard buds of her nipples pushing against her bra.
He reached out and tweaked one almost idly, rolling it between his strong fingers. A stab of desire speared through her belly. Then he used both hands, playing with her breasts until her knees turned weak.
He stepped back again. “Now the rest.”
First the jeans, then her boots and socks, then her bra and panties. The fire made the room warm, but she shivered from head to toe as she stood naked before him.
“Unzip me.”
She started to obey, but his voice stopped her again. “On your knees.”
The rug was soft against her bare skin as she knelt in front of him, her heart hammering. She’d never wanted him in her mouth so much.
She lowered his zipper slowly, freeing his massive erection and pushing his jeans down below his hips. She heard air hiss between his teeth.
“Make me come.”
A thrill raced through her. Liz loved to go down on him but he always stopped her before he orgasmed.
This time would be different.
She took him in her mouth, licking and sucking and using her thumbs on the sensitive skin just below the head.
She felt his need, his hunger, in the tremors rippling through his body and the guttural moans he couldn’t hold back. And then he put his hand on the back of her head.
