“I’m removing the protective shield. That way your men can get in right now and go to work.”
“I didn’t even think about the shield.” He glanced at Alexandra. “What’s your take on this?”
“That Willow is in charge of the colony as well as the shield, and I trust her judgment.”
Malik nodded, trying to get used to being part of a larger realm team. He turned to Willow. “But you said a couple of decisions?”
She nodded, then smiled, a blush suffusing her cheeks. “You and I need to bond, right now. I know it in my gut. Besides, I’m in love with you and have been for a gremlin’s age.”
As a profession of love, Malik wasn’t sure he’d heard anything better in his life. He moved into her and even with Axton still struggling in the vines, he took her in his arms. “But, Willow, what about my part in your father’s death?”
Tears filled her eyes. “I know you, Malik. I’ve always believed in you. You’re forgiven, do you hear me? Forgiven.”
Something like breaking glass shattered inside his chest, his heart, his soul. He’d been held prisoner by his work, by his guilt over all the half-breed deaths, by being so alone. Now here was Willow, this enormous miracle in his life, forgiving him for the unforgivable.”
He kissed her. “I love you, Willow. I’m so sorry for holding back and for leaving you the way I did. It was incredibly foolish.”
She caressed his cheek. “But I let you go even though I knew I was vulnerable.”
“All right you two,” Alexandra chimed in. “You have time for this later. We’ve got wraiths to save. Get the bond done and let’s get moving.”
Malik nodded briskly. “You’re right.”
He held Willow’s gaze. “I give my heart to you and my will. I accept this bond with every ounce of my being.”
Willow’s smile softened. “And I bond with you, Malik of Ashleaf Realm.”
He kissed her again and let his mating vibration roar as loud as it wanted to. Her answering vibration was no less as powerful and the two frequencies flowed toward each other, intertwined, then just like that, locked into place.
Malik had thought it would take some time, but they were both ready and the bond sealed up fast.
Willow drew back, a hand on her chest. “That was amazing.”
“It was. It is.” He smiled. “Now how about we go save our wraiths.”
“First, let me lose the shield over the wraith colony.”
“I’ll contact both Zane and Evan to let them know what’s happening.” As he watched Willow close her eyes and felt an almost overwhelming vibration fill the entire living space, he tapped Zane’s telepathic frequency.
It’s all quiet here, Malik.
Not for long. I’ve got Axton bound up at Willow’s treehouse, but Margetta’s in the colony, at the northern end. Seems you were right. Margetta was working with Axton only she’s got her army with her. Willow just removed the protective shield so that you can take our combined forces into battle. Can you see anything yet?
Damn. Look at that. I can see the entire colony below me now. All right, I’m on it.
I’ll be heading in your direction in just a few minutes.
Malik shut down his telepathy and turned to Willow. “Zane and his men are headed in.”
Axton barked his laughter. “It won’t do you any good. Margetta has a bigger army than you can imagine.”
“Shut the fuck up,” Malik countered.
Willow jerked her head in Axton’s direction. “But what do we do with him while we’re gone?”
“I’ve got this.” He moved to the front door and signaled for Willow’s security detail to come in.
The Guardsmen were stunned to find Axton inside the main treehouse. Before any of them could express their dismay, Malik explained that Margetta had shielded their ability to see Axton and not to worry. He then ordered them to take him to prison and guard him.
“What about the vines?” the squad leader asked.
“Right,” Willow said. She stepped forward and passed her hand over the mass connected to Axton, severing them. The ones wrapped around Axton remained where they were, holding him tight.
“Don’t worry,” Willow said. “The vines are strong and you can use them to haul him away. They’ll hold until you want them removed.”
With that, the vampires flipped Axton horizontal. When he protested, one of them did what Malik wished he could have done and brought the heel of his boot down on Axton’s face.
The vampire spouted blood from his nose and moaned, but made no more protests. Once they had him outside, they flew him into the air.
Willow shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll be easy until I hear back that he’s incarcerated.”
“I’m with you on that.”
As Malik glanced from the five fae to Willow, he didn’t err a second time, but asked all of them, “How should we proceed?”
Willow slid her arm around his waist and hopped onto his booted foot. “Let’s get to the colony now, all of us. I have a powerful feeling we’ll be needed soon.”
Malik took to the air with Willow pinned to his side. The bond had increased his sensitivity to her so that he could feel her almost warrior-like intensity to be heading into battle. You ready for this? he asked.
I am.
Holding Willow close, he flew with the leaders of the Fae Guild north to the battle site. Everyone had grown quiet and focused, the same way his Vampire Guard or Troll Brigade would be if headed for a major conflict.
Nearing the coordinates that Axton had supplied, Malik began to slow and all five women stayed within a few feet of each other, matching his speed. He saw his Vampire Guard, along with Zane’s, battling in the distance against a huge number of Invictus wraith-pairs. Blue flashes of hand-blast energy clashed with answering red flashes, the latter color belonging exclusively to the deadly wraith-pairs.
Most of the fighting took place in the air, which meant that the injured fell to the forested ground below. But even in the air, he could see the Troll brigade move in swiftly along the forest paths to secure the enemy.
But it was the shrieking of the wraiths that hurt his sensitive vampire hearing, a sound designed to frighten their opposition.
He drew to a stop, hovering in the air three hundred yards from the nearest conflict.
Alexandra the Bad drew close. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“If you and your fae sisters need to leave, I understand.”
“Not on your life, but thank you for the thought. We’re here to support you and to support Willow. We’ll see this through. We’re all citizens of the Nine Realms and that bitch needs to be stopped.”
Malik itched to join the physical fighting as well. He could see Zane in the distance battling three pairs at once and looking righteously powerful as his blue shield held against all kinds of physical weapons. But one by one, his assailants fell to the earth.
Glancing once more into the forest, he saw his Troll Brigade move with great care as they bound up any surviving wraith-pairs. Zane would have had them killed outright, but Malik wanted Samantha of Bergisson Realm to have a chance at rehabilitating as many as possible. The bonded realm-person, usually taken against his or her will, deserved a chance at being restored to normal realm life. Those bonded to wraiths were enslaved to the wraith without the ability to fight that bond.
Because Malik could see that the combined forces would be victorious, he started to relax.
But at that moment, the entire northern section lit up in a golden glow and he knew exactly what it meant.
“Shit.”
“Oh, no,” Willow murmured. “Margetta’s got at least another two hundred wraith-pairs with her. Our forces will be overwhelmed.”
“Unfortunately, you’re exactly right.”
As the additional wraith-pairs entered the battlefield in the air, Zane shouted for a retreat, something Malik would have done as well. They needed to regroup.
But the In
victus, under Margetta’s direction, swept after the retreating Guardsmen and forced engagement.
Malik knew they’d be wiped out if something wasn’t done.
His warrior instinct was to take off and join the fray. But his recent bond with Willow as well as his realization that he needed to expand his thinking into much larger teamwork, forced him to hold back.
What was needed was fae power to counteract Margetta. If they could force her to leave the field, her Invictus would be thrown into disarray.
To his team, he said, “Because we’re outnumbered, we can’t fight a straight up battle. Instead, we need to focus on Margetta. If we can somehow oppose her fae power, we’ll have a chance.”
“I think you’re right,” Willow said. The five fae added their agreement.
“Willow, I’m going to release you to levitate on your own. I didn’t tell you what happened at my house, but Margetta held me in a spell and I only escaped because of the vibration from the earth. I want you to engage the heartbeat of the Nine Realms right now. I’m convinced that’s what will turn the tide of the battle.”
She nodded her acquiescence, then slid away from him to levitate easily in the air. Malik encouraged the five fae to form a circle and a moment later all seven joined together in the air by holding hands.
Willow closed her eyes even while levitating.
And just like that, he felt the vibration from the earth travel through the night sky, passing through his body and Willow’s. The same powerful frequency then sped quickly through the five fae.
As the waves began an outward progression, Margetta’s golden light wavered. She must have understood the danger, because she headed straight for them.
“Looks like the Ancient Fae is worried,” he said.
Willow nodded. “But even if she draws close, don’t pay her any attention. She won’t be able to touch us.”
Margetta had assumed her wraith-form and arrived with a shriek louder and more piercing than anything he’d heard before. Willow’s hand clamped around his as did the fae to his left.
The Fae Guild women began to chant and the earth’s power flowed.
Margetta made sweeping passes overhead. She threw red arcs of battle energy in their direction, trying to disrupt them. But Willow was right; they couldn’t be touched, not joined as they were with one intent, one purpose.
The frequency rumbled from deep in the earth as it poured through Willow and afterward through them all. Waves of energy pulsed now, stronger and stronger.
A white light began to glow around them which caused Margetta to utter a shriek of anguish and afterward to fly swiftly in a northern direction. He could see she was panicked, which gave him tremendous hope.
“Keep streaming, Willow, no matter what happens.” The battle still raged, but Vojalie’s earlier vision swept through his mind of an explosion of white light. And as Margetta began to withdraw her troops, he added, “Prepare for the impossible.”
Willow turned and held his gaze. She seemed to understand because she smiled. He met Alexandra’s gaze, then each of her sister-fae in turn. A group understanding travelled among them all and as one they flew in the direction of the battle. The vibration from the heart of the Nine Realms stayed right with them and continued to increase in speed and power.
Malik shook from the adrenaline and the vibration.
The fae chanted once more, Willow with them.
The chanting grew louder and as they reached the periphery of the battle their joined energy began to flow outward faster and faster. As that energy reached successive battling pairs, every warrior, whether vampire or Invictus, suddenly ceased all movement except levitation.
On they moved in Margetta’s direction, passing to the center of the battlefield. Each time they drew close to an Invictus pair, stasis occurred again.
Margetta shrieked louder, calling for her army to come to her. A great number of them rushed to her side as she ushered them into the north. She shrieked and shouted.
But Malik’s team grew stronger, the power flowing heavily until suddenly, the power erupted into a ball of pure white energy, flashing through the night sky and encompassing the Vampire Guard, the Troll Brigade on the ground, and all the remaining Invictus pairs. The white energy rolled, exploding in waves over and over, rushing through him, through Willow and through the five fae.
Chills chased over him and his heart pounded. The Nine Realms was a land of frequencies and this one that emerged from the heart of all the realms felt like love and power combined. He slid his arm around Willow’s waist and drew her closer to him, wanting to share the moment with her.
As waves of white light kept moving and exploding, he held her gaze.
Her beautiful hazel eyes were filled with tears and great happiness. “We’ve saved the wraiths.”
He nodded. “Hell, yeah, we did!”
Alexandra the Bad called to him. “Kiss her, warrior. It will do you both a lot of good and heal three centuries of your desperate solitude.”
He didn’t need to hear the advice twice and as the cyclone of magnificent power surrounded them all, he drew his bonded blood rose into this arms and kissed her. Willow melted against him so that he could feel her heart beating in rhythm to the flow of the white waves. I love you, Willow, with all my heart.
He heard a soft coo leave her throat as he deepened his kiss, his tongue making promises for a later joining. She slid her arms around his neck. Her words flowed through his mind, You will always have my heart, Mastyr.
He kissed her deeper still, wrapping his arms tightly around her, holding her as close as he could. He wanted her to feel all that was in his heart.
When at last he drew back, the heart of the Nine Realms began to recall her power, and the white waves slowly eased back.
With one arm still holding Willow close, he glanced around and saw that Margetta was gone as well as a large portion of her army.
The fighting had ended, and Zane had already taken charge.
The explosion had rendered the remaining Invictus wraith-pairs harmless so that both the Vampire Guard and the Troll Brigade were binding up the pairs that Margetta had failed to take with her.
What went through his mind was that he would never have believed that chasing Willow through the forest repeatedly would have led him to this moment of being bound to her and working with the Fae Guild leaders to defeat Margetta. He knew his experience had been different, and that no other mastyr or a bonded blood rose had been able to connect to the heart of the Nine Realms as he and Willow had. Maybe they were unique in that way. He wasn’t sure.
Regardless, he felt humbled and grateful that he’d been able to be part of resolving an impossible situation. He thanked each of the fae for joining with him and Willow, and he especially thanked Alexandra for encouraging him not to be stupid.
Finally, he turned to Willow and despite the fact that he had an audience he kissed her again, letting her know in this way just how much she meant to him.
Because of the bond, he could feel the warmth of her response and what his arms felt like surrounding her. She, too, was full of gratitude.
~ ~ ~
Willow continued to hold within her bones the latent vibration that had come from the earth and resulted in the stunning explosion of light and power and warmth that had enveloped the entire team. She felt changed and so full within her spirit that she could barely form a proper string of thoughts. She savored the feel of Malik’s arms around her, the sensation of his tongue pulsing within her mouth, the strength of his Guardsman body.
She loved him with every particle of her fae-wraith spirit.
She loved him.
Still, no words would come, so she let him feel her love with the pressure of her hands surrounding his back, with her hips connected to him and with all that she was. She desired more than anything to be joined to him once more in her treehouse bedroom with the vines surrounding them both.
When he finally drew back, she nodded and the words em
erged from her at last. “I love you, Malik.”
“You have my heart.”
The next hour became a blur of sticking close to Malik, of watching the warriors take their prisoners away, of receiving thanks from so many of the Guardsmen for the white light explosion that had ended the battle and saved hundreds of warrior lives.
She remained in a completely euphoric state from all that had happened.
As for Malik, he never once relinquished her hand except to slide an arm around her waist and keep her close. Maybe he sensed that she needed to be near him or maybe he felt the same way. They were bonded now, a mastyr to his blood rose.
Eventually, they landed at Illiandra and Gervassay’s villa where a great deal of champagne flowed and more gratitude poured from every quarter.
But like a bride on her honeymoon, she needed to be alone and joined to her man. He must have understood, because he slowly began leading her through the room and bidding everyone farewell.
At last outside, and with the shield temporarily disabled, he simply took Willow up into the air and flew her swiftly to her treehouse.
No words were necessary as he dropped down on the platform outside her bedroom. She moved within and began stripping out of her clothes, letting each garment fall to the floor on her way to the shower.
Malik wasn’t far behind and if the stall hadn’t been undersized he would have joined her beneath the spray.
As he took his turn in her way-too-small shower, she stuck close and didn’t exactly get dried off before he was plastered against her.
Eventually he carried her to the bed.
The vines moved in swiftly so that as soon as he entered her, the tendrils, leaves, and stems bound them in the most extraordinary cocoon.
Malik moved in a steady rhythm, driving in and out. All the while, he kissed her forehead, her temple, her cheek and sucked on the sensitive tip of her ear until she was close to ecstasy.
He nudged her neck aside and at the same time presented his wrist to her. She bit and began to suck. A moment later, his fangs struck, sending a delicious shard of pleasure through her abdomen. He drank from her throat and moaned heavily, his hips working her up until she breathed raggedly through her nose.