The scene was so homey that a fluttering started in her stomach and kept ranging northward to her heart. Between having found herself several times cradled in Malik’s arms during the night, and seeing a table set for two, the solitary nature of her existence rode down on her like a heavy, autumn rain.
She had to sit down for a moment. Not once had she ever regretted her decision to become the wraith colony’s Protector. And she didn’t even feel any regret right now.
But during this short time with Malik, she was left with deep longings she couldn’t easily set aside.
Maybe she’d been flippant last night — a state induced by the fact that she’d imbibed almost two beers in a very short period of time — when she’d asked Malik to bond with her. But right now, she swore that if he suggested it, she’d say yes.
The bacon sizzling in the pan called to her, and she returned to flip the strips again. The frittata was almost done as well.
She thought about returning to the bedroom treehouse to wake Malik up, but right then he called out that he’d join her shortly. She loved the sound of his deep male voice in her home.
The evening twilight had disappeared and full-dark now covered the forest, but her flexible fae vision began adjusting so that the woods always looked as though bathed in a soft golden glow.
How she loved her home and her world.
The night-birds, peculiar to the Nine Realms, had begun chattering as well, streaking from branch to branch, diving down to the stream to drink and to bathe. From the kitchen window, she could see down into the stream and that an entire group of sparrows splashed in shallow eddies, tending their feathers.
“Hey.”
Malik’s rich, masculine voice brought her turning away from the sink and the window.
She’d meant to greet him as well, but dammit if she didn’t forget how handsome he was. And this time, with the apparent intention of supporting her journey through a domestic-bliss fantasy, the man helped her along by wearing jeans, a snug black t-shirt that accented his incredible body, and like her, he was barefoot.
She knew her lips were parted as she unabashedly checked him out. And she truly had meant to offer a greeting, but her mind couldn’t seem to force the words from her throat.
His smile broadened. “You look beautiful.”
“So do you,” she gushed. “And you look great in jeans.” That’s when her cheeks heated up. She felt like a schoolgirl with a crush. “Uh, coffee?”
“Love some.”
She poured him a large mug, which he took then sipped with his gaze fixed on her. And that’s when his rich forest-like scent, like leaves in the fall burrowing into the earth to replenish the land, swept over her.
She turned the flame off beneath the bacon and pivoted in his direction.
When he set his coffee down, she opened her arms.
He moved so fast, she hardly saw him. But she felt him as he gathered her up in a powerful embrace and kissed her.
Willow slid her hands over his shoulders, his back, the muscles of his arms that flexed and un-flexed for her. She felt the raw physical power of him again, his strength covering her the way she covered the wraith colony.
When she parted her lips, he dipped his tongue inside and she leaned into him, cooing softly. The times they’d had sex slipped through her mind and she wanted him all over again, buried inside, driving into her, making her feel so many good things all at once.
But he drew back and took a deep breath. “You prepared breakfast and I’d hate to see it go to waste.”
She looked into his eyes, searching their brown depths, wanting … what? “Right. Breakfast.”
She released him and set about draining the bacon and serving up the frittata and sliced fruit.
The small dining area had a plate glass window overlooking the stream, and Malik’s gaze went there often. Willow had a hard time not watching him as though she needed to memorize the angle of his cheekbones, how he turned his wrist when he lifted his mug to his lips, the set and breadth of his shoulders. She felt as though she was losing something infinitely precious, though she couldn’t explain why she felt that way. He was right here, right in front of her.
But he couldn’t be permanent. There just didn’t seem to be a way to blend their worlds or their responsibilities into something that made sense.
After most of the meal had been consumed, she addressed an issue that had been on her mind since she’d awakened. “I want to bring the five leaders of the Fae Guild into the colony.”
He shifted his gaze to her, his brows raised. “What? Why?”
She felt his sudden tension. “You think it would be a mistake?”
He gestured with his fork in the air. “I think the fewer the people who know about the colony, the safer we’ll keep all those citizens. But tell me what you’re thinking.”
“That I need help and that you won’t always be able to stick this close. You have the realm to think of. But as I told you last night, I’ve reached the absolute limit of my ability to serve as the Protector.
“I believe what I need is someone who can share the task with me. The five fae would probably be able to help out and they might also be able to locate another Protector. Maybe even one of them would have this ability.”
Malik frowned as he settled his elbows on the table, his mug held in both hands. “I can’t help but believe that we run a huge risk here. What if one of these fae is the woman that’s supplying charms to Axton? I mean, I trust Alexandra the Bad with my life, but I don’t know the other four as well at all.”
“Then maybe I should lay the issue before her and let her make the call. Do I have your permission to contact her and tell her about the colony? Although, as I did with you, I’d prefer she actually experienced the colony for herself.”
Malik leaned back in his chair, his gaze cast off to the side. She could feel how hard he was processing what she’d said, working through all the ramifications.
She thought she understood. He ruled Ashleaf and any decision made about the wraith colony would undoubtedly affect the realm for decades.
He glanced back at her. “Our being inside the colony changed things, didn’t it?”
She nodded. “From the time I made the decision to include you, yes, I believe it did.”
Malik rose from the table and picked up his dishes, taking them to the sink. Without a word, he started to clean-up, something that warmed her heart. Decades ago, she’d dated a few men who treated her like a scullery maid when it came to keeping the house tidy.
As she brought her dishes to the sink, he took them, saying, “Let me take care of those.” And right then she knew she was in serious trouble with this man.
“Call Alexandra,” he said, his gaze fixed out the kitchen window. “And do you know you have a colony of bats in that neighboring tree?”
“I do. I encourage them.”
He cast his gaze down into the stream below. “You also have a battle going on in your stream involving about a dozen night-sparrows?”
She chuckled. “They love to bathe there and some insist on attempting to establish territorial rights.”
At that, he smiled at her over his shoulder. “Sort of like I did with Axton.”
She drew close and planted a kiss on his lips. “Yeah. Sort of like that. And now, I’m going to make my call.”
She found her phone on the coffee table and sat down before dialing. She felt nervous calling Alexandra the Bad, who’d gained her reputation and the handle to her name several centuries ago. She’d routed a group of fae out of the Guild who’d been selling spells on the black market for all kinds of criminal and indecent activities.
Today, she’d be called a ‘badass’, so the nickname really fit.
“Alexandra? Willow here.”
“Sweet merciful Goddess on high, how are you, my child?”
Willow laughed. “I’m eighty-three, hardly a child.”
“No, I guess you’re not. You’ve been on my mind lately, so tell me what??
?s going on.”
Willow laid it out for the older woman, including details about the colony that kept Alexandra very quiet. When she finally did make an utterance it was a very long expletive that involved a lot of terrible things she’d like to do to Axton.
When her tirade ended, she said, “Very well, tell me more about this colony.”
When Willow finished, Alexandra muttered, “Why the fuck have I been kept in the dark? I don’t think I’ve ever been so pissed in my life. I’m the head of the Fae Guild and sometime in the next century, I’ll be sitting on the Sidhe Council. I’d be madder still if Malik hadn’t also been treated like he was a worthless idiot.”
“The decision was never mine,” Willow explained. “The colony leadership had the final say and I always deferred to them.”
Alexandra didn’t speak for a moment, then, “Are you saying that you violated the leadership’s directive by telling me these things?”
“I felt I had to bring Malik in and now you if we stand a chance of saving these wraiths. Axton is after them, but he’s aligned with a fae of tremendous ability. I was hoping you could tell me if there’s anyone in Ashleaf Realm with the kind of power to create charms that could burn up the Protector shield I’ve sustained all these decades. Maybe one of the black market fae?”
“I’m really not sure. As you know, we have a lot of fae who work in secret, so it’s possible we’re looking at one of them. But tell me, is the reason you haven’t come to the meetings because you’ve been serving in this capacity all this time?”
“Of course it is. I’ve been sworn to secrecy. But in more recent years, I’ve found it increasingly difficult to hold the shield intact. I need your help, possibly even the assistance of the other four Fae Guild leaders.”
“Sweet Goddess.”
Alexandra fell silent again, and Willow let her be. She’d just unloaded a lot of information on the old fae’s shoulders.
After a moment, Alexandra said, “One of my fae called this evening after having had a terrible vision about an explosion of white light in the very center of Ashleaf. Does that have any significance in this situation that you know of?”
Willow closed her eyes as her heart started to pound. “Only last night, Vojalie told Malik of a similar vision.”
“Okay, that settles it. I’ll bring the fae leadership with me. Just tell me when and where?”
CHAPTER SIX
With the fae leadership scheduled to arrive in an hour, Malik flew Willow to the colony entrance where his Troll Brigade had held the ground throughout the daylight hours and where his Vampire Guard as well as Zane’s force stood ready for orders.
With almost three hundred vampires on the ground, Malik immediately dismissed the Troll Brigade to retire for the night.
He watched, smiling, as the more jovial trolls high-fived the stern Vampire Guardsmen, which caused more than one friendly exchange that involved a proper amount of ‘fuck you’s’.
Zane stood at least twenty feet away in front of his Guard of fifty. He was slightly taller than Malik, muscled and lean and had a dagger tattoo on the right side of his neck, the image dripping with several red drops of blood. He wore his long black hair combed straight back in his Guardsman clasp and a diamond stud winked from his left earlobe. His cold light blue eyes surveyed his surroundings constantly. His nose was slightly aquiline, giving him a hawkish appearance, which suited his temperament.
He fought hard and played hard, and had a working stable of two dozen doneuses that he also took to bed on a regular basis.
Zane was a complete hard-ass and had more Invictus incursions in his land than any of the Nine Realms. He took no prisoners and thought Malik should have routed The Society with flamethrowers a long time ago.
He was as different from Malik as two men could be. But despite their opposing views, Malik considered Zane one of his closest friends; he trusted him with his life.
Zane lifted his hand in greeting, but sniffed the air, then shifted his penetrating gaze to Willow. He seemed to lean forward as though a wind pushed him from behind, then he simply fell to his knees. His mind beat against Malik’s. Get her away from me. Now.
Willow gripped his arm. “You have to do something. I want to go to him. I can feel his blood-starvation like a burn on my skin.”
The sight of the powerful Zane of Swanicott Realm in the dirt because Willow was a blood rose sent a shard of panic through Malik’s skull.
“Malik!” Zane shouted. “You’d better figure this out, or I’m taking her. Now.”
Malik turned to Willow, his mind whirling. All that came to him was her blood, that he needed it on him, though he had no idea why. “I have to bite you,” he said quietly.
Willow’s eyes fluttered, then fell to his lips. “Your fangs! Malik, sweet Goddess, do what you need to do.”
Despite the audience, he took her wrist and bit swiftly. But instead of drinking he used his fingers and caught her blood, marking the backs of his hands and his throat in thin stripes. A vibration moved through him and through her and he could breathe again.
After he’d marked himself, he took a few sips, then sealed up the punctures with a swift lick of his tongue. He held Willow’s gaze. “Better?”
“Much.”
He turned toward Zane, hoping to hell this worked because he needed Willow beside him right now.
“Zane, will that do?”
Zane had his eyes closed, his hands on his thighs, breathing hard. He nodded several times. “Just give me a minute. Holy motherfucker that was raw.”
Willow squeezed Malik’s arm. What made you think of marking yourself with my blood?
I don’t know. It just felt right, though I’ve never heard of it being done before. None of the conversations I’ve had with bonded mastyrs talked about this.
Well, whatever the reason, it worked. I can look at Mastyr Zane without feeling that overwhelming compulsion.
Thank the Goddess for that.
Malik glanced at all the Guardsmen and their general confusion. Many had turned away knowing they’d witnessed something way too private, while others looked horrified at what they’d just seen. He doubted many Guardsmen ever saw the effects of the blood rose phenomenon.
Zane rose to his feet and moved in Malik’s direction to stand on his left. He looked shaken, and Malik knew exactly what that felt like. But it was also clear that the marking he’d done with Willow’s blood, though temporary, would serve.
He turned to face both brigades, which were spread out in a wide arc and deep into the woods. He spoke in a loud voice. “We’re facing an enemy we might not be able to see tonight. Mastyr Axton, who once ruled this realm, has been buying illegal fae charms in an attempt to break through this entrance that Mistress Willow has kept hidden.” He gestured to the granite monolith behind him.
“On the other side of these vines live several wraith families that Willow has protected for decades. They are good realm-folk who tend to their homes and farms like the rest of Ashleaf’s fine citizens. They deserve to be left in peace but for reasons that I think we all know, Axton has made it his mission to try to break through. And we have every reason to believe he will continue his efforts tonight.
“As most of you know, Axton also has a private Guard that I believe ranges close to one-hundred vampires strong and it’s possible that this time, he’ll bring them with him.
“We’re here, above all else to offer protection to these innocent wraith families who deserve to be left alone. Will you serve Ashleaf in this way?”
A loud shout of accord went up.
He nodded, and when the cheer died down, he gave out his orders. Half the regiment took to the air and would patrol in a long line parallel to the vine covered entrance, spreading out over a couple of miles.
The rest moved into the forest a quarter mile deep. At the first sign of Axton or his men, three shouts in a row would alert the entire force.
The Guard was as prepared as it could be given the unknown circu
mstances of whatever spell Axton would bring with him this time.
To Zane, he said quietly, “Willow will take us through now.”
Zane nodded, but didn’t make eye-contact with Willow. The markings on Malik’s hands had served to create just enough of a barrier, but Malik had a strong feeling it would still take so little to ignite the blood-rose craving between the two.
His own desire to smash Zane into a pulp kept roaring to life as well, but he drove it down. Zane needed to be here and the fate of the wraith colony might just depend on Zane having a good look at this part of the Nine Realms. Malik had once been to the wraith colony on Swanicott Island, but what existed here, in Ashleaf, was very different in nature and scope.
As before, Willow took them halfway through the tunnel, closed the vines behind, then opened the path before them.
“Shit, what is that light!” Zane cried out.
“It’s not like the sun.” Malik turned toward him. “It comes from the colony itself coupled with a connection to the earth.”
“I don’t get this at all.”
“That’s why I needed you here to see this.”
When Zane saw the town square and all the normal activity, he shook his head repeatedly, hands on hips. “So this isn’t just a few wraith families.”
“A complete community of twenty thousand.”
“Holy fuck. So many.” A long curse followed.
Still holding Willow’s hand, Malik let Zane have a good look and more importantly he gave him enough time to feel the vibrations that came from the Nine Realms.
When Zane finally looked down at his feet, his eyes were wide. “And what the hell is that?”
“We’ve been told by the Elders here in the colony that we’re standing on the heartbeat of the Nine Realms where everything began.” He didn’t hold back either, but told Zane about the genome. “We’re all part wraith.”
Zane drew his lips back in a sneer. He wasn’t a fan of wraiths because of the nature of the Invictus. During a battle, he never spared any of them. Even though Samantha, bonded to Mastyr Ethan of Bergisson Realm, had the power to dissolve the bonds that forged each wraith-pair, Zane had never once made use of her skills.