“Not a single one. I’m uninjured.”
He touched her cheek, her hair, then gripped the back of her neck and kissed her with so much hunger, as if he hadn’t seen her for years. It reflected exactly how Melly felt. She was starving for his mouth, his touch, and kissed him back wildly.
Someone gave a polite tap on the door. He lifted his head and bellowed, “No.”
Dismayed muttering sounded on the other side of the panel.
Dropping her forehead onto his shoulder, she started to laugh. Oh, this day.
She told him, “I don’t remember when I last slept. Wait, it was in the bath, wasn’t it? I feel like I’ve been on a runaway train for a week now.”
“I know,” he said. “We’re going to put on the brakes. The council might be arriving, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to see them right away. I’ll convene a meeting tonight. As soon as the suite is cleared, I’ll order some food for you. We can clean up and take a nap.”
She didn’t know if she could sleep. She felt strung out but clearheaded, and she was still running on adrenaline. Still, food and a shower sounded like incredible luxuries.
His body weight lifted as he finally eased back. He said, “I haven’t had a chance to tell you. Back at the house, when you went to talk to your troops, I called Carling.”
“What?!” Reaching for his face, she framed his cheeks with her hands. “Are you all right? She didn’t try anything, did she?”
He shook his head and gave her a wry smile. “No, she didn’t. We… talked. We just talked. It went better than I expected. I don’t think it wiped away what happened last year, but it did clear the air. I asked her to release me from her old orders, and she said she would.”
“And you believe her,” she said.
“Yes, I do. She even said the words over the phone, although she warned she would need to say them in person to be sure it took.” He smiled, took her hands and kissed them. “But I felt better immediately. That’s all because of you.”
She curled her fingers around his. “What do you think you’ll want to do?”
The expression in his piercing gaze turned inward and reflective. “I honestly don’t know. What I really want is to be able to make the choice.”
“Let’s take that vacation we discussed,” she suggested gently. “I know Mom will help me clear my schedule if I ask her. You could have somebody in San Francisco deliver the Harley here… I ought to get more than one ride out of that bike. It cost me enough. We can go to Tahoe. Or it doesn’t have to be Tahoe. We could go someplace completely new. Hell, let’s take a year off. What’s a year, anyway?”
“What is a year, anyway?” He echoed her words softly, almost to himself, and started to smile. “As long as it’s a year with you, it will be everything I need.”
She closed her eyes for a moment. She loved him so much, so much.
Stepping away, he unbuckled the chest plate of his body armor and set it aside. Underneath, he wore a black, long-sleeved shirt that hugged his torso and arms. He dug into a pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
One corner of his lips lifted. “If you call your mom, I’ll call mine.”
She burst out laughing. “It’s a deal.”
With his help, she stripped out of her armor too. By the time Melly had finished talking to Tatiana, and Julian had called Carling to arrange for her and Rune to arrive that evening, the suite had finally been cleared and the tunnel entrance sealed.
When she and Julian emerged from the office, Shane, along with another Light Fae guard, joined the two Nightkind guards on duty outside the suite doors.
Only moments later, Xavier and Tess arrived. Xavier carried a tray of food. As soon as Melly smelled a hot, savory aroma coming from the tray, all thoughts of taking a shower and crawling into bed flew out of her head.
“Evenfall is secure,” Xavier told them. “We even inspected the kitchens personally.”
“And with great interest,” Tess said. She smiled at Melly. “I wondered if you might be as hungry as I am.”
“I’m starving,” she confessed.
Xavier set the tray on the coffee table in the living room. “They have a lot of people to feed unexpectedly, so they went with pasta.”
Melly uncovered her dish to discover a plate of steaming fettuccine Alfredo with slices of grilled chicken breast. Fresh shaved Romano cheese had melted on top, and the dish was even garnished with a sprig of parsley.
She moaned, “Oh my God, this is heaven.”
A bottle of white wine had been included with the tray, but both Tess and Melly ignored the alcohol and concentrated on the food. Julian poured glasses of bloodwine for himself and Xavier, who briefed him on details as the women ate.
To Melly, everything sounded like blah blah, fine, blah blah, I’ll take care of it, blah blah, sounds good.
She let it all wash over her as she concentrated on the excellent meal on her plate. Despite the high concentration of Nightkind occupants who never touched food, or perhaps because of it, the chefs in the Evenfall kitchens prided themselves on putting out some of the finest-quality meals in California.
Tess ate with as much enthusiasm as Melly, until Julian said to Xavier, “I need to ask if you would be willing to act as regent for a year.”
Tess froze in midchew. Swallowing a bite of food, Melly shifted her gaze to Xavier, who raised his eyebrows. “Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” Julian sprawled back in his armchair. He had taken a few minutes to change into jeans and a dark blue sweater. For the first time in a very long time, he looked relaxed. “Melly and I are going to take a year off.” He paused. “I can’t promise I’ll be back.”
Xavier looked at Tess, who hadn’t moved. Silence fell in the room and extended. They were talking telepathically. Sipping his bloodwine, Julian waited with every appearance of patience, while Melly concentrated on finishing her meal.
Once Julian had brought up the subject, she could see all the many reasons why it was the best possible idea. Already highly placed, Xavier knew the workings of the Nightkind government intimately, and he was utterly reliable.
But spending a whole year as regent was a huge commitment, especially with Xavier and Tess’s relationship so new.
Melly said to Julian, I love so much that you asked him, and you didn’t make it an order.
He gave her a faint smile that softened the edges of his hard mouth. I couldn’t do anything else.
Judging by the increasing tension in both Xavier and Tess, it appeared their telepathic conversation might not be going very well.
Suddenly Tess burst out, “Okay Julian, I have to say this out loud. If Xavier agrees to do this, I want you to turn me. Would you do that, please?”
“Querida, no,” Xavier said forcefully.
Tess turned to him. “I’ve already made up my mind. I want to be turned, and I don’t want you to be the one to do it. Having you as my sire and my partner is far too much of a power imbalance.”
Julian’s sharp gaze dissected her expression. “Not that long ago, at the Vampyre’s Ball, you had some serious problems with Vampyres.”
“Yes, I did,” Tess replied. Her attitude was unflinching. “But I have done a lot of growing since then.” She said to Xavier, “Are you going to tell them, or shall I?”
Xavier’s frustration eased somewhat. When he next spoke, his voice had softened. “I have asked Tess to marry me, and she has said yes.” He told her, “But that doesn’t mean you need to transform into a Vampyre overnight.” He added gently, “It doesn’t mean you need to transform into a Vampyre at all. I love you as you are, querida, and I don’t want you to change because of me.”
“First, thank you,” Tess said. “But I’m not going to grow old while you don’t. That’s another imbalance that isn’t going to happen. And if you become regent, the last thing you need is a frail human partner.”
“I will thank you to remember that I know best what I need,” Xavier told h
er. He said it with such old-world courtesy it took some of the sting out of the words. “What I need most is to know that you are fulfilled and happy. Again, I don’t believe becoming a Vampyre has anything to do with that.”
“I know I’m young, and I’m well aware it’s is a huge decision,” Tess said. “If you can trust me enough to plan on marrying me, you can trust me enough to know my own mind about this too.”
Julian said in Melly’s head, She has a point there.
Despite the obvious tension between the other two, he sounded amused. Melly rubbed her mouth to hide her smile. Don’t make my face do something inappropriate. This is serious stuff, Julian.
Look at him, Julian said. Look underneath all his surface emotions. He’s so stinking happy.
Julian was right, Xavier was. His love for the young human woman came through in every word and gesture. The same could also be said of Tess. Even as Xavier and Tess exchanged a deeply exasperated glance, they both softened toward the other.
“Your argument has become irrelevant,” said Julian. Quickly Xavier and Tess spun toward him. They both opened their mouths. Julian raised his hand. “Stop. As soon as Tess asked me to turn her, it became a conversation between her and me.”
“I am part of that conversation,” Xavier said furiously.
Julian speared him with a glance. “Yes, but you are not in control of it. She has to make decisions for herself. I make decisions for myself.”
“Thank you,” Tess said, sitting up straight.
“And,” Julian added, “Xavier will make his own decisions too. Tess, there are so many reasons why Vampyres use a year as a probation period. As obvious as this might sound, becoming a Vampyre is irrevocable. If you still want this a year from now, I’ll turn you myself whether you’re still with Xavier or not. In the meantime, eat chocolate and steak. Get a suntan. Take the time to relish all the human things you’ll leave behind.” He said to Xavier, “If that affects whether or not you’ll agree to be regent, so be it. Now, I’m finished with this discussion. Melly and I are dog tired, and I have to meet with the council this evening. All I need is your answer.”
Xavier and Tess exchanged another quick glance.
Then Xavier told him firmly, “Yes. If you can talk the council into accepting a regency, I’ll do it.”
Oh, yay.
Melly was pretty sure relief lay on the other side of a great divide. She couldn’t connect to the emotion – or to any emotion, for that matter. Her belly felt lovely and full, all the danger was gone, and suddenly her body demanded she go horizontal as soon as possible.
“I’m cooked,” she said. “I’m out.”
Vaguely she was aware that the other three came to their feet, but it all happened on the other side of that divide. She walked into Julian’s bedroom, kicked off her boots and crawled fully clothed underneath the covers. The world began to spin away on formless clouds.
Suddenly Julian was there.
“Oh, baby.” His voice was very gentle. “Not in your clothes. You deserve so much better than that.”
With an immense effort, she managed to respond. “S’okay. I don’t care.”
“I care.” He pulled back the covers and eased her clothes off.
She let him. “How much time do we have?”
He hesitated. “I’ve set the alarm for four hours. That will allow enough time to shower first and meet with Carling.”
A four-hour nap sounded like heaven.
“You know, I have to say this,” he said as he slid into the bed beside her. He had stripped out of his clothes too. “You don’t have to come with me. You could sleep longer. God only knows you need the rest.”
“Fuck you,” she mumbled into her pillow. “Fuck that.” We’ve already discussed this. “I’m good to go, soldier. Just lemme.” Take the nap first.
“You’re so tired, you’re switching back and forth from telepathy.” He pulled her into his arms, and she curled around his body.
She had been trying to figure out which method of speech took the least effort, but she couldn’t decide. Meanwhile, the long, physical bulk of his presence was so soothing, and her head fit onto his shoulder so perfectly.
Yes, exactly there. That was home.
She plummeted to sleep.
Four and a half hours later, she and Julian walked hand-in-hand into the empty council assembly hall, accompanied by Xavier, Tess and Shane. Three more Light Fae guards stopped outside the doors.
The smaller assembly hall had been designed with classic simplicity, much like the great hall. Although Melly knew that chairs and tables were sometimes added for long meetings, currently it was devoid of furniture.
Melly had slept like the dead until Julian’s alarm had gone off. Coming awake had been painful, but a hot shower had helped, along with gulping a cup of piping-hot coffee and eating a croissant.
Someone had left clothes for her in the living room, along with the food and coffee. They were simple, black trousers and a black sweater, but they fit well enough. After braiding her hair, she wound it into a knot at the nape of her neck again.
Julian had already risen and dressed by the time she got up, and he was meeting with various people. When she walked into the living room, his office door was closed. She had eaten while listening to the muffled sounds of his and Yolanthe’s voices. There had been no more time to talk privately with him.
Now, nerves jumped underneath her skin again. She felt like she was about to go into another battle. Except what came next wasn’t her battle. It was Julian’s.
With a clang, the doors shut behind them. The next time they opened, it would be to let in the council.
She said in his head, I’m okay with whatever you decide. When it comes down to it, if you feel like you need to stay, I’ll support you no matter what. You get to have a real choice, Julian.
He came to a stop. The expression in his eyes was so vulnerable, it made her want to throw her arms around him and never let go.
He said, I don’t deserve you.
Well, that’s true, she told him gently, smiling. The important thing is that you recognize it.
His hand tightened on hers. I had the Harley delivered. It’s waiting for us in the public parking lot, just inside the gate.
It took a moment for his words to sink in. Then she remembered their conversation from earlier in his office, and a burst of pure joy filled her chest.
He pulled out his phone and made a call. He said, “We’re here.”
Almost immediately the whirling Power of a Djinn filled the empty space. Three figures solidified. Melly recognized all of them.
One was a tall, imperious-looking male with long black hair and diamond-like eyes. He was Soren’s son, Khalil.
The other two were a man and a woman. The man was Wyr, handsome and also tall, with tawny hair. He had once been Dragos’s First sentinel, and now he was Carling’s mate, Rune.
The woman was Carling. She was beautiful, with almond-shaped eyes, warm brown skin and short dark hair. The last time Melly had seen her, Carling’s hair had been long and flowed down her back.
“Ah, Evenfall,” said Carling. “It holds such memories.” She murmured to Rune, “I could take it all back, you know.”
“You love your new life too much,” Rune said. He gave his mate a sleepy-looking smile.
Carling turned to Julian and Melly. “There, you see? I can’t even tease him. Hello, Melly. Julian.” She gave the others a nod.
While Carling appeared to be relaxed and Rune remained smiling, Melly noticed neither one stepped forward. Khalil didn’t even pretend to smile. Instead the Djinn folded his arms and watched everyone with a raised eyebrow.
Melly didn’t realize she was gripping Julian’s hand so hard until he said telepathically to her, It’s all right. Broken trust can’t be rebuilt in a day. Aloud, he said, “Thank you for coming.”
“You’re welcome,” said Carling. “Truth be told, while I’d love to stay and watch what happens next, I would
be too tempted to get involved. As my Rune so wisely pointed out, I love my new life too much. So, Julian Regillus, I will say it again. You’re free of any obligation to the Nightkind demesne save those you choose for yourself. Your future is no longer what I order.”
“Unless you try to hurt my mate again,” said Rune, still with that sleepy smile. In contrast to his lazy, handsome expression, his gaze was sharp as a drawn blade. “Then your future ass becomes mine.” As Carling raised her eyebrows at him, he shrugged. “What? I had to say it.”
At Carling’s words, Melly had felt a tremor run through Julian’s big body. She whispered, “Are you all right?”
Squeezing her fingers reassuringly, he nodded. He said to Carling, “I won’t forget that you were willing to come here and do this.” He looked at Rune. “Either of you.”
“I hope you find the path that makes you happy, Julian.” Carling paused. Then she nodded at Khalil, who put his hands on her and Rune’s shoulders, and the Djinn’s Power swept them away.
Did Carling’s pause go on a heartbeat too long?
Melly spun around to face Julian. What did she do? What did she say? She didn’t take it back and order you to do something else, did she?
He took hold of her arms reassuringly. No. It’s all right. She just advised me about something I already knew I needed to do.
What’s that? Melly searched his expression.
He said, I have to kill Darius.
Councilman Darius?
Yes. Dominic was a bad surprise, but we’ve known for a long time that Justine and Darius were co-conspirators. He said aloud to Xavier, “Open the doors.”
It was hard to step away from Julian, but she forced herself to do it. Beckoning to Tess and Shane, Melly led them to one side, while she murmured in Shane’s head, This meeting may get a little touchy.
It’s a good thing you warned me. Shane’s mental voice sounded comfortably dry. I was in danger of relaxing.
She rolled her eyes at him. If things go the way I think they will, you can take the troops home afterward.
He nodded in acknowledgement. This was a good outing. It’s been a good day.
As Xavier opened the doors, the surviving ten members of the Nightkind council poured in. Although she wasn’t acquainted with any of them very well, Melly knew all their names.