My head rests against Noah’s chest, and his deep rumble vibrates against my ear as he chuckles. “None of us like it, Ri. It’s dangerous.” He stares down at me. “We’ll get Preach to figure something out once we get home.”
We’re moving down the corridor now, and I feel like I’m floating, Noah’s movements are so fluid and graceful.
“Why, thank you, ma’am,” he says, grinning. His white teeth flash in the shadowy hallway as he makes his way to my room.
“Key’s in my pocket,” I mumble.
The slight pressure of his fingers slipping into my back pocket keeps me focused. He unlocks my door, and we ease inside. When he lowers me to my bed, he pulls off my boots, unfastens my leather holster, and pushes the straps over my shoulders and sets it aside. His hands search for blades, find them, and set them on the bedside table. Silver free, he pushes me back and pulls the woolen plaid blanket up to my chin. He tucks me in.
Through my fading consciousness, I grin and ease my hand out from beneath the wool. I graze his cheek. “Thanks, Noah. What would I do without you?”
The room is gray and shadowy, but I can still see his face. With his hands, he grasps both sides of my face, lowers his mouth to mine, and kisses me gently. I’m conscious enough to know it’s not a sexual gesture—surprising, since it’s coming from Noah. When he lifts his head, the mercury silver of his eyes soften. “You won’t ever have to find out, darlin’.”
I turn my head into my pillow and the weightiness of sleep lulls me in. “I’m going to tell Eli you kissed me like that,” I manage to mutter. “He’s gonna kick your ass.”
Noah’s soft chuckle is the last thing I hear. “He’ll understand completely.”
Then I’m swallowed up in shadows. In my sleep, unavoidable memories assault me as I lie here helpless. Memories of Eli. The first time he touched me. The first time I had him inside me . . . and the first time he told me he loved me.
“Tell me.”
My eyes flutter open, and I’m no longer in my bedroom at the Crachan. I’m . . . nowhere. In darkness. Suspended in weightless pitch. But the voice I know. I should be fearful, but I’m not. It’s Eli.
“I saw you through my storefront window, back home,” I say.
“Where’s that?” he asks.
“Savannah. You’re one of the city’s guardians, Eli. You and your brothers, Luc and Phin. Your little sister, Josie. And your parents. Gilles and Elise.” I sigh, and it hurts my chest.
“Guardians for what?” he asks.
“Against rogue vampires. You keep the humans safe, Eli.”
At first, he’s silent. Several moments pass. “I want to know more about . . . you.”
I blink back tears, but I’m in sheer darkness and can’t even tell if they fall onto a surface. I’m suspended, like floating on a cloud. “I’m your fiancée, Eli. We’ve . . . been through a lot together. You’ve saved my life more than once.”
“What about . . . us?” Eli inquires. I can tell he’s treading on treacherous ground. He’s curious. Not trusting. Unsure of himself. Of me.
“Can you touch me in here?” I ask. “In this place?”
He pauses. “Oui.”
My insides are shaking like crazy. “Come here, then.”
I can’t see him; don’t see him move. But I feel a shift in atmosphere, and in the next instant, Eli’s here, in front of me. “Be still,” I command. “Don’t move.”
“Not . . . safe,” he mutters. I can tell he’s losing control.
“You won’t hurt me,” I say. I’m not completely sure of that, but I can’t help trying this. I lift both my hands, and my palms grasp his firm, stubbled jaw. Energy radiates from him, and fear rolls off him in waves. I pull his head down, closer to mine. Gently, I press my lips to his.
The moment of contact feels like lightning. The current that surges through me, through Eli, is palpable. Energy pings through every nerve ending, shooting down my legs, out of my arms, and harboring in my core. I gasp, and he does, too. I kiss him gently, and in that kiss, I show Eli every raw emotion I possess. All for him. At first, he holds dead still. He’s so still I wonder if he’s ready to sink his fangs into my flesh. To kill me. To lose his will to fight.
Then, hesitantly, he kisses me back.
Although I can’t see him, he’s everywhere. His lips move almost shyly against mine, as though it’s a teenage boy’s first kiss. Endearing. Heartfelt. And I drink him in.
I press my body toward his, seeking comfort. The comfort of Eli.
“Get away from her, Eli,” Carrine’s voice interrupts.
Eli goes still, but his lips remain against mine.
A surge of power fills the weightless space we’re suspended in, and her bansheelike scream fills my body.
“Move!”
Fear and instinct make me force the energy building from my core out of my limbs, and now I’m hurling through the darkness, so fast I’m dizzy. . . .
“Calme, l’un a peint enbas,” a voice says gently. A hand grips my shoulder. “Riley, wake up.”
My eyes flutter open. Phin is staring down at me, the lamplight spilling over his chiseled features as he studies me. I smile. “Painted One. I haven’t heard that one in a while.” He’d said quiet down, Painted One. Something Eli had said to me. It’s what the Gullah and the Guardians all call me. Painted One. Because of my ink. That seems like such a long, long time ago.
“You were . . . dreaming,” Phin says with a half-cocked grin. “I’m pretty sure it was of my brother—ow!” Phin rubs his forehead where I’ve just thumped him.
Although I’m joking at first, my humor fades and is quickly replaced by an almost . . . panic. Pain. Dread. “Phin, I miss him.” My eyes sting from tears. “I have to get him back. Just then, he was trying to remember me. Us. Our life before all of this.”
Phin traces the inked wing at the corner of my eye. “He will, sis.” His mouth tilts in a grin. “My brother’s will is stronger than you think. And his love for you is a powerful thing. I gotta say, though. He’s one lucky bastard.”
I roll my eyes and push the tears from my cheeks. “That’s borderline perverted of you to pitch a tent in my dreams about your brother. My fiancé, don’t forget.”
Phin shudders. “I didn’t stay long.” He eyes me. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. At first, you were calm. Then you started to freak out. So I woke you. You’ve not been sleeping that long. Less than fourteen hours.” He pushes my hair back, picks up a fuchsia strand, rubs it between his fingers. “Think you can make it, chère?”
I push up on my elbows and stretch. “Yeah, I’m ready to get on with it. Did Rhine and Seth and the guys get the cartridges filled?”
Phin nods. “Oui.” He reaches down and pulls up the scatha, and grins. “I couldn’t wait. This thing is sick.”
Luc pokes his head in the door. “You woke her?” he asks, eyeing his sibling.
“It’s a good thing I did,” Phin says, grinning at Luc’s puzzled expression. I slap his arm. He holds the scatha up to his brother. “Check it out.”
The bed sags as the other Dupré brother sits down. He grasps the weapon and turns it over, thoroughly inspecting it. I tell them of Edinburgh, and how two ancient knights—one a once-Earthbound angel to boot—taught the WUP team how to properly use a broadsword. Both were now completely mortal, but badass to the bone and a wealth of knowledge. “Gawan told us where to find the mystical sacred water to fill the cartridges.” I reach over to the medieval-designed crossbow and show them where the cartridges load. They both watch on in interest. Phin’s buzz cut and Luc’s fashionably longer-haired heads both bent over the scatha. “And he instructed me to seek out the alternative realm there. I want this to be over. I . . . need Eli back.”
Both of Eli’s brothers look up, understanding and love making their eyes glassy. Luc grabs my shoulder and squeezes. “I know, sis. We’ll get him.”
I lean my head against Phin’s shoulder. “It’s so easy sometimes to just want to . . . walk away. Be normal.” I incline my head toward the window. “Like them. Everyday people, going about their daily lives without a clue. Ignorant.” I inhale Phin’s unique scent. His vampiric scent. Reminds me of a cedar fire. “I want to be ignorant sometimes. But that’s so damn selfish. I hate even thinking it.”
Luc ducks his head. “We’ll get him, ma chère,” he says. “I vow it.”
Then, at once, I stiffen. Luc and Phin feel it, too, because both of their backs go straight, and Luc stands and walks to the window.
“Something’s not right,” I say, and I kick out of the covers and stand. A draft catches the skin on my legs, and I glance down, not remembering Noah taking off my pants. I spy them at the foot of the bed, and I hastily shove my legs into them. Grabbing my boots, I sit on the bed and yank them on, too. I’m crossing the room now, and I find my silver holster and shrug into it, stuffing blades in all their proper places. When I’m finished, I leave the leather halter I’m wearing in place, forgo the jacket, and hurry to the window. Next to Luc I stand, peering out. Shadows shift, stretch.
Movement. Above us, below us.
A sinking feeling crashes over me. Familiar. Terrifying.
“This place is surrounded,” Phin says, peering over my head. “Fucking bloodsuckers.”
It barely registers in my head that my soon-to-be brother-in-law, who is a vampire, is calling other vampires bloodsuckers. The Gullah would be so proud.
“Luc, take the stairs. Tell Noah and the others what’s going down,” I say, pushing up the window as easy as I can. “Phin?” I stick my leg out, straddling the sill, and make eye contact with Luc. “Watch Rhine and my brother,” I ask. “Please.”
