“Where are you? Did Luna’s sister make it in?”

“Yes, and we have some wonderful news. Well, potentially wonderful. But that will keep. Hurry and position yourself at a point where Wrath will be able to see you. As for us…well…we’re in Lannan’s mansion. Several things happened while you were gone and they weren’t all good. And Cicely—be careful. Leo and Geoffrey are on the move, and they aren’t going to stop hunting down you and Rhiannon. Be cautious.”

As she hung up, I glanced around. “Let’s get to open ground and then we wait for Wrath. And be careful. Watch out for any day-runners that might be Geoffrey’s or Leo’s men.” I didn’t have to warn them that Rhia and I were being hunted. They already knew that.

As we struggled through the deep snow, looking for a clearing, it occurred to me that Geoffrey and Leo were almost as dangerous as Myst. More so, because they knew we could kill them. I may have jangled Myst’s nerves, but for now she still claimed most of the game board for her side. Geoffrey and Leo, on the other hand, were playing from the place of “nothing much to lose.” And men—or vampires—who had nothing to lose were far more deadly than someone who had a reason to use common sense and caution.

Chapter 13

We’d been walking for about ten minutes when we found a meadow, with a large boulder in the center. We huddled near the granite slab, waiting, and within twenty minutes, I looked overhead and saw the great horned owl. Wrath. He’d found us. He circled high, getting his bearings, then slowly settled to the ground, turning back into the King of Summer as he landed. I ran over to him.

“We found the heartstone. But Myst almost caught us. Kaylin took the gem and dreamwalked out of there.”

“I know. He was there when I left.” My father stared at me. “He told us about the end fight. How did you escape Myst?” His gaze pierced into me and I knew I’d have to tell him what had happened. Everything, without censoring myself.

“The fan…it took hold of me and I became the hurricane. And then I used the obsidian blade to slaughter one of the Shadow Hunters. Myst and her other two guardians ran. She was scared of me.” My words came out in a rush as I realized what I was saying. But it was true. I’d seen her face, felt the shock in her. Myst had retreated.

Wrath pressed his lips together. He let out a long breath and then wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “Come, we need to get home. Lainule must have her heartstone and you must be the one to present it to her. I cannot touch it. We will speak of these other things later.” But under the steady tones of his voice, I could hear the thunder in the distance.

We were a mere ten minutes from the road, though the distance was some nine or ten miles from where we’d begun our journey two days back. I called Peyton and gave her my father’s coordinates and as we trudged through the snow, none of us said much. At least Kaylin had made it back. And it was daylight, so I wouldn’t have to deal with Lannan—whatever his state—until tonight.

We broke through the undergrowth, out onto the road without any interference and there was Peyton, waiting. She looked grim, as we climbed into the car, but gave me a weary smile.

“I’m so glad you’re back. Lannan’s been pissed out of his mind and he’s been raging around the mansion.”

“Why did you go there instead of stay in the realm of Summer?” I glanced at her, then Wrath. Both of them looked uncomfortable.

Peyton bit her lip. “The energy within Summer’s realm is like alcohol to my father. He was giddy on it, and one of the guards tried to goad him into drinking wine. Rex is a recovering alcoholic. He felt cornered, and when a werepuma feels cornered, the resulting tiff isn’t pretty.”

Wrath sighed. “Rex turned into his puma self and went after the guard. He didn’t hurt him—” He held up his hand when I shot up, worried that Peyton’s father might have been hurt. “Neither man was harmed. But it wasn’t an auspicious start and it seemed better to have them join Lannan in his mansion. Luna and Zoey went with them. I checked on them yesterday and they were fine, and Lannan—for all his foibles—kept them safe. The realm of Summer is an uneasy place for any but those of Fae blood, either half or full.”

I grumbled, leaning back, but kept my mouth shut. I had the feeling the guard had been deliberately baiting Rex, but there was no way to prove it, and really, what good would it do except to cause even more animosity? So I decided to leave it alone. We had enough problems as it was.

“Is Lannan angry at me for not showing up for two nights?” Better to hear what I was in for now, rather than be surprised when we got back to the mansion.

“Lannan is…shall we say…livid. He swore that if you didn’t come back in one piece, he’d go after Wrath and Lainule himself.” Peyton cleared her throat, glancing at Wrath in the rearview mirror. But he just shrugged.

“The vampire would stand no chance. We have more powers than he can imagine.” He glanced at me. “And some of us are letting our powers run wild.”

I shivered under his watchful eye. I knew Wrath was pissed at me for disobeying him about the knife. And Lainule wouldn’t be all that pleased by how casually I’d been using the fan, but too fucking bad. We didn’t have a choice. And I’d proven one thing: We could scare Myst.

Peyton wound through the streets. It was unnaturally quiet in New Forest, hardly anybody on the sidewalks, even though it was now morning.

“Did something happen?” I glanced around sharply. There was a feeling in the air of foreboding. I could practically smell the fear.

She cleared her throat again. “There was another massacre last night. A theater. The Vampiric Fae got in and barred the other exits. It was…bad.”

“How bad?” I didn’t want to hear, but I had no choice. I had to know.

“Thirteen dead, before they could get the exits open. Another five killed in the streets. Four of them children. People are asking what happened to Geoffrey. Lannan’s scheduled to give a speech tonight. He’d do it by television, but his image wouldn’t show up on it, so he’s going to give it via radio. A notice has gone out in the paper about it, and a news team will broadcast the audio simultaneously on television.”

“Eighteen dead?”

“Yeah. There would have been more, but Lannan’s guards busted up the scene. They took down seven Shadow Hunters. Lannan said he’s not going to pussyfoot around with the public. He’s going to warn them about Myst and tell people to get the hell out if they can.”

I stared at my nails, pretending to examine them. There he went again, doing something I was forced to give him credit for. I didn’t want to give him kudos. I wanted to fault him for everything I possibly could, but the fact was that Geoffrey had tiptoed around this matter until people died. Lannan was taking direct action.

“That’s going to be dangerous. You can bet Myst will try to stop him.” The thought of Myst getting hold of Lannan set my stomach on edge. As much as I’d threatened to stake him, at the core Lannan wasn’t the enemy.

“That’s why Lainule must rise today. She can marshal the Summer Guardians. They take their orders from her. They would obey me, but they look to her for morale and inspiration and there is very little of that in the realm lately. If Lainule returns to health…they will willingly fight.” Wrath leaned forward. “Can you drive any faster?”

Peyton nodded and stepped on the gas. The car roared and lurched forward. I leaned back in the seat, closing my eyes. I wanted to ask what Luna’s sister had found but not in front of Grieve—there were too many risks for me to get his hopes up yet.

“Another thing,” Peyton said as she rounded a curve, hugging the road with the car. She was an excellent driver.

“What now?”

“I called Ysandra at the Consortium. I told her that we need help tonight—that when Lannan gives the order to get out of town, we know Myst is going to try to stop him. She said she’d send one of their elite squads. I have no clue what she meant by that, but it sounds like the cavalry is coming.” She sounded very pleased with herself and I gave a little cheer.

“Good going. We need all the help we can get.” We were squashed into the car like bugs, but I didn’t care. The promise of a hot shower and clean, warm clothes loomed large in my mind.

But first…first we would visit Lainule, and I would take her the heartstone, and she would survive. For the rest of the drive we were silent, all deep in our thoughts. I leaned my head on Grieve’s shoulder and he slipped his arm around my shoulders. At this point, any comfort was better than none.

Wrath hurried us into the mansion, under the watchful eyes of Lannan’s day-runners. He surprised me by instructing me to take a quick shower. “You need to revive yourself, to be at your best. And by now I know you enough to know that a shower will help. Your cousin must also come with us. And Chatter and Grieve. The rest—stay here.”

Surprised that the others were coming, too, I acceded without question. I followed Peyton, who led me up the stairs of what had been Geoffrey’s mansion and now belonged to my own master. Master. The word grated on my tongue, but I had to accept it—Lannan owned my contract. And we needed him too much right now for me to fight the fact.

The room he’d assigned to me was lush, with blatant sexual portraits lining the walls. Although they could all be called art, they were definitely erotica bordering on outright porn. Lannan was needling me but I ignored it. The bathroom beckoned, and I stripped on my way there, leaving clothes in a trail behind me. My skin was raw and chapped, and in the warehouse we’d had to use a sink to wash up. This bathroom was anything but utilitarian.

The spa tub lured me like a promise from a lover, but I knew that I didn’t have time for that luxury. But soon, I whispered to it. Soon I’d be soaking in a bubble bath. Instead, I chose a vanilla-scented bodywash from the selection on the counter and entered the walk-in shower. The tiles were heated, radiant heat pouring through the floor, and I groaned as I sank to the bench in the stall. I turned on the rain showerhead full force and let the soothing, steaming water stream over my naked body.

My muscles hurt. My bones hurt. Everything ached. I closed my eyes, leaning back as the spray hit me full force from three directions. I pushed away the thought of where I was and just enjoyed the beading water on my skin. My hand drifted over my stomach, over my wolf, and I felt a warm growl come from it, and the flare of arousal.

Lightly stroking the tattoo, I closed my eyes and thought of Grieve, of his platinum hair streaming down his shoulders and his otherworldly features and those brilliant dark eyes, black as night, swirling with stars. I thought of his hands and how they played across my body, and his lean, muscled frame and how I felt when I ran my tongue across his chest and down toward the V leading to his cock.

My wolf let out a low rumble and I circled it with my hand. “My love,” I whispered. “I am thinking of you. Wanting you.”

The next moment, I felt someone watching me. My eyes flew open and I looked up to see Grieve, standing beside me, naked and aroused. I did not question him, said nothing, but opened my arms as he reached down to embrace me. He lifted me to stand in front of him, leaned me against his shoulder, danced with me under the water, slowly moving, kissing my hair, my face, my lips. I sought his mouth and pressed against it, my tongue sliding between the soft folds of his lips as he turned and sat on the bench, bringing me down on him, to slide down the length of his cock.

As he rigidly thrust inside me, I moaned, my pussy opening up like a flower blooming to spring. I leaned back, braced by his arms, the water pounding against my breasts and face, soaking in the heat of the steam and the heat of his body. Grieve let out a low groan and, holding me tightly, gently lowered me to the floor of the shower. As the water pulsed over us, he began to thrust, his cock rubbing against my clit, driving me higher. The steam grew thick around us, and the water streamed off his back, down his sides, to rain lightly against me.

I rested my head on the heated tiles, my back soapy and sliding as he drove into me, again and again. Seeking for something I couldn’t even verbalize, I gazed into his face, drinking in his expression.

Grieve snarled, his teeth gleaming. And his snarl hit my core like whisky, burning my throat, burning my stomach, making me ache for him to eat me up, drink me down, to possess me in a way no one ever had.

My breasts rubbed against his chest with every stroke he made, and I began to cry. The world was heartless and hopeless, but here, within this shower stall, within this tiny bubble where we were the only two alive, I felt the power that we could create between us.

“I love you. I love you with my heart and my soul, forever and ever.” I whispered the words, not trusting the slipstream. If it caught them, it might carry them afar, to those waiting to destroy what happiness we’d managed to scrape together.

“Cicely, you are my own. You are my queen. You are the world for me. There is no life without you.” He pressed his lips to mine again, driving the words out of my thoughts until only passion remained.

I wondered if we were going to meet Luna’s sister before we left, but that was not to be. We were dressed and downstairs without too much delay, where Wrath simply looked at us and nodded to the crystal box sitting on the table. I slowly approached. Lainule’s heartstone shimmered within, glowing, fading. Picking up the box, I felt it quicken.

Rhia and Chatter joined us, looking rosy-cheeked, and I had the feeling their shower had gone something along the lines of ours. But none of us spoke. There was nothing left to say until we found out if this was going to work.