Death Bringer

Chapter Twelve

“Just keep an eye on that fire and don’t let it get out of control!” Ella yelled back at Rossa as plumes of thick black smoke billowed into the air. “Two of the guards are coming over!”

She ran headfirst into the magical smoke, using her hands to push it ahead of her like a shield. Her vision blurred, but she kept her sights on the gate and the two remaining guards. No one had seen her yet; they were all too busy staring at the fire she’d started. She sidestepped one of the remaining trolls, who had deserted his post, and slammed right into the massive door. Luckily, with all the noise, no one heard her, the bang or her muttered expletive.

Dammit, the door was locked. Duh. She closed her eyes and concentrated on exhuming its secrets and its weaknesses. Even as she searched, the timber groaned and shivered under her hand like a living being.

A snap of light whizzed past her nose as the smoke began to clear. Could they see her? Rossa had tried to help her with an invisibility spell, but she wasn’t sure she had the ability to maintain it.

“Watch out!”

He was bellowing in her head. On the road behind her, she saw a figure approaching on the back of a horse, long blond hair flowing in the breeze, a hand raised to cause magical mayhem. If that wasn’t Rossa ratting her out, it had to be Vadim’s father.

Another blast of deadly power hit the door, bounced off, and buried itself in her left shoulder. It also weakened the integrity of the door. To her complete surprise, her desperate spell worked. She fell flat on her face on the other side and looked up into the unwelcoming black eyes of yet another troll, his long spear an inch from her nose.

“Hang on!” She got to her feet, arms raised, and ignored the horrendous pain in her shoulder. “I didn’t mean any harm. I was just getting away from the smoke.”

He didn’t reply, just gestured at her with his weapon to move off. She didn’t argue, and let him walk her down the narrow corridor. When he grunted, she paused obediently before a locked door. As he reached past her to unlock it, she brushed against his hand, pushing the smallest amount of power into him. Without a sound, he crumpled to the floor.

Using all her strength, she bundled the troll into one of the empty rooms and shut the door on him. She had no idea whether she’d killed him or not and didn’t have time to check. At least he hadn’t exploded all over her. A quick glance back at the entranceway confirmed her fears that Rossa and the fire’s usefulness had ended and that the guards were once again mustering at the door. Would they sense her presence? Had the Fae king seen her escape through the smoke, or had he simply been attempting to get into the castle himself?

She didn’t have time to care. With her current luck, she’d be captured before she even had a chance to look for her face. She could pick up no sense of Adam, so what should she aim for? An image of Brad and Ms. Phelps came into her head, and she focused on that instead. If she followed their empathic signals, she would hopefully find hers.

Carefully reciting the invisibility spell Rossa had hurriedly tried to teach her, she locked the door, gathered herself and ran toward the back of the massive building. Bits of her eluded the cloaking hex, so she caught the odd glimpse of her arm, her boot and her jacket like pieces of an ever-changing kaleidoscope. It was quite bizarre. Even though she was in a rush, she couldn’t fail to notice the beauty of the place. It was a monument to the work of the sect, like a treasure seeker’s private paradise where they could come and gloat about their cleverness.

There was another long hallway and, at the bottom, two huge gold doors, which were guarded. That had to be the place. Flattened against the wall, Ella spared a moment to touch her shoulder, and discovered the cloth of her jacket was still smoking and seared right through. Her skin was broken and discolored and radiated a weird metallic glaze. What the hell had the king fired at her? Molten lead? She stuffed one of Vadim’s old handkerchiefs over the wound and used magic to repair the damage to her jacket. It would have to do.

After a deep, steadying breath, she sauntered down the hallway toward the two guards, her hands at her sides and her expression pleasant.

“Hey, what’s up?”

The guards glanced at each other and then barred the door with their crossed spears. Ella flexed her fingers.

“I need to get in there, and you two are in my way. I’m giving you this warning, because my magic is a lot stronger than my control, so I might accidentally fry you both.” She raised her eyebrows. “So if you want to leave right now, I won’t tell anyone, okay?”

The taller troll hissed at her in his own language and brought his spear up, nearly taking off the top layer of her new face.

She wasn’t even aware she’d brought her hand up. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Power sliced from her, and the nearest troll screeched and fell to the ground. She swung to face the other one, but he was already running in the opposite direction, no doubt to raise the alarm. She stepped over the smoking body and pushed open one of the golden doors. Dark power streamed past her and through her, strengthening her magic.

She drew the door shut behind her—there didn’t appear to be any way of locking it—and walked toward the furthest end of the vast cathedral-like room. The ceiling was domed and painted, the walls covered in trophies. It was also silent in the vast space, as if someone held their breath.

There.

Already aware of a huge commotion behind her, she ran toward her goal, her gaze fixed on the smiling face of Brad Dailey, the agony of Ms. Phelps, and her own familiar features.

“Thank God,” she breathed, and reached out her hand to claim her prize.

Agony hit her hard and she staggered and held on to the nearest shelf. Looking down, she discovered her ankle was clasped firmly between the jaws of a small black dragon with eyes like rubies. Blood dripped from his jaws, and she knew it wasn’t his.

“Oh, holy crap. No one said there would be dragons.”

Before she could even think of retaliating, blackness engulfed her. She collapsed onto the carpet, aware of claws scrabbling at her legs, and then no more.

His cell door opened, and Vadim winced at the glare of the torch. Adam appeared, silhouetted against the light. He threw something at Vadim that hit him hard on the chest and came to rest on his lap.

“Bad news, Death Bringer. Now you have every reason to stay and fight.”

He left the torch in the sconce by the door, giving Vadim some light, and withdrew. Still half-constrained by the leaden chains, he stared down at an all-too-familiar blue-and-red backpack.

Rage and grief coalesced in an unstoppable crescendo. He roared his fury at the top of his lungs, making his prison shake and the torch go out, leaving him in darkness with madness his close and dearly desired companion. Pain flooded his senses, tearing down his carefully constructed barriers. Inwardly he screamed for her, not willing to expose her precious name to his captors.

Slowly he came back to himself, his breathing ragged, his claws and fangs extended to their fullest, more beast than man, more filled with bloodlust than love. He forced himself to think through his instinct to simply destroy the world that had destroyed her.

A growl escaped him and he shut his eyes.

Think.

If she were dead, there would be no reason for him to do anything but annihilate Otherworld.

Adam wouldn’t want to provoke that.

Would he?

Treacherous hope stirred in him. But if she wasn’t dead, she was being held captive, her survival subject to his good behavior. If Adam expected him to fight, he obviously had to offer him an incentive to do so. Vadim took a deep steadying breath. If Ella was in Otherworld, he would find her, and be damned to anyone’s expectations of him playing nice.

He reached out a shaking hand, grabbed the backpack and brought it to his face, inhaling Ella’s scent. Beneath his tightening grip, the fabric started to tear, and he forced himself to relax. She felt close, but was that an illusion created by his need or was it reality?

Dammit, he was touching the backpack. His hands were free of the chains... His rage had fueled his power to new heights and he was recovering far more quickly than Adam might have anticipated. Vadim smiled into the darkness. Luckily, the attempt to undermine him had simply made him stronger. If Ella was near, he was going to find her and then let loose hell...

Ella sat upright as a burst of magical power shook through the building, and more importantly, right through her. That had to be Vadim, but what was up with him, and where was she? Her head pounded and she was thirsty. Dammit, she was tired of waking up and not knowing what the hell was going on...

Her leg hurt.

Looking down, she couldn’t see the damage the dragon had inflicted on her ankle, because someone or something had bandaged it up. Were dragon bites infectious? Would she need a shot? Where the hell would she get that?

She was in a small room with just a bed and a sink, rather like a monk’s cell. There was a window, but it was set high in the wall. She didn’t think it faced the outside, because the light was wrong. Tentatively, she searched for Rossa in her mind, but he wasn’t there. All she could feel was Vadim, and even he felt different.

Her backpack had gone, which meant she had no food. Her stomach rumbled in protest. Maybe they knew that after twenty-four hours without coffee and donuts, she’d be willing to tell them anything they wanted. She couldn’t sit here and wait for that to happen. With as much care as she could manage, she lowered her injured foot to the floor and immediately winced.

Would the cleanup spell work on wounds? It had certainly worked on clothes. She had to suspect that the words Vadim had given her were rather more complex than he’d let on. Or was it the power of Otherworld that enhanced them? She didn’t know, and as long as it kept working, she wasn’t going to second-guess herself. She felt her left shoulder, which was still throbbing like a bad tooth. Would it work on that too? Sounds beyond the door made her lie back down on the bed and close her eyes.

The door opened a scant inch, and a troll looked in on her.

“She’s still unconscious, sir.”

“Good. Leave her, then. The master wants to see her when she awakens.”

The master? Ella wanted to snort. Adam obviously thought a lot of himself, but then power-crazed individuals usually did. The door shut, and she was alone again. She counted to five hundred and then cautiously got up and went over to the door. There was no sound from outside, but that didn’t mean much. One of those stupid dragons might be curled up right on the threshold.

She turned back to the window. Surely that was the better option? Vadim had been a whiz at opening locked doors and getting through stuff, so she assumed she would be too. Unfortunately, she was pretty sure her ass wouldn’t fit through the space. Maybe she could be like Alice and minimize herself a bit? She’d managed to do that at the front door without even thinking about it. Or could she walk through the wall?

She tried that first and ended up with a bump on her head and a bruised right knee. So the wall was out. How about the window? What would happen if she got stuck halfway? She sat back on the bed and considered her options. Another wave of raw power shook the building. Her heart rate sped up in response. Vadim was seriously pissed about something. Did she dare try and contact him? Did she want to? She took off her boot and threw it toward the open window. It bounced back off some invisible barrier.

She shoved her foot back into the boot and stood up. There was no time for finesse. Fuck it. She had to get out right now. From her position by the bed, she raised her hands and blasted power at the door. It blew outward and crashed against the door opposite with a horrendous crash. She didn’t wait to see the reaction from her captors, but tried to magic herself back outside the complex. Nothing happened. In desperation, she started to run along the corridor in the hope of finding her way to the exit.

Her mind seemed to know where she was heading, so she followed her instincts, aware of pursuit but more than willing to kill to reach her goal. She reached an inner covered courtyard with a Japanese-style koi pond, miniature temple and a covered glass ceiling, her breath loud in her ears. The only other sound was the tranquil stir of the fountain.

“Ella!”

She clapped her hands over her ears as a possessive roar crashed over her senses.

“Keep it down, Morosov!”

“ELLA!”

Something huge and dark appeared on the other side of the space, and she forgot how to breathe. The creature was massive, with black wings, clawed fingers and sharp, wicked-looking teeth.

“Um, Morosov?”

The thing glared at her and then spoke, its bellowing voice beating against the walls like a drum.

“Who are you?”

“It’s me, you big feathered dummy!”

She didn’t have time to say more as the creature leaped forward, picked her up and shot upward, shattering the glass ceiling as they soared above the complex. Wind rushed through her hair, and she clung onto his massive shoulders as they climbed higher and higher. Had she ever mentioned to him how much she hated heights? She buried her face in his feathered chest as they plummeted back to earth, and kept it there until her feet touched something solid.

“Morosov, what the hell—?”

His mouth was on hers, his fangs grazing her lip until she opened to him. He backed her up until she was braced against a wall, or a tree, or something. She didn’t care as long as it held her up and he continued to kiss her. His mouth devoured hers, and her hand tightened in the feathery softness of his long black hair. It was Vadim, but it wasn’t. She probably should’ve been afraid.

He picked her up until her knees rode his hips and pressed himself against her hidden core. He didn’t need to say anything; the thick ridge of his erection was driving her wild. It was only a couple of days since she’d last seen him, but it felt like forever. She magicked off her own jeans and panties and felt him there, hard and throbbing, needing her as much as she needed him.

Bigger everywhere, bigger there too, but she took him inside inch by inch and started to climax before he was all the way in, which made the last few thrusts even easier. She kept coming and he took everything, his clawed hands moving carefully over her, his mouth kissing hers, sliding down her throat to sink his teeth into her soft skin as he finally came hard and deep within her.

“Don’t cry.”

His voice resonated inside her, raw with emotion and saturated with power.

Was she crying?

What the hell was going on?

He held her close; his face buried in the crook of her neck, his cock still inside her. In that first confused moment when he saw her altered face, he’d almost killed her... The shock of it still reverberated through him. He hadn’t expected her to be that close.

She bit down hard on the side of his neck and he flinched.

“Get off me.”

Reluctantly he released her, found her pants and handed them back. He didn’t want her to put them on just yet. He wanted her again.

She struggled into her purple panties and then her pink jeans. Even though it was difficult, he couldn’t stop staring at her face.

“It is uncanny. You look like my sister.”

“And you look like a bad Big Bird.” She glared at him and then touched her face. “I know, it’s creepy, isn’t it? I wonder if Adam did it deliberately.”

“I’m sure he did.”

Vadim walked away from her and sat on a nearby log. They were in a clearing high up in the uninhabited mountains to the north of the sect’s stronghold, a place only his immediate family knew about. The feathers on his wings caught the slight breeze, and he barely resisted the urge to unfurl them and shake out his tension. He’d hoped Ella would never have to see him like this, but it was too late to change back into what she was used to.

“What are you doing in Otherworld, Ms. Walsh?”

She folded her arms across her chest. Never a good sign. “Don’t worry, fathead, I wasn’t looking for you.”

He tried a neutral smile. “You seem to have found me anyway.”

“I was at Adam’s because I wanted my face back. That’s the only reason why.”

She was definitely mad at him. Was that a good sign or a bad one?

“What happened to you, anyway?” She waved a hand at him.

He looked down at his body. “This is my true form. Does it offend you?”

“It’s nothing to do with me, is it?”

He sighed. Perhaps it was better to give her an open target for her pent-up rage. “It’s going to be like this, then? You having a major hissy fit over nothing?”

“Nothing?” She stalked over to him and stuck her finger in his face. “Don’t you dare fuck with me, Morosov! You waltzed off to Otherworld, telling me to stay put like a good little girl and insisting you didn’t need me anymore. Why should I care what becomes of you?”

“You’re here, aren’t you?”

“As I said, and as I’ve already told your family more than once, I came to get my face back, not to babysit you.”

Diverted from his true purpose, just as she had probably intended, he couldn’t help asking, “You’ve met my family?”

She counted on her fingers. “Your grandmother stuck me in a dungeon to keep me out of the way, your father wanted to blackmail me into taking you back to San Francisco and your mother practically cried all over me to save you.”

He focused on the most dangerous part. “You saw my father? What else did he say to you?”

She finally looked at him. “You don’t want to know.”

“He said I’m a monster, didn’t he?”

She shrugged. “Something like that.”

“Then I understand why you aren’t pleased to see me.” He had to look away. “I can’t defend my past.”

She didn’t even attempt to contradict him. An iron band closed around his heart. “What do you want from me, Ella?”

“To help me get my face back and bring Adam down.”

“That’s all?”

“I haven’t decided about the rest, yet.”

“But we’re mated.”

Her unfamiliar blue eyes shot sparks. “And you walked out on me!”

He grabbed her hand and held fast. “You know why I left.” She tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t let her. “I had to try and protect you. You’re not dumb, I’m sure you worked that out for yourself.”

“That you’re such a hero?”

“No, that despite everything, you mean more to me than anything else in my life.” Something hot fell on his skin and he realized she was crying. “Ella—”

“I don’t need this right now, Morosov, all right? I just want to get my face back. If you can’t help me with that, go away.”

He released her hand and stared down at the trampled grass. Perhaps he had misjudged her. Her fear of rejection and abandonment ran so deep... Perhaps his father’s words had made her hate him beyond reason, and even beyond their mated state. He wasn’t surprised. Who would want to be mated to an executioner? There was still one thing he could do for her...

“There is a way for you to regain your face.”

She looked back at him, her eyes still full of tears. “There is?”

He slowly stood up and bowed. “I would be more than willing to help you achieve your aim.”

Hope blossomed in her eyes. “Thank you.”

He nodded. “Perhaps after you’ve rested for a while, we can discuss how we mean to go on.”

She woke up feeling warm, for once, and slowly opened her eyes to discover she was in a sleeping bag with a proper pillow under her head. Trust Vadim to have all the right camping gear. Despite the fact that she was out in the middle of nowhere with a no-good shape-shifting Fae prince, she felt remarkably safe. The clearing was in darkness, only the light from a small fire breaking the gloom. She sat up and scanned the area. The high peaks of mountains and pine trees surrounded them, and the air had an icy freshness to it that literally caught at her breath.

Behind her, in the forest, she could pick up the presence of smaller woodland Fae and other species. Nothing approached the fire or the solitary male who sat facing it. She’d never thought of herself as a coward, but part of her wanted to turn over, go back to sleep and pretend none of this had really happened. Something about the rigid set of his shoulders made her get up and walk toward him.

He spoke before she reached him.

“There’s coffee keeping warm by the fire.”

“Cool.” She went forward and poured herself a cup of the fragrant brew. “Thanks.” She stood and looked out over the clearing. “You should’ve woken me earlier.”

“There was no need. It is too late to start back for the palace. Adam will not find us here.”

“Did you ward the clearing?”

“It is always like this. Only those of the Royal blood can get through the shields. It’s a place of refuge.”

She got the sense that he’d been there a lot. She looked down at her boot and kicked a stone. “Thanks for the sleeping bag. That’s the first decent nap I’ve had since I got here.”

“You are welcome.”

She kicked another stone, which thunked against the log he was sitting on. God, this was awkward. Why the hell was she feeling sorry for him?

“Did you think I’d come to save you?”

She caught a hint of a smile. “No one needs to save me, Ms. Walsh. I’m Death Bringer.”

“So your father said.”

His expression went blank. “Do you want something to eat?”

So he didn’t want to talk about that. What a surprise. “Of course I do.” She held up her hand. “But I know how to do that stuff myself now.” She concentrated on the image of a triple cheeseburger and fries, but nothing happened. “Damn, I had it the other day.”

“It’s not your fault. The wards around this space are extremely powerful.”

“Can’t you get through them, either?”

“Not unless I want to bring my entire family down on us, but I have something better.” He held up her backpack.

“Where did you get that?”

“Adam gave it to me.”

“Why?” She took it from his outstretched hand.

“To mess with my head?”

She sat down beside him and rummaged in the backpack. “I have a couple of juice boxes if you want one, and some protein bars.”

“That would be wonderful.”

He was being terribly polite, which meant that underneath he was as pissed off as she was. When she handed over his share, she risked a joke. “How the mighty have fallen.”

“Needs must, Ms. Walsh.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

He ripped open his protein bar using his teeth. “I thought you’d prefer it.”

“Would you like me to start calling you Death?”

“Not really.”

“Then Ella will do nicely.” She struggled to open the foil packaging of her bar. Vadim reached across and slashed through the foil with one long claw. “Thanks. Since when did swans have talons?”

“In Otherworld I can become anything I choose.”

“You’re full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“Most of them unpleasant, as you’ve no doubt discovered.” He finished his bar and started on his juice. “I noticed you were limping earlier. Is there something wrong with your ankle?”

“I was bitten by a dragon.”

His head snapped round. “What kind?”

“Does it really matter? Aren’t they supposed to be extinct?” He continued to stare at her, and she sighed. “Fine. It was small and black, with red eyes and sharp teeth. Does that help?”

“You got as far as the trophy room?”

“I got as far as reaching for my face, and then that damned dragon closed his jaws around my ankle, and I lost it.”

“May I see your ankle?”

She stuck out her booted foot. “Someone bandaged it up for me while I was out of it. I was going to try that cleanup spell you gave me on it, but I didn’t get a chance.”

“Let me see.”

He gently maneuvered her foot onto his thigh and removed her boot and striped orange sock. She winced as he folded back her jeans to reveal her bandaged ankle.

“Is a dragon’s bite poisonous?”

“It can be, but if someone went to the bother of treating the wound for you, I suspect they wanted to keep you alive.”

“To use as bait.”

He looked up into her eyes, his own faintly amused. “I was already caught.”

“You were?”

“I have to thank you, actually.” He started to unwrap the bandage. “My rage at your capture allowed me to slough off the effect of my shackles with greater speed than my enemies expected.”

“Well that’s cool, because your rage woke me up and helped me make the decision to escape. How’s that for anger management?” She flinched as he finished uncovering the wound and touched her skin.

“I can see the tooth marks, but there isn’t any infection. Is it still sore?”

“A little.”

“I can fix that.” Warmth flowed from his fingers into her skin, and slowly the ache disappeared. “Is that better?”

“Much.” She had to get his hands off her before she launched herself into his lap and covered him in kisses. Being close to him was so confusing. She was never sure if she wanted to slap him or fuck him. God forbid she ever got up the nerve to do both. In his current form he’d probably love it. “Thanks.”

He hesitated, his broad shoulders blocking out the light from the fire. “There is something else hurting you.”

There was no point in prevaricating. She touched her upper arm. “My shoulder. When I was trying to find my way in the main entrance earlier, I got caught by some sort of magic pulse rebound.”

“You broke into the palace?”

“Yeah, did you think Adam dragged me in by the hair?”

“I assumed—”

“Well, we all know what that makes you, don’t we? I broke in by myself.” She glared at him. Yeah. It was so much easier to feel mad than sorry for him. She did mad so well. “I am perfectly capable of evading capture and executing my own plan.” There was no need to tell him that five seconds after getting through the door, she’d been captured again. She certainly wasn’t telling him that she owed most of her success to his powers and Rossa’s help. “I’m not stupid, you know.”

“I never thought that.”

“You said I would be a liability in Otherworld.”

“I said what I needed to say to keep you safe.”

“And then waltzed over here by yourself and were immediately captured.”

“I—”

“Just because you were dumb enough to get caught, doesn’t mean I had to be too.”

He breathed out carefully through his fangs. “I didn’t get caught. I allowed Adam to bring me to Otherworld.”

“Oh, that’s right. Your noble gesture to save my pretty face.”

“Who told you that?” His question was sharp.

“Several people. Apparently there was supposed to be a pact to prevent Adam from taking my face. A pact brokered by you.” He shifted in his seat but remained silent. “Aren’t you going to defend yourself?”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to discuss our relationship.”

“This isn’t about us, this is about you threatening your entire family if they didn’t do what you wanted. Who the hell does that?”

“Death Bringer does.” He scowled at her. “And this isn’t about my family. You’re pissed because I left you. Can’t you even admit that?”

She drew herself up to her full height. “I thought that was too obvious to mention. Why would I care that you deliberately tried to alienate me and kept me in the dark about your true purpose? Who the fuck would mind that they were deemed useless? Why the hell would I even give it a second thought?” She realized she was shouting and that he was regarding her with a faint smile. “Don’t you dare laugh at me!”

“I’m not laughing. You’ve expressed your lack of concern for my welfare many times before.”

She hated the way the light had gone from his face and that she was responsible for it. “Do you want them all to loathe you?”

“If it brings results, why not?” He shrugged. “They made me what I am. Perhaps it is time that they learn to fear what they can no longer control.”

There was a hardness to him that she hadn’t expected, a grandeur and arrogance that fitted the immense power of his true form. He’d always seemed strong, but now he was truly frightening. He stood up and walked away, presenting her with a fine view of his wings and the tight, high curve of his ass.

“You’re saying you’d kill everyone who loves you, just for me?”

He swung around to face her. “They don’t love me. They are afraid of me and wish to control my power.”

“Which is why you left Otherworld in the first place.”

“Yes.”

“If we can retrieve my face, would you stay in Otherworld or go back to San Francisco?”

“That’s up to you, isn’t it?”

This time she was the one to look away. Damn the man for demanding certainties she wasn’t yet prepared to give him. She was no therapist, but didn’t he understand that his desertion had activated all her fears of abandonment and betrayal? She hadn’t expected that, hadn’t ever wanted to feel like a bawling five-year-old kid left at an institution again. She’d spent years learning to protect herself from the hurt, putting up barriers to keep herself safe. Why should she let him know that seeing him made everything right in her world? Why give him the ammunition to destroy her again?

“It’s getting late. Do you want to take a look at my shoulder, or not?”

He regarded her steadily for a long moment. “Still hiding, Ella?”

“I’m not hiding anything.”

“Liar.”

He flowed toward her; the beauty of his movements made her think of sex and entangled limbs and kisses. “For a female who prides herself on speaking her mind, how is it that for me, your mate, the male who shares your thoughts, you have nothing but deception? Is what you feel for me too ‘honest’ to be shared?

“As I said, it’s getting late.”

“Then show me your wound.” His tone was impersonal and polite again. It made her want to sink her teeth into his flesh.

“Be my guest.”

Ignoring his suggestive intrusion into her mind, she eased out of her jacket and then her rose-covered blouse to reveal the handkerchief that covered her shoulder.

“Is that one of mine? I can never find any of my handkerchiefs. What the hell do you do with them?”

“I had to pack it with something, and it’s not as if you have any pocket to put it in here.” She carefully removed the folded cotton.

Vadim’s breath hissed out. “Ddwu.”

“What?”

She awkwardly turned her head to stare down at her shoulder, which appeared to be glowing with a dull red light.

“That’s not good, is it?”

“No.”

“Can you fix it?”

“It’s difficult. Where did the spell come from?”

“I’m not quite sure. As I said, I was trying to get into through the main door when someone started shooting spells. One of them rebounded and hit my arm.”

“Was it one of the guards?”

“No, it was some guy on a horse.” She hesitated. “I did wonder if it was your father.”

“That might explain it.” He sat back. “If it was him, I suspect he wasn’t aiming for the door.”

“Then make it better!”

“I can stop the pain and slow down the spread of the poison, but I can’t remove it completely.”

“Back up.” She grabbed his hand. “What poison?”

“Perhaps that was a bad choice of words. The substance in your arm means that my father can always find you. The spell is like his personal brand.”

“Why would he want to do that?”

His smile wasn’t pleasant. “You tell me.”

She stared right back at him. “I told you. He was very keen for me to take you away from Otherworld.”

“And what did he promise you in return for that small service?”

“He offered to get my face back.”

He took his hand away. “No wonder he wanted to put his mark on you.”

“You’re such an idiot, Morosov. I didn’t accept his terms. I told him I was quite capable of achieving what I wanted without his help.”

“And how did he take that?”

“Not very well, obviously.”

“And yet you are still alive.”

“I’m not stupid—I didn’t outright tell him no. I said I wanted to think about it.”

He shook his head. “Sometimes your gall amazes me, Soul Sucker. There are not many people on the earth who argue with my father and survive.”

“You did.”

“And look where it got me.” His faint smile disappeared. “Right back where I started.”

“That’s not quite true, is it? You’re no longer under his control, and you have me.”

“I thought you’d disowned me.”

“I said I needed some space. I didn’t say I was running out on you. I’m still a professional. You’re my SBLE partner.”

He stared at her for a long moment. “You just can’t say it, can you? You just can’t admit that I mean anything to you at all.” He returned to kneel at her feet. “Let me do what I can for your shoulder.”

As he worked, she looked down at his bowed head and admired his long silky hair and the curve of his spine. Even if he disagreed, she thought he was beautiful in his true form. She reached out and touched the back of his neck with one finger, stroking the soft down. His folded wings quivered.

“Ella, stop it...”

She stroked down his spine and he went still.

“Are you finished with my shoulder?”

“Yes.”

“Can I touch your wings?”

In answer, he spread his wings wide. He continued to kneel like an angel at prayer as she went to stand behind him. Using both hands, she started where his wings emerged from his shoulders and traced the long line outward. The span was too great for her to encompass by herself. She leaned in close, her hands spread wide and her breasts pressed to his spine. He shuddered.

“You look so threatening, and yet up close, you’re soft and feathery.” She buried her face in the crook of his neck.

She slid her hands around his chest and felt the frantic beating of his heart. He might look different, and so did she, but at their core, nothing had changed. They were both outsiders in their worlds. It was a hard truth to swallow, but she still wanted to jump his bones.

“Stop thinking about sex.”

“Why?” She found his nipples and used her finger and thumb to shape them.

“Because you said—”

She bit his neck. “I said I wanted time to think about our relationship. This is about sex.”

“Isn’t that my line?”

She bit harder, and he winced. “Indulge me, Morosov.”

“And if I don’t want to be used as a sexual convenience?”

“Then say no. Take your little fluffy pillow and sleeping bag and go over to the other side of the fire. I promise I won’t come after you.”

Underneath her hands, his massive body tensed. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his throat. “Vadim...”

“I am your mate.” He sighed, the sound echoing in the quietness of the glen. “I’ll take whatever you have to offer me, Ella. You know that.”

She closed her eyes against yet another attack of unwanted emotion and wrapped her arms around him. Sex was so much simpler. A meeting of bodies and an exchange of pleasure, a way to show him what she couldn’t say. Didn’t he get that? Or perhaps he did and was allowing her the opportunity to share how she really felt.

She groaned. God, this caring for someone was so confusing.

Vadim slowly drew his wings in, their tips brushing Ella’s side until she was almost enclosed. She stepped back and he turned around and drew her against his chest. In his true form, kneeling down, they were almost the same height He stroked the side of her cheek, his thumb angled under her jaw, and tried to remember the real face that lay beneath the mask.

Closing his eyes, he let even that image go and saw her truly, his thoughts marching with hers and their needs entwined. Everything she hadn’t been able to say flowed over him and through him. Why didn’t she have the words? Would she ever admit how she felt out loud?

“It’s all right,” he murmured, and kissed the side of her mouth.

“It isn’t. I hate crying and I’m being a wuss.”

“You’ve had a difficult day.”

“I sure have. I’ve been bitten by dragons, imprisoned, pursued by trolls, shot at—” He stopped her talking by taking control of the kiss. She continued in his head, “—flown away by winged creatures to magical glades...”

He skimmed his hands down her sides and rested them on her hips.

“I frightened you?”

“Only for a second, until I realized who it was.”

“I’m glad.”

She kissed his forehead. “I’m not sure why everyone else is so afraid of you, really. You’re like a big fluffy marshmallow.”

He slid his hand around the back of her neck, trapping her. “Only with you.”

She held his gaze. “Is it true that you can kill anything in Otherworld?”

“Yes.”

“Even immortal Fae?”

He nodded. Why did she think he was an outcast?

“Wow. That’s some responsibility.” She kissed his nose. “Will you sit down?”

“I am.”

She smacked his shoulder. “I mean cross-legged.”

“If you wish, Soul Sucker.”

She fixed him with her more usual intimidating glare. He didn’t mind it so much now; in fact he’d even begun to miss it.

“It wasn’t your soul I was thinking of sucking.” Her gaze dropped to his groin and his already erect cock. “It’s a good job I’m not allergic to feathers, isn’t it?”

She leaned forward and rubbed her face against his flat stomach, her tongue sneaking out to lick his already-wet shaft. He placed his hands flat on the ground, taking more weight on them as his hips jerked forward to meet the demands of her mouth. He wanted to grab her and pull her down over his aching flesh, but he’d already done that once tonight. It was her turn to dictate and his to endure.

And she made the most of it, teasing and learning his new body, making him wait and making him beg for her. When she finally shed her clothes and lowered herself over him, he was shaking with need. He wrapped one hand around her hips to hold her close and surged upward, enjoying her every climax along the way until she screamed and came again, dragging him with her in huge pumping waves of need. She collapsed over him and he held her tight. Did it matter that she couldn’t say the words out loud? That she insisted it was just about sex? He knew her on a subliminal level that no other being would ever achieve. He knew everything...

Was it enough? He wasn’t sure, but he’d do anything to keep her safe. He eased her over onto her side, placing his sleeping bag underneath them both. She grumbled something and clung to him. In truth, if he managed to help her retrieve her face, it might be the last thing he ever did for her.

A tremor in the shield caught his eye and he sat back up, pushing Ella behind him.

“What is it?”

He didn’t bother to answer her, all his attention fixed on the male who was materializing in the glade.

“Death Bringer.” The Fae king bowed. “I apologize for intruding on such a tender moment, but needs must.”

Vadim rose to his feet. “What do you want?”

“Dear me, such hostility. Didn’t your mate tell you about my offer?”

“She told me she’d met you.”

“And not the rest?”

His father strolled closer. He wore a flowing red cloak and low-slung leather pants with a silver belt. His hair touched his shoulders and gleamed like spun flax in the moonlight. Power radiated from him, and Vadim automatically raised his shields. It had taken him years to learn how to keep his father out of his mind. It was a lesson once brutally mastered, never forgotten. Of course Ella ignored his efforts to keep her safe and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. At least she’d put her clothes back on...

“Soul Sucker, why didn’t you relay my message?”

“That you want him gone from Otherworld because you’re scared of him? I think he knows that already.”

His father’s assessing gaze swung around to Ella. Inwardly Vadim groaned. Sometimes his mate’s ability to piss people off was a real liability.

“You’ve forgotten what I offered you so soon?”

“I haven’t forgotten anything, because I didn’t agree to anything. You disappeared in a huff before I could make up my mind.”

“Ella—please, shut up.”

Something of the urgency in his voice must’ve got through to her, because she paused and looked up at him. “What’s wrong?”

“I think he’s trying to remind you that I am Fae royalty and that I’m not used to being treated with such disrespect.”

Ella raised her eyebrows. “What are you going to do? Set Morosov on me? He won’t harm me.”

Vadim looked at his father’s face and saw it then, a hint of fear quickly masked. He steeled himself as his father’s golden gaze swung back toward him.

“Death Bringer, all is not as it seems.”

“In what way, Father?”

“Your mate has not been telling you the truth.”

“I doubt that.” He reached out a hand and grasped Ella’s arm, holding her close. As long as they were linked, he no longer thought his father was strong enough to beat them. “Mates cannot lie to each other.”

“She intends to do you harm.”

“And you don’t?”

His father ignored the question, and pointed over at Ella’s backpack.

“Search her possessions.”

“Hey, that’s my stuff. There’s nothing in there that could hurt a fly.” Ella lunged for the backpack as the king sent it flying toward them.

“She lies, Death Bringer.”

“Ella, let it go, he’s just—”

She leaped for the backpack separating herself from him, and everything seemed to slow down. His father’s magic swept between them, cutting her off from him and immobilizing her in midair.

“Don’t you wonder why she wants her backpack so badly?”

“Let her go, or I will retaliate.”

“She has my mark on her. Shall I let her die of it?”

Power sizzled between them, scorching the grass. A void opened in the shield and several Fae guards stepped through.

“What do you want?”

His father drew himself up. “Justice?”

“For what?”

“For those you killed?”

“You were my master, I killed where you bade me!”

“Not at the end.”

“What are you saying?”

“I want justice, Death Bringer, for Ciaran and Nia.”

“No!” Vadim took a hasty step forward, but it was too late. The guards surrounded him.

“Don’t fight them, and I’ll keep her alive to watch you stand trial.”

His last sight was of his father standing tall in the clearing, his predatory smiling gaze fixed firmly on an immobile Ella.