“And yet, Hunter will see it that way.” Heathren spoke tenderly, though he was still consummately professional in the company of her lovers. “He has been rejected by a powerful mate he considers like a Queen to his King. You refused to stand by his side. So now he will come for you, as he once did for Nadia and Ruslan… and tear down everything you hold dear.”
Horror filled Layla as she suddenly realized what was coming; as all of her men drew a collective breath at Heathren’s dire words.
“He’s going to attack us, isn’t he?” She breathed. “Because I chose my men instead of him?”
“Count on it.” Heathren spoke with a terrible quietude. “From Intercessoria records – and now Nadia and Ruslan’s tales of Hunter – he does not allow those who have denied him to walk free. In a day, a month, a year, however long it takes him to formulate the perfect plan to attack your heart, he will – and it will be a devastating strike, you can be certain. I will make arrangements to take your human friends from Seattle into Intercessoria custody for a while so they may be safe, and inform Nadia and Ruslan to triple their wards around the Hidden City if they will not allow Intercessoria forces on their land. I will send five garrisons of Intercessoria agents to the Paris Hotel to protect it, and will send additional troops to Deep Harbor, the Crystal Plateau, Château de Chambord, and here to Riad Rhakvir in case of a hit. Nadia says Hunter still has a very strong cadre of Royal Dragon Binds at his beck and call, Bound to him and loyal, and I believe her. Not to mention any other hidden strings he’s been pulling over the years in places we know nothing about.”
“Thank you, for the protection.” Layla spoke, meaning it as her heart flooded out to Heathren.
“Hunter has become a Level One priority for the Intercessoria now.” Heathren nodded back, though his gaze was tender upon her. “And we will see his targets protected. If you hear of any movement from him, inform me at once via the new means I’ve given all your men, which I will give you also. If you hear even the smallest squeak from him, I want to know. Are we clear, Layla?”
As she stared into Heathren’s bright silver-white eyes, Layla knew he was telling her very bluntly to not ever go it alone again, as the risk was now far too great. “I understand.”
Heathren nodded. Glancing to each of her men in turn, including Rake André, he stared them all down with power flowing around him now, and Layla felt the dire nimbus of his seven-layer wings bristle in the ether, though they weren’t outstretched.
“Gentlemen. Battle is upon us. Gird your loins and resolve your differences, for we are stronger as one against Hunter, and will be better equipped if we can all work together in this. Though you may be furious at Layla right now for what she has done, I urge you to work out your differences and re-form your Binds now that her Dragon is once again open. Yes, she has broken your trust with the quest she undertook and the manner in which she did it, but it was not without cause. Take a breath. Lick your wounds but rise up strong. Because we need your strength. The whole world does now – before the Hunter comes for us.”
With that, Heathren gave Layla a very deep bow – holding it for a ten-count. As he rose, his silver-white eyes pinned hers, so much left unsaid between them as he watched her with a complex gaze. But the Intercessoria agent was nothing if not professional, and pouring out his heart to Layla was not something he would do before her other men. But he did give her a smile – a small, tender smile as he slowly unfurled his seven-layer wings from his back. Layla’s breath caught, her throat suddenly tight as she saw in his gesture and eyes everything he would never say. Setting a palm to his heart, he watched her one last time with his beautiful silver-white gaze. Before curling himself into a cocoon of his wings and flaring them hard with a blaze of light.
Departing through the ether.
Everyone was silent in the Fallen Ephilohim’s wake. Eyes met; eyes shied away. Drinks were sipped as the silence stretched. And even though Layla couldn’t read her men’s thoughts with her Binds still in need of re-opening, she could read their bodies. They were upset; this whole thing had left them reeling, and they didn’t know how to come together in the wake of everything that had happened. Beside her, Dusk and Adrian stewed just as much as the others, though Layla could feel they were trying to be supportive. But she also knew it was going to be a long road back to the trust they’d all shared only weeks ago, and it broke her heart as she gazed around.
Wanting them – aching for them.
At last, it was Rake André who rose, gazing around the assembly with a quiet calm. “I think we all could use some sleep to think on the things we heard here tonight and come back to them fresh in the morning. Layla, would you show me to some guest quarters I might occupy here at the Riad before I return to the Dreaming Canyon tomorrow?”
“Of course.” Layla rose, realizing Rake’s subtlety in corralling her away from her men’s tension tonight. With a squeeze, Dusk and Adrian let her up, both of them rising at her sides. As Rake held out a hand to escort her, Layla looked to Adrian.
“Go.” Adrian spoke gently, nodding to Rake. “He can even sleep in your bed tonight, if you need a friend. I need some space and time to think. Dusk?” Adrian looked to Dusk. “Would you accompany me for a nightcap?”
“Sure.” Dusk nodded, before turning to Layla. Lifting her hands, he stared into her with a deep gentleness. “Are you okay with Rake tonight? Because if you want extra company, I’m just a hop, skip, and a jump down the hall.”
“I’m okay with Rake tonight.” Layla nodded, though something inside her wanted to have Dusk stay with her tonight and all nights – him and Adrian and all her Bound men. But they had things they needed to process; Layla could feel it. Even Dusk with his immensely forgiving nature needed to process, and Layla knew it was best for him to decompress with Adrian tonight rather than try to be with her. She had a feeling she would be doing a lot of damage repair in the weeks to come.
If they had any weeks left – before Hunter struck.
With a sweet kiss to Dusk’s lips, then Adrian’s, Layla turned away. Stepping to Rake, she took his arm they moved off into a long corridor of vaulted Moroccan archways that led towards her suite in a different wing of the palace. Nighttime votives of colorful Moroccan glass flickered as Rake led Layla along the corridor. Fountains burbled in the walls, spilling into blue-tiled basins that flashed with luminous Dragon-fish in the night. The scent of night-blooming jasmine devoured the air, and it was almost enough to make Layla turn back and run to Adrian.
“He supports you, you know,” Rake spoke softly as they walked the quiet corridor. “Even though he’s still furious about everything that’s happened.”
“Adrian?” Layla asked, though she already knew Rake’s etheric magic was reading her love and pain through the ether.
“He loves you so deeply that he’s punishing himself for letting you go off alone – and for giving you the means to do so.” Rake continued quietly.
“The little white cube.” Layla suddenly understood why Adrian had been the coldest of all her men when she’d returned. “Adrian needed to know if I’d fucked Hunter. He needed to know if he’d given me the push I needed to run to Hunter and jump right in his arms.”
“Adrian thought he’d given you the means to leave him.” Rake spoke in agreement, glancing over to Layla. “Adrian’s deeply torn up, Layla, even more than any of your other men right now. He’s blaming himself for this entire thing… and roaring at himself to have nearly lost you.”
“But he didn’t lose me.” Layla protested, glancing to Rake.
“But he nearly did.” Rake spoke back, watching Layla with a deep knowing as they arrived at the door to Layla’s suite in the palace. Reaching out, Rake smoothed a lock of Layla’s black curls back from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear. His gaze was beautifully kind as he watched her, then spoke once more.
“It’s going to be a shitshow with your men, Layla, in the weeks to come; especially Adrian. You’ve broken their trust and though it was because you had need, their trust is still broken. You’ll have to make amends before they consent to re-Binding with you. You’ll have to endure their wrath until you can make nice again… even with those who seem as genial about it as Dusk.”
“I know.” Layla sighed as heaviness settled in her heart. “It almost feels impossible to win them back.”
“Good thing your magic now understands how to do the impossible.” Rake chuckled as he recalled what Layla had told everyone earlier about Hunter’s Bind.
