Valentine kissed her bloody forehead. "Good thinking, love."
They wove their way through the warriors and out through the portal to Ireland. Yelena dropped their glamor, and they both breathed in the cold, fresh air. It was a relief after the sweaty and bloody fug of the hall.
"It's nice to be home," Valentine said and was about to kiss her when Kenna Ironwood shone a light on them.
"Hey, Greatdrakes! What the fuck is happening?" she demanded.
Valentine shielded his eyes until the light dropped away. "It's over. We won, and the others are cleaning up the mess. Nothing is coming back through this portal tonight that's hostile."
"Good news," Kenna said, looking at their bloody and battered state. "How about a ride home for the heroes of the day?"
Yelena laughed softly and wrapped an arm around Valentine. "That would be wonderful."
40
It was over an hour's drive back to Dublin from where Midir had his ancient barrow in County Longford. Valentine helped Yelena take off parts of her bloody armor before they had gotten into the car, and they both had fallen asleep on the way home, wrapped in each other's arms.
To Valentine, it had only felt like he had been in Midir's kingdom for a few hours at most, but two days had passed for Yelena.
Valentine didn't think he would have handled the situation as well if their positions had been reversed. Two days with her gone in enemy hands? He wouldn't have tolerated that at all.
As it was, now that the immediate danger had passed, the dragon that lurked in his head was burning with need to get Yelena fed, warm, and safe.
Valentine made a mental note to ask Bas about how to be more nurturing because he had no idea what to do.
"This is your stop, Mr. Greatdrakes," their hunter chauffeur said, pulling up to the pavement at St. Audoens.
"Thanks for the ride," Valentine said before jumping out and offering Yelena a hand.
"You live in a church?" she asked, holding parts of her armor and looking about. He grabbed the rest, smearing gods only knew all over his already filthy clothes.
"No. It's just hidden, and the hunters have no idea how to find it. The church is their only point of reference," Valentine replied and took her hand. "This way."
Valentine led her down the street and couldn't help but hold back to see if she could see through the house's glamor or not. He shouldn't have worried. As soon as they drew close enough, the tall gates appeared in the ancient stone wall, and the wards lit up.
"I can see your handiwork and many others," Yelena said, staring at them with a magician's eyes.
"Do you want me to disable them? Or would you like a go?" he asked.
Yelena raised a brow. "Watch and learn, sorcerer."
Valentine expected her to do something amazingly complicated to unweave the protections, but she surprised him by biting the pad of her thumb and flicking her blood at the gate.
"Surely it..." he began.
The house wards flashed a haze of blue and white before opening for her.
"How?" he demanded, thrilled and confused at the same time.
Yelena smirked. "I am your mate, and the house knows it. It's designed to recognize family, is it not?"
Valentine couldn't resist kissing that smirk. "You are too clever for your own good sometimes."
"Try not to feel so intimidated by my brilliance," she said and pushed the gate open.
The lights in the garden lit up the path for them, and Yelena looked around with wide eyes. It was easy for Valentine to forgetthat the house was beautiful because every inch of it was so familiar to him.
Watching Yelena's reaction to it filled him with pride, and a warm feeling seeped through his chest. Yelena dropped her armor and hurried to look around, the sensors picking up wherever she was, lighting the gardens up for her.
