“I wish we could’ve burnt it,”Celeste happily sing-songed.“But the dude with the fire isn’t here.”
At the mention of Cyrus, Vanessa couldn’t help but think of his dreamy brown eyes, his impossibly soft lips, and the way he made her feel when he professed his love in the language of the Ancients.
“Tha gaol agam le m’ uile chridhe agus anam, Vanessa Anne Bryant.” Not only were the words echoing through her mind, but Cyrus’s deep rumbling brogue sent shivers down her spine.
“While I love to stand here and reminisce about our Fated Mate and all his wonderful qualities,”Celeste sighed. “Can we get outta here first?”
“Oh, shit, yeah,”Vanessa hurriedly agreed, trying and failing to hide her embarrassment.“I just…”
“You just wanna get out of here and find your man, duh.”
“Yeah,”Vanessa sarcastically chuckled. “Duh. And you need to stop watching so much TV. You sound like a teenager.”
“Well, thank you, ma’am. I will take that as a compliment.”
“You would take that as a compliment.”
Stepping off the tattered dress, Vanessa decided to exercise caution and used the plethora of antique furniture in the room to make her way to the windows. Looking out at a backyard, she saw a garden the size of the Veterans’ Memorial Park in Valentine. It was huge and filled with exotic flowers of all shapes, sizes, and colors.
“And I bet that’s where the Voodoo Wolf grows her herbs,”Celeste snarled.“Cyrus is gonna need to burn that shit to the ground.”
“Mhm,” Vanessa hummed.
Grabbing the lace doily of the tables on either side, she wrapped it around her hands and grabbed the silver-coated iron bars. Ignoring the burn, she pulled as hard as she could. Pouring all her strength and all the Power Celeste pushed towards her hands, Nessy’s shoulders ached, and her fingers felt permanently crimped, but nothing moved. Letting go, the skin on her fingers was blistered, then she stared angrily into the darkness.
Turning to the right, she marched to the door. Grabbing the decorative, brass knob with the authority and ferocity of a pissed off Polar Bera Shifter who was eight and a half months pregnant, had a headache, and needed a snack, she turned it one way, then the other, then pulled with all her might.
Jerking her hands away, she threw them in the air and growled, “We are gonna rip these bitches limb from limb.”
Doing an about-face while Celeste detailed all the ways they would rid the world of the Blackwoods, Vanessa caught sight of a thin, sliver of a window in the far corner of the room that did not have bars attached.
Racing across the cavernous room, zigging and zagging around an overabundance of furniture, she slid to a stop,slammed her hands on the wall on either side of the window, and plastered her face against the crystal-clear glass. Shoving all the Magic and Power she had into her preternatural vision, Nessy slowly and methodically searched the landscape.
Section by section, she started at the right and moved to the left. Up and down the rows she’d mentally drawn over the garden, she worked hard not to let her mind wander as she looked for something,anythingthat could be used as a way of escape.
Moving on autopilot, sure, she would have to fight her way out of the Blackwood Mansion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of light. Instantly on high alert, she focused with every speck of Magic she had on the exact spot where she’d seen the light and held her breath.
Seconds became minutes as she prayed to see it again. Her hopes soared. She was just sure the tiny Bobcat who’d seen her in the cave had gotten to Defiance. “She told them I was there. Gave the Bobcat Queen, Tamsyn, my name. Cyrus knows we’re here.” Instinctively rubbing her belly, she whispered, “Your daddy may not exist, but he’ll come for us.” Nodding to reassure herself as much as her unborn child and the Polar Bear Princess with whom she shared her soul, Nessy repeated, “I know he’ll be here.”
Looking over the entire garden one more time and seeing nothing, Vanessa cursed under her breath, “Dammit! I know I’m not losing my mind…”
“No,”Celeste agreed.“I saw it too, but I’ll be damned if I can find it now.”
Turning away from the window, tired of waiting for anyone else to save her, Vanessa stalked across the room. With her fists clenched tightly at her side and her teeth gritted, she ground out, “I’ll knock that blasted door off the hinges. The three of us havemade it this far all on our own, and we’ll make it to Defiance the same damned way.”
Once again, she grabbed the knob and pulled so hard that her arms shook and her hands cramped. The thought of beating it down resurfaced. She even had both fists in the air and had inhaled a huge breath to scream as loud as possible when she heard footsteps heading in her direction. Listening more closely, she could tell there were two people. One with a very heavy step, the other, lighter, wearing those blasted stilettos.
“Oh, lookie there, Celeste,”She whispered conspiratorially.“Our hosts are coming to check on us.”
“Good! I haven’t delivered a good ass kickin’ in a really long time.”
Spinning on the balls of her feet, Nessy ran across the room, hopped into bed, pulled up the covers, and pretended to still be unconscious. The louder the footsteps, the louder her heart pounded. Her breath caught in her throat as the key scraped the lock and the door swung open. Working hard to calm her nerves, she felt Celeste preparing to jump into action.
“She’s still sleeping.” It was Big Lady I, aka Angelica, her voice so full of regret that the bitter and stale scent of spoiled milk filled the room.
Of course, Angeline was pleased as punch– so happy that she exuded the spicy, hot aroma of freshly cut jalapenos and overly sweet oranges. The two scents battled for supremacy and tickled Vanessa’s nose with such gusto that she was forced to hold her breath.
Then Angelica asked, “Are you sure we have to dress? She’s resting, and she’s…”
