A firm grip on my chin was all it took to calm some of that inner turmoil.
“Look at me.” Stone's commanding voice, his scent surrounding me and his touch were my calm in the storm. My anxiety settled enough that I could think more clearly. I met his gaze, my chin wobbling. His smile was meant to reassure me, and it did, but it was his warm lips lightly touching mine that took away the tension in my muscles and my mind. He rested his forehead on mine, his warmth and gaze enough to centre me. I breathed in his exhaled air, absorbing his nearness before exhaling against his lips.
“I’m fine, Butterfly. She missed.Youare going to be fine, too. Those feelings just then? They will pass, I promise. And once we are safe, we’ll talk about it. Okay? And these are nothing to be ashamed of.” He brushed my tears away before pressing his lips to mine in a soft, tender kiss. “They are mine, remember?”
I gave him a watery smile and nodded, letting him wipe the remaining moisture off my cheeks. Once they were dry, he pulled back. “Good girl,” he whispered, soft enough only I heard.
A hand on my arm dragged my attention from my mate. Ember’s voice was quiet as if she didn’t want to spook me. “Shan? It’s so good to see you. Are you…okay?”
She was asking about more than this battle. And, no, I wasn’t entirely okay. This fight had shown me I needed professional help to conquer my demons, but with Stone’s support, I’d do it. I just wanted to escape this place and be alone with my mate. Being without him, having the threat of losing him hover over me? That was almost my undoing. I wrapped my arms around my belly, trying to ease the tight ball of anxiety coiling there. The need to tell him how I felt, that I never wanted to lose him and I loved him, made my skin itch. But there was no way to do that until we were safe and away from here.
I glanced at the door that Airling had disappeared through. We also needed to understand what the hell was going on here and how Made Vampires had gotten into Faery.
I forced a smile and made myself meet my friend’s gaze. “It’s good to see you too, Em. Honestly. But we need to find his sister and that creepy Fae she was working with. They have the Unseelie female.” The glint of metal caught my eye, and it took more effort than it should to shake off the fear that gripped my heart as I eyed the fallen sword. I got to my feet.
Ember’s brow dipped, but she didn’t call me out for evading her question.
Going back into the dark passages and dungeons under this House was the last thing I wanted to do, but finding Airling and the Unseelie High Lady was too important. “I think I have an idea where they might have gone.”
I watched Stone climb to his feet. He didn’t look injured other than the burns on his neck and wrists from the noxious metals.
“You’re not going after her without me. There’s something else going on here that none of us understands. I’ve no idea who that Fae is, but my father had some kind of deal with them, as did Airling.” He inclined his head at the Unseelies. “So did they, by the looks of it, considering it, or he, at least I think that bastard is male, was walking at their backs. He had to be playing both sides in the border wars.”
“Yeah, and he looked far too satisfied when Ventry joined the fight,” Ember mused. We looked towards the Prince Regent. His gun was still in its hip holster, and his sword was nowhere to be seen, yet dead Mades lay scattered at his feet.
“Behead them all,” he instructed the Fae warrior to his left. The blue-haired male, who was as broad and slightly shorter than Ventry, nodded and obeyed his gruesome orders without hesitation. At the back of the room, the remaining vampires were dispatched by Connor, Owen, D, Kawan, and Lionel. Not all of Connor’s brothers, but most of them.
I wanted to run and greet them, yet a part of me was still nervous, even ashamed to see them again. I’d fucked up big time by letting my past dictate my behaviour, and I clearly still hadn’t gotten a handle on it. My need for a drink had calmed since Stone had touched me, but it hadn’t disappeared. I looked down, and even though I wanted to lift my chin and snarl, I shuffled behind Stone’s big body as they shifted into human form and approached.
Stone slowly twisted until he faced me. “Hey?” The familiar weight of his hands landed on my shoulders before sliding up to cup my face and tilt it up. “You havenothingto be ashamed of. They understand.”
My cheeks flushed, mortified he’d told them about my issues…
“I didn't tell them, Butterfly. They’re your family; they saw what was happening and guessed why. Or at least some of it.”
A warm hand took mine, and sympathy shone in Ember’s eyes. “We love you and this big lummox, Shan. You were spiralling, and you both needed a bit of a push to sort out your feelings for each other. We didn’t want to lose you completely, and Connor never wanted to be in the position of having to…discipline you.”
My heart swelled at the love and understanding in her voice.
Connor came and stood next to his queen, pulling her to his side. “She’s right. Ordering Stone to take you away was the only way to save you from yourself. I hoped you would acknowledge your bond because I wanted you both to be happy.”
Trying not to get weepy, I met my king’s gaze, though I knew he could tell we hadn’t mated. A flash of remorse went through me. The need to make Stone mine was fizzling under my skin. I desperately wanted to, but a small part of my brain was terrified of giving anyone, even Stone, that kind of power over me. It was ridiculous to want something so much yet be so frightened by it.
Connor tilted his head, but his words weren’t about our mating bond—or lack of it. He smiled. “Your wolf is back.”
He sounded pleased, and the kindness in his eyes was something I didn’t often see when he looked at me. Or perhaps I’d just never looked at him long enough to see it. I grimaced, wondering what else I’d missed on the faces of my friends and family while too stuck in my cycle of self-destruction to notice. Inodded and slipped my hand into Stone’s, hoping I hadn’t hurt him because of my insecurity over the mating bond.
Yet, when I peered up at him, worried about what I might see on his face, there was nothing but proudness as he smiled at me, then Connor.
“She is.” His warm fingers curled tightly around mine, keeping me grounded and staving off my worry—for now.
Connor grinned. “Good. That’s a step in the right direction. We’ll have you back at work kicking vampire arse in no time, Shan. Well, as soon as you’re ready.”
His words should have made me happy. They didn’t. The thought of returning to what and who I’d been before left a sour taste in my mouth. Stone had shown me a different side to my nature, which I wanted to explore more. I was happy with who I was when I was with him, and for the first time in years, I wanted something different; a life that wasn’t full of violence and the need to prove myself. I didn’t know what that would look like, but I didn’t think it was being a Shadow Sentinel.
I pulled my hand from Stone’s and turned away, not ready for Connor to sense my indecision. “When I escaped the dungeon, I got lost. I think I even went deeper into the catacombs by mistake. My wolf found the old ventilation ducts and guided me through them and back towards the house. While I was down there, I saw something odd. At first, I thought it was a communication hub before I remembered how far from the house I was. No one would have put one that far under their foundations.”
“A communications hub?” Stone’s brow furrowed. “There’s never been one down there that I’m aware of.”
