"I need to head back.Stay inside.Don't answer the door for anyone."
"Let me come with you.I forgot ribbon."
"What kind of ribon?If you stay, you could make lunch.I'm famished after hauling all this."He silenced her protest with a kiss.
"Yellow ribbon would be perfect, or green if they don't have it," Ancelin said, counting on her fingers."I need enough for four large bows and several smaller ones.Actually, just get both colors if possible."
"Consider it done, sweet girl."Krevan jingled his keys."Remember, I'm locking up behind me.Stay inside, no visitors."
Ancelin stood on tiptoe to kiss him."I'll be right here when you return.Drive safely."She smiled."You'll probably beat me making lunch, as quick as you are."She gestured toward the entertainment system."Would you mind turning on some music before you go?"
Krevan tuned the Satview to an Earth instrumental channel, then carried her wrapping paper and tea-root soda to the kitchen counter.
"How are you feeling now?"he asked, eyebrow raised.
"Back to baseline."She winked, leaning against him."Though I wouldn't mind another dose of you later.And thank you for all this."
Krevan kissed her goodbye with a playful swat."Don't tempt me when I'm walking out the door."
"Hurry back," she called after him."I'll be waiting to continue where we left off."
Chapter 10
The time stretched longer than Ancelin had expected as Krevan remained absent.She pulled a golden-crusted pie from the oven, stirred the bubbling stew one last time, and slid a loaf of bread onto the middle rack.Cinnamon and herbs perfumed the air while instrumental melodies drifted through each room, wrapping her in contentment.Her finger hovered over Lena's name on her contact list before she withdrew it—no need for her friend's anxieties to puncture this perfect afternoon.
Instead, she spread the plain wrapping paper across the table, sketching tiny rattles and teddy bears with careful strokes until each of Kellie's gifts wore a personalized covering.The clock's hands kept turning.Outside, the sky darkened to charcoal as rain began to drum against the windows, first in scattered drops, then in sheets.Thunder rolled across the distance, and still no sign of Krevan.She frowned at her lack of options—no way to reach him, no idea where exactly he was.Tomorrow, she'd insist on learning how to contact his vehicle.
Thunder rumbled as Ancelin eased herself into the bath, hoping to finish before the storm worsened.The warm water soothed her nerves while she waited for Krevan's return.After toweling off, she slipped into soft loungewear and gathered her discarded clothes.Halfway down the stairs, laundry bundle in arms, she froze.Male voices drifted through the house.The Satview station?No—these came from outside the front door.Her pulse quickened.The kitchen lights blazed, and those uncovered windows would expose her like an actor on stage.Abandoning her laundry in the upstairs hallway, she tiptoed back down, pressing her ear against the door.Four, maybe five different men spoke in low tones.One voice sent ice through her veins—unmistakably the same official who'd claimed to be from Hellgate Prison.She held her breath, straining to catch every word.
“We have some time.The fucking Triaxen was still inside the general store when I sliced his tires.I didn’t see the stupid bitch with him.We’ll deal with her.Perhaps she’ll be helpful and show us where she’s hidden it,” the unknown male voice told the other men.“We’re not leaving here without it.”
Ancelin knew Krevan had solidly locked the house up before he left.He was particular about doing so.The front door strained as one of the men tried the door handle.
“Let’s go around and come in through the greenhouse—that looked easiest,” the voice hissed.
Ancelin slipped into the kitchen, her pulse hammering in her ears, and hugged the shadows beneath the windows.Every footstep toward the garage felt like an explosion in her skull.Then she remembered the hidden basement room.Desperation flared: she dashed to the stairs and plunged into the darkness below.Instantly, the overhead bulbs snapped on, casting stark light across the tiled floor.She yanked the door closed behind her; the lock clicked into place with mechanical finality.
Kneeling in the thin glow, Ancelin pressed her back against the cool wall.She whispered frantic prayers that the intruders couldn’t breach the barrier, that Krevan would arrive in time—and alive.He was superhumanly strong, but these pursuers were merciless, driven by blind fury.They’d tracked her all the way from Earth, convinced she’d stolen something precious.Now they scoured the house for it… and for her.
She forced the lights as low as they’d go, worried over every pinprick of illumination that had escaped under the door.Her skin prickled, clammy with sweat.Terror knotted in her gut, and her breath came in rattling gulps.
“They’re going to kill me…” she muttered, voice trembling.
Silence swallowed everything for a moment.Then muted music floated down from the living room, a taunting lullaby.Glass shattered in a crash so fiercely it rattled the ceiling overhead and rolled through her like an earthquake.Underneath it came the relentless thud-thud-thud of men battering the greenhouse door.
“Krevan, please, help me…” Her voice cracked, echoing around the empty room.Panic coiled through her chest, threatening to crush her lungs.Each pounding strike made her stomach churn with nausea.
Abruptly, the assault stopped.Ancelin’s heart lurched as bloodcurdling screams erupted above—male voices ripping through the night in raw, agonized howls.The sound shredded her sanity.Gunshots cracked, ricocheting in a chaotic symphony of violence.Each scream rose higher, more tortured, until it catapulted into an unbearable crescendo—and then, just like that, every echo died.
A suffocating silence swallowed the house.The music on the SatView feed suddenly cut out.Above her, the basement door swung inward on unresisted hinges, as if the lock had never existed.
Ancelin pressed herself into the corner, every nerve ablaze.Her blood ran cold.She clamped her mouth shut, held her breath—and waited for the darkness to claim her.
"Ancelin."The voice sliced through her terror—familiar yet alien.The blanket ripped away, exposing her.Krevan loomed on his knees before her, his massive frame blocking all escape.Paralyzed, Ancelin's lungs seized mid-breath."Ancelin, are you alright?"he demanded.
Her eyes locked onto a face transformed by violence—his silver eyes blazed like molten metal in the darkness, reflecting light that wasn't there.His teeth gleamed sharp as daggers, bared in a predatory grimace.Blood—not his own—spattered his jaw and throat.The beautiful features she'd caressed were now carved into something primal, something ancient and merciless.Whatever battle had raged upstairs had unleashed something inhuman in him, something that had torn through her pursuers like tissue paper.The screams still echoed in her mind.This creature before her had caused them.He was her salvation.
Ancelin hurled herself against his chest with a sob that tore from her throat."Krevan!"she gasped between violent tremors."I thought—they were going to—" Her fingers dug into his shoulders, feeling the heat radiating from his skin."The glass—I heard them breaking in—they said they cut your tires—how did you—?"The questions tumbled out between ragged breaths as she pressed herself against him, desperate to absorb his strength, his solidity, his terrible, beautiful safety.
