CHAPTER TWELVE
~ Gwynnore ~
Jaapri, Ultima Esperanza, Chile
Pacific Coast
KING BELSHAZZAR, DORIAN, Aiko, and I stepped through the portal made by the Original vampire amulet, landing directly in my bedroom once more. None of us spoke, our minds elsewhere. Weary from the two grueling battles, we trudged from my room, down the winding hallways, and into the command center.
I rubbed at my eyes and then held a hand over my mouth as I leaned back against a wall, staring blindly at the many screens showing satellite pictures of different bases.
Lord Cato stopped in front of me and tilted his head. He questioned softly, “Are you all right, darling?”
“No.” My tone was void, as blank as the last child’s eyes were that I had carried to safety. They wereallchildren. Babies… “No, I am not.”
“It is all right if you want to rest—” He stopped short when a tear trickled down my cheek.
I pushed off the wall and leaned right into him, resting my head against his chest and draping my arms around his neck in the tightest hug I may have ever given in my life. I whispered, “I forgive you for not telling me about Bel.” I sniffled softly. After my time in captivity, I knew what else Ineededto say. Not later.Now. “And I forgive you for everything else, Father. I don’t hate you. I don’t hate you at all.”
My father jerked out of his shock and swiftly folded me into his protective arms. “I love you, too.” He lowered his head and pressed the side of his face against mine, simply holding me.
I was in no hurry to move away.
Lord Cato didn’t seem to be in a rush, either.
Eventually, he whispered too softly for anyone else to hear, “There is more you need to know.”
“Not right now.” I shook my head slightly, keeping my eyes closed. “Area 51 was…too much. So, not right now.”
A throat cleared pointedly beside us.
My father and I glanced in that direction.
Lord Xenon and my soul mate had their backs to us, shielding us from anyone else’s view, while they spoke about…humans attacking the perimeter of this stronghold.
I sighed and pulled away from my father and began stretching my arms across my chest. “You have our attention now. What are you saying?”
Lord Xenon and Bel turned to face us while Dorian and Aiko propped a wall up with their eyes closed. Lord Xenon explained coldly, “The shield that King Niallan erected is starting to fail. It’s grown weaker every day since his death. Humans are now attacking at will.”
I rubbed at my face, trying to shove the faces of the children from my mind. “What can we do?”
“The same as before.” My soul mate pulled the Original druid amulet out of his other pocket. He turned his head to the side, staring at the resting duo. “Brother, I need you to work your magic on the shield.”
Dorian didn’t bother opening his eyes. “A please would be nice.” He was incredibly grumpy right now—and I didn’t blame him.
“Please. And don’t be an ass.” Bel tossed the Original druid amulet up into the air. “Catch.”
His brother still didn’t open his eyes, but the Original druid amulet disappeared out of thin air. “Too easy.”
King Belshazzar chuckled softly. “Like father like son.”
Dorian snorted and peeked open one eye to glare at his brother. “Hardly. If that’s where he hid it, no wonder you were able to retrieve it.”
“It was.”
“What an idiot. He never listened to what I taught him.”
Lord Cato lifted one black eyebrow. “So King Niallan was truly your son?”
