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"I had a bath a little while ago," she said, as if reading his mind. "But it's probably going to take another to get it all out. I'm all right, Pyel. Dante was amazing. One minute there was a vampire, and the next, just a big pile of ash."
Jonah met Dante's gaze. "Fortunate that he was there, then. David confirmed Jacob spoke to the territory overlord. There should be no more attacks."
"Good." Conscious of the antipathetic feelings coming from them both, Lex suppressed a sigh. She understood why they felt as they did, but it was difficult to accept. It's only been a day, she reminded herself. So rarely in her life had there been discord with or between those she cared about. She knew all about dysfunctional families, though. Just like with those, she found her heart aching. Knowing there was nothing she could do for it without the passage of time only made it harder to accept.
"Pyel, is there any other threat out there right now?"
That brought their focus back to her, though that was the only benefit she could see for the new worry she'd be bringing to her father.
"None that I know of. The Goddess has no enemies actively moving against Her here at this point. Why?"
"I don't know. This is crazy, but earlier . . . I felt the vampire, right before he came upon us. But even before that, when we left the community center, I felt something different. I guess it could have been another vampire, but after feeling his energy, it wasn't the same. I really couldn't classify it. It was somewhat familiar, but in a twisted way, you know. Or not twisted." She frowned, thinking, "Different, and the same. Goddess, I'm not making any sense."
Dante inclined his head at Jonah's glance. "She is not. I am not seeing it any clearer in her mind."
"Thanks," she said dryly, and elbowed him in the stomach. His brows lifted.
"What is that for?"
"Patronizing a woman is never a good idea," David noted from the door. "If she has cosmic power, it can be even worse. Trust me."
Alexis smiled at them both, but felt David's distress. "Are you all right?"
"Fine," David said, giving her a nod that was courteous but warded off further questions. "Mina is having a more prickly day than usual. She suggested I make myself scarce for a few hours or she'd disintegrate the universe to be rid of me."
"Oh." Alexis hoped her godmother wasn't serious. "Well, since you're all here, and we're all up, I can make us some tea and an early breakfast."
"No, you need more rest." Jonah put a firm hand on her shoulder before she would have emerged from the bed. Dante's arm tightened on her waist, reinforcing the same message.
"But I want--"
"No, Seabird," Jonah said, in a tone that brooked no disobedience. "Can you tell me anything else about what you sensed?"
"No," she said, giving up and settling back. "But later today, I'm sure I'll figure out what it was. It may have just been something unrelated to us."
At least, that was what she hoped. With Dante pressed against her back, and her father in front, she'd never felt so safe.
She played with her father's fingers as Dante eased her back down on her side, drowsily pleased when he started stroking her hair. "Tomorrow I'm taking Dante to the Conservancy. We'll be there most of the day, okay? Give Myel a hug and tell her everything's going well."
"All right. Sleep deep, Seabird." Jonah ran his knuckles along her cheek, Dante pausing so their hands did not touch. As her eyes drooped, and she succumbed again, a light smile on her face, Jonah's dark eyes slid up to meet Dante's. The two males held that position for a weighted moment until Jonah rose and moved without another word toward the door.
"Angel?"
He paused, glanced over his shoulder. Dante stared at him through the darkness. "I have no interest in causing her harm."
"That's not the same as being willing to do anything to keep her safe," Jonah responded. His tone was dangerously quiet. "If we have to send you back, you'll fight to the death to prevent it. Which means you will sacrifice my daughter's life."
"I did not intend to bind her to me with the marks."
"Your intentions mean nothing to me, vampire. Every action has a consequence. Her mother risked her life to bear her." The power of Jonah's anger ratcheted up, so that the heat in the room increased exponentially. "There is nothing I would not do to keep her safe and happy, even if I had to spend an eternity in Hell to make it happen."
"You can only say that because you haven't spent an eternity in Hell," Dante spat back.
"Jonah, don't. Leave it be, for now." David brushed his arm as he felt his commander's fury rise. Jonah's sword was far too accessible in its back harness. The young angel wondered if Lex was still awake, and, like him, waiting tensely to see where this would go.
"Step carefully, vampire. And remember what I told you. You don't deserve her. She sure as Hades doesn't deserve you." Turning abruptly, Jonah strode out the bedroom door.
David waited until he heard Jonah leave the town house. Dante was watching him in the darkness, but David delayed several heartbeats before he spoke to the vampire himself, keeping his voice low.
"He cut his heart out of his chest, gave it to a Dark One army, and risked eternal slavery to them to keep his mate safe. Perhaps it isn't the same, but he's got a ballpark idea. Plus, he's right."
When the shadows of bad memories moved within him, David knew Dante saw it in his face, from the sharpening of the vampire's gaze. "When you love someone completely, you'll do anything to protect them, even if you sacrifice your soul. Because if you don't, you destroy your soul anyway."
Twenty-four
ALEXIS noticed Dante was quieter than usual when she rose. He indicated he had no need for blood, but he made her eat her normal breakfast. As he sampled her scrambled organic eggs and arranged her Cheerios in various patterns on the table, she watched him, hoping for a clue, but he fended off her tactful attempts to analyze his mood.
He told her David had returned with several sets of secondhand clothing in Dante's size while she slept. But when she caught him staring at the clothes laid on the sofa as if he was somewhere deep in his mind, not looking at the clothes at all, she chose the direct approach, closing her hand on his on the table. "What's the matter?"
"What does the word deserve mean? Can one word have two meanings?"
Lex considered that. "I guess it can. Deserve is a tricky one. It means what someone has earned. What they've worked for . . . Like being born in a Dark One world. You did nothing to deserve that, because you were an innocent baby. But because of the twenty years you spent planning your escape, you'd done enough to earn, or deserve, a chance to be here."
"Hmm."
He turned his attention back to her, as if seeing her for the first time that morning. She'd pulled her hair back from her face with a barrette, and wore the Conservancy T-shirt over her swimsuit. It had a manatee on the front and volunteer embroidered on the pocket. She'd put dark jeans with it and white canvas sneakers with cartoon-style manatee sneaker locks on the laces. He stopped there, studying them. What went through his mind dispelled the shadows emanating from him, easing her concern.
"Before you make some remark about how cute I look and I have to deck you, we should go. We're supposed to look approachable," she added, "especially for the kids."
