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I’d met Trillian almost fourteen years ago, shortly before Menolly was turned into a vampire. We’d been pulled together as if we were magnets and bound ourselves in a sexual, magical ritual.
And then, six years later, fear had won out. Svartans—the dark and charming Fae, although they were actually cousins to the elves—weren’t known for their loyalty. They were heartbreakers, users, and manipulators. At least, that had been the stereotype, and my fear that Trillian would cast me aside grew as the years wore on. Insecure, afraid he’d leave me, I had backed off, even though he insisted that we were mated for life. I had refused to answer his summons, refused to answer his letters, and in the end, I cast a spell to ward him away from my father’s house. Trillian disappeared, and I thought he was gone for good.
But I couldn’t forget him. The Eleshinar Ritual saw to that. We were forever bound, and it ripped my heart apart to walk away. Other men just didn’t interest me, even though my libido was high. What encounters I had were one-nighters, and I had no desire to form a relationship with anybody.
And then, like a thunderbolt, a year and a half ago Trillian had shown up here, Earthside, with a message from my father. One look at him, and I knew that I’d never walk away again. Just like that, he was back in my life. He was my alpha husband, my lover, and we would be together forever.
Now he pulled me to my feet. “Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”
“I should tell everyone what went down out there—”
“Delilah can do that. There’s nothing more that can be done tonight. Chase isn’t in danger. The officers who died can’t be brought back to life. Let it go. Come upstairs, and we’ll take care of you, and help you relax, and then, you can sleep.” His lip twitched, and I felt a delicious shiver run through me.
“I’m so tired…I don’t know how much fun I’ll be.” I loved my men, I loved sex, but tonight I had very little left to give.
“Shush, and let us worry about the giving.” And with that, Trillian swept me up in his arms and carried me up the stairs to the second floor, which housed our rooms.
Home was a three-story Victorian, with a full basement. Delilah and Shade had the third floor. Smoky, Trillian, Morio, and I shared the second floor. Hanna’s room was on the main level, along with the main living area.
And Menolly and Nerissa had the basement, where Menolly could be protected during the day when she slept. For a long time, the entrance had remained secret, but with so many people living at our place, we finally just let it go and installed a steel door leading down to her suite. It was still behind the bookshelves, and only the three of us, along with Iris and Nerissa, had keys to get through the imposing barrier, but everybody in the house knew where it was.
Iris, who had made her home in Hanna’s room until a few months ago, now lived with Bruce in a cute little trailer out back, while the guys were building their house. It was about half-finished, and they expected to be able to move in by Litha, the summer solstice. And Vanzir, Shamas, and Rozurial slept in a shed-cum-studio apartment down the drive a ways.>“What did you expect?”
“Someone called in, said they thought they saw grave robbers. Thought teenagers were pulling some prank, or maybe it was a fraternity stunt. With things as quiet as they’ve been the past few weeks, I guess we got careless.” He rubbed his forehead. “I hate this. Tom was single. His family’s back in Maine. But Markus, he has three kids and a wife back in Elqaneve. And now, I have to tell them he’s dead.”
“That’s always the hardest part.” I hung my head. “Chase, it’s going to get worse before it gets better. We just have to do what we can to keep our losses to a minimum. Did you know there were also goblins out here when you went in?”
He frowned. “No. I had no idea there were any until that scene back there in the graveyard.” After a pause, he added, “Dare I ask if you know who’s behind this? Or should I just assume we’re facing Gulakah’s cronies?”
I shrugged. “We aren’t positive, but ten to one, yeah, Gulakah and Telazhar are working together. The goblins came from OW, there’s little doubt of that. With Telazhar over there, ratcheting it up, I think we should assume he’s in close communication with Gulakah.”
“Like we are, with Darynal’s team.” Delilah draped her arm around Chase and hugged him. They’d been an item for a while, until they realized they were better off as friends than lovers. Now they seldom argued.
Darynal was Trillian’s blood-oath brother, a mercenary. Together with Taath, a sorcerer, and Quall, an assassin, he and his team were scouting out info for Queen Asteria, spying on Telazhar’s growing threat in Otherworld.
“Yeah, only Darynal only has two other members on his team. Telazhar has a freaking army under—” I stopped as my phone rang. As I pulled it out of the pouch and punched the Talk button, a couple of cruisers and a van pulled into the cemetery. Yugi’s recovery team was here.
I answered my phone. “Hello?”
“Camille? It’s me, Iris. I’m just checking up on you.” She sounded a little frantic. Pregnancy hormones were running rampant in her system, and we’d quickly learned that a Finnish house sprite carrying twins was a force of nature. Only a fool would try to cross her.
She was showing now, and so were her moods. We were beginning to see why the Finns revered motherhood so much—the Finnish mothers were the bears of the maternal world, including their extended family. They’d take on an army if that was what it took to protect their loved ones. Iris was having a boy and a girl, and they’d have the fiercest, most loyal mother in the world.
“We’re okay. We’re about to head home for the evening. Chase has a sprained ankle, but we’re fine.” We could tell her about everything when we arrived home. No sense worrying her now. “Did you need us to pick anything up on our way back?”
She paused, then laughed. “Yes, please. I’m really craving ice cream right now.”
“With pickles?” I was joking, but she made a tsking sound.
“Don’t stereotype me, missy. I’ve never been a fan of pickles before, and I’m not a fan of them now. But…some bacon would be good. I think we’re out. So, bacon and chocolate cherry ice cream, and smoked salmon. We have crackers and plenty of cheese.” And with that, she hung up.
I grinned at the phone. “Iris,” I said, in answer to Delilah’s questioning look.
She laughed. “Ice cream?”
“Oh yeah.” I snorted. “And a harangue over stereotyping her cravings. She’s a firecracker, all right.”
“That’s putting it mildly. And I’ll bet she asked for chocolate cherry,” Morio broke in.
