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He was unutterably handsome with strong cheekbones defined in part by his super-lean body. She marveled at the sculpted shape of his muscles because he had so little fat on his bones.
When he would rise for the night, well before full dark, he pumped iron for an hour, exerting himself by adding weights quickly, working his arms and shoulders, his buttocks, thighs and calves. Then, just as night fell, but before calling on his Vampire Guard or his Shifter Brigade, he ran ten miles up and down the rugged ridges of the gorge riddled Shauck Mountains. He only levitated when a rock slide threatened to throw him off a cliff, something that happened at least once a run.
She’d taken to running near him, though at a distance, and savored these times of shared quiet and intense exercise.
She rose from the bed and moved to the windows. In her fae form she wouldn’t be able to tolerate the sunlight very well, though not so badly as a vampire. A vampire’s skin would blister with any level of light, even when the sun was hidden behind a thick layer of clouds. Caught out in the open, her fae constitution would endure a more gradual, though extremely painful, disintegration.
Pacing the room, she made a quiet circuit around the foot of the bed, up one side then back to track up the other. She felt as she always did around Seth, that Rosamunde had been right; she needed to continue to serve as his bodyguard. He was in danger, more than he knew.
In her fae form, she would need to sleep soon, but not as a wraith. For reasons she couldn’t explain, her wraith-form was immune to sunlight, which meant she could go outside and have a look around, see what was happening.
With one last look at Seth, she transformed, taking on the long thin legs and arms of her wraith’s slightly opaque and much lighter body. Her lips were dark in this form, her teeth a pale yellow. She pulled her multi-layered enthrallment shield tight around herself and added another one around Seth that she could manipulate at a distance.
With her safeguards in place, she slowly levitated to the upper level of the treehouse. As she flew, she took care not to bump into any of the angled ceiling beams, then left by the front door.
Wraiths were a different species altogether and though she wore only the familiar strips of gauzy fabric, so typical of her kind, she adjusted her body temperature constantly. She flew above the tree line, knowing she was invisible to every creature around her.
The weak December sun bothered her eyes, another realm result of a world lived mostly at night. But she ignored the discomfort and tracked above the treehouse, going well beyond Redheart Peak to see if the enemy was anywhere near.
But all she found was an expanse of snow-covered ridges that comprised the central part of the Shauck Mountains. The terrain was a land of rugged peaks and ridges cloaked in a quiet blanket of snow, of icy streams and rivers, and of waterfalls in just about every gorge.
She spent the next several hours moving slowly back and forth, going several miles from east to west, north to south, watching and waiting, always returning to check on Seth every fifteen minutes or so, then heading the opposite direction for another pass.
From the time she’d made love with Seth, her faeness had kicked into high gear and now told her that Margetta had targeted Seth. Though she had no idea why, she fully intended to keep her man, her chosen shifter-mate, safe.
As the sunlight finally began to wane, a strong vibration out of the northwest started to build. And just as she turned to head back in Seth’s direction, from a position near Bephotine Gorge, a golden glow of light suddenly appeared in the far west.
Margetta.
And she was moving fast.
Her heart hammered in her chest as she pulled herself to a stop, levitating in place. Though she rarely accessed her vampire DNA, she did so now in order to become very still, as only a vampire could. Rosamunde had taught her this skill, assuring her that once combined with her layered enthrallment shield, Margetta could stand a foot away and never know Lorelei was there.
And right now, the last thing she needed was for Margetta to get a fix on her.
The ancient fae arrived at her position, pausing for a few seconds as though perhaps sensing Lorelei’s presence. But she didn’t remain long. Instead, she headed in a swift stream of gold light along a trajectory that Lorelei could tell put her in line with the treehouse.
Lorelei tested the shield around Seth and found it as strong as her own, which meant that Margetta wouldn’t be able to see him even if she found the treehouse. Yet Lorelei knew something more sinister was at work, that there was a strong possibility that her mother had experienced a fae vision and now knew precisely where Seth was.
Even while in wraith form, the fae part of Lorelei kicked in and for the second time in her life a vision came to her. She saw exactly what Margetta planned to do once she arrived at the treehouse, which meant Lorelei had to achieve a miraculous split-second timing if she had any hope of getting Seth out alive.
She followed at a distance but matched Margetta’s speed only bypassing her at the last mile. She tracked slightly to the south in order to reach the treehouse at a different angle.
With a new set of deep, layered shields now surrounding the treehouse, she punched the door wide, swooped down to the second floor and landed on Seth’s chest. She covered his mouth with her hands, reaching into his mind at the same time. I’m in my wraith-form. Don’t hurt me. Margetta’s here. She’s going to torch the treehouse. I’ve got to get you out of here.
His green eyes were wild no doubt because she’d awakened him from sleep. But it couldn’t help that he stared at a wraith.
He blinked twice, processing, then glanced toward the windows. Shit. I’ll fry out there. I’m not safe until full dark.
“I’ve thought of that. We’ll head straight down into the darkest part of the forest. You’ll be able to survive with minor burns and I’ll cover you as much as I can.”
* * * * * * * * *
Seth didn’t question Lorelei, not even for a split-second, despite that she was a wraith right now.
He leaped from bed and grabbed a fresh set of battle clothes from the small closet next to his nightstand. He then caught her around the waist, flew her to the second level, and out the door.
At the same time, a golden light filled the dusky sky and suddenly the area that encompassed the treehouse exploded into a ball of flames.
