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“Malik!” Zane shouted. “You’d better figure this out, or I’m taking her. Now.”
Malik turned to Willow, his mind whirling. All that came to him was her blood, that he needed it on him, though he had no idea why. “I have to bite you,” he said quietly.
Willow’s eyes fluttered, then fell to his lips. “Your fangs! Malik, sweet Goddess, do what you need to do.”
Despite the audience, he took her wrist and bit swiftly. But instead of drinking he used his fingers and caught her blood, marking the backs of his hands and his throat in thin stripes. A vibration moved through him and through her and he could breathe again.
After he’d marked himself, he took a few sips, then sealed up the punctures with a swift lick of his tongue. He held Willow’s gaze. “Better?”
“Much.”
He turned toward Zane, hoping to hell this worked because he needed Willow beside him right now.
“Zane, will that do?”
Zane had his eyes closed, his hands on his thighs, breathing hard. He nodded several times. “Just give me a minute. Holy motherfucker that was raw.”
Willow squeezed Malik’s arm. What made you think of marking yourself with my blood?
I don’t know. It just felt right, though I’ve never heard of it being done before. None of the conversations I’ve had with bonded mastyrs talked about this.
Well, whatever the reason, it worked. I can look at Mastyr Zane without feeling that overwhelming compulsion.
Thank the Goddess for that.
Malik glanced at all the Guardsmen and their general confusion. Many had turned away knowing they’d witnessed something way too private, while others looked horrified at what they’d just seen. He doubted many Guardsmen ever saw the effects of the blood rose phenomenon.
Zane rose to his feet and moved in Malik’s direction to stand on his left. He looked shaken, and Malik knew exactly what that felt like. But it was also clear that the marking he’d done with Willow’s blood, though temporary, would serve.
He turned to face both brigades, which were spread out in a wide arc and deep into the woods. He spoke in a loud voice. “We’re facing an enemy we might not be able to see tonight. Mastyr Axton, who once ruled this realm, has been buying illegal fae charms in an attempt to break through this entrance that Mistress Willow has kept hidden.” He gestured to the granite monolith behind him.
“On the other side of these vines live several wraith families that Willow has protected for decades. They are good realm-folk who tend to their homes and farms like the rest of Ashleaf’s fine citizens. They deserve to be left in peace but for reasons that I think we all know, Axton has made it his mission to try to break through. And we have every reason to believe he will continue his efforts tonight.
“As most of you know, Axton also has a private Guard that I believe ranges close to one-hundred vampires strong and it’s possible that this time, he’ll bring them with him.
“We’re here, above all else to offer protection to these innocent wraith families who deserve to be left alone. Will you serve Ashleaf in this way?”
A loud shout of accord went up.
He nodded, and when the cheer died down, he gave out his orders. Half the regiment took to the air and would patrol in a long line parallel to the vine covered entrance, spreading out over a couple of miles.
The rest moved into the forest a quarter mile deep. At the first sign of Axton or his men, three shouts in a row would alert the entire force.
The Guard was as prepared as it could be given the unknown circumstances of whatever spell Axton would bring with him this time.
To Zane, he said quietly, “Willow will take us through now.”
Zane nodded, but didn’t make eye-contact with Willow. The markings on Malik’s hands had served to create just enough of a barrier, b
ut Malik had a strong feeling it would still take so little to ignite the blood-rose craving between the two.
His own desire to smash Zane into a pulp kept roaring to life as well, but he drove it down. Zane needed to be here and the fate of the wraith colony might just depend on Zane having a good look at this part of the Nine Realms. Malik had once been to the wraith colony on Swanicott Island, but what existed here, in Ashleaf, was very different in nature and scope.
As before, Willow took them halfway through the tunnel, closed the vines behind, then opened the path before them.
“Shit, what is that light!” Zane cried out.
“It’s not like the sun.” Malik turned toward him. “It comes from the colony itself coupled with a connection to the earth.”
