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He stared down at her for a long, long moment. She had a remarkable level of power. But then he knew most of the women who served as a blood rose, also brought something extra to the table. Samantha, of Bergisson Realm, had the power to dissolve the wraith-pair bonds, setting the enslaved realm-person free. And Hannah, of Kellcasse Realm, could release fire from her hands, a power capable of destroying the disabling mist Margetta had used to take him down in Britchett Falls.
And now here was Olivia, half-human but with the ability to ‘ghost’, to cover him with a kind of invisibility shield, and her blood had ended decades of suffering.
“Well, here?
?s the deal, Olivia. I agree with you and I plan to stick close through the rest of the night. We’ll head back to your house because I’m thinking maybe you’d like a shower as well.”
“Yes, and a new pair of jeans. I love swimming in the ocean, but a rinse-off with fresh water would be wonderful.”
He led her back to the front gravel walk. Once there, he held out his arm to her. She gave a little hop as she stepped up onto his booted foot.
Slinging her arm around his neck, and leaning down to look at his hip boots, she said, “I liked the skulls better.”
He laughed once more. “Me, too.”
He took to the air and flew quickly back to Barker’s Bend, landing near her front porch.
Once inside, Olivia excused herself to take her shower. He took the opportunity to call his Communication Center and check in with Marian again. She reported that the realm had grown very quiet. He then contacted Sawyer and asked how things were going in the south.
Sawyer also confirmed Marian’s assessment since Helms Watch had no reports of Invictus activity, the same with the entire southern part of the realm. Even so, Sawyer had his portion of both the Vampire Guard and the Shifter Brigade patrolling back and forth constantly.
With Chase in the north and Sawyer in the south, Zane had another hundred Guardsmen flying over the towns and hamlets in the rest of the realm, on the lookout for the vicious, deadly wraith pairs.
When he contacted Chase, he asked for further details about the attack at Britchett Falls.
Chase gave a detailed report, including his horror that upon entering the city, Zane was nowhere to be found. The Guard had gone to battle immediately with the Invictus Margetta had left behind. Once the pairs had been vanquished, Chase and his team had worked with the local law-enforcement to seal off the area until the damaged cars could be towed way, the debris removed from the streets, and the broken windows sealed up.
“That end of the city is under control now,” Chase said. “We took all the drunks to jail for the rest of the night to protect them from wraiths looking to forge illegal bonds. So what the hell happened? Do you know yet exactly why we couldn’t get into the city?”
Zane told him about the hidden camp in the west over which Margetta had created yet another powerful spell. He didn’t hold back about the whipping he’d endured or the details about Olivia’s part in getting him out safely. Hesitating for just a moment, he also added that Olivia was a blood rose.
Chase whistled. “So, it’s your turn.”
“Yes, but she’s different.”
“What do you mean? How?”
“I don’t know.” He thought about what she’d been like after sex, how she’d shifted, gone swimming then called him out to play. He found himself smiling. “She’s … well … for one thing she’s part shifter and for another she’s really independent. Even remote.”
Chase laughed. “Sounds exactly like what you need.” He knew Zane well.
“Maybe you’re right. I don’t know anything anymore except that my realm is under siege and I only learned about the camp because the Ancient Fae took me there. Olivia saved my ass. I don’t think I would have gotten out of there alive without her.”
“Then we owe her.”
“Yes, we do,” Zane said.
“So, how long do you think the camp has been there?”
“I honestly don’t know. But given that Swanicott has always had more attacks than the other realms, maybe decades.”
“Do you think you could locate it again? This could be a tremendous opportunity for us.”
“I’m not sure I could,” Zane said. “But I’m confident Olivia has that kind of capacity. But on the other hand, I’m not liking the idea of a civilian being so closely involved.”
“Why? Is she upset? Is she super-sensitive like Emily?”
It struck him that in just about every way possible, Olivia was the opposite of his artistic, fae wife. “I’m not sure she’s sensitive at all.”
