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Silence followed for a long, reverent moment then another roar of cheering filled the night sky once more.
~
As dawn drew close, and the last of the bonfires fell to red embers, Olivia bid good-night to Regan.
“Remember, you have a cottage to use,” the Ruby Fae said.
“Thank you. I’ll remind Zane.”
Head tilted, Regan appeared as though she wanted to say something. Finally, she smiled. “You’re good for him, but don’t wait too much longer to tell him about his wife.”
“I won’t. I was going to earlier at your house.”
“Good.” She offered a final smile then glanced up at the night sky. “Dawn’s not far off now.”
Like any fae or vampire, Regan had a strong sense of the hour and levitated swiftly, disappearing from sight within a couple of seconds.
Olivia took another pass at the star-laden sky. Maybe she’d gotten the habit from Zane, but she searched the area, making sure the Invictus were really gone.
Satisfied, she turned back to the camp, still full of vampires, trolls and shifters. A team from Bergisson Realm had already come and gone, taking the surviving Invictus pairs back to Mastyr Ethan’s realm to begin the process of rehabilitation.
Zane was never far away from her. Maybe he’d stuck close on purpose, she wasn’t certain. But he often turned in her direction as though to make sure she was okay. And he also looked up into the skies, but this time she knew he wasn’t checking for the enemy.
Though she was a shifter, Olivia could sense the growing disquiet around the field because of the approaching sun. When Zane gave the order to disband, the Vampire Guard rose almost as a single unit and began heading east where most of the warriors lived in the towns and hamlets on the far side of the Arundel Mountains.
Zane conferred one last time with Luther as well as Ryder, then afterward headed back toward Olivia.
Earlier, he’d told her he’d contacted Mastyr Ian, asking how things had fared in Helms Watch. Basically, before Margetta could even open up her Chaos Wind, Ian and his troops had gathered close and fired their combined battle frequencies at the Ancient Fae. The wraiths had flown for cover.
Ian had said he’d been hopeful for the first minute until he became aware that Margetta was laughing at them. Even a dozen battle energies streaming off the palms of Ian, Sawyer and several powerful Guard warriors couldn’t make a dent in her battle shield.
Despite her power, they kept it up, until several Invictus pairs arrived, shouting that Zane and his army were attacking the Dead Zone camp. Margetta turned, shrieking loudly, and flew swiftly from sight. Ian and his Guard had escorted the wraiths back to Wraith Island.
Olivia was in a wonderful, euphoric state. And as Zane moved toward her, she realized she’d grown pretty hopeless where he was concerned. She loved watching him walk, the heavy muscles of his thighs and the strong swing of his arms eating up the distance within seconds. He held her gaze and for a moment, she thought for sure he’d take her in his arms and kiss her. Or maybe that’s what she wanted.
Instead, he cleared his throat, his smile crooked. “How about we get out of here?”
“I am so ready,” she responded. “I want to see the inside of the cottage Regan promised us.”
“You got it.”
He held out his arm and she hopped onto his foot, slinging both arms around his neck. He rose swiftly into the air.
She paid no heed at all to anything else, just the feel of the warrior in her arms, holding him tight as he crossed a hundred miles in the space of a few of minutes.
Everything felt new and changed. She’d been part of a wonderful victory in Zane’s realm and the role she’d played had been critical; more lives would have been lost if she hadn’t engaged her Zephyr ability.
Her heart felt so full. I owe you so much, Zane.
He squeezed her as he flew. Same here. You were amazing. I saw you in Zephyr mode a couple of times. You confounded the enemy. Thank you for that. You saved so many lives.
The words meant more to Olivia than she could possibly express. All these years, from the time she’d first shifted as a child, she’d felt so different, but in a bad way and without worth. But here she was, having been of tremendous use.
She was beyond happy. Tears flowed because of it and she didn’t bother stopping them.
When he finally set her down near the pathway to the cottage Regan had loaned them, he offered his arm and she took it.
The path led through the woods, many of the trees awash in red and gold, many of them also bare, all giving way to the season.
