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Gerrod once more clapped him in the shoulder. “I trust this is a good thing.” His speech was as formal as ever.
“A very good thing. I admire the hell out of her. She was the one who kept us invisible from Margetta so that we could initiate a rescue.”
Gerrod nodded solemnly. “But it’s a difficult path at first.”
Ethan clubbed Stone on the arm. “But worth it. Have you tasted her blood yet?”
Stone nodded and just like that the memory flooded him, of what it had been like. For a moment he couldn’t speak, then finally said, “There’s no more pain.”
“It’s damn overwhelming.” Quinlan’s deep voice brought Stone’s attention back to the moment. Quinlan added, “I know it’s only been a few hours, but has anything else changed in our world? Do you know if Batya has been harmed? Abigail? Samantha?”
Stone shook his head. “I haven’t heard anything about your women. I’d only barely heard from Harris a couple of hours ago that there was some concern you couldn’t be reached.”
He felt it then, the profound need the men had to get back to their women, to their blood roses. And they each needed to be fed. Though they’d bonded with women who had freed them from their chronic blood starvation, they were still vampires that had been wounded badly and would need to be restored.
Quinlan continued, “Has anything new surfaced with Margetta? While she had us in chains, did she send her army to attack any of the realms?”
“No. Nothing like that, at least not that I’ve heard.”
Ethan shoved at his wild curls. He frowned. “So, what’s going on, then? She could have killed us all, at any time. Instead, this had to have bee
n a trap of some kind. Was this about you? Or Aralynn?”
Stone shook his head. “We think it’s about me.” He then told them about Charborne and the Ancient Fae’s attempt to kill Aralynn.
“She doesn’t want you dead, then?” Gerrod narrowed his gaze. “If not, what does she want from you?”
Stone shrugged. “Hell if I know.” Though in the back of his mind, he suspected it had to do with his ability to channel the elf-lord power. If Rosamunde was right, and Margetta had been trying to acquire the elf-lord power all this time, then Margetta might have learned through a fae vision of her own that Stone could channel this power. But he was so new to the phenomenon, he didn’t know what to think and he didn’t want his brothers-in-arms distressed by something called ‘elf-lord’ power. It would raise a dozen questions for which he had no answers, at least not yet.
Ethan said, “If she was aiming for Aralynn, it’s possible she’s just trying to get you off your game. We all know what an effective battle partner she’s become for you.”
“You got that right. She’s saved my ass a number of times as it is.”
Ethan glanced around. “So what did Aralynn do? I saw a purplish wind that disappeared down the east tunnel. Then Margetta’s gold wind followed.”
“She led Margetta away because the Ancient Fae was preparing to fire on the three of you. If she’d succeeded, you’d all be dead.”
Gerrod nodded. “Sounds like you’re an excellent team.”
Stone agreed. “But right now, I want to get you men back home.”
As the mastyrs each contacted their respective realms, Stone thought about just how long it would take for the men to fly back on their own power. He decided to give Davido a telepathic shout.
And how do you fare, my good man?
Stone’s lips curves. Despite the terror of the last few minutes, the sound of Davido’s almost quaint speech made him smile. He told Davido about Ethan, Quinlan and Gerrod. So, I’m wondering if you could give them a lift home. Otherwise, it’ll take hours to fly. Apparently, Margetta swept them all here with her teleporting ability.
Davido said nothing, but the next moment, he stood beside Stone in the wet cave. He cursed on arriving because instead of levitating he’d landed in a puddle of water. “Damn the elf-lords to hell, these are my new Italian loafers.”
All four mastyrs turned to look at him, smiling.
Davido levitated so that he could meet the men in the eye, then looked each of them up and down. As a group, they ranged from six-five to six-seven. If Davido topped out at five-three, Stone would be surprised.
“So the old bat took branding irons to the lot of you, did she?”
Stone shook his head. Ethan and Quinlan laughed outright. “The ‘old bat’ did,” Quinlan said. He lifted his arm, then cringed. “Sweet Goddess, I need a bath.”
Davido glanced at Stone and winked. “Let’s get you boys home.”
