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“So, you’re a Warrior of the Blood now,” Duncan said.
“I am and I have to say the power boost rocks. I can kill more death vampires when I’m battling and that means everything to me. But what the hell is going on with you? I heard you’ve advanced up the food-chain as well.”
Duncan nodded. “Looks like it.”
Samuel clapped him on the shoulder. “Excellent. We could use you at the Borderlands.”
Duncan felt suddenly somber as the reality of his new path hit him hard. “I won’t be staying here.”
“Wait a minute, are you headed into the Third Earth darkening grid? Do you want me on board?”
Duncan turned to glance in Luken’s direction. “He’s in charge of the squad, but it won’t just be the darkening. Looks like we’re going to Third.”
“What the hell for? Because you’re talking Third Earth death vampires and I’ve heard they’re almost impossible to beat, even for a What-Bee?”
Another question du jour. “Well, it seems Her Supremeness had a vision.”
“Wait, you mean Endelle had a vision? Not one of her Seers? Not Marguerite?” Marguerite was the most powerful Seer on Second Earth.
Duncan shook his head. “No, this was all on her. In the vision, she saw both Luken and me doing battle on Third. So we’re going.”
“This is some fucked up shit.” Samuel’s gaze slid past Duncan. “And what is Gideon’s sister doing here? Is she part of the squad, too?”
Right in that moment, Duncan felt completely split. The breh-hedden kept him in a powerful protective mode about the woman so that the last thing he wanted was for Rachel to be placed in any more danger than she already was. Being on a squad would put her square in the enemy’s sights.
On the other hand, his gut told him she’d play a critical role in the coming days and weeks, especially serving as his shield. Just as Samuel had said, as a squad they’d be up against Third Ascenders and would need every power available to them and that meant Rachel’s shielding capacity.
“Endelle wants her serving, but I’m torn.”
Samuel nudged him with his elbow. “Heard it’s the breh-hedden.”
Duncan sighed and once more shook his head as he reverted his gaze to Rachel. Luken must have been talking to her about her stance, because she kept looking down and adjusting her feet. “It’s … overwhelming.”
When Samuel didn’t respond, Duncan turned to look at him and saw that he was grinning.
Duncan responded with the first words that came to mind. “Oh, fuck you.”
Samuel laughed. “Hey, it’s really tough at first, all this intimacy and sensation. But you get used to it. You even come to like it.”
Duncan narrowed his gaze. “Can you feel her right now? I’ve heard once you bond you can sense what your woman’s experiencing or some such shit.”
He watched the strangest light enter Samuel’s eye, love, maybe. “Right now, she’s in our kitchen, baking. Parisa is with her.”
Duncan grew very uncomfortable and his father’s misogynistic words came back to him as a constant reminder: women are for fucking, nothing more.
Clearly, Samuel took a different view.
Duncan’s gaze slid to Rachel once more. Luken held the weapon now, demonstrating. She had her hands on her hips, her neck arched forward slightly, her long, blond curly hair in beautiful waves down her back. His chest felt absurdly full just looking at her.
But then he’d known Rachel a long time. He’d met her during her marriage to Grieg, one of his father’s squad members, a man who had hurt Rachel badly.
Duncan’s history with Rachel was long and complicated, full of incredible memories that did constitute love. But they’d had an equal number of disagreements that led to serious disputes about what kind of long-term relationship the two of them, so different in their essential life goals, could ever have together.
For Duncan, nothing about Rachel was simple.
After a few minutes, Samuel once more congratulated Duncan on breaking out of the trance and of rising to What-Bee status. He then took off; Gideon wanted him in the training center for the next few hours.
~ ~ ~
