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Gideon dissolved into concentration, his brow furrowing. “Preparing for the Gala. Tyee had just returned.”
“Gideon.” Toni’s voice wavered as she spoke. “You’re missing several weeks.”
Uncertainty washed through his eyes as he swallowed hard, his attention turning back to Rona. His hand, no longer bearing any trace of the gunshot wound, went to delicately brush over her long ebony hair. Before he’d mated, the sweetness of the gesture would have been lost on Isaiah.
“Rona, my love, what happened?”
But the vampire was still far too emotional to speak, clinging to his suit with a desperation that belied reason. Tyee strode forward and reached out to settle a hand on Gideon’s shoulder.
“Gideon, you were attacked. Assumed dead.”
Explosive shock tore through the earth Elemental, who took a staggering step backward. “How? What—what happened?”
When Tyee’s tongue twisted in his mouth, Jeremiah answered his question as he slowly drew near. “TheCitizens.”
“They came here?” Gideon’s breathing hitched while studying Jeremiah’s sincerity, his color draining. “To Paracel?”
Jeremiah shook his head miserably. “They came after you on a Search and Rescue op, Gideon. Shot you three times.”
“Your heart was barely beating by the time you were put in the earth.” Rona’s muffled voice sounded against her husband’s chest before she reared back to tenderly cradle his face in her hands. “We—we’d lost hope you would rise.”
“Then how am I alive?”
“That is the question, is it not?” Isaiah cast him an inquiring gaze, saw the brief confusion flit over the monarch’s features as he registered Rukia’s presence in Isaiah’s arms.
Molten gold eyes lowered to stare at the earth. “It’s … not possible.”
“I don’t care how!” Rona growled. “I just care that you’re here.Alive.”
Rukia squeezed Isaiah’s forearm once before squaring her shoulders. Releasing her, his mate closed the distance between her and Gideon to stand before him. “Can you still feel the earth?”
Gideon didn’t even have to think about his answer. “More so now than ever before.”
“The earth took you, Gideon,” Tyee explained evenly, his hand still resting companionably on Gideon’s shoulder. “Rona buried you, and we couldn’t get through to you afterward. We couldn’t find you.”
Sensing that his friends needed Gideon’s closeness as much as she had, Rona released her husband but stayed within inches of him. Jeremiah, overcome with emotion, placed his hands on Gideon’s shoulders before enveloping him in an unapologetic bear hug.
Only letting go when Rukia punched the wind Elemental’s shoulder, Isaiah’s mate swiftly embraced their floundering friend. “You left us, Gideon. You abandoned us.”
Isaiah felt sorry for the man as Gideon struggled for words and wore his heart on his sleeve. Looking at the faces around him, he sputtered, “I’m … I’m sorry.”
Fisting a hand on the lapels of his suit, Rukia shoved at him without force. When she spoke, her voice was equal parts fury and heart-breaking relief.
“You’re in so much trouble I can’t even look at you.”
Tyee, by far the most patient of the bunch, waited before clasping him in a hug. “You’ve been missed, Gideon. Paracel was not the same without you, and neither were we.”
A solemn nod as Tyee released him and Rona once more commandeered her husband with a possessive hold. Though her face was awash with tears, the vampire wore a brilliant smile as she beamed up at his face.
“You’ve some nerve, Gideon,” Jeremiah jeered with a hint of a smirk, “to rise from the dead after we hold an internationally attended memorial service with dignitaries from every immortal nation.”
Mouth gaping, the earth Elemental could only blink in response. Rukia’s laugh twinkled, joy incarnate. “Don’t worry, it was very well attended.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
Itwasfourhourslater when Gideon finally reappeared in Paracel’s great hall with a beaming Rona knitted to his side. Having gone home to ‘quickly’ change out of the bloodied suit he’d been buried in, he looked far more himself in a white V-neck t-shirt and jeans when Rukia locked eyes with him as they entered.
Rukia beamed, cherishing the raucous cheers and joyful shouts that chorused from the outside well before the duo made it back. The people of Paracel, upon hearing that their monarch was once again among the living, had assembled outside and along the streets to welcome him back with open arms. While she couldn’t wait to spend time with Gideon, she knew it was important for him to reconnect with the community.
