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She would’ve laughed if she hadn’t been so scared.
In all her long years by Nina’s side, she’d never witnessed her sire’s baser instincts overwhelm her, losing control or succumbing to the destructive side of her nature.
Fear welled in her gut as they approached their targets. Rukia, unafraid, launched herself into Isaiah’s arms seconds later, the Raeth sovereign catching his mate with a lethargic smile, his eyes glinting an obsidian brown.
Kaien, far more stilted, reaching out an unobtrusive hand to his sister, the other party easily taking it in her own. Catching her in a one-armed hug, Blair held onto both her sovereign and the man who was her mate.
That was when she realized how different Kaien and Nina were. Kaien was Nina’s light when the darkness overtook her, when her destruction gifts called her too far down the wrong path. Her mate was the only thing holding back the horror that perpetually lived just under the surface of his sister’s psyche. He alone held Nina back from catastrophe.
Both sovereigns collapsed into the recoil within moments of each other.
Relief soared through her as she clutched Nina in her arms, Kaien’s fingers on her temple to assure her mind was sound. Feet away, Rukia held Isaiah’s head in her lap, her concern twisting her features.
“We need to get them back to their territories,” Kaien barked the order, and even though his voice was hoarse and weak, everyone soared into action.
Derikles took up the post by Rukia, motioning for Jaeda, Lucius, and their third clansman to come close. Once they’d crowded around Isaiah and his mate, all of them disappeared in a mass teleport. Nero and Luna drew close around them with Xavier and Remmus flanking them protectively.
In a disorienting flash, the entire group was sprawled on Nina’s living room floor. Celeste and Mere were scowling only feet away while Willow leapt toward them.
That was when Kaien lost the battle with consciousness.
Already weakened by silver poisoning, the two additional bullet wounds he’d received at Lucius’ House compounded the damage to where his body simply gave out. Finally home and assured everyone was safe, he inevitably succumbed to the stress affecting his body.
Remmus moved toward where Nina and Kaien lay beside one another on the floor. Any trace of joviality had disappeared from his features, the state of his sovereign and regent compelling him toward solemnity.
“I think the twins deserve a day off,” Remmus commented idly.
Blair couldn’t have agreed more.
Twenty minutes later, both Kaien and Nina had been situated on the two couches in Nina’s living room, Luna and Tschaun working diligently on their wounds.
Nero, hands absently stuffed in his pockets, observed the interactions while he leaned silently against a wall. When Blair’s eyes landed on him from across the room, he beckoned her closer with an inviting tilt of his head.
Wandering towards him, Blair crossed her arms and settled in beside him. “I’ve always wondered why Nina was closer to you than with any other Raeth sovereign. If you’re allowed here while she’s in recoil, your friendship must run deeper than I realized.”
The Raeth chuckled, then sobered slightly. “We’re close.”
Blair sensed something beneath Nero’s easy answer. “Why is it that you are entitled to her companionship while she holds every other sovereign at arm’s length?”
He didn’t immediately respond, instead shifting his gaze inward for a time before he spoke. “Nina and I were never lovers, nor have we ever desired such a thing. She knew who her mate was far before she met me, and I’ve known who I belonged to far before that. Unlike the other sovereigns—at least until Isaiah and Caius mated, both her and I were already spoken for.”
“You know who your mate is?” Blair cocked her head to better study the sovereign beside her. “Why are you not mated?”
Nero offered her a soft, but bittersweet, smile. “While I have seen glimpses of her face and yearn for her loveliness with the very marrow of my being, I have not yet met her in the flesh. Our time together will come, but it is not yet here.”
The tragic romance of Nero’s pledged love skewered Blair through her heart. While Nero pined for a lover he couldn’t yet know, Blair had nearly rejected the man who’d risked his life for her in more ways than one. And now, while Kaien lay near-comatose across the room from her, she’d barely uttered the words he so longed to hear.
The words he’d deserved long ago.
And what’s more, she’d convinced herself that she was better off alone. Alone and aloof. Without an anchor. It’d become her motto, above all things. Her reason for being.
But she’d been lying to herself; Blair had never been truly happy in the abyss of solitude she’d forsaken everyone for. She’d never truly felt happiness—contentment—until Kaien had entered her life and become her center when she’d had none. Their bond had become beautiful and heart-breaking in its purity.
She’d been running from life. Yes, she’d been alive, and her heart had beat, but she hadn’t trulylived.
When she’d seen Kaien take the hit meant for Lucius, Blair had become numb. Any intelligent thought had vanished, her soul searching for his on a plane she hadn’t even known existed. But her Raeth, her magnificent, wayward Raeth, had been unconscious by the time she realized it.
Blair had swiftly abandoned her quest for revenge—all because Kaien had been in danger. The decision had rung true then, just as it did now, and she wouldn’t hesitate to make the exact same decision again.
