Earlier, families with children and the aged had gone home as soon as a member of the Guard told them it was safe, scattering quickly to either cars in the parking lot or taking off in levitated-flight. Many of the realm-folk could fly, but a good number relied on more traditional forms of transportation. Those who had arrived at the fairgrounds on bicycles arranged to travel in cars with supportive friends and family members.
The grass looked pristine in the glow of her new realm-vision.
What had taken place, once the battle ended, had been accomplished by the local realm-folk by long habit, a story all in itself.
The Invictus had tormented the Nine Realms for centuries and no matter how many wraith-pairs were killed, more arrived to replace each lost unit. Vojalie’s insights into Bergisson’s daily life flowed through her mind, of how hard the community of a million souls strived to live each day as normal as possible despite the constant threat of an unpredictable enemy.
As Ethan drew near, she couldn’t believe how much better he looked. The blue beneath his eyes had vanished and his complexion now had a golden, tanned appearance instead of the chalk she’d witnessed even at the prave.
“You’re better.” She wished he wasn’t, wished her blood hadn’t been good for him, but the evidence of what she was stood right in front of her.
Because of the battle, his long hair had come loose from the woven clasp that held it in place. Curls and strands flowed away from his face and her heart thrummed all over again, getting ready for him if he needed her. He shouldn’t be so beautiful. He should be thin, pale and evil-looking instead of towering over her like a god from mythology.
“You’re alone?” Ethan scowled.
“I sent Vojalie back to your house as soon as the Invictus left. The baby needed her.”
“But there’s no one else here.” He glanced beyond her to the Guildhall.
“I felt secure enough because your Guardsmen are still patrolling.”
“I don’t like that you’re alone. You should have gone with Vojalie.”
Did he have to be so worried for her safety?
Tears filled her eyes and she was ready to launch into all her reasons for why she wanted him, right this minute, to take her back to Shreveport. But he stepped close and took her arm gently in his hand and squeezed. “Thank you.”
Her breath caught and held. “You don’t have to say that, not to me, not for this.”
“Yes, I do. I didn’t have time to tell you before. Thank you for saving my life. In fact, because of what you did, you saved hundreds of lives tonight, not just mine.”
She was taken aback. “Is that what I did?”
He nodded. “I don’t know why, but I wasn’t far from death. I didn’t realize it until you came to me, until I started to feed. I’m stubborn in that way. I don’t always understand the most basic things.”
At the time that she’d crossed the field to him, she’d felt so confident about doing what was needed to be done, just as Vojalie had said she would feel. But why did it all have to be about life-and-death?
“I want you to find someone else.” There she’d said it.
“I know. I can feel it in you, that you’re unhappy about what happened, that you feel trapped, and I’ll do whatever you say because I believe in your right to whatever path you want to follow.
“But I also believe in my heart that you’ve come into my realm for a reason. I think Bergisson needs you but I don’t know in what way. I realize we have this issue between us, or maybe it would be better to say that I have this critical need for you right now, but that doesn’t have to define the future.
“However, just for the time being, I’m asking you to stay, until I can get this all figured out, especially Ry. He’s the threat that most concerns me and that his drive toward you, now that he’s seen what you can do, is probably stronger than ever. Do you understand? Ry was here at the battle. He’s joined the Invictus and he watched you feed me.”
She nodded, but something inside her collapsed, a feeling that her liberty was being eroded. Was this how her mother had felt all those years, maybe enslaved in service to Bergisson because of her inherent fae power, something she’d been born with but never chosen?
His voice was softer now as he rubbed her arm. “Please stay.” Because of her fae abilities, she could sense his desperation. “I haven’t felt well like this in fifty years.”
“Okay, that doesn’t help at all. Are you trying to guilt me into this?”
“No, dear Goddess, no. I’m just trying to explain all the reasons why, if I can find some way to duplicate what you’ve given me, I need to do that.”
“So now you want to duplicate my blood?”
“Look, it’s clear to me that you don’t want to be here. I get it. You are your mother’s daughter. I’m just asking for you to stick around for a few days.”
“What if it turns into weeks or months?”
He seemed startled, like he hadn’t considered that as a possibility, then she understood the flip side of this coin. “Oh, my God, you don’t really want me to stay, either?”
He fell silent and his hand dropped away. His gaze shifted off to the side and his scowl deepened. “I have a duty to perform here in my realm that makes it impossible for me to become involved with any woman. When I first saw you, and felt you connect with my personal frequency, I knew you were going to be a problem.”
“I don’t fit into your plans.” She should have been miffed, instead she felt relieved. “That’s good.”
His gaze shifted back to her. “How is that good?”
“Because now I know we have the same goal, to get me back to Shreveport when all this is over.”
He nodded and then he smiled. “Yes, we have the same goal.”
Samantha took a deep breath, the first one since she’d fed Ethan and watched her blood fire him up like she’d put caffeine straight into his veins. But it was his smile that shifted the direction of the exchange, like a train being rerouted by a simple switch of the tracks.
Ethan had a great smile. He probably knew it as well, but right now all she saw was the reflection of her own sense of relief, that each had stated a simple desire not to engage, and so she could breathe and Ethan could smile.
His gaze caught and held, however, and she felt his personal frequency streaming toward her begging for a connection. The fae part of her received that frequency and her body lit up. His hillside grassy scent thickened in the air and tightened her abdomen. Her lips parted like she needed to say something, but nothing came out.