Embrace the Mystery (The Blood Rose 3)

“We’d break that bed.”

She had to work to catch her breath. “We probably would.”

“We could go to my stronghold.”

She turned in his arms and he kissed her hard, his tongue pummeling her mouth in the best way. We should do that, at least once more before you take me back to the States.

Okay.

She pushed him away and shook her head. “Really, we’d better stop. The queen said we needed to get going.”

“You’re right.”

* * * * * * * * *

With Batya held tight against him with one arm, and her satchel held in his free hand, Quinlan took off, rising high above the city. He didn’t want to delay their return by traveling through the town. No doubt Henry and his cohorts were already lost in song, dance, and the company of women so that nothing could be gained by saying a second good-bye.

Once at the entrance to the city, the Guards rolled back both the gate and the mist. He flew through and began the long ascent that would lead them to the snowfields and back to Grochaire Realm.

He’d made his apologies to Seth and had taken a few minutes to share his blood rose experience with him. Given the current trend making its way through the mastyrs of the Nine Realms, Seth would do well to be forewarned.

Seth had in turn expressed his own remorse for having taken advantage of Batya but was bemused that she’d come to him so readily.

Quinlan released a sigh. “We’re not bonded. Right now, she would feel driven to serve any mastyr vampire.” From what he understood, the bonding process had many avenues, sometimes occurring over a period of time, at others with a strong decision of the will, and even Gerrod had said that his bonding with Abigail had taken place during captivity and had involved a sharing of each other’s blood.

Seth had frowned. “Everything I’ve heard from you or from Ethan and Gerrod sounds nightmarish. I lost control with Batya. That’s unforgiveable.”

Quinlan tried to encourage him, but until Seth experienced a blood rose for himself, he wouldn’t really be able to relate.

He’d left him with the promise to call soon in order to discuss the future of the Nine Realms.

As Quinlan flew, he tried not to think about the hard truth that once he left Batya in Lebanon, she’d be fair game. He recalled what his own attraction to Samantha had been like just six months ago before Ethan had completed the bond with her. He and Ethan had done serious damage to the Guildhall when they’d fought over her. And now with Seth, he’d been on the receiving end of that hellish reality when he found his fellow mastyr ready to sink his fangs.

He shuddered.

What’s wrong?

Just thinking about walking into the throne room and finding you in Seth’s arms. Sure enough, he shuddered again only this time rage erupted. Why did you do it?

She stiffened in his arms. Why did I do it? You mean why did I go to him?

By now, they flew over the snowfields, but he took little pleasure in the soft vibration of energy that worked through the land. Instead, he ground his teeth. You heard me. Why the hell did you go to him? Did our time together mean so little to you that you couldn’t restrain yourself?

She fell silent, but not necessarily in a bad way. He was pretty sure she was thinking hard about the situation, a quality they shared in common.

I don’t know why, she pathed at last. One minute I was standing by the doorway, and the next I was crossing to him like he had me enthralled, which wasn’t possible. I’m sure it’s the whole blood rose thing, but Quin, I’m pissed as hell about this. I don’t want to be a Goddamn blood rose.

And I don’t want to be a mastyr vampire.

But you can’t help being a mastyr vampire. You were born that way. You must have known early on that you’d rise to mastyr status.

I did, but what’s the difference? Clearly, you were always meant to be a blood rose.

Well, I didn’t exactly know that I’d one day have this lovely job description of satisfying your blood needs. Sweet Goddess!

He huffed an impatient sigh. So what if you’re a blood rose? Suck it up.

Well, f**k you very much. And exactly what do you think will happen if one of those wraith-pairs, you know the ones that Margetta created with mastyr vampires, decides to come after me in Lebanon? What am I supposed to do then?

Well, you can call me, of course.

But what good will that do? As I recall, it was my enthrallment shield that saved your ass.

He had a strong desire suddenly to drop Batya and her satchel down on the snowfield and suggest she find her own ride back to Tennessee. Breathing hard through his nostrils, he pathed, Then I guess you’d better get really good at creating those special shields of yours.

Fine.

Fine.

He didn’t like that she’d raised some solid points, especially since he didn’t have the answers, so her silence worked for him. It also gave him time to think.

Two questions rose to the surface. Exactly what was she supposed to do as a blood rose? And how was he, or any of his Grochaire Guardsmen, supposed to battle these uber-wraith-pairs?

Wanting an answer to that, he had Batya hold her satchel for a moment while he phoned Rafe. His second-in-command assured him that Grochaire was fairly quiet and no reports of the kinds of wraith-pairs Quinlan described to him had made an appearance.

Reassured, he told Rafe he’d be back in Grochaire in a couple of hours and would talk to him then.

Taking the satchel back, he headed west, using a different route back in order to avoid the Dead Forest. He thought it possible Margetta might have left scouts on the back trail waiting to strike.

An hour later, of covering mile after mile, Batya pathed, Sorry, Quin. I’m a bit edgy and I didn’t need to speak to you that way.

I’m sorry, too. We definitely need to talk about what happened and about the future, and hammer out some details.

I just want you to know that I’d be happy, at the very least, to become your doneuse. I know it’s made a difference for you.

I appreciate that. Oh, damn, his chest swelled up again with all that strange, bizarre sensation, like he had a cloud in his rib cage that kept expanding.

He carefully kissed the top of her head as he flew west, hoping to hell that he wouldn’t encounter the wicked witch before getting Batya to safety.

* * * * * * * * *

The trip across the snowfields had given Batya plenty of time to think. She recalled what Rosamunde had said, and that she and Quinlan needed to work together. Quarreling had only served to reveal the problems they faced, but nothing more.

And what was she supposed to do with her blood rose status?