Embrace the Magic (The Blood Rose Series Book 2) (7 page)

A breeze blew down from the surrounding hills and she shivered suddenly, which put him in motion. “Let’s get you inside. The night’s cold for half-humans.”

She chuckled at his word choice.

Half-human.

Oh, God,
half-fae.

Was this truly who she was now? Who she always had been, but didn’t know herself to be?

He turned to the vampire holding her suitcase thirty feet above and held out his arms. He meant to catch it.

Samantha wanted to protest: the bag was heavy and the vampire in the air was so far away. Gravity and acceleration combined would add force to the weight of the suitcase.

But before she could say anything, the man above dropped the case, Ethan caught it easily, then slung it over his left shoulder.

Vampires were strong.

Her heart fluttered in her chest.

He called out to his men, ordering them to the Guard House and to check in with Finn. The entire vampire escort turned east and flew farther down the hill. He explained that he had a large, nearby training camp for his Guard, which also had a rec room and a bar for the warriors to let off steam.

Bergisson Realm.

Vampires in levitated flight.

Glowing night vision.

And a huge modern house that belonged to the ruler of the realm, all steel, wood, and glass.

Once inside the house, he swept his arm to the left. “The main living areas are at this end, including the kitchen, so if you need anything to eat, day or night, please help yourself. I have staff that comes in around four in the morning, when I usually return from my patrols, so don’t be surprised if you hear them, but they leave a few hours later when I head for bed.

“A cleaning crew arrives late afternoon because that’s when I’m usually emerging from my cave. I’ll let them know that I have a guest in residence so you won’t be disturbed.”

He waved his arm to the right, encompassing a short but broad staircase. “The bedrooms and a second living area are this way. You’ll have a suite to yourself, of course, with a sliding glass door to the conservatory that you can open and close at will.”

Samantha could see that the house was built to the contours of the land since another short staircase led down toward the living room and a massive stone fireplace.

At the far end of the room, a set of three stairs led upward once more, to a dining area with a huge table and large upholstered chairs. The kitchen was hidden from view by a long, brick wall.

The furniture, in subdued browns, blacks and grays, all seemed oversized, but then Ethan, as well as the Guardsmen she’d seen, were all big men.

Beyond the glass windows, she saw extensive landscaping with shrubs, lawn, flowerbeds all leading to the hillside and a short stone wall with wide, seating pavers on top. The oaks past the wall, had been left in a natural state of long grasses and shrubs left to grow wild.

With her case in hand, he gestured for her to ascend the stairs to the right.

At the first landing, rooms off to either side clearly belonged to Ethan’s job as a mastyr. One held a desk, a computer with two screens, filing cabinets, stacks of papers and folders. The room to her right looked more like a library but had a massive table in the center onto which an old map was laid out and weighed down with beautiful split-geodes, their colorful crystals winking beneath a soft overhead light.

“You have lights on.”

“By habit. My vampire vision is perfect at night, but we have several species in the Nine Realms who struggle if some lighting isn’t available.”

“Then it’s a courtesy.”

“No. A necessity. I think there’s a difference.”

‘Splitting-hairs’ came to mind.

Another short flight of stairs led to a second sitting area with another stone fireplace, smaller than the one in the living room but still impressive in size.

He tossed his arm in a quick side motion. “There are several bedroom suites here in the south wing, but I’ll want you closer to my rooms for safety.” He then gestured forward. “Beyond the living area is the suite you’ll be staying in as well as my rooms.” He guided her past a grouping of couches and chairs. “And here to the right is the conservatory. I thought you might like to see it. Most of the fae I know really enjoy this space.”

He directed her to a large arched doorway opposite the fireplace.

She stood at the entrance and gasped for the breadth and height of the room, the welcome fresh air that came from hundreds of plants and trees, and the beauty of the crystal roof that peaked at least sixty feet in the air, maybe higher.

“This is huge.”

“It is.”

Then she felt something, a kind of singing vibration from the room, which drew her a few steps inside. “What is that?”

“What is
what
?”

“I’m feeling another kind of vibration from this room.”

“You are?” He sounded surprised.

She turned and met his gaze. “Don’t you feel that? Hear that?”

He seemed taken aback as he narrowed his gaze and once more glanced around the massive room. “I don’t feel anything, just the air circulating.”

“It’s not your air conditioning. I’m sure of that. I’m hearing a kind of music.”

“Some fae, when they get near crystals, can hear melodies of a kind, but it’s very rare. Now that I think about it, Vojalie said she loves this room, maybe that’s why.”

“But she never mentioned a singing quality?”

“No, but then she’d have no reason to say anything if she experienced a fae reaction, which reminds me that I need to bring her here.”

“You look troubled.”

“I alluded to it earlier, but we’ve been having some kind of breakdown realm-to-realm in recent weeks. Sometimes it’ll clear up then close again, like someone has shut a door.”

“And that’s not normal?”

“No, not at all.”

“What do you think it is?”

He turned to her. “To say anything else right now would be irresponsible on my part. Let’s just say that I’ll do my best to get Vojalie here. I know she’ll want to meet you and talk to you and she’ll be the best person to introduce you to our world.”

Samantha nodded and turned away from the door. The sensation of leaving the conservatory, however, felt like fingers drifting off her arms slowly and reluctantly. For whatever reason, she didn’t want to leave.

When he showed her to her guest suite, she was bowled over by the sheer size of the space. He moved into the room and turned the light on for her, though he winced a little as he looked away.

She could have put two of her bedrooms in this one room and the bed itself had to be king-sized.

She released a deep sigh. For all the weirdness of the night, the one thing she felt right now, besides a sudden overwhelming fatigue, was that she felt safe. “Thank you, Ethan. You didn’t have to do any of this for me.”

He settled her bag on the upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. But he looked so surprised, with his brows high on his forehead and his lips parted, that she said, “What?”

“Of course I did. You’re my guest. But I think I know what you mean.” He sighed. “And I’m grateful you came with me, when you didn’t have to.”

“Oh, yes, I did. Ry is one sick nutcake.”

At that he laughed, showing his beautiful smile and all those big white teeth of his. He was a gorgeous man, prettier than he ought to be, and he smelled wonderful, those rich hillside grasses again.

“Well, at least we agree on that.” He held her gaze tight to his and there it was all over again, a need for him so profound it was like having the wind knocked out of her, but she held steady.

“Yeah, we agree on that.”

She stood near the foot of the bed unable to move and her brain had stopped functioning because she really couldn’t think of anything else to say.

He seemed to understand. He looked away from her and cleared his throat. “Can I get you anything?”

She shook her head. “No, thank you. I think all I need right now is some sleep.”

“I’m sure you do.”

He moved past her, heading to the door. He gestured to a long bank of floor-to-ceiling drapes patterned in a soft gray swirl. “The conservatory is right there. Feel free to open the sliding door if you want.” He smiled again, softer this time. “Maybe the ‘singing’ will sweeten your dreams.”

“Thanks, I might just do that.”

He nodded. “Anything, Samantha. Really. Just ask.” Through the open doorway, he glanced down the hall. “My rooms are the double door at the end of the hall. Shout. I’ll hear you.”

She dipped her chin a few times.

“Okay,” he murmured, slapping the doorframe twice. He then closed the door and she heard his muffled footsteps as he headed back the way they’d come. No doubt he had more realm business to tend to.

She put a hand to her chest, however, aware of her laboring heart. “Yeah,” she whispered. “I know. But try to calm down. He’s just a man. I mean a vampire.” Then she laughed, because it was all so strange, and horrible, yet wonderful at the same time.

She hadn’t expected an adventure when she left for the prave earlier that evening, but it looked like she’d gotten one.

*** *** ***

Ethan rubbed his forehead as he moved back down the first set of stairs then headed into his office. He glanced at some notes he’d made that afternoon about realm details he needed to deal with, especially issues with some of the towns and cities. But now was not the time.

Instead, he called Finn.

“How we doin’ out there?”

“Quiet. Very quiet.”

Ethan could hear the concern in Finn’s voice. Invictus activity made the night hard, but the lack of it wore on all the Guardsmen’s nerves. A lull never meant good things, usually a serious gearing up for something big.

“Well, shit.”

“Ethan, you don’t think Ry would join forces with those bastards, do you?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never really known him, just his rage because the Sidhe Council voted him out and me in.”

“You’re the better man and don’t you forget it. There isn’t a vampire on the force who won’t cheer that’s he’s gone. You can count on that. Should have been done a couple of decades ago.”

“I never felt right about stepping in. This was his realm.”

“I’m not going to waste time arguing with you on that score again. You’re the vampire for this job.”

Ethan sat in his leather chair and released a heavy sigh. “Yet I can’t seem to get the better of the enemy that we’ve battled all these years, these decades. We dispatch hundreds of wraith-pairs every year and bury twice as many realm-folk. Does that make me the better leader?”

“It was worse under Ry. And he’d been running three illegal gambling joints as well.”

“Small comfort.”

“So how’s your woman?”

“Not my woman, Finn, and if you want to keep your front teeth and a pair of fangs, you’ll keep your trap shut.”

Finn chuckled. “Just giving you grief.”

“Hey, thanks for showing up tonight.”

“Within a half hour of leaving you, I’d gotten word that Ry had abandoned his northern patrol.”

“Well, I was glad to have witnesses for giving Ry the boot.”

“It was a pretty sight, but how are those precious knuckles of yours?”

Ethan looked at his hands. He was already healed up, despite his blood-starvation. “Content.”

Finn cleared his throat. “Just one suggestion, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Call a donor. You were looking pale when I left.”

“You my mama now?”

“You know I’m right.”

Ethan did know, but the thought of bringing in one of his
doneuses
with Samantha in his house felt like a kind of betrayal he couldn’t easily explain. “Call me if you need me.”

“Yes, mastyr.”

After ending the call, Ethan sat for a good long while in his office. He took stock of his condition and he didn’t like what he saw, what he felt.

Earlier, Samantha had said he was trembling. At the time, he thought her presence had brought on the strange sensation. But the truth bit deeper. His blood-starvation, always at a difficult level, had sunk to critical and the earlier donor had barely scratched the surface of his need. Sure, his mastyr status kept him in this chronic, undernourished state, but usually a feed would keep him stable for twelve, sometimes eighteen hours.

He lifted his hand off the arm of the chair.

His fingers shook.

This was new and not good.

He swiveled, angling back up the hall in the direction of Samantha’s door. What he needed lay just beyond a few inches of carved, fine wood.

But he couldn’t go there. He couldn’t do that to her and he knew once he got started, he wouldn’t be able to control himself, not with her, not with a blood rose.

And sex would follow.

Because the trembling increased, he finally understood that her presence made his symptoms worse, so he had no other choice, but to call for help. He arranged for a later feed, just before his patrols for the following evening.

For now, rest would help, so he headed back the way he’d come.

Maybe facing off with Ry had taken a toll, and clearly meeting his blood rose had hit his reserves hard, but he needed sleep. He had his cell with him and in an emergency, he had a support call service hooked up to an intercom system in his house.

He paused only once, just outside Samantha’s door. He heard a soft humming sound, a single pitch, somewhat high. He suspected she was matching the sound the crystal ceiling made for her.

He shook his head, as disbelief, maybe even shock, still worked within his mind.

Once inside his rooms, he stripped and showered, then lay down on his bed. He’d fully intended to have a hard think about his current situation, but like the proverbial head-hitting-the-pillow, he was asleep and slept until his alarm sounded at four the next afternoon.

He woke up not feeling rested at all, but rather like horses had stomped on him all night. He sat up dizzy and put his head in his hands. He needed blood. Now.

Naturally, his thoughts turned to Samantha, which cramped up his stomach into a fierce knot of pain. He swore he could smell her blood even though at least forty feet of house separated them. He slid from bed and found it was easier to tolerate his condition so long as he kept moving.