Magick Marked (The DarqRealm Series) (25 page)

The room was decidedly empty, no personal effects lying around anywhere. No papers or books. No shoes on the floor. The four-poster bed of carved redwood took up most of the room, and—

Eldon.

He was sprawled out on the overstuffed chair across the room, head resting on one arm and his feet dangling off the other. Eyes closed and mouth opened slightly, his breathing was steady and deep.

How long had he been sleeping there? And why was he here, anyway? Maybe if she got up and found the others, she could get some answers. And a new change of clothes.

She turned her body to swing her feet off the bed, muscles protesting every move. With steady resolve, she pushed herself off the mattress to plant her feet firmly on the ground. Her knees buckled and she landed on the ground with a thud.

“Rho!” Eldon jolted from the chair and crossed the room in two strides to kneel beside her. “What are you doing? You should have asked for help.”

“I’m cool, I’ve got this.” She shoved his arms aside and pushed herself off the floor, only to wobble and land on her ass again. Damn it.

A smile touched his eyes. “Really? Is that why you’re hanging out down here?”

The smartass had a point. Her gaze darted around the room. “What happened? Where am I? Where is everyone else?”

He shook his head. “Let’s get you back in bed.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

Ignoring her, he leaned forward. God, he smelled divine, like soap and dark spices. His biceps curled around her body and he scooped her from the floor.

Like a freaking damsel in distress. “You don’t have to do this. I can try to walk.”

“Mmm-hmm,” he murmured as he carried her over to the bed and set her gently on the mattress.

Her body ached. She wanted to tell him she didn’t need him, but the truth of the matter was she did. If her earlier floor flop was any indication of strength, she had none. Which would make getting around this place a total bitch.

He yanked the comforter up, settling it over her monkey-clad pants. “You’re at my family’s safe house.”

“How’d we get here?”

He settled in at the foot of the bed. “We jumped the lines.”

“We
did
that?” She remembered he’d mentioned the possibility, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall the actual experience.

“It was the only way I could get you to Jess fast enough.”

“For what?”

He raised a brow. “You almost died. We cut it close.” Pausing a moment, he dropped his head. “Too close.”

Jess? As in, the resident vamp hater? “Your sister
saved
me?”

“Yeah.”

She could only imagine what his sister would say about her staying at their house. “Bet she wasn’t real happy about that.”

“Don’t worry about her.”

Easier said than done. “Is she still here?”

“She’s downstairs with my other sister.” He sat up straighter. “Can I get you anything? A coffee or something?”

Her stomach grumbled in response.

He flashed a small smile. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

Blue fire formed as he rubbed his palms together, his hands molding the flame like a carpenter wielding his tools. “
Poculum
,” he whispered. The blue flame vanished, leaving behind a mug in his upturned palm.

“No way,” Rho said in awe.

He handed her the cup. “Yes way.”

“Nice trick.” The heat from the mug warmed Rho’s fingers as she accepted the offer. “Thanks.”

She wriggled, trying to find a more cozy position. Although when her entire body felt like it had taken a trip through a meat grinder, she supposed comfort was relative.

Eldon frowned. “You want me to move?”

She stopped shifting. “Oh, no, I’m fine. Just trying to get settled.” His stare burned into her, and she studiously ignored him. She took a sip of her coffee, trying to fill the awkward silence. “So, how long was I out?”

“Three days.”

“Three days?” she exclaimed. “How… how come I haven’t woken up by now? I should’ve been up by now to—you know…”

“Eat?” he offered. “You already did.”

She choked, nearly spewing coffee across the bedspread. Surely he couldn’t mean… “Wait, what did I eat?”

“Me.”

Holy shit.
She set the mug down on the nightstand calmly, trying to maintain the thread of composure she had left. “I’m sorry, did you say I
fed
from you?”

He nodded.

“When?”

“Right after we did the translocation spell.”

“What?”

“We had to remove the silver from your body and cast it into the ley lines.”

“You can do that?”

“Yeah.”

“And then I attacked you?”

Eldon shrugged a shoulder. “Something like that.”

“I’m so, so sorry.” Rho buried her head in her hands. “I can’t believe I did that.”

How
mortifying
. She’d actually attacked a teammate. Not because Preshea pissed her off again or someone got out of line. No, she’d done it because she’d lost control of herself, like a child.

Firm, warm hands clutched her wrists, pulling them gently away from her face. “Hey,” Eldon said softly. “It’s not a big deal.”

She snorted and peered up at him. “Right. Eating your teammate is no biggie.”

“You were acting on instinct.”

Instinct, her pale white ass. She should have enough self-control by now not to go all Dracula on someone she knew. Someone she needed to protect.

Way to go, genius.
Now no one would feel safe around her.

“That’s no excuse.” She glanced at the door. “Where are Tim and Preshea?”

“Tim’s downstairs. Probably pissing off my sisters.”

“And Preshea?”

Eldon didn’t answer, just scowled as he rubbed his palms together. She knew at once that something had happened.

“Where is she?” she asked again.

He gave her a sidelong glance before answering. “Preshea’s gone.”

“Where?”

His hands stopped moving. “She disappeared right after I brought her here. We were a little… distracted with keeping you alive. I didn’t know until she’d already taken off.”

This couldn’t be good. That woman had been distraught before those elves showed up, and now she was gone? There was only one place she’d go.

“She went after Vectra,” Rho murmured.

Eldon nodded, his expression grave. Then he extended his hand, palm side up. “Her mark is fading. We think the farther she goes, the lighter the mark becomes.”

Rho turned her palm up, revealing the same design. The yellow half-moon, brilliantly pigmented before, was now only a fraction of its formal vivid shade. She pulled her hand closer to her face to inspect it. “You’re right.”

“I’m not sure where she’d go,” Eldon said.

Neither was she. But sooner or later, they’d have to find her.

“Tim’s investigating,” Eldon interrupted her thoughts. “But the shifters are tight-lipped about their leader. I don’t think most of them even know where he lives.”

They had four Kamens to hunt for, and Preshea was nowhere to be found. Now they’d have to go after it without her. Rho hated to leave a teammate behind, but they didn’t have a choice. Time was of the essence.

“This sucks,” Rho mumbled.

“Tell me about it.” He glanced at the door. “We’ll figure it out. Hopefully my sisters won’t make Tim want to run away, too.”

“They don’t like werewolves either?”

He smirked. “They’re elitist.”

“No surprise there.” Of course, the first time she’d met Eldon, he’d been an elitist prick himself. But now? She didn’t think so.

“Most movers think that way,” he answered.

“Are you like most movers?”

He considered her. “In some ways, I guess. I was raised to believe that the movers and the fae were stronger than anyone else. Our magick makes us more powerful.”

“You’re not physically stronger, though.” He may be ripped, but he couldn’t match her vampire strength.

He held his hands up and wriggled his fingers. “We don’t need physical contact to do damage.”

That was a truth she’d witnessed firsthand. Blue fire was some nasty shit, and after witnessing him turn an elf into vapor, she certainly didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it. “I’ll concede on that point.”

He tilted his head and lifted a brow. “The vampire concedes?”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, don’t get used to it.” Her stomach rumbled again, airing its grievances. Coffee was nice, but blood was better. Way better. “I’m pretty hungry.”

“What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating?”

“Last time you were with me was my record. Four days.”

“We’re already on day three.” His brows pinched in thought. “Not to mention you’re recovering from silver poisoning.”

Time to get moving again. She swung her feet over the side of the bed, this time determined not to greet the floor with her ass.

Eldon jumped to his feet and rushed forward. “What are you doing?”

“Like I said, I’m hungry. Is there a place around here I can go grab a bite to eat?”

His expression turned to stone. “No.”

“Why the hell not?” Sure, she’d attacked him, but that had been an accident. He couldn’t keep her from eating forever.

He folded his arms across his chest. “We’re sitting in the middle of fourteen hundred acres of West Texas hill country right now. There’s no such thing as ‘nearby.’”

Acreage in the hill country? They must be miles west of Austin right now. She rubbed her eyes, trying to wrap her mind around yet another change in surroundings and circumstances.

There had to be some other way for her to get a quick meal. “Well, you’re a ley line jumper. Just jump me somewhere.”

“Not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Because you can feed from me.”

Silence.

Her mouth fell open as she stared at him in total shock. Was he insane? “Absolutely not.” Besides his status as her teammate and their strange mental connection, she found him entirely too attractive for that to be a good idea.

His eyes narrowed. “You need blood. I have blood. Seems pretty simple to me.”

“I already told you. No feeding from my teammates.”

He waved a hand dismissively. “That’s a stupid, self-imposed rule and you know it. Need I remind you that the last time I took you on a field trip, you nearly got killed?”

“I did not! Everything was fine until we got back to the warehouse.”

“And
then
you nearly got killed.”

“Do you enjoy repeating yourself?”

“Only when I’m right.”

She let out an exasperated sigh. This conversation was going nowhere, and neither was her hunger. “What do you want? For me to be happy with the idea of feeding from you?”

“Eventually.”

She gaped. “What did you say?”

The corner of his lip rose in a devious grin. “Eventually. As in,
eventually
I want you to be happy feeding from me. And quit fighting me about it.”

She couldn’t believe him. Was he hearing himself? “Why? What are you saying?”

His eyes softened as the grin fell from his face. “Everything is changing.” He pointed to the chair. “I haven’t moved from that seat for two days, watching you suffer and worrying that you may never wake up. I care about you too much to go through that again. So if blood is what you need to stay here, then say the word and it’s yours.”

Her chest tightened as the weight of his words struck her heart. She wasn’t a good person, she was a vampire executioner. She killed people.

A guy like Eldon? He was gorgeous and powerful. Wealthy. Had a family who loved him. He was everything she wasn’t, and he deserved far more than an undead orphan at his side.

She swallowed back the emotions threatening to bubble to the surface. “I can’t feed from you like that.”

“And why not? Am I different from any other random person you sip on the street?”

“Well no, but—”

“Am I so revolting that you’d rather starve than taste my blood?”

God no. The thought of her lips against his neck made her shiver. “Of course not.”

“Then why are we having this discussion?”

Maybe he wasn’t seeing the big picture. Or maybe he wasn’t right in the head.

This had trouble written all over it.

She eyed him, trying to figure out what he could possibly be thinking. Catching her stare, he lifted his chin, the sharp line of his jawbone defiant and demanding.

The hunger stirred in her stomach as she stared at him. If they were found by the enemy again, she was in no shape to fight. She couldn’t even stand. No way would she let someone else get hurt trying to save her just because she was being stubborn again.

She shook her head. “I know I’m going to regret this.” Pinching the bridge of her nose, she squeezed her eyes shut. “But fine. You’re right. It doesn’t matter who I feed from.”

She didn’t believe herself for one second.

Eldon tried to tame his heart as he took a step toward the bed.

Everything in his world had shifted. He didn’t understand it and he couldn’t explain it, but she belonged with him. He wanted her.

He shot her a small smile. “Glad you see things my way.”

Rho held up a finger. “It’s a blood thing. That’s it.”

“Whatever you say.”

He meant it, too. Everything would be on her terms. If she said no, he’d back off. But in this moment, he could help make her stronger, and he wanted nothing more than to ensure that happened. For the first time in his life, his brain and his heart were on the same page. She was it. She was everything.

Pain and worry masked her expression as she adjusted herself on the bed again.