With his other hand, Victorian cups my face, lowers his mouth to mine, and gently presses his lips against mine. The kiss doesn’t last long, but I feel every ounce of Victorian’s emotion in the kiss. He breaks it, momentarily rests his forehead against mine, then presses his lips to my temple. “Te iubesc,” he whispers. “Mersi.”
I love you. And, thank you.
Victorian pulls back, looks at me, then blushes furiously. Damn, his cheeks literally turn fire pink. “I forgot you can now understand Romanian,” he says quietly, the r rolling with his accent. “Forgive me.” He meets my gaze. “But I cannot help it.”
I shake my head and study him. Such an anomaly. What I once thought was a monster proves to be a sweet, romantic, blushing, young, and beautiful man. Who just so happens to have to live off human blood. I link my arm through his and tug him toward the end of the hall. “I think in another place, another time, Vic”—I look at him—“who knows? But for now, I love you…as a friend. And one I feel a strong connection to.”
He smiles at me, and I’m positive it’s a smile that has brought many a young maid straight to her knees. “And I accept that, Riley Poe,” he says. “As long as you realize”—he looks down at me—“that I will wait for you. For however long it takes.” His eyes glow. “Forever.”
I smile back. “I’d expect nothing less from you, Mr. Arcos.” We hit the steps and make our way back to the great hall. “You’re coming back with us, right?” I ask.
Victorian nods. “Much to your lover’s disdain, yes. I have to ensure my brother’s safety.”
I nod. “Good. We can use your help.”
“Go to your man,” Victorian whispers, and hangs back. “The lucky bastard awaits you with the others. I think they are arranging a formal meeting for you.”
With a final smile at Vic, I walk ahead and join Eli and the others. Gilles has joined the group. All heads turn my way as I approach.
Eli, pacing, stops and walks directly to me. He grasps my shoulders. “Well?” he asks. “Are you okay?”
Giving him an assuring smile, I lean up and kiss him. “Oui, Monsieur Dupré.” I blink. The French rolls off my tongue as though it’s my first language. Intrigued, I decide to give it another try. “Est-ce-que vous avez été examiner pour la rage récemment?” I wait expectantly for praise.
A moment of silence hangs in the air before laughter breaks out in the Arcos great hall.
Eli’s lips purse tightly together, and he covers his mouth with his hand before shaking his head.
“What’d I say?” I ask. I look at Gilles. He’s still chuckling.
“Damn, girl,” Noah says, wiping his eyes. “You just asked Eli if he’d been checked for rabies recently.”
“Oops,” I say. “Guess I need to work on that, huh?”
Eli pulls me into a hug. “Non,” he whispers against my ear. “I like you just the way you are.”
I fall easily into his embrace. How simple it is for me to take comfort there. Much easier now that I’ve admitted to myself, and to Eli, how much I truly love him.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Victorian hanging back somewhat from the group. And for a moment, my heart aches.
He smiles at me. No, love. Do not ache for me. As I said, I will wait for you. And I shall also enter your thoughts routinely. You’ll grow weary of hearing me, no doubt.
I do nothing more than smile back at him.
“We must prepare for departure,” Gilles announces, drawing everyone’s attention. “Luc has called several times. The situation is growing, and it’s no longer safe to leave the entire city and our loved ones solely in the hands of my children and wife.” He faces Eli. “Valerian has been in hiding, commanding his newlings. They’ve converged now. A large clan descends upon Savannah. We must leave at once.”
Jake Andorra moves to Eli. “My team and I will accompany you.”
Eli nods and grasps his shoulder. “Merci. We can use all the help we can get. Merci.”
“I will help as well,” Victorian adds, standing tall, erect, and meeting Eli’s hard gaze without flinching. “’Tis my duty to bring my brother home.”
Eli looks first at me, then back to Victorian. “Only because Riley trusts you so much will I allow this.”
Victorian simply nods and leaves the hall.
“Well,” Noah says, clapping his hands together and rubbing them vigorously. His smile is lethal, predatory. “Time to make like a tree and get the fuck out of here.”I shake my head. Noah’s mercury gaze lights on me and I can’t help but grin at him. Sick fool.
Within an hour, we’d packed up and, thanks to Julian Arcos, boarded two helicopters bound for Bucharest. Apparently I’d been so out of it on the journey that I’d missed the flight to Castell Arcos. But even I have to admit that the sight of the massive, ancient castle rising out of the misty rocks of the Carpathians is one I’ll not soon forget. Turrets and towers—foreboding, all of it. Yet…enticing. I guess that’s the whole vampire lure. To me, though, it is sheer beauty.
At the airport, we board the Arcoses’ private jet—a Gulfstream, no less, manufactured directly in my hometown of sultry Savannah, Georgia. The jet is immaculately decorated and lavishly furnished; I admit that it is pretty kick-ass to roll in so much luxury. Not sure I’d ever buy one myself, but it damn sure beats sitting all cramped in coach, with someone kicking the back of your seat or, worse, falling asleep on you. Had that happen to me once. Some weird dude who looked like Satan, complete with pointed goatee and all, fell right over on me. Tried to snuggle. No, thank you.
As we take off from Bucharest, the sun is setting, and the sky we fly into is various shades of orange, red, yellow, and purple. The Carpathians rise in the distance, and for a solid second, I feel sad that I’m leaving. It’s weird—I’ve never had the first little desire to go to Romania, yet I have some sort of connection to it. I now have the urge to return. Someday.
It’s not weird, love. The connection to my home is inside of you now, just as my blood, my brother’s, and my father’s circulate with each pump of your heart. It’s natural to feel this. Mayhap one day you’ll come back?
My eyes shoot over to Victorian’s, and he’s of course watching me. I smile and shrug, then turn back to the window and watch Bucharest fade away. Maybe I will. One day.
I settle down next to Eli and take notice of my traveling companions. Five vampires, two werewolves, two ancient Pict Druthan warriors, and one mortal-turned-very-important-immortal. And me.
I have to wonder what exactly the pilot is.
“Well,” Jake Andorra says, addressing everyone. “Since we had to hurry and leave in such haste I suggest we take this time to acquaint Ms. Poe with WUP”—he slides me a glance—“and what would be expected of her.” His gaze lights on everyone. “Agreed?”
The plane fills with various forms of agreement: ayes and yeses and ouis.
Jake nods. “Good.” He’s sitting in the seat across from me, so he leans forward, clasps his hands together, and meets my gaze. “As you can see, my WUP team is made up of…rather unique beings.” He nods to the various occupants of the plane. “Werewolves. Vampires. Immortals.” He smiles. “And you, Riley Poe.”
“What am I?” I ask.
Jake shrugs. “That, I haven’t figured out yet, but trust me when I say, you’ll fit right in with the rest of the team. You see, we take on cases too dangerous and powerful for mere mortals to handle. This case is probably our most dangerous thus far.”
I keep my gaze trained on Jake.
“You see, there’s really only one thing more lethal than a vampire,” he says. “A Black Fallen.”
“What’s that again?” I ask, not sure I got the full scoop earlier.
“’Tis a fallen angel, engulfed in the blackest of magic. And three of the Fallen have descended upon Edinburgh, Scotland, with a vengeance.”
“Why?” I ask.
Jake glances at another. “Gabriel?”
The big guy, Gabriel, meets my eyes. “The Black Fallen seek two things: one, a soul. No’ just any old soul. A pure one.”
“And the second?” I ask.
“’Tis an aged tome—the Seiagh—a dark, ancient book of the most potent spells, stolen from the Fallen’s possession centuries before.” His unusual eyes bore into mine. “They’ll stop at nothing to get both.”
“Aye, and it’ll take all of our powers combined to stop them,” Jake says.
“Ms. Maspeth,” Gabriel continues, “was chosen at birth to be the only one capable of reading the ancient script of the Seiagh.” He nods at Sydney. “The Fallen want her as badly as they want the bloody book.”
Across several rows, my eyes meet Sydney’s. Neither of us says a word. We don’t have to. I’ve been inside her body, linked to her soul. I’ve seen what happens in Edinburgh with the Fallen. I’ve been witness to the…things the Fallen have created to help seek out a pure soul to steal. They’re vicious, horrible creatures that are hideously gross when killed. What a frickin’ mess. And Sydney has kicked some major monster ass.
I move my gaze back to Jake. “And what about Ginger and Lucien’s deal?”
“It’s…complicated,” Jake begins. “But it’s a war brewing between two werewolf clans. Major treaties are being broken, and innocents are getting killed.”
I glance at Ginger. No lie, innocents are getting killed. I saw that while in her body, too.
I think for a moment, and raise my gaze to meet Eli’s. We look wordlessly at each other. For several long seconds. Then I glance at Jake.
“I’ll consider joining the team, Andorra,” I say. “If you consider taking my brother on, as well. I’m not leaving him behind, and he’s a damn good fighter.”