Chapter 3

THREE

BASH

Philip and Victoria pounced on us. All of a sudden there was just a bunch of red curly hair everywhere. My ears were ringing so I didn’t catch what they were saying but it was a bunch of panic and aggressively affectionate words.

“ How could you not call ME? ” Philip shouted with panic still in his voice.

“I thought you’d be asleep?—”

“ Sandra! I heard it. I had to walk out the front door and see you fighting her up there. How could you not call me?—"

“Because I didn’t want you to leave the boys, not after what I’ve done. Not with her there.” Sandra sighed and fell into her soulmate’s arms. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight.”

Victoria reached up and put her hand on her son’s shoulder. “Let’s get them inside where it’s warm. Then we’ll talk. We’re safe for now, and it looks like you all need a break.”

I glanced around at our little group of aerial warriors. We’d managed a bit of a miracle just now up above the barrier. I wasn’t sure how we all walked out of that alive. I always warned my mother that underestimating her enemy would be her demise. I wondered if she remembered that. She hadn’t expected us to chase after her and attack her, she would think that suicidal and perhaps it was. Whatever Zuriel did to the new barrier protecting Megelle Island had saved all of our lives.

Sandra pulled back, her face sharp and tense. “Where are the boys? How are the boys?—”

“They’re with my boys.”

We turned just as Peggy Bow jumped out of a car parked on the street behind us. She wore a floor-length fuzzy wrap dress— no wait, that might be a robe. Her strawberry blonde hair was tied up in a messy bun on top of her head and looked more than a little disheveled. She had no makeup on and mismatched socks sticking out the top of her fuzzy winter boots. We’d definitely woken her up. But those eyes were bright and clear.

“Hello, Peggy?—”

“Is that any way to refer to your mother?” She fake-gasped then tsked at me playfully before grinning. “Especially after what I just saw up there.”

I laughed but on the inside my heart did weird things and I got all warm and fuzzy feeling. When I’d told Peggy I was in the market for a new mother and she’d volunteered, it was kind of a running joke for us. But I was starting to think a small part of me wasn’t kidding at all. “Sorry, mother dearest.”

“I forgive you, darling.” She winked at me and then pointed to the back of her sedan. “Now, son of mine, be a doll and help me get my supplies out of the trunk.”

I hurried to her trunk and found a brown wooden crate full of potion bottles and—well, I wasn’t entirely sure what else I was looking at in here. But if she needed it then it wasn’t my place to question, so I bent over and scooped it up. Sharp pain laced through my shoulders and down my spine, making me wince.

“That’s what I thought.” Peggy swished her wand and the crate lifted out of my arms to float past the group toward the house. “Just wanted to see what we were dealing with.”

I hung my head and laughed.

“Peggy—”

“Your boys are in good hands. Duvall is currently the equivalent of a body pillow being shared by three red-headed boys.” Peggy’s eyes shimmered. “Actually, it reminded us both of our own boys as kids.”

Sandra gnawed on her bottom lip as Phil rubbed her back. “They were sleeping though?”

“Oh yes. And Jethro is keeping a very close watch on all four of them. He’s an insomniac who won’t let his mother knock him out with a potion. The audacity of children sometimes.” She sighed. “But I took one look at that little show and knew I’d be needed, so I saved some time. Here I am.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder. “We are grateful to have you. Thank you.”

“Are we all alive and breathing?” We looked up toward the front doors of the Vauntero castle to find Constantine standing there with a grimace. His sapphire-blue gaze swept over each and every one of us like he was counting and assessing. Before we could answer, he nodded and turned back inside. “No life-threatening injuries, Nash.”

Then he was gone.

We all just stared.

King Ailwin slid into the open doorway. He smiled. “We may have forgotten to update the emotional software on our second born. Come in, please.”

We chuckled and followed the Vampire King through the foyer and into a grand living room with at least half a dozen couches and even more chairs. It took me a few steps to realize most of the Vauntero family was sitting in there. I jumped and my steps faltered. Damned vampires sat so still they blended in with furniture. As we all found seats and eased into them, I realized it wasn’t the entire Vauntero family. None of the children were around, nor most of the spouses, except for the only fae in their family: a soft-spoken blond male named Pippin who had married Ernald Vauntero. And his eyes were locked on me with dread.

I smiled and gave a little wave. “Grateful for your bloodline right now, aren’t you?”

Pippin grinned and his cheeks flushed. He tucked blond hair behind his pointed ears. “The fae on this Island are not unaware of the luck we were bestowed. Now more than ever.”

“Well, at least I’ve only suffered her for a few decades.”

“Did anyone call Peggy— oh. Look at that.” Ailwin chuckled, then leaned around a corner and shouted, “Peggy’s already here, Nash.”

Queen Zenobia sighed from the reclining chair on the far side of the room near a window that was cracked open. She had her bare feet propped up. “Pegs, do you by chance have a little something for Nashville? He’s been working too much with the extra people on the Island.”

Peggy rolled her eyes. “I told Duvall that Nash was lying about being tired. Yes, I made up a potion for him a few hours ago to send with Duey to the hospital in the morning, but I brought it with me. You all relax a moment. Doc Nash and I will be right out.”

As Peggy went in the direction Ailwin had, to where I assumed Nash was hiding, the rest of us settled in. Ellie and Stellan sat in front of the giant fireplace, no doubt for warmth. Nickel and the twin Nephilim took an empty couch a few feet over. Sandra looked wrecked, as she was practically lying in Phil’s arms. Victoria stood right beside them silently. I wished Collins was here, but I knew I had to get her better. Fast. Regret and terror filled my mind, knowing that I’d locked her in there — don’t think about that right now.

Instead, I glanced around at the royal family of First Realm. I tried to wrap my mind around the idea of them, around what it must have been like to be born into a massive family that truly and genuinely loved each other. Openly. It made me fascinated by them, as if they were an exhibit or show. Constantine paced the length of the room, his eyes distant and dark. The eldest daughter, Drusilla, with the curly hair, sat on a sofa between the sister with the bangs, Fina, and the other sister named Geraldine with the buzz-cut hair. Ernald looked a lot like her with his matching hairstyle. He sat on the floor with his arm wrapped tightly around Pippin’s shoulders. Josiah was stretched out on a carpet wearing a silk robe. On another couch Ida was silently teaching her brother Kallahan how to braid his long hair.

Movement in my peripheral vision made me turn. But it was just Hemming Vauntero, who despite the matching hair and eyes didn’t look as much like his siblings because he had big bulky muscles. He glanced around the room and nodded. “Everyone else is asleep. Did I miss anything?”

“Lark, grab that pink—yeah, that one.” Queen Zenobia rubbed one hand on her very pregnant belly. Her gaze swept over to me. “Please sit. Near the fire—you look cold. Take a breath, take a drink, then please catch us up on everything. We want to help anyway possible.”

I frowned. “Take a drink?”

“This drink.” Lark, the eldest daughter with only two digits in her age, strolled toward me carrying a steaming cup of something pink. She handed the drink to me and smiled. “From Peggy.”

“She made this that fast?”

Lark, who I realized belatedly wasn’t wearing her trademark bright lipstick, grinned. “Oh, no. Pippin still gets cold—fae genes run strong—so we have this warm and fuzzy concoction at the ready for him. I have one for both of you tonight, so take this and go sit by the fire.”

I was tired and overwhelmed, so I listened without hesitation. Once I sat beside Ellie, I took a sip of my drink and sighed. It was a strawberry deliciousness. None of the Vaunteros spoke up despite the desperation in their auras. They wanted to know what happened, yet they respected our space. What an incredible thing to witness.

Nash and Peggy walked into the room with her crate, a tray of vials, and what looked like a doctor’s bag of tools.

“All right. Let’s see the work we’ve got to do.” Nash rubbed his hands together and looked to us with sharp eyes. “I’ve got burns, punctures, gashes, bruises, drained magic, and whatever the hell she blew in Weston’s face.”

I scowled and took in my group from an outsider’s perspective. We were beat to shit. Weston had had that powdery substance blown into his face and it left him welting and burned. Not to mention the cut on his chest. His twin wasn’t much better with a similar gash across his chest. There were definitely some puncture wounds from thorns but my concern lay with the burns that coiled around his body from Ellie freeing him from Mother’s snake-like grip. Nickel had gotten a thorn bullet in the shoulder that was actively bleeding. Ellie looked a blink away from passing out from using so much magic. Sandra and Stellan were slightly singed but not bad, they just got caught in a blast from Ellie’s fire as it skirted over them. But it was enough to make them a bit crispy.

It was only then that I realized I hadn’t taken inventory of my own injuries. Aside from the exhaustion consuming me, I knew there was a gnarly cut across my cheek and the ends of my hair seemed partially burnt off, but I was sure once my adrenaline calmed I’d feel even worse.

“Following you, Doc.” Peggy grinned.

Nash chuckled. “Can you tend to Ellie’s depleted magic and assess Weston’s face? Not sure if he’ll need me for that as well.”

Peggy saluted him, then dove into her crate.

“What’s going on, Prince Bastien?—”

“Bash, please,” I interrupted Ailwin with my hands raised. “I’d rather not be reminded of my bloodline right now.”

They all gave me sad smiles.

“ Bash. ” Ailwin nodded as he moved to stand beside his wife’s chair. “We assume you came to our home for a reason. You could’ve easily flown back to The Emerald for medical attention.”

My whole group looked to me.

I grimaced. “This is the safest place with that barrier?—”

“Yes, and Collins isn’t with you.” Queen Zenobia arched her eyebrow. “You came here for help, we all know it, so don’t feel the need to sugarcoat anything. Give it to us straight.”

“Well . . .” I took another sip of my drink, then licked my lips. My thoughts were all over the place, so I needed a moment to collect them. “I know for a fact that you and your soulmate were in the war between species after all the Nephilim were killed. I know you were here before the realms were separated . . . We were hoping you might have some knowledge that could help us. We’re a little stuck.”

Ailwin sat on the armrest of his wife’s chair and nodded. “Is that why you sent Prince Stellan for my blood?”

“Yeah, what was that about?” Kallahan asked pensively.

“A few days ago, we fought my mother in Vegas—this is what prompted Collins to evacuate everyone here. We could have killed her, technically, we had the opportunity, but what no one else besides me knew was that my mother bound herself to Third Realm.” I paused as they all gasped and sat up straight. “She did it a few days prior to that after Eloise and Stellan had left Third Realm. It triggered a panic in her I’ve never seen before. The problem is that if we kill her while that bond is intact, it will destroy the entire realm, including everyone inside of it when it happens.”

“How the hell did she do that?” Lark said breathlessly.

“With magic.” Peggy crouched down beside me and in front of Ellie. She handed her two different vials, then pointed her wand at them. Light flashed from within the vials. She nodded for Ellie to drink and then glanced up at me. “Lots of magic.”

Constantine sighed. “Which means it’ll take even more to sever the bond.”

Ailwin shook his head, his gaze locked on the ground. “Tephine has never possessed magic like that. She must have had help.”

“But from whom?” Zenobia scowled and rubbed her belly. “Who is strong enough and willing to do such a thing?”

“How does this connect to Father’s blood?” Nash sat on the stone ledge beside me and inspected the gash on my cheek. “You can keep talking. I’m just going to tend to this, but try not to move for a few minutes?”

I settled my body into a comfortable position. “Statue time. You got it, Doc.”

“The blood, Bash?”

“Oh, right. Sorry. So, in Vegas the angels arrived to help us end the fight, and to do so they dumped a vial of blood onto my mother. It burned her like acid, like fire.”

“Oi. Hold up.” Stellan held one finger up. “Sandra, weren’t you the one who dropped the blood bomb on her?”

Sandra grimaced and nodded. “Yes. But I don’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know it was blood inside of the vial when I threw it. Zuriel gave it to me . . . and well, I don’t make a habit of questioning Zuriel.”

Everyone nodded.

Their gazes moved back to me, but I paused to let Doctor Nash tend to my wound. When his hands moved from my face, I continued, “When Queen Savina and I were killing my father, we asked him how to sever the bond. He told us to ask Prince Riven.”

Zenobia leaned forward with a scowl. But then she winced, held her side, and laid back. “Bregan sent you to Riven? Bregan ? He loathes Riven. It’s mutual.”

“His words, verbatim, were: ask Violette, ” Stellan answered for me with a smirk. “I believe Bash was intentionally leaving that part out for our sake because Violette is Prince Riven’s nickname for Ellie.”

We all looked to Ellie only to find her asleep sitting up. Stellan frowned and pulled her into his lap, then stroked her hair.

“Prince Riven is ancient. He had over a century of conflicts with my parents. Their mutual hatred runs deep . . . and yet my father told us to seek him out. More importantly, he chose to use words in his clue that my mother would be ignorant about. For whatever reason, vampires are part of the answer for how to sever the bond. We aren’t sure how.” I spun the crystal rings around my fingers. “We spent days tracking Prince Riven down only to have him refuse to help us in any way. I’ve seen the prince more times than I can count in my eighty years, and I have never seen him as angry as he was at the sheer audacity we had in asking him.”

Zenobia groaned and squeezed her eyes shut. “That means he one-hundred-percent knows the answer.”

“Why do you say that?” Victoria asked from across the room. “He may be old, but he doesn’t know everything.”

Zenobia opened her eyes just to roll them. “Riven is only a century older than myself. I’ve known that male for over two thousand years, and I assure you there is very little he does not know. Even if he doesn’t know right away, he makes it his mission to find out. Vampires, and I can say this as a vampire, are very secretive, though not so much those born after the separation here in First Realm.”

I licked my dry lips. “So, what exactly are you saying?”

“If Riven did not know the answer, he would have been devious. He would have tricked you into thinking he knew but had to pay to get the answer, and not in money. Then while you sought out whatever he asked of you as payment, he would have found out the answer you needed. You never would have known that he was as ignorant as you.” She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “If he was angry and vehemently refused, then it means he damn well knows and has a reason he won’t tell you.”

Ailwin shook his head slowly. “And that reason . . . I shudder to think what it could be.”

“Because it would be something monumental.” The Queen nodded.

“ Hey, Pegs ?” Nash whispered. When she looked up from Weston’s face, Nash pointed to me. “Get him next?”

She nodded. “One sec, Bash.”

“Thanks.” I waited until Nash stood and moved over to work on Nickel’s bleeding shoulder, then I turned back to the others. “I was afraid you were going to say that. I’d say we can summon him and ask again?—”

“No,” Zenobia, Ailwin, and Constantine all said at the same time.

I flinched. “What?”

Constantine growled. “If you summon him again, he might kill you just for daring, especially if he’s angry.”

“But he might be the only one who knows the answer?—”

“Then you need to know how to get him to talk.” Constantine locked eyes with me. There was no fear in him. He was calm and steady. “You need something he wants.”

Everyone fell silent but I knew by their auras they were thinking. These vampires knew him better than anyone else. I was going to give them a minute to think on it since we’d already had the time to think. In the meantime, Nash and Peggy were making quick work. It was impressive. They’d already healed me, Ellie, Stellan, Sandra, and Nickel. Weston and Shylock were all that was left. Peggy raced over and handed me three different vials then hurried back over to Weston. Poor guy’s face was a mess. Nash already had Nickel’s arm fixed up and had moved on to Shylock’s chest wound.

“So I assume my blood didn’t do what you’d hoped, right?” Ailwin pursed his lips. “It wasn’t the effect you saw previously.”

“No. Sadly. But thank you for offering it.”

He waved me off. “Anything to help. But I’m wondering if Riven’s blood is the blood you need. He has a friendship with Araqiel and Zuriel, it would make sense they’d have some of his blood. And it would make sense that Riven wouldn’t want to give any more of his out especially in regard to Tephine. I may be wrong but . . . it could be.”

“Yeah, but how are they gonna get Riven’s blood?” Lark shook her head. "That feels impossible.”

“Well, I may have an idea for you . . .” Queen Zenobia blushed. “It’s not Riven’s blood in a literal sense, but he did change Jimbo and Sal into vampires so maybe there’s enough of him in their blood?”

I sat up straight and winced at the pain. “Does it work like that?”

Constantine grimaced. “Yes and no. It’s complicated.”

“But it’s worth a shot.”

“I’ll get them!” Lark leapt to her feet and raced out of sight.

“But I do think we still need another method for you to bargain with Riven. Whether it’s for his blood or something else.” Ailwin ran his hand through his hair. “I’m just drawing a blank on what he might want.”

“Ellie already made him rings, though I’m not entirely sure what they do.” Stellan shuddered.

Constantine rolled his eyes. “He probably didn’t even need those. Just wanted to make her do it. Guy takes whatever he wants. Granted, he doesn’t want for much.”

“Lexington.” Zenobia snapped her fingers. “Lexington Prescott has had many, many interactions with Riven over the last few centuries. And Lex always knows what people want. He’s a businessman at heart. Actually, he and Riven aren’t that unalike. That’s who you ask.”

Ailwin grinned. “That’s brilliant. Return to The Emerald. He lives and works there. Tell him the situation—he can be trusted with the truth, I assure you—and I bet he’ll have an answer for you.”

I smiled as hope filled my chest. “Excellent. Thank you.”

"Interrupting a plotting session is no way to start my night of mayhem.” Jimbo slid into the living room wearing a fuzzy blue bathrobe and matching socks. A large khaki-colored fishing hat sat on his head with hooks and rubber bait hanging off it. The tiny pieces dangled in front of his face, nearly touching his bulbous nose. He wagged his eyebrows and gave us a shit-eating grin and a playful bow. “But I’m here. How can we be of service?”

Sal slid in right behind him wearing the same ensemble just in pink and without the fishing hat. Instead, he wore a large fake shark fin on his back. The straps were wrapped around his arms like a backpack. He whistled and rubbed his hands together. “I get the feeling we’re about to embark on a new adventure, Jimbo.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Sal. Finally, our talents won’t be wasted.”

Jimbo clapped his hands together and three worms, two bags of dirt, a fishing hook, and a can of mace fell from the pockets of his robe. The contents of his arsenal hit the floor around his feet. Sal burst into laughter and nearly tumbled over as he watched Jimbo scramble to pick everything up.

The entire Vauntero family grumbled and rolled their eyes, somewhat embarrassed but mostly not surprised. And since I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what was happening under those robes, I was gonna be nervous right along with them.

“STOP.” Constantine growled and marched over to them. “Do not move.”

Both old men froze in dramatic positions. Jimbo froze bent over with his robe barely covering what should’ve been left to the imagination, and Sal snapped to attention holding his hand in a kind of awkward solute.

“Nash, vial. Now,” Constantine snapped.

Nash chuckled and tossed a clear vial right into his brother’s open hand. “Good luck.”

Constantine pointed his finger in Jimbo’s face. “Stand up straight.” When he did, Constantine narrowed his eyes at him. “Move and I’ll cut the whole damn artery, got it, kid?”

Jimbo’s grin didn’t waver. He held his arm out and did a little dance. “Taking my blood, grandpa?”

“Stay. Bad dog.” Constantine gripped his wrist and held tight. He moved in front of Jimbo and it blocked my view so I couldn’t see what was happening, but I did hear Constantine growling at him.

Sal leaned over Jimbo’s shoulder and watched with wide eyes. These two must have learned when not to mess with Constantine because they were behaving themselves, and I knew by their auras that it was taking every ounce of self-control they had. A moment later, Constantine stepped back and turned to me with a vial of dark-red blood in his hand.

“That was fast.”

“ That’s what she said, ” Sal snickered.

Constantine growled. “It would’ve been faster to drain them.”

“Yeah, but then Riven would be pissed.” Jimbo started a strange chicken dance. “And we know the only person Constantine fears is Riven.”

“I do not fear Riven. I am merely consciously aware of the hierarchy and choose to live.” Constantine sighed and walked away from the trouble duo. He handed me the vial, then crossed the room. “I only fear Araqiel and Zuriel. Only an idiot wouldn’t.”

“So . . .” Jimbo shimmied over to sit next to me, eyeing his blood in my hand. “Whatchya gonna do with it? Populate an army of ants? Graffiti a bridge? Can we help?”

“ Boys, ” Zenobia said in that tone I’d only ever heard from caring mothers. It was funny to see a woman who looked no more than thirty refer to elderly, wrinkled men as boys. “They’re trying to kill Tephine. We think they need Riven’s blood, and since that’s hard to come by, we are hoping his presence in your blood may do the trick.”

“OH.” Sal shoved his hands in his robe. “Ya know, we actually have a vial of Riven’s blood.”

Everyone gasped and stared at him.

The only word I knew to explain what happened after that was chaos. The Vauntero family lost their ever-loving minds. Sal sprinted out of the room to dodge the questions, but Jimbo was unabashed in the face of them.

Jimbo shrugged. “Meh, need-to-know kinda thing?”

“JIMBO!”

“Got it!” Sal yelled as he ran back into the room, this time holding up an even bigger silver vial. “Riven’s blood.”

I leapt for my feet and grabbed it from him before he had a chance to get away.

Sandra cursed. “SOS CALL FROM JADA. EMERALD NOW!”