3. Three

three

Tree branches creaked from the light wind while we waited for what felt like an endless moment.

When the spell finally dropped so did my jaw.

“What the hell happened to you?” I scanned the pixie standing on top of the fallen tree. “Is that blood?”

Red was smeared on Inara’s clothes and across her face. Her hair was disheveled and there were scrapes all over the exposed parts of her skin. The normally brilliant greens and yellows that decorated her wings were muted. A side effect of her magic being expended.

“Where’s Lowen?” I asked, glancing around for her consort.

The resulting silence and the sudden grief crowding the lines of her features made my stomach sink.

I moistened suddenly dry lips, fearing the answer to my next question “Is he dead?”

Inara’s expression threatened to crumple before it went flat. “I don’t know.”

I nodded, trying not to react to that admission. I had a feeling if I showed any emotion Inara might break. She was barely holding it together as it was.

“Let’s get you inside before the lucies, lusich, or whatever they’re called come back,” I ordered.

Her story could wait until we got her to safety.

“She’s not alone,” Connor warned, his gaze on the depression created by the tree’s roots tearing free when it toppled.

Frowning, I peered into the shadows, spotting Inara’s companion a second later. Eyes the color of tree sap caught mine. The look in them savage. His hair was what I noticed next. A mix of brilliant oranges, reds and auburns. The pallet of fall when the leaves began to change colors.

Immediately after, the scent of blood hit my nose. I swayed, nearly losing myself in its potency. My fangs dented my lower lip.

He smelled so good. Distinct and sharp with an undertone of musk and earth. There was a briskness to it that reminded me of the change of seasons. The hours of daylight shortening. Night becoming dominant until the return of spring.

Connor grabbed my arm when I would have drifted forward, lured by his scent. The urge to feast was overpowering. Only his strong grip anchored me to the here and now.

“Thanks,” I told him quietly.

That had been a close one. Feeding from a Fae as powerful as one of the twins would be such a bad idea. Baran and Breandan were the barrow lord’s closest confidants. The three shared a bond that was every bit as deep as the one I had with Caroline. If someone ever attempted to feed on her without her permission, you could bet I would move heaven and Earth to destroy them.

Let’s not forget the saying—be careful what you eat. That never held truer than for a vampire in her infancy.

As members of the Scattered, the twins were powerful. Frightfully so. Consuming a large quantity of their blood probably wouldn’t end well for me.

Connor was slow to release me, eyeing me distrustfully.

Not that I could blame him.

I patted him on the hand reassuringly before focusing on the two below. I wasn’t sure which of the twins had wandered onto my property, but it didn’t really matter. They were here now which made them my problem.

“We’ll go,” Inara said abruptly, looking at the twin and nodding to herself as if coming to a decision. “I should never have come here.”

“Don’t be an idiot,” I told her. “Where else would you have gone to escape those pointy eared bastards?”

I might have preferred she ditched Baran or Breandan, whichever twin he was, first, but we were here now.

“Come up to the house. We can figure this out there.”

“Aileen—”

“This isn’t a negotiation. Get moving, Inara.”

I was tired of standing out here. Whatever she had to say, she could say it inside.

Connor squeezed my arm in support. “The Fae is too injured to make it on his own. He’ll require my help.”

He stepped over the edge of the ravine, sliding down its steep side in a controlled manner.

I watched, feeling a little guilty as he strode toward the Fae. Connor had a history with their kind. They’d hunted him for centuries. Something like that was bound to create a few long-lasting wounds.

“I am going to put your arm over my shoulder and support you up the hill. Try anything that I perceive as a threat and I’ll rip your throat out,” Connor informed the twin softly.

The Fae’s response was inaudible.

Connor slid under the man’s arm and helped him stand. Once that was done, he held his hand out to Inara, palm up.

The pixie glared at the offering in affront.

“Would you prefer to fly?” Connor asked in a neutral voice that still managed to sound mocking.

Everyone there knew she wouldn’t make it two feet before crashing to the ground. Let alone all the way to the house.

“I never should have let Aileen bring you home,” Inara growled, stalking forward with an angry flounce.

“It’s a pity that nothing you might have done would have prevented my eventual cohabitation. We’re family. Family always wins out.”

“Oh yeah, does that apply to your father as well?” The telling silence from Connor coaxed a tired snicker from Inara. “That’s what I thought. Family only matters if they act like family.”

Connor bounded up the side of the ravine, causing mini landslides with every step. Any other person might have had trouble navigating the years of dead and decaying leaves that had accumulated along the hill. Connor, however, scaled it as easily as if he was out for a Sunday stroll. All the while managing not to dislodge Inara or the Fae.

Seeing he had the situation well in hand, I turned toward the house, Connor and the other two following. We were silent as we moved through the woods, listening for signs that the Lucies had returned. Thankfully, our passage proved uneventful and it wasn’t long before we broke through the tree-line.

I slowed, staring at our house.

Every window was aglow. The house looking like it had a spotlight shining on it. From the floor-to-ceiling bank of windows that followed the perimeter of my living room, to the upstairs bedrooms, and every room in between. Someone had even left the outdoor lights on.

“Was this you?” I asked Connor.

Did we need another talk about the merits of conservation and how that affected the electricity bill?

Connor squinted at the house before shaking his head. “The house was dark when I left it for my appointment.”

Appointment. As if meeting up with a hunter was an everyday occurrence for him.

I set that thought aside for later before going back to staring at the brightly lit dwelling. If he wasn’t responsible, who was?

Maybe Deborah? Our roommate and the human who served as my companion. Aka my voluntary blood bank. She’d also become a friend over the weeks since she’d started living with us.

It seemed out of character for her though.

Unless something had scared her enough to need the comfort that came from a brightly illuminated house. Like, say—a bunch of scary Fae chasing a fugitive.

“Connor,” I warned in a low voice.

Connor was already lowering his cargo to the ground.

There’s no need for such alarm, my dear. It’s only me, someone crooned in my mind.

I practically snarled at the intrusion. “Ahrun.”

Connor’s attention whipped to me. “He’s speaking telepathically with you?”

“Yes,” I ground out between gritted teeth.

And I hated it. Not even Thomas could penetrate my mental defenses unless I allowed him to.

Connor’s mouth flattened. “It seems the bond he forced is still active.”

An inconvenient truth that I’d been ignoring. At least until he shoved it in my face.

There was a tsking sound in the back of my mind. Such anger and distrust. I’m hurt, youngest. Why don’t you join me inside so we can discuss what’s upsetting you?

I glared at the house, wishing it was a certain ancient vampire who had made himself into quite the pest. “He wants us to go inside.”

It would have been nice to have been able to reject that request, but I didn’t have a death wish. Ahrun was the oldest vampire I’d ever met. I was pretty sure he was the oldest vampire, full stop. You didn’t tell someone like that no. At least not with the expectation of living a long and healthy life afterward. He was also my sire’s sire. In our world, that gave him some authority over me.

“We shouldn’t keep him waiting then,” Connor said with a calm I envied.

He had every right to resent Ahrun’s trespass on our territory considering the ancient was the one who’d orchestrated his enslavement to the Fae. That he could treat Ahrun’s presence as if it was nothing more than a minor blip in his evening made me envious.

It did make me wonder why Connor couldn’t do the same with Thomas. I guess it was due to them being father and son. Nothing got under your skin better than family.

Not him. Just you, Ahrun purred.

My abrupt stop drew a questioning look from Connor.

“You should remain here to keep an eye on Inara and our guests,” I said carefully, knowing that if Connor knew it was Ahrun who’d suggested he remain behind, he’d immediately object.

Uncertainty creased Connor’s features as he eyed me carefully. “Are you certain you want to deal with him alone?”

How ridiculous. What does he think I’ll do to you?

Maybe betray me to my enemy. For my own good, of course.

I kept that thought under lock and key as I gave Connor a shaky smile. “I’ll be fine. I doubt he’d hurt me.”

Physically at least. Emotionally? Mentally? That was still up for some debate.

Connor didn’t seem convinced as I sent him another reassuring look. He let me go though, not trying to intervene as I walked toward the house, feeling like a prisoner on their way to the gallows.

I paused at my front door, taking a deep breath to steel myself before reaching for the knob. Unsurprisingly, it twisted under my touch. Unlocked. Of course.

It seemed Connor wasn’t the only one who needed a lesson in modern living.

Okay, Aileen. You’re going to walk in there like you own the place, I told myself. Because I did. This was my house. Thomas had given it to me. That meant a home-ground advantage. Who cared that he was older than dirt and could destroy me with his pinky finger? I’m the one who’d stopped his devolution. He owed me.

I just hoped he remembered that.

The door swung open silently as I gave it a tiny push, revealing the entryway to my home. Warm wooden floors were covered by cozy area rugs. To my left stairs led up to our bedrooms. The wall to my right obstructed my view of the living room where I sensed Ahrun’s presence.

Voices murmured from that direction. I stopped to listen, my forehead furrowing slightly. Was he watching TV?

It was the only thing I could think of given the context of the conversation taking place. Some reality show from the sound of it.

The absurdity of an ancient vampire watching a show about housewives in the city was enough to reduce the stress of the coming confrontation.

Curious, I drifted toward the living room, rounding the corner to find Ahrun lounging on my couch, one arm extended along the back, a leg crossed over the other and his gaze trained on the TV.

“Two hundred years isn’t much when you consider the entirety of human history,” he mused. “Yet in that short time, they’ve managed to change so entirely. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

“I suppose you could look at it that way.”

It had never occurred to me how disconcerting it must be. To go to sleep for what felt like a short time and then wake up to find a much different world than the one you’d left. Ahrun predated civilization by a wide margin. He’d lived through every stage of human development. Witnessed those things only written about in books. From the time our species survived by hunting and gathering, to our first steps into agriculture when we could finally sustain ourselves and settle in one place. He’d experienced the rise and fall of countless civilizations.

It was something I’d never considered in regards to my own self before. The changes I might one day witness as a result of my long life.

Personally, I hoped for space travel. The idea of leaving this planet and exploring a new one had always fascinated me. I might actually live to see that now. That was if humanity didn’t tear itself apart beforehand.

In the periphery of my vision, I was aware of Deborah scrunched into the corner of the sectional. As far away as she could get from Ahrun without climbing over the arm. Suddenly, the fact that this place was lit up like a Christmas tree made more sense now. It was a warning to Connor and me regarding our unwelcome guest.

Brave human. That was why I’d chosen her as my companion though. She wasn’t the type to just roll over and take things. In her own quiet way, she was a fighter.

Ahrun patted the couch next to him. “How about you come rot and chill with me for a few minutes?”

Reluctantly, I moved further into the room, stopping in front of the coffee table instead of taking the seat he’d indicated. “That’s not quite how those terms are supposed to be used.”

He was close though.

“You’re adapting quickly,” I observed.

Looking at him, you’d never realize he was from another era. It wasn’t just how comfortable he was using the TV or his new love of reality shows. It was in the way he dressed. A pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. Clothes that were both casual and comfortable. The type of thing you’d wear to visit a friend.

Ahrun picked up the remote beside him and muted the TV. “When you’ve lived as long as I have, you learn how to quickly acclimate to the changing trends.”

“All the better to blend in with your prey.”

“That—but also because humans tend to fear what they see as different. Usually that leads to the local population showing up at your doorstep with pitchforks and torches.”

Ahrun settled deeper into the couch, the entirety of his focus landing on me. For a moment, it was like an invisible vise clamped around me. The hazel of his eyes all I could see.

Then the moment was over as he looked away, the pressure vanishing.

Nonchalantly, he drew a finger along the back cushion of the couch as I fought to catch my breath.

“Is there a reason you’ve decided to grace us with your presence?” I asked after I’d recovered.

It probably wasn’t a good idea to take that tone with him, but I couldn’t help my anger and frustration. That one look had been enough to remind me of the gap between us. He was at the apex of the food chain that made up our world. I was barely a few rungs above the bottom.

“I was waiting for you,” Ahrun said.

“That’s what happens when you show up without notice or an invitation.”

Easy, Aileen, I cautioned myself. There was no need to offend him unnecessarily.

I took a moment to study the ancient. He’d come a long way in the short time since he’d awoken. From an emaciated skeleton, his skin stretched thin over his bones, barely alive, to this suave gentleman whose sophistication reached all the way to his bones.

He had brown hair and light brown skin and features that made it difficult to pinpoint which region of the world he hailed from. They had characteristics that could have fit any number of origins.

Ahrun flashed a smile at me. “I don’t mind. It gave me a chance to think and catch up on my shows.”

“You know, you’ve ruined my algorithm,” I said.

Because of him I was going to get a whole bunch of recommendations that I didn’t want.

“Consider it my contribution. You need to expand your horizons anyway. You think so too, lovely?” Ahrun said, addressing my companion for the first time since I’d entered the house.

In her early to mid-twenties, Deborah was only a few years younger than I’d been when I was turned. Like most companions—and vampires for that matter—she was attractive. Her bone structure symmetrical and appealing. Her eyebrows thick and expressive. A few weeks ago, she’d dyed her hair a honey blond that suited her skin tone.

Since coming to live here, she’d put on a few pounds. The result of not existing in a constant state of heightened anxiety caused by the asshole who was her last master.

I was afraid Ahrun’s intrusion was going to set her back.

“You don’t have to answer that,” I assured her.

“Why? Afraid she’ll agree that you’re a little set in your ways?” Ahrun tsked. “You’re much too young to be so inflexible. How will you survive eternity like this?”

There was a look of apology on Deborah’s face. “I’m sorry, Aileen. I didn’t realize he was here until I came downstairs and found him sitting on the couch.”

“Don’t worry, child. She won’t blame you. The youngest is aware of the attempt you made to warn her,” Ahrun drawled, his eyes on me. “Quite heroic, don’t you think?”

I ignored him to give Deborah a comforting look. “He’s right. It’s not your fault someone never learned to knock.”

Too bad the rule that vampires needed an invitation to enter a residence only applied when it involved a human as the house’s owner.

A tickled expression settled on Ahrun’s face. “Why would I knock? I haven’t any of the other times I’ve visited.”

“You’ve only been here once.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with a look in his eyes that had me questioning that assumption.

A cold sweat broke out on my back at the thought of this vampire entering and exiting at his whim. Spying on Connor and me when we were vulnerable.

My breathing quickened. Was it possible for a vampire to hyperventilate?

“We would have known,” I whispered.

“Ah, yes. Your pixies. A most excellent job they’ve done warding the place. If I’d been a few thousand years younger, they may have actually kept me out.”

What wards? No one had told me anything about any wards. It was the kind of thing you’d think they’d warn me about so I didn’t accidentally set them off and end up as pixie dust.

Ahrun made a chiding sound. “There’s no need for such panic. I mean you and your brother no harm. Or anyone else who resides under this roof.”

“You’ll have to forgive me, but that doesn’t make me feel much better.” Call me crazy but nothing about this situation felt safe or normal. “Why are you here?” I asked abruptly, tired of the games.

Ahrun studied me with an intrigued expression, his head cocked as if I was some rare specimen he’d stumbled across.

Into the tense silence, Deborah made to rise. “It sounds like you two have a lot to discuss. How about I just go?”

“Sit,” Ahrun ordered, not taking his eyes off mine.

Deborah lowered herself back into her seat.

“I find myself in a bit of a conundrum,” Ahrun drawled. “You were right in that I needed to earn back the trust of my children. After such a long time of not being myself, I need to get to know them again. Who they’ve become. What’s important to them. For that to happen I need to remain close.”

I had a feeling I knew where this was going and the answer was no. A resounding, emphatic no.

“Thomas is just starting out as master of his own territory. He needs to cement his authority without standing in the shadow of his sire.”

“There’s still Liam. He has a house,” I pointed out, desperate.

It was a very nice house. With plenty of extra rooms. I’m sure there was one that could be set aside for Ahrun if need be.

“I’m afraid not. His enforcers look to him to lead. What kind of message would it send if I imposed?” Ahrun shook his head, faking regret. “I couldn’t do that to him. No, I think it would be best if I stay here. With you—the youngest.”

“Absolutely not,” I objected, dropping any attempt at diplomacy.

He was crazy if he thought he was staying here. Nuh uh. No way. Not happening. For so many reasons beyond the fact that I didn’t want another vampire in my space. Particularly one that was as dangerous and unpredictable as Ahrun.

“It’s cute how you think you have a choice.”

“Okay. I see the problem here. Thomas didn’t explain about me.”

“He did actually.”

Not very well it seemed.

I readied myself to do battle. “Oh? What did he say?”

The delight on Ahrun’s face said he was enjoying this. “He told me you tend to do stupid things when you feel cornered. Like accept a mark that binds you in servitude to a sorcerer for a hundred years.” He gave me a chiding look. “Did no one warn you of how truly awful of an idea that was? Sorcerers are dangerous—even to us. They’re also known to be hard on their toys.”

I held still, resisting the urge to hide my arm behind my back.

The mark he was talking about was one of three. That of a lion peering out from behind an oak tree. The lion belonged to the sorcerer in question and was a mark of my servitude. The oak tree, on the other hand, was something Liam had tagged me with as a means to keep tabs on me when it became clear I wasn’t going to fall in line like a good baby vampire. The last of the marks were a pair of black birds perched on the branches and a snake wrapped around the tree’s base. As far as I could tell, the snake and black birds were symbols of my heritage as part of the royal line of Noctessa.

Ahrun was still speaking. “You resist change even when you know it’s good for you. You also guard your heart behind impenetrable walls. That although you are the most difficult woman Thomas has ever met, you’re also one of the most loyal.”

Ahrun’s gaze drifted to where Deborah sat quiet as a mouse. “Ah, yes. I mustn’t forget your habit of rescuing the abandoned and the lost.”

Why did everyone keep saying that about me? I did not have a tendency to collect strays.

“You also fear what you are even as you embrace it, and you will fight tooth and nail against any relationship with me simply because of my connection with your sire.”

“Not true. Connor is Thomas’s son and I let him live with me.”

“That’s why you’re going to extend me the same courtesy.”

“I am, am I?”

Ahrun unfolded from the couch, skirting the coffee table and sauntering toward me. “This will be good for us. For the both of us.”

“No, it won’t, because I never agreed to this.”

I was talking to thin air.

“Unbelievable.”

I hadn’t even heard the door opening and closing to herald his departure.

“That man is terrifying.” Deborah pushed off the couch. “Is he really moving in with us?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I strode to the front door, yanking it open. “He’s gone.”

I left it ajar as I stalked back to the living room where Deborah was waiting.

“Connor is finished with his date already?” she asked.

“You knew about that?”

She gave me a surprised look. “You didn’t?”

I pressed my lips together, unwilling to answer. Then I didn’t have to because Connor’s entrance took all of her attention.

“What happened?” Deborah exclaimed as Connor headed for the couch, half carrying the nearly unconscious Fae. Inara perched on Connor’s shoulder, her face grim as she stared at the twin.

“We found them in the woods being hunted by Lucies,” I explained.

Connor was none too gentle as he dropped the Fae. By some miracle, he landed on the couch cushions instead of the floor.

Inara slid down Connor’s arm, hopping onto the coffee table.

Uncertainty showed on Deborah’s face. “Lucies?”

“She means the Luigseach,” Connor answered.

The confusion in her expression showed she was no clearer on who they were then I’d been.

“What did Ahrun want?” Connor asked.

I hesitated, sharing a look with Deborah. How did I put this?

“He seems to be under the impression that he’s moving in with us,” I explained reluctantly.

Connor’s face went blank. “I am not okay with that.”

I barked out a laugh. “Welcome to the club.”

The problem was I wasn’t sure I could stop this.

“We could move,” I offered.

Connor shook his head. “If he can reach out to you telepathically, it means your bond is still intact. He’ll be able to track us to our next lair.”

“Lair? Really?”

My attempt at humor passed over his head.

Deborah raised her hand. “If we’re taking a vote, mine is to remain here. This is a good location. It’ll be hard to find anything that fits our needs so well.”

She had a point. Given my struggle to find a place before this one was forced in my lap, I knew how difficult the real estate market was. We’d never find another house this perfect.

“I’ll talk to Thomas,” I promised them.

Maybe our sire could reason with Ahrun. Tell him what a bad idea it was for him and Connor to bunk under the same roof. Even better, maybe he could get the ancient to go away entirely.

Some of Connor’s stiffness faded and he nodded in reluctant agreement.

I touched his shoulder in comfort before the three of us focused on Inara and our guest.

Instinct told me it was Baran that we had on our couch. I had no idea why, since he and Breandan looked identical, but that’s the name that stuck.

This close up he looked even worse than he had in the ravine. Blood leaked from a slash across one shoulder. Another ran the length of his torso. A third wound split the side of his leg.

I was betting they were courtesy of a sword or some other bladed weapon.

He also had puncture marks in the opposite shoulder that showed signs of tearing. As if an animal had latched on and shook its head to do as much damage as possible.

Seeing he was beginning to wake, I waited until his eyes focused on me. “Hey there, sleeping beauty. Welcome back to the land of the living. You ready to tell me why you were in my woods being chased by a bunch of assassins?”