19. Help

19

HELP

I feel Quinn get stabbed through the heart and I wake from a dead sleep, clutching my chest and gasping. It’s not even light out yet, dawn still an hour away as I heave hard breaths, my heart pounding like a charging wildebeest.

I have a flash of Quinn sinking down to moonlit grass somewhere in Rome; Ariana goes down with him, biting her wrist and making him drink as a Devilswood knife protrudes from his chest. I heave as much magic as I can through my bonds to Quinn and Ariana, trying to help, but I’m too exhausted and too far away. I don’t even know how I got to the door of my room at the top of my Livingtree.

But I’m through it fast—as nothing fills my mind except getting to Rome.

A hand clamps on my shoulder then, and I spin, growling like an animal and heaving my auric wings up to fight even as I raise my hands. But Alleno is fast, and stronger than me right now; with a quick whip of magic, he slices through my near-attack. He heaves me to the floor of the Livingtree’s main room, pressing his forearm to my neck.

“Alleno!” I cough, choking beneath his force. “Let me up, dammit! ”

“Not until you have control of yourself. Because where the fuck do you think you’re going buck-naked in the middle of the night?” Alleno’s words are sharp, his green eyes vivid in the silver shadows inside the quiet Livingtree. The tree doesn’t like our commotion; with an ancient groan, it shifts beneath us, branches sliding as it shakes its silver leaves, its white flowers shimmering outside.

I pause beneath Alleno’s choke; because only now do I realize I’m still naked from bed and had been headed out the main doors of the Livingtree without a thought of where I was going, how I was going to get there, or even clothing. It was simply instinct when I felt Quinn get staked.

Instinct that pulled me to him—to save him at all costs.

I rub my chest now; as I gather my wits, Alleno leaves off choking me. He releases his pressure and rises; as he offers me a hand, I take it and he heaves me up to standing. I’m amazed by the power in Alleno’s body right now, and nearly come unbalanced as he heaves me up. Only because I’m so very weak, though.

Taken to my bed ever since Quinn and Ariana left, and letting the life-force of my Livingtree revive me.

“I didn’t even stop to dress.” I glance down at my nakedness, astonished, as Alleno hands me an embroidered blue silk robe with the vines of my house crest on it. I slide it on, fixing the closures down the front and shaking my head to dispel the last of my fugue.

Alleno sets a hand to my shoulder, escorting me back up the stairwell that runs along the inside of the gargantuan tree. As we reach my room at the very top, I know I won’t be returning to the palace anytime soon. None of my Fae populace can see me like this, so disastrously weak right now, without most of my energy to bolster me. I gave it all to Ariana.

As much as I could stand, before she and Quinn departed last night.

“What happened?” Alleno asks me now as he escorts me to the bed, pouring me a glass of water from a pitcher on the bedside. He hands it to me and I drink.

And revel in the water's coolness as it revives me the smallest bit .

“Quinn. He was stabbed in Rome. A Devilswood stake.” I close my eyes, trying to reestablish the connection with him and Ariana, though their presence inside me feels so very far away. It’s both from physical distance and also from not having my usual power right now.

I at last connect to Ariana, feeling her blood and magic revive Quinn to the point he won’t die. I’m able to concentrate my strength enough to send her a single thought. I will try to keep tabs on you as much as I can . The connection shuts down, since I don’t have enough energy to maintain it. Not before I understand Quinn has had to take back some of his own power stored inside Ariana, however.

My energy blazing like an unstable star in her veins now—unbalanced by Quinn’s Night.

“Devilswood. Fuck.” Alleno knows what that means as he goes to one knee before me, searching my gaze soberly. “Is he going to survive?”

“Yes,” I say. Deep inside me, something eases as I know my words for true. “Ariana is giving him blood and energy. He’ll live. But he had to take back some of his power inside her… and I don’t know what that means for us now in Rome.”

“Double fuck,” Alleno says with a growl, and I see his emerald eyes flash bright with his Royal Summer Fae power, while mine feels so dim and lacking.

Because this is worse than any magical exhaustion I’ve experienced, this period of going without my power while it’s stored inside Ariana. Though I’ve known this kind of drained exhaustion before when my power was put in someone else for the Darkwatch to use long ago during battle, this is entirely different, needing to weather this dragging dimness for days on end.

Most of my normal Fae revelry is distant while the bulk of my magic is stored inside Ariana. I just feel weak and drained, and will be until she uses my power during Quinn’s demonstration and it comes home to me. I can take little sips of energy as I revel in the moon shining high above my midnight bower, and in the stars so bright in the cloudless August night. The ancient tree breathing all around me in its quiet forest gives me trickles of energy.

And that’s all I get—little sips of Light, until Quinn and Ariana succeed in Rome.

As I sip my water now, however, I fight a terrible feeling that everything is not alright. “I need to get down to Rome. Now.” I struggle up from the bed, but Alleno sets his hands to my shoulders and pushes me right back down.

I’m weak as a ten-day-old kitten, and can’t even stand up to my cousin as he insists I stay put.

“You are going nowhere.” Alleno is firm as he goes to my table, fetching a plate of sweets, which are the only thing I seem to want to eat right now, since they bolster my Fae energy the most. “You cannot take a risk one of your father’s people might see you right now and tell your budding rebellion you’re unfit to lead them, Lucca. And you certainly can’t fight a bunch of Master Vampires in this condition. Quinn and Ariana will benefit the most by you staying put and staying safe. Let your Light survive so they have it when they need it in Rome.”

“You’re right, I know you’re right.” I say with a hard sigh, rubbing my chest with one hand even as I pick through the chocolate-dipped dates with the other. I find a few that look juicy and pop them in my mouth. “But I have the most terrible feeling they don’t have the stability they need in our power anymore, Alleno. I need to go to Rome. I need to be there, and use my Light in person to help them return a Revenant in front of the Vampire Council. Because I fear the worst if I do not. That the entire endeavor will fail, and Quinn and Ariana will die.”

“The Vampire Council forbade you going to Rome, on pain of death.” Alleno is insistent now as he draws up a chair beside me, twisting it around so he sits on it backwards, still holding the plate of sweets out for me. “You’ll die if you go down to take on the Vampire Council without backup—an army’s worth of backup. And you’ll put Quinn’s and Ariana’s lives in danger also, for disobeying the Council’s specific demands. You know you will.”

“I know, I know.” I am terse, still rubbing my chest where my heart continues to pound. “There has to be another way, though. There just has to.”

“This is the way.” Alleno holds my gaze with no bullshit. “You stay here—and stay alive so they have a chance.”

Rage burns me to my marrow now, knowing Quinn and Ariana are in desperate danger and I’m unable to help them. I rise from bed and head out to my balcony overlooking the forest; with silent grace, Alleno accompanies me. As I sink to a seat on the balcony of twisted vines and ancient branches, Alleno crouches beside me. The tree groans, shifting its limbs so it forms low, cushioned seats for us.

As we stare out over the silver forest, listening to the night, I revel in the moonlight. Alleno shares the silence with me as we feel the tree’s support all around and the forest beyond that. Everything in nature bolsters a Fae; I revel in it now, taking it all in with heightened senses as I slip into a trance state, though not so much that I go rushing off to Rome naked again.

I feel deep within my heart that my lovers are in danger; taking a slow breath, I inhale the cool scents of the nighttime forest.

Then turn to Alleno—knowing I have to go.

“As my Darkwatch protector, I’ve asked much of you over the years.” I know I have to speak the truth of my heart to my cousin now, hoping he’ll understand. “You’ve done so many things for me; many insane things I’ve asked you to do, and you’ve looked the other way so many times when I’ve gone off on my own to do insane things, of which I know you don’t approve. Tonight, I need to ask for one more insane thing from you, Alleno. I need for us to get down to Rome, to help Ariana and Quinn. Or I fear I will die of heartbreak when they fail to return a Revenant and lose to the Vampire Council. I will perish from the agony of feeling their loss inside me. I know it.”

“That bad, huh?” Alleno is quiet now as he watches me, his emerald eyes pale in the moonlight.

“That bad.” I nod, knowing to my blood and bones it’s true.

Alleno takes a deep breath and heaves a sigh. And then the wryest smile takes his lips as he shakes his head.

“You know I’m with you, Lucca. All the way. If you say we go to Rome, even with you in such a mess of a state right now, then we go. But not without backup.”

“What do you suggest?” I cock my head at him now, knowing Alleno has something up his sleeve. Like Quinn, he’s always thinking.

Always coming up with a plan, even when mine are just rash.

“You need someone who knows Rome, and the Council.” Alleno’s eyes glint under the moonlight, and I know he has someone in mind.

“Who?” I ask.

“Someone who has proved invaluable in helping you, Quinn, and Ariana before. And who hates the Council with a passion.” Alleno’s lips twitch up in a smile now as he hands his idea to me, and I know then to whom he refers.

“Lady Eiseth Pendragon. Of Britannia.” I blink now, a smile cracking my face also, for the first time in days.

“She helped you, Ariana, and Quinn form the bond that stabilized Ariana’s power.” Alleno goes on, even though I know he’s right and I don’t need further convincing. “She’s kept that secret this entire time, and she’s been there with Ariana and Quinn, fighting through thick and thin to help them. She’s never once wavered in her support of them, or you. And she hates the Council for dismissing her as a backwater warrioress. That’s the ally you need in Rome. That’s the person you should approach with your idea… and see what she can come up with.”

“We need to find out if she’s still in Florence,” I say now, knowing Quinn dismissed everyone from his Hotel who was not of his own Dark Haven, as soon as this emergency arose. “The Meeting of the Havens already concluded; even the last Masters who were here for it have probably already departed, since Quinn gave Devi and Curio an ultimatum to send all guests packing.”

“Only one way to find out.” He pulls out his cell phone from a pocket in his leathers, something we’re not supposed to carry as Fae thanks to my father’s edicts, but Alleno does anyway for emergencies. He’s already dialing and I lift an eyebrow at him, but he shakes his head, waiting for an answer.

“Shadow Fae. Why are you calling me? Don’t you know there’s a lockdown happening in Florence right now? I have a million things to do and no time for a booty call. Scram.” The haughty, brisk voice on the other end of the line is unmistakably Devina Scarlotti, Quinn’s Second-in-command. My eyebrows rise as Alleno turns a faint scarlet color in the night, then clears his throat and answers Devina.

As I also hear her drum her very red nails impatiently on something hard, like a tabletop.

“I’m not calling for a hookup.” Alleno is firm as he glances at me. “I’m calling because Lucca and I need to find the Lady Eiseth Pendragon, concerning something for Quinn. Is she still at the Hotel?”

“You’re in luck, sneaky Fae. She’s still here.” Though Devina’s words are tight, I hear a fondness in them for Alleno—fondness of a very intimate variety. I lift my eyebrows at him, wondering how the hell he’s been having a secret relationship with a Vampire, and for how long it’s been going on.

Right under my nose, my father’s, and the Darkwatch.

“Good. Tell her we need to see her. We’re coming now.” Alleno lifts his eyebrows at me and I nod. I take out a tiny silver Fae-whistle from an amulet on a chain around my neck, blowing a three-note call to the night.

Somewhere far-off in the woods, I hear my owl Altenni hoot back.

“Tell Devina Quinn’s in trouble,” I say to Alleno before he can hang up. “Tell her he’s been staked with Devilswood, in the heart. Quinn survived because he drew blood and power from Ariana. He will not last three nights, though. if it continues to poison him. He won’t draw enough of his magic out of Ariana to heal the wound properly, since he’ll want to preserve it inside her to balance my power for the demonstration. Which means we need some of the Hotel’s special sauce for Devilswood. A lot of it.”

Alleno relays my words to Devi. A string of Italian curses come from the other end of the line, and then Devi is demanding to speak with me.

Alleno hands the phone over.

“Are you sure about the Devilswood?” Devi asks me, her voice urgent.

“One hundred percent.” I nod.

“Dammit, Quinn. What have you gotten yourself into?” she says, furious now, though it’s not for me. “Is he with anyone he trusts? What else did you see through your bond when it happened?”

“I think he’s with Arturos.” I nod, understanding Devi’s concern. “I thought I saw his water-magic in the vision, just for a moment.”

“Hmm…” Devi is silent a long moment. “I will gather all the Hotel’s Devilsbane Serum I can find on such short notice. Since when, though, does a Summer Fae Prince know so much about Vampire healing?”

“Since a Summer Fae Prince lost his first and deepest love to the Vampires,” I say, sober, “and wanted to know how to keep protecting him, as was my solemn charge long ago in the Darkwatch.”

“Bullshit. You love him, bright Fae,” Devina says, and I feel like I can almost see her smile.

“I love him,” I say back, my voice soft. “And I love Ariana, too. I love them both. And they’re both going to die in Rome if I don’t do something. Find Lady Eiseth; keep her there for me. Alleno and I will be there in half an hour.”

“Quickly.” Devi responds, as I hear a sound like she turned away from the phone. “For dawn is rising soon and Eiseth Pendragon must sleep when it does. ”

“We’ll be there as fast as we can.”

With that promise, I hang up the phone as a whirring of wings comes from above.

And my enormous tawny owl settles to the balcony, giving a soft hoot to take us where we need to go.