Page 47 of Bloodbane
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
Never Sacrifice Your Queen
{ G R A Y S O N }
The dying rays of sunlight prickle over my skin where they filter softly through the tree branches. With a body full of fresh blood, it’s not more than an irritation. Ignoring the dull stinging, I secure the last wire into place and step back to admire the trap. Though small and unassuming, I suspect it’ll pack an incredible punch. Not unlike its creator.
The thought of Ruby needles at me. The pain twisting her face when told to keep to the house had almost been my undoing. Her thoughts were easy to read—scrawled across her skin in splotches of red—but she’d been wrong. It isn’t because she’ll be useless in the fight, but because she’s too valuable to risk. You don’t take the enemy’s greatest desire onto the field of battle. You never sacrifice your queen.
And, Hel, if I had my way, Thayne would be planted alongside Ruby inside the house. Not surprisingly, however, Thayne hadn’t given that suggestion a second of consideration: he’s never been a shrinking violet, not even when his rail-thin body struggled to contain the fight within. But now, strength has finally caught up with his spirit. The spark of fury in his eye and ‘whatever it takes’ attitude may yet tip the scales of fortune in our favor.
A flash of movement in my peripheral vision pulls my focus—Thayne emerging from the forest a few hundred yards to my left, hair mussed and hands now empty. He’s almost hidden in the dying light, but my sharp gaze follows him easily, picking out the tense movements that betray his earlier easy confidence. Thayne’s show of strength is a carefully-constructed mask for his pack, Ruby, and for me. Those broad shoulders carry the world’s weight like he owes it something. The noise inside Thayne’s head is easy to imagine: a cacophony of hastily-made plans, backup plans, and horrible what-ifs spiraling dangerously. They’re the same thoughts eating at me.
In a second, I’m beside Thayne, falling into step beside him, forcing myself to keep to a brisk human pace as we make our way back to the house. Taking a few minutes may be selfish, but I can see Thayne needs it. Almost as much as I do.
I nudge him with an elbow affectionately. “Any issues?”
Thayne echoes my jab. “They didn’t go bang when I was setting them up, so I guess not.”
I chuckle and pluck a broken twig out of Thayne’s hair.
“I never understood how someone with such delicate hands could be all thumbs.”
“They’re not so delicate anymore.” Thayne’s lips curve up tightly as he takes my hand in his, twining our fingers together. His gaze finds my answering smile, and his own softens around the edges. “I’ve missed seeing you like this.”
I raise a questioning brow as we take the stairs, side by side, before pausing on the landing.
“At the station and Ruby’s house, you were different. Distant. Cold. I thought you’d changed, that you’d lost your light.”
My glib retort intended to deflect dies on my tongue under the weight of Thayne’s earnest gaze. Those eyes have always held power over me that I could never put words to. Saw me in ways I could not comprehend, in ways I could never see myself.
“I did. I lost you.” The grunt of disbelief rumbling Thayne’s throat has me gripping his jaw, making commands of my own. Now may not be the best time to have a heart-to-heart, but now may be the only time we have. “ You were my light, Thay. I craved nothing more than to spend eternity with you, but I couldn’t curse you to do it. I knew you were meant for more than languishing in shadows. I was right.” My hold on Thayne’s jaw softens, turning to a caress. “Finding you, finding Ruby… you have shown me that Valhalla is to be found not in death but in life. In love.”
“Eirik…”
Squeezing the hand in mine more tightly, I tug Thayne through the door. “Come. There are only minutes until you fluff up, as Jones so eloquently put it. We should check on Ruby.”
“That’s a grand plan, but she’s not here,” Ash says, meeting us two steps clear of the doorway. “Sorry, it’s not eavesdropping if you’ve got supernatural hearing, and that was all very sweet, by the way, but Ruby’s gone.”
Thayne blanches. “What do you mean she’s gone?”
“Just what it says on the tin.” Cooper holds out a piece of paper to me. “For a genius, Rubes can be very stupid.”
I take the note with my free hand and scan it before passing it to Thayne. “We should have tied her to the fucking bed.” I look to the dying orange on the horizon. “Wait here. I’m going after her.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“No, you’re not. You’re going to shift any minute. You know it has to be this way. I put my trust in you yesterday; repay that debt now. Stick to the plan. I’ll find her and bring her back,” I swear. “Whether she wants to come or not,” I add darkly.
“Eirik, I need you to know—”
“No. We’re not doing that. No goodbyes, Thay. If you have something to tell me, tell me after, alright?”
The warm hand clasping mine squeezes before slipping away. Thayne nods. “ After .”