Page 26

Chapter 24

Eirik

F allon gritted his teeth as the man next to him willed some kind of healing magic into him. The veins on his arms shrank, the black fading to a gray before shifting back, pulsing angrily under his skin. Both men were sweating, hearts racing so hard it was making my head hurt.

But I wouldn't leave, not now. It had taken everything I'd had to convince the others I wasn't a threat anymore, that the beast was pushed back after the fight in the living space. Not that I didn't itch for more. His presence was a constant reminder that he could rip control away if he really fought for it. He did fight, screaming at me to either go back to Archon's and make them regret caging us, or leave to follow Nero to go get Aaliyah.

He whined for her, my chest vibrating with every keening cry. I snorted, rubbing the ache away, just as desperate to see her. My smár Valkyrja . Though I was more inclined to be less vocal .

Still, I'd stayed. The idea of letting my brothers out of my sight was enough to make my skin crawl. Even now, the ties that made us Vivas were weak, barely detectable underneath the panic that still flooded my body with adrenaline. The shriveled remains of our bonds were acidic, like a poison in my blood trying to make me ill.

Fallon moved, his body twitching as he grunted, narrowing the space between his eyes as his next breath came out in a pained hiss. The man next to him, Will, kept his eyes closed, never losing focus in a way that was admirable. It was a dangerous game, mixing the healing magic of the living with something like a Vampire, especially one so close to death. If anyone else besides Milo himself had told me he could do it … I wouldn't have believed them.

And Milo had stayed just to make sure, sat next to me, a worried scent washing over him as he checked over my skin, like he might find something wrong with it. I pulled away from him when he reached behind my ear to feel for a pulse, checking to see if it was irregular, glaring at him while he snickered.

"Stop moving. You're distracting me," he grumbled, swatting my hand away when I tried to rub the spot he brushed.

"I told you already. This is a waste of time," I growled back, hating the feeling of being poked and prodded. It was unnecessary. I wasn't the one who was hurt.

But Milo wouldn't hear a word of it.

"Making sure you're not dying is not a waste of fucking time, Eirik! I can't handle losing another one of you, so excuse me for making sure I don't." He huffed, never looking away from me. I hadn't seen him in well over two years, yet somehow he looked like a completely changed man. He still had the same auburn brown hair he'd had when we'd first met him several centuries back, but today it reached down past his ears, meeting mid neck, and he pushed it back as he leaned forward. There was a harshness that came with the fear that stained his face, his worry palpable as he bit his lip and watched Fallon's slow breaths. "You scared me half to death when I walked in, you know that? Adrian and Fallon were actively smoldering. You're not getting out of this."

"You're overreacting," I said, shaking him off again. "I'm fine , Milo."

A hint of that Selkie fire surged forward, and a mirroring of the Cheshire grin from a man I'd thought dead. It was a curse, or a gift, the fact that he looked so much like Nero when he smiled. I rolled my eyes, already starting to snarl when he opened his fucking mouth.

"Well, you're still going to sit there and take it like a good boy," he whispered, and I gritted my teeth, snarling at him. My wolf shot forward, a partial shift ending in the snapping of my teeth a few inches from his face. He gasped, like a diva, covering his chest. "Damn, that's scarier when I don't have Nero here to act as a meat shield."

Even with the fearful tone, it was half mocking, and he didn't heed it, just continued to poke, going for my mouth next as he tapped my chin for me to open.

I didn't, and he gave up, likely knowing he'd lose a finger otherwise.

"Nero's alive," I reminded him, grunting like it wasn't a fact that still floored me.

Milo laughed, hiding more than a hint of hope in it as his head tipped back.

"So you say, but I'll trust it when I see it," he mused, his lips tilted in a familiar cocky grin that did well to hide the tension there. He wasn't a Vivas, not by blood, but he was as close as someone could get. He and Nero had been brothers in every sense of the word, and his loss had hurt Milo just as much as it had us. It was a struggle sometimes to remember that. The fact that he was here had to be a twist of fate in itself, with him showing up just when we needed, like always.

Dependable asshole.

"You missed his bonfire." Was all I could manage, another grunt hiding the starting half of a growl that my beast forced up my throat.

Milo nodded, his hands clenched in front of him. He lost his smile, his eyes dimming. No jokes or poking fun, just acceptance.

"I tried to be there, but things got messy on my end. I hope it was well?" he asked quietly, rubbing the back of his neck as his eyes grew further away.

I managed a nod, leaving it at that. If it was important enough to miss our yearly celebration, it must have been unavoidable. I didn't pry, and Milo snorted. Most would have been offended by the lack of response, but he knew me better than that.

The silence was comfortable, and I soaked it in while I could.

When Fallon's eyes opened, it was with a jolt, a startled grunt that showed in the flinch of his hands. Will pulled back out of Fallon's range, as if he expected him to lash out. A reasonable fear.

Even with that, though, I breathed out a bit of the tension still clawing at me.

The moment he saw me, his shoulders dropped. I went to stand, but Milo was already moving.

"Hey, easy," he chimed in, bringing light to an unholy shitty situation, even as my beast snarled at him for patting Fallon on the back, making him grunt. "Hate to break it to you, Fally, but you are mighty fucked up."

"Milo," Fallon said, his eyes still dazed as he rocked his jaw from left to right. "I kinda thought I just dreamed you up."

Milo just smiled, a disturbing twinkle in his earthy green eyes. The fear he'd had when we first shown up had died down, now that he could see we were all mostly in one piece, but it was still there.

It showed when he lingered on the dredged-out black lines that covered Fallon's face. They stretched across his skin in crude patterns, and I'd bet it was the same with Adrian.

Fallon schooled his expression. As quickly as the pain had been there, it faded away, though that didn't stop the tremble in his hands.

"Nope, I'm here in the flesh," Milo said with a flourishing bow, the theatrics enough to make me roll my eyes. "Next time we plan a reunion, think we could do it without scaring the actual shit out of me?"

"Can't promise that," Fallon started, before quickly shifting. "What's with you and getting buddy-buddy with Ilenia?"

"My dearest Rose is a Siren, and I thought it was about time she got to meet the old Siren Eternal and company. Imagine my surprise when I got a two for one deal, and got to see you lot, too," Milo replied. That joking, singing tone hiding that unyielding curiosity that burned in his eyes, the mirthful green lighting up.

"But how do you know Eliza? A conquest? I wouldn't have taken you for the type to go for her. Not nowadays anyway," Milo joked, as if Fallon had been the one to indulge.

"I think you're mistaking me for you and Nero," Fallon grunted, rubbing his forehead as he rolled his eyes. He'd taken sparse few lovers, his shitty attitude more than a little of the reason, though I didn't actually think he minded. We weren't the kind to sleep around. Well …

Nero didn't count.

He and Milo had been notorious flirts for decades and probably slept their way through every major developing city in the early eighteen hundreds. Quite the fucking feat.

Literally.

Milo shook his head, flashing a hand with two shiny rings on it. My beast perked up at the sight.

"Oh, no, I'm a changed man. Settled down, got a couple of gorgeous mates." He winked, absolutely smitten when Will blushed and looked away. It would be sickeningly sweet if I hadn't realized how close my own feelings were to my tiny warrior. "Once you're feeling up to it, you can come meet Rose, too. Until then, I'll let Adrian know you're moving again. I'm sure he'll want to see you before the fun starts."

Milo dipped his head to us as he spoke before stepping out the door. Will was quick to follow. We sat in a precious few seconds of silence before the door flew open again. Adrian's panicked and still-charred face peeked through. "Fallon!"

He dove, headfirst, without even pausing to think, onto Fallon, who had barely enough time to lift his arms as Adrian hit him. The bed groaned threateningly under the weight. The surprised looks on their faces were ridiculous, as if dragged directly out of one of Osiris's cheesy comedy movies.

Before the legs gave out from under it.

It crashed onto the old hardwood, the floor creaking and groaning. Bits of wood flew in every direction, and Fallon let out a biting curse. There was a flail of limbs that ended with Fallon's eyes going red in a rare show of outward rage.

"Let go of me, you idiot," Fallon snarled, shoving at Adrian, who just drew tighter, laughing until Fallon threw a mock blow that didn't seem so mocking.

Adrian finally moved, still smiling, as he stood. I was quick to move to his side, so he'd have me to lean on if he needed, but he barely wobbled.

"Don't be like that. I deserve a hug, you oaf. Not my fault you're too heavy and broke the bed," Adrian chided, and Fallon just rolled his eyes. "You said you loved me, remember? Was that just a lie? You just can't take that shit back, Fally. It'll break my heart!"

Fallon took a leveled breath, like the idea of strangling Adrian was crossing his mind, before he was shaking his head. "We have more important things to deal with than your heart, Adrian. I didn't think we'd be alive for you to joke about it."

For the first time since we'd made it back from Archon's hellhole, Adrian dropped his jester facade. It was always jarring to see the cheerful look fall from his face, as though it had been held up by a string that had gone slack. The look behind his eyes was darker now, accented by the scorch marks. The side of him our enemies knew came to the surface, his namesake. The Collector .

"You're right. We should be dead. If it wasn't for Eirik and Nero, our long-lost dead brother, we would be." He snorted and looked back at me. He sat up with a graceful sway, setting his chin in his palm. "Fun fact, the reason we got off that roof? Eirik's immune to the sun."

So, Adrian had noticed.

I'd dived outside without a thought and covered their burning bodies with my own. I'd felt the curdle of my skin, and the blood in my veins revolting … before it had just stopped. They bore the black lines of the sun, the same ones my skin was lacking.

"I noticed too, and not to sound ungrateful …" Fallon prodded, coughing into his hand, rubbing his neck. "But how?"

"I wasn't immune before. Don't know why I am now," I said truthfully.

I'd only been in the rays a fraction of the time compared to them, but I still should have been marked. In all the decades I'd been a Vampire, the sun had never treated me kindly before. I'd felt it for the first time some decades after Fallon had been turned, when the idiot had gotten into trouble with the wrong crowd during one of the French Revolutions and found himself in a fight he couldn't punch his way out of. I'd had to save his ass in much a similar fashion.

I'd burned then, felt the raging touch of the sunlight, so hot even my wolf screamed for days after. It'd taken weeks to heal, and some of my nerves still went numb sometimes if I woke before the sun had fully set.

Yet they were already awake. Already moving.

"You thought you'd burn, and you came out after us, anyway?" Adrian asked.

"Wasn't about to let another brother die if I could stop it. Never again." It was a vow that I'd sworn the day we'd pulled Nero off the pyre. I'd die with them before I'd let them die alone. "You lasted longer than you should have; the sun was up when I got there."

Fallon grunted, shaking his head as he looked down at the dark lines that stretched across his skin. He trailed a hand over one on his arm, before landing on his empty wrist. "Ali, you think?"

My beast, curled up in my mind, purred.

Mate.

I nodded without question, reaching for that mark that made me hers. I had her blood in me, the same blood I'd given to them. The same blood that brought them back.

Why it let me stay in the sun when they burned, that I didn't know, but I had no doubt it was because of her too. Something about her blood made it possible, and it hadn't quite sunk in yet that I might be able to again.

I hadn't seen a proper sunrise in centuries. What would it be like?

What would my sweet Valkyrja look like bathed in its rays?

"Leave it to the little love to save her damsels without even being on that fucking roof." Adrian whistled, looking toward the door. Softness overtook him, erasing the strain cold look in his eyes. " God , I can't wait to see her. I wonder how her time with Osiris was? He was boring, wasn't he? Probably just stared awkwardly from the corner or something."

I snorted at that. Osiris had never been a timid man. Ruthless, calculating, and nothing if not cold , but with my smár Valkyrja, he fell apart at the seams, turned into a mess that not even his seemingly infinite experience could rectify.

It was refreshing to see. Just like it'd be a treat to see him finally let go. He would one day soon. Touch her, feel her. Then the world would burn at his feet before he let her away from his side.

"Maybe he tried to convince her she liked whisky?" Fallon chimed in, and Adrian chuckled.

"Or told her how he felt?" Adrian asked, with a wistful sigh.

Even I snorted at that.

Fallon grunted, coughing into his hand before responding, "We can only dream."

The room fell into an easy silence after that, Fallon rolling his shoulders to get some of the blood flowing. Adrian did much the same before he reached a hand out for Fallon to take. "Well, what do you say? You up to walk around a bit? There is a tiny Dragonkin that has been itching to talk to you."

Itching was an understatement. Grigen had been nipping at everyone's heels after he'd found out Fallon was here, only held back by his mother's promise of chocolate if he could wait until Fallon was back up and moving to talk to him. How that asshole managed to become a child's favorite person was lost to me.

"Easy does it," Adrian said, grunting as he pulled Fallon to his feet. There was a curse as sweat clung to Fallon's forehead, and he had to take several long breaths before they were able to move.

I walked behind them, watching as they hobbled along, using each other as crutches as they maneuvered the narrow hall and down a thin set of steps. We were barely hitting the ground floor when a small blur was shooting toward us.

"Fally!" Grigen cried, nearly crashing directly into Fallon's legs, before slamming to a stop as his mother called his name. Fallon, with his surprise at the tiny Dragonkin, simply watched. "You're okay!"

Grigen was barely up to Fallon's waist, his hair a matching brown to his father's. His nose flared, a hint of smoke puffing out in front of him as he shoved a hand in to his pocket, searching for something. After a few moments, he finally fished out his prize, holding his hand out, happily smiling when Fallon followed his instruction to do the same. Grigen set something in his palm, his tiny hands closing it for him. "Momma said I had to wait before I gave this to you. Said you needed to rest. Can you have it now?"

Fallon unraveled his fingers, his eyes going wide for a moment as he rolled whatever it was in his palm. It was only a second later when a rare smile came to his lips.

"I think I can manage, thanks," Fallon said, as the scent of chocolate reached me. He put the golden foil in his pocket, folded neatly, before popping the small treat into his mouth.

"I have more!" Grigen was giddy as he went digging again, taking far longer to sort through his pockets this time around, pulling out what looked like several rocks in the process.

He set another chocolate in Fallon's hand, one wrapped in similar golden foil and looking a little coin. "This one's for Aunty Ali. You can't eat it."

" Grigen ," Eliza warned with a hiss.

Grigen gave her a look over his shoulder, wringing his hands in front of him as he swayed. "Momma said Aunty won't be here in time for me to see her. You have to give it to her," he said, showing an impressively stern glare that had Fallon snorting.

Eliza shot Grigen another withering look that had him shuffling sheepishly. " Please. "

"Of course," Fallon swore, dipping his head as he tucked the chocolate in his pocket, keeping his hand there for a few moments.

"All right, you got to see him, G. Time to go," Carter said, grunting as he picked Grigen up.

Grigen folded around his father, sagging into his shoulder.

"I don't wanna go yet, daddy." His protests landed on deaf ears, as he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, yawning in the same breath.

"I'll make sure Aunty Ali is with me the next time you see us," Fallon assured, in a soft tone.

Grigen mulled over the words, considering them carefully before he nodded once. "Promise?"

Fallon's expression softened, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled again. He put the chocolate in his pocket, reaching out a hand with his pinky finger out for Grigen to take. "Promise."

Grigen crossed his pinky over Fallon's, returning what was supposed to be a stoic nod before he leaned back into Carter. He waved as Carter gave Eliza a kiss, whispering that he'd be waiting in the car, before they were walking through the door.

"Thanks for humoring him. He's been talking about you all day. Though, I can't really imagine why." Eliza sighed, eyeing Fallon warily, not bothering to hide her at least slightly lessened resentment. "But at least you talk more than Osiris. He spent more time trying to figure out how to answer the phone than he did talking on it. It was like walking my baba through how to set up her printer, I swear. Just shoot me next time instead."

"You're being suspiciously cordial," Adrian said, as he stretched, clothed in baggy pants and a loose dress shirt that I'd guess came from Dezen. "Don't tell me you've grown a soft spot for us."

Eliza laughed, the sound dry. "You're Ali's. That's enough for me." She lifted her pointer finger to her chin before amending. "Even if you're Vampires."

That got a chuckle out of Fallon, before he rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Siren ."

Tension filled the room, and the clock seemed to count down in slow motion as it clicked from somewhere across the room. Osiris had been called. They'd be here soon. My beast paced behind my eyes, my skin shifting, growing tight against my bones as he pushed me to move.

"Rose and her boys are still upstairs, if you need anything. Milo mentioned something about wanting to see Nero, so I imagine they won't leave until you do," Eliza said, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Try not to break anything, yeah?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," Adrian said, marking an X over his heart with the tip of his finger as she hauled a backpack onto her shoulder, one that looked like it had several of Grigen's toys and I'd imagine all the necessities for a toddler inside. She was already half out the door, when he added. "And thank you for the rescue. We owe you."

She snorted over her shoulder, rolling her eyes. "Just make sure you bring Ali by more often once this is all over, yeah?"

She paused, before sighing. "You're welcome."

Eliza slipped out, the door closing softly behind her. Then it was silent, and I paced the floor as I waited. Each second was torture, each breath having me reaching for my neck again. Aaliyah would be here soon.

Not that it would be soon enough.