Page 27 of Tempting the Fae Lord (The Gatekeeper’s Weakness)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Ezra

I keep Gale all to myself the rest of the night, and we retire to the safety of my chambers throughout the day. Putting off everyone and everything means that by dusk the following night, there is much we need to take care of.

We head downstairs together, him freshly fed from my vein and buzzing, me feeling protective and on edge. Not only do I need to catch up on what’s happened in our absence, but I also mean to give Gale what I owe him, no matter how frightening the thought is for me.

We round the corner of the game room. If I was worried the others wouldn’t accept Gale as he is now (I was), well, that’s one worry off my list.

The moment he enters, Eulayla rushes to capture him in a bear hug. “Thank the stars you’re all right, dear heart.”

“Better than all right.” Even his voice has changed. Still Gale but more crisp, more firm, more… permanent.

“So, you’re a vampire now?” asks Amaris, unfazed. “Let me see your fangs.”

Gale opens his mouth for her inspection.

“Whoa. Shiny. Can you fly like him?”

I clear my throat. “Enough for the moment, little one. We shall play a thousand questions with you later, yes? For now, I have a thousand of my own. Starting with, where is Sonja?”

Eulayla frowns. “You don’t know?”

Tension ripples through me. What has that infernal harpy done now? “I do not.”

“She’s gone, Ezra,” she says, voice low. “Was in bad shape when they brought her through. After a few hours, she succumbed to her injuries.”

The statement lingers in the quiet.

So my last attack. I’d thrown everything I had at her. And it was fatal. A twinge of guilt tenses my shoulders. Gale takes my hand. I’ll owe him an apology. He’d wanted her captured alive. They all did. “I’m sorry.”

“I held her as she passed,” says Eulie. “She was confused at the end. Thought she’d found her mother. Mistook me for her, so I pretended to be the mother she needed in her final moments.”

I never thought I’d feel sorry for Sonja, but I do a bit. That’s awfully sad. “Thank you, Eulie. I’m sure you were a great comfort.”

“And Petru?” asks Gale.

“Alive and as well as he can be, considering. Asking to go home to his family.” Her gaze shifts from Gale to me. “Farlowe has offered to accompany him on the journey, if you’ll allow it.”

There was a time when the mere thought of allowing another mage through the gate would have sent me into a rage, but no longer.

If Farlowe is willing to escort Petru, it’ll spare me the trouble. And it’ll leave me free for what I must do.

“Yes. I’ll speak with him shortly. And the rest of the queen’s people? What of Willow and her soldiers?”

“A few injuries, all minor. They’re in the guest quarters for the time being.

They mentioned setting out for the journey home in a few days after the injured have had a chance to recover, but I thought, well, I didn’t say anything, but I thought perhaps you could make a portal to save them the trouble? ”

“Of course. Yes, I’ll offer when I next speak with Willow. I owe them that.”

She lays a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Good of you, dear. It’s been a whirlwind around here lately. I’m looking forward to celebrating the solstice with our little family.”

“Agreed. If you’ll excuse me.” I leave Gale with them to answer to Amaris’s insatiable curiosity. I’m sure Marissa and Jack will want their own time and assurances. Chester too. And though I know they love me, it will be easier for them to have these conversations if I am elsewhere.

And I have duties to see to.

First to the village to acquire an account of losses from the fire so replacements can be sent for.

Then to Willow to assure her of a portal to Lemossin whenever they’re ready.

To Farlowe to accept his offer and arrange a time to set out for the Gate.

To check on Petru to let him know we can be off in a few hours.

And finally, to my sacred cemetery to seek the silent solace of those long gone but still dear to my heart.

The night wind tousles my hair. Clear skies, sharp with stars, stretch wide over the snowy landscape. Under my feet, a vault of treasured souls laid to rest. Headstones mark years gone by while I remain unchanged.

I settle on a cold stone bench among their graves and close my eyes. I used to envy the peace they’d earned, those beneath the soil. For what is eternity when spent alone?

But I’m alone no longer.

Gale is the companion even my dreams never dared aspire to lay claim to.

Only time will tell how he’ll handle the passing of years, of memories, of people. I shall be a comfort at his side for all of it. The sort of comfort I never had.

My only wish is that I will be enough.

We stand outside the gate: Gale, Farlowe, Petru, and I.

I haven’t told Gale of my intentions yet. The words fail to come, tied in knots somewhere in my gut along with the rest of my stomach. He thinks we’re merely shepherding them through the forest, then leaving them to the rest of their journey.

I guide Farlowe through the process of accessing the gate, unsure of whether it will open for him or whether I even want it to.

It does.

Fickle gate, indeed.

Once through the underground fort of the Vartija and into the evergreen forest, we convene to part ways. On the off chance Farlowe fails to open the gate himself upon his return, I plan to check for him in a fortnight. We clasp wrists and say our farewells.

Gale ropes Petru in for a hug. The mage looks shaken by his ordeal.

Hopefully, reuniting with his family will bring him some peace after the trauma he’s endured.

I feel bad for him, but I can’t help but be relieved to see him go.

He’s a complication I do not want near my people. Let him be comforted by his own.

We watch as the pair heads on their way.

Instead of turning back toward the gate, I take Gale by the shoulders and look into his deep green eyes. They shine like emeralds now that he’s a vampire. Twin jewels with such love and all of it directed toward me.

I will never deserve him, but I’ll be endlessly glad to call him mine.

With trepidation gnawing at my chest, I gather my courage. “I am through telling you no. If you want something that is in my power to give, then it’s yours. And if you still want to seek out the place and people of your birth, I will take you there.”

The black of his pupils swallows the green of his irises. “Really? Now?”

The excitement, the raw hope in his eyes is only part of what I’d feared. “We can go now, but I don’t know if they’ll still be there. People move. People die. You must prepare yourself for the possibility this won’t be the happy ending you’ve envisioned.”

“But it isn’t an ending at all, is it?” He answers far too quickly, without time to consider the implications. “It’s a new beginning.”

His bright smile, which usually lights my soul, only serves to tighten my chest.

I have a bad feeling about this.