Chapter Twenty-Four
Keryth
A nton answered the call and put it on speaker so I could hear as well.
Anton said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Anton, it’s Ailin.”
“Hello, Ailin. You’re on with Keryth as well.”
“Hey, Ker,” Ailin said. “How’re you doing, kiddo?”
“I’m okay.” I smiled because I wasn’t surprised Ailin had taken the time to ask, even though he’d obviously called for a reason. “How are you?”
He sighed. “Hanging in there. Seb and I want to invite your whole family to our next movie night, okay?”
My eyes widened. “Like… everyone?”
He huffed in amusement. “Yes, everyone, including the vamps.”
My gaze met Anton’s, and he smiled softly at me. I nodded even though Ailin couldn’t see it. “I… thank you, Ailin.”
“Anytime, kiddo. Seb will be sending out a group text with the date in the next few days.”
“Okay, great.”
Anton reached over and squeezed my hand, still smiling softly at me as he spoke to Ailin. “Thank you for the invitation. I’m sure we’ll all be there.”
“Perfect.” He cleared his throat. “So… the reason I’m calling… I wanted to let you know that we questioned the hunters, and they gave us the location of their hideout. They also gave up the locations of every place they’ve stayed since making their way around Brinnswick.”
“That’s good news.”
“Yeah, but we already checked out all of the locations, and the assholes are nowhere to be found.”
I said, “You think there’s still a lot of them left?”
“I know there are. We got confirmation from the dickheads in holding.”
I grimaced. With the postcard we’d received, I kinda figured that was the case, but I didn’t like hearing it confirmed. Damn.
“You were right, Anton. They’re not from Brinnswick, and we found out where they came from.”
Anton said, “The Bellburgh Territory, correct?”
There was a slight pause. “How did you figure that out?”
“The hunter who hurt Jed had a Gauhalian accent, so I started doing some digging. I’m waiting to get some files from an old colleague who dealt with the Legion of Light before.”
Another pause. “You said that was a thousand years ago.”
“I did. Corby’s around thirteen hundred, if memory serves.”
“Just how many of you old fuckers are there over there?”
That made Anton bark out a laugh, and I was relieved he wasn’t taking offense from Ailin. Ailin Ellwood had a mouth on him, and if someone couldn’t handle that, well, they definitely shouldn’t be anywhere near any of the Ellwoods. It was very easy to tell who Ailin raised as soon as any of them opened their mouths.
Anton said, “Enough of us. Do you know how many hunters are left? We took out a vast number the other night.”
Huh . He clearly didn’t want to answer that question.
Anton winked at me, and I startled when I heard his voice in my head. “I don’t mind telling you, but it isn’t my place to divulge the secrets of others to anyone outside our immediate family.”
I wasn’t exactly sure how to do this whole speaking telepathically thing, so I simply stared at Anton and thought really loudly, hoping he could hear. “Can you hear me?”
“Loud and clear, my darling.”
That made me smile. We were speaking telepathically to each other, and that was freakin’ amazing. As much as I wanted to celebrate, we had things to get done, so I stayed on task and asked, “You don’t trust Ailin?”
“Of course I trust him. He saved Jed’s life. But these aren’t my secrets to tell.”
And that, well, that made a good bit of sense. “Gotcha. That’s fair.”
He sent me a small smile and kissed my hand.
Ailin’s voice cut through our silent conversation. “You guys finished speaking in your heads yet?”
I startled again, but Anton laughed, and I asked, “How did you know we were?”
There was a loud snort of laughter through the phone. “I called your name three times before I realized.”
“Whoops.”
He laughed. “Yeah, whoops.” He chuckled some more. “Anyway, there’s close to thirty of them left. This was a very large hunter group. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one this big before.”
That sounded horrifying, if I was being honest.
Anton made a face. “Agreed. That is a lot more than I was expecting. But no matter, we’ll take every single one of them down.”
“I hope you’re right. The hunters said coming to Brinnswick was for practice. They wanted to kill as many vamps as possible and make sure they knew what they were doing before they made their way back home… to the Bellburgh Territory where they’re planning on taking out the vamps in charge and giving the city back to who it really belongs to—humans. Their words, obviously.” Ailin made a disgusted noise. “Speciest assholes.”
“They are that.” Anton nodded in agreement. “I’m not surprised in the least. Bellburgh has the highest concentration of vampires of any other area. If they want to take out the leadership, they’re going to have to kill a lot of vampires to do it. Brinnswick has a good number of vamps as well, but it’s well-known that the dens are more spread out, and many aren’t in contact with one another. They knew they’d make easier targets and better practice for their members.”
I grimaced. “That’s horrific.”
Ailin sighed. “It really is. People are disgusting.”
Anton made an agreeable noise. “You won’t find any argument from me.”
After a few seconds, Ailin cleared his throat. “Anton, I’m afraid they’ve already gone back to Gauhala. Since you received that postcard, I think they’ll want revenge before going through with their master plan. I’m not sure if they would go home to the Bellburgh Territory to regroup first or come directly to you. But either way, you and your family are in danger.”
I blew out a slow breath as fear jolted through me. This wasn’t new information, but hearing Anton’s worries echoed by Ailin wasn’t a good feeling.
“I’m aware. We’re keeping the kids on lockdown, and Ker and my fledglings aren’t allowed to leave the wards alone.”
“Uh, you either,” I added. “You can’t leave alone either.”
“I second that.”
Anton dipped his head. “As you wish, my darling.”
“I do. You’re not allowed to get hurt.”
“Fair enough.”
We spoke to Ailin for a few more minutes, making sure everyone had all the information, and when we hung up, I went back to preparing lunch.
Oakley: I know you’re living with your hot vampire now, but am I still allowed to invite myself over?
I snorted at my phone. They weren’t wrong. Anton was super-hot.
Me: Always. No matter where I’m living. You’re always welcome in my home, Oak.
I meant every word. And I had no doubt that Anton would have no problem with that. Which was a good sign for me feeling more comfortable in this giant house. The thought made me smile.
Oakley: Good. Then I’m coming over. It’ll be me plus one overprotective dragon who’s driving me nuts.
My eyebrows rose at that.
Me: Who’s with you?
Oakley: Roman. My new personal bodyguard.
Me: Why do you have a personal bodyguard?
Oakley: Too much to type. Tell you about it when I get there.
Me: Sounds good.
I grabbed a snack and headed back into the family room where Anton, Jed, Kat, Beshiro, Tray, and all four girls were. Phaeron was the only one missing.
He really didn’t like me.
Once I reclaimed my seat, I tucked my feet under my butt and leaned into Anton’s side. He put his arm around me and started absently playing with my hair.
“Oakley’s coming over.” I bit my lip. “I hope that’s okay? I’ve always told them to come over anytime they want.”
“You don’t need my permission to invite guests over, my darling.”
I nodded. “Okay, true. But it’s still polite to let everyone know.”
He kissed my temple.
“Should I go tell Phaeron?” Not that I wanted to talk to him, really, but I also didn’t think it was fair for him to be surprised if he ever came down here.
Jed waved his phone in the air. “I’ll text him. No big deal, Ker.”
Relief swept over me. “Thank you.”
He shrugged, and I snuggled in closer to my hot vampire.
It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door, so I hopped up and went to check. Even though our wards were strong, and theoretically, no one who wasn’t already added to the wards should be able to pass through, I still looked through the peephole to make sure it was Oakley.
I saw my friend standing on the porch with Roman, a huge dragon shifter, who happened to be King Garrick’s best friend, behind them.
As soon as I opened the door, Oakley threw themself at me, hugging me tightly. I heard a hiss behind me, and I didn’t have to turn around to know Anton was standing there, pissed off that someone else was touching his viramore.
Closing my eyes, I searched for the golden thread that connected us and did my best to send a wave of affection through it. Anton gasped, and I felt a returning wave of affection, so I figured I’d done it right. That was something I was going to have to practice. I kinda liked having my vampire know how much I cared about him.
After giving Oakley one last squeeze, I pulled away, and they sent me a small smile. “Hey. How’re you doing?”
I returned the smile. “I’m doin’ well. You?”
They shrugged and glanced over their shoulder, scowling at Roman. “I’m inside now. You don’t have to guard me here.”
Roman let out a long, drawn-out breath. “I’m aware, Your Royal Highness. We only just walked through the door so I haven’t had a chance to move away from you, Your Majesty.” The way he said Your Royal Highness and Your Majesty very clearly meant you asshole .
My eyes widened. The last time I saw the two of them, they seemed fine. Like they were friends. I’d never seen either of them behave with so much animosity toward one another. What the hell happened?
Clearly sensing the same thing I did, Anton asked Roman, “Care for a drink?”
“I’d love one.”
Anton walked over to press his lips to my temple, and I leaned into the touch for a brief moment before he walked off with Roman, likely heading for the library.
As soon as they were gone, I turned to my friend. “What the hell was that all about?”
They sighed. “There was an… incident.”
I gave them a look. “What kind of incident?”
Oakley sighed again and glanced into the family room, seeing everyone there. “Can we talk about it somewhere that little ears can’t listen in?”
With a nod, I grabbed their hand and walked them down to my plant room. It was pretty close to where Anton had Roman, but I doubted the dragon would be able to hear us. Anton would, but that was unavoidable, no matter where we were in the house, and I was sure he’d try to give us privacy.
“What’s going on, Oak?”
They grimaced and sat beside me on the couch. “Okay, so a couple of days ago, I went shopping, and after the third store, I noticed these three guys following me. I thought I was maybe being paranoid, so I didn’t call anyone. I wanted to make sure they really were after me before I freaked my dad out, you know?”
I nodded in understanding even though, after what happened to me, I would absolutely call right away. Better to be safe than sorry.
“So… I waited. I went into two more stores, and when I came out of the last one and saw them waiting, I knew they really were following me. I called my dad, but I guess they could tell they’d been spotted because they chased me all the way to my car. I… I could’ve hurt them, you know? You, uh, know I’m trained, right? I’m a good fighter. I just… I didn’t want to fight. So I ran.” They sort of winced, so I reached over and placed my hand over their folded ones.
“That’s okay, Oak. You shouldn’t have to fight. No one should.”
“Yeah… I know.” They shrugged. “Anyway, I made it into my car before they reached me, but they tried to break in. One of them had just broken the driver’s side window and was trying to haul me out when Dad and Roman showed up.” They sort of smiled. “They flew to me, and since there was nowhere to land in dragon form, they both shifted midair and just, like, dropped from the sky, landing like superheroes or something. It was kinda impressive, but don’t tell Rome I said that.”
I snorted. “I won’t.”
They sent me a wry smile before they scowled. “It was weird. I thought my dad was going to go ballistic—and he did, to a degree—but you should’ve seen Roman. He was so freaking pissed. He just… he really let them have it, and as soon as they were down, he rushed over, checked me over for injuries by running his hands all over me, and hugged me. He was really over the top and way worse than my dad.”
My eyes widened. “That’s… odd.”
“Right? Like, what the hell?” They sighed, but it was sort of dreamy. “I can’t say I minded having a man hold me like that.” They cleared their throat. “Even if that man was Roman the Asshat.”
I snorted. “Is that his official name now?”
“Definitely. Anyway, they captured the guys and took them to the tower. I decided I didn’t want to see how they got information out of them, so I didn’t stick around for the interrogation.”
“Understandable. Do you know why they were after you?”
“They wanted to kidnap me and use me for ransom. Not sure they realized how stupid it was to threaten a damn dragon—I could’ve just shifted and eaten them if I wanted to.”
I squeezed their hand. “But you didn’t want to.”
They shook their head. “No, I didn’t. But I guess Dad and Roman realized I didn’t want to fight, and even though it was just those three jerks in on the plan, Roman convinced my dad to assign me a bodyguard. He freaked my dad out big time, so now, he’s constantly checking on me and making me text him every two seconds so he can keep an eye on me. Roman’s afraid I can’t take care of myself just because I don’t want to fight, and he made my dad believe it too. But it’s not like I’m going to let someone hurt me, you know? Like, I’ll fight back if I’m attacked. But anyway, not only was it Rome’s idea, but he promised to be my bodyguard any time I leave the tower.”
“I definitely understand that being annoying, but isn’t that sort of a good thing? After… everything, I can’t blame your dad for wanting to keep you safe. I… well, Anton doesn’t want me going anywhere alone right now either, and while it’s frustrating, I really don’t want to get taken again. Like, it’s worth the frustration if it keeps me safe.”
They looked sad and flipped their hands over until they were cupping one of mine. “That makes total sense. I’m glad you’re being safe.”
“I’m glad you are too.”
They nodded. “Yeah… it’s just… it’s Roman. Of all people, Dad had to give me the most infuriating man alive.”
I laughed and patted their leg. “It’s clear that you’re giving him as much shit as you possibly can.”
“Of course I am. He deserves it.”
That made me chuckle and shake my head. “You’re ridiculous.”
They grinned and batted their eyelashes at me. “But you love me anyway.”
“Pft. Of course I do.”
They laughed and pulled me into a hug, finally seeming happy for the first time since they walked in. “Thanks for letting me come over and vent. I really needed it.”
I squeezed them. “Anytime, Oak. Anytime.”
After one more squeeze, they let go and grinned, only this time it was more of a smirk. “Now, tell me all about your vampire. Is he as sexy out of his clothes as he seems? Mm. He has to be.”
My cheeks flushed. “Um… I haven’t actually seen him naked yet.”
They gasped. “Keryth, how is that possible? You’re living together.”
“We’ve only done things over our clothes, I guess. We’re taking it slow, and as frustrating as that is for my body at times, it’s kind of… what I need. With everything that happened, plus having the girls and Tray, I just…” I shrugged, unsure of how to explain that I really just needed hugs and lots of kisses. I mean, I wanted sex too, of course I did, but that certainly wasn’t the best or only part of our relationship.
What we were developing was so much deeper than anything I’d ever experienced, and I was beyond happy to have that growing and flourishing every single day.
That being said, I really wanted him. Like… he made my mouth water.
I groaned. “We have to change the subject. I’m too frustrated to talk about this right now.”
They searched my gaze, then nodded. “Alright. Tell me how the girls are doing in the new house.”
My smile was grateful. That was one thing I loved about Oakley. They always, always respected personal boundaries.
It made my heart warm for them.
My eyes flew open, and I knew exactly where I was. Back in that fucking cage. Trapped. Hurt. Alone.
I couldn’t be here again. I couldn’t.
No, no, no, no.
I started flailing, swinging my arms and legs around, trying to find the edge of the cage, trying to escape. I had to escape. I had to find a way home.
“Fuck! Not again! I can’t be here!” I yelled, or tried to, but my mouth was filled with cotton balls, and it came out a garbled mess.
I kicked and connected with something hard, so I kicked again, but something grabbed my leg, stopping me.
I screamed.
“Shhh, Keryth. You’re okay. You’re safe. You’re at home, my darling. You’re at home with me.”
It only took me a few more seconds to realize it was Anton speaking and then a few more seconds for his words to make sense.
I was at home? I was safe?
“An-Anton?”
“Yes, my darling. I’m right here. You’re safe, Ker. You’re safe.”
With a pounding heart, I blew out a long breath, and when Anton wrapped me in his arms, I easily snuggled back into his side. My hands were trembling, so I grabbed Anton’s shirt in my fists, willing them to stop.
“I thought…” I cleared my throat. “I thought I was back in that cage, and I—” I cut myself off when a few tears fell, and I sniffled.
“Shh. You’re alright. I’ve got you, my darling. I’ve got you.”
I nodded against him and buried my face in his chest, willing this horrible anxiety and fear to go away.
He rubbed my back and kept pressing kisses to my hair until I slowly started to calm down.
As if sensing that I was feeling a bit better, he kissed my temple, then buried his nose in my hair. I was pretty sure he didn’t need the air to breathe. Vampires were sort of dead, right? They didn’t need things like air… did they?
“Do you need to breathe?” I asked.
He sort of froze for a second. “Technically, no, but before the magical community was revealed to the humans of this world, we had to fit in, so I learned to mimic the movements. For thousands of years, it helped me blend in, and now it’s such an ingrained habit that I don’t typically notice I’m doing it.”
That was a hell of a lot more explanation than I’d been expecting. “That’s… actually really cool.”
“Is it?”
I nodded. “Definitely.” I blew out a breath. “Thank you for calming me down and, uh, being here for me.” I’d never been more grateful that I’d spent the last several nights in his bed with him. If I’d been alone, I would’ve been freaking out for a much longer time.
He squeezed me, kissing my hair. “It was my pleasure, my darling, believe me. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Not really. It was just a bad dream.”
He hesitated for only a beat. “Do you often have nightmares about your kidnapping?”
“Not all the time. Maybe once or twice a week.”
“Do you think you need to speak to someone? A therapist?”
I nodded. “Actually, Tray was talking to me about it yesterday. I bet that’s why I had the dream.” I cleared my throat. “He wants me to go to a therapist. He said his has been helping him.”
“He’s a smart kid, our fledgling.”
That made me smile. “He really is. I’ll make myself an appointment.”
“Good.” He kissed my hair again, then rubbed his cheek there. “I know it’s not the same, but I’m always here if you need to talk. About anything.”
I tightened my hold on him. “I know you are. And the same goes for you, alright?”
“Yes, my beloved. Of course.” He gently cupped my jaw and tilted my face up, then pressed a lingering, closed-mouth kiss to my lips before resting his forehead against mine. “Are you alright?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Do you think you can go back to sleep?”
“I’m not sure, but it’s way too early to get up, so I think I should try.”
He smiled gently and kissed me again. “Alright. I’ll be right here the whole time.”
“Thank you.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, my darling, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”