Chapter Twenty-Six
Anton
M y body was made of mist, but I could still sense my viramore and fledglings. It only took me a moment to see that they were all uninjured, although I could smell a small amount of Beshiro’s blood.
That fueled my rage, and I moved around the area, checking that all my enemies were dead or incapacitated. I wasn’t surprised to see five dead bodies lying on the ground, but I was certainly surprised to see seven people wrapped up in… roots and smelling strongly of fae magic.
Keryth had protected our family.
Pride filled me at the thought as I floated over to him.
I settled back into my natural form, right in front of my family, with a hiss of warning. No one else should be near them. No one else should be touching them. The second my arms were shaped, I wrapped them around my fledglings and my viramore.
Keryth gasped, then clung to me, breathing hard as he pressed his forehead against the side of my neck. Tray was squished against my chest since he was in Ker’s arms already, Jed was in a similar position on the other side, and Beshiro was a little too far away for me to reach, so he scooted closer and wrapped his arm around my back.
Remi was nearby, and I saw him stand up. I had no doubt that he’d keep the police and whoever else showed up away from us.
Beshiro said, “Everyone’s okay. No one’s hurt.”
I hissed again, and my voice came out more like a growl. “You were bleeding.”
“A small cut, Dad. I’m fine. It’s already healed.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “What happened?”
“Keryth’s a badass,” Jed said, pulling out of the hug but not away entirely. He remained close enough to lean against Beshiro as he smiled at me and explained everything that happened.
Once he was finished, I asked Trayben, “Are you alright, my child?”
He sat back, everyone pulling away but sticking close. Ker stayed pressed into my side as our fledgling spoke. “I’m fine. Not a scratch on me.”
I gave him a nod, then leaned over to kiss Keryth’s temple and mumble, “Thank you for protecting our children.”
He nodded. “Always.”
He meant it. Of course he did. And I had no doubt that he’d do what he could to protect Jed, Beshiro, Kat, and Phaeron just as hard as he protected Tray and the girls. Keryth had a huge heart, and he’d opened his up to my children and me, and I couldn’t be more grateful.
By the time I was finished checking over every inch of my viramore and fledglings, Garrick and Tan had arrived, along with Oakley and Roman. I was a little surprised to see them come here themselves rather than send some guards, but then I thought about how much they all cared about Keryth, and, in turn, Trayben, and I realized I shouldn’t be surprised at all.
I stood and walked over to Garrick, my jaw clenched in anger. “Garrick, this has to stop. My family’s been through enough.”
He nodded, not looking intimidated by me at all, even though I was much, much older than him. Maybe he was a dragon, but I was a very old vampire who had more than a few tricks up his sleeve. Not that I planned on attacking my… friend.
Garrick sighed. “I agree. We’re almost ready to close in on…” He glanced around, clearly not wanting to go into things in public. “The things we talked about the other day. But I’m not sure this is related. These look like hunters.”
I hissed, and without waiting for him, I walked over to one of the people caught in my beloved’s roots and said to Keryth, “My darling, can you remove the roots from this one’s chest? I want to see if he belongs to the Legion of Light.”
The man mumbled something, but a thick root covered his mouth, preventing him from speaking.
Keryth said, “Of course,” and the roots slithered away from the man’s chest, reminding me of a snake.
I didn’t have to look very hard. There was a Legion of Light patch right on his chest. With another hiss, I turned to my family. “We need to get home and behind our wards. Now. We need to check on your sisters and Phae.”
Phaeron wasn’t even home. He wouldn’t be happy, but he was going to have to cancel his date with the human tonight. I needed my entire family within our wards.
Jed and Beshiro didn’t hesitate to stand and give me nods, but Ker and Tray were a little slower, although they moved over to me without question.
I turned to Garrick. “I take it you’ll be apprehending these hunters and taking them back to the tower?”
“I will. I’ll call you.”
“Sir,” a police officer said to me, looking terrified and hesitant. I’d give him credit for still speaking up, even when it was clear I was ready to tear someone’s head off. “We need to take your statements before you can leave.”
I hissed at the man, and he took a large step backward, his eyes widening.
Garrick sighed. “Let them leave. I’ll speak to them all later myself for their statements.”
“But, Your Royal Highness, if they—”
“I said, let them leave.” Garrick said it gently but firmly. “Anton is in no mood to allow his viramore and fledglings to remain out in the open here. It’s a natural instinct, and I’m not about to fight him over it when it’s clear they were attacked by the very hunters who’ve been threatening his family.” Dismissing the man with a wave of his hand, he turned to me. “Go. Take your family home. I’ll be in contact with you later.”
“Thank you, Garrick.”
He nodded, and when I turned around, I found Tan and Oakley standing with Ker and Tray, Roman behind them, guarding them while Jed and Beshiro did the same.
As I joined them, Tan and Oakley wrapped up whatever they were saying, gave Ker and Tray each a hug, and backed away. Tan offered me a smile, but Oakley didn’t meet my eyes, which likely meant I still looked pissed, and the poor young dragon shifter didn’t like it.
Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it at the moment.
“Let’s go home.”
I tucked Trayben under my arm—my youngest fledgling needed to be protected. He wasn’t a fighter. He was a youngling, practically a baby, and I needed to keep him safe. So I ushered my family away from the scene.
At the edge of the parking lot, Jed said, “Stay here. Shiro and I will check the car for traps.”
Glad he thought of it because my mind was on repeat, I need to get my family home. Get my family home. Now.
I waved them forward.
Keryth started rubbing my back while we watched Jed and Beshiro, and my viramore said, “It’s alright, Anton. We’re all safe. We’re okay.”
“We’re not safe yet.”
Ker sighed but didn’t disagree. He continued rubbing my back while I continuously scanned the area and held Tray close to my side where he was safest.
The car was fine, and we piled inside, Beshiro taking the driver’s seat. I was too antsy to drive myself, so I sat in the back seat with Tray and Ker tucked under my arms. I was sure Keryth thought I was overreacting, but it couldn’t be helped.
I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until the car passed through the wards once we drove up the driveway.
We were safe here, but I still needed everyone to get inside and behind another barrier of brick and mortar.
The second we were through the front door, the rest of our family rushed over, hugging Ker, Tray, Jed, and Shiro, and my heart finally began to relax.
The girls even gave me a hug, and I ended up picking Zellya up and hugging her tightly as I carried her into the family room. Everyone else followed and took seats around the room. Keryth sat beside me with Tray tucked in close to his other side. The teen had been quiet since the incident, and I didn’t like that. He was probably reliving his kidnapping, and I hated that someone had made him scared again. That someone had brought back bad memories when he was finally starting to come out of his shell here at home.
“I’ve got him,” Keryth said through our link, clearly picking up on my thoughts.
“I know you do. I’m just… upset.”
“So am I. We’ll have to call his therapist in the morning for an emergency session.”
Giving him a nod, I said, “Girls, why don’t you go pick out some take-out for dinner. You can order anything you want.”
Ker’s eyes went wide, staring at me in horror. “What have you done?”
That made Jed laugh, relieving some of the tension in the room. To my surprise, Saranor squealed in delight and ran out of the room. Zell climbed off me after kissing my cheek and followed her sister while the older two slowly walked out as well.
“You have no idea what you’ve done.” Ker groaned. “They’re going to order five thousand pieces of cake or something like that. It’s going to be awful, and if someone wakes up puking in the middle of the night, I’m sending you to clean it up.”
Jed laughed. “Serves you right, Daddio.”
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ll be sure they order real food too.”
Keryth pointed at me. “Puke duty.”
Shaking my head, I couldn’t help but snort. “Fine. But while they’re out of here, I want to talk to you all. In regards to the hunters, and to the traffickers, I’m done waiting on Garrick and Ailin. We need to find these people and end them, once and for all.”
Jedediah’s expression turned serious for once. “I’m in.”
“As am I,” Beshiro said.
Kat added, “Me as well. I’m texting Phae now. He’ll be home shortly.”
“Good. I’m ready to hunt.” My fangs tingled at the thought.
Tray looked at me. “Can I help?”
“No,” I said before anyone else could put their two cents in. “I’m sorry, Trayben, but you’re not trained for this. If you want to learn to fight, I’m happy to teach you, but your older brothers and sister are all trained and have been fighting for thousands of years. I don’t want to put them in danger either, but they’re the best fighters in Sedoba.”
He looked a little crestfallen.
Reaching over Keryth’s lap, I grabbed Trayben’s hand. “My sweet child, I don’t want you to get hurt. Maybe one day, after you’ve gone through a lot of training, you can join us, but not yet.”
“I understand.”
With his little rejected expression, he looked so, so young, like the teenager he truly was, so I wasn’t so sure he truly understood. Giving his hand a squeeze, I said, “Sweet child, you are far too precious to me to risk you. My heart breaks even thinking about seeing you hurt. I care far too much about you and couldn’t take it if something happened to you. I love you, Trayben.”
He sucked in a deep breath. “I… I love you too.”
I sent him a smile, then tugged him over. He stood and allowed me to pull him into a hug before having him sit on my other side, leaning into me a bit.
“Alright. Everyone drink up. We’re going to the tower in an hour to get some answers.”
Keryth slapped his thighs. “Alright, I’m going to call Oakley and Tan and see if one of them can stay here tonight while we’re out.”
I turned to him slowly. “You’re not coming with us. You’re staying here with the kids.”
“Like hell I am.”
“My darling, I don’t want to put you in danger.”
“I don’t care.”
My nostrils flared. How is he not understanding this? “My eldest children and I have fought in more wars than we can even remember, Keryth. There’s no need to put you in harm’s way when we’re perfectly capable of handling this.”
No way was I putting my viramore in danger. Absolutely no way.