Page 52

Chapter 51

Rolf

R olf shifted back into his human form seconds after he entered the room and assessed the threat level. Now, he watched Adeline finish decapitating her maker with the small blade he had given her. She was pure fire and vengeance as she roared at the limp carcass beneath her.

Fury personified.

The head had long been severed, but judging from the amount of damage her maker had incurred, she had been taking jabs at him for a while. He knew at this moment that he would never be more proud of her than he was right now. He crossed his arms, staring down at his ferocious beauty with such awe that he forgot his leg was injured and he was standing in the room naked.

The scent of smoke filled his nose, and as much as he wanted her to beat Erik’s body into a bloody pulp, they needed to get the hell out of this place before it went up in flames.

“He’s gone, my darkness,” Rolf said, staying a healthy distance away.

As if she had been in a trance, she finally came to a stop. Her shoulders dropped and that’s when he saw her left arm hanging limply at her side, the muscle torn clean from the bone.

“My Darkness, please let me help.” He trembled with anger. His hands wrapped around hers. One by one, he pried her fingers from the knife. He set it down in the pool of blood that swirled around her knees, then he grabbed her face in his hands and turned her to him. Her eyes were hard, unfeeling, and he wiped some blood off her face as he said, “He’s gone, my darkness.”

She shook her head and then eyed him up and down. Her right hand held her injured arm and she struggled to stand. He supported her as he pulled her away from the mess beneath her.

“Why are you naked?” she asked, heaving with breath.

“I shifted,” he said, stretching his neck out near her mouth. “You need to heal.”

“I’ll be fine. It’s already healing,” she said dismissively, but then she slipped in some blood and almost took them both down. “Okay, maybe a taste.”

She licked his neck and he didn’t even feel her puncture his skin. He grew lightheaded as she drank deeply, but he would give her anything—anything she wanted—just so long as they both got out of there in one piece. Finally, she pulled away and licked the punctures.

“Better?” he rasped.

“Yes,” she said and dropped her shoulders. He watched her look around the room, her blue eyes hard and calculating. They landed on the mangled, bloody pulp of her maker. A smile spread across her face and she laughed.

“I did it,” she said between manic chuckles. Tears spilled from her eyes and her whole body relaxed into his. “I really did it.”

“Yes, my darkness, you did,” Rolf said, eyeing her bloody arm. He looked around the room and found her discarded dress. It was soaked in blood and soiled from the dirty floor, but he grabbed her knife from the pool of blood and tore off several strips of fabric from the skirt.

“We need to support your arm until it heals,” he said, holding up the strips of cloth. Adeline nodded, still staring blissfully at the mangled corpse behind him. He fashioned a makeshift sling out of some tulle, tying it off behind her neck. He tucked a stray hair behind her ear as he finished and gingerly kissed her temple. She sucked in a breath and finally tore her eyes from Erik’s body, meeting Rolf’s gaze with an intensity he had never seen in her gaze before.

“I’m free,” she said.

He nodded.

“He’s gone.” Her voice was a whisper this time.

“You killed him,” Rolf added, reverently. Would she ever know the depths of his love and admiration for her? Probably not, because even he did not know. It felt fathomless, eternal. All-consuming. And he had almost, very nearly, lost her. He took her in once more—her bloodied face, her fangs, her ocean-blue eyes, the tendrils of hair that clung to her forehead. She was his and he was hers. For eternity.

He shook his head, unbelieving that this glorious creature was his mate.

Fire! his wolf snarled. Did you forget?

Right. Rolf inhaled; the scent of smoke was thicker now. He had already pushed their limits too far. He opened his mouth to tell her it was time to leave when she reached up and cupped his cheek.

“You came back for me,” Adeline said, stroking his lip with her thumb.

“Of course I did. But I knew you had it handled.”

Adeline quirked a smile. “You knew I had it handled?”

“I knew nothing was going to stop you. You are fierce and determined, compassionate and brave. And once you set your heart to something, there is nothing that can stop you. I wish I had half as much grit as you. You inspire me, my darkness. In so many ways. So yes, I knew you had it handled. I just wish I had gotten here earlier to see you land the killing blow.”

Adeline beamed up at him this time, snuggling into his side and nuzzling her nose against his ribs. “My mate.”

She turned to lead the way but took one step forward and winced. He caught her as she swayed. Was it her leg? Her foot? He looked her up and down frantically, unable to see if she had more injuries from all of the blood that covered her.

“Do you need more blood?” he asked, his heart rate ratcheting up.

Was she bleeding out? Dying?

“No, it is only my feet.” Her voice was calm and measured, but that did nothing to ease his worries. “I am well enough to walk out of here.”

The sound of crackling flames licking the farthest corners of the room they were in reached their ears, and smoke crept its way into his lungs. If they didn’t leave soon, the walls would crumble around them, and then they would be joining Campbell in the sea.

“Then, my mate, let’s get the hell out of here.”

Rolf half dragged, half carried her out the doors and down the hall. He limped, his injured leg unable to take his full weight, and Adeline stumbled. The air filled with smoke, and for a damp, mold-infested castle-by-the-sea, it was catching fire quite quickly. His energy was fading fast and his leg throbbed each time he took a step. Adeline hobbled next to him, her left arm cradled in her right. His wolf, exhausted and quiet, was no help, and several times he growled out of frustration.

“Where are you going, you idiot?” Juliette yelled from behind them.

Rolf froze in place and half turned. Juliette’s silhouette loomed through the smoke but then in a flash, she was on the other side of Adeline, grabbing her around the waist. Rolf hesitated to let her help, but Juliette snapped, “Get over yourself, I’m quite obviously helping.”

“Fine, but you have a lot to answer for once we’re out of here,” he growled, relenting his hold. Juliette’s arm wrapped around Adeline’s back and linked with his.

“Yes, fine, whatever you want. Hurry up, I don’t want to burn to death,” Juliette said.

“That’s one of us,” Rolf retorted, not wanting to let Juliette anywhere near Adeline.

Even though she had dismembered those vampires and she had urged him to go save Adeline, he felt a pang of guilt over all of the fae still trapped below. How was he going to get the fae out of there if the whole castle was going up in flames? He looked over his shoulder, unable to see the room they had exited for the flames and smoke that smothered his vision. The guilt was going to swallow him whole.

“After you,” Juliette said, pinching his arm.

“Ladies first,” Rolf snarled before he could stop himself.

“Have we finally stopped posturing?” Adeline asked drily. “Great, then let’s get the hell out of here.”

With a grunt, Rolf hoisted Adeline up under her good arm and all three of them made their way down the final hallway. Soot covered them from head to toe, and the heat from the fire pressed against their backs. Wood crackled, and each time the embers popped in the damp wood, Juliette jumped. His leg was slow to heal, and the lack of fresh air clogged his lungs. By the time they got to the front gates, he was wheezing and coughing, taking in deep lungfuls of the sea breeze.

Adeline slipped out of his grasp, standing strong on her healed feet. She patted his back as he struggled to clear his lungs.

“You’re still naked,” she whispered. Adeline pulled away, and he glanced down at her.

He shivered involuntarily and stared into her soot-black face. “Ah, so I am.”

Adeline laughed and shuffled toward the trees. The fire roared to life behind them and the castle was soon lost to the flames. Plumes of black smoke rose into the night, blotting out the stars in the sky. A solitary falcon soared above, screeching once and then flying off into the trees beyond.

Rolf’s shoulders dropped at the thought of all the fae still locked in their cells below. Perhaps they would be okay in the stone foundation? No. That was wishful, delusional thinking, at best. He hung his head and followed his mate, dragging his injured leg behind him. Adeline stopped short and he almost bumped into her.

“Wha—” he began, but then he followed her gaze to the edge of the woods. He stopped in his tracks, too, and his jaw dropped.

There stood Arlo, leaning against the trunk of a large oak tree, clutching a tiny gnome to his chest.

“Arlo?” Rolf’s voice cracked. He fell to his knees before the ancient fae. “Is it you?”

“Wolf?” Arlo asked, his eyes not as cloudy as before.

“I am so glad you made it out safely,” he said, choking up.

“I am, too, pup. I am, too.” Arlo patted his head, the gnome silently watching the entire exchange.

Then Rolf finally saw that the forest was full of fae, some of them malnourished, all of them free of their glamour and huddling together in the shadows. “Are… are they all here?”

“There used to be so much more,” Adeline said, her voice trembling.

“I got out all of the ones I could,” Juliette whispered. “Some were too far gone to help, so I had to?—”

Rolf had no words. He stared at Juliette as she bent over and scooped up a tiny winged fae. It took him a few moments, but then he finally found his voice and asked, “You did this? You got them out?”

Juliette shrugged, tears lining her eyes. “I had to.”

“How?” Rolf counted at least thirty fae altogether that he could see. His eyes filled with tears. “I had hoped to go back for them.”

“I couldn’t leave them in the castle to burn, not after what Erik did to them.” Juliette’s voice wavered.

So she, too, knew what had occurred in the depths of that castle.

“What did Erik do to them?” Adeline asked. Juliette opened her mouth to respond but Adeline stopped her, holding up her hand. “No, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know, and certainly they don’t need to relive anything.”

Rolf met Juliette’s eyes over the top of Adeline’s head. He gave her a sullen nod and took a deep breath. “Well,” Rolf said. “It seems we have quite a few fae who now need a home.”

Adeline turned to Rolf, her eyes wide. “Can we take them home? Do we have a home left?”

“We do, barely. But I think we can make room,” Rolf replied, leaning down to press a kiss to her soot-stained forehead.

“The cabin will need to be expanded, and the tunnels will need to be cleaned out, and then, if you have a garden, we will need to double its size. How many fae are here?” Adeline spouted off question after question.

All Rolf could do was stare.

This paradoxical creature was his and his alone. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and she stopped mid-sentence. “What?” she asked.

“I love you so much,” he said, full of pride and hope for the first time in days . The thought sent him reeling. How had it been only a mere week since everything had happened?

Adeline gave him a strange look and smiled coyly. “I love you, too.”

“No, my darkness, when I say I love you, I mean that I love you into the darkest depths of the night. And I will continue to love you until the moon stops shining and the stars all shimmer out of existence. When I say I love you, I mean that I love every broken, shattered, sharp edge of you, as well as the tenderness and the softness you carry. My heart belongs to you in every lifetime, Adeline. I wish I had never forgotten you.”

“Rolf,” she whispered, her eyes full of tears. “I was always going to find you. And if not in this lifetime, then in the next.”

He wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her as if he were breathing his last on earth. Her hands encircled his neck, and he pulled her to him, relishing the feel of her pressed against him. She was all luscious curves to his hard angles, and he would never tire of the way she molded to him, as if they were made perfectly for each other.

“In this lifetime and the next,” he promised. He would be forever grateful that she had found him—the vampire huntress stuck with the hermit in the cabin in the woods.

* * *

And so it was that the princess saved herself, got her knight in shining armor, and lived happily ever after.