Chapter 3
Chapter Three
Tabitha
I bury my face in Raiden’s neck and do the one thing I swore I’d never do again: I cling to him. As always, he’s solid. Hard body, substantial shoulders. He’s pulled his long golden hair away from the dazzlingly masculine angles of his chiseled face.
The sight of him, distressing even days ago because I ached so badly for him, is now a desperate comfort.
Everything I’ve ever known, everyone I’ve ever loved—except Raiden—is gone. I’m virtually alone in the world. I scarcely know my intended mate. I have no one else to turn to, especially anyone knowledgeable in fighting Mathias.
I press my trembling lips together to hold in the tears threatening, but emotion overwhelms me. Sobs wrack my body.
For months, Raiden has been a right bloody bastard. I doubt I cross his mind much. But he’ll protect me; I’m convinced of that—purely for our youngling’s safety. I mean nothing to him.
Still, I can’t stop myself from sinking into him as he holds me tight, caressing my back whilst he whispers assurances.
No, everything won’t be all right. I know better.
I haven’t felt safe for a moment since the attack.
Until now. This Raiden is the attentive lover who seduced me months ago, not the unfeeling cad who broke my heart weeks later.
I shove that thought aside. My feelings no longer matter. Only staying alive for my youngling does.
“It-it was terrible,” I mutter. “So unexpected. We’d just finished eating dinner. Mother was pouring wine. Father informed me that Sean would be around tomorrow evening, then…”
Raiden’s grip tightens. “You don’t have to say more.”
But I do. The danger isn’t over.
“Father’s magical alarms sounded. Within seconds, the windows crashed in. The intruders were everywhere, wizards and half-rotted human corpses.” I shiver at the horrific memory. “I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“The Anarki. Mathias’s foul army.”
“They swarmed like locusts. Everyone scattered. My father grabbed my arm and used his body to protect me. That’s when he shoved me through the hidden door in his office.”
God, I’ll never forget that final look on his face, so full of terror yet so frighteningly resigned. I shake with fresh sobs as another wave of grief wrenches me. “I…ran. Once I was far enough from Mathias’s power, I teleported here.”
He grips my shoulders, pausing only to gently wipe tears from my cheeks. “I’m sorry you endured that. And I’m sorry about your family, Tabby. I had no reason to think Mathias would target your family or I would have—”
“No, I’m sorry to intrude.” I hiccup trying to stifle more tears. “I know you and your…friends fight Mathias. I didn’t know who else to turn to.”
“You did the right thing,” he assures, holding me even tighter.
Did I have much choice?
For weeks I’ve wondered why Raiden doesn’t love me.
Why he could never love me. I don’t have a clue.
But when my parents demanded that he leave me and never return, he complied, seemingly without a backward glance.
If I wasn’t trapped in a life-or-death prospect, Raiden is the last man I would ever seek.
But only he can help me now.
“Did your father say anything before he told you to run?”
I nod. “Something I-I don’t understand. It makes no sense. I fear I misunderstood…”
“Tell me.” He thumbs away fresh tears.
In my head, I frown and replay my father’s voice, filled with forced calm. “He told me to protect the secret tree.”
“What the devil?” Raiden frowns, clearly as confused as I feel. “Did you have such a thing on your property? Did it burn down?”
I shrug. “I’ve no idea what he meant. He never mentioned a secret tree that I remember.”
“Do you know where he might have grown one? Or why it’s secret?”
I shake my head. Frustration wars with panic. I must discern what my father wanted me to protect or his death will have been in vain. “I don’t know.”
“Shh. We’ll figure it out.” Raiden cradles me against his chest. “Before the attack, was he behaving differently?”
“Not really, except…after this business with Mathias began a few months past, he became extremely cautious with his historical documents. He removed some from the house. I’ve no idea where he took them.
He never said. The only other time I saw him relocate work was…
” I sigh, trying to think back through the years.
“It was decades ago. When I was a child, he once brought me with him to an office. Perhaps in a Council building? I barely remember.”
“Do you have any idea where this building was? Maybe the secret tree is there.”
I picture the large, modernish building in my mind, remember the guards smiling at me and the labyrinth of stairwells. “It’s all so hazy. I can’t imagine what my father was hiding or why Mathias would target him. Most of his work was publicly available.”
“But not all. Then again, Mathias may have merely wanted to cause terror and instigate violence. Drink up, love.” Suddenly, Raiden conjures a teacup and presses the delicate rim to my lips.
I hesitate, then take a sip, surprised when it’s both my favorite brew and the perfect temperature. “Thank you.”
“Always so ladylike.” A soft smile curves his mouth. “You don’t need to thank me.”
I huddle closer to Raiden, flashing him a bittersweet smile. He has this way of poking gentle fun at my gentility…yet making me feel like a woman.
When I first fell for him, the feelings rushed me like a tempest—hard, fast, undeniable. I quickly learned that loving Raiden is like eating too much chocolate—scrumptious and incredible, but in the long run…bad for me. “You’ve said that before.”
Indeed. The first time he seduced me. Just before he showed me the meaning of passion beyond words.
Best not to think of that now. After spending amazing days with Raiden—and even more amazing nights—I awakened one morning to find that my magical signature had altered to reflect the child I carried. Within twenty-four hours, he was gone from my life.
I shove aside the crushing memory and rise to pace the room. I have to focus. My family is gone, killed for something I don’t understand. And I’ve no idea how to protect myself from Mathias.
“Tabby,” he murmurs. “I see your mind working. We’re more likely to solve this problem together. Talk to me.”
I shake my head. “Too much nervous energy.”
And despite my grief, being close to him is still too dangerous to my fragile heart.
He rises, and I catch an unmistakable flare of heat in his eyes. When he blinks, it’s gone.
That expression steals my breath. Raiden still wants me? Seemingly so, and more than I imagined. Then again, sex means nothing to him. I learned that the hard way.
Still, his genuine warmth and concern this morning surprises me. So unlike the Raiden who turned his back on me. That man was cold as ice. Does he feel sorry for me now? Is that why he’s being nice? The thought makes my stomach roil.
I round the couch, putting distance between us. He changes course and follows. Slow. Stalking. Predatory.
Running from Raiden won’t work. When that wizard wants something, he goes after it ruthlessly. He never makes any move without purpose.
I whirl, face him, and plant a hand on his solid chest to keep him at bay.
Beneath smooth skin and hard muscle, I feel the beat, beat, beat of his heart.
That sound has been permanently embedded in my memory the first time he covered my body with his, kissed me breathless, then slid deep inside me until I cried out his name.
“What do you want?”
He sighs and places a gentle hand on my shoulder. “For you to rest. You’ve been through too much, and you look ready to collapse.”
Before I can respond, I feel his magic pulling me under, compelling me into a deep slumber.
Damn him! I won’t stand for this.
That’s my very last thought before I collapse into his arms and darkness claims me.
Raiden
I settle Tabitha on my bed upstairs and tuck the covers around her. Almost from the moment I met her, I wanted her in my bed. I fantasized about bringing her here, to my room—where I never bring females—to claim her. But not under circumstances like these.
Once I perch beside her, I can’t take my eyes off her. Bloody hell, I could have lost her and our youngling forever.
I smooth her fiery hair away from her soot-covered temple, reassuring myself with her warmth and the rise and fall of her chest. My breath shudders as the terrible reality hits me all over again.
If Mathias had succeeded, she would be as dead as the rest of her family.
I would never have another chance to touch her.
Not that I should now. Tabitha isn’t mine, and I’ll soon be forced to relinquish her to Sean Blackbourne. But until then, I can touch her, protect her. Do my best to heal her.
Dark circles shadow her pretty eyes. Being an expectant mother naturally drains far more of her energy and far more rapidly than usual.
And after losing her whole family, she should be resting.
Grieving. Before I forced her to sleep, Tabby was pacing, trying to devise a strategy to fend off Mathias and save whatever her father died protecting all on her own.
Not while there’s still a breath left in my body.
Since I can do nothing else for her comfort now, I force myself to rise and start planning.
First, I have to ensure her safety. To do that, I have to figure out this secret tree business.
Then—somehow—I’ll have to bring myself to deliver her to Sean Blackbourne.
Lucky, undeserving bastard. But the other wizard is wealthy and well-connected.
He’ll take care of her and my youngling in a way I can’t.
Shoving that horrible truth aside, I reach for my mobile and dial a familiar number. Bram picks up on the first ring.
“Is Tabitha all right?”
“Shaken. Distraught.” And still so beautiful that she haunts me. My desire for her goes dangerously deep.
Bram’s voice sounds heavy. “That’s to be expected. Her life has been forever changed.”
Indeed, and I ache for the grief she must be enduring. But my first priority must be protecting her. “What do you know about a secret tree?”
“Never heard of such a thing,” Bram says. “What is it?”
That isn’t good news. “No idea. Can you search your grandfather’s texts?” I ask, referring to the tomes the great wizard Merlin himself passed down to his family. “Or talk to your sister? Sabelle might know something.”
Then I explain Lowery’s last words to his daughter.
Bram sighs. “Bloody hell, Goldcroft Manor—and thus Merlin’s texts—are probably ash. Mathias and the Anarki either burned them all when they attacked…or took them.”
Not what I want to hear. “When the sun rises, I’ll search the Lowery estate again. There must be clues we’re missing.”
And I can’t keep Tabitha alive if I can’t solve this mystery—fast.