Chapter 4
Corvinus
Embry doesn’t turn or say a word to her friends, she just fucking disappears, again.
I run a hand through my hair as Descallia’s eyes turn toward me.
If he sees my concern, there’s not one fucking thing I can do about that.
“All of you, go. I’ll head out after Embry.
” I am not about to mention that she better be somewhere in this estate and not out in the dangers beyond the safety that keeps the witches out.
That she better not have left after I explicitly told her she was going to be protected at all times.
Lucianna pulls me aside as Descallia gets his coat. “Please text us when you find her? Let me know she’s okay. It’s a shock for all of us, but bigger for her. She went through so much.”
“I will do that.” Descallia slips her coat over her shoulders and they follow the others out the door so I can find my disappearing little mate.
I close the door behind me and transport upstairs, following the scent that permeates my hall until I find the vampire who makes me want to annihilate anyone who causes her any harm at all standing in the middle of my bedroom.
Embry shifts, causing my eyes to drift to her mini skirt and the bare skin around it.
I close the distance as she strokes the little jewel dangling from her navel piercing.
I slip my hands beneath her hair, drawing her to me, cradling her face against my stomach.
She doesn’t have to say a word. I know what she’s thinking and I’m not letting her worry herself sick about something that’s not going to happen.
“It’s okay to be scared after what you’ve been through.
There is not one bit of shame in that, Embry.
The whole ordeal, none of us were expecting that level of betrayal, hatred, or skill from so many of our own to be part of trying to bring the vampires down.
They almost had all of the masters surrounded at one point.
They were a step ahead of us too, because of powers they have. Powers the witches probably gave them.”
She inhales a deep breath. “I used to be on the special ops team. I was an elite soldier; nothing scared me at all. Not even Lucas,” she says vehemently.
Her eyes widen and they get misty. “That was before that night. I swear he wasn’t himself.
I could have taken Lucas. As good as he was with that sword, Corvinus, I was better by a lot.
I was trained by some of our best special ops members.
They put me through the ringer. They said I was a natural, but they taught me so much.
That night though, it was like evil spirits, rogues, or someone helping him was involved.
Maybe it was the witches all along. I never trusted them, but then I met the ladies the masters fell in love with.
Maybe they softened me to all witches, and all witches are definitely not the same. ”
I stroke her cheek. “You are brave and fearless, of that there is no doubt. Never second guess that, love.”
Embry shakes her head. “Not that night. At the end there must have been ten Lucases surrounding me. One appeared from every different direction. It was like one of those illusion mirrors at the circus. There was no way to know what was trickery and what was real. It was magic, sorcery or something. I just know it wasn’t me and Lucas in a fight by ourselves. ” She pats her chest. “I know it here.”
I don’t give her a chance to say a word. I keep her firmly in place before she has a chance to step back. “I told you before, you are going to learn that doing the disappearing act on me is absolutely against all of the rules, love. We get to the bottom of this together, as one.”
Embry’s bright purple eyes flash. “What if they all find out before you want them to? What then? I will not be the reason you lose your place in the vampires. I’ve gone through what it feels like to be on the outside, and I don’t wish it on anyone, especially you.”
I hold her close, her face pressed against my chest. The fact that she’s worried about me settles into my soul, into those tiny little crevices that I’ve not let one other person ever explore or penetrate.
I vow right here and now, silently, to track and hunt Lucas, to get rid of the monster who hurt Embry for good, but the way she suddenly tenses lets me know she already knows what I’m thinking.
She shakes her head vehemently. “You can’t do that for me, vampire. I have to do that.” Her deep-set eyes draw mine down to meet hers. “I have to do the thing that I’m scared of, I have to best him at his game, and I have to save the vampires from him and his rotten game.”
My jaw tightens, the only thing keeping me from saying the things I can’t say.
She put her trust in me, as a lover, to show her pleasure, and yes to protect her, but in this she is right.
This is something that Embry must do, and I have to be strong enough to let her do it, even though every beat of my dark-souled heart pulses with unprecedented rage and rails against it.
For some unexplained reason, Embry and Lucianna were meant to help the vampires together.
Maybe we were wrong when we thought it was to best the rogue vampires?
Nothing is making sense at this point except that we have much more work to do.
She, Lucianna and the others need to keep working on the shadow books, but I was right, they need to do it while keeping the wisdom of the Vade Mecum at their fingertips and in their hearts.
Not to mention paying special and close attention to the witches’ baubles.
We know from Devora herself that they light the way to things close to the witches’ most closely guarded secrets. And we can use them to our advantage.
“Do you think that Devora knows we’ll use the witches’ baubles to help navigate through all the lies and deception?” I ask Embry.
Her lip quirks to the side. “She has to, I mean she knew they were helping us to best the rogues. Devora, no matter how mad we were at her or how flighty she can be, she did help us at the time. Her only real source of contention with the vampires seems to be the sacred land. We keep thinking the witches lured me to the sacred land, but what if that’s not really true.
” Embry starts pacing and her purple eyes get brighter.
She turns to me. “What if Isala is the one who is pulling all the strings just like before? Corvinus, it would make sense. She hates Lucianna and me. She would do anything to stir up a fight between the vampires and the witches.”
I nod, guiding her to the edge of the bed, and drawing her into my lap.
“To what end, love? I don’t discount it, but we have to ask the questions.
Do you still believe you were pulled into this world because your gramma knows something that could tell you what happened to Lucas, why he turned traitor?
I thought you said she wanted you to leave that in the past and focus on your future? ”
She looks at me slightly confused. “No, you’re right.
I don’t claim to have it all figured out, but I think it’s one hypothesis among many and we can’t discount it.
Tomorrow, we’re going back to basics. When Lucianna first joined the team, you should have seen her.
She was drawing scenarios on the white board in Descallia’s conference room.
We set up a communications room and you know what, each and every one of those pieces, we needed in the end.
I’m going to call Lucianna. Tomorrow, we’re going back to the boards.
You should see our queen in motion. She knows her stuff and I dare say she taught me a thing or two. ”
I lay back on the bed, cradling the fiery vampire who has caused a sea of disruption in my otherwise calm life, pulling her atop me so that we’re face to face.
“It’s a very good idea, Embry. And there is safety in numbers.
It will give me time to get the warriors in place while you’re working on this.
” She doesn’t have to say a word; I can read it in her body language.
Me working on the warriors and her not being a part of that is a very big problem for the lovely vampiress I now hold in my arms.
She does a good job of playing it off even though she can’t hide her true feelings from me. “We’re going to need a huge conference room. I’ll use the one I saw downstairs.”
My hands grasp her perfectly rounded ass. “I’m pretty sure since I’m the boss, you’re going to have to ask nicely.”
She looks at me with eyes that I would gladly drown in. “I love you, vampire. But sometimes, I’m just not going to give you your way. I’m going to make you work for it, whether you like to be in charge or not.”
I arch a brow, trying hard not to smirk. “But I’m in charge for a year.”
Embry grins, swiveling her hips to grind against my cock. “You’re not the boss of me, vampire.”
I roll her over in one fell swoop, grazing her neck with my fangs because sex between us is always an incredible way to blow off a little steam and let her know who’s really in charge. “Perhaps I need to show you just how in charge I am.”