Chapter Eduard
Eduard
Eduard had taken to the air again, this time with Andvari on his back. They needed to get closer to civilization so he could call his father, but there was no way Sawyer was up for travel.
He’d put on a brave show, but once Andvari had removed the bandage covering Sawyer’s side, Eduard had seen red. Between the bruises covering his body and his torn apart feet, Sawyer hadn’t had an easy time at all.
But that claw mark.
It had taken every ounce of self control he possessed to not lose control then and there. He wanted to flay Magdalen alive, and then claw her to pieces himself. No one touched his mate. No one.
He could see a group of buildings not too far ahead along the coast, probably a small village. After making sure his magic was shielding them from potential onlookers, Eduard landed on a deserted strip of beach.
Andvari slipped off his back and had the phone out and waiting for Eduard as he shifted back to his human form. He’d dialed his father seconds later.
“Eduard, did you find him?”
“No,” Eduard lied. “I’ve had an emergency call from a client though, and I’m hoping you can handle it while we continue our search. Could you head to your office and make a sell for me?”
Augustus paused for a moment then agreed. “Stock prices wait for no man. I understand, Eduard. Hold on.”
His father understood. He heard muffled voices and then a door closed. “I’m in my office, son. Alone.”
“We found him, Dad.”
“Oh, thank the goddess. How bad is it?”
“Bad,” Eduard said. “Magdalen was behind it all. She…” He breathed deeply, tried to control his emotions.
“I’ll remove her head from her body myself,” Augustus snarled.
“No. We need to question her. She tried to sacrifice him to Tiamat. We need more information and we need to know if anyone else helped her. You’re the only person I trust with this. It’s hard to imagine she did this without help.”
“I won’t let you down. What do you need?”
“The boats Henry had you send north. If I send you coordinates, can you find out if one is relatively close? We’re in Maine as far as I can tell. We were in the air for several hours.”
“Hold on. We’re satellite mapping them. Message me the coordinates and I’ll see who is close. I’ve been spreading them out along the coast.”
“We’ll need to keep this quiet.”
“I’ll take care of it. Now, tell me how he is.”
“Pretty bruised. He took a good beating. His feet are bad. When he got away—” His breath hitched once again. “She clawed him, Dad. She marked my mate.”
Augustus made a pained noise, the anger in the sound approaching the rage that boiled in Eduard’s veins.
“He got away, though. Focus on that. We will take care of her, son. No one in this clan harms another’s mate and lives to tell the tale. You know the law. You know your rights. As head of this family, I demand that you take recompense for this.”
Eduard breathed deeply, his father’s words soothing another fear he hadn’t wanted to admit.
They’d smoothed over his father’s immediate rejection of Sawyer, easing a wound neither had realized had been open for some time.
Eduard fully intended on making his cousin pay with her life for daring to touch his mate, but he’d known he risked his father’s wrath if he did.
There were only a few of their generation left, and none had produced an heir. If Eduard killed her, there would be one fewer chances of their survival. But of course, his father understood and supported his decision.
He took another calming breath, and then shared the other news he had to tell his father.
“He managed to find a new guardian in the process. You’re not going to believe this one.”
Augustus wasn’t one to beg so he simply remained quiet. Eduard let the moment stretch out a bit, the only small bit of good news to come out of this. He really wanted to hear his father’s reaction.
“He’s from the Atlantean clan.”
Augustus remained quiet for a long moment. Then he cleared his throat. “Say that one more time.”
Eduard chuckled. “You heard me. He’ll be coming back with us. I’m sure you’ll have a few questions.”
“I’ve never actually met one,” Augustus said.
“If I didn’t believe in Sawyer before, I certainly do now.
Astounding. Give me one more minute. I’m waiting on the last of the satellite updates from the yachts.
And yes, we have one within a couple hours of your location.
Henry wasn’t kidding when he said north. You’re practically in Canada.”
“And we won’t be heading back at full speed. Sawyer won’t be able to handle it.”
“I can have a doctor here waiting. Or I can charter a helicopter and have one flown to you. Whatever he needs.”
“I’ll keep you posted. I just want him safe. This can’t keep happening.”
“I know. Get back to your mate, son. It’ll make you feel better.
Have the captain message me with updated coordinates as you make your way back.
Anything you need, let me know and it will be yours.
I’ll make sure I’m the only one aware and I’ll keep the search going until you’re safely home to provide additional cover. ”
“Thank you.”
“Take care of him.”
“I will.”
Eduard ended the call and handed the phone to Andvari. He only half listened as Andvari called in another group of vampires to serve as guards. Eduard really wanted to know how his cousin had managed to take out two of them.
It didn’t seem right. Even with his training, he wouldn’t be able to take Andvari out on his own.
Then again, Magdalen had fooled them all, so perhaps the same was true for the guards.
He certainly wouldn’t have thought her capable of so much evil and even though he knew she had the same abilities he had as a griffin, he’d always considered her weaker.
Clearly, he’d been wrong. Either way, he would make certain he found out the truth, of that much he was certain.
“None of us suspected her,” Andvari said quietly. “You have to stop torturing yourself.”
Eduard looked up and met Andvari’s concerned gaze. “I want to know why. Why would she do that to me? Whatever feelings about Sawyer she may have had, I have claimed him as mine. Why would she take that from me?”
“We’ll ask her. But now, we need to get back to our mate and prove to him that he is safe. We keep relaxing, letting down our guard, but this shows that we cannot. We need to find better ways to protect him.”
Eduard nodded. “Now that my father is supporting us, we can ask him for some resources. I don’t know what we need to do, but there has to be something else.”
“We have all the elements now with the arrival of Saeward. The wards will be stronger.”
“But we can’t keep Sawyer locked up, and that’s the only way the wards are effective.”
“Then we find a new way.”
“We will find a new way.” Eduard nodded before transforming back into his griffin form.
Andvari mounted his back and then they were in the air again.
His guilt threatened to eat him alive, but Andvari was right. He needed to remain in control. Eduard hadn’t imagined being a guardian would be so complicated. He really had expected to just be the money man of the operation.
The mark had assured him of his destiny, and he’d studied for years to make sure he used the tithes the clans gave wisely.
He’d grown their investments to incredible amounts and Sawyer would have enough to take care of all of his guardians and provide for anything else he might need in the course of his duties.
That part of his job was effectively done now.
He could no longer spend his days looking at spreadsheets and calculating percentages, managing clients and allowing himself to keep going with his old life as if nothing had changed.
He had to adjust his thinking and truly become the guardian that Sawyer needed.
Andvari had trained as a warrior his entire life, and Eduard wondered if even he was prepared for the battle ahead.
The problem was that Sawyer was the exact opposite of what they expected and none of them had changed their thinking to account for that.
Sawyer was human in a supernatural world.
Human against creatures with great power and greater magic.
He was defenseless against it all and it was their duty to make sure that no one hurt him.
As Eduard spotted Saeward’s cove ahead, he swore an oath to himself that he wouldn’t lose focus of his true responsibility again. The lesson had been learned and would never need to be repeated. They were guardians and mates and their duty was their destiny.
Henry sat alone on the porch of Saeward’s cabin. Eduard landed as close as he could and Andvari slid off his back. Eduard shifted and they walked together toward their youngest mate.
“How is he?” Andvari asked.
“He’s…okay. Draco’s got him. I’m keeping watch. How long before Augustus can get one of the yacht’s here?”
“A couple hours,” Eduard answered.
Henry nodded. “Okay, can you guys help me put up a ward? And then maybe deal with…that.” He gestured toward the bodies still lying farther down the beach.
“Of course,” Andvari said softly. “Henry, are you okay?”
Henry shook his head, his eyes glassing over. “No. No, I’m not. But we have work to do.”
Eduard had very much had his head up his own ass from the moment they found Sawyer. He hadn’t even realized how much Henry was hurting until Andvari pointed it out. “Let me get Saeward,” Eduard said. “We will have all four elements with him added.”
He walked inside, taking a moment to squeeze Henry’s shoulder as he passed.
It was little comfort, but Henry raised his hand and covered Eduard’s before walking closer to the trees and kneeling beneath the swaying branches.
He found Draco and Sawyer curled up in Saeward’s bed.
Sawyer appeared to be asleep, although he was clinging to Draco’s arms like a life preserver.
“Saeward, we could use your assistance outside.”