Chapter 20 Annika
Annika
“Do we finally know how they got the wards down?” Ajax asks Alek as the hunters, their mates, and the assassins wait in the hallway outside Gabriel’s hospital wing.
“Greenbriars,” Jocelyn answers for the king. Benedict rubs his hand up her back, silently assuring her—like he’d voiced already many times—that it wasn’t her fault.
“It took two covens worth to bring down our wards, Jocelyn,” Alek says. “You are not at fault.”
Jocelyn presses her lips together, looking like she wants to argue but doesn’t.
Silence weaves between us, the same heaviness that has only slightly lifted in the three nights that have passed since the attack.
Twenty noble vampires were killed in the bombing of the Domum.
Of course, all of them were close supporters of Alek’s.
We lost Thorne, the rookie assassin in training.
Talia managed to kill Somerhalt, Aurora’s father, along with countless bloodmads.
We dealt them a blow, but they also delivered us one.
“How is she?” I manage to ask after we’ve all been silent too long. I gesture toward the closed door, where Lachlan hasn’t stepped foot out of in three nights.
Alek sighs. “Gabriel got her stable,” he says. “And passed on his gratitude to you, Annika.”
I jolt a little in shock.
“Without your quick thinking to use your power to halt the blood flow, allowing Lachlan’s blood to urge her to change…” He sighs. “I’m not sure where we’d be.”
An icy chill rakes over us all at his words. Valor has a drop of vampire blood in her bloodline, allowing the possibility to make the full transition from human to vampire, but it’s not a guarantee. And if she doesn’t make it…
I swallow hard. I can’t imagine what Lachlan is going through right now. His mate’s life hangs in the balance and he’s powerless to do anything more than he already has.
I automatically reach for Dagon’s hand and squeeze it. I can’t imagine a world without him. I don’t want to know that world. Ever.
Which is why I took every concerned, angry conversation we’ve had since the battle, because I didn’t go to the war room.
It took some very calm conversations to explain why I didn’t lock myself up safely with the others.
That going after Valor outweighed the risks.
And thankfully so, seeing where we’re at now.
If I hadn’t gone after her? I’m not sure what would’ve happened.
Dagon finally understood, but he made it clear how upset he was that I’d been so careless with my own life.
I explained it’s what he does on a regular basis.
So, we’re at an impasse. There’s nothing we can do.
I know he’ll protect his hunters and carry out his duties, just as he knows there’s nothing I won’t do to protect my family.
We agreed to love each other through the anger and fear over each other’s well-being and left it at that.
After another hour, Jocelyn leaves us to meet up with her sister Luna, the witch queen, to rebuild the wards. They’ve been working on them every night since, figuring out how to make them stronger this time around. She’d only come down here to see if Valor had awoken.
She hasn’t.
We’re all on a knife’s edge waiting, but none more so than Lachlan.
“Valor!” We hear the strained cry of relief from inside the room, Lachlan not needing to shout for us all to hear.
There’s a collective sigh of relief between our group, the tension visibly melting from our bodies at the sound of Valor gasping awake.
“Lachlan?” she says. “I’m…oh, thank God, I’m alive.”
“I almost lost you,” he says.
“Thankfully, your stubborn ass turned me.”
“Are you angry?”
“With you? Always,” she says, and we all hold our breath, casting each other worried glances. We shuffle, a collective sense that we need to stop eavesdropping now. “But no,” she continues. “I’m happy. I love you.”
“I get to keep your pain in the ass forever now,” Lachlan grumbles just as we clear the hallway and head out of earshot.
We split up, going to our respective rooms to regroup. We’re in healing mode, recharging to face what’s to come.
“I couldn’t imagine the pain in waiting for her to wake up,” Dagon says as he closes his door behind him. “Thank fuck you were already a vampire.”
I huff a laugh. “Same.”
He draws me into his arms, and I rest my head against his chest.
“What now?” I ask, my head aching from all the strategizing we’ve done the past three nights.
“Same as ever,” he answers. “We don’t stop until Samuel is in the ground.”
“Saint,” I say, turning to look up at Dagon. “I haven’t seen him. Is he okay?”
Dagon sighs, threading his fingers through my hair. “Saint is…Saint.”
That’s as much explanation as I’m going to get, and I understand. I still have a lot of learning to do when it comes to my newest family. Trust to build.
“Whatever he needs,” I say. “Whatever you need. You know, I’m in.”
Dagon smiles down at me. “I’ve never had a partner like you.”
“What?” I tease. “One who can match your power and surpass you?”
He gapes at me. “Oh, can you set things on fire now?”
I purse my lips. “No,” I grumble. “But I can put them out.”
His grin deepens. “Yes, you can. You can do more than I could this early in my power. You’re only going to get better.”
“With a little help from my…teacher.”
Dagon laughs. “Mate,” he corrects me. “Mate.”
I slide my hands up his chest, needing the feel of him to keep me grounded. We’re joking to lighten the heavy mood, but we both know the truth. This war needs to end. And it’s only going to get more gruesome before it does.
But, we have each other, and that gives us something worth fighting for.
“Okay,” I say, swallowing hard. “I love you, mate.” I put all the love and admiration and respect I feel into our connection, sending it in waves down the bond that binds us together.
He inhales deeply, closing his eyes as he drinks those sensations in. “I love you,” he says before he dips down, kissing me intently, like we have forever to do just this.
And as I wrap my arms around his neck, I make a promise with whatever forces are listening, that we’ll do just that.