3. Lane #2
“That doesn’t make sense. The Dark Ring has only been around for the past sixty years and has only become a threat to supers in the past twenty or so years,” I argued.
“Before we delve into my bleak past, I would like to know that I have a future,” Derven rebuffed, his gaze turning to Finley. “Will the queen finish what she started?”
“What is he talking about?” Elias demanded. “She hasn’t done anything.”
“Pretty sure she helped him breathe a little easier when she first joined us,” I shared.
At that, everyone shifted back, sensing that being wolves right now was putting them at a disadvantage when it came to corralling our mate’s actions.
“What reason do we have to save your life?” Zander asked, stepping in front of Finley, so she was blocked from Derven’s sight.
“You already know the answer to that, but if you must have me say it for your own reassurances, then so be it. If you heal me, I will give you the power of the Nestor coven of vampires at your back as you dismantle the Dark Ring,” Derven announced.
“My father will be happy to reward you for freeing me and it would only add to his joy to destroy what took his favorite son from him.”
“That’s a hefty promise. You sure dear old dad will allow it at your request?” Mason challenged. “Seems that people don’t believe he’s still alive and running things.”
I tried to hide my shock as Mason used the information that Rath gave to us and twisted it to make it sound like what he knew was common knowledge.
“The truly powerful don’t need the world to remember them to control it.
Manipulating in the shadows allows him to move among his people unnoticed.
Trust me, my father is alive as much as one can be as a vampire, and he’s been looking for me.
The Dark Ring was wise and kept me locked away deep underground where it was hard for anyone to find me,” he informed us, the bitterness in his voice clear.
“It was only by happenstance that I found my Blood Bond in those same dungeons, only to lose her far too soon, the bastard.”
“If I heal you, I need your word that you won’t speak of what happens here to others.
The Senate and the Dark Ring have eyes and ears everywhere and I can’t afford for them to know more about my powers than they must. From this moment on, you will never refer to me as the queen of anything or share that elves still walk the earth,” Finley instructed.
“Like your father, I want the world to believe rumors about me are just that, rumors. Information is a weapon and I refuse to give anymore to those against us.”
“You would make me swear to this?” Derven asked, surprised. “The humans might have forgotten about the elves, but we supernaturals have long memories. We know the balance they bring to the world, the hope that can be stoked from a mere whisper of their return.”
“That time is not now,” she snapped. “Until the world has been broken and brought to its knees, it doesn’t deserve hope.
When there is an outcry for change from humans and supers alike, we will stay silent and wait.
The elves sacrificed themself for the world once and I refuse to let it happen again only to be forgotten. ”
Rath looked at our mate as if she’d just rewritten history and the elves never vanished.
The awe and admiration practically glowed off him as he listened to her.
I couldn’t blame him. When Finley became passionate about something or someone, she put her whole self into it.
None of this dipping your toe into the water.
No, not my mate. For a woman who was only just learning the depth of her emotions, she wielded them as deftly as she did her daggers.
It was incredible to watch, and with time, she would only become more powerful.
That scared me as much as it excited me.
“You speak wisely and with foresight into the future, but I will caution you from hardening yourself to the plight of the world around you. They have been like the frog in a pot of water, slowly heated to a boil until it’s too late for them to get themselves out of danger.
Humans are young and live short-sided lives while us supers have long lives and choose not to notice the signs when we see them,” Derven cautioned as he slumped against the tree, clearly running out of energy.
“The sun is getting higher, and I am losing what little strength I had, leaving me no choice but to agree to your terms, Finley.”
Her brows snapped together in confusion. “How did you know my name?”
Derven gave her what I think was a smile, but without much flesh left, it looked more like he was baring his teeth. “Once you heal me, I will be happy to answer all of your questions, but let’s just say we all have our talents.”
All of us converged on Derven, sensing the threat he had just made toward our mate.
“Stop,” Finley ordered, our bodies freezing in place.
“Finley,” Zander growled.
None of us enjoyed this new trick she’d learned, but Zander hated it the most. They fell into an argument about it every time she did it. Clearly, this wasn’t going to be any different if the vein popping out of his forehead was any sign.
Finley walked over to Derven and knelt, holding out her hands to him. “With how much damage your body has taken, I truly don’t know how badly this will hurt.”
“I doubt it can be worse than the pain I’m in now,” he grumbled as he placed both hands in hers.
Closing her eyes, Finley took a deep breath, releasing it as I felt her gathering magic from the forest around her.
“Rath, how do I keep from healing him to the point of being human again?” she asked.
The elf frowned and rubbed his chin as he thought. “Tell your magic exactly what you want from it and don’t allow it to do more than that. It needs to heal the damage to his body, remove the silver, and restore his energy. If it tries to go above and beyond that, call it back.”
I saw her head nod before her hands started to glow a vibrant cobalt blue that matched the color of her eyes.
Watching the process, I couldn’t help but gasp as, before my eyes, his skin was knitting itself back together.
The scent of death was clearing from the air and was replaced by the copper scent of blood that always seemed to linger on vampires.
The features of his face returned and I could finally distinguish him as a person.
Derven’s skin became more pigmented as if he was actually alive, his scraggly dark hair thickened and filled out, the beard on his face was fuller and his eyes, unlike most vampires, weren’t red.
Instead, they were a deep brown with flecks of green that seemed as shocked as all of us were at what was going on.
If the scent wasn’t the same, I would one hundred percent believe that he was human.
This must be what he looked like before becoming a vampire.
When she told her magic to heal him, it healed it back to his original DNA.
When she opened her eyes, Finley smiled and clasped his hands in her. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Derven.”