The Pit #3
“She sent the text that I was next. She, or they, were the ones who knew about your mom and dad. She even saved Laura’s life when her beast was attacked. She shared all of that before she disappeared, and when I say that, I mean she vanished right before my eyes. Poof!”
I was losing it.
And could anyone blame me?
“But before she disappeared, she told me, during Laura’s attack, the target wasn’t her beast. It was Laura.”
“And why the fuck did she go poof?” Tanyn demanded. “Why the fuck didn’t she stick around and tell us what in the bloody hells is bloody happening?”
Apparently, he was losing it too.
“I have no idea, honey. She just said she’d always be there, and then she wasn’t there. And she said…she said…”
Okay.
Totally losing it.
“She said she’d die for me,” I forced out, my voice husky and raw.
He pulled me in tight, stroking my back, and cooing, “Okay, calm down. You’re good. I’m good. Nayden’s good. Let’s get you upstairs. Cleaned up.”
“And check on Hurley. She spelled him to sleep.”
“And check on our dog,” he murmured, shifting me to tucked to his side and guiding us to the bridge.
After all that went down, I was not looking forward to climbing what had to be at least ten flights of stairs (or more).
Fortunately, I didn’t have to.
Tanyn lifted me in his arms.
And with demon speed, Nayden leading, we were up them, the red sigils on the walls flashing bright and blinking out nearly immediately with our haste.
We were in our bedroom in less than two minutes.
Nayden wasn’t. He’d peeled off on the ground floor. Probably to oversee the aftermath of whatever happened in the garden.
And when Tanyn and I looked at the bed, Hurley wasn’t there either.
I began to panic (again).
Then I heard a bark and doggie feet on the floor.
We both turned to the closet where Hurley, who was probably in search of us, was racing out.
I made note that when Monique was gone, it seemed her spell went with her.
Tanyn crouched and caught him, straightening with Hurley in his arms.
I crowded them, holding on to Tanyn with one arm around him, my other hand bumping into Tanyn’s as we both pet him.
“It’s okay, boy. It’s good,” Tanyn murmured as Hurley nearly manically licked Tanyn’s face and my own.
This was gross, considering the blood all over me (and Tanyn had some on him too, I belatedly noticed, just not as much).
Tanyn caught my gaze.
“You, shower pod,” he ordered.
His eyes were still red, and I had the feeling this wasn’t about being alert and ready to fight.
Now, he was getting pissed.
So I didn’t demur.
I pushed up on my toes, leaned in and gave Tanyn a kiss (mine was on the lips, Hurley was bathing his jaw). I then did the same to Hurley’s head.
I let them go and rushed to the closet, calling, “Lights, closet and bath, fifty percent.”
The closet and the bathroom beyond lit.
When I hit the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror, I couldn’t control my strangled scream.
Oh yes.
I was covered in blood.
Worse, my hair was an absolute mess.
I shucked my nightgown (I hadn’t bothered to put on panties after Tanyn and my earlier activities, which meant I went to battle commando).
This thought almost made me laugh hysterically, because I was this close to full-on hysteria.
Instead, I jumped into the shower pod and let the multiple jets of water sluice away the blood from my hair and body.
Through the windows around the pod, I saw Tanyn come in with a pile of clothes for me, Hurley trotting close to his side. He’d already changed.
They were both there when I finished.
Very there, because Tanyn was standing outside the pod, holding a towel for me.
When I took it, he bit out, “Only you would go into battle in a slinky nightgown.”
Okay.
Hang on.
Was he mad…at me?
Toweling off, I pointed out, “I didn’t really have a choice, Tanyn.”
“No,” he clipped. “You did not.”
All right then.
He wasn’t mad at me.
He was mad I’d been attacked and hadn’t had time to don something more appropriate.
I heard his Palm go in the other room.
He stalked that way.
Hurley was at odds as to who to stay with, but as ever (and rightly), he picked his daddy.
Hurley left. I toweled down. Put on undies and a bralette. Eschewed the mane-mate to comb out my own hair. And finally, I tugged on the creamy, knit, loose-fitting pants and off-the-shoulder, long-sleeved top my male had picked for me.
Clothed, I walked into the bedchamber, summoning the lights in the rooms behind me to extinguish along the way.
Tanyn was standing at the window, and instantly, I knew he was angrier than I’d ever seen him.
A casual observer might not make this call. He was standing straight. His expression was bland.
But his wrath was rolling off him in blistering waves.
“Right, keep me informed,” he said tightly into the Palm he held to his ear. When he rang off, he turned to me. “I was wrong. Two confirmed dead. The castle’s medi-unit is full. There are only four bays there. Seven other warriors have been ambu-lifted to Blackheart.”
Considering their attackers were virtually invisible, as tragic as these casualties were, I thought this said a great deal, and all of it was stellar, about our guard. It could have been much worse. In fact, it should have been.
However, at this juncture, I didn’t share this thought.
I moved to him, put my hands on his chest, and leaned into him before I whispered, “I’m sorry, baby.”
“They were cloaked.”
I nodded. “The ones we fought were too.”
“Someone gave them a potion to glamor.”
I nodded again.
“That was what was in that pic,” he stated.
I nodded yet again.
“If Nay and I hadn’t clocked it…” He shook his head. “No, if you hadn’t pointed it out so Nay and I could clock it, what happened in my own fucking garden would have been a massacre.”
I should have known he’d have the same thoughts as me.