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  All four mastyrs turned to look at him, smiling.

  Davido levitated so that he could meet the men in the eye, then looked each of them up and down. As a group, they ranged from six-five to six-seven. If Davido topped out at five-three, Stone would be surprised.

  “So the old bat took branding irons to the lot of you, did she?”

  Stone shook his head. Ethan and Quinlan laughed outright. “The ‘old bat’ did,” Quinlan said. He lifted his arm, then cringed. “Sweet Goddess, I need a bath.”

  Davido glanced at Stone and winked. “Let’s get you boys home.”

  With that, the oldest realm-person alive vanished, with all three powerful vampires.

  Stone let Harris know that the ruling mastyrs were headed back to their respective realms. A moment later, the first team of Guardsmen arrived as well as Harris.

  Knowing that the situation was well in hand, Stone levitated to the falls, slid from behind the powerful curtain of water then took to the air. He desired nothing more than to sleep away the day in his private lake home.

  While he flew, he pathed with Ian, the ruling mastyr of Camberlaune Realm. He filled him in on all that had happened, though even from him, a man he considered to be his closest friend, he withheld any information about the elf-lord power.

  Ian served as his second-in-command of the Combined Realm Forces. And all three are safe now? So it was a scheme of the Ancient Fae’s to reel you in?

  Exactly. But I couldn’t have freed them without Aralynn. He then shared about the wolf being a blood rose.

  Ian congratulated him but offered a warning. Remember, she’ll be a beacon to all mastyrs. Best keep her close.

  I’ve asked her to bond with me, but she’s hesitant. I like this wolf a lot. I admire her and she has a boatload of power. I see no reason not to get on with things.

  He heard Ian laugh telepathically. That is so like you. Always ready to jump in with both feet.

  But would Aralynn ever consent to the bond?

  Chapter Six

  Rosamunde hadn’t gone to Aralynn’s place. Instead, she’d headed straight to the castle. She wanted the security of the thick stone walls. Not that it would help one bit if Margetta ever got past the veil of mist, but she still felt safer than if she’d been in the small cottage.

  She’d also transformed back into her fae form. She needed time to think and Aralynn’s fiery wolf nature tended to keep her thoughts fixed on things she shouldn’t be thinking about, like Stone’s lips and his broad shoulders and what it had felt like to make love with him.

  She sighed and went into the bathroom to fetch her brush. Her hair needed attending.

  Shortly after she’d flown away from the cave with her violet wind whipping her high into the air, Margetta had revved up her battle energy. Sensing Margetta’s intention to fire on her, Rosamunde had been forced to access the elf-lord power while in flight. Even though it hurt like hell without Stone nearby to channel the power away, the boost had made her fly like a rocket. She’d outstripped the Ancient Fae fairly quickly, not once getting hit or even singed.

  Though she could have easily teleported, she feared her aunt would be able to follow her. In many respects, she simply didn’t know the extent or limitations of Margetta’s powers. Except, of course, that Margetta lacked Rosamunde’s speed.

  She’d also needed to keep Margetta focused on her. She didn’t want the Ancient Fae going back to Dracut Falls and the longer she kept Margetta in pursuit, the safer Stone was.

  It was still inconceivable to Rosamunde that her own aunt wanted her dead, but so she did.

  By the time she’d passed through the veil of mist surrounding Ferrenden Peace, most of the cramping in her legs had begun to dissipate. Safely inside her kingdom, she’d teleported to her castle bedroom.

  She was about to sit down in a chair near her ornate dresser, when a feminine voice called to her. “Don’t be alarmed. It’s just me.”

  Rosamunde whirled to find Vojalie standing near the long narrow windows that overlooked the east castle gardens. “Vojalie, what are you doing here?”

  “We need to talk. I know it’s been a long night so I’ll keep this simple: It’s imperative that you bond with Stone.”

  Rosamunde shook her head and set her brush on the dresser. She then pulled the Guardsman-style clip from her hair. It felt good to set her frizzy red mass free. “I can’t and you know why.”

  “You need to tell him you’re Aralynn.”

  She picked up her brush and started working it through her long tresses. “What happened to going with the flow?”

  Vojalie clamped her hands together tightly. “I had a vision.”

  At that, a chill went through Rosamunde and she set the brush back on the dresser. This could not be good. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to hear the details.

  “Does Davido know about the situation at Dracut Falls?”

  “He does. He pathed to tell me about it, but that’s when I had the vision.”

  Slowly, Rosamunde crossed the room to stand near Vojalie. “What did you see?” Rosamunde had never seen Vojalie this upset. Usually she bore such a peaceful spirit that her mere presence was comforting.

  Not right now. Vojalie blinked more than usual and held her hands in tight fists. Even her breathing was erratic.

  “It’s about Stone. He’s in terrible danger, which means our world is as well. I don’t know how to say this, but I’ve seen one version of the future in which he bonds with Margetta.”

  Rosamunde gasped, her hand flying to her chest, just over her heart. “What? No. That can’t happen. I won’t let it.”

  “I know you’ll do everything you can but the surest way to avoid it is if you bond with him. And I don’t think I need to tell you what happens if Stone falls to Margetta.”

  Dizziness assailed her as well as a fae certainty that Vojalie had translated her vision accurately. “I know. I feel it was well, that the Nine Realms will be lost for a thousand years.”

  “Exactly. And most everyone we know and love will die within the first decade of her reign.”

  Rosamunde turned slightly then sank into a tall wing-back chair to the right of the window. She closed her eyes. She was weary from the events of the night and all she wanted right now was a good day’s sleep.

  Now the pressure for her to bond with Stone was stronger than ever.

  But after so many centuries of isolation and service as the queen, Rosamunde’s temper spiked. She rose once more and faced the powerful fae. They were both tall women so she met her eye-to-eye. “How can you lay one more burden on me? Have I not done enough, sacrificed enough, suffered enough through the years? Must the fate of the entire Nine Realms also lay on my shoulders? Must I bond myself to a man who despises me?”

  Vojalie shook her head. “Again, you need to talk this through with him, to help him understand that he’s completely mistaken about your natural ability. And on what exactly does he base his summation of your powers?”

  “Do you remember when I first met Mastyr Quinlan and Mastyr Seth? And that Quinlan had brought his woman, Batya, to the castle along with Margetta’s daughter, Lorelei?”

  “I remember. Was Stone there?”

  “No. But he heard about how I’d put both mastyrs in stasis because they were about to kill each other over Batya. She hadn’t yet bonded with Quinlan and Seth was drawn to her. I froze them in the air.”

  At that, Vojalie smiled. “Right. I taught you that trick.”

  “But I was only able to do it because of the elf-lord power and it hurt like anything though I made sure no one saw the pain I was in. Because of this, Stone seems to believe that I have so much ability that I could have taken on Margetta at any time over the past thousand years. And as I’ve said before, as Aralynn I tried to explain the truth to him, but you know how stubborn Stone can be.”

  Vojalie chuckled softly. “Men.”

  “And I have too many secrets. You know I do.”

  “I know. And it doe
sn’t help that Davido has sworn you to secrecy about his own involvement in Stone’s life. But the time for revelation on that front is coming soon. Never fear.”

  “But don’t you see that when Stone knows that I’ve been party to the secret, he’ll resent me for not telling him?”

  Vojalie seemed to relax a little, though she suddenly appeared very sad. The light in her eyes had dimmed. She stepped forward and settled her hand on Rosamunde’s shoulder. “I apologize for laying this on you because you’re right. The fates have not been kind to you and I can see now how deeply complicated your relationship with Stone is because of these secrets. I know him as well. He will hate the restraint, the lies, the deceptions. All of it.

  “I also think until this moment I didn’t quite understand what you were up against. The worst, of course, has to be Margetta’s visions and the terrible burden you’ve born because of them.”

  Rosamunde shuddered. The truth of what she’d endured because of Margetta was the hardest part of her life. Only Vojalie and Davido knew what she’d suffered over the centuries at the Ancient Fae’s hands.

  Margetta had a way of sending her very specific visions designed to cause Rosamunde tremendous distress. In each vision, Margetta would show her exactly what she intended to do within the next few minutes of the vision and it always involved death. The same words would accompany the vision: Respond to anyone telepathically, dear Rosamunde, and these lives will be spared.

  The message had a specific meaning that Rosamunde understood very well. If Rosamunde so much as whispered to another individual with her pathing ability, Margetta would be able to get a fix on her position and teleport straight to Rosamunde. Once within Ferrenden Peace, Margetta would have complete access to the elf-lord power.

  Yet each time Rosamunde held her ground, refusing to deliver the warnings of impending tragedy, Margetta would make good on the visions. Hundreds of realm-folk had died because Rosamunde had refused to give up her location and therefore access to the elf-lord power. She knew she’d saved tens of thousands of lives in the process, but the inevitable attacks slayed her soul every single time.

  The catalog of these terrible events went as far back in Rosamunde’s history as she could remember, so far back that Rosamunde knew of the slaughter of Stone’s adopted parents before the event happened. She therefore could have warned Stone of the impending attack and he could have saved his mother and father from being killed. And that was one of dozens of terrible visions Margetta had laid out for Rosamunde over the centuries with the purpose of torturing her into giving up her location.

  Vojalie and Davido knew of the visions and Vojalie would counsel Rosamunde whenever the ensuing tragedies became too great for Rosamunde to bear.

  She turned to look out the window that overlooked the eastern part of her kingdom. The castle bedroom was at least three stories in the air and because the entire structure was perched on a higher elevation, she could see the town laid out before her to the south, lights twinkling, and troll laughter drifting along the air currents. She remembered vividly Quinlan, Batya’s and Lorelei’s visit and how much she’d envied the way Quinlan had already become devoted to Batya.

  Now Stone was devoted to Aralynn. She put a hand to her chest again. She felt the new heaviness that indicated her heart had already increased its blood supply for him.

  So this was what it was to be a blood rose.

  She realized with a start that she couldn’t carry this around with her forever. She’d have to donate.

  Another reality of the blood rose phenomenon struck her suddenly. Other mastyrs would catch the scent of her blood, those unbonded, and they’d crave what she had to offer, just as Stone did.

  Without warning, Stone’s voice pierced her mind. Just checking in. Everything okay? I’m heading to my lake house.

  I’m fine. I’m safe in Ferrenden Peace. I lost Margetta, though I had to access the elf-lord power to get a final burst of speed to escape her. Did everyone get away okay?

  I had Davido come in and teleport the mastyrs home. So, yes, all is as it should be.

  Stone’s telepathic voice deepened. So, I was wondering. I’d like to ask you something.

  Sure, but could you hold on for a sec?

  Absolutely.

  She turned to Vojalie and aloud, said, “I’ll think about what you’ve said. I will. I’ll weigh it all, including what I’ve suffered and my need to help Stone to understand my reality as the support for the veil of mist. But right now, I can’t promise that I’ll bond with him. Once he knows the truth, he won’t want me.”

  Vojalie lifted her chin sighing deeply. “We’ve come to a point in realm history where the immediate future is little more than a boiling mass of chaos. But I trust you and I know you’ll do what’s best for the Nine Realms.” With that, she vanished.

  Aralynn, hey. You still there?

  I am. Sorry. Vojalie was here and I had to finish our conversation. She just left.

  Understood. But I’ve had an idea. We’ve got a couple of hours before dawn and I don’t know about you, but I’m starved. A friend of mine owns a wonderful restaurant in Sandismare and she’s holding a booth for us. That is, if you’d like to join me for a late supper.

  Rosamunde pressed both hands to her cheeks. They were burning with so much pleasure tears started to her eyes. I’d love to. She didn’t dare say anything else for fear she would betray just how much a simple dinner invitation meant to her. It was thoughtful and even romantic and just what she needed given Vojalie’s horrendous vision.

  But there’s more, Stone pathed. Will you join me at my lake house afterward? I’d like to be with you for the day. And yes, that means I’m asking if I can take you to bed.

  Rosamunde gasped. The invitation was bold, to the point, and very much Stone.

  She put her hand to her chest again. Being with him would at least take care of her too-much-blood problem.

  For a moment, she forgot all about Vojalie as well as Margetta’s intention to subjugate the Nine Realms to her bidding. She set aside her need to tell him the truth about her identity and her fear that one day he would discover that she’d had foreknowledge about the deaths of his parents.

  Instead, she chose for herself. No matter what happened in the future, she would have this date with Stone and a day spent in bed with him. Maybe somewhere in all of the intimacy, she’d be able to tell him the truth about herself in a way he could accept.

  I’m with you, Stone. All the way.

  Good. He gave her the address and they settled on forty-five minutes, which provided enough time for a shower.

  When he disconnected his telepathy, she headed for the bathroom. At some point during the next few hours she would have to reveal the truth to Stone about who she really was even though she felt sure Stone would never forgive her for the deception.

  Despite it all, she was going to have dinner with him and spend the day at his private lake house.

  The chips could just fall wherever the hell they wanted to.

  ~ ~ ~

  Stone stood beside the booth, waiting. He’d made arrangements with the club’s owner, Marny, a fae woman whose troll husband kept her very pregnant. They had a brood like none he’d ever seen, but he wasn’t sure he knew of a happier couple.

  Marny had set him up in a private corner, slightly apart from the rest of the club so that he’d be able to talk with Aralynn while enjoying the live jazz music at a quiet distance.

  Marny returned with a candle in a crystal bowl. “She still coming?”

  “I hope so. We’ve only got an hour before dawn and it’s been a long night.”

  Marny put her hand to the small of her back. “I hear that.” Her belly looked exactly like she’d taped a basketball to her stomach. “I know I look ridiculous.”

  “Have you picked out a name yet?”

  She grinned. “If it’s a boy, we’re thinking ‘Stone’.”

  “You’re not serious?”

  “I am. Can’t quite
persuade Bertie. He thinks I’ve got a crush on you.”

  At that, Stone glanced at the fae woman. Did she?

  She fluttered her eyelashes up at him and rocked her head back and forth a few times, playing it up absurdly.

  He rolled his eyes.

  “Don’t mean anything against you, Mastyr, but Bertie’s got a kind of charisma that will have me dancing around his feet forever.” Her face took on a faraway expression that confirmed what she was saying. When she came back to herself, she said, “All right. I’ll keep an eye on you myself. Hope your girl makes it.”

  He’d already had Marny pour two dark beers into tall glasses. Aralynn preferred beer to wine and he wanted her to know that he was thinking of her. Marny, aware he was on a romantic hunt, had also provided him with a red rose in a small vase.

  He had his hand on the back of the booth, gripping it tighter than he should. He even released a series of deep breaths to try to calm himself the hell down.

  He shouldn’t be this jumpy, but after he’d arrived at his private lake house, a place he wanted to share with Aralynn, he remembered her restraint. He’d jumped the gun, as he so often did, leaping in with his proverbial impulsive feet and hadn’t considered what this must be like from her point-of-view.

  He was a strong man and he’d been told he had a booming voice. When he’d been with Aralynn earlier and had suggested they bond, he now realized it had probably sounded more like a command than anything else.

  For himself, he had no doubts that completing the blood rose bond was the route to take. But how to persuade a reluctant wolf?

  Movement near the entrance shifted his gaze to the new arrivals. He was absurdly disappointed that a fae couple walked in, until he caught sight of dark red hair and creamy white skin just beyond them.

  Aralynn.

  He was heading in her direction before he’d ordered his feet to move.

  As he drew close, her eyes widened. She looked him up and down. “You’re wearing a suit. Is that silk?”