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  Margetta was very old and Regan knew next to nothing about her early centuries. Perhaps some catastrophe had occurred in her life to alter forever a desire to do good. Regan would likely never know.

  Now, of course, all that truly mattered was defeating her.

  As the images moved in swift circles now, the structure of a complex counter-spell at last emerged.

  She laid it within her consciousness, so that she’d always know its exact sequence and composition.

  With everything in place, she left her meditation and opened her eyes.

  A soft wind full of magic and power blew through the bedroom so that Ian’s hair was lifted away from his face. His golden skin was flushed, his muscles pumped, and a sheen of sweat covered his body.

  “Ian, you look so different.”

  “And you have the most beautiful red aura. Whatever this is between us, Regan, power is what we create together. And for that, I’m grateful. I’m convinced we’ll be able to do this thing.”

  Here was the man she’d always loved. Those feelings had never stopped and she knew she’d compared every man she’d ever dated to Ian. In many ways, she should have been drawn to a sensitive fae artist or teacher. Instead, only a warrior would do and not just any, but the Mastyr of Camberlaune.

  “I need you to take me back to the area of the gorge near the fortress,” she said. “I wasn’t able to see beyond the first layer and I think I need to be present with the mist to construct each sequence.”

  Slowly, he drew his hands away from her. The sensation made her smile, because it felt like the connection was made of taffy, giving a strange tug as he let go. When he no longer touched her, the shared power faded quickly then disappeared.

  His gaze swept from one shoulder up and over her head then down the other side. “Your red glow has disappeared.”

  She nodded. “And the breeze in the room is gone.” She settled against the pillows, becoming aware she was still naked in bed.

  But something had changed. She glanced at the windows. The shutters were fully retracted and the forest was dark. She searched her internal clock and realized with a start how much time had passed.

  Shifting her gaze back to Ian, her eyes widened. “Was I really meditating for two hours?”

  He nodded. “You were.”

  “I barely had an awareness of time passing.”

  “No worries, Regan. I could sense it was important for you to keep going. And as soon as we’ve had a proper meal, I’ll take you to the fortress.”

  “Maybe we should go now.”

  But he shook his head. “Trust me in this. We both need to eat first because I have a feeling we’re facing another long night.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Once he’d shared a substantial meal with Regan, of scrambled eggs, sausage, and thick slices of toasted cottage bread, he prepared for the night. While she showered, he contacted Ben to see how active the Invictus were.

  Fortunately, they’d concentrated their efforts in the far eastern reaches of his realm, a place near the smaller Venaset Mountain range dominated by his Shifter Brigade. Stone was already in the region and helped to direct both the Brigade and his Vampire Guard from village to village as the wraith-pairs attacked.

  He chose not to tell either Stone or Ben about what was going on with Regan. Some instinct warned him he should protect their purpose, at least for now. Besides, until they actually had an effect on the mist there was nothing to tell.

  He showered in the guest room and put on his Guard uniform, minus the woven shirt. When he’d gotten the hawk tattoo, he’d decided to forgo wearing the shirt. Most of his doneuses had made a lot of noise about the tattoo and for a solid year, he’d had more sex because of it than any previous time. And he’d never lacked.

  Regan had spread her fingers over each of the feathers, then felt up his pecs and sucked on him.

  Though he’d been with a lot of women, out of all of them, Regan had his number. He couldn’t explain it, and this had been true long before the whole blood rose thing, but she made him feel things no other woman could. Which meant that anytime a date of his reminded him of Regan, even in the smallest way, the comparison began. Invariably, the woman fell short.

  If he actually believed in soulmates, he’d say Regan was it.

  Except that he didn’t trust her. He couldn’t. She’d let him down by keeping him with her when he should have been out battling. And he couldn’t forgive her because of all the lives lost.

  When she emerged from the bedroom, he saw that she’d swept her light brown hair away from her face which emphasized her strong cheekbones. Her beauty struck him all over again, causing his heart to squeeze up tight once more. Her large brown eyes widened as she looked him up and down.

  She smiled. “Love you without the shirt, Ian. Between the tattoo and the black leather of your sleeveless coat … wow.”

  His gaze drifted down her skintight jeans and black ankle boots. He knew the shapes of those legs, and what they’d felt like wrapped around his hips as he drove into her.

  He felt in danger of falling for her all over again, and part of him resented her for it. Despite that she’d had about as much control in their current blood rose situation as he had, he still wished he wasn’t getting all tangled up again. Except, damn the sex had been good.

  “I need to say something.” He planted his fists on his hips, his rings making a clinking sound. “Just to be clear, my feelings toward you haven’t changed.”

  She shrugged. “I know.” Could she have been more matter of fact?

  He scowled. “You almost sound as though you don’t care.”

  She tilted her head. “Ian, I know we have serious issues between us so believe me, I have no expectations here. And even if you suddenly had a change of heart, I’m not sure I’d believe you or be able to trust you.”

  “What do you mean by that?” He was irritated because he’d never given her a reason not to trust him.

  “Ian, you broke my heart. I don’t think I could go through that again. What we have here because I’m a blood rose is nothing short of amazing. But I know it can’t last, and I’m willing to go along for the ride because I’m convinced we’ll be able to do some good together. But I definitely don’t see this as you and me forging a life together. I think it’s a lovely, sexy interlude, that’s all.”

  He was dumbfounded as he frowned at her. “There are so many things wrong with what you’ve said, I don’t know where to begin. For one thing, you speak as though it will be a simple thing for you to walk away once we’ve gotten the mist situation resolved. But it won’t be.”

  He’d never seen her look more serious as she responded. “You’re wrong. For me, it will be easy. What was hard, was living with your attitude toward me for the past five centuries. I didn’t deserve it, Ian. As I see it, you fell into a whole lot of guilt because of Raven’s Overlook and you took it out on me.”

  He shook his head, stunned she held these opinions. For a brief second, he wondered if she was right. Had his guilt clouded his perception? Whatever the case, he’d never be able to make her see where she was at fault, so for now he had to let it go. “I don’t want to quarrel with you. We each see the past very differently. We should go, though right now I’m pretty pissed.”

  She huffed a sigh. “And just for the record, Ian, the only thing I was ever guilty of that night was loving you to the point of madness. Now, let’s get going. I have a counter-spell living like wildfire inside me, and I’m ready to take down some mist.”

  “Fine.”

  She lifted one arched brow. “Fine.”

  Once in the air, Ian’s temper started to cool. Flying helped. Sweet Goddess, he loved to be in the air. His blood tattoos had lit up the moment she’d wrapped an arm around his neck. He flew faster than ever with Regan’s power flowing over him.

  She’d fallen silent, having had her say. She didn’t even attempt to communicate telepathically. But she held onto his neck, even though he had her
pinned to his side with an arm around her waist. It was funny how at peace she seemed to be in their impossible situation.

  She’d said she’d loved him to the point of madness. He’d heard the expression before and he had to admit he’d been crazy in love with her back then as well. But she’d enthralled him, whatever she chose to believe. Even Ben had said he’d seen it from the first, that Regan had somehow used her fae abilities to keep him close.

  The massacre had changed everything in his life. From that point forward, he’d never taken relationships with women seriously; he couldn’t afford to.

  ~ ~ ~

  Regan kept her cool, but something about Ian’s continued insistence she’d enthralled him had started tearing at her heart. She wasn’t mad; she knew his opinion. But she’d never stopped loving him, and now that she was so physically close to him again, her love had started rising to the surface once more.

  She’d meant what she’d said. She really didn’t have a single damn expectation of him. But all the closeness of the night before and even this evening with his power supporting her meditations, had started smashing down her careful walls. She didn’t want to be feeling so much for him because the end game hadn’t changed. However, this terrible middle place of extreme proximity and satisfying sex had her heart aching.

  In fact, she hurt so deep she could hardly breathe, though she worked hard at appearing impassive. She forced her lungs to expand and air to flow back in.

  Ian moved swiftly through the night sky, but he didn’t follow the foothills this time. Instead, he flew over the mountains, heading toward Dark Gorge. She could sense the trajectory with her innate Realm homing ability.

  When he began his descent, he was once more almost at the border between Camberlaune and Tannisford Realm. She saw the long wall of mist as barely a line at first, but growing in mass as they drew closer to the land.

  She was reminded forcefully of her recent incarceration and the ways Margetta had tortured her. She shuddered.

  You okay?

  Just remembering. Don’t worry. I’ll get over it.

  I know you will. But we need to have a plan ready in case any Invictus pairs show up. I’d be a fool to try to do battle right now. So I’m thinking that while you do your thing, I’ll keep watch. But I reserve the right to take off fast the moment the enemy shows up. Agreed?

  She had no problem with his plan. Any sign of those devils, even if I’m in the middle of stripping the first layer of mist away, you get us out of there.

  Good.

  Near the gorge, Ian descended to the stretch of granite that created a precipice overlooking the thousand foot drop below. The moment he landed, she stepped off his booted foot and turned toward the mist. Time to forget her troubles and face the much more important task ahead of her.

  Because she’d figured out the mist’s complex, layered structure, she saw it in a new way.

  Hey, he pathed. When she turned to meet his gaze, she saw the concerned look in his eye. Sorry we got into.

  She shook her head. Don’t give it a second thought. I don’t believe it’s ever a bad thing to speak your mind. She turned toward the mist once more. Now let’s see what we can do to start unraveling Margetta’s spell.

  Where do you want me?

  I’m going to need your physical support because I’ll be meditating as I do this. So, stand behind me, then reach around and put your hands on my blood tattoos.

  When he drew near, she lifted her arms. He moved in close, straddling her feet with his boots. When he slid his fingers down her arms and covered her tattoos, she shivered as much from his touch as from the sudden vibration of power.

  Damn this is amazing.

  Magical, she pathed softly.

  And it was, like nothing she’d ever experienced, especially because he supported her from behind. She felt as though she could do anything.

  I’m going into my meditation now, so I won’t be fully present. Does that make sense?

  Don’t worry, Regan. I’ve got you. But be prepared that if I see a wraith-pair, I’ll sweep you into the skies.

  I understand. And now, here I go.

  Not knowing how long the process would take, she folded their joined arms across her stomach. He moved with her so that essentially he was embracing her. The intimacy about killed her, but she had to let it go.

  Taking a deep breath, she refocused her attention on the mist.

  She closed her eyes and drew the counter-spell forward in her mind, the colors and melodic lines, the words. Turning her hands palms up, she let the spell became a vibration, flowing through her mind and her body. When the spell-breaking energy reached her arms, she felt Ian’s power gather as well and suddenly infuse the vibration.

  That’s it, Ian. Now keep your hands loose over me, but retain contact. And follow my lead.

  I will and right now I can sense the counter-spell building inside you.

  I’ll only be taking out a small portion of the layer right in front of us to make sure the spell works. If or when it does, we can decide how we want to proceed.

  She felt Ian take a deep breath. That’s an excellent strategy which will keep our efforts here quiet for now.

  I think so, too.

  She slowly opened her fingers and began to spread her arms wide. Ian stayed with her, gliding his hands along her arms as she moved, sustaining contact.

  The power built until she knew the exact moment she needed to release.

  Now, she whispered from her mind to his.

  The counter-spell synced with their combined powers. The blood tattoos pulsed on her skin and she could feel an answering vibration in his.

  The spell released, a heavy wave of energy heading straight for the massive wall of mist. It caught the initial layer and began spinning the mist, twisting it into small cyclones that rose in the air then faded into vapor.

  Because it was only a small section of the first layer, what remained was a shallow area with much less dense mist. Yet, Regan could see shapes moving within.

  Ian, I think I’m seeing wraith-pairs. Will they attack us?

  I see movement as well, but I’m not sure we’re in any danger. Because the mist creates a shielding disguise both directions, they probably can’t see us. He dropped his hands from her arms, moving past her, but she kept pace with him. He stopped when the moving shapes became clearer, though still mist-disguised.

  Ian was right. They weren’t under attack. Instead, they were seeing the edge of the army encampment. But not a single-wraith-pair turned in their direction.

  Ian pathed, How soon do you think you can create the remaining counter-spells?

  Very quickly. A matter of only seconds per layer. What we’ve done over the past few minutes has provided a signature base from which to work. It’s ingrained within my consciousness now.

  ~ ~ ~

  Ian knew exactly what needed to be done.

  We’re going to fly.

  He turned to her, holding out his arm. She quickly climbed up on his foot, and he drew her tight against him.

  He rose into the air straight up, rocket fast, then turned to head east to the plain.

  His head whirred with a very specific idea. He almost contacted Stone, but something held him back. Same with Ben. What needed to be done had to be kept secret.

  As he passed the rim cliffs, he slowed because he had to think. He had an opportunity to change the course of the war right now, but his instincts shouted at him that he needed to be smart about it, maybe even deceptive.

  If Margetta’s fortress had existed between Camberlaune and Tannisford all this time, then Margetta no doubt had a spy network in place. After battling Braden, Ian had finally been forced to accept the possibility that his Vampire Guard and even his Shifter Brigade had been compromised.

  Ian, what’s going on? You’ve slowed.

  I’m thinking.

  Can I help?

  He paused in flight and levitated midair. They were high above a small village, no doubt invi
sible to anyone who would be looking up.

  He held her loosely as she pushed back to gain enough distance to meet his gaze. Though Regan could levitate and fly on her own, Ian was much faster. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Something’s bugging you. I can feel it.”

  “I’ve just realized I don’t know who to trust in my combined forces. If Braden could be turned, who I’d always believed had my back despite his ambitions, then others could as well. If I order a full out assault and even one of my vampires or shifters is a spy, the whole operation would be lost.”

  “And you want to attack now?”

  He nodded. “Tonight. We might not be able to destroy the army, but we could do some serious damage. If you peel back the mist as quickly as you say you can, we’ll have the element of surprise. And everything you’ve related about Margetta’s attitude tells me an assault is the last thing she would expect.”

  Her eyes widened, glittering. “So what can I do?”

  “Hear me out and give me some feedback. I want to go around the realm over the next few hours and coordinate an attack for three in the morning, well before dawn but with plenty of time for the shifters to get up the mountain.

  “I’ll deliver orders personally to each squad out in the field with the understanding that I’m sending their group on a secret reconnaissance mission. Using geographical coordinates, each team will be placed at careful intervals at the edge of the mist. The squads won’t be able to see the camp, the fortress, or the mist, not until your counter-spell goes into effect.”

  Regan’s brows rose. “So you’re saying not even Stone or Ben would know your plans?” She appeared shocked. “But you trust each implicitly.”

  “I have one goal here. I want to reduce to an absolute minimum the possibility Margetta could ever learn about my plans. Both Stone and Ben have men in the Vampire Guard and the Shifter Brigade they trust. But if any of these have been compromised, I could have a disaster on my hands.”