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  In the vision, she saw Stone’s Vampire Guard battling a number of wraith-pairs in the village of Charborne. At what was twenty minutes in the future, she saw herself in the woods approaching what looked like an abandoned mine. She had the sense that Stone was on his way as well and would meet her there. At that point, the vision ended.

  As the elf-lord power eased away, she shook out her legs. She also let a degree of healing flow through her body, which helped to ease the troublesome elf-lord power.

  Despite the discomfort, there was one other thing that the elf-lord frequency had given her, which made transportation a non-issue for her: She could teleport. She only knew of four other realm-persons who could do that: Vojalie, Davido, a powerful elf named Kaden, and of course, Margetta.

  She shared the vision with Vojalie, who took it as her cue to take her leave. She kissed Rosamunde’s cheeks in turn, then wished her a successful night batting the Invictus. Rosamunde thanked her again for coming to her and for sharing her troubles.

  One last lovely smile, and Vojalie vanished.

  Rosamunde informed her staff that she would be in meditation through the night and that she wasn’t to be disturbed for anything. It was a ruse, of course, the best she’d been able to concoct while she went out as Aralynn. She didn’t want any of her people knowing that she was living a dangerous double life.

  Locking her door from the inside, she focused on ‘Aralynn’s’ forest cottage. She’d taken many precautions to keep her dual identity a secret. Stone, for instance, believed that Aralynn had once served with the Castle Guard. She’d also told him that she was obedient always to the queen’s wishes.

  Arriving in her cottage bedroom, she transformed quickly into Aralynn. She no longer felt like Rosamunde, but took on Aralynn’s experiences, her thoughts, and her wolfish love of battling. She wasn’t sure how she’d achieved such a strong separation of personas, but for the sake of her work with Mastyr Stone, it had been necessary.

  She opened her closet and pulled out her battle leathers, donning a dark green leather vest with fringe at the bottom, black leather pants and matching boots that zipped up the sides. She tore at her braids, the careful work of three maids. She caught the upper mass of her curly red hair in a woven clasp similar to the ones that Stone and his Vampire Guardsmen wore. But she let the lower half float free. She adored the sensation.

  Freedom was what she felt as Aralynn, freedom from responsibility, from the drudgery of castle life, from a sense of invisibility. She’d never felt like a real person as the queen.

  Once she had her long, silver dagger strapped to her hip, she prepared to contact Stone and let him know about the vision of Charborne.

  She loved this moment every evening because now that she was Aralynn, she could let herself feel everything she felt about her battle partner.

  She blew the air from her cheeks as pure desire raged through her. She wanted Stone bad, but had been holding back because he didn’t approve of ‘Rosamunde’. Yet, given the situation, she wondered if she should take Vojalie’s advice, to accept Stone as her lover as Aralynn, then let the chips fall where they may.

  A week ago, Vojalie had said something else, encouraging Rosamunde to reach out with both hands and take the life she wanted.

  Both hands.

  She’d definitely wanted to grab Stone that way, starting with his massive shoulders, squeezing hard, then moving down his chest, his abs, and lower still.

  Her vision blurred and one of her brows drifted upward until all she saw was the image in her mind of Stone without anything on. How many times had she imagined him this way, every warrior muscle on display?

  She gave herself a shake. Time to contact Stone and let him know about Charborne, though her fae instincts told her he already did.

  Stone?

  Aralynn, we’ve got a situation near Charborne.

  Stone’s voice, even telepathically, hit her at the back of her knees and she levitated to keep herself from falling on her face.

  I’ve had a vision about the village, that your Guard will soon be battling a large number of wraith-pairs. Any news at your end? What’s going on? Over the past year, Stone had built an extensive surveillance system to watch for Invictus.

  Delia’s husband was out at Charborne checking out a gold mine. He’s been missing two days and a night.

  Oh, no. Delia was Stone’s assistant and Rosamunde adored her for the way she challenged Stone, especially when he was being stubborn and at times overbearing. How surprised she’d been the first time she’d seen Delia in action. She’d learned a lot from the lovely troll.

  However, it disturbed her terribly to learn that Delia’s husband might have been caught in the Invictus attack.

  Stone continued. Elias’s disappearance is what alerted us to the situation. We’ve since learned all the feeds are down in the village, or maybe blocked. I’ve sent Harris in with several squads to check it out. I should be hearing from him any minute now. I’m in the air. Where can you meet me?

  Her fae senses told her to consider the area carefully. She knew Tannisford’s geography like the back of her hand. She’d studied all of the realms in depth, over and over through the centuries, maybe instinctively preparing for this moment in time. Let me access Charborne.

  Good idea.

  She and Stone had worked together long enough for him to know she could gain a strong sense of places, people and the immediate future if she had a focal point. She settled her thoughts on the village where Stone had grown up.

  She felt remnants of the elf-lord power inside her, humming through her mind and her psyche. She brought the part of her that was Rosamunde and fae to the forefront. This was Rosamunde’s forte. The fae part of her could feel the future like a mist, not very different from the one that protected Ferrenden Peace.

  She mentally focused on Charborne. Images of the lovely forested foothills near the village sped through her mind. Yet right on the heels of these images came a vision of a lot of Invictus.

  She wanted to know more, to see how many wraith-pairs and where they were focusing their attack. She let the vision unfold and saw at least thirty wraith-pairs.

  She shared the details with Stone.

  I’ll let Harris know.

  Okay. Now let me see if I can find Elias because my initial vision included the mine.

  Do it.

  Rosamunde took one side-trip and focused on Delia’s husband. Images arrived of the mine, and the surrounding woods. The troll was within the mine, his back pressed up against the rocky wall. Rosamunde could hear wraiths shrieking in the distance.

  Elias is in the mine and he’s unharmed. You can let Delia know if you want. But we’ve got to get to him soon. Is the mine at the northwest end of the property, near the woods?

  That’s the one. Meet me there?

  Will do. And Stone, it might be best if you brought someone else along who could fly Elias home. He can’t levitate very well and I have the sense he’s injured. The trip would be impossible for him to make by himself

  Understood. I’ve got two Guardsmen with me.

  She nodded, even though he couldn’t see her. I’ll go to Elias now. We’ll be inside the cave, waiting for you.

  Perfect. See you in a few.

  Aralynn continued to focus her attention on Elias until his location was fixed in her mind. She panned back within the vision and found a covered area in the shrubbery near the massive rocks where she could teleport and still remain hidden in case wraith-pairs were scouring the area.

  She checked her dagger on her left hip, then moved in a quick zip to the old mine. She arrived after barely a second of travel and on instinct hunkered down then looked up to check the night sky. The wraith shrieks were still far away, which she considered a good sign.

  When she didn’t see or hear anything suspicious either above or near her, she eased her way around the rocks, careful to watch for the smallest sign of Invictus.

  She levitated just above the earth to keep
her boots from making noise on the leaf-strewn ground. Moving swiftly, she entered the mine and called out softly. “Elias? It’s Aralynn. Mastyr Stone and his Guardsmen are on the way. Are you here? Are you okay?” She knew what she’d seen in the brief vision, but she was still so new to the process she wasn’t entirely confident she’d caught all the details.

  But Elias’s voice streamed toward her. “In here.”

  She slipped past the initial large cavern and found Elias exactly where she’d envisioned him, his back to the wall of a shaft entrance.

  She moved toward him, surprised at his looks. Davido might be ugly, but it was possible Elias was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen, with dark brown hair that flowed from his uppermost forehead ridge in sculpted waves. It was no wonder Delia had fallen hard for him. His complexion, however, was very pale, no doubt at least in part from dehydration.

  “How did you know I was here?” He kept his voice to a whisper. “I’ve been trapped for the past two days. Wraith-pairs have been all over this area.”

  “I had a vision.”

  “About me?” His eyes widened.

  “Charborne, actually, then you.”

  “Is it bad? The village, I mean?”

  “Not sure. But Stone’s on his way as well as Harris and they’re bringing the troops in. So, you were smart to hide out here.”

  He shook his head. “That’s not it. I’d been deep in the mine when I took a fall. Cracked my head. I was unconscious for I don’t know how long. My friend went to get help.” He then gestured with his free hand to what she now realized was a broken arm, held in a makeshift sling. Not all realm-folk had self-healing power sufficient for serious breaks. “But he never came back and my phone had no reception in here. I’d just made my way to the entrance when I heard the distant shrieks, though that wasn’t very long ago.”

  “All right. We’re safe for now.” Even as the words left her mouth, however, she knew they weren’t. She could feel Invictus moving in their direction. “Let me contact Stone.”

  His head drooped with fatigue and he nodded. She wished she’d brought some water with her. But there was one thing she could do. She might not have the healing powers of some of the more powerful fae, but she could offer Elias some relief.

  She put her hand on his head. “This should help.”

  He sighed heavily as she let her power flow. She then contacted Stone. I’m with Elias. He’s severely dehydrated and has a broken arm.

  We’re almost there and we’re coming in from the east. Can you leave the mine?

  Maybe. The woods give excellent cover. I’ll try to get us both out there, but I think we’ve got wraith-pairs moving in.

  Do what you can, but stay safe.

  She loved that about Stone. They might have run over fifty missions together throughout the last few weeks, but he never took chances with her safety.

  She told Elias the plan then moved toward the mine opening. But the moment she stepped into the larger, cavernous entrance, a wraith-pair dropped into view just outside.

  “Well, lookee what we have here, Imogen.”

  The duo, wearing rags but carrying sharp, honed weapons, hovered right in front of the mine’s opening. The female wraith, in a shredded, red gauze dress flew in a circle above her vampire mate’s head. The vampire’s fangs made an appearance, and saliva dripped down his chin.

  The wraith was as vile in appearance as any Rosamunde had ever seen. Her lips were almost black and it wasn’t just lipstick. The whites of her eyes looked jaundiced and her irises were similar to the violet of Rosamunde’s.

  The wraith shrieked so loud, Rosamunde had to cover her ears, as did Elias. Her mate was a powerful vampire, just shy of what Stone would call mastyr status.

  Imogen added, “And listen to how my voice echoes into the mine.”

  Rosamunde covered her ears once more, protecting herself from the shrill barrage. Suddenly, another wraith-pair showed up behind the original couple.

  As the second wraith let loose, Rosamunde contacted Stone. We’ve got two wraith-pairs in front of the mine entrance.

  I see them. Stone’s voice was very quiet within her head. Stay put, but this will probably get messy.

  I’ll try to distract them.

  After telling Elias to stay well behind her, she drew her dagger. “You call that loud?” she shouted, waving her weapon. Her heart thumped in her chest. The wolf part of her was loving every second of it, but the fae part kept wanting to put the brakes on.

  This was Aralynn’s show, however, so she let her wolf be.

  “Come on, wraith. Let’s hear a couple more.”

  The wraiths took the bait and Rosamunde covered her ears once more.

  Chapter Two

  Levitating just inside the tree-line, Stone heard Aralynn taunting the wraiths. He waved his Guardsmen up and forward. One of them was another of his lieutenants, Cole, whom he relied on as much as Harris.

  Both Guards rose high in the air, then dove swiftly at the four levitating Invictus blocking the entrance to the mine. Each released blue battle energy from their palms as they flew by.

  At the same moment, the wraiths turned and fired off red killing vibrations from their hands, wrists and arms. The quick reactions caught the Guardsmen’s battle energy midair. Red and blue parks flew into the air as the disparate energies collided.

  Cole, swing back around but fire at the vampire. I’ll take down the wraith closest to me.

  Got it.

  Stone watched Cole and the other Guardsman, now high in the air, turn back toward the mine, the wraiths’ attention fixed on them.

  Stone moved swiftly, just a foot above the woodland path then at the last moment, put on his vampire speed.

  The wraith didn’t see him coming. Flying straight for her, he took her down, an arm around her thin neck. He jerked hard and heard the crack. He let her body fall to the ground, ready to face the vampire.

  However, because of the bond, once the wraith was dead, the vampire fell hard to earth, his life-force depleted. He might have been able to recover, but took a blue streak of Guardsman fire-power straight to the head as Cole dove in for the kill.

  Both Invictus were dead.

  The second wraith rose in the air, facing the two Guardsmen, firing her battle energy and shrieking. But her vampire bond-mate came at Stone, throwing his axe with skill. Stone dove to the right away from the mine entrance and felt the axe just graze his bare shoulder. He’d have a metal burn but the blade didn’t break skin.

  Stone fired his battle energy, hitting the vampire square in the chest. He flew backward several feet, landed on his back and didn’t move.

  The second Guardsman had come in low from the west, exchanging fire with the wraith. But she’d dropped from the air at the same moment Stone’s battle energy struck her mate.

  Both pairs were dead.

  Cole and the other Guard flew down to Stone’s position. He ordered them to stand watch outside the mine and to only engage the Invictus enemy if necessary. He wanted to get Delia’s husband to safety first.

  Aralynn, I’m coming in. Is the situation secure?

  It is. Tell Cole that was some awesome shooting and you didn’t look so bad yourself wrestling that first wraith to the next life.

  Stone smiled as he walked inside the mine opening. It was clear it had been a cave at one time well before gold fever had struck.

  He found Aralynn blocking Elias protectively, though she stepped out of the way as soon as she saw he was alone.

  He addressed the troll who looked weak from stress, hunger and thirst. “My men will get you back to Rutland. Delia’s waiting for you there. First, though, what happened? What can you tell me?”

  Elias rubbed his forehead. His hands and nails were dirty from being in the mine. “I didn’t see anything. I was with a friend who wanted me to have a look at the mine. We’d been exploring for a couple of hours when a wooden plank gave way and I fell maybe eight feet. I hit my head. When I woke up, my
arm hurt like hell and my friend was gone. Hearing some wraiths shriek, I stayed put until I knew it was daylight, then I made my way back up here.”

  “So, there were wraith-pairs here last night?”

  “Yes. I don’t know if they got my friend, or not.”

  He shook his head. “Sweet Goddess, they’ve had free range of the village for a full night and now a second.”

  But Elias cut in. “I remember a warning siren. Mastyr, you’ve trained your citizens well. I’ll wager a lot of the villagers took shelter before the attack.”

  “I’m going to hold to that thought.” He glanced behind him. “Cole, have you got some water?”

  “I do.”

  Cole moved forward and handed a small flask to Elias. He drank too fast and came up sputtering.

  Stone took the metal flask. “Take it easy or you’ll lose it all. Been there.”

  Elias laughed, then tears filled his eyes. “Thank you for finding me, Mastyr. Is Delia okay?”

  “She’s fine. Cole, let her know that we have her husband.”

  “I’m on it.” Cole turned away and spoke quietly into his com.

  “I felt sure there’d be fighting in the village,” Elias said, his gaze stricken. “But I hid out here like a damn coward.”

  Aralynn touched him on the shoulder. “But you had a broken arm and no weapons. What could you have done?”

  “Something. Anything.”

  Stone could see his suffering and he knew the feeling well. “Elias, every man worth his salt has felt the kind of guilt you’re experiencing when he holds back from battle. In this situation, I would have done the same thing you did. In fact, over the course of my years of service, I’ve done exactly that, probably hundreds of times. You did the right thing staying put.”

  Elias stared at him, his eyes taking on a hard look. “That’s bullshit. You’ve never run from anything in your life. You’re the Mastyr of Tannisford.”

  “Wish that were true. But it’s not. I’ve chosen plenty of times to live to fight another day. There’s no shame in it. A couple of months ago, I watched one of my Guardsmen hauled into the sky by a powerful wraith-pair, while I battled three on the ground. I could have gone after him and part of me still wishes I had. But I would have been slaughtered in the air.