Assassin's Kiss (37 page)

Tessa straightened and glanced over her shoulder. Hallon knelt by Scorpio’s feet. Around the edges of the room, the Watchers stood with grim expressions. Brenin’s words echoed in her head.
We take care of our own.
The impact of her time with Scorpio slammed her. He’d stayed to help her and her people, while his own comrades and family had worried. Had no doubt wanted him back.

And now, his life balanced on drops of her blood. Her eyes brimmed with tears as she met Brenin’s gaze. “I’ll do everything I can to save him,” she whispered.

He nodded and looked to the stone table. Whysper stood over a bowl, moving her hand in a circular motion.

“Can we do it here?” Tessa asked. “I don’t want to leave him.”

“Sure.” The witch got up and went to Whysper. The two of them talked quietly and then came to join Tessa.

“I’m too old to get down on the floor,” Whysper said. “Melixa will take your blood.”

Tessa nodded and snuck a glance to Scorpio. “Do you need one of his blades? Or a special one of your own?”

“The blade won’t matter this time, child,” Whysper said with a grim smile. “It’s what’s inside you that has the potential to save him.”

Tessa swallowed against a fresh wave of tears. Would her love be enough? She held out her arm.

Melixa took the bowl from Whysper and set it carefully on the floor. It didn’t look like anything special, just herbs crushed into powder. Now that it was closer, Tessa noticed an indent in the ceramic at the edge. It was almost like a spout. In Whysper’s hand was a small glass vial with a clear liquid. “That’s water from a spring under a grouping of good ley lines,” Melixa explained. “We need a little more liquid in this for him to be able to swallow it.”

She took Tessa’s wrist in a firm grip, positioned her hand over the bowl, and held up a small, very shiny dagger. She locked eyes with Tessa. Tessa nodded.

With a quick shallow movement, the dagger pierced Tessa’s skin. Bright red blood welled along the inch-long cut.

Melixa turned her hand and pressed both sides of the wound, forcing blood to drip straight down into the bowl. The whole time, Whysper chanted softly in an old dialect.

Tessa felt no pain, just watched in fascination as her blood fell into the mix of herbs. As Whysper spoke, she uncapped her vial and added several drops of the magic spring water.

As quickly as she had made her cut, Melixa flipped Tessa’s hand over and slipped a gauze pad on it. Then she gently picked up the bowl and moved it in a circular motion, swirling the ingredients.

Whysper stopped her chant. Melixa held the bowl still, and raised for Whysper’s inspection.

The old witch inhaled. “It’s ready. He must drink.”

“Can you hold up his head?” Melixa asked Tessa. “Then I can get this into his mouth.”

“Sure.” Tessa scooted carefully around, in her voluminous skirting, so that she was behind Scorpio. She knelt there, as close as she could get, lifting his massive shoulders and propping them on her knees. She bunched up the skirt to make a sort of pillow, then she gently grabbed the sides of his head and raised him.

Melixa laid a finger on his lower lip, making his mouth open enough to nudge the bowl’s lip onto his own. Slowly, she tilted it.

Precious contents rolled toward his mouth.

“Drink this, baby,” Tessa whispered. “That’s an order.”

Melixa slid her a look. “That’s exactly what Arawn would say if he was here.”

Oh gods. The terrifying Watcher leader. “See, Scorpio,” Tessa said. “You have to drink. So many people are counting on you.”

The liquid rolled into his open mouth.

“Now swallow,” Melixa ran a gentle hand down his throat, encouraging the muscles to move. Tessa watched, feeling no jealousy at the other witch’s familiar touch to her man’s skin. It was methodical, not sensual, and Tessa was grateful for the help.

Scorpio swallowed. “That’s good,” Tessa whispered. “Take more. You can do it.”

Melixa tilted the bowl higher until all the contents slid down to Scorpio. Tessa whispered in his ear, encouraging, begging, saying anything that might get through to him. He dutifully swallowed.

Tessa raised her eyes to Melixa. “Now what?”

“We wait.” Whysper shuffled across the room to sit at the stone table. “If it works, it will do so in a few minutes.”

If it works.
Fear tumbled Tessa’s stomach, but she shoved it aside. What was done was done. If her love could save him, she’d have to wait and see.

Please work. I love you. Please
…She laid his head down on the black puffiness of her skirt and stroked his cheek. “Please come back to me,” she whispered, willing to give her soul away if it meant he would live. A single tear raced down her cheek and fell to his closed eyelid, nestling in the bed of his thick lashes.

His chest rose and fell, the shallow breaths becoming longer and more relaxed. She laid a hand over his heart. That too had slowed to a languorous pace.

What did that mean? Had it worked, or was he dying?
Please…

Scorpio was tied down. At least that’s what it felt like. Something restrained his limbs, though he felt no rope or manacles. Intangible weight moved through his muscles and tendons, rendering them immobile. He was drifting. Not uncomfortable, but so very heavy and tired.

Softness cushioned Scorpio’s head and the scent of honeysuckle swirled in his nose. Sweet, kind, strong. He knew this scent. There was a female he needed. She was his…the scent was all around him and sudden warmth bloomed in his chest.

And on his tongue.

Something more than her scent. Her very life force called to him. She wanted him to do something…

He breathed, holding on to the sweetness of her, not knowing what he could do in this hampered state. His body remained locked and sluggish. Then more of her powerful essence registered on his tongue. Her voice broke in his mind, urging him to do something…

Wetness on his eyelid. She was hurting, she was scared.

No!

His muscles surged. He had sworn to not leave her alone, to always protect her.
Always.

With a mighty heave, his muscles cooperated and he pushed up.

A tiny squeak sounded behind him. Her. He turned. Why were they on the floor? And they weren’t alone.

But Tessa’s hands reached for him, grabbing his shoulders. Tears streamed down her face. “You came back to me,” she said through sobs, stroking his cheek. “You came back.”

He tried to gather her into his arms, but she wouldn’t stop running her hands over his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his face. “What do you mean?”

“Damien hit you with—”

Scorpio shot to his feet. “Damien. Where is he?”

Tessa stood and clutched his hands. “He’s dead. It’s all over.”

Dead? Holding Tessa’s hands, drawing comfort in her nearness, Scorpio finally took in the room. His eyes widened as he saw Whysper and Melixa. They were calm, even smiling. What was that about?

His gaze dropped to the floor, where two bodies lay. Male and female. Damien, in a pool of blood. And Zeebi? Why was no one helping them? “Are they…”

“I think Zeebi will be okay,” Tessa said. “Damien reversed the spell right before Whysper knocked out the dark ley lines.”

He turned incredulous eyes on the ancient witch. “You did it? Gods, witch.” Awe and relief coursed through him at Whysper’s success. He hadn’t doubted her, and yet he wouldn’t have been able to relish victory without the lines being blocked.

Whysper waved a hand dismissively. “Eh, I love a challenge. It’s a work in progress though. I’ll need to keep coming back to check that the darkness remains contained.”

He looked up at the doorway where a sinister green beam of light had pulsed earlier. Now, there was nothing.

“Welcome back, man,” Brenin’s familiar drawl echoed off the stone interior. To each side, members of his team stood. Pensive expressions gave way to grins as he met each male’s eyes.

Near the work table, Hallon stood near Whysper, a smile of relief on his face as he looked from Scorpio to Tessa.

Another figure stood behind him and cleared her throat. He turned. “Mel.”

She gave a quick squeeze to his bicep. “Glad to see you back. We’ll, um, give you some privacy.” She carried a bowl in her hand and joined Whysper on the other side of the room.

“Scorpio.” Tessa’s whisper had him turning to her. “I have to tell you something.”

He studied her, thinking he’d never seen a more beautiful creature in his long life. Even wearing the dress in which she was supposed to marry another man, she was exquisite. And somehow she had been scared and hurt. She’d been alone in this awful place. He hadn’t fulfilled his promise. “You don’t have to say anything. I’m sorry you ended up here. You needed me and I wasn’t here.”

“Stop.” She laid a finger on his lips. “I’m the one who’s sorry. I-I didn’t trust you. Back in the woods, with Zeebi…if I had listened to you—”

“It’s okay.” He crushed her close, needing to feel as much of her as possible. “No one would have expected what she was doing.”

Tiny hands pushed at him until he allowed some space between them. “I’ll always trust you. Now I know better. You’re my hero.” Her beautiful blue eyes filled with tears. “I love you.”

I love you.
He stared at her, unable to move, as the full force of her devotion slammed into him. And he suddenly recognized the essence of her on his tongue. Suddenly heard her frantic words in his mind.
Come back to me. I love you.

Emotion snared his heart tightly, threatening to break it and re-form it into something fresh and new and unencumbered by the sins of the past. “Gods, Tess. I love you too.”

“You d-do?” She blinked up at him as if surprised at his answer.

“Of course I do. You’re my mate. I loved you since the moment you blasted me with witchfire.”

She shook her head, tears still spilling down her cheeks and onto the tops of her breasts. “But I didn’t believe you. I didn’t even like you at first. I didn’t trust you when I should have—”

This time he pressed two fingers to her sweet mouth. “Stop. It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past, and you’re my future. I love you.” He placed a swift kiss on her lips. “Only you. Always you. You’re my other half.”

She smiled and sniffed. “And you’re mine.” Her hand gripped his, turning them to look at all sides. “I was so scared you wouldn’t make it.”

Only now did he note the wad of gauze on her own palm. “What is this?”

“We needed a spell to reverse the thing Damien did. It was called dark ivy. And well, one ingredient could be the blood of…true love.” Her voice cracked on the last word and new tears gleamed in her eyes. “I was so worried that I wouldn’t be enough. That my blood wouldn’t help.”

True love.
He sifted his fingers through a section of her hair that had come loose from the elaborate style. “You gave your blood to help me?”

She nodded.

“And it worked.”

“Yes.”

A wave crashed over his soul, bathing him in love like he’d never felt. It was her heart, her soul, her blood, her love. “Tessa.” His voice was low, gravelly with the force of a thousand fireballs building to an inferno. “Be mine. Accept the mate bond.”

“I do.” She ran her hands over his hair and linked them behind his neck. “I accept you, everything about you. Your past is part of you, but not all of you. And it brought you to me. I love you.”

“And I love you.” He covered her mouth with his as an entirely different kind of magic swirled around them. The mystical force that united mates, tying their souls together with a bond breakable only by death, surged through both of them. As he kissed her soft lips, molding them to his, her essence twined with his. Letting him know in no uncertain terms, that she gave herself to him. That she wanted him at her side, always. That he was her hero, but also that she’d fight the forces of hell to save him.

He’d never thought he needed saving. Until his blue-eyed witch walked into his life, with toughness and vulnerabilities so like his own.

She pulled back to stare into his eyes, capturing him in her azure gaze. “Mine,” she whispered.

“Yours.” His hands tightened on her waist. “Forever.”

E
PILOGUE

One month later

T
HE TENTATIVE LIGHT OF DAWN
tried to win out over the heavy curtains covering her bedroom window at Watcher HQ, as Tessa drifted toward full consciousness. She found herself delightedly naked and caged by the heat of her sleeping mate’s arms.

She held herself still, not wanting to wake him yet. As soon as she got excited or started thinking about the day, he would sense her alertness. He didn’t need as much sleep as she did, but still, she wanted him to get a few extra minutes while he could.

Because today was a special day. Joy flared in her heart but she quickly tamped it down. It wasn’t time yet. She gazed at Scorpio’s face, so handsome and, right now, completely rested and peaceful. Though truly, not much had happened to make him scowl since they’d defeated Vespera. With Bronwy back on its rightful land and the dark ley lines contained by Whysper’s spell, life had been easier than Tessa remembered in a long time.