Embrace Me At Dawn (46 page)

After another rounds of nods and grunts, she risked a glance at Lucan and Shock, who stood side by side. Lucan remained tense, ready to pounce all over her if she confessed her secret. Shock looked like he had a whole lot of questions about what else she planned to spill.

Sending Shock a slight, reassuring shake of her head so he knew that his secret would remain with her, she addressed the others. “We don’t have that problem anymore.”

Silence stopped the room. The wizards looked at one another, clearly wondering how she could make such a claim.

“
Anka…” Lucan warned.

Caden slapped him on the back, none too gently, as a reminder of Bram’s gag order.

“
As you can see, gentlemen, I’m expecting a youngling.” A stunning surprise every time she thought about it. She would protect this little life with her dying breath. But first, she had to make sure the world her daughter would grow up in was as safe as possible. But if she got revenge against Mathias in the process, so much the better.

Bram narrowed his eyes. “You’re expecting, yes, but Merlin’s magic is strong enough to discern that you’re not a banshee. Pretending won’t work.”

“
I’m not pretending.”

The entire room came to a dead stop. No one moved, spoke. Breathed. They all stared—except Lucan and Shock. They uttered the same curse in the same moment.

“
You could wail now and kill us all?” Ice finally asked.

She shrugged. “I suppose.” When he and Duke both backed away, she held up her hands. “Until Mathias took me, I had never wailed. It was a terrible, wretched experience, and I have no interest in ever using my voice that way again.”

“
So you want Mathias and me to take you with us to release Morganna’s potion?”

Leave it to Bram to skip being spooked by the odd girl and get right to the practical.

“
She’s staying home,” Lucan insisted.

Anka shook her head. “You can’t put your hands on Morganna’s potion without me.”

“
That was the reason for Morganna’s fertility spell?” Clearly, the wheels in Bram’s head were turning quickly. “She knew you were a banshee?”

“
Right away,” Anka answered. “But I pointed out that I was not a mother and, therefore, was of no use to her.”

“
So she fixed that for you. Brilliant.” Bram’s eyes narrowed. “But how did she know that releasing the potion would require a second generation washerwoman? Merlin would never have allowed her to discover that information.”

“
I told her.” At the collective incredulous stares and growls around her, she scowled. “I had to give her some useful information or else she was coming straight for you and Sabelle.”

“
Bugger,” Bram muttered.

“
Morganna is potentially even more dangerous than Mathias, Anka,” Lucan implored. “Come home and let me protect you.”

Anka wanted to scream. The truth was in front of Lucan. Why couldn’t he see it? “That’s impossible. She knows my face, my bloodline…and that I’m now carrying a youngling. She needs me and she knows it. She will find me, and it won’t matter who gets in her way. As long as she perceives that I’m merely a part of the combination to unlock her potion, she’ll mean me no harm.”

Lucan clenched his fists. He looked like a truck had hit him, but he was no longer arguing.

“
Are you suggesting that we simply give the potion to her?” Bram’s question left no doubt that he thought she’d lost her mind.

“
The two of us, along with Mathias, must retrieve it.” She swallowed realizing how close she’d have to be to her tormenter. He would comment about her pregnancy, deliver more veiled threats. Mathias would realize that he could make Lucan weak again if he harmed her. He would scare the hell out of her and enjoy every minute of it. Damn it, she hated being vulnerable, but she could do nothing now. “I said nothing about giving Morganna the potion, however. In fact, I have a plan to use it to destroy her and Mathias.”

Caden cut in. “Why risk you, the youngling, and my brother’s ire to stop her? Why not let the potion stay hidden?”

Turning, Anka addressed him. “You mean beside the fact that Morganna won’t let me? For two reasons: First, the Doomsday Brethren can’t fight both Mathias and Morganna at once. And don’t forget, we can’t retrieve the potion without Mathias. As long as Morganna is threatening to expose us to humans, she’s a greater threat. Am I wrong?”

“
Not at all,” Bram returned.

“
We need that potion.” Anka smiled. “Second, I don’t think for one minute that Mathias wants to play nice with us for the good of magickind. The moment that potion is free, he’ll enact whatever scheme he’s brewing in his head and double-cross us. He’ll try to leverage the potion to control Morganna.”

Bram crossed his arms over his chest. “I’ve already considered that. Go on.”

“
I’ve got an idea to both get the potion down Morganna’s throat and trap Mathias.”

“
Truly?” Bram raised a brow. “Two super villains in one day. How many battles have you been in, Anka?”

“
Don’t you dare belittle her, you sodding dimwit,” Lucan snarled.

Anka sent him a grateful glance, then directed her attention back to Bram. “None, I admit. How many nights have you spent in Mathias’s dungeon?”

“
Are you suggesting that you know him better because he tortured you?”

Anka nodded. “Better than you think. I’m not stupid. His biggest weakness is his vanity. He resurrected Morganna, never imagining that she would be too powerful for him to control. If we play on his arrogance, he’ll never suspect that we’re one step ahead of him.”

“
Are you certain you really want to be involved?” Bram asked again, glancing up at Lucan. “He may think otherwise, but Lucan is my friend. He’ll perish in every sense of the word if the worst happens to you and your youngling.”

“
Morganna isn’t going to let me sit this one out. My life will hardly matter if we allow her wreak havoc at will. She will kill innocents and expose us to all. Then what?” she challenged, looking at Lucan. “You must let me play my role.”

“
If I don’t?” Lucan crossed his arms over his chest.

Lucan was calling her bluff. Anka threatening to leave him or face Morganna anyway would accomplish nothing. She loved Lucan, no matter what issues they had to work through. Unfortunately, they had a war to win first.

“
Then your youngling will grow up in a very dangerous world—if she gets to grow up at all. And her mother will be quite unhappy.”

Lucan shook his head with an agitated sigh. “Bloody hell. All right, under one condition: The moment that potion is free, you teleport away, back to safety. No questions asked.”

Anka hesitated. She desperately wanted to deliver Mathias one blow, preferably the fatal one. But with a youngling coming, she had to look forward, not back.

“
Agreed. I’ll leave administering the potion to Morganna in the hands of others. I will try to avoid fighting. But I think I know how to trap Mathias.”

“
Do you?” Bram challenged. “Tell us.”

“
We’ll need everyone here first. Every witch, wizard, and human we trust. And the Untouchable. We especially need her.”

“
I don’t want Felicia in the middle of this,” Duke objected, glowering. He might be stylish in his pricy designer suits, but he could be intimidating as hell.

“
No one wants to be in the middle of this,” Anka argued. “But with Felicia, we’ll have a chance. Without her, even though Morganna and Mathias aren’t pals, they might team up to destroy us. Take away their magic and we have a fight that’s two against many.
Then
we have a chance.”

No one argued with that logic, though Lucan looked as if he wanted to try. Frustration poured off of him.

She slipped her hand into his. “I’ll do everything in my power to stay safe, but you know this isn’t going to go away if we do nothing.”

With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her. “I don’t like it. But you’re right.”

Anka smiled up at Lucan. He really was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. And one of the best inside, as well.

“
Oh, vomit,” Shock muttered beside her.

Please try to be happy. I’ll keep your secret. And I’ll always be here if you need me
.

“
Yeah, yeah,” he grumbled. “Same to you.”

Shock got her message loud and clear. He wasn’t in mate mourning. He wasn’t even terribly bitter. Her instinct that she wasn’t the mate of his heart had been right.

Someday, you’ll find the perfect woman for you. She’ll complete you, put a smile on your face, and pull your head out of the bottle. I’ll be thrilled for you
.

Rolling his wide shoulders in his black leather jacket, Shock grimaced. “I’d rather decapitate myself with a razor blade.”

“
Want help?” Lucan quipped.

But it lacked the hate that had backed his words before.

“
Fuck off,” Shock groused.

“
Wait,” Bram objected loudly enough to get everyone’s attention again. “If Felicia is there, none of us will be able to use magic, either. I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

Anka pulled away from Lucan and turned to Bram. “That’s the dilemma. We need to give Felicia a crash course in trusting us all. Without that, the plan won’t work. And we must be quick. Morganna isn’t going to wait long to find me. Another day or two at best, then…I’m afraid we’re in for a war.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Lucan pressed a damp towel to his face and tried to keep his calm. Duke and Marrok had taken aside the human ladies, Sydney and Kari, to drill them in self-defense. Olivia worked in a corner with a spell book, reading feverishly to understand more advanced magic. All of them were doing well. That’s where the happy news ended.

Felicia sat curled up against the far wall, eyes closed, mind obviously focused as he, Shock, Anka, Caden, Ice, Sabelle, the twins, and Bram all took turns trying to use their magic. Raiden had insisted Tabitha sit this battle out, given her coming youngling. They all agreed.

The poor Untouchable looked small with her knees curled to her chest and her petite frame dwarfed by so many warriors. Felicia had let the witches past her trust barrier within an hour. Anka and Sabelle both managed to turn lights off and on, conjure objects, and use magical defense spells easily. Anka had even shown a bit of her impish side and grown a thick floor of Bermuda grass inside Bram’s ballroom, complete with insects. Predictably, Bram had objected. But he hadn’t been able to magically make the out-of-place fauna disappear and restore the wooden floor.

Time was running short. They’d been at this for nearly twenty-four hours, stopping only briefly for food and a few hours’ sleep. Despite the frustration, all the wizards kept trying. Lucan bit back the urge to yell at Felicia that he’d never hurt her. Shock hadn’t held back at all. Caden diverted himself with a hanging punching bag. Ice joined him. Even Bram was unraveling.

“
What the fuck do we do if we can’t make this work?” Shock asked.

Lucan hesitated. He had no idea why the wanker was talking to him.

“
Oh, bury the fucking hatchet already.” Shock sounded somewhere between exhausted and annoyed. “You’re going to get the girl. I’m free. Now we can all shit unicorns and rainbows and be happy or whatever.”

“
Sounds fun.” But he still didn’t understand why Shock was asking him anything.

“
Honestly? Ice will hate me forever, which is no loss to me. Bram annoys the fuck out of me. Your brother…” He shrugged. “Don’t know the git at all. Seems high-strung. The twins are off in their own world. If they weren’t related, I’d think they were having a bromance. That leaves you.”