Embrace the Night (19 page)

“Ah, and here comes your lover.”

Margetta had said it exactly right.

Her lover. The man she loved. The one she belonged to.

Jude had tried to warn her to stick close when he held her in the air above the burning wreckage of her bar. But the sight of what she loved sinking to a massive pile of wet, unpleasant ashes had messed with her head, maybe just as Margetta knew it would.

She’d essentially lost her mind.

Now she was here.

While hovering in the air a few feet above the ground, Jude approached Margetta. When he was almost within touching distance, he said, “I’ll take her place. Just let her go. I know it’s me you want.”

But Margetta laughed at him, snapped her fingers, and several wraith-pairs descended on him, binding him with ropes. They dragged him onto the bridge and tied him to a lamppost.

Jude, what are we going to do?

Hannah, there’s something I need you to know.

She was too far away from him. She whipped toward Margetta. “Please let me say good-bye. Please.”

“How touching, and I’ll grant you this wish, because you’re going to die with your mastyr tonight.”

Another snap of her fingers and wraith-pairs flew low and grabbed Hannah beneath her arms. She felt the charred vampire reach for her foot but miss as she became airborne.

The next moment, she was next to Jude. She took his face in her hands and pressed herself up against him.
I love you and I’m sorry. This is my fault.

He drew back slightly.
Hey, no one’s to blame. This is war, and we can’t always predict what happens next. You’ve done beautifully in a horrendous situation. I’m so proud of you.

She nodded, but tears ran down her cheeks. She would have kissed him again, but the wraith-pair bound her as well, securing them together.

I love you, Hannah. I’ve loved you for years. I’ve just been lying to myself. All those times I came into your bar just to accompany my men for some R & R, but in reality I couldn’t wait for the moment I’d spend even a handful of minutes chatting with you. I watched you all the time.

You know I felt the same way.

Hannah, I’m so sorry for all of this. If I’d understood that my growing affection and desire for you would incite your blood-rose and fire-gifts, I would have stayed away from Port Townsend. I didn’t want this for you, and the Goddess knows the sight of your bar burning to the ground has made me question everything I’ve done, every decision I’ve made.

Hannah listened and her throat grew even tighter. Margetta had transformed into the wraith that she was, being both fae and wraith. She flew back-and-forth over the bridge in her red gauzy dress and began ranting at Jude, expounding on her great plans for the Nine Realms, how one day all would bow before her magnificence.

Hannah ignored her. Instead, she forced herself to face the truth about her feelings for Jude.

She loved him.

She loved him with all her heart.

And now her own willfulness had landed him here, bound to her, and soon to be executed.

With Margetta clearly enjoying the sound of her own voice, and appealing to her army of wraith-pairs at the same time, Hannah pathed,
I love you, too, Jude. I think it’s been forever for me as well, much longer than just the past few months that followed the awakening in the supply closet.

He held her gaze.
You could have been scrubbing the floor behind the bar when that happened, and I would still consider it one of the best moments of my life.

Jude.
Her telepathic voice was little more than a whisper.
I’ve been a fool through this process. I kept holding onto my freedom because of a difficult past experience. But you always kept my freedom at the top of your list. Now, I have no freedom at all.

She felt him reaching toward her with his hand and she struggled in the bindings to meet him halfway. When her fingers touched his, it was magic all over again.

A vibration she could only call ‘love’ swept through her, cleansing her of past suffering and freeing her to open her heart fully to Jude.

Mist began drifting stronger out of Margetta as she flew.

It wouldn’t be long now. Jude would soon be unconscious and Margetta would kill them both.

Jude’s voice pierced her head.
Hannah, bond with me. No matter what happens, I don’t want anything else but to feel close to you right now.

She leaned her head against his. All her doubts were gone.
I want to more than anything in the world.

~ ~ ~

As Margetta waxed on about her magnificence, Jude was right there with no hesitation. He sent his mating frequency barreling through her chest and pushing inside hers. She moaned, her head falling back.
Jude, that feels extraordinary.

He found her own mating vibration pulsing in soft receptive waves. He surrounded her deep inside her body-and-spirit combined, wrapping her up in his love and letting her feel with every ounce of strength how much he loved her.

Why did I hesitate?
he said.
This is incredibly beautiful.

As the frequencies began to pulse in rhythm together, Jude gave himself completely and felt Hannah do the same in return.

The bond suddenly locked in place. Hannah cried out, though Jude noted her shout didn’t stop Margetta. Instead, the army Hannah had seen now became perfectly clear to Jude. He felt Hannah’s power become his, which was something he hadn’t expected.

Hannah, your fire-gift is in me now, and I can see through Margetta’s shield. I can see her army.

I can feel it as well and that we’re one. It’s amazing. And I can feel what you’re feeling, and how the ropes are digging into your wrists. But, Jude, what are you thinking?

That I might be able to withstand Margetta’s mist and make use of your fire-gift. I can feel the heat down both my arms and my palms are tingling.

I know that feeling well.

He added,
I can also feel that she is blocking your gift but she has no such protection against me.

So we have a shot.

I think we do, but let me contact Malik first, and give him a heads-up.

I’ll wait for your orders.

Jude almost smiled, but he didn’t want to alert the witch still flying back and forth, who was all worked up into a frenzy as she went on and on about her plans for ruling the Nine Realms.

Malik?
Jude pathed.

I’m right here. I have both villages surrounded, but at a considerable distance. Are you sure Margetta’s army is in place?

Jude lifted his gaze, scanning the night sky and the army now visible to him. He strove to send the images to Malik, which was something he wasn’t sure he could do. But he tried anyway.
Does any of that come through?

Hell, yeah, it does! But, how are you doing this?

It’s because of Hannah. We’ve bonded, and in about thirty seconds we’re going to break out of these ropes, and I’m going to attack the ancient fae. She’ll probably release the rest of her mist, but I can feel within myself that I’m sharing Hannah’s abilities and one of them is her very human resistance to the killing mist. At the same time, both her forces and ours won’t be immune, so it will be an even playing field. Just be ready.

Got it.

Alert the troops, and when you see me go after Margetta, she should lose power and the shield should drop and her army become visible, then it’s all up to you. Take out as many wraith-pairs as you can.

With fucking pleasure.

He returned his attention to Hannah.
You ready to break out?

Absolutely.

Then let’s do it.

He accessed the fire-gift and felt sudden heat jump from his skin and start to work on the ropes. Ten seconds later, he was free. Without waiting, he launched at Margetta, catching her in the air and dragging her into the canal below.

She became a wild, fighting thing, but he held onto her as long as he could, releasing the fire even below the surface, at the places where he held her.

She screamed, then dragged in a lung-full of water.

The next moment, she simply disappeared. Gone.

Jude surfaced fast, rising into the air as he breached the canal, heading back to Hannah. She had flames shooting from her palms, spreading them in an arc to hold back five wraith-pairs determined to get to her.

Jude came at them from behind, adding his own fire and scorched them, one after the other, until they were screaming and throwing themselves into the canal.

He took his place next to Hannah, holding her close, because right now his Guardsman and Shifter Brigade as well as Malik’s forces converged and began battling wraith-pairs.

The night sky had never been full of so many blue and red flashes.

“Jude, look, off to the northeast.”

He glanced in the direction of her raised arm and watched as one by one wraith-pairs started vanishing mid-fight.

“She’s saving as many as she can. Should we go after her?”

He shook his head. “The level of her power is still unknown, which means I have no intention of putting you in harm’s way. Right now, you’re my priority.”

~ ~ ~

Hannah’s heart beat so hard in her chest that she had a difficult time catching her breath. She’d gone from just enjoying her day-to-day, and all her friends and customers who came to her bar, to watching two armies battling on the ground and in the sky.

More than one wraith-pair tried to reach Jude, but shifters and vampires alike headed them off.

A lot of death followed, but that couldn’t be helped.

This was war.

And to the degree that she was a blood rose and now bonded to a powerful Mastyr Vampire, this was her war as well. Yet somehow it fit, as though all her experience at the Gold Rush, growing up there and having a father who embraced the Nine Realms, had prepared her for exactly this day, or rather
night
.

She no longer saw the worlds as separate, but moving fluidly back and forth, something that would increase as the decades moved along. They were different species yet shared enough DNA to build lives together and to create families.

As the last of the distant wraith-pairs vanished because of Margetta’s continued, though hidden presence, and one of Malik’s Guardsmen defeated the sole remaining wraith-pair on the bridge, Hannah could finally breathe.

Jude had already called in for medical teams. The policy in the Nine Realms had changed since Samantha had become bonded to Mastyr Ethan of Bergisson Realm. She had the power to dissolve the hated bond between wraith and realm-mate. Any surviving wraith-pairs would be turned over to Ethan for long-term rehabilitation.

When Malik dropped down to join them, Hannah tensed up immediately, concerned that she would have the same overpowering desire toward him that she’d experienced before.

But nothing happened. Only a sudden vibration deep within that spoke of the bond she shared with Jude, now inviolable, permanent, and powerful.

And the question she’d been asking for months, as in how many babies Jude wanted, didn’t seem so absurd anymore. It made sense, and a new kind of desire rose within her filled with purpose and love. She wanted to have a family with Jude. That’s how far around the globe she’d traveled in two brief nights.

Jude, maybe sensing the direction of her thoughts, hugged her tighter about the waist.
I’m feeling something beautiful from you right now, and it’s making me want to take you to bed.

She leaned up and kissed him, then stared into dark gray eyes.
And that’s exactly where I want to be with you.

He turned to Malik. “I want to get Hannah home. Will you see to our troops?”

Malik clasped Jude on the shoulder. Hannah thought he looked incredibly sad as he smiled. “Of course I will.”

She watched as for a long moment, the two realm leaders stayed in that position, staring at each other until Jude nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure if Jude had communicated telepathically with Malik or not, but she doubted the moment needed words. They were brothers-in-arms, who’d been fighting the same battle for a very long time.

Malik turned to her. “Good-night, Hannah. I’ll be seeing you soon, I’m sure.”

“Of course. You’re always welcome at the Gold Rush.” Reality descended abruptly, but what had been so devastating a few hours ago, now seemed softened by her commitment to Jude. “Although, you might want to wait until it’s rebuilt.”

“Which it will be right away,” Jude added, meeting Hannah’s gaze. “I’ll get my best troll and elven contractors on it.”

Hannah often used realm workers and contractors for her bar and her home. They did a wonderful job every time.

When Jude moved his hand from around her waist, she understood the signal and positioned herself on his booted foot. She slid her arm around his neck, and he pulled her tight against his side. After bidding Malik farewell, Jude took off, lifting her into the air.

And Hannah smiled.

~ ~ ~

Jude could feel the shift in Hannah as though it was written in every breath she breathed. The bond allowed him to feel what she was feeling, and for the last few minutes on the bridge, he’d felt her mating vibration begin to hum on a different frequency than before. And it felt full of life and intent.

As he flew toward Castle Island, he felt as though he held all of life in his arms, something rich and bountiful, a kind of necessary excess meant to feed the soul.

He drew in deep breaths. He was
all men
in this moment, both real and a representation of what it meant to be male, to have a woman in his arms, and to feel her need to give the universe rebirth.

When he arrived, Nathan greeted them both with anxious grips of hands and thanksgiving that Margetta had seen a defeat at Kelltah Bridge.

“How do you already know?”

“It’s all over Realm-You-Tube. Some troll kid, who will probably be flayed by his parents later, used his cellphone to film the battle. But it’s a good thing, trust me. I’ve been on the phone for the past forty-five minutes with Council Leaders. There are celebrations all over the Realm tonight, and tomorrow you and Hannah will both be hailed as heroes. So where are you going to celebrate?”