“What happened?” Manuel asked against her hair. “I found your phone smashed up.”
“You were looking for me?”
“Of course I was.” He inched back. “Your brother called me at dawn.”
All at once she was surrounded by people, as if some gong had gone off and called into the foyer all the males and females of the house. No doubt the commotion of her arrival had summoned them, and they had stayed in the periphery out of respect.
It was clear there were more than just two minds to put at rest.
And that made her feel as if she were a part of this family.
“I was down at the river,” she said loudly enough so that all could hear, “when I caught the scent of the enemy. Drawn to them, I traversed the alleyways and set upon two lessers.” She felt Manuel stiffen and saw her brother do likewise. “It felt good to fight—”
At this, she hesitated. Except the king nodded. And so did a powerful female with short hair—as if she, too, fought in the war and knew both the drive and the satisfaction. The Brothers, however, clearly felt uncomfortable.
She continued. “Upon me there arrived a group of males—strong backed, well-weaponed, indeed, a squadron of soldiers. The leader was very tall, with dark eyes and dark hair and a”—she put her hand to her mouth—“defect of his upper lip.”
Now the cursing started—and as it did, she wished she’d been able to use the seeing bowls on the Other Side more before she’d left. Clearly, the male she described was not unknown to them, and not welcomed in her narrative.
“He apprehended me—” There were not one, but two growls at that—from her twin and from Manuel. And as she soothed the male who stood so close to her, she looked at her brother. “He was under the misunderstanding that I had wrought a calamity upon his bloodline. He believed he was the Bloodletter’s son—and he’d been a witness to the night I brought death upon our sire. Verily, he had searched for me with vengeance for centuries.”
At this point, she stopped herself, realizing she had just admitted to patricide. No one seemed fazed, however—which spoke volumes about not only the kind of males and females these were, but also the bastard who had been her father.
“I disabused the soldier of the mis-notion he was operating under.” She left out the fact that he had struck her, and was glad the bruising on her face had faded. Somehow, she did not believe anyone needed to know about that. “And he believed me. He did not hurt me—in fact, he protected me against his males, giving me his bed—”
Manuel bared his teeth as if he had fangs . . . and did not that just turn her on.
“Alone, I slept alone. He kept all of his subordinates upstairs with him.” More soothing of Manuel—at least until she realized he was fully aroused, as a male driven to mark his female would be. And how erotic was that. “Ah . . . he blindfolded me and had me driven out to a scenic ledge with a view of the city. And then he let me go. That was all.”
Wrath spoke up. “He abducted you against your will.”
“He believed he had cause. He thought I had killed his father. And as soon as he was set correct on that, he was prepared to release me, but it was daylight, so I could go nowhere. I would have called but my phone was lost and it did not appear that they had any to hand as I did not see such. In fact, they were living in the old way, communally and modestly, in an underground room that was alit with candles.”
“Any idea where they stay?” her twin asked.
“I haven’t a clue. I was unconscious when they—” As a loud shout of alarm rose up from so many throats, she shook her head. “I was shot by a lesser—”
“What the fuck—”
“You were what?!”
“A gun—”
“Shot with a—”
“—injured?!”
Hmm. Mayhap that was not of help.
As the Brothers all talked over each other, Manuel scooped her up and held her aloft, his face a mask of bald fury. “That’s it. We’re done here. I’m going to do an exam on you.” He looked over at her brother. “Where can I take her.”
“Upstairs. Hang a right. Three doors down there’s a guest room. I’ll have food sent up, and let me know if you need medical supplies.”
“Roger that.”
And with that, her male hit the stairs with her in his arms.
Good thing she was essentially finished with her story: Given the angle of Manuel’s chin, she was not going to do any more talking about her ordeal for some time.