Thorne smiled. “You’re f**king amazing, Hav.” He nodded in return.
Havily couldn’t help but give him an answering smile. She closed her eyes and thought the thought. The swishing began.
When she opened her eyes, she stood near Endelle with Thorne right next to her.
Marcus moved in close. He slipped his arm around her waist, tighter than before. She leaned into him. His body was a rock wall of tension, which for some reason eased her. “You okay?” he asked.
She nodded.
Thorne took a moment to scan the entire room. When he was satisfied, he turned to Endelle. “So, what the f**k was that all about? What happened? I take it Havily just saved my ass.”
Endelle jerked her head toward the side wall in the direction of the palm trees. “Colonel Seriffe is collecting the evidence right now. A death vamp would have had you if our girl, here, hadn’t taken you into the darkening.”
Thorne glanced at the Militia Warriors clustered around the dagger. One of them had a plastic Baggie, and another wore gloves. He whistled then turned to Havily and clapped her on the shoulder. “Thanks, Hav. Well done.”
“My pleasure, boss.”
He chuckled. “You’ll do.”
“There’s more,” Marcus said. “Crace was here.”
“Crace?” Havily cried. A shiver went down her back, and she couldn’t keep from also taking a quick look around.
“Shielded,” Endelle explained. “But I felt him, felt his presence. He has a lot of power. When I located his mist, I sent a little gift package. He folded at the same moment but I might have winged him.”
Havily shuddered. “Are you sure it was Crace?”
“I recognized him,” Endelle said. “And Morgan … good job.”
“Thank you.” Her fingers trembled. Too much adrenaline. She glanced toward the center of the room. “I see the party left.”
“Yep,” Endelle said. “He didn’t have the balls to stay and fight even though I offered. One day I’m going mano-a-mano with that bastard.” She blew the air from her cheeks. “Well, I guess we’d better get on with the show, but as for you, Morgan, I want you back at the villa. That’s an order.”
“May I ask why?” She hated the thought that she might have let Endelle down in some way, but she honestly didn’t know how she could have prevented an attempted assassination, not with Greaves and his generals able to get into the building despite all their security precautions. That Crace could get in as well was equally alarming.
Endelle shifted her gaze to Marcus then back to Havily. “I have reason to believe that Greaves was hunting you. Your powers are emerging, which means that you’ve probably been lighting up the future streams and God knows Greaves has turned enough High Administrators to have access to any number of Seers Fortresses around the globe, the prick. That’s the why of it and for f**k’s sake don’t read anything else into this.”
Well, that changed things. “Okay, but please call if you need me.”
Endelle smiled. “Damn, Morgan, you just keep disappointing my lousy opinion of you.” She laughed at her joke. “But believe it or not, we can see a goddamn reception through without your help. Now get going. I’m sure you’ll figure out something to do with your time.” She threw a knowing glance at Marcus then turned on her heel and headed back to her throne.
Thorne fell into step beside her as if nothing untoward had just happened. However, his right hand flexed as though he felt the need for his sword. He followed Endelle up the steps and flanked her as he had before, his arms crossed over his chest as he once more surveyed the crowd.
He was all man, all warrior. He carried the lion’s share of the burden for the Warriors of the Blood.
“What are you looking at Thorne for?” Marcus asked, his arm tightening around her waist.
“I really admire him,” she said, completely without thinking. But she understood her mistake when she heard a low growl right next to her ear.
“You admire him?”
Havily couldn’t help but smile. Maybe she shouldn’t have, but she loved that he was jealous. “I admire him as a leader,” she stated in as cool a voice as she could manage. “He’s carried the load more than any other warrior here on Second Earth.”
* * *
Marcus turned slightly to watch Thorne. He could have been killed tonight. Instead Havily had saved him so that he could keep on keeping on. Christ, he even shared a telepathic link with Her Supremeness. Havily was right: Thorne carried the load.
Guilt pounded Marcus. He’d been gone for two centuries while Thorne and the warriors took care of business. If he was coming back, he had a lot of making up to do, and he could begin right now by doing everything he could to keep Havily safe.
He took Havily’s hand. “Ready?”
She nodded.
He thought the thought. He felt the blinking out then sudden hard awareness. When his feet touched the planked floor of Medichi’s villa, he still had hold of her hand. She gave it a squeeze and smiled at him.
He was about to gather her up in his arms when Medichi walked into the foyer from the direction of the kitchen, his brow low. His nostrils flared as he said, “This guardian business is for shit.” He then closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath. He made an attempt to relax his shoulders but didn’t quite succeed. He looked like Atlas struggling to hold up the world.
“What gives?” Marcus asked. He wanted to be understanding but he sure as hell hoped Medichi would make it quick. Havily was still wearing her high heels.
He jerked his thumb toward the south wing. “I have Parisa with me … in my bedroom … for the night.” His molars made a grinding noise. “Hey. Don’t look at me like that. My suite has a den. I’m sleeping in there.”
“What’s going on?” Havily asked.
He looked about ready to bite her head off. “What’s going on? This house is too f**king big, that’s what’s going on. How can I protect her if she sleeps across from your rooms?”
Marcus grinned. He couldn’t help it. He knew all too well the pain of wanting something, with all the gentleness of a tornado, and being unable to have it, take it, be with it, plan a future with it. So, yeah, he grinned.
Medichi huffed a heavy sigh. “I’ll say good night. Parisa’s not happy, either, but she’s showering and I’m closing the door. Once we’re locked in, we’re in for the night.”