Wounded(6)

Her eyes flicked to his face and she shifted so they were side by side, looking out over the courtyard. “But that is not why you stand with me, is it?”

Liam thought for a moment. Though Berget was only sixteen, there was a huge part of her that was older, knowledge she’d gained only by living amongst vampires before she herself was turned. On top of that, carrying around the souls and memories of two ancient vampires had aged her, and made her wise far beyond her years. “No. It isn’t. She told me you were searching through your memories, and those of your parents, for the key to the veil, to the things that had to be done to close it off.”

From the side, her face went carefully blank. “Yes, she did. But I see no need now—”

He lifted one hand, stopping her. “We already know it has something to do with the guardians, that their blood can somehow close the doorways. What have you learned?”

They didn’t look at one another; instead, they watched the council argue.

“The blood of a guardian can close a tear in the veil; it is not the same as the Blood of the Lost, but it is strong enough to do the job for a time. Taken by force, that is all it will do,” she said softly, so softly her words were less than a whisper.

The image of Eagle, sprawled out, blood soaked in Rylee’s bathtub, slid to the front of his mind. The demons who’d taken Milly and Pamela had used Eagle’s blood, forcibly, to close the doorway behind them. To wipe clean their own escape and prevent anyone from following through the tear in the veil they’d created.

Berget kept speaking, which jarred him out of his memories. “The blood of a guardian freely given, a sacrifice, can shut the veil for a period of time, putting the entire system in stasis. No one can cross in either direction.”

“How long does it give, this sacrifice?”

“You cannot, Liam.” She turned to face him, grabbed his hand. Cool, dainty fingers clutched at his. “You cannot leave her. My parents have lied to me before. I do not know for sure this would even work.”

He gently squeezed her hand, grateful Rylee had Berget back in her life, even if it was somewhat on the peripheral. “I don’t plan on it. There are other guardians, and we need to know how and where they can help. The loss of a little blood is not too much to ask of them to give us time to plan for Orion, is it?”

Berget closed her eyes, the blue veins along her eyelids sharp in contrast to her pale skin, even in the dim light. “That is true.”

The sharp scent of her lie bit at his nose. Acrid and tangy, he blew it out.

“Berget. What aren’t you telling me?”

She shook her head and took her hand from his. “Nothing you need to know.”

He stared down at her, as if he could will the truth from her. But he knew better. Tiny though she was, there was nothing he could do to make her spill her secrets before she was ready. Even if she hadn’t been a vampire, she was a woman—that alone meant she wouldn’t say anything if he pushed her, and she wasn’t yet ready to talk.

He let out a sigh. “Will you tell me at some point?”

Her shoulders sagged and she closed her eyes. “Yes, Liam, I will. But not today.”

There was a large part of him, the wolf in him that wanted to grab Berget and shake the truth from her. Mostly because he had a feeling it would impact him in ways he didn’t want, and he hated not knowing.

For now, though, her promise that she would tell him would have to be good enough.

Across from them, Rylee looked up and he gave her a wink, immediately pushing back the frown he knew had been on his face. Her lips didn’t move, but he could see the smile in her eyes, her face, the way her head tilted. No one else would see it.

And that was fine by him.



Until we had more information, there was no point in continuing to hold the council together. Doran dismissed everyone, nicely of course, asking them all to come back after we’d had some time to discuss the possibilities with Bert. No point in riling everyone up without just cause. The ogres and unicorns headed off together. Their camps had been set up so the ogre’s camp was a larger circle around the unicorns, in a defensive measure. Having the smaller contingent, and having brought their only foal with them, the unicorns had agreed that was best. Just in case things got ugly.

Once the courtyard cleared, it was just me, Liam, Erik, Bert, and Faris. I sent Alex and Pamela to bed since it was nearing three in the morning and they were both yawning like crazy. Pamela frowned, but didn’t argue. A sure sign she was exhausted. Even Doran and Berget backed out of the mini council.

Doran tried to swat me on the ass as he left. “There are so many things that need to be attended to and you don’t need me. Faris will fill me in later.” I managed to dodge his hand impressively, considering how fast he was. Of course, there was a chance he’d let me dodge him, too.