Dark Widow’s Blessing Read online

“I think we should take it one step at the time. First, we need Bridget to tell us if Parker is ready.”

  “And if he is?”

  “Then we should wait for him to transition before we move. That way everyone is happy. I prefer not to start my new life in the village with your boss being unhappy with me and thinking that I’m an irresponsible mother.”

  “He’s not going to think that.”

  “Yes, he is. But regardless of Kian’s opinion, I think that’s the smarter way to go about it. If Parker is ready, we will know whether he is a Dormant or not in a few days. If he is, then we are good to go. If he’s not, there is no reason for us to move into the village. Kian will find us a new safe house that is above ground, and once Ella is freed, she will join us there.”

  Vivian didn’t want to think of the other implication of that possibility. It was just too painful.

  Sensing her sudden mood drop, Magnus pulled her into his arms. “Don’t worry, love. I’m convinced Parker is going to transition and we are going to have our happy ending, or rather beginning.”

  7

  Ella

  When Dimitri started snoring, Ella slipped out of bed, put on a warm night robe, and padded out onto the terrace.

  It had taken tremendous effort to hold the tears at bay until she had been sure he was sleeping, but now that she could finally have a private moment, there was no stopping them. The flow seemed endless, accompanied by sobs that she muffled with the sleeve of her robe.

  Ella hadn’t cried like that since her ordeal had started. In the beginning, she’d been in denial. After Romeo had delivered her to his uncle, she’d been more angry than sad. Things had gotten worse when Stefano had brought her to the auction house, and she had to strip naked in the viewing room. But then Dimitri had bought her, and she’d been dazzled by his estate, and the elegant wardrobe he’d provided her with, and his private airplane. It wasn’t that she craved riches, but it was impossible not to be affected by all of that.

  The glitz and the comfort were like rose-colored lenses, altering the perception of her reality, making it tolerable, manageable, and keeping the dark despair from consuming her.

  Up until yesterday, Dimitri had done his best to keep up the illusion for her. He’d been decent to her, and sex with him hadn’t been the traumatic experience she’d expected. He’d given her time to get used to him and had done his best to make it pleasurable for her.

  It had seemed that in his own way, he cared for her and wanted to make her happy.

  So despite all that had happened to her, up until yesterday Ella had thought she was in control, at least in some small way. Dimitri had let her believe that she had some room to wiggle. She’d even been naive enough to think that she could manipulate him until the rescue her mother was organizing actually happened.

  She hadn’t felt completely trapped and hopeless.

  But when Dimitri had taken away the most important of her choices, refusing to allow her contraceptives, Ella’s illusions had been shattered.

  Her rescuers wouldn’t make it in time to prevent the pregnancy he was forcing upon her.

  She debated whether to open the channel to her mother, but then decided against it. There was nothing her mom could do to help her, and it would only make her miserable as well.

  It was cold outside, and several minutes into her self-pity session Ella started to shiver despite the thick robe she had on. Wiping the tears away with her sleeves, she got up and padded back to bed.

  Sleep eluded her for a long time, but eventually she drifted off into dreamland. Not surprisingly, her lousy luck followed her there, and instead of dreaming about something nice, she was plunged into a worse nightmare than the real-life one she’d just escaped from.

  “Beautiful Ella.” Logan cupped her cheek. “Such a treasure. I think I'm going to make Gorchenco an offer he cannot refuse and buy you from him.”

  As he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, Ella tried to lean away, but his other hand held her neck in an iron grip.

  “What’s the matter, Ella? Don’t tell me that you prefer the old Russian to me.” He forced his tongue into her mouth.

  She tried to push him away, but he was so strong that she couldn’t move him even a fraction of an inch. When his hand moved from her cheek and cupped her breast, Ella fought harder, but it was no use. She was trapped, and he was going to rape her.

  Ignoring the desperate tears spilling out of the corners of her eyes, Logan left her mouth to suck on her neck.

  “Please, don’t,” she murmured as he scraped her skin, drawing blood.

  When he leaned away and smiled at her with glowing demon eyes and a pair of blood-covered fangs, Ella screamed.

  And screamed. And screamed.

  “Wake up, Ella!” He was shaking her.

  “Go away!” She shrieked and pushed with all her strength, not really expecting him to budge.

  Except, this time it worked, and the hands shaking her left her shoulders. A moment later, his arms wrapped around her and he smashed her against his body. “Stop it, Ella. Wake up. It’s just a nightmare.” The voice didn’t belong to Logan, and it had a Russian accent.

  It wasn’t Logan.

  She was in Dimitri’s bed, and he was holding her and rocking her like a child.

  Ella let out a breath and sagged against him. Evidently, the saying about better the devil you know than the devil you don’t was true.

  “Better?” Dimitri asked.

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “What did you dream about?”

  She shuddered. “I don’t know where it came from, but I dreamt that Logan wanted to buy me from you.”

  He chuckled. “And that scared you so much? Should I be flattered? Logan is much more handsome than me.”

  “In the dream, he was forcing a kiss on me, and when I struggled and begged him to stop, his eyes started glowing like a demon’s, and he grew huge fangs. He scraped my neck with them. They were dripping with my blood.”

  Dimitri leaned back and looked into her eyes. “Have you watched one of those idiotic vampire movies lately?”

  She shook her head. “I read a romance novel or two that had vampires in them, but that was a long time ago.”

  He patted her hand. “The mind is a strange machine. It could’ve taken a distant memory of a vampire from a book that you read and combined it with a man that you found scary.”

  “I guess.”

  “What makes me wonder, however, is why did Logan scare you so much? Did he say something to you when I was gone?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “He either did or didn’t.”

  “That’s the thing. I don’t remember. Could he have hypnotized me?”

  “Why would he do that?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. What I do know is that I never want to see him again. So the next time you meet with him, don’t bring me along.”

  He hugged her closer. “Of course, lyubimaya. I would never force you into a situation that upsets you.”

  Ella stifled the need to roll her eyes. He was such a hypocrite. As if forcing a pregnancy on her wasn’t upsetting to her.

  8

  Syssi

  “Shouldn’t Merlin be here already?” Syssi asked. “He landed two hours ago.”

  Kian put his cigarillo down and pulled out his phone. “I don’t see any new messages.” He put the phone back. “I don’t know what’s taking them so long. Traffic shouldn’t be too bad on the weekend. Do you want me to call him?”

  She waved a hand. “No, don’t. It’s just that everyone is getting antsy. People are hungry, and Amanda is not letting them touch the food until he arrives.”

  Since Merlin had informed them that he didn’t want to share a residence with others, and the only unoccupied houses were at the newly completed section of the village, he was about to become its first resident.

  That required a celebration.

  It had been Amanda’s idea to use the occasion of M
erlin’s arrival for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to initiate the opening of the new phase.

  Except, the guest of honor was running late, the food was getting cold, and a bunch of hungry immortals was getting more and more annoyed by the minute.

  “Why don’t you have Onidu start distributing the appetizers?”

  “He has only two hands, and there are a lot of people here. Let’s wait a little longer.”

  “As you wish.” Kian went back to reading the proposal he’d taken with him to the village square after she’d nagged him to come out of his office.

  Her guy was working too hard, but Syssi had learned to live with it. No matter how much help he was getting, or what shortcuts and innovations he applied to better organize his workload, Kian didn’t use the freed time to chill. He just took on more work.

  “I see him,” Anandur said. From his height, the guy could see over the crowd’s heads. “He hasn’t changed a bit since the last time I saw him.”

  Kian grimaced. “Is he wearing that long purple coat of his?”

  “No coat. Just a jacket. But it’s also purple. And his hair is even longer. Does he ever cut it?”

  “He must. Otherwise, he would be dragging it on the ground behind him.” Kian stood up and offered a hand up to Syssi. “Let’s go and greet him.”

  Walking hand in hand with her husband, Syssi craned her neck to get her first glimpse of Merlin over the small crowd gathered on the village square.

  Given the last-minute announcement, many of the village residents had already made other plans for the weekend. Less than half of them had come out to welcome Merlin and watch Kian cut the ribbon to the new phase.

  Finally, as people moved aside to let her and Kian pass through, she got to see the famous Merlin in person.

  Tall and spindly, he had long blond hair that was so pale it looked white. Woven into a braid, it swung from side to side as he walked, making it look like he had a tail swishing behind him. His beard was not as long, but it still extended over his belt.

  None of it made him look old, though, so the resemblance to the legendary wizard he’d been named after was superficial at best.

  “Hello, Merlin, and welcome to the village.” Kian offered the doctor his hand.

  “My pleasure.” Merlin shook it without looking at him and smiled at Syssi. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Same here.” She gave him her hand, which he lifted to his lips for a kiss. “Good things I hope?”

  “That depends on what you consider good.”

  He laughed. “How true.”

  Kian patted Merlin’s shoulder. “Let’s get on with the ribbon-cutting ceremony before we have a riot on our hands. People are hungry.”

  “My apologies for the delay.” The doctor threaded his arm through Syssi’s as they followed behind Kian. “I had the annoyance of being subjected to a very thorough inspection at immigration. Evidently, I look like a suspicious character.” He winked at her.

  “I wonder why?”

  “Indeed.”

  “How come I didn’t see you at Andrew and Nathalie’s wedding?”

  He smiled. “I’m a bit of a recluse, and I don’t live in the castle. I have my own cottage an hour’s drive away. I intended to come, but there was a medical emergency I had to attend to. Where I live, I’m the only doctor around. Or was. A new human doctor just moved into the area. That’s why I came earlier than originally planned.”

  “I didn’t know you served the human population.”

  “The clan doesn’t have much need for my services. Besides, I like working with humans.”

  “How do you manage that? With your looks, it’s not like you can move from place to place and start anew. People must recognize you and wonder how come you don't age.”

  He waved a dismissive hand. “It's easy. Every ten years or so, I close my clinic and move out. Still, the Scottish highlands are not densely populated, and people know one another. So when I open it somewhere else, I tell everyone that I’m a nephew of that other doctor, and that my uncle moved to America or Argentina or wherever pops into my head.”

  “And no one wonders?”

  “If they do, they think I’m a real wizard.” He winked. “And then they are scared to piss me off by asking me questions.”

  When they reached the place where the fence separating the two sections used to be, they were greeted by Amanda who was waiting for them with a pair of huge scissors in her hands.

  “Merlin, darling, I was starting to think you’d decided to ditch the party and hide in a bar somewhere until everyone went home.”

  “You know me well.” He leaned to kiss Amanda’s cheek. “Unfortunately for me, Kian told Okidu to deliver me straight here and ignore my requests to go elsewhere.”

  “That’s because I know you too.” Kian slapped the guy’s back, then turned to the people who’d followed them. “Let’s do this.”

  As everyone clapped, Kian took the scissors from Amanda and cut the ribbon.

  “Can I say a few words?” Merlin asked.

  “By all means.” Kian waved him on. “Just make it short. Everyone wants to get back and eat.”

  Merlin turned around and raised his arms to quiet the murmurs. “I was told to make this short. So here goes. Thank you for inviting me here. I’m honored to be the first resident of the second building phase, and I pray to the Fates for all these beautiful homes to get snatched up so fast that Kian will have to start on phase three.”

  As everyone clapped, Syssi wondered what he meant by that.

  Merlin could’ve been referring to their quest for Dormants. As more clan members found their mates, they would need housing. Or, he could’ve been alluding to the fertility research he was about to start. If more of the clan’s females had children, they too would need accommodations.

  Hopefully, the Fates would grant them both.

  9

  Bridget

  As the twenty-four Guardians Turner was taking with him to New York trickled into the classroom, Bridget handed him the clipboard with his notes. “You should really start using a tablet.”

  “I’m old-fashioned.”

  “I’m much older than you, and I switched to modern technology.”

  He leaned and nuzzled her neck. “Whatever is transmitted electronically, can be hacked. Paper cannot.”

  “You know that you’re paranoid, right?”

  “I call it careful. Potato, potahto.” Turner smiled at her. “My beautiful mate, looking as radiant as ever despite her lack of sleep. But for all the wrong reasons. I missed you in bed last night.”

  “I had to work out the last details for the six new missions scheduled for next week.” She leaned into him. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “Then come with us. You can work from Ragnar’s hotel. Did the new doctor arrive yet?”

  “Merlin is here. I should go say hi to him, but I’ll do that after you guys leave.”

  “So there is really no reason for you to stay.” He put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. “Come with me. We can work together from the hotel.”

  She sighed. “I wish I could. Merlin is not going to start working right away. He needs some time to acclimatize, and I need to show him around.”

  “He’s a bit of a prima donna, isn’t he?”

  Bridget shook her head. “Not really. But he has his way of doing things, and he likes to ease into them. Merlin is more of a country general practitioner than an emergency room doctor.”

  “That’s a shame. I hoped he could take over the clinic starting tomorrow, so you could come with me.”

  Bridget sighed. “Hopefully, this rescue operation is going to be over in one week. If not, I’ll have to come up with more missions for the next one.”

  “And fly to New York. I don’t like the bachelor life.”

  “I know. I don’t like it either. But we have jobs to do.” She glanced at the classroom. “I think everyone is here, except for Sylvia and Roni.”

&
nbsp; “Civilians,” Turner muttered under his breath. “No discipline.”

  Bridget planted a quick peck on his cheek. “Patience, my dear. You need Sylvia, and she’s graciously volunteering her talent to aid you.”

  “I’m not sure I’m going to use her.”

  “Why not? You know what she can do. Without her talent for manipulating electronic devices, we would not have had the element of surprise in the attack on the monastery. The Doomers would’ve seen us coming, and the result could have been catastrophic. Thanks to her, we didn’t lose anyone.”

  “That was different. I don’t know if she can manipulate sophisticated equipment like what Gorchenco has on his estate. She hasn’t had any military training, which I blame Kian for. He should have seen to it. Having an asset like Sylvia and not drafting her into the Guardian force is a failing on his part.”

  “You forget that we don’t operate like that. This is Sylvia’s decision to make, not Kian’s.”

  “I’ll have a talk with her on the way to New York. Or better yet, I’ll have Arwel talk to her.”

  “Why Arwel?”

  “Because he is sacrificing his sanity to be a Guardian. He would’ve been much happier in the accounting department. But he knows that his talent is crucial to the force.”

  “Laying the guilt. That’s your recruiting strategy?”

  Victor shrugged. “Whatever works. I know money will not convince her. Maybe duty will.”

  “I can just imagine Roni’s reaction. The kid flipped when he heard she was going on the mission.”

  “Tell me about it. That’s why he’s tagging along. But I guess I might be able to use him too. Having a hacker of his caliber on call is always good.”

  From the corner of her eye, Bridget saw the two enter the classroom. “They are here. Let’s start with the briefing.” She scanned the room and counted heads.

  “Hello, everyone.”

  Julian, who was sitting in the front row between Yamanu and Arwel, gave her the thumbs up.