A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(4)

“You were close to my father, then?”

She nodded. “I have met all kinds of creatures in Eritopia. Some I liked. Others I loathed. A few I simply tolerated. But your father was something else entirely. I must be honest, Druid, I loved your father…deeply.”

Her candor surprised me, and judging by how Draven’s eyebrows arched up, it surprised him as well. We knew there had been something between Hansa and Almus, but she hadn’t told us anything about it. We’d only had Phoenix’s vision.

“I didn’t know,” Draven replied.

“You couldn’t have known. I asked him to keep it a secret, especially after the swamp witches gave us the books. We couldn’t risk people outside the Red Tribe knowing we’d ever met. Ultimately, things changed between us when he rescued Elissa.” Hansa’s voice dropped, enough for me to understand that her separation from Almus had not been her idea. “I don’t think your father ever truly reciprocated my feelings. Sure, there was affection…attraction…but the moment he met Elissa everything between me and him faded, except for our friendship and loyalty. Both we take to our graves.”

The dynamic between Almus and Hansa became much clearer, as I understood what they had meant to each other beyond what Phoenix’s vision had shown us. Draven’s past ran deep into Eritopia, rooted in his father’s relationships with creatures who were now key players in his present and in our entire strategy against Azazel. Hansa’s loyalty was just one of the many treasures that Almus had left his son with, even if Draven hadn’t known anything about her up until a few nights ago.

I maintained hope that we might stumble upon more of these lost friends of his father’s along the way. We needed all the help we could get, now more than ever.

As night gathered above us in shades of ultramarine and dark purple, we collected as many weapons and other unburned items as our horses could carry and galloped back to the mansion.

The woods hissed with discontent. A myriad of stars and a fat, pearly moon guided us down the beaten path of the jungle on our way home. The rumble of hooves was the only sound to come out of us until we reached the safety of the mansion’s protective shield.





Aida





A few days had passed since Serena, Draven, Hansa, and Bijarki had left for Mount Inon. Despite the passage of time, I was stuck in a most delicious loop, constantly replaying Field’s kiss in my mind. Whenever I wasn’t giddy and whistling happy tunes around the mansion and remembering every detail of our moment together, I was shut in the attic, honing my Oracle skills.

Despite the dangers that awaited outside the mansion’s protective shield, and despite the predicament I’d found myself in as an Oracle, Field was my beacon of hope, the root of everything that was still good and sweet in my life. His promise to be with me even if I went blind and barren didn’t make the potential outcome any better, but it gave me enough strength to face the possibility with my chin up.

Shortly after we’d kissed that day, Field had taken me inside for a cup of coffee in the banquet hall. We’d laughed and talked for a while.

Then he’d excused himself and gone out for a bit. I couldn’t blame him for wanting to be outside. Hawks weren’t made for life indoors. They needed freedom, the air brushing against their wings, the sky open and all theirs.

This morning had started out nicely, with colorful droplets of glee in my soul. The sun shone brightly outside. I could see it smiling down at me in warm rays peeking through the rich pink magnolia trees by the windows.

Soon enough, however, that old part of myself that I disliked started rearing its ugly head, spoiling the memory of Field’s lips on mine and our bodies melting against each other. I’d hoped it wasn’t our last kiss. Doubt started seeping through the cracks of my happy bubble like dirty water, determined to soil the pristine image of Field’s soft gaze warming my face before his mouth captured mine.

The little voice in my head, the one that had once judged my wolf hair and my curves, was back. In need of the attic’s silence I went upstairs. Maybe I could lose myself in a vision instead of paying attention to the doubtful part of me that, until that moment, had been relatively quiet since our arrival in Eritopia.

I sat down beneath one of the large windows, letting the sunlight wash over my face in shades of white and gold. I closed my eyes and tried to channel the present. But I had trouble focusing. That little voice kept yammering about Field.

Was he really into me? Were his feelings genuine? Or was I the rebound girl he needed to get over Maura? Maybe she’d been the real love of his life, but, due to lifestyle incompatibilities, they’d lost each other, and here I was, the fool ready to give him enough affection to help him deal with the loss.

I shook the thought away and took a few deep breaths, once again focused on tapping into a vision.

But the thought came back, pounding in my temples like a migraine, eager to ruin everything.

What if he didn’t feel anything? What if I was just handy? Would he really be that selfish? Or did he not even realize he was doing it? Maybe he was fooling himself into thinking he liked me—some sort of subconscious defense mechanism to help him bounce back from his life with Maura.

I mean, she was pretty and smart and a woman with years of wisdom and experience. I was still in my teenage years, still grateful for the spell that had helped me shed all that extra body hair. I’d been stuck between human and wolf for most of my life, and that was how Field had known me. How could he see past it, even with it gone now?