Reeve and I disembark from the Mavis' ferry onto our pack's beach. I'm not a full step onto the sand when I spy Peter through the dark morning, his shadow unmistakable after years of memorizing every piece of him.
I cock my head in his direction and say to Reeve, "I'll be up in a minute."
He nods in understanding and disappears along the trail toward the main pack home.
Peter doesn't acknowledge me as I take a seat beside him and mirror his position: knees tucked to his chest, facing the sea.
"How long have you been out here?"
"Since Reeve left. I wasn't sure when you'd be getting back."
"Are you okay after everything?"
He's rubbing his lucky stone in his fingers. "Yeah. You look better."
"You seem—"
"I'm fine. Let's go end this prick."
"There's something I need to do before the wolves reach the coven. You and Iso will travel ahead with me. The wolves will travel with Reeve, Rainer, Delta Banks, and Mavis and meet us there."
"What do you have to do?" He pauses in messing with his stone.
"It's better if I show you once we get there."
"You have a secret you haven't told me about, Prince?"
I pat his shoulder. "Always."
∞ ∞ ∞
Armed with my weapons bag, I step out of the clinic and take a moment to absorb my surroundings. The difference I feel in leaving this land after less than a quarter year compared to when I left my coven after growing up there is unmistakable. I'll miss my life here. I'll miss the rituals and the comfort of my work station. I'll miss the trainings and the family meals. It's strange to know that I'll be missed as well.
Reeve greets me out front of his house with an affectionate grin and tight embrace. "Be careful."
"We will." I kiss him, long and hard.
Then he pecks my cheek and says, "We'll be there as soon as we can."
"Be safe." I pull away and take a lasting look around and a filling inhale.
"Hey, Warder," Reeve calls, "you better not be planning anything reckless like trying to confront the king by yourselves before we get there."
I grin at his stern expression. "Me? I would never." A laugh escapes me, drawing his frown down further.
"I mean it, Daire."
"Oh, I know you do, Lucky."
"Why are you so frustrating? Promise me that you're not going to do anything."
We're definitely going to wait on Reeve and his back up, but it's too fun to watch him get worked up. I blow him a kiss and turn to where Peter and Iso await me.
"Daire!"
I grin and holler back to him, "You're going to miss me these next few days, Lucky."
"Like a hole in the head," he mutters.
∞ ∞ ∞
"What are we doing here?" Peter asks, peering over a ledge alongside me, timing the patrols of the distant vampyre guards.
"Consider it a back-up plan."
"I'm not going to consider it anything until you tell me what the hell we're doing."
I sigh and lower my head, out of sight of the guards. "We're sneaking into the royal crypt."
"Oh goddess, don't tell me you're planning some elaborate theatrical rising from the dead scene." He shakes his head, looking resigned to being a part of something ridiculous.
I elbow him and smile at Iso's growing smirk from her position on his other side. "I'm not that starved for attention. No, there is something in there that's going to help us."
"You hid something in there the day you left?"
"Yes."
"Is it your guitar? Are you planning on boring everyone to death?"
I stop and look at him. "You are really on a roll today. Any other guesses that you need to get out of your system?"
He levels me with a green glare. "That should do it. What do you need me to do?"
"Iso will use her powers to create a perimeter on the land keeping the guards away. I'll need your help with the load inside."
"How big is it?"
"Big," I say without elaborating. If we're caught, I don't want him knowing anything that could be used against him.
"The patrol just went by," Iso says, indicating that it's time to go. She waves a hand out over the land and then nods to me. "You're protected. I'll wait for you here."
Peter and I sprint across the rolling land toward the side of Bone Mountain, where the entrance to the royal crypt overlooks the Demerian Sea. The waves crash high here, spraying mist and foam over the rock wall. I haven't been back here since the day I left and it's strange to have so much time pass yet it looks exactly the same. The same rush of water drowns out other noises. The same smell of fish and damp rock permeates this side of the mountain.
Iron lanterns flicker from wall sconces and illuminate the first feet into the tunnel.
"Grab a light," I say. "I'll need you to light the other lanterns for me while I work."
Without contributing any smart comment, he lifts the lantern from its holder and leads us in, scurrying through the dark passage toward the cavernous tomb.
"If I didn't already trust you, I might think that you were taking me here to murder me," he says, startling at the quick flap of bat wings above us.
"You should be so lucky to die beside the coven royals. I'd never insult my ancestors by leaving someone like you among them."
He laughs and the light jiggles, swinging long shadows onto the curved walls.
"It's right up ahead." I know he's been here as often as I have, but my nerves flutter into my chest making me antsy.
He hangs the light onto an empty wall hook and walks along the circular cavern lighting the room's hanging lanterns. I stare at my sire's tomb, the thick stone slab, and pray with every ounce of my being that this worked.
"Help me slide the lid off," I say, moving to brace both hands on the side of the heavy stone lid.
"Are you sure about this?" His skepticism doesn't keep him from taking position beside me and saying, "On the count of three. One. Two. Three."
We push, using our legs to drive us forward, and once the lid budges, it slides off smoothly.
"What the hell is this?" Peter's strained voice confirms what my eyes see before us, my sire, eyes closed and unmoving. "He looks exactly the same. Better even."
"Tune out the sound of the sea and listen."
He tilts his head so his right ear is cocked toward my sire. We wait in silence until Peter's eyes flick to mine in alarm at hearing the faint beat of a heart. "What did you do?"
"I gave him the same tonic that I used to escape. During those final days of his illness, I slipped it in with his medicine."
"And no one noticed his heartbeat? What about the priestess who declared him dead?"
"It was Mavis, and she knows. Iso injected him with something to combat the poison while he was in this state. Priestess Leven cast the illusion of our bodies in the fires on the burning pyres. Mavis enhanced the sound of the sea to cover his heartbeat."
His mouth pinches in thought. "So, what does this mean?"
"He'll be weak right after waking, but will hopefully regain strength quickly once he drinks my blood. If Iso's medicine did its job, he should be back to his strength prior to being poisoned."
"Holy shit, Daire. I can't believe you kept this a secret from me."
"I promised Mother Renault." I reach out a shaky hand and it hovers, hesitant to touch my sire, part of me disbelieving that we've finally made it back here.
Peter's eyes volley between my face and my hand. "Do it already," he says with half impatience and half excitement.
My palm presses down onto my sire's chest. It's warm and hard with muscle. Once the first contact is made, it's easier to feel elsewhere. I rub his face and pull his lids up to look into his eyes. That's when I almost lose it. His eyes have cleared, there's no more haziness, no more yellow tinge in the whites. He looks better than I could have imagined.
I slip the powdered tablet from my weapons bag and press it between his lips. "It'll take a minute to dissolve."
We wait; breath held and eyes glued to the male below us, searching for any advancing signs of life. Peter takes my hand and squeezes, a rare touch of comfort between us, and I tighten my grip on him.
My eyes water at the sound of a rising heart rate. Golden brown eyes open and fix on my face. Peter and I lean in over him and bow our heads in respect. Breathlessly, I greet him for the first time in almost two years. "Sire."