Juliet didn’t respond. Instead she began side-stepping away from the smoky dreamglide Roche inhabited until she was completely disengaged from him.
Once separated, the dreamglide vanished as though it had never been there. Roche was gone.
She almost started celebrating, but the fae part of her sensed another danger. She knew Roche had assembled a force in real-time that was now headed toward her canal home.
She and Brannick were both in trouble.
Returning to the couch, she discovered that Brannick’s eyes were open, but they kept rolling back in his head. He’d finally come back from the brink, but he wasn’t in any kind of shape to battle a powerful group of fae warriors.
She had to think, and she had to figure this out fast or they’d both be dead.
She could feel Roche now in real-time. He and his force weren’t far from the Lotus Tree development.
Using her new ability to invoke a vampire shield, she surrounded herself and Brannick as tight as she could.
She almost spoke aloud to him, but knew it would be wiser to refrain from making any kind of sound.
She switched to telepathy. Brann, we’re in physical danger. I’ve got to get you off the couch. Now. Roche has seen your location in the dreamglide and he’s coming to destroy us both.
Juliet, I’m damn weak. You’ll have to lift me up from the couch. Try using pure physical strength, but focus on being more vampire than fae. Do you understand?
The suggestion stunned her at first. But if she could create a cloak, why not take on Brannick’s pure vampire physical brawn as well? I’ll try.
She focused all her energy on enhancing her physical strength. And with a thought, there it was.
With Roche and his men so near, she didn’t have time to test it out. She simply bent her knees, slid her arm under his back and tugged his arm over her shoulder. She lifted him up and kept lifting until he was on his feet. She couldn’t believe how strong she was. Brannick was six-five and all heavy muscle.
Though he sagged against her and was barely conscious, he could still shuffle his way alongside her toward the arched doorway leading to the bedrooms. She kept him moving, one foot after the other.
But she could feel him slipping away again, which meant she wouldn’t be able to get him all the way to the master bedroom as she’d hoped. As soon as she reached the door of the smaller second bedroom, she hurried him inside. The moment he lost consciousness, he became a dead weight. She didn’t have quite enough strength to hold him up and fell with him to the carpeted floor at the foot of the bed.
At least they were out of the main room of the house and with luck, combined with her still-functioning vampire shield, maybe Roche’s men wouldn’t find them.
She lay facing Brannick. His eyes were closed, his face pale, but he was alive. She drew close and surrounded his back with her arm. I’ve got you. Don’t move. Don’t make a sound. Roche and his men are coming into the house.
Sounds of men shouting and their feet slamming against her wood floors sent jolts of fear through her mind. She forced herself to stay relaxed and not to panic. She kept her breathing steady.
A masculine voice at the door called out, “There’s no one in this room.”
More pounding feet toward the master bedroom.
Another man shouted. “The door to the back patio is wide open. They’re gone.”
Juliet smiled. She always kept the patio doors open during early May. She loved the flow of air and the balmy sweet smell of the spring flowers she’d planted at night in her garden. How odd to think this one small habit might have just saved both their lives.
A moment later, she heard distant footsteps, and by extending her fae senses, she could tell Roche’s force was gone.
She remained where she was but fished her phone out of the pocket of her long skirt, then called Vaughn. She knew he couldn’t leave the safe house. But when she explained what had happened, he sent over a squad of four of his security force, each of them former Elegance border patrol officers, who would stand guard over her house.
She pulled the comforter off the bed, and covered them both. Even though he was unconscious, she knew this was where she needed to be.
She only lowered the vampire shield long enough to talk to the warlock in charge. Once she gave her orders, she restored the shield.
Occasionally, she heard the men talk to each other or move through the house checking to make sure everything was secure. She probably could have joined them, but her faeness told her to stick close to Brannick.
Hours later, when dawn grew near, the warlocks closed all the shutters and sealed up the house. They would stay in her canal home through the day.
Sensing the house was secure, she finally fell asleep.