Deadly Attraction
Jade had no doubt the alliance had swiftly put an end to the rebellion, yet her stomach plummeted further when she noticed a lone figure sitting on the bench outside her cottage.
She slipped from the horse’s back. After patting his neck and collecting her thoughts, she walked over to the patio.
Settling next to Sheena, she asked the vampire, “Been here long?”
“Yes.” Sheena swept back strands of long, dark-auburn hair and then stared at Jade with piercing green eyes. “You were supposed to stay within the village. I came to keep you company, but you clearly had other plans.”
Jade shook her head in astonishment. “What exactly is the range of your hearing?”
Ignoring the query, Sheena said, “I’ve been waiting for you since the sun set. And when you didn’t return to your home, I knew precisely where you were.”
She sighed. “I can’t seem to help myself. No matter how hard I try to do what I’m told, I constantly find myself in a bad position.”
“Yes, well, I suspect you don’t help matters,” the vampire snapped. “I get the feeling you thrive on sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
Jade’s teeth bit into her bottom lip but for a moment. She couldn’t hold back what she had to say on the matter. “Has it occurred to you I don’t wander into these messes, but that I’m somehow thrust into them? I don’t seek out trouble, Sheena. And as a matter of public record, I’m now one of the few who are supposed to counteract these h
azards.”
Sheena crossed her arms over her chest, looking indignant. “You act impulsively, Jade. And look where it’s gotten you.”
Jade stood. Facing her friend, she said, “I’m not injured. I didn’t do anything impulsively. I put a great deal of thought into my actions this evening in order to stall the fire wraith. In order to keep Tanner, Michael and I safe. In order to keep demons at bay until Darien and Morgan arrived. I didn’t do anything careless or premeditated,” she insisted.
Continuing, Jade told her, “Tanner came for me when the wraith’s army began to materialize. I couldn’t let them penetrate the woods—that was well established between the slayers and the king. So instead of becoming a sitting duck, I took a stand. I won’t defend that anymore, Sheena. I did what I had to do. Plain and simple.”
The vampire stewed. Jade permitted her to do so.
Then Sheena got to her feet and demanded, “What about the king?”
Jade had no idea what to say on that subject, other than, “I’ll deal with him when he cools down.”
Spearing her with a sharp look, Sheena said, “There might not be anything with which to deal. And I wouldn’t expect him to cool down anytime soon. You constantly negate his good intentions when it comes to you. I understand you’ve basically raised yourself and find it difficult to answer to someone else. But Jade, there’s one thing you continually forget—you’re not in this alone. Not anymore.”
She pushed past Jade and, in a blink of an eye, disappeared into the dark night.
* * * * *
Morgan delivered news to Jade a few hours later.
“We’ve annihilated the entire rogue army,” he told her. “I can’t guarantee there aren’t other renegades out there. My guess is there are. But nothing like what we’ve just encountered. And I can’t imagine them rising up anytime soon. They won’t have the numbers to band with and they certainly won’t be inclined to take on the alliance following such a swift victory over those who moved close to Ryleigh, considering it a weak link.”
“We’re not a weak link,” she said adamantly. “Tanner and I are determined to keep the peace, whether or not the king still accepts me as his ambassador.”
Morgan, who stood outside her front door, stepped away and asked, “Will you come out on the patio for a moment?”
She had no idea what he was up to, but she trusted him. As her father had. She followed him outdoors and found the two horned demons who’d stood by her, Tanner and Michael during the invasion.
The one who’d taken the lead on the battlefield moved forward. He extended his hand and said, “I’m Rafe.”
“And I’m Landford,” the other demon said.
She shook both hands.
Rafe said, “You were impressive earlier. You knew the fire wraith’s army intended to attack us, not wait for the king’s men. That’s good instinct. And you fight valiantly.”
“I’ve had excellent instructors.”
Landford said, “You’re not just trained, Jade. You have a gift. We’ll stand by you and fight with you anytime.”