Page 94 of Destined to Fight

There was no question they would face attacks when they left for London, so training with Fabian continued, and Kade joined them daily. Kelly could finally hold her own against Fabian with her upgraded strength and speed, and she thoroughly enjoyed their sessions each morning.

Kade and Kelly found that they took on each other’s abilities along with their telepathy. Kelly became stronger and faster, and her senses improved even when she closed her mind to Kade. Kade had shown some signs that he now possessed mage powers, but he struggled to gain control of them even after fully connecting to Kelly as she practiced her craft.

Ginna continued to work with Kelly on her abilities, and Kade sat in to try to learn as much as he could. Water remained the only thing Kelly had complete control over. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t call to earth elements, and time was something none of them wanted to dabble in just yet.

They all decided that Fabian would act as Kelly’s representative in front of the Council. He had the most patience of them all, along with a vast knowledge of Arcane law and customs. Kade would also remain close by to give tips and pointers through their connection.

Connor reached out to some of his connections and learned that Kelly likely wouldn’t face any charges. Instead, the Council planned to gauge her abilities and knowledge in person. Kelly felt it to be a complete overreach of power, but everyone assured her it was normal for them to question mages with significant powers.

Asta arranged travel for everyone, as they all insisted on going to London. Once they were in the air, Kelly would be safe from attacks, but getting to and from the airports was the challenge. Asta set up a plan that included decoy vehicles and underground tunnels to get them where they needed to go.

Kelly’s dad visited the house regularly, often joining them for dinner. He’d started to warm up to the idea of the Arcane, and he even let his guard down with Kade on occasion. One night, he made a comment about how well Kelly was being taken care of and thanked everyone for helping her. Fabian would never admit it, but he clearly enjoyed talking to David about security and defense tactics. The two of them always sat by the fire after dinner and talked.

Kade worked with Luther to ensure the rogue wolf pack was driven out of town. They hadn’t found out where the pack was from, but Luther did confirm they were not from North America.

Eric remained a threat, but he hadn’t shown himself since the attack on the tollway. None of Connor’s contacts could say if he’d left the country, but they suspected he was staying close to plan his next move.

Mary’s failed mission to mother Kelly remained a mystery, and Kelly was to the point of preferring ignorance.

Kade called an emergency Council meeting just after the new year to appoint Fabian’s replacement. While Fabian would normally attend to give approval to his successor, he passed that responsibility to Kade, choosing to stay at the house and watch over Kelly.

The members of the North American Council chose a female fae, Daksha, for the seat, and Kade gave his approval. When he learned of the choice, Fabian was overjoyed for her success. As it turned out, she was Fabian’s niece. He hadn’t known she was running for a seat on the Council, which likely worked to her benefit, since nepotism was heavily frowned upon.

Siri and Kelly began to grow close, and they spoke on the phone routinely every Wednesday and Sunday. Siri often shared funny stories about Kade in his adolescent years, which spanned from about twenty-one to a hundred and fifty for vampires. Kelly found herself asking for advice in dealing with stubborn vampires more than anything else. She appreciated the relationship that grew between them. It felt like she finally had the mother she’d always wanted.

All in all, things were going exceptionally well. So much so, that Kelly often forgot about the burdens of her existence. This crazy new life felt normal, even nice.

—

Kelly woke with Kade’s arm wrapped tightly around her. His cold skin worked wonders in balancing her hot body temperature.

As her mind woke from a glorious sleep, she replayed the events of the prior night. Kade had buried his fangs deep in her femoral artery after showing her exactly what a man could do with his tongue. He’d then let her drink from him to restore her strength just before he properly fucked her brains out.

She stretched, amazed that her body didn’t protest at all after the night they’d shared. Instant healing still boggled her mind, even though telepathy now seemed normal.

Wrapping a blanket around herself, Kelly went up to her room to shower and change. It’d become a fairly normal thing over the past couple weeks, and she was getting used to walking around the house wrapped only in a blanket. No one else cared, and they respected her boundaries.

The plan was to forgo training that morning so they were all at their best in case someone attacked on the way to the airport.

Kelly skipped breakfast and packed instead. One side effect of drinking Kade’s blood was a reduced appetite. Fabian and Ginna were rightfully concerned, but she wasn’t losing weight or showing signs of malnourishment, so they let it go for the time being.

Asta was the only one who knew the entirety of the plan to get everyone from the house to the airport. The rest of them were only given the orders that pertained to them. This way, no one could accidentally give out a detail that would expose them all.

When the time came for everyone to leave, they all gathered around in the entryway. Asta handed out assignments, and everyone read theirs. The four extra guards who had resided in the house over the past two weeks would be going to London as well.

Asta had agreed to keep Kade and Fabian with Kelly for protection, though only after quite a bit of arguing on Kade’s behalf. She’d planned to send Kade separately as a decoy, but he brought up the fact that they were stronger together than apart, and Asta gave in.

Kelly read over her travel instructions and tapped into Kade’s mind as he read his. They were the same as Asta had promised, at least as far as they knew. Everyone would receive additional instructions at the midway point.

When everyone else finished reading, Asta opened the front door and motioned them all out. The smile on her face was brighter than Kelly had ever seen it. Kade’s assistant loved a well-executed plan, especially when she was the one who created it.

Five black SUVs were parked in front of the house. Kade, Fabian, and Kelly climbed into the middle one, and the game began.

At first, Kelly was able to track somewhat of a figure eight around the neighborhood, but she lost track of it quickly. The windows and windshield were tinted extremely dark, and her sense of direction failed her after so many turns.

Kelly could see Fabian concentrating, tracking their movements in his mind, but she didn’t ask him to share.

The countless turns started to make her carsick, but they stopped just before her stomach gave up. From that point, the route seemed to be fairly normal, with only a few turns. It took them twenty-five minutes to get to the first checkpoint.

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