Page 65 of A Surrender Of Hope

“No. Dad said to get you to the Royal corridors and lock the doors,” Valen says simply. I smile when Mom snarls in response, but it's not a happy one. She will not make this easy on us, but if Dad gave the orders, not even she could stop us.

“You will do no such thing. I need to find your father and stop him before he does something stupid!”

“Mom, you have to let Dad handle this,” I mutter, trying not to think about how Dad is currently handling Arch. If I think about it for too long, I might get sick.

“That was not your brother!” she snarls, and I sigh, closing my eyes as the pain in my chest increases. A soft, warm hand cups my jaw, and I look down, finding Meyer staring at me with concern.

“I’m fine,” I whisper, finally descending the stairs and turning toward our rooms.

“No, you're not,” she whispers, and I bite the inside of my cheek, not wanting to talk about it just yet. My mind is still reeling from watching Meyer fight Wraiths, and my adrenaline is pumping through my veins from the battle high.

“It was Arch, Mom. We all saw him,” Valen tries to say, then grunts again when Mom elbows him hard and twists from his grip. “Dammit!” he growls, eyes flashing gray as I turn in time to see mom rush back up the stairs we just came down.

“Get her! I’ll take Meyer to my room and lock it down until the bells and drums stop,” I grind out, frustration filling me as my mother's stupidity puts her back in danger. Valen hisses a curse and nods, running after Mom as I turn back to the grand staircase and rush up to our corridors. “I’m going to set you down so I can hold my weapons. The castle was breached, and if there are still Wraiths in here, I don’t want to risk dropping you,”I say between clenched teeth as I set her gently on her feet. “But if you try to pull the shit Mom just did, it’s not going to end well for you or your ass the moment I tell Nox.”

“Yeah, I’m not going to do that. Those bastards are freaky as fuck,” she adds and shivers as she reaches to my side and grabs my Kalis blade and winks at me. “But does Nox or Razar need help? What about your Dad? Wait! Where is Theo?!” she asks in concern and I shake my head.

“He’s fine. I hauled him off the wall with me and locked him in the guardhouse which is spelled against threats. And there were still Wraiths on the lower levels, but the ones on the rooftops were almost handled when we left so the rest of them are fine. The Phoenix have the Ulama under control, and Jes has the horde of Beastia cornered. It will take him longer to kill and scatter them, but everyone should be okay,” I whisper, dragging her so that she stands behind me. “You keep eyes on our backs while I lead us to my room,” I instruct, trying to keep my tone light but failing miserably.

“Yes, Sir,” Meyer mutters with a snort of amusement, and I frown at her, not sure if I’m frustrated at myself for not being able to chill the fuck out or turned on by those words coming out of her mouth. I shake my head, grab her free hand, and place it on my shoulder to feel her touch in hopes it might help calm me. Then, I move forward, thankfully weaving through the halls with no other encounter with a Wraith or other person. Once I push Meyer into my room, I slam it shut, bring the bar down over it, and secure the five charmed locks that are magically infused with protection spells to keep all magic users out of the room.

I gently push her toward my bed as I move to the windows on the other side of my room, flicking every enchanted lock there before walking back and double-checking the doors. Grabbing my swords, I toss them to a chair nearby. My eyes scan theroom as I pace out my nervous energy, the drums and bells still sounding their warning in the distance.

“Creed?” I twist, looking back to Meyer where she sits, covered in blood and looking at me with big green eyes. “Are you alright?” she asks, and I move toward her, wanting to pull her back into my arms, but I stop. My arms feel heavy, and the air around me is hotter than normal. Lacing my fingers, I crouch in front of her, resting my elbows on my knees as I look at her beautiful face.

“Of course,” I lie, not sure why the hell I’m freaking out right now. I’ve been in battle hundreds of times. I’ve almost lost my life more times than I can count, so why am I reacting like this? Meyer glares at me, like she knows I’m lying and I briefly wonder if she can. I know that when Demons mate, sometimes some of their gifts can be shared with one another, but I’m not sure if Meyer has enough Demonic blood for that to actually work.

She opens her mouth to say something, then sighs and shakes her head, shoving off the bed and surprising me when she pushes me back, my ass hitting the floor as she crawls into my lap and curls up in my arms, head resting comfortably on my chest.

“Let's try this again,” she whispers after a moment. “Creed?” she asks sweetly. I close my eyes and try to take deep breaths, her weight on me helping more than anything else.

“Yes, Meyer?”

“Lemon Drop,” she corrects, and I smirk, opening my eyes to peer down at her.

“What?”

“You call me Lemon Drop, not Meyer,” she grumbles, arms tightening around me as she snuggles further into my chest. I chuckle, unable to help myself, as I finally draw the first full breath into my lungs, taking in Meyer's sweet citrus scent, thenfrown when the harsh smell of acid and Wraith's blood almost overpowers it.

“You’re right,” I agree, wrapping her up tight in my arms as I climb to my feet and move to the bathroom. “And yes, Lemon Drop. I’m okay,” I whisper, kissing her dirty hair as I move to the shower stall and turn both shower heads on. “I saw you and Mom fighting those Wraiths, and it took me longer than I thought it would to get to you and I…” I pause as I move her to the bathroom counter and set her on it, spreading her thighs so I can stand between them and keep her pressed to my chest. “I kinda freaked out, I guess,” I finally admit.

Meyer laughs softly and nods, looking at me with her adorable dirty face.

“Understatement. I thought you would pull your hair out there for a minute.” She reaches up and smooths my dirty hair off my forehead, and I can't help myself. I lean down, pressing my lips to hers.

“Sorry,” I whisper against her mouth. “I thought I was going to be too late like last time.” The vision of Meyer lying cold and motionless on the snow outside the North American Castle haunts my every thought, and having to handle her being in danger again so soon was like an arrow to the heart.

“Yeah, but you have to admit, I totally handled it up there! No damsel in distress moments,” she teases, and I grin, standing to my full height.

“That is true. If anything, Raz was the damsel and you his knight in shining armor.” I agree, then frown. “Do not pet his Beastia again. That creature is not Razar. I mean, it is, but Raz isn't in control in that form. You could have been seriously injured or worse.” She rolls her eyes and pushes at my chest, making me step back as she hops off the counter and moves toward the shower.

“No, he won’t. He likes me.” I laugh at that and shake my head.

“Uh, no. That Beast doesn’t like anything,” I correct. Meyer narrows her eyes at me, and I raise my hands in defeat, knowing that look. She will simply argue until I give in, so I might as well let Nox handle it. He gets off on their arguments; I don’t.

“Take a shower with me?” she offers, looking me up and down. “You’re dirtier than I am,” she teases, moving over and starting to unbuckle my holsters, her tiny fingers undoing the clasps faster than I could. “Jesus, you're armed up more than I was. I swear your mom added fifty pounds of weapons onto me before she made me run up a million flights of stairs.”

“Not the stairs,” I tease, knowing full well how much she hates running and stairs. Her endurance is still shit, despite working on it with her for weeks.

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