Page 73 of Heir of Blood and Moonlight

Wes nodded. “I know.” His lips curved into a shaky smile. “And I’m—–we’reso glad that you have a great family.” Wes’s chin trembled, his composure cracking. “If things had been different, if I hadn’t been so stupid and gotten myself killed, I think we could have been a great family too, but . . .” Wes bowed his head, choking on his words. His shoulders jumped with silent sobs.

I squeezed his hand tighter but kept my attention on Micah, who wasn’t looking much better than Wes, with tears streaming down his cheeks. “We never left you,” I said, my voice thick. “We couldn’t take care of you, but we loved you the best we could, considering.” I screwed up my face and took a shuddering breath. “I hope you know that.”

Micah let out a coughing sob and curled forward, burying his face in his hands. He had been so strong through all the insane revelations so far, but apparently this was the one that broke him. I dropped onto the edge of his bed and wrapped my arms around him, pulling him closer. A moment later, Wes did the same, embracing us both.

For most of my life, I had felt alone. I had lost everyone who mattered—my mom and sister, my guardian, my boyfriend, and my son. But suddenly, I was reclaiming those lost pieces of myself. Those lost people. Micahknewme. Amaya and Wes werewithme. And there was a good chance that soon, I would have Javier back as well.

I held onto my family—my family—and silently thanked the goddess above for helping me find my way home.

44

Istood between Gavinand Bastian in the cemetery, Ash at my back, and watched the elemental murmur an incantation that would open a new portal in the Moon Sanctuary Gate. It was the same mundane-looking iron gate that had anchored the portal that had brought us here.Goddess, was that really only two days ago?I couldn’t help but wonder what made this a mystical anchor point and not merely a regular old gate. Could any gate be used as such? Or was the very iron imbued with magical properties I couldn’t see and didn’t understand?

The elemental’s incantation gradually rose from a murmur to a near shout. She extended her arms out in front of her, slowly moving her right arm in a clockwise, circular motion. The air in front of the gate grew fuzzy and distorted, and ever so slowly, a dark vortex formed, spinning relative to the motion of the elemental’s hand. Streaks of dark energy shot out of the vortex like miniature black bolts of lightning. As the elemental’s arm motions grew more exaggerated, the size of the vortex increased.

I glanced around at the waiting immortals. Along with Gavin and Ash, seven more vampires fanned out in our little patch of the ancient, sacred graveyard, all decked out in black tactical gear and armed with both ordinary and enchanted weapons. Bastian stood at my side, his barely contained tension seeming to agitate the air around him.

I peered over my shoulder. More had wanted to come, and those who hadn’t been chosen for the rescue mission watched from the lawn down at the bottom of the hill, nearer to the mansion. Remotely, I wondered if the Sun Keep was the only immortal facility with extensive underground levels because, despite the Moon Sanctuary’s size, I simply couldn’t imagine howthat manypeople could call this their home without having some of its own.

A crackle reached my ears, and the air suddenly felt charged with energy. I returned my attention to the portal, which now seethed with a barely contained storm. I was supposed to voluntarily walkintothat maelstrom? It was all I could do not to cower and retreat.

Bastian curved an arm around my waist, and Ash settled one large hand on my shoulder, my consorts apparently picking up on my unease.

My heart raced with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Somewhere on the other side of that portal, Javier, the man who had shaped my life in so many ways, who had loved me and protected me when I had no one else, was waiting for me. I had spent so long mourning his loss, so long believing I would never see him again. But now, with the chance to save him within my grasp, I felt a renewed sense of purpose coursing through my veins. I squared my shoulders, squashing my fear. I would find him, no matter the cost. I would bring him home.

The elemental lowered her arms and turned around, finding Gavin in the small crowd. “It’s done,” she said, her chin elevated.

“And the gate ward?” Gavin asked, his arms crossed over his chest, neither impressed nor intimidated by the open portal.

“I’ll enter the ward code right before you pass through,” she said. “They’ll sense it and will expect incoming travelers.” Her level stare told me she wasn’t the least bit cowed by Gavin’s domineering presence, and I wondered how long she had been working with, orfor,the House of the Moon. “I’m assuming you have a plan to take care of whoever awaits you on the other side,” she said. Not a question exactly.

Gavin turned his head to look at another of the vampires, one whose name I didn’t know. Gavin nodded once at the other man. The vampire he had singled out stepped forward, along with two others, and all three approached the open portal. Each raised both hands and uncurled their fingers to reveal a subtly glowing orb about the size of a golf ball on each of their palms, one orb red and one purple.

The elemental looked shaken, her unflappable expression faltering as she took three stumbling steps to the side. She quickly regained her composure, halting her retreat, and looked from the glowing orbs to me and back. “Hypnos gas?” Her eyes were wild, and she licked her lips. “She’s mortal. You’ll kill her,” she warned. “Just one breath of that, and she’ll be dead.”

Eyes widening, I looked from the frightened elemental to the stoic vampire. But before I could ask Gavin what she meant, he pulled what appeared to be a pair of svelte gas masks from a hook on his tactical vest and handed one to me, then held the other out to Bastian.

I accepted the mask automatically, but Bastian stared at his mask for several long seconds.

“It won’t kill the other shifters,” Gavin told Bastian.

Bastian begrudgingly took the mask. “But it’ll make them wish they were dead.”

Gavin shrugged one shoulder, unconcerned. “Not my problem.” Now that his hands were free, he reclaimed my mask and slipped it on over my head, carefully tightening the straps that wrapped around the back of my head. “How does it feel?” he asked me, giving the lower strap at the base of my skull a gentle tug, then resting his hand on the crook of my shoulder.

“Tight,” I told him. I could barely move my jaw to talk, and my peripheral vision had been cut down to basically nothing.

Gavin’s eyes locked with mine, and he nodded once. “Good,” he said. “Do not take this off until I say so.” He glanced at the elemental. “She spoke the truth. The gaswillkill you.” His stare returned to mine. “Do you understand?”

I didn’t want to die, so yeah, I got it. I nodded.

Gavin brushed the pad of his thumb over his mark on my throat, almost like he was imagining kissing me there. “Stay with her,” he murmured, looking first at Ash, then at Bastian.

“Obviously,” Bastian said, his mask in place on his head. He took hold of my hand, threading his thicker fingers between mine.

“Until death,” Ash swore, shifting closer so the front of him was flush with the back of me. His large hands settled possessively on my hips. I was nervous enough that, for once, the contact was more comforting than exciting.

Gavin removed his hand from my shoulder and turned away from me, scanning the assembled vampires. “Deep breath and hold it,” he ordered.

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