Page 100 of Fae Devoted
The other door flew to the adjacent building and was smoldering on its roof.
The orange and red flames reached to the rafters inside the barn, the dark outline of heavily armored trucks visible through the black smoke. Tucker didn’t see Charlie’s or the Director’s bodies inside.
Hannah sobbed and continued to crawl toward the engulfed garage.
“Charlie,” Jeremiah called, standing in front of the burning entry again. He yelled her name once more, only louder this time as if needing to raise his voice to be heard over the roar of the fire.
Tucker stepped out of Jo’s sad embrace and shifted. “Jeremiah, she’s gone.”
His brother ignored him. “Charlie, it’s safe. You can come out now.”
The flames parted and the witchling appeared, her hair blowing around her face though the storm had died. There wasn’t a mark on her.
“Miss Hannah’s not dead?”
“No, sweetheart.” Jeremiah crouched in the dirt. “You saved her.”
He offered Charlie his hand, outwardly patient though close enough to the blaze for the burn and heal process to continue.
The witchling frowned at his reddening skin and turned to the raging flames, her narrow chest and shoulders lifting.
“Charlie,” Hannah called in a steady voice, still on her knees. Her cheeks were wet from crying, and her lower lip trembled, but her distress didn’t show in the tone she used to order, “Go to him, baby.”
“I didn’t mean to do it.” The blowing force surrounding the little witchling vanished. Her eyelids flickered, a flash of molten-colored irises there and then gone. “It was an accident.”
“We know,” Jeremiah answered, hand still outstretched. “Mind Miss Hannah now.”
Charlie took a hesitant step in his direction, stopped to kick off her remaining slipper, then came barefoot to his brother, the witchling unaffected by the fire still hungrily consuming everything behind her.
“Jacob,” Jeremiah said sub-vocally, his attention on the witchling as she grasped his hand. “It’s not safe for Charlie to go into town. Daimhín has people there.”
The queen’s head whipped around, hearing every word.
“Good girl,” Jeremiah praised Charlie in a normal but still gentle voice, lifting her to settle into his side. She hung onto his neck as he carried her one-handed toward Hannah, the woman unsteady but standing. “I’ll take the teacher with us. She’s in danger now too,” his volume returning to wolf-low. “I’ll call whenever I can.”
Hannah welcomed the brave little girl with a broad smile, and her arms lifted.
“Wait. Come home with me. We can protect her together.” Tucker wasn’t ready to lose the brother he’d only just found.
“You have a mate to protect and the Walker female to guard. Daimhín won’t let me go easily, and he’ll never give up on Charlotte. It’s better if I do this alone. It’ll be safer for everyone that way.” A pause. “I love you, brother. Be happy for both of us.”
Hannah squeaked when instead of handing Charlie over, Jeremiah bent and flung the startled human over the shoulder on his free side. They disappeared into the dark forest a moment later.
The queen held up her hand when Rutgers made to follow, stopping the Dádhe who could have easily caught up with a Ferwyn running at top speed.
“I love you too, brother.” Tucker spoke the words aloud though it was too late for Jeremiah to hear them.
“He knows,” Jo whispered, tucking her abused body underneath his arm and laying her head on his chest near his heart. “He knows.”
Chapter 29
“Lieutenant,” Thlán Rutgerscalled.
Tucker ignored Patriarch Dupont’s second, his attention on the female lying in the sleek, black helicopter that transported the king’s computer expert, Garath, and his Anwyll physician to the facility’s grounds. Except for the subdued color, the advanced aircraft reminded him of the model used by Coast Guard’s search and rescue teams.
“Jacob, I’m feeling much better now,” Jo insisted.
The tattoo on the senior healer’s upper chest glowed in the dim interior, the light of the activated spell traveling over his arms to gather in his hands. The restorative magic from his illuminated palms pushed into the raw skin of Jo’s wrists, and she winced.
