again. Though not as warm as I’d been in Marcus’s arms, in that lovely house my parents lived in. I didn’t think I would ever feel that warmth for myself again.
“What did you do to her?” Marcus was suddenly back and I wondered if he hadn’t been watching me the whole time. The male moved fast.
“Nothing I’m going to do to you,” Dean replied. “Stay wet, old man.”
I sighed because the last thing I needed was a couple of bulls butting heads. “Why don’t you two try to stay away from each other. Marcus, I appreciate you helping me out, but if you ever…”
He put a hand up and turned to Dean. “I deeply apologize for what I almost did. I have to thank Kelsey for thinking so quickly, though I do wish she hadn’t put Summer in danger. I’m not handling myself well. My only excuse is I hadn’t fed in days and the blood of the each-uisge did not sit well.”
For the first time Dev actually looked sympathetic to the vampire. “He was extremely sick. You probably should avoid that part of the forest. He didn’t want you to know, but I think we should all understand that even a vampire of Marcus’s age can’t keep going without blood forever.”
“I’ve purged the faery horse’s blood,” Marcus assured everyone. “I think it was affecting my emotional control and that is why I attacked in such a fashion. I gave in to certain impulses I should have ignored.”
“What do you mean you haven’t fed in days?” Kelsey stood up and faced her mentor. At least that was what she’d called him. “You’ve only been missing for one day.”
A long sigh issued from the vampire. “I didn’t feel like eating. Don’t push this. I’ll be more cognizant of what I’m doing. I’ll hunt when I can. Devinshea assures there is plenty of game in the woods. I’ll hunt in the old ways.”
“Animal blood won’t sustain you the way human blood will,” Kelsey insisted. “Damn it, Marcus. You were weak and you healed both me and Summer and got in a fight with a man horse. You need to properly feed.”
She started to roll up her sleeve.
I had a problem with that. I didn’t want to have a problem with that. Having a problem with that was ridiculous because I’d only recently met Marcus Vorenus, and he’d proven to be far more than I wanted to handle. Still, the thought of Marcus sinking his fangs into the lovely Kelsey set me on edge.
He stepped back and I could see that those fangs were out. “Absolutely not. You’re pregnant, Kelsey. I would not feed from you for that reason alone. I told you. I’m not completely in control.”
He was hurting. It was easy to see. He hungered.
“Marcus, I told you I would do it,” Dev began.
“And I told you I would rather end my existence,” Marcus growled back.
“Don’t be so damn stubborn,” Dev argued.
“I’ll do it,” I heard myself say.
The world seemed to stop as his eyes found mine, and I realized there was no going back.
Chapter Fourteen
Zoey
I pulled the covers around my son and leaned over to kiss him goodnight. It was almost midnight and I was feeling far calmer than I had all day. The bag of holding was hidden in my closet and I was certain that no one could find it except me and my father. Sarah had already taken a quick look at it, though she’d been forced to do it with the book in the bag. When she’d tried to take it out, it had vanished in her hand. She could still feel the book, still hold it, but it became invisible.
Only Lee could see that book. It had been invisible to my father’s eyes, too. I needed time to figure out how it was warded and why my human son seemed to be the only one it was vulnerable to. It wasn’t like I could parade the rest of the children by to see if there was an age boundary. As I got the kiddos ready for bed, my mind was whirling with how I would figure it all out.
The most important thing was I now had leverage. If Myrddin persisted in this business of kidnapping my friends, I would find a way to torch his book. Or I would trade it for Dev, Kelsey, and Marcus.
If Myrddin didn’t kill me first. I thought I had some leverage there, too. Despite the hold he had over