Lover Arisen (Black Dagger Brotherhood #20)(89)

Especially after what she had wrought this evening. God, he’d had no idea what she was capable of, but he had sensed within her something unique, something… powerful. He’d just thought it was the effect she had on him.

It was so much more than that, though, wasn’t it.

Knocking on the door, he waited. When there was no response, he knocked again.

After pulling another look-both-ways-before-you-cross in the corridor, he pushed things open a little—and just in case she was changing or something, he was careful to keep his eyes on the floor.

“Hello?” he said.

When there was no response, for a split second, he thought she was dead—as if she had traded her own life for Nate’s. But then he leaned around the jamb and looked at the bed.

The female who had delivered a miracle upon a deserving young soul was lying back against two white pillows, the adjustable bedframe tilted up at a forty-five-degree angle. Her white hair, which was like fine, spun silk, was splayed out around her shoulders, and her civilian clothes, which were loose and contemporary, seemed ill-fitting, and not because they were the wrong size.

She should have been in silks and satins… a gown of old-fashioned sensibilities and cut, something handmade specifically for her with reverence.

Spring green. Yes, that color would be the perfect complement to her.

He moved himself over to the base of the bed, but he did so on a float over the flooring so as not to risk waking her up with any footfalls. Her body was so slight under the blanket that had been pulled up over her, and she was utterly still, in a way that made him think she didn’t sleep much and was catching up on all that she’d missed. He didn’t think she had been given a sedative—there was no IV in her arm.

Yeah, going by the dark circles under her eyes, she was just exhausted, and he wondered if maybe she finally felt safe enough to sleep here. They were underground, after all, in a secured location.

Maybe she needed to live somewhere other than Luchas House. Someplace where nobody could make her scared again.

Someplace on a mountaintop where humans didn’t go.

Someplace that didn’t exist on any maps and that, if somebody happened to set foot on the property, had an extra layer of magic security around it that would confuse any interlopers and blur their eyes and ruin their sense of direction.

Someplace with soft beds and good, wholesome food…

And an all-powerful angel who could spirit her away to the Other Side in the blink of an eye if she were ever threatened.

He still wasn’t sure why she didn’t live with Sahvage and Mae. He’d heard that they’d asked her to move in, but she’d maintained the new couple needed their privacy.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know anybody was in here—”

Lassiter wrenched around and threw out an energy buffer before he got a visual on the uniformed nurse who’d entered the room. As the female was frozen where she stood and then levitated about a foot off the ground, her eyes went wide and so did her mouth.

“Shit,” he said under his breath as he quickly lowered her back to her feet and released the hold.

She stumbled to the side and caught herself on the wall. “Oh… dear.”

“Sorry about that.”

“I, ah…” Her blond hair was pinned up under her cap and she patted at it. “I did not know this was a restricted patient. I am just here to make sure she doesn’t need anything.”

The words were mumbled, and he was fairly certain she had no clue what she was saying.

“Worry not.” He smiled at her. “And is she okay?”

“Ah, she fainted. Back in the room of…” The nurse stopped herself. “I’m sorry, who are you to her?”

Lassiter lifted his hand and calmed the female’s mind. Then he sent her back out of the room—although not before he searched her memories and reassured himself that, yup, as far as the medical staff were concerned, Rahvyn had nothing physically wrong with her.

They all just thought she’d fainted at the bedside of the young male who had made an absolutely miraculous recovery.

None of the rank and file staff had any idea what she had done.

Just as well.

The fewer who knew, the better.

Lassiter reached out a hand—but retracted his arm. It didn’t seem right to touch her without her knowledge. And also, he was in awe of her.

He should go.

Over on the wall, there was a plain clock, with a white face and black numbers. The little and the big hands were black, the second hand was thin as a line and red as blood as it raced around. He watched the measure of time do its work and told himself he really did need to take off.

But God, it was going to be hard to leave her. Now… or at any time.



* * *



In the kitchen at Erika’s townhouse, Balz came in from the garage. He’d gone through all the rooms and found nothing, but a pervasive sense of unease made him wonder whether they should stay at her place or try to find something that was a better defensible position. Then again, the threat he was most worried about was metaphysical, so like any zip code, set of walls, or even fucking bunker was going to make a difference?

The good news was he wasn’t tired. At. All.

“There’s nothing here,” she said softly.

“Not that I can tell,” he said as he glanced at her.