Warrior (Relentless #4)(167)

“Master Eldeorin is awaiting your arrival,” the dwarf said. Then he vanished before I could ask him about Sara.

“Let’s go,” I said to the others.

Seamus, Niall, and the two healers decided to return to Westhorne on the jet, since Sara had little need for them with the faerie to take care of her. The rest of us piled in one of the SUVs, and Chris drove us to the address Heb had given me.

It took forty-five minutes to reach the gates of Eldeorin’s estate. We followed a winding driveway to a white mansion with a marble fountain out front.

I was half out of the vehicle when it stopped in front of the main entrance. Heb greeted me at the door and showed me into a large hall where Eldeorin waited for me.

“Where is she?” I demanded, unable to sense Sara in the house.

“She is upstairs, asleep,” he said. “She was distraught and unable to control her power so I put her in a healing sleep. She is resting comfortably now.”

“A healing sleep?” Was that why I couldn’t feel her?

“It’s a deep restorative state that will allow her body to adjust to the changes she’s going through.”

“How long will she be asleep?”

“That will depend on her,” he replied in his infuriating calm manner. “She will wake when her body is ready to handle the effects of her liannan.”

I looked toward the stairs. “I want to see her.”

“Of course. She is on the second floor, last room on the right.”

I ran up the stairs. The door to Sara’s room was closed, and I opened it slowly. When I saw her lying in the bed, I released a deep breath and started toward her.

A blast of energy slammed into me, stinging my skin and sending me flying into the wall on the other side of the hallway.

A petite red-haired girl appeared in the doorway and shut the door quietly. She kept her distance from me, which told me she was Fae.

“Oh my,” she exclaimed. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine. What was that?”

She clasped her hands in front of her long blue skirt. “That was Sara’s magic. I was afraid this might happen.”

“What?” I asked with a growing sense of dread.

“Sara’s magic is growing so fast her body cannot contain it. The healing sleep will help her adapt, but for now she will strike at anything demonic that enters her room.” She smiled regretfully. “That includes the Mohiri.”

My chest tightened at the knowledge I couldn’t be with Sara when she needed me. “How long?”

“I do not know. Sara is the first of her kind, so we have no idea how she will progress through liannan. But she is strong, and she was advancing well with her magic before liannan started. We will have to wait until she wakes to see what happens.”

I suddenly realized who the girl was. “You’re Aine?”

She smiled sweetly. “Yes. You must be Nikolas. Eldeorin said you would be arriving.”

I looked at the closed door. “Tell me the truth. Is she going to come through this?”

“Yes. Eldeorin is our most gifted healer, and he is confident she will survive.”

Eldeorin appeared beside Aine wearing an arrogant smile. “I have never lost a patient, and I do not intend to start with my sweet little cousin. Besides, I look forward to having her as a guest in my home and getting to know her better.”

I knew he was baiting me because faeries love causing mischief, but that didn’t stop my jaw from clenching. I also knew male faeries were indiscriminate, immoral beings with unquenchable sexual appetites.

“I hope you don’t mind having at least one other guest,” I told him curtly. “I go where Sara goes.”

He gave a small bow. “My home is your home for as long as you need to be here.”

“Thank you. What happens now?”

Eldeorin smiled. “Now we wait.”





*


Tristan and Nate arrived that evening, and they were upset to learn neither of them could see Sara. Aine had put protections on Sara’s room to keep her power from escaping and to keep anyone from entering. She said she would let us know when it was safe for non-demons to enter the room.

The next day, Nate, Roland, and Peter were able to visit Sara, and I watched enviously as they entered the room and closed the door behind them. Roland and Peter came out after an hour, but Nate stayed with her most of the day.

Dinner that night was a lavish affair, except we were served human food instead of faerie food. Nate stared at the dwarf as he brought out the food and filled our glasses. He shook his head after Heb left the dining room.

“Faeries and dwarves. I feel like Sara isn’t the only one asleep.”

“How is she?” Tristan and I asked together.

“She looks like she’s sleeping,” Nate said. “Every time I look at her I expect her to open her eyes.”

Sara didn’t open her eyes that day, or the next, or the one after that.

Aine and Eldeorin spent a lot of time in her room, and all they could say when I asked about Sara was that she was doing well.

“How will this affect her Mori?” I asked Eldeorin on the fourth day. “Will all this power harm it?”

“From what I can see, she has a wall around her demon, keeping it away from her magic. Even in sleep she protects it.” He shook his head slowly. “I’ve never seen anyone like her. I cannot fathom how one can live with Fae magic and a demon inside them.”