Warrior (Relentless #4)(65)

“What are you, Sara Grey?” I asked her softly. “Is that another of your secrets, or do you even know?”

The bond between us left no doubt that she was Mohiri, but her healing ability had to come from somewhere. The only race I could think of with that kind of power was the Fae, but the demon inside us made it physically impossible for a faerie to couple with one of my people. And Sara’s uncle was human, which meant her father had been human as well. Maybe I should have Dax look into her father’s background some more and see what he could dig up.

I started to pull my hand away, but her smaller one suddenly gripped mine. Her brow furrowed, and she murmured words I couldn’t make out.

I leaned in to kiss her forehead. “Sleep easy, Sara. I’m not going anywhere.”





*


Late the next morning, I sat in the room studying one of the pictures Chris had sent me while I waited for Sara to wake up. The dead vampire could be Eli, but I couldn’t say for sure until I saw the body in person. Chris had it on ice until I could get to Portland. Vampire bodies decomposed quickly once the demon was dead, and the older the vampire the faster the decay. But I was not leaving here until Sara awoke and I knew she had recovered from last night.

The bedclothes rustled, and I looked up to find Sara staring at me in confusion.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her.

She groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I’ve been better. Where am I?”

“At the farm. You weren’t in any shape to go anywhere last night.”

She appeared disoriented for a moment, and then her eyes filled with anguish. “Roland!”

“He’s fine. He’s down the hall.”

I moved my chair back to the side of the bed, where it had sat most of the night, and studied her face. Despite the many hours she’d slept, she still looked tired, and that worried me.

“Is this normal after you do that? Passing out?” I asked.

“After a healing? It doesn’t usually knock me out like that, but I’ve never healed a werewolf before. Usually I’m okay if I rest for an hour or so.”

She made it sound like saving a life was a normal occurrence for her, and I had a feeling that wasn’t far from the truth. “You do this a lot?”

She smiled. “More times than I can remember. I’ve been doing it since I was six.”

So young. I was about to ask her where the power came from when I remembered something she’d asked me when I told her what she was. “That day on the wharf, you asked me if Mohiri had other powers. You wanted to know if we could heal others.”

“Yes.”

I wished I could give her answers, but I only had more questions after last night. One thing was clear; her ability wasn’t limited to healing.

“I don’t know of any Mohiri who can do what you did last night. Is that what you did with those two monsters in that cellar?”

She nodded. “I’ve used it before to calm animals, but I had no idea it would actually work on hellhounds. What happened to them? You didn’t –?”

“They tried to follow you, so Chris and Erik had them restrained. They’ll be transported to one of our facilities until we figure out what to do with them.” At her look of relief, I knew I’d made the right decision last night. “We couldn’t have a pair of hellhounds running amok around Portland.”

She frowned. “What kind of facility? I don’t want them hurt.”

“No one will harm them.” I chuckled. After everything that had happened yesterday, she was worried about the welfare of two hellhounds. Wanting to reassure her, I said, “They are yours now. Once a fell beast imprints on a new master, they are incredibly loyal. They will only answer to you.”

Her eyes brightened. “That’s what the witch said.”

Witch? I gave her a questioning look.

“The Hale witch. He was there last night in the cellar.”

My body tensed. “Did he hurt you?”

“No,” she blurted. “He didn’t even try to stop me. He was curious about Remy and the hellhounds, and he said a bunch of stuff that didn’t make sense. Then he left.”

I rubbed my jaw. Why would the Hale witch attack her earlier in the day, only to let her go a few hours later? Maybe she’d frightened him when she was able to fight him off. Hale witches were defenseless without their magic.

Talking about the witch didn’t appear to bother her. In fact, aside from looking tired, she seemed well recovered, considering all that had gone down yesterday.

“A lot happened in that cellar last night.” I watched her closely. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.” She looked away, swallowing hard. I didn’t need to see her face to know some of what she was feeling. I could sense her pain through the bond.

“Every Mohiri struggles with their Mori at some point in their lives,” I said, remembering my own battles. “For most, it happens when they are younger and lack the training to manage the demon impulses. You have such control over your Mori that it must have been very frightening to let your guard down the way you did. But don’t let your fear make you forget why you did it. You saved those trolls.”

Her breath hitched, and I saw she was trying not to cry. My first impulse was to reach out to her, but I sensed she needed reassurance more than comfort.