Warrior (Relentless #4)(84)

He laughed. “You’ve never done anything by the book in your life.”

My lips twitched. “Okay. It was close.”

“I’ll be sure to make a note of that.”

There was silence for a moment until I asked, “Have you seen her?”

“Yes.” A note of wonder filled his voice. “I just watched her… I’m not even sure how to describe it.”

Having spent so much time with Sara in Maine, I could only imagine what stunt she’d pulled to make one of the most composed warriors I’d ever known speechless.

“Well, don’t leave me in suspense. What has she gotten into this time?”

He took a deep breath and let it out. “Callum and I were walking to the arena when I saw Sara come out of the woods with Seamus and Niall. She likes to walk alone in the woods, and they keep an eye on her.”

“She loves being outdoors,” I said almost to myself. It was one of the reasons I’d known she would like our valley. The Irishmen were good warriors, and I was glad to have them watching over her. Knowing how much Sara valued her independence, she probably wasn’t as happy about them.

“So, what happened?”

“What happened was that those two beasts got loose.”

My stomach lurched. “Is Sara okay?”

Tristan let out a hearty laugh. “If by okay, you mean did she step in front of two charging hellhounds and command them to stop, then, yes, she’s perfectly fine. And then she ordered me and my warriors to lower our weapons because we were upsetting her dogs.”

I pictured Sara standing in front of the hellhounds, defending them from the warriors, just as she had put herself between me and her troll friend. She was fiercely protective of those she cared about.

“What did you do?”

“What could we do? We lowered our swords.” He laughed again. “I think we were all in shock. One minute, we were prepared to fight for her life, and in the next, she had those beasts fawning over her with their tails wagging. Then she made Seamus take her to the menagerie so she could make sure her hellhounds were being treated well.”

I smiled at the images his story created. Sara was already making her mark at Westhorne. I had a feeling life at the stronghold would never be the same.

Tristan exhaled loudly. “You told me about the things she did in Maine, but seeing it…”

“I know.”

“I can’t wait to get to know her. Don’t worry; I won’t push her. I want her to be happy here.”

I smiled. “Just let her know that her family is ready to meet her when she is. She might surprise you.”

Sara harbored a lot of anger toward Madeline, but she hadn’t been able to hide her interest when I told her she had a Mohiri grandfather. Once she saw Tristan was a nothing like his daughter, she’d open up to him.

“I’ll do that.” His chair squeaked as he settled back in it. “Did you find anything in that nest last night?”

I watched the warriors who had started digging a pit in which to bury the burnt vampire bodies. “Not yet. We tended to the humans and dropped them at the hospital. We’re headed back to the building when we’re done here. If there is anything in that place that’ll lead us to Eli’s Master, I’ll find it.”

“The Council is making the hunt for this vampire a priority. We’re organizing a special task force that will focus solely on searching for him.”

“Who did you get to lead the team?” Normally, I would have been one of the first people approached for a job like this, having hunted three Masters and killed two of them. Tristan wouldn’t have asked me to lead this one because he knew I could not leave Sara for that long.

“Mateo Ruiz is going to head it up. I believe you and he have worked together a few times.”

Mateo and I met on a Master hunt in Bolivia many years ago, and I’d never known a more ruthless hunter. When he was five, his entire village, including his human mother, was wiped out by a Master. The only reason Mateo had survived the attack was because his mother had sent him to a Catholic mission ten miles away for help banishing his “demons.” The Mohiri found Mateo when they came to investigate the attack.

Since then, Mateo had devoted his live to one cause: hunting Masters. He had four Master kills to his name, a feat surpassed only by Tristan, who had been around a few hundred years longer.

“Yes. If anyone can find this vampire, it’s Mateo.”

“I agree.” He paused for a moment. “I told the Council about Sara. They needed to be made aware of her unique situation.”

“And?” I asked tightly.

“We decided the task force should have the information. Maybe it will help them figure out why the Master wants Sara.”

The less people who knew about Sara, the better. But Mateo was discreet and I trusted him. I was still worried, however, with any other plans the Council might have.

“I can guess why you’re so quiet,” Tristan said. “The Council has some concerns about Sara’s power, but I made it clear that my granddaughter is off-limits. They won’t press me on this.”

“Good.” The Council and I didn’t agree on a lot of things, but we’d always been on the same side. If they believed they were going to have any say in Sara’s life, they were in for a rude awakening.