"We all have a purpose. Mine is to keep order."
I giggled. "Really? You've done nothing but break the rules since you met me."
He winced. "The tattoos signify my skills and accomplishments. Some are for protection. Others guide me and help me see the truth." He paused thoughtfully, slid a considering look my way that held an undercurrent of something else. "You have asked me a question, now may I ask you one you will answer?"
Shifting on the floor that was quickly growing cold, I curled into a ball at his side and thought about it. For a while there was only the sound of our breathing and the warmth of him. My eyes felt all droopy, and my mind slid into a lazy sleep pattern.
"Well, that depends on the question," I said sleepily.
"Tomas."
My lids slammed wide open. Breandan didn't sound angry, but mildly disgusted.
"A name is not a question, and I've already explained this to you as best I can. Leave it alone."
He snorted. "He will come back and I want you to stay away from him."
I hissed my disapproval. He ran a finger down the bridge of my nose, over my lips. I kept my face set, refusing to be distracted.
"He is vampire. It is not natural the way they are. They bring death wherever they go," he said with as much heat as an ice cube.
I thought back to the strange urge I got when I was around Tomas. It made me shudder. I could not deny he felt unnatural to me, but it didn't mean it was right. Breandan was quiet for a long time, and eventually I knew he was not going to speak again. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep right then and there.
I dreamed I was dying. I watched my last sunset and Breandan held me close. We raced were-cats through the forest and the sun shined from within us. The moon rose and Breandan handed me to Tomas, who cried tears of blood and showed me dark things. He fed from me and called me his love.
It was the cold hand clamped over my mouth and pulsing dark that woke me.
"Wake," a voice whispered in my ear.
I peeked an eye open, remaining still. I kept my breathing even and glanced at Breandan's face. Eyes closed and brow relaxed his breath came steady and even. I blinked up at Tomas. Had my dream called him to me? He took his hand away from my mouth and pressed a finger to his lips, then looked at Breandan. I got the message loud and clear. Stay quiet. I carefully shifted away from Breandan, rolling to my hands and knees I crawled backwards.
I stood up and smiled at my vampire-boy. I was happy to see him. Tomas led me out of the tent, and I shivered in the cold. It was quiet and everyone was sleeping, as you generally do in the middle of the night. Tomas took my hand and led me away into the trees. I tugged on his hand to get him to stop when I realized he was not going to.
"What are you doing here," I said in a low voice. "I thought you'd gone back to your nest."
"I followed you."
My heart rolled over in my chest. "Why? I mean, do you have something else to say?"
"Trouble comes."
"What kind?" I asked sharply. "The kind where I get beat up or the kind where I die?"
"In the last few hours the fairies have been negotiating the release of a human-girl. The ones that follow the white haired fairy have taken a human from the Temple. They are trying to trade her for him. The one they call Lochlann, has refused and it is only a matter of time before they attack."
"When did this happen?"
"As you, and the fairy who was supposed to be protecting you, slept. The night is fading, but we can be far away before sunrise."
I didn't respond. It took me moments to make up my mind, but considerably longer to work up the courage to say it out loud. I couldn't go. I felt a responsibility to stay and help the human if I could.
Tomas read the look on my face. "Now is not the time to be selfless. This will vicious."
"We can tell Breandan. He can help."
"He won't go against his brother and you know it." He took my hand again. "Now we leave."
"But I- How- It doesn't make any sense. Why would the tribal fairies think stealing a human would influence Lochlann in anyway?"
Conall stepped out of the shadows, his mane of hair wild and bristling. His breathing was hard and he hummed with tension.
I thought I could smell his fear.
"Because they hoped your connection with his brother would sway his mind." His chest had a shallow gash from his breastbone to the opposite end of his ribcage.
"You're hurt," I pointed at the slash in case he missed it. "Why are you not healing?"
He rubbed at it dismissively. "My energy is diverted elsewhere. Our bodies focus on the greatest threat to our being. I am tired so my energy is saved to keep me quick and strong."
"Who did they take?" I asked, curious.
There was a wail in the far distance and an answer came a moment later.
A silky hiss that followed from Tomas slithered up my spine. "How long do we have?" he demanded. His hand slipped from mine, and I took it as a signal to stay put.
"I killed a scout moments ago. I was the messenger sent to the Tribe to decline the offer. They are to sacrifice the human under a full moon, a perfect tithe and war cry. The peace Lochlann is fighting for will be impossible. Devlin is trying to create confusion and fear and it will work." Conall looked at me. "Rae, we're going to lose," he said. "You need to leave. Do you have your amulet?"
I placed a protective hand over it. "Whatever is coming we can face it together. I'm not going to hide. We have to go wake Breandan up."
Conall stared at me.
"What?"
"You have to escape. Your friend is lost."
The words rocked my world and not in a good way. I blinked slowly, breaking the stalemate, yet my body held its rigid pose. My clenched fists relaxed. I forgot all about amulets and crazy fairies fighting each other.
"Who have they taken from the Temple?"
"If you die here there is no hope. Devlin would want you alive but his consort, she knows about your bond to Breandan. To her you are a threat to her life mate, and she will not be merciful if she catches you. Running into the midst of powerful enemies is no place for a fledgling soldier. You are strong." Pride flashed across Conall's face. "But this you must entrust to me. I will get Lochlann and Breandan out safely."
I knew, of course. I knew who the tribal fairies had taken to try and influence Lochlann through me. Just like I had known the last pure fairy, and Priestess was my mother. Just like I had known Conall was my brother. There was only one human I would risk everything for.
"Who have they taken," I repeated.
"Skin the colour of coca and hair like the sun," he said and wrinkled his nose. "Blonde."
There was a hitch in my breathing. Alex. They had my best friend. How, I didn't know, but she had been taken because of me. At what point did I condemn her to this fate? The first time I went beyond the Wall. The first touch between Breandan and I, or was it when I refused to give Devlin what he wanted? Devlin, he must have told them who she was and where to find her. He'd seemed mighty interested in her all of a sudden. He had even touched her with fingers infused with light.
He had marked her.
"This ritual what will they do to her?"
"They will tie her down to revel in her flesh. Slit her throat and drink the blood."
Everything became painful. The realization I was about to lose my friend made the air filling my lungs feel heavy. I tried to imagine her bound and tortured, but my mind shied from the image. My throat closed up.
"You heard the fairy," Tomas said. "They are going to lose. We must go."
The pressure of the day's issues, and all the decisions I had not made weighed down on me. "Wait," I said and tried to figure out the right action. There was nothing but panic and fear. "I can't think straight." I pressed my fingers onto my eye sockets to relive some pressure. "I need a minute."