Claiming Valeria (23 page)

“It depends. In the summer I work less so I can spend more time
with Merry. But yeah, I’m normally out here three or four days a week.”

“And you and Rui are back together?” Cleia slanted her a knowing
smile. “I’m so happy for you both.”

“Are you?”

Cleia glanced at Rodolfo, then lowered her voice. “Look, Valeria,
I don’t blame you for disliking me. But I want you to know that I didn’t know Rui
had a mate. I’d never have taken him if I’d known. If it helps any, I’m sorry—very
sorry—for what it must have done to you both.”

Valeria pressed her lips together. “He didn’t have to go with
you. And we weren’t mates—not quite.”

“No. But I didn’t play fair—I used a glamour to lure him. Not
many men could have resisted me. In fact, no one did—not until Dion. He saw right
through the glamour to the real me.” Cleia smiled a little self-consciously.

“Rui never said.”

“That I used a glamour? He wouldn’t, would he?”

“No,” Valeria replied slowly, “he wouldn’t.” Rui would take full
responsibility for his actions, whether Cleia had lured him or not.

“There’s something else you should know. He eventually broke
the glamour. I wasn’t ready to let him go—I’d have been happy to keep him for another
year or two. But he’d become more and more unhappy, just going through the motions
with me. Then one morning he woke up and said he was going home.” Cleia moved a
shoulder. “So I let him. You may find this hard to believe, but I’m not evil—selfish,
maybe, but not evil. Now that I’m mated, I know how strong the bond can be. It was
tugging on him all that time.”

“I see.” Valeria was silent, absorbing that. She tried to imagine
how a dominant like Rui would’ve reacted to being ensnared by a fae. He must have
felt so helpless, so ashamed. It explained some of the self-loathing she’d sensed
in him since he’d returned.

And all the time she’d thought he just found Cleia more beautiful,
more sexy, than her.

Deus
, she could hate the woman. But that wasn’t fair.
Rui hadn’t left the base because of Cleia; he’d left because of her, Valeria. Not
that it was all her fault, either, but she shared some of the blame for turning
from him at a time when he’d needed her most.

Cleia was eyeing her, no doubt wondering what Valeria was thinking.

Valeria blew out a breath. “Thank you for telling me. It helps.”

“Rui should’ve told you himself, but you know what fada men are
like.”

“
Sim
. They tell us it’s in their DNA but we think they’re
just stubborn S.O.B.s.”

Cleia’s lips twitched. “I once called Dion pigheaded. And that
was the nicest thing I could think of.”

Their eyes met and then they were both grinning. And suddenly,
Valeria understood why so many of the Rock Run women liked Cleia, in spite of the
fact that she’d not only taken eight of their men as lovers, she’d mated their alpha.
Beneath the golden girl façade was a genuine warmth and humor.

They were approaching the island where they’d seen Jace Jones.
Valeria pointed it out to Rodolfo, and he turned the boat in its direction. A few
minutes later, they were securing the boat to a tree.

As they reached the place where Valeria had seen the big black
cat, she inhaled slowly. There was nothing out of the ordinary. But for some reason
a chilly finger traced down her spine and she shivered despite the warm day.

“This is where we saw him,” she told Cleia.

The sun fae queen touched the nearest tree, rubbing her fingers
in a slow, considering way over the bark before moving on to the next tree. Her
path spiraled inward as if she were following an invisible trail until finally,
she crouched to touch the dirt beneath a large maple.

When she straightened back up, her face was grim. “I can’t tell
if an earth shifter was here or not. And that in itself is interesting, because
I do detect a concealing spell. What I can tell you is that whoever cast the spell
is very good—and that the magic used was dark. There’s almost certainly a night
fae involved.”

“A night fae?” Valeria felt the color drain from her face.

“I’m almost sure of it. Dark magic carries its own costs. Very
few fae besides the night fae want to deal with it.” She touched Valeria’s arm.
“What is it? What’s the matter?”

“The night fae.” Valeria’s voice was a rasp. She swallowed, tried
again. “The night Rui found Merry—there were night fae after her then, too.”

* * *

Back at the base, Cleia and Valeria found Dion, Rui and
Luis sprawled on couches in the alpha’s apartment, sipping espresso and listening
to Dion tell a very male story about his honeymoon. On seeing Cleia, he abruptly
broke off and all three men sat up. The guilt on their faces would’ve been comical
if Valeria wasn’t so upset.

Dion immediately rose to his feet. “What is it?”

“Night fae,” Cleia said without preamble. “I picked up a trace
of dark magic. It appears they’re helping the Baltimore shifters.”

The other men were on their feet now as well. Rui growled. “Night
fae? You’re fucking kidding me. Why the hell do they keep turning up in this?”

“Valeria says that the night fae were after Merry the night you
found her.”

“That’s right. And it was a night fae who hired us to take out
Merry’s dad in the first place.”

“And her dad was part night fae,” Dion added. “His name was
Silver—ever heard of him?”

“No,” Cleia said. “But he was a half-blood?”

“Yes. Part night fae, part human.”

“And she’s half earth shifter as well,” Cleia murmured. “Could
be the night fae just don’t like having their blood mixed with a shifter’s.”

Valeria growled. “Then why don’t they just leave her alone? The
shifter genes are the dominant ones. Most people don’t even realize she has some
fae in her—at least, not any more than all the fada have.”

“I agree,” said Cleia, “but the night fae aren’t known for their
tolerance.” She glanced at Rui. “Who hired you?”

“Lord Tyrus. Prince Langdon’s son.”

Cleia nodded. “We’ve met. He’s the heir. He had an older brother
but he died a number of years ago, before your clan came to America.”

“Assassinated?” asked Dion.

“Not as far as I know. I believe it was some rare disease that
no one could treat. It took him very quickly—he was dead within days. But who knows?
For the right price, there are fae who can infect you with an undetectable virus.”

Valeria swallowed sickly. The terror she’d felt on the island
returned. “What are we going to do?”

Rui set a reassuring arm around her shoulders. But when he spoke,
it was to Dion. “I think it’s time I had a talk with Lord Tyrus.”

Valeria fingered the carved dolphin and stifled a sigh.

Rui had been gone for two days now, and she missed him: his low,
sexy voice, his calm way with Merry, the little surprises he’d arranged for one
or both of them nearly every day. She missed telling him about her day and listening
as he talked about his, knowing that only with her did he truly relax. She missed
his touches: his soft, teasing kisses and hard, wild lovemaking. That one night
had only left her hungry for more; she had a long dry spell to make up for.

It didn’t help that Merry missed him, too. “When’s Tio Rui coming
home?” she’d asked that evening when a second day had passed and he still hadn’t
returned.

They were cuddled together in her bed, reading. Valeria set aside
the book and wrapped an arm around her small shoulders. “Soon, sweetheart.”

Merry crossed her arms over her chest. “Next time, I’m going
with him.”

“He’s a busy man, sweetheart. He can’t always be with us.”

“But you could mate with him. Then he’d be my daddy and we could
all live together.” She slanted Valeria a look from under thick black lashes. “You
love him, don’t you, Mama?”

Yes. Yes, I do.

And when she saw Rui, she was going to tell him—but it wasn’t
for Merry to hear first.

“That’s between Tio and me.” Valeria tapped her on the nose.
“Now, enough talk. It’s time you went to sleep.”

She remained with Merry until she was asleep, taking comfort
from holding her warm little body. But with her sleeping and Sabela out on a date,
Valeria was at loose ends. She paced restlessly around the apartment.

Where was Rui, anyway? She hadn’t heard from him since he’d left
to look for Tyrus. That wasn’t unusual—water fada couldn’t carry cell phones and
could use computers only sparingly—but there were other ways of sending messages.
If Rui hadn’t contacted the base, it meant he was deep in night fae territory.

She touched the dolphin again and said a little prayer that he
was all right. The night fae were a dark, sadistic people. If they discovered Rui
somewhere he shouldn’t be, he was doomed. A fada might be able to assassinate a
fae, but only if he took the fae by surprise. In a straight fight, a fae would win
nearly every time.

But no, she
knew
he was all right. The mate bond might
not be fully active, but the connection was there, alive, vibrant. She would’ve
felt if he were hurt—or dead.

Her mind went to that last night, and the look on his face when
he’d told her he loved her. Determined, but vulnerable. Her fingers tightened on
the dolphin.
Meu coração.

Why hadn’t she told him she loved him back, that he was her heart,
as well?

She’d had time to think about what Cleia had said, that she’d
used magic to lure him to her. He shouldn’t have been in the bar in the first place—because
she knew damn well he’d been on the prowl for a woman—but if Cleia hadn’t turned
up, he’d probably have come to his senses before actually doing anything. It had
been Rui’s bad luck that Cleia had turned up at exactly the wrong moment. Otherwise
he’d probably have come home the next day, hung-over and sheepish, and the two of
them would’ve had a chance to work it out.

She dropped onto the couch and scowled down at the rug. It was
time to admit her own part in all of this. She’d all but pushed Rui out the door.
She’d seen him flinch, felt his pain through the mate bond.

And a part of her had been pleased, had wanted to punish him.
He
should
feel bad for what he’d done. He’d left an innocent little girl
an orphan.

She wasn’t sure what she would’ve said if he’d come straight
back after reporting to Dion, but she knew she wouldn’t have been kind or forgiving.
Not then.

But later, as the days turned into weeks and then into long,
lonely months, she’d wished she’d at least waited to hear Rui’s side of it. To recoil
from your mate was to strike at his very core, felt as it was through the mystical,
soul-to-soul bond. But she hadn’t even given him a chance to explain.

And even if what Rui had done was wrong, who was she to judge?
In the two years since then, she’d seen firsthand how bad things were at Rock Run.
That didn’t make what Rui had done right, but it did help her understand why.

And there was the fact that without Rui, Merry probably would’ve
died that night along with Silver.

Valeria scrubbed her hands over her face. She’d probably never
sort out all the rights and wrongs of that night. All she knew was that she loved
Rui, and it was time to move on—because everybody deserved a second chance.

Meanwhile it was getting late and Merry was an early riser. Rising
to her feet, she extinguished the lights and went to bed.

* * *

Where the hell was Tyrus?

After ascertaining the fae lord wasn’t in Baltimore, Rui had
traveled to the night fae compound, located in an isolated area of Virginia’s Tidewater
region. There, he’d slipped into one of the streams that ran through the compound
and changed into a rockfish. The night fae had set wards to keep out intruders,
but Rui had hidden among a school of menhaden, tricking the wards into believing
he was just another fish. Fae wards tended to overlook animals. It was one of the
things—along with their innate arrogance—that made the fae vulnerable to fada assassins.

Rui had spent hours lurking in a stream near the night fae’s
main buildings, which, true to rumor, did resemble crypts, built of granite or marble
and set partly underground, with just a few feet showing above. The compound reminded
him of New Orleans: Gothic stone buildings, towering trees and dank, oppressive
shadows.

But Tyrus was nowhere to be seen. Rui was about to leave when
Tyrus’s father strolled into view with a pale, black-haired woman in a short
silver dress, both of them wearing dark sunglasses to protect their eyes from the
sunlight.

They stopped just a few yards from his hiding place in the stream
and he froze.

Prince Langdon, tall, dark and preternaturally handsome, was
cursing out his absent son for missing an important business negotiation without
permission. “Damn Tyrus anyway. Lord Sindre was smirking at his empty seat the entire
time.”

Lord Sindre was the ice fae high lord.
Interesting
, thought
Rui. The ice fae usually stayed in the far north or south, leaving the middle latitudes
to the other fae. He’d love to know what business Sindre and the night fae were
transacting, but that would have to wait.

“Tyrus ignored a direct order,” Langdon continued. “And not for
the first time. I want him punished, Fleur.”

“I’ll make sure he’s properly remorseful, my lord,” she assured
him. She turned, and Rui saw she was wearing the black star medallion that
marked her as a night fae priestess.

“You do that.” They exchanged knowing smiles. “I’m counting on
you, my dear.”

Rui twitched his fins in distaste. Damn, the night fae made his
skin—or in this case, scales—crawl. He waited to see if the priestess volunteered
Tyrus’s whereabouts, but if she knew, she wasn’t saying. Langdon dismissed her and
she strode off, long legs flashing under the short dress.

One of Langdon’s bodyguards approached the stream. Rui tensed.
The sight of a such a large fish in a narrow stream would scream river fada to anyone
with half a brain. He whipped around and shot back downstream.

Back in Baltimore, he cast around for a trail one more time.
Still no luck. Even Hunter wasn’t to be found at the Full Moon Saloon and nobody
seemed to know where his den was.

By then it was close to noon and Rui had been away for almost
three days with nothing to show for it. With a muttered curse, he aimed his motorcycle
back up I-95. He wasn’t looking forward to telling Valeria that he hadn’t been able
to locate Tyrus.

But as he pulled his bike into the clan garage, Tiago do Rio
burst from the shadows, wild-eyed and shaggy and smelling half-feral.

“They have Valeria. You have to come. Now.”

* * *

Valera sat up in bed. Was that a knock?

It came again and her heart leapt. It was just a little
after six a.m. It had to be Rui.

Merry was already pounding down the hall. “I’ll get it,” she
called and dashed into the
sala
.

As Valeria pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, she heard the door
open and then Merry said in a flat voice, “Oh, it’s you, Senhor Petros.”

Valeria hurried to join them. She scowled at Petros. “What do
you want?”

“I’m your guard today. I understand you’ve been having trouble
with the earth shifters.”

Valeria gripped the edge of the door. His scent reeked of deception—not
quite a lie, but close.

“I don’t need a guard. The alpha has ordered me not to leave
the base.” Dion and Rui had decided it wasn’t safe for her to go crabbing even with
a guard, so she and Merry had spent the last couple of days confined to the base
and the small area of the creek protected by the concealing spell. “Now,
goodbye and don’t bother me again.”

She started to close the door, but Petros stopped it with
his foot. The next moment, he was inside and had Merry’s face cupped in his hands.
“Merry wants to come with me, right?” He stared into her eyes and muttered something
in ancient Greek.

To Valeria’s horror, Merry’s small body went taut. She shot Valeria
a panicked look, but when she opened her mouth, all she said was, “Yes, Senhor Petros,”
in a stiff little voice.

“Good girl,” he said, releasing her.

Valeria grabbed Merry’s shoulders, but something that stank of
dark magic had wrapped itself around her like an invisible net. She
instinctively jerked her hands away as it tried to latch on to her as well.

She bared her teeth at Petros. “What did you do?”

He smiled. “I bound her to obey me.”

“What do you mean, you
bound
her?”

“I mean I control her. Her mind is her own, but her body will
do anything I order. For example, if I tell her to smash her head against the wall,
she’ll do it. Would you like a demonstration?”

Valeria’s hands fisted at her sides. “No,” she gritted. “Of course
not.”

“Good. Now we’re going to walk to the marina. Take her hand,
Valeria. But lightly, or it will take hold of you, too.”

Valeria saw no alternative but to obey. She took Merry’s hand.
Cold tendrils brushed over her hand and wrist. She shuddered and tensed, but they
seemed to sense that she wasn’t the one they’d been brought into being to
control, so didn’t latch onto her.

Merry’s fingers closed around hers. She gave them a light
squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” she murmured. “I’ll think of something.”

“Get going.” Petros ushered them into the hall. “And Valeria?
If we see anyone, don’t try anything. Just nod and keep going. Understand?”

“Yes,” she said between tight lips.

They set out, Merry moving like an automaton, her small body
stiff, arms against her sides save for the hand clutching Valeria’s.

Valeria glanced around, hoping that someone would notice something
suspicious and force them to stop. But at this hour, the halls were nearly empty.
The fishers were already out on the water and the rest of the clan was just waking
up. The few people they passed were only distant acquaintances, and found nothing
odd in Valeria merely greeting them and continuing on.

At the exit, the sentry waved them through with a smile, making
Valeria want to scream with frustration. They headed down the path to the marina,
where Petros directed them to the
Esperança
, the small skiff Valeria used
for crabbing.

“Get in the boat.”

Again, Valeria looked around her.
Please, please, someone
notice something’s wrong.

But the few people still in the marina were on other piers, going
about their business. Releasing Merry’s hand, she edged toward the side of the pier.
Maybe she could fall in, pretend to be in trouble—odd behavior for a water fada.
That should attract attraction.

“Whatever you’re thinking, I wouldn’t if I were you.” Petros’s
voice was silky. “Remember, I can order Merry’s body to do anything. I wonder how
long she could hold her breath if I ordered her to dive to the bottom of the river?”

Valeria gulped, fear and anger a hot mass in her chest. “Look,”
she said, “it’s me you want. I swear I’ll go with you willingly. But please, leave
her here. You don’t need her.”

“But I do,” he replied with an odd little smile. “Now get in
the boat. Unless—” He flicked his fingers suggestively toward the river.

“No, please,” she blurted. “I—I’ll do whatever you ask.” Bending
down, she told Merry, “We’d better do what he says, sweetheart. But I promise, it
will be all right.”

Merry blinked up at Valeria, her face pale under its tan. “Okay,”
she whispered, her lips barely moving.

Valeria swallowed sickly, because she had no idea how she was
going to keep that promise. But all she said was, “That’s my girl.”

She helped Merry into the skiff and then sat on a bench near
the bow and pulled her onto her lap. The dark net of the spell writhed like a living
thing. Tendrils brushed over her arms and face, cold and moist and hungry. She sucked
in a breath and went almost as stiff as Merry, but Petros muttered something and
they withdrew.

As he took a seat in the stern facing them, Valeria gave an atavistic
shudder. “That’s your Gift,” she said as it sank home what he was. “To bind others
to do your will.”

Very few fada had such a dark Gift. In fact, she’d only heard
of one other, and he’d been killed by his alpha when he’d tried to use the Gift
against him. Petros had been careful to hide his ability from the Rock Run clan.

He smiled. “You know what I am, then.”

“Yes,” she said between cold lips.

He started the small motor and cast off, one hand on the tiller.
The rest of Rock Run’s small flotilla were heading downriver toward the fertile
fishing grounds at the mouth of the Susquehanna River, but Petros pointed their
boat in the opposite direction.