Jocelynn Drake - Dawnbreaker

“You are a legend around the globe. Even to the Soga Clan,” he replied.

“A clan of nightwalkers?” Gabriel asked, coming to stand beside me.

“Similar to a family, but larger and more complex,” I said, folding my arms over my stomach. “The system of honor and politics is more…complicated in the East, so the Coven has been largely content to let them cling to their old ways so long as it doesn’t spread to the rest of the world.”

“And even in my small part of the world, you are known,” Matsui commented.

“The Grim Reaper in known the world around, but I would still not seek him out. Why have you come looking for me?” I countered.

“I wish to join those who guard you during the daylight hours. I heard of Gabriel’s position a couple years ago and hoped that you would be in need of another guardian. I served in a similar capacity to the Soga Clan. I am well-versed in various fighting styles—”

“I’m not concerned about your ability to defend yourself or me. If Gabriel wasn’t convinced of your skills, you would never have made it this far. I want to know why you would leave the Soga Clan to join me.”

“Word reached the Eastern nightwalkers of the naturi and their attempts to break free, yet few are willing to help,” he said with a frown and a slight shake of his head. “Only three nightwalkers that I know of have gone to the Coven. I came here looking for you. It is said you defeated the naturi in the past, and I wish to help you defeat them now.”

“Does the Soga Clan know you are here now?” Gabriel demanded, shifting his weight from his left foot to his right. I could feel his anxiety rolling off him in thick waves. He didn’t trust Matsui.

“I have their blessing.”

Gabriel looked up at me and frowned. In the past, he had carefully hunted down the other bodyguards, selecting them from retired Special Forces members of the United States armed forces. He had even found bodyguards in former club bouncers skilled in various fighting styles. But each one he hunted down he personally selected for a specific reason. Matsui was the first to ever come looking for him, and it set him ill at ease.

“You may have a misunderstanding of this particular position,” I explained. “Gabriel does not fight the naturi. He protects me during the daylight hours when I travel. He protects me from other humans that would harm me if I was discovered.” It was a partial lie. Gabriel had fought the naturi in England, but he was never meant to. He should have never been in that position in the first place, but I screwed up, resulting in Michael’s death.

“Protecting you as you strive to defeat the naturi would be an honor,” he said with another bow of his head.

I frowned. “All my bodyguards begin and end where you are standing. I’ve buried more than I care to count, all of them dying in some fight or battle. It’s a short life and a violent end.”

“But it is my life and my right to spend it how I wish, no matter how short it is,” Matsui replied, giving me almost verbatim the same answer that Gabriel gave me years ago.

I smiled and Gabriel snorted, shaking his head beside me as a reluctant smile lifted his own lips. “Very well,” I agreed with a nod. “You’ve got the job. For now, you take orders from Gabriel. You sleep and eat when and where he tells you to. And if at any time he thinks you are a threat to my existence, he will not hesitate to eliminate you. No questions asked.”

“I understand. Thank you for this opportunity. I will not disappoint you.”

“Go ahead back to the car,” Gabriel ordered.

Matsui nodded and headed back across the bridge as Gabriel and I turned toward the headstone with Michael’s name on it.

“I found the angel that you were looking for, and the marble sculptor has begun working on it,” Gabriel softly said. “He said that it would take a few months.”

“That’s fine. We’re in no hurry,” I murmured, sliding my hand into the open hand of my angel’s.

Gabriel squeezed my hand once, his thumb brushing across the top. “Michael would not have any regrets about what happened. Don’t make him your regret.”

“He was slipping, Gabriel,” I whispered, finally giving voice to the guilt that had been eating away at me. “I should have seen it happening. Or maybe I did and just hadn’t been willing to admit it until it was too late. He was losing his focus, getting too wrapped up in me. He shouldn’t have been there. Neither of you should have been in England.”

“We were at your side, which is where we should always be,” Gabriel firmly said.

A soft sigh escaped me as I squeezed his hand before releasing it. “Maybe Matsui will last a little longer than some of the others. At least he has been around other nightwalkers in the past.”

“Do you trust him?”

A little laugh escaped me as I bumped my shoulder against his. “Not at all.”

“I was just checking. Afraid you’d lost your mind for a moment.”

“No, I don’t trust him, but then there hasn’t been a single one that we trusted at the onset.”

“It seems that you’re becoming more popular. A Japanese nightwalker clan has heard of you. Am I going to be fighting off guardian wannabes with a stick?” Gabriel teased, but I could tell by his tone that he was partially serious.

“The Soga Clan sent Matsui. He’s not here because he wants to be here,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’m sure they’ve heard of me. I’m the only nightwalker in existence that can manipulate fire. I’m also six hundred years old. They didn’t just hear about me. But I’m sure they just heard about me joining the Coven.”

Gabriel paced a couple steps away from me, his heavy steps sinking in the soft earth. He crossed his arms over his strong chest while bending his head to look at the ground in thought. “I don’t understand.”

“I think this is their way of throwing their support behind the dark horse on the Coven. When all hell finally breaks loose, I’m the one they expect to survive. Matsui is an emissary, a gift, in a way.”

“And you think he will do a good job protecting you because he’s been ordered to?”

“He will for the honor of his people. He may be my bodyguard, but he will always be a part of the Soga Clan in some fashion. Matsui will do everything he can to protect me.”

“If you’re so sure that he will protect you, why don’t you trust him?”

“Because I’m not sure that he actually wants to be here, that he wants to be my bodyguard. I like my men to be dedicated, mind, heart, and body. His heart’s not in it yet.”

“Hopefully that changes fast…”

“Or he gains a spot on my little island,” I finished, my eyes sweeping over the headstones one last time. There was still room for more.

Nicolai was in the graveyard.

I lingered behind on the island after Gabriel had left, thinking about my last days with Michael. Yet, when I started to cross the bridge to the back of the graveyard, I sensed the lycanthrope’s unexpected presence. I halted, my stomach twisting into a knot. He was not supposed to be there. He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near me unless he called ahead of time. With the naturi overrunning the area, the lycanthropes had agreed to leave the city and keep a wide distance from the nightwalkers after the sun set each night. It was the only way we could think of protecting both sides. It wasn’t a perfect plan. So far, six nightwalkers and four werewolves had been killed from fighting, including one of Barrett’s brothers. The Savannah Pack Alpha was still mourning his loss.

Licking my lips, I turned and headed west, moving away from the werewolf, but Nicolai also changed directions, heading toward me. Yeah, he was looking for me. It was a silly hope, but I had to try.