Sharon Ashwood - Unchained

She stared back, terrified but struggling not to cry. With the aid of Shadewing and the goblin guards, it had been a matter of moments to snatch her away from the vampires. As a feat of arms, it was barely a challenge. Miru-kai was a commander of armies and every bit Belenos’s equal in battle. After that, Miru- kai’s knowledge of the Castle had made it child’s play to lose them in the maze of corridors.

The vampire’s outraged howl had been a delight. Proud Belenos hadn’t anticipated anything but fawning admiration. From a prince of the fey! Idiot.

Just to add insult to injury, Miru-kai had sent Shadewing to tip off the Castle guards that there were unwelcome visitors afoot. An excellent way to win points with Mac and send Belenos on a merry chase. All in one fell swoop. Priceless.

Now Miru-kai was alone with the girl. Terrified, she sat curled into a ball, knees drawn up to her chin, eyes watching his every move. He’d sent the goblins away, hoping that would calm her. He was the first to admit their appearance took some getting used to.

It had worked. Now, for a very frightened child, she was remarkably loquacious.

“What’s your name?” she asked.

A fey prince had many names and titles, so he offered something a child could remember. “Kai.”

“Kai.”

“Yes.” Hearing the name tugged at something deep inside him. Only the closest of friends had ever used that name. Friends like Simeon.

The emotion doubled his desire to keep this human as his charge, safe and sound. No vampires would steal her from under his nose. The fey took better care of children than that.

She gave him a serious look from large, dark eyes. “You sort of look human, but you’re not, are you?” Her tone was all accusation.

“My grandfather was human,” Miru- kai replied, keeping his voice gentle. “But the rest of my ancestors were kings and queens of the fey.”

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s a prince doing in here?”

He allowed himself a slight smile. “My arrival was an inconvenient accident. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

“Uncle Mac is going to let you go?” She looked even more suspicious. Not a stupid girl, this one.

“Of course,” he said smoothly. Now that Miru- kai had the gem, Uncle Mac had little choice in the matter. “It’s time to join the modern era.”

But it wasn’t just himself he was thinking of. All of his people wanted freedom as much as he did, but whether the new human world and the dark fey were ready for each other was another story. How he approached integrating dark fairies into the twenty-first century would depend on what he discovered beyond the Castle door. He had heard the hellhounds hadn’t found the outside world particularly welcoming, and they were as human-friendly as monsters got.

He had his work cut out for him.

“Captain Reynard and Mom will come get me, you know.”

The girl’s statement snapped Miru-kai’s mind back to the here and now. “How do you know the good captain?”

“He likes my mother.” The girl looked down, frowning at her hands.

Oh-ho, what have we here? “Does he?”

She tucked a curl behind her ear. “They kill things together. He’s okay.”

Reynard’s been gone how many days? The old fox works quickly!

She gave him another narrow look. “Are you one of those creepy guys who touches little kids?”

The prince shook his head. “I give you my word; I simply enjoy your company. No harm will come to you while you are with me.”

“Are you sure?” Her chin stuck out stubbornly. “The first bunch put a bag over my head when they stuffed me in their car. I think it was a potato sack. I smell like dirt.”

“I am not personally responsible for the sack. Those were vampires and their servants. Nasty things. And you do not smell like dirt. You smell like human.”

She looked faintly embarrassed. “What does that mean? Do I need a bath?”

He laughed, something he hadn’t expected to do ever again. Not after Simeon. “It’s hard to put into words. Humans smell like their houses. Warm. Like food. Yours has a scent of magic. And you’ve been near a baby.”

Eden made a face. “Yeah, Robin stinks. She can’t help it.”

The girl looked away. Her cheeks held the bloom of health and sunshine, despite the circles of fatigue under her eyes. What is her story?

“My mom will get those vampires.”

“Your mother is a Carver witch?” Miru- kai already knew the answer. Belenos was after a witch who could mate with a vampire. There was only one such case in recent memory.

“Yeah, but she’s lost her magic.”

Miru-kai sucked in a breath, putting scraps of information together. Not the one who already has a vampire husband, but the monster-slaying sister. He’d heard tales about that one.

“Then your mother is Ashe, the elder daughter of Marian Carver.”

“How did you know that?”

“I try to know everything.”

“Even the first name of my grandma?”

“People still talk about your grandparents.”

“Why?”

“Because your mother killed them with a spell, of course.”

The child started where she sat, as if he’d pinched her. Her eyes flooded with dismay, then tears. “That’s a lie!”

Oh. Miru-kai cursed under his breath.

He’d blurted out the wrong thing. He was used to dealing with monsters, not the nursery. Wanting to comfort, he rested a hand on her thin shoulder, but she shrugged him off.

“I want to go home now,” she said in a small voice. “Leave me alone.”

Miru-kai straightened, folding his arms and contemplating the small, huddled form at his feet. Simeon would know what to do.

But Simeon was dead. Miru-kai was on his own with this weeping child. He tugged the ends of his mustaches, at a loss.

He might be a slippery, conniving thief, a warlord, a sorcerer, and an all-around bad sort of fellow, but he had softer instincts. He could well protect this child, at least until he was able to unravel the magic of the gem and make his escape. He might even keep her after that. He so wanted to have a human at his side again. . . .

There was much to ponder.

Ashe was heading back to the house, her cheeks stiff with dried tears. The crying came on and off, uncontrollable. Her nerves crackled as if she’d downed an oil tanker of coffee. Though her mind was clear, her body was manifesting all the fear she couldn’t acknowledge and stay sane. Breaking down wouldn’t help her daughter, but nobody’d told her shaking hands.

But she had found nothing.

No one had.

So far, there was no ransom, no demand. Whatever game the vampire was playing, she couldn’t figure it out. She really hoped Reynard had a clue what to do next, because her exhausted brain was full of nothing but panic.

Ashe stopped dead in her tracks. Holly was running out of the house with Robin in her arms, calling for help. Ashe sprinted across the street to join her, along with a crowd of other volunteers.

Alessandro, Holly’s vampire mate, reached her first. He was tall, with long, wheat blond curls and amber eyes. “What’s going on now?”

“I should have zapped his ass!” Tears streaked Holly’s face. Robin woke and started to fuss, making tiny, frustrated cries. Holly hushed her as they gathered around.

“Who are you zapping?” Ashe demanded. “And why?”

“Captain Broody, that’s who!” Holly hiccuped.

“Reynard?”

Alessandro put his arm around Holly, a gentle, affectionate gesture. “Hey, come on. Calm down.” Then he put his other arm around Ashe.

Ashe clutched her arms, feeling the night chill more than she should have. She was low on fuel. She hadn’t eaten. She couldn’t.

“Reynard thinks he knows where Eden is,” Holly blurted. “He went to the Castle to get her back.”