"What a lovely welcoming committee," Marianno said, pulling two blades from his ankle sheaths. "I never knew the fae were so hospitable."

"Hospitable, my ass," Irene mumbled. "How many are there? Around twenty four?"

"Twenty three," Charles said just as more vampires emerged from the shadows of the ruins.

"This many rogue vampires on Fae land is no coincidence," Noah said.

"And in the middle of a nullifying spell," I said. They must have known that with our magic, we'd have a massive advantage. Especially with Arthur around.

"Arthur?" I said, rolling my wrist.

The vampires advanced, closing in on us. They were armed with all sorts of weapons, from swords and spears to maces and axes. They were really going all out.

"They are not all rogues," Arthur said.

"What?" I looked around. The vampires I could see all had telltale signs of going rogue; the crazed look in their eyes, the jittery movements and the constant growling. But Arthur was right, there were a few who looked completely sane. Or as sane as one could be if they made the decision to attack one of the Five.

"Who is leading?" Arthur asked aloud. "Step forward."

One vampire with gray hair and tawny skin stepped forward. His green t-shirt and cargo pants hugged a muscular form. "No offense, Lord Arthur. It's business."

"I did not know mercenaries were in the habit of using rogues," Arthur said, his face showing annoyance rather than anger. "Who hired you?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer that," the mercenary said. He raised his sword, the curving scimitar reflected the sunlight.

Arthur growled. "Leave him alive," he said, speaking to us, before he charged forward.

He was fast. Faster than I ever saw him before. I knew he was moving and yet my eyes could not follow him.

By the time our enemy realized what was happening, Arthur had already knocked down one rogue and was disemboweling another with his claws.

Then all hell broke loose. Vampires swarmed the six of us in seconds.

Two vampires lunged at me, both armed with shorter blades. I had a longer reach advantage. I swung my sword in a diagonal cut that opened one's chest and deflected the other's attack. He turned with the blow and aimed a kick to my legs. I jumped up and kicked, my boot connected with his face with a crunch. He staggered back, giving way to more vampires. Rogues. The stink of unwashed bodies and old blood assaulted my nose. The rogues stunk.

I felt a burning sensation on my back. I kicked back as the pommel of my sword connected to a female's forehead. My foot connected and I heard a crunch.

But then someone swiped a damn mace so close to my face I felt the air shift. I dodged it, but the spikes scratched my cheek. I sensed a person in my back while fighting another two with my sword. I turned a full circle, swinging my sword. My back burned. I must be injured.

There were too many.

Charles was suddenly at my back.

"I can handle myself just fine!" I told him, even though his presence already lessened the load.

"They're targeting you, you idiot," he shot back.

A quick glance told me he was right. The mercenaries were divided into two groups. One was surrounding me, and the other surrounded Arthur.

Marianno, Noah and Irene were cutting through the mass of the mercs, to prevent them from reaching me.

"Arthur is on his own!" I cried, beheading a rogue who did not go down after I stabbed his stomach.

"The Sire can handle himself-" Charles grunted, "-just fine!"

My sword severed a throat, warm blood sprayed. He gurgled and was pushed aside by his own friend in his attempt to reach me. Through the gap, I saw Noah twist a vampire's neck and throw him aside like a piece of paper. Irene was engaged in an intense one on one with a sword-armed vamp. One of the mercs was jumping on her back, a blade in his hand. I swiped a dagger from my thigh-sheath and sent it flying through the air. It hit the merc's neck. Irene finished dealing with her foe and turned in time to see the merc falling down, gurgling blood. She finished him off, her cheek bleeding, saluted me, then went back to fighting.

I chanced a glance at Arthur. He pushed one vampire with his palm flat on the man's chest. The guy flew back, out of the way. Arthur zipped behind another, breaking his neck with a smooth motion.

It lasted for what felt like hours. By the end of it, my arm ached from swinging the sword, my back was on fire, and I felt lightheaded.

I planted my sword in the ground and stared at the massacre around us.

"What a waste of life," Marianno said.

Bodies littered the ground, the smell of death heavy in the air.

Arthur strode through the bodies, looking around in disgust. But I knew him. He was also angry and regretful.

He crouched down next to one of the bodies. It was the mercenary leader. His t-shirt was drenched in blood from a deep gash in his chest, and his neck, collared in scarlet, seeped a heavy flow of dark blood.

"Who hired you?" Arthur asked, putting his hand on the man's neck in an attempt to stem the bleeding.

The man gurgled, then went limp. Arthur cursed and rose.

"Now what?" I asked. My voice came out faint. Why was I dizzy? Arthur was beside me in a second. He went around me. The others were all checking the mercs for survivors. I didn't think they would find any.

"Your back is shredded," he said. I felt his fingers on my cold skin.

"Great," I grumbled. "I'm the only one who got injured."

"That's because they were targeting you." He lifted my sweatshirt to check my wound.

"They were targeting you, too," I said.

"I'm me," he said.

"Arrogant ass," I mumbled.

" I heard that," he said. "Let's get out of the spelled area. Your magic will help you heal faster."

"Is it silver?" I asked.

"Yes." He lowered my sweatshirt and came to face me, checking my cheek. "We'll clean the wound and stitch it, and you'll be as good as new."

I didn't know whether he was comforting me or himself, but I nodded anyway.

The few vampires who were still alive were questioned about who hired them, but had no answer. Their wounds were too severe. They wouldn't survive. Charles raised his sword. I looked away. They would have to finish them off, it was the merciful thing to do. I could kill in a fight, but ending a person who lay limp on the ground was incredibly difficult. I was such a hypocrite.

It was such a waste of life. When I found out who ordered this, I would enjoy paying them back for every drop of blood.

"Go back to the car," Arthur told me. "You're losing too much blood, already."

I gave the scene one last look. The bodies littering the ground, the smell of blood heavy in the air, the silence that fell heavy after the loud noise of fighting. Everything about this hit too close to home.

I went to the car and left them to deal with it. Being reminded of the day uncle Robert died didn't do great things to my mood. With the door open, I sat in the passenger seat, my feet outside the car.

My sword and my hand were glistening with blood. My fingers spasmed around the hilt. It must be the loss of blood. I tightened my grip and closed my eyes against the memories. But they were too strong. Arthur's scent suddenly filled my nose.

When I opened my eyes, he was leaning on the open door, blocking the view. He lowered his head closer to mine.

His eyes reflected the knowledge of the memories that plagued my mind. Even without feeling the bond, he knew. Arthur put his hand on the nape of my neck and squeezed slightly. He didn't speak a word, yet it felt as though he'd reached inside my chest and held the shards of my heart together so they wouldn't fall apart.

I was aware of Marianno getting into the driver's seat, but I didn't take my eyes off Arthur's.

"Get in the backseat with Marianno. He will stitch your wound close," he said, his voice quiet.

"How long till we reach the castle?" I shifted in my seat, holding back a wince as I felt warm blood drip down my back and further dampen my top.

"A few hours." He took his hand off my neck and held it open for me. "Your sword."

I handed him my sword. I had no desire to clean it at the moment. I didn't even want to look at the blood staining the blade.

After a few minutes, we all took our place in the car and Arthur drove on. Marianno and I sat in the middle seats of the vehicle. Which left Irene and Charles together in the very back.

I sat sideways and gave my back to Marianno, who had taken a first aid kit from the trunk of the car. He made me sit on a towel.

Marianno ripped apart the back of my sweatshirt and sports bra in order to stitch up my wound. I held the front of my sweatshirt to my chest, feeling slightly embarrassed.

"There's no anesthetic," Marianno said as he cleaned my back. The liquid he used burned my open injury. I gritted my teeth against the sting. "We'll have to stitch without it."

"That's fine," I said. "I'm a tough cookie."

Marianno chuckled. I focused on the window while he prepped the sutures. The scenery was changing, becoming more wild, the vegetation greener and heavier. Arthur was speeding up quite a bit. He probably wanted to leave the spelled area as soon as possible.

I felt it when the needle broke my skin. I had been through worse. The pain was more irritating than anything. I shifted my focus from the window since the blurry sight didn't provide much entertainment.

I looked at the backseats. Irene and Charles were both staring out their open windows, their faces expressionless and their bodies stiff. They were no fun when they were quiet. I switched my gaze to the front seats as the thread went through my skin.

Noah's window was open, his head was almost all the way through it and his black hair danced in the breeze. The smell of blood must be overpowering his nose.

Arthur's hand on the steering wheel was white knuckled. Marianno finished the first stitch and started on the second. I was already feeling dizzy; the effect of the blood loss. Arthur shifted gears and increased the car's speed again.

"Are you planning to take off, Arthur?" I said. "You're not driving a plane, you know that, right?"

He gave a grunt of acknowledgement, a scowl prominent on his handsome profile.

I sighed. He was angry even when he couldn't feel my pain through the bond.

"Marianno," I whispered, knowing full well Arthur could still hear me. "You better finish off the stitches before the bond returns or Arthur will snap your neck."

Marianno stifled a laugh. "Right. Thanks for the warning."

"Not funny," Arthur grumbled from the front seat.

"I beg to differ. I find myself hilarious," I mumbled.

Since the rest of the car was boring, I turned my attention to the couple who had a great entertaining potential. Irene and Charles were still in the same position they'd been in for the last ten minutes.

"Say, Irene, about that invisibility trick you do," I said, making her turn her head toward me. "Can you do it with anything? Or is it just weapons?"

She frowned. "Any object close to my body, basically."

"Could you make a person disappear?" I asked. Charles turned to look at her as she spoke.

She made a face. "That's almost impossible for me. I know that some of the older nine-tailed foxes can make themselves and others invisible. I can't do that."

"That's pretty damn cool," I said in wonder.

Irene turned to Charles. "What are you staring at?" she hissed.

A smug smile took over Charles' face, and he winked. "You're cute."

Irene snarled silently and said, "I'm going to cut you to pieces."

"You can try."

"I-"

The spelled area came to an end. The rush of the bond and my magic coming back to life drowned out the rest of Irene's words, or maybe she, too, was too disoriented to speak.

I closed my eyes as my magic moved through my veins, rushing to my back and my cheek. It recoiled from the traces of silver, but slipped through to my muscle and skin and began healing. It would take longer than a normal wound because of the silver, and it would leave a scar, but it would be healed and I wouldn't bleed to death. That was all that mattered.

The bond, on the other hand, was a vibrating string of turbulent emotions. It took me a few seconds to sort through everything I was feeling. Anger. Concern. Fear. Relief. Sadness. Regret.

I opened my eyes once my heart calmed down and everything went back to normal, the bond a steady presence in the back of my mind.

"Finally," Irene breathed out.

With my magic and the bond back, I was now relieved. I touched my cheek. Marianno had cleaned it already, and the wounds no longer burned. My magic would do its job and the wound would close in a matter of hours, leaving behind a scar. Another one to join the fading lines on my face.

"So, who do we think is behind this attack?" Irene asked.

"Whoever is behind the demon attack on Arthur's residence, I assume," Marianno replied.

"One of the fae?" Charles said.

"If not, then the fae are aware of it," Marianno said. "I find it hard to believe that they weren't aware of the presence of a group of mercenaries on their lands, so close to the royal palace. And in one of the spelled areas, nonetheless."

"We know Elle is the target," Arthur said.

"You are, too," I grumbled.

"You're the primary target," Arthur said, glancing at me in the mirror. "I'm a fortunate collateral damage. If they could get rid of me, they would. But they're not making an active effort to do so."

"How do you know that?" I asked, pissed off that he'd disregard his safety again.

"Because over two thirds of the mercenaries were aimed at you," he said. "They only reserved one third of their forces to stop me. That means they're not serious about killing me, only getting me out of the way."

"So humble, my lord." I rolled my eyes.

Arthur ignored me. "We know that the fae have a big role in the scheme of opening another gate. We know there is a prophecy that claims Elle is going to put a damper on those plans. That, we believe, is the reason she is being targeted. It's the very reason she had been targeted while still in her mother's womb."

The hairs on my body stood up. Arthur's voice was cold, calm, calculated. But no one could mistake the death threat in it.

"The fae have a hand in this," Arthur continued. "Taro's admission about Martin Malone confirmed as much."

"The fact that the people we caught in Venus' territory, and Santos, have been mentally hexed is also proof that supports the fae's involvement," Marianno said.

"Why?" Irene asked.

"The fae are quite adept on the mental plane," Marianno said. "Among all the other races, they are the ones most naturally gifted. Elle, for example, has a strong mental shield. As she ages, she will be able to refine her mental talent, and maybe develop a few skills."

"Hmm," I said. That would be very useful. "So we know the fae are involved. The only question is, how deeply?"

Arthur and I looked at each other in the rearview mirror. My heart twisted with the simple thought of my father having anything to do with this. Because if he did, then he also had a hand in killing my mother.

If that proved to be true, I didn't know how I would deal with it.

*** **** ***

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