Midnight's Kiss

Sixteen

When she reached the library, she headed straight for the liquor cabinet.

She had been fantasizing about having a piña colada for a long time. She might not get the chance to have one for a while, but for now, she could at least knock back something. Her days and nights were fucked up anyway, and you know it was five o’clock somewhere, baby.

Choosing a decanter at random, she splashed a finger of amber liquid into a tumbler and tossed it back.

Cognac. Unless she missed her guess, a high-end Courvoisier.

That would do nicely. She poured herself another.

Quick footsteps sounded in the doorway. She turned as Bailey entered the room. Bailey wore jeans, a short-sleeved T-shirt, a denim vest and a gun in a waist holster. Her short, curly hair was tousled as usual, and her face was etched with stress.

Even though they were identical twins, to Melly, looking at Bailey had never been like looking in a mirror. They, of all people, knew quite well the characteristics that made them unique.

Bailey was a touch leaner, her face more angular. Melly was fit and active, but Bailey was driven to athleticism. She exceled at using several different weapons, whereas Melly was perfectly content to be merely competent.

Melly’s lips were fuller, her eyes a shade darker, and she had a dimple in one cheek that appeared whenever she laughed.

Still, when she looked at Bailey, she felt like she did when she looked at her mother. Whatever else had happened, Bailey had always been a fact of her existence. Melly had never known life without her. They had grown up together, had loved each other, played together and fought like cats and dogs.

As Melly regarded her twin now, pain and anger surged up so that she couldn’t speak.

Bailey’s expression lightened. She rushed forward to throw her arms around her.

Melly almost struck her in the breastbone with the flat of her hand to drive her back. Almost, but in spite of everything, she couldn’t bring herself to raise her hand against her sister.

Melly couldn’t return her hug either, so she stood stiffly in Bailey’s embrace.

“Thank the gods,” Bailey said in her ear. “I haven’t been able to eat or sleep. I’ve felt sick to my stomach for three days.”

Yes, Melly knew her sister loved her. That was why her emotions were in such a tangle.

Bailey pulled back and searched Melly’s face with a frown. Melly knew her expression had to be as stiff as the rest of her body.

After a hesitation, Bailey asked, “Are you all right?”

Melly said abruptly, “You need to know Julian and I are back together.”

All the confirmation she needed was there in her sister’s face. A combination of dismay and guilt darkened Bailey’s gaze. “How can you consider getting back with him? He treated you so badly when you broke up.”

Melly gave her a steady, cold look. “Well, he had reasons, didn’t he?”

Comprehension flashed across Bailey’s expression. Her gaze fell. She muttered, “I — I don’t know what to say.”

“Admitting the truth would have been nice,” said Melly, taking a step back. “Anytime, say, over the last twenty years. Of course it would have been so much better if you hadn’t done anything to begin with, but that water is long under the bridge, isn’t it?”

A dark flush of color washed over Bailey’s cheekbones, and wetness glittered in her eyes. “I wanted to tell you. I thought about telling you so many times. If I could have taken it back, I would have. It was a stupid thing to do.”

She bit out, “You think?”

“Ferion and I were hanging out, talking about all the shit that was going to happen if the Light Fae and the Nightkind demesnes came together. We cooked the whole thing up when we got drunk — and you wouldn’t listen whenever I tried to point out what an asshole Julian was, and how you deserved so much better than him… And I didn’t realize how much it was going to hurt you. I didn’t know how deeply you’d fallen in love with him. You’d only been together three months.”

“Bailey,” she interrupted sharply. The stream of words pouring out of Bailey’s mouth cut off. “I didn’t ask you for excuses or justification. The only thing I’m interested in hearing you say right now is I am really so fucking sorry. If you can’t do at least that much, we have nothing more to say to each other.”

They stared at each other.

Bailey whispered, “I am really so fucking sorry, Melly.”

Now wetness dampened her gaze too. She pressed her lips tight.

After a moment, she nodded. “Okay,” she said hoarsely. “I love you, and I promise, one day I’m going to forgive you, and you and I are going to be all right. But I’m not there today, and we’re only going to be okay if you promise to get over how you feel about Julian and accept that he’s in my life. You got that?” She stared at Bailey hard. “Because if you can’t do that much, I don’t want to see you again. And the thought of that really breaks my heart.” Her face clenched. “Don’t break my heart, Bailey. Not again.”

“I wouldn’t,” Bailey said, very low. “I won’t. I love you too.”

She nodded again and wiped her eyes. “Okay,” she said again. “We’ll put this behind us. For now, go home. I’ll get in touch when I’m ready to talk again. Don’t expect to hear from me for a couple of months. I need some time.”

Bailey took a quick step forward, her face crumpling. “Don’t send me away. I’ve been in hell. I only just found out this morning that you were okay. Let me stay to help.”

“Not this time, kiddo,” she said quietly.

Bailey’s obvious distress finally loosened Melly’s limbs, and she felt able to pull her sister into a hug. Bailey clung to her.

“I really hate this,” her twin muttered.

Yeah well, you should have considered that before you stabbed me in the back.

Melly thought it, but managed not to say it. As Julian had said, relationships are breakable.

She pulled away. “There’s a reason why I need to take some time.”

“Fine. Damn it. I understand. I’ll be waiting to hear from you.” Bailey swiped at her nose with the back of one hand. “Mom sent Shane, and he can captain the other troops. They have your gear with them.”

“All right, thanks,” she said.

Reluctantly, Bailey backed up. She whispered, “I really am sorry.”

Melly had to turn away from the pleading in Bailey’s gaze. Her emotions were too powerful and contradictory.

“I hear you,” she said. It was the best reply she could offer.

“Melly,” Julian said from the doorway.

He strode into the room, sweeping past Bailey without acknowledging her presence or giving her a second glance. Bailey hesitated only briefly before leaving.

Julian strode across the room toward Melly, his face and body tight with fury.

“What’s happened?” Her heart kicked. She searched his face. “Justine’s done something else, hasn’t she?”

He shoved his phone into her hands. She looked at the screen.

There was a text message highlighted, from Gavin.

A single word.

Help.

Staring at it, she shook her head. Her thoughts felt slow moving, like a mudslide. “I don’t understand. Gavin’s the Nightkind government IT guy, right? Isn’t he in Evenfall?”

“Exactly,” Julian growled. “He’s in Evenfall.”

He spun to go back the way he had come.

Shoving the meeting with her sister aside until she could think about it later, Melly followed on his heels. Back in Julian’s office, Xavier paced stiffly as he spoke on his phone. Tess sat at Julian’s desk, tapping furiously on the keyboard.

When Xavier caught sight of Julian, he clicked off his phone and pocketed it.

He said, “I can’t confirm one way or another. One of the helicopters sighted this morning in the city could have been Dominic’s, but it might not have been. And nobody’s answering either of the secure lines at Evenfall.”

As Tess stared at Julian’s desktop screen, she spoke up. “The server appears to be down, which isn’t exactly news with the blackout in place. Most likely, Gavin sent that text using a hotspot in his phone.”

Xavier said quietly, “It’s possible the telecommunications cables have been sabotaged.”

Tess swiveled away. “The simplest way to create a blackout is to power down the servers. If they’re turned off and unplugged, they can’t be used or hacked, but that’s an easy fix. If somebody has cut the cables, then it will take a couple of days and repairmen to bring them back online.” She sounded frustrated. “Which is a shame, because if they were operational, I could try to patch into security footage to get some visuals from the camera feeds inside the castle.”

Julian’s expression turned violent. “And Gavin can’t act independently to turn them on again without my express permission, because I gave him a direct order. He would have had to work against himself to get that one text out. I’ve texted him back to tell him to turn the servers back on, but now he’s not answering. Goddammit.”

The mudslide in Melly’s head might be moving slowly, but it was as inevitable as a train wreck. She ran her fingers through her hair and scrubbed at her scalp. “If Dominic and Justine have teamed up, your people are in danger.”

Xavier said, “Their main priority will be to take the IT and munitions area, which is separate from the rest of the castle. Once they have control over the technology and the weaponry, they can take care of everybody else at their leisure.”

“Yolanthe is in there, along with troops who are loyal to me.” Julian looked at Melly. “They won’t surrender. They’ll be fighting, and they’ll be among the first casualties. I’ve got to go in to help them.”

She moved close to him and touched his hand. “You’re not going in without me.”

His fingers curled around hers. He said telepathically, This has turned into a much bigger issue than simply going after Justine. You don’t have to do this. In a very real way, it’s not your fight.

She told him, You can knock that shit right out of your head, soldier. If you’re going to be in danger, then yes, it is too my fight. I know I’m not your equal as a fighter. I’m a relatively young Light Fae, and I would have to devote several hundred more years of my life to achieve that as a goal. But I can be your partner in other ways.

I know you can. He squeezed her hand. I saw that for myself, down in the tunnels. If it hadn’t been for you, we wouldn’t be free right now.

Giving him a quick smile, she switched to speaking aloud. “How are we going to go in? They’ll be watching the helipad, and they can shoot down anybody who tries to fly in and land.”

Julian smiled back. As he still looked furious, the combination was chilling.

He told her, “Carling and I built Evenfall. I know ways in and out of that place that nobody else does. I’ll get us in.”

Xavier said, “We have to move fast. What kind of force can we put together quickly?”

Julian switched his attention to the younger man. “I have fifteen here at the house.”

“Mom sent me twenty troops, including Shane,” Melly told them. Shane alone was worth at least five other fighters in battle. “I haven’t had a chance to inspect them, but I know they’ll be some of our best. My sister would have been in that total. I just sent her home again, so I have nineteen.”

“My estate is so close, I can get six to meet us,” Xavier said.

“No.” Julian pointed at Xavier. “You’re no good in a fight right now. You’re out. It’s uncomfortable just to watch you move. It’s one thing if you’re forced to defend yourself, but that’s different from choosing to go into active combat.”

Xavier’s face tightened in frustration, but Melly noted how Tess’s tension eased.

The younger Vampyre said, “I’m not only close with Gavin and Yolanthe. I have other friends in Evenfall too.”

“None of them would want you to risk your life, not when you’re still recuperating. I rarely give you a direct order, but this isn’t open for discussion, Xavier.” Julian paused. “For this conflict, you may do anything you can to help, except go into battle yourself. Understood?”

The younger Vampyre bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”

Julian turned incisive. “I count forty-two. That’s Melly and her nineteen, me and my fifteen, and the six from Xavier. That’s a good, fast strike force. Any more would be difficult to take on the route we’re going to use to get in.” He thought for a moment. “We’ll leave in fifteen minutes. Do what you have to do to get ready. Xavier, get your six deployed. I want an advance scout to check out the grounds around Evenfall. If I were Dominic, I would set an outside guard around the perimeter. Make sure your people focus on the northeast side. We’ll be using a tunnel entrance in the forest. Tell them to get as close as they can for reconnaissance but not to take any unnecessary chances.”

“Yes, sir,” Xavier said again. Drawing out his cell phone, he walked out of the room.

Julian looked at Tess, who watched him with a fascinated gaze. “We need to make sure we have transportation for those we have here. Make it happen.”

“Yes, sir.” Tess bolted out of the room.

Once they were alone, Julian took Melly’s hands and pulled her around to face him. “About your sister.”

She shook her head. “It’s not important right now.”

He cupped her cheeks and turned her face up to him. “It is important. Tell me quickly if you’re okay, and I’ll let it go.”

“I’m okay,” she told him. She curled her hands around his thick wrists, drawing comfort from his touch. “I told her I needed space, and I would get in touch with her in a few months. I also said she needed to get over the fact that you and I are together again if she wants to continue to have a relationship with me.”

“If she loves you, she’ll get over it,” he said. The gentleness in his hands belied the grim set to his mouth. He kissed her forehead. “She’s not my favorite person right now, but so will I. Eventually.”

“I think she will,” she replied. “Get over it, I mean. For what it’s worth, I also think she deeply regrets what she did.”

“That’s something.”

His reply was so studiously neutral, she narrowed her eyes at him. “She also could have confessed at any damn time during the last twenty years, so that’s the other thing.”

His expression turned dry. “Well, yes.”

She lifted up to kiss him, and his hard lips softened to caress hers. Pleasure stole into her, and like everything else good that had happened between them over the last couple of days, she grabbed onto it with all her might.

She murmured against his mouth, “I’m glad we got that quickie.”

“Me too,” he whispered.

Reluctantly, she drew back. “You have things to do, and I’d better brief Shane and the others so we can leave on time.”

She watched the battle commander come to the fore in his expression. The intelligence in his gaze was sharp enough to cut steel.

Damn, that was hot.

He glanced at a clock on the mantel of the fireplace. “Ten minutes.”

“We’ll be ready.”

She went to find out where Gregoire had stashed her troops. Even though the mansion was capacious, there were actually very few places where nineteen guards could wait comfortably.

She found them in the massive dining room. Gregoire and his staff had moved quickly. Large trays of sandwiches dotted the long, gleaming table. Most of the food was already gone.

As soon as the men and women saw her, they came to their feet. She knew all of them, and their relieved smiles lit her heart. She said, “Good morning. Thank you for coming.”

Shane strode forward to hug her. “It’s wonderful to see you.”

He was a tall man, even for the Light Fae, with a muscular build and a strong, contained Power. He kept his tawny hair clipped short, which emphasized his lean jaw, high cheekbones and somewhat blunt, puckish nose.

In repose, he had a stern grace that was balanced with a bright, ready smile, and he was one of the most dangerous magic users she had ever met. One of Melly’s favorite things to do as a child had been to ride on his shoulders, and she loved him like an uncle.

“It’s so good to see you too,” she told him. Her gaze swept the others in the room. “It’s good to see all of you. Now, eat fast. We’re about to go to war.”

The atmosphere in the room sharpened, as if she had unsheathed a gigantic sword.

Once Julian was alone, he shut the office door. Then he leaned both hands on the door panel and hung his head. Days ago, he had reached some kind of breaking point, and shit still kept happening. It pushed him somewhere uncharted. He had to figure out how to navigate through the strange landscape he found himself in.

Yes, relationships were breakable.

He wasn’t surprised that Dominic might have considered both sides of the Nightkind dispute. Dominic was, after all, primarily a mercenary and experienced at choosing the option that gained him the greatest advantage.

No, what surprised Julian was that he had believed Dominic would pick him.

Trust could be broken. So could faith.

At that, Julian’s thoughts inevitably shifted to Melly. Inevitably, because he always thought of Melly now.

Somehow she had walked a line with her sister. Without trashing everything, she had stood up for herself and had made her needs clear. Bailey might choose to ignore them, but if she did, she would be the one who broke the relationship, not Melly. In spite of how angry and hurt Melly had been, she held true.

She had also shown him how to win free of an impossible situation. Just like down in the tunnels, when she had picked the locks and freed them both with almost nothing but ingenuity and perseverance.

In his bedroom, he had been faced with two impossible choices. Like a classic riddle, both led to failure, until Melly reached out past all self-protectiveness and kissed him.

She was a goddamn Houdini, was what she was.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been born and bred to win, no matter what the cost. He fought dirty because he fought for survival, not for any moral code or sense of honor. He threw sand in the face, kicked his opponent in the balls and went for the jugular.

That didn’t always gain him a victory.

The truth was, he was a dark creature in heart as well as in body. He was always standing at midnight.

He lifted his head. Maybe he could make different choices.

Maybe he could get in front of this and change his life, but in order to do so, he would need to make an intuitive leap.

He opened and closed his hands. What he needed to do lay right in front of him, waiting for him to get there.

Breathing hard, he pulled out his phone and punched out a number. He listened to ringing. A fine tremor ran through him. He felt sick with anticipation.

On the other end of the connection someone picked up.

Carling said, “Hello?”

His sire’s voice was as familiar to him as his own. They had, after all, known each other for centuries.

He sounded raw to his own ears. “You were tearing me apart with your contradictions. Ordering me to do this, then that. You weren’t safe for anyone to be around. You made promises and you broke them. You were going to stay on your island where you couldn’t do any more damage. Then you left.”

Time passed. It felt like years, but it might have been mere moments.

Carling said, “Yes, I did. All of that is true.”

His stomach clenched as he waited for her to take control of him. Not every sire could do so over a phone connection, but he was willing to bet Carling could.

Instead, she said in a soft, steely tone, “When I was fighting for my life, you tried to imprison me. You tried to have me killed. You banished me from the demesne I had created.”

Looking up at the ceiling, he admitted, “Yes, I did.”

Someone knocked on the door. He told whoever it was, “I need five minutes. Don’t disturb me. I’ll come out when I’m ready.”

“No problem,” said Xavier.

Julian listened to the younger Vampyre walk away.

“Why are you calling, Julian?” Carling sounded as cool and dark as an ancient river at twilight.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry.” He was shocked to find that his eyes were stinging, and he rubbed them. He was too old for this touchy-feely shit. He gritted his teeth. “I heard you were doing well, and I wanted to tell you I’m glad. I learned a lot from you, and we worked well together for a long time. I trusted my sire to have my back, and to fight for me when I needed it. You did all of that, until toward the end when you couldn’t anymore.”

Her voice gentled. “You were my best, brightest progeny. I was proud of you.”

“I need for you to set me free,” he whispered. “I can’t keep following the old orders you gave me. Once you asked if I wanted to become the Nightkind King. I said yes, and you set me to rule in your place, but that happened over two hundred years ago. Now… it’s a leash on my soul that never goes away.”

After a long pause, she sighed. “If I try to revoke an order that old over the phone, it might not take. Rune and I will have to come to you. Is that acceptable?”

Relief ran like sunshine through his body. “Yes,” he told her. “But it’s going to have to wait until after I kill Dominic and Justine.”

“What?” The end of the word snapped like the tip of a whip. “Is that why you invoked martial law?”

In spite of everything, Julian had to smile.

“Justine tried to kill Xavier,” he told Carling. “She slaughtered her household, kidnapped Melly, tried to kill me, and now she and Dominic are fighting to occupy Evenfall, but none of that is why I called you. Melly and I have gotten back together. She’s helped me think of a lot of things in a different light, including you. And I need to be free to make real choices for a future with her. Maybe that includes ruling the Nightkind demesne, but maybe it doesn’t.” He shook his head. “I can make that decision after I turn the traitors to dust.”

Their connection grew muffled, as if she had put her hand over the receiver. Still, Julian distinctly heard Carling say, “I made that demesne. I can bring it down if it misbehaves.”

In the background, Rune said, “No, darling Carling.”

“Damn it, Rune.”

“We aren’t going to storm a castle today. This isn’t your fight.”

“Oh fine,” she snapped. The connection became clearer as she spoke into the phone again. “Call me when you’re finished cleaning house. As soon as you’re ready for us to come, I’ll say these words in person. Until then, Julian Regillus, you are free of any obligation to the Nightkind demesne save those you choose for yourself. Your future will be what you make of it, and no longer what I order.”

Did the leash on his soul lift, or did he just imagine it? It was impossible to tell for sure.

He said quietly, “Thank you.”

“Melly’s good people,” Carling said. “She made you happy, and I’m glad you and she are together again. Give her my best.”

“I will.”

He disconnected, considering.

The conversation had gone so much better than he had expected. Almost, he thought, as if Carling had been waiting for him all this time to reach out to her.

Things could never be the same between them, and he wouldn’t want them to be. There was only so much that could be done to repair something that became so broken.

Or maybe he was wrong. He’d been wrong a lot.

In the meantime, people who loved him despite all his shortcomings were waiting for him on the other side of the door.

Blurring into quick movement, he went to his weapons cabinet, hidden discreetly behind a wall panel. The cabinet also held sun-protective clothing and custom-fitted body armor.

He donned the clothing and armor, strapped his sword to his back, and fastened on a gun belt with automatic weapons and extra ammo. Carrying gloves and a hood, he strode out.

Personal growth was damn hard work. It also took a lot of time, so it was going to have to take a backseat for a while.

Because right now, he had a battle to fight and Vampyre ass to kick.