“It could also be his undoing if they find out.”
“There is that.” He moved both his hands to my shoulders. “Shift around a bit and I’ll give you a massage while we’re waiting for Merlin to rejoin the land of the living.”
That sounded heavenly, and a bit entitled. “You’re the one who almost died. I’m pretty sure I should be rubbing you.”
“While I’m usually not one to turn down a massage, I actually feel pretty good. That Zoe is a miracle worker. She has magic hands.”
I didn’t bother to hide my scowl. “Someone sounds like he has a crush.”
“Don’t even.” He poked my side. “I saw the way you looked at Aric when he took off his shirt. There was drool.”
“I don’t drool.”
“Tell that to my chest every morning when you wake up.”
“Hey!” I jabbed my finger at his nose. “I don’t drool. Take it back.”
“Fine. You don’t drool.” He leaned in again and gave me a soft kiss. “Turn around. There are knots in here as big as my fist. You’re not going to sleep until you relax, and Merlin isn’t going to come out until we’re both relaxed.”
Since he had a point, I acquiesced. The sigh that escaped when he started digging his fingers into my tender skin was loud enough to bounce off the walls. “That feels good.”
“I’m glad.” He kissed the back of my neck and kept working. “Did you know Zoe could heal people?”
“Kind of.” Honestly, the mage had been one surprise after the other since we’d first crossed paths. That was less than forty-eight hours ago, and yet in some respects it felt as if I’d known her forever. “I think she can do a lot more than we realize.”
“How much more can she possibly do? Did you see what she did to the tree? We thought the kid was bad.”
“The kid is a mixture of her parents. She has both of them in her, two natures vying for supremacy, although I do think Zoe might have dominion over some of her attitude.”
“You think?” He chuckled. “I’ve never heard a kid curse that way in front of her parents. I think Aric was horrified.”
“No, Aric reacted in the way he was expected to react. He didn’t care. He just wanted to give Sami a moment of normalcy so she could settle in. He’s a really good father.”
“He is.”
“Your shirts are still out in the yard, by the way. We didn’t bother to collect them. I could go now.”
“Leave them.” He moved so he was closer, his chest pressed to my back. “If the shifters want to take them, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not as if they don’t already know our scents. Otherwise I’ll collect them myself in the morning and toss them in the wash.”
“Okay.” I was too tired to get up anyway. Then I thought back to the darkness I saw in Zoe’s eyes. “Have you ever heard of the Archimage?”
He kept his hands moving over my back. “No. Who is that?”
“I don’t know. I heard Sami say it. She said we could trade the Archimage for the vampire. I was just wondering what it is.”
“I honestly don’t know. You could ask them.”
“I didn’t want to bother them when they were so obviously shaken.”
“That’s probably a good idea.” He slipped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on my shoulder. “I know things didn’t go as planned, and that probably upsets you, but there’s no way they’re going to be able to pull off that maneuver again.”
“No. Sami will be insulated with her parents at every juncture going forward.”
“We’ll figure out how to save the vampire.”
I desperately hoped that was true. Rather than dwell on it, I squeezed his knee. “I’m still tense. You need to keep rubbing.”
His chuckle was low and dry in my ear. “For how long?”
“Until Merlin comes out.”
“What if he never comes out?”
“Then it’s a good thing you’ve got strong hands.”
He went back to rubbing. “Twenty minutes and then it’s bedtime. I’m exhausted.”
Since I was right there with him, I merely nodded. Tomorrow was a new day, and somehow it felt as if war was upon us.
MERLIN NEVER CAME OUT FROM under the bed. Ultimately, I left him to chill out on his own and crawled under the covers. Gunner slipped in next to me, rolling my head until it landed on his shoulder, and then he was out.
My body was weary, to the point where every muscle hurt. My mind refused to shut off, though. It was only after listening to Gunner’s steady breathing for a full hour that I drifted off, however, peaceful surrender was not waiting for me.
I sensed her before I saw her. The dreamscape was familiar, it was the clearing in the woods where we’d found Gunner. The scenery was washed out, a muted gray world. I recognized it from a previous visit, and yet this was different.
“I was wondering if you would ever come.” The voice was female, impatient, and I was already shaking my head when I turned to find her sitting on a fallen log.
While I didn’t know her true identity, she felt familiar to me. I was positive I’d crossed paths with her somewhere before in the real world, and I was certain we’d shared many a dangerous fight in my dreams. I simply couldn’t remember the specifics about her. There was a black hole in my mind where my memories of her should have resided. The only thing I knew for certain was that she’d appeared to me in the aftermath of a local man’s death, a man who turned out to be an uncle, although that was something I didn’t discover until he was gone.
Was she a family member? I couldn’t say.
Was she an enemy? It
