She pulled back and studied me through narrowed eyes. “That’ll have to do for now. I think we’d better get out of here before night hits and this entire area is crawling with demons.”
I grabbed Elysian, then pushed to my feet. “Where are we?”
“Not that far out of Carlisle.”
Meaning Max and his crew must have had cars nearby, even if I hadn’t seen them. Hell’s Gill was a good hour away from Carlisle, and it was doubtful he’d have risked using the flighted demons to get me here. Even if most people these days seemed to have their eyes glued to their phone screens rather than what was going on around them, a pack of flighted demons carrying a limp body was a rare enough sight that someone would have noticed.
I tugged the sword sheath over my shoulders, slid Elysian into it, and then slung her back on. “Are we flying back to the safe house?”
She shook her head. “It’s too far a flight to risk with night coming on so fast. As I said, they’ll be out in force looking for you.”
“Then where are we going?”
“Windermere.”
My stomach clenched “That may not be safe. I told Max Vivienne was the only person who might be able to find the sword. He’s probably there right now trying to summon her.”
“Except Windermere is not a lake traditionally linked to Vivienne. Aside from Dozmary Pool, there’re six others.”
“There are?” I asked, surprised.
She nodded. “Depending on which legend you read, she can be found at Llyn Llydaw, Llyn Ogwen, Loe Pool, Pomparles Bridge, Loch Arthur, or Berth Pool.”
I blinked. “I’ve never heard of any of them.”
“Hopefully, he won’t have either.”
“So can he summon her?”
“He can certainly try. He does hold the right blood, but he also has the wrong sword. The latter will likely cancel the former.”
“Does that mean I can also summon her?”
“Yes, and not just because you drew Elysian. You are a mage in the making, and we remain her connection to this world. But this is a conversation we can continue later.” She motioned to the channel. “We need to move. Ready?”
I nodded and motioned her to precede me. She shifted shape, then jumped into the air and flew into the channel. I followed, the very tips of my wings brushing either side of the channel but not hampering my flight. Relief hit hard as I flew out into a gloriously golden sunset.
I was free. Against all the odds, I was free.
If I’d been in human form, I might have started crying again. Which was daft, especially given I still had a whole lot of shit ahead of me to survive.
Despite Mo’s healing, tiredness soon pulsed through me once again. I needed to eat, and I needed to sleep, but most of all, I needed to see Luc. Needed to have his arms wrapped around me and just lose myself in his warm strength and solidity for a few hours. Mo might be my rock—the one constant in my world, now that Max had betrayed us all—but Luc was both my past and my future. I might have only recently met the man in this incarnation of our souls’ journey, but he was quickly becoming as important to me as life itself.
Dusk gave way to full night. Ribbons of light appeared below, the highways brighter than minor roads, all interspaced by pockets of brightness that were towns or hamlets. As the glimmer of water finally appeared, Mo arrowed down, heading toward a deeper patch of darkness that was at least several miles outside of Windermere’s boundaries and nowhere near the shores of the lake. A house appeared out of the gloom, warm lights shining from several of its windows. She flew over its roof and headed toward several smaller shapes off to its right—barns that had been converted to guest accommodation, I guessed. She angled across to the larger of the them. Though there were no lights on, smoke drifted from the metal chimney at the barn’s far end. Someone had lit the log burner, and I couldn’t help but hope that person was Luc. As we dropped toward the ground, I saw the SUV we’d hired.
He was here.
I’d barely shifted shape and landed beside Mo when the door opened and his big form appeared. He didn’t move, didn’t say anything, but his relief washed over me, a wave so thick and fierce it snatched my breath and squeezed my heart.
The man cared. Really, really cared.
I was running toward him before I even realized it and then I was in his arms, wrapped in his strength and his warmth, feeling safe and secure and loved. My brother might have betrayed me, but this man never would. I was sure of that, if nothing else. The past had become my present and it would be my future. He would be my future.
There would be no repeat of mistakes made in the past.
“You okay?” he asked, his soft, warm tone cracking slightly with emotion.
He didn’t mean physically, I knew. “I will be, once I’ve grabbed some sleep.”
His arms tightened. I closed my eyes and listened to the rapid beating of his heart. It was a rhythm that matched my own and spoke of words neither of us were willing to say out loud yet. It was too soon, at least for him.
Mo cleared her throat. “Can we take this inside? The night is bitter, and these old bones need to get in front of the fire.”
“And I,” I said, “need to eat.”
“No,” Luc said, amusement in his voice. “You need to shower.”
I laughed and pulled away. “It can’t be too bad, given how tightly you were hugging me.”
“Oh, it is, but relief momentarily overwhelmed my sense of smell. That is no longer the case.”
“Then I shall go and shower while you, dear man, can prepare my dinner.”
“As you wish.” He bowed regally and stepped back. “You’ll find fresh clothes and your knives waiting for you upstairs.”
I glanced at him sharply. “You risked going back to our place for clothes?”
“No. I stole them.”
My gaze widened. “Really?”
“Truly. A man my size buying women’s clothing will always be memorable, and that’s something we couldn’t risk once you were freed.” Amusement shone in his eyes. “A Blackbird’s ability to become invisible to the eye isn’t always used for good.”
“That’s a certainty.” Mo closed the door and brushed an alarm spell across its surface. “I’ve got a myriad of tales about the less-than-salubrious actions past Blackbirds have taken.”
“We’ve never claimed to be saints.” The gleam in his eyes was decidedly wicked. “And I’m betting some of those actions would involve women.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Speaking from experience here, are we?”
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds I may incriminate myself.” He paused. “But no instances involved married women, just in case you were wondering. I’ve always steered clear of that sort of problem.”
“Well, good, because a man who’d stray with a married woman is a man who would stray when he’s married.” I crossed my arms, my expression one of mock severity. “And I’ll have you know here and now, there will be no such straying when we’re married. Or nuts will be severed.”
He laughed. “My nuts will never be in any sort of danger, of that I can assure you.”
“Good,” I said primly, and finally looked around.