[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

She rolled her eyes.
 I could ride you over there.
If he hadn t sounded so falsely innocent her mind might not have dropped
right into the gutter. As it was she was getting visions of a different sort of aerial
acrobatics than the ones Robin had in mind.  I m working.
His hand hovered over the tattoo for just a second before it dropped with a
sigh.  Damn. Trumped my ace. He shook his head.  Curses. Foiled again.
She ventured close and hoped he wasn t faking it. She really did need to
boogie.  Give me a kiss before I go?
His eyes went wide before he swooped down, capturing her mouth, laying
claim to it in no uncertain terms. He released her with a sigh.  Remember your
mother s warning. Be careful.
www.samhainpublishing.com 141
Dana Marie Bell
She licked her lips. How long his taste would linger there? He hoped it
stayed forever.  I will.
 Promise?
She crossed her heart.  Promise. Do me a favor and have Sal guard you
while you sleep, okay? Jaden s still sleeping off whatever Duncan and Moira did
to him, and I want to make sure you re safe while I m gone.
 I will. I promise.
She gave him one last kiss before flying out the door, her dragon eager to
take flight. Shane watched his mate take off and sighed. Damn. He d known she
had to obey Robin, but what was about to come would break her heart. She
would know she could have prevented it. Worse, she d understand he d allowed
it to happen. He almost stroked the tattoo, but by doing so he might cause her
flight to falter or, worse, call her back. It was too late now to stop what was
coming anyway. If this didn t happen the way he d foreseen it the entire
prophecy would mean nothing. He had to let things follow their course, or
Oberon s future would be beyond grim.
Akane was going to kill him when she found out.
Heart racing, he shut the outer lights of the studio. He conveniently  forgot
to summon Sal, unwilling to risk the salamander. He couldn t allow Akane s pet
to be hurt in any way. She loved that silly salamander.
Shane walked through the workspace of his studio, past the display space,
and found himself standing outside the vault. It took but a moment to unlock it
before he swung the door open.
Here was a treasure trove of unfinished pieces and unrealized visions, things
circumstances had forced to come to naught. Precious and semi-precious stones,
balls of silver and gold and the occasional bit of cold iron, anathema to any of
Sidhe blood, were thrown into bins and across surfaces like discarded Tinker
142 www.samhainpublishing.com
Artistic Vision
toys. Shane, like most with Sidhe blood, had to wear special gloves whenever he
worked with iron or run the risk of serious damage. He walked past several of
the unfinished statues before finding the one he sought, the one that had once
more begun to dance behind his eyes after talking with Tristan. He pulled the
sheet off the piece and sighed.
No. Akane was not going to like this one little bit. But he wasn t leaving this
vision out for her eyes.
Shane pulled the piece out and brought it to his workbench, intent on
finishing as much as possible before it was too late.
Akane flew over the Dunne estate three times before coming in for a landing.
Nothing seemed out of place. None of her senses tingled. The place seemed well
defended. Leo had even shown her some of the tricks up his unique sleeves. His
ability to use the land to amplify his Sidhe mind powers was amazing. No
wonder he d been able to sneak up on Kaitlynn and her guards. He d been able
to enter all of their minds, erasing his image and that of Duncan from their sight
until he was past the security cameras and down in Kaitlynn s dungeon.
Then, looking a little green around the gills, Leo had shown her the spot
where he d killed the vampire Jeremy West and saved his true bond. Akane was
impressed, but understood on several levels why Robin had never tried to recruit
the Sidhe into the Blades. With his powers Leo was phenomenally strong, but
only on his own land.
Add in the fact that the man had no stomach for bloodshed, and his
usefulness as a Blade would be severely limited. He didn t seem to have any of
the specialized skills that would keep him out of combat the way Red did, or the
healing abilities of the nymphs. No, he was just a Sidhe with a little something
extra, not enough for Robin to pull into the fold.
www.samhainpublishing.com 143
Dana Marie Bell
She found Robin watching over Leo, who was holding a sleeping Ruby. The
human was curled up in the living room on a red velvet sofa in front of the
fireplace. The way Leo s face softened as he gazed at his sleeping bondmate,
tender yet fierce, reminded Akane of the way Shane had looked at her. That
same expression had adorned Shane s face more than once when he watched
Akane, but she hadn t wanted to admit to herself that it was there, let alone what
it could mean.
The truly scary part was the way Robin watched Ruby with that same look.
Was the Hob in love with Leo s mate?
Robin nodded in welcome, the tender expression smoothing out to his
normal, cheerful look.  She s as safe as we can make her.
 What about Shane? Leo s voice was soft in deference to his sleeping
bondmate.
Akane shrugged, but something deep inside her squirmed. She wasn t
entirely comfortable being away from Shane.  Sal and your father are standing
guard.
 Dad has to sleep sometimes. He s running the farm and guarding Shane.
He s going to run out of juice soon.
Akane sighed.  We can call for reinforcements if you like, but if we do that [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]