Where Dark Things Wait: Night Creatures Book One

Chapter Thirty-Six - A Place to Belong

The rest of Wren's crew surrendered quickly after that, losing the will to resist once their leader fell. Most of them offered their wrists willingly, perhaps realising that their lives might well depend on their co-operation. They were outnumbered and outgunned, and only Peridot seemed determined to fight until Rhys Evans forced her against the wall and tied her hands behind her back.

Dunstan finished binding one of the unfamiliar vampires, then he, Caldwell, and two platoons of Anarchists checked upstairs, confirming that no further hostiles hid out of sight and out of mind. He only made his way to Kalyna's side once he knew the building was secure, and he checked her over in a mixture of concern, frustration, and awe.

"I'm fine," she assured him. "I'm sorry for not keeping out of it when I promised I would, but I'd never forgive myself if Zhak died on a mission that I demanded the Major sanction."

"I know," Dunstan allowed, and she wondered if his frustration really came from her disobedience, or if it instead came from his own inability to protect her. Perhaps he didn't realise that he had protected her; that by holding her together back at the compound, and be letting her control every aspect of what followed, he had given her a chance to remember that she could to defend herself.

"If I'd died, I would never have forgiven you either," Zhak chuckled behind her, and when she glanced his way, he winked, then went back to poking the almost healed hole in his chest.

"Stop it. You'll make it worse again, and I don't want to explain to Alad why his boyfriend has scars," she chided.

"He might find scars hot," Zhak noted, unperturbed. He'd seemed more concerned by her magic than by his injury itself. Perhaps they would all feel that way; everyone who'd witnessed her magic.

Frowning, Kalyna murmured, "Please don't be afraid of me. I don't want you to be afraid of me."

Zhak looked up again at that, and he shook his head, promising, "I'm not afraid of you, Kallie. Surprised, yes. I've never seen anyone use magic as instinctively as you do. I'm not afraid of you, though. I'm pretty sure I'm only alive because of you."

"None of us have ever seen anyone use magic the way you do," Dunstan noted. "I've seen light-weavers work many times; Maloney, Rivers... Laelia... But the way you accomplish whatever you set your mind to... the way you could jump from place to place as you did... that's new."

"I'm sorry," she breathed, and Dunstan's brows tugged into a confused frown.

"I know you don't like magic," she explained, shrugging slightly. "I'm sorry if you can feel it when I use it."

He shook his head, his amber eyes earnest as he promised, "I don't mind feeling you using your magic, beautiful. It's part of you. Part of what makes you strong, and capable. It brought you home. I don't mind your magic."

She hoped that was true, and as she had no other option, she decided to trust him.

"I'm going to call for a transport, to get the prisoners into custody," Harrison announced, tugging a phone from her pocket. "Staff Sergeant Eorl, do you want to let Maloney know that she can start moving the injured fae beyond the facilities wards?"

Dunstan started to agree, but Wren hissed, spitting threats at them from where he still lay on the sticky carpet.

"You have no fucking idea what you're messing with. You'll pay for this! Every fucking one of you!"

"Well, you'll have plenty time to tell the courts' enforcers about it while you're incarcerated," Harrison noted, unconcerned, then strode away to dial whichever authority oversaw the imprisonment of vampire criminals.