Cursed To Death

CHAPTER 18

“Rupert, please show the lady to her room,” Sir Rodney said as casually as possible, eyeing both male wolves. When Hunter cocked his head to the side, Sir Rodney kept his tone even and calm. “We have all been under an inordinate amount of strain. The morrow brings a major campaign. We ca

“Safe haven,” Sasha said quietly after a moment. She stared at Hunter until his hardened gaze lost some of its resistance. “Good night.” She nodded at both Hunter and Shogun, in the proper order, and then bid Sir Rodney good night. Her eyes said thank you as she turned to follow Rupert down the long corridor that led to an entirely separate wing of the castle. The Seelie Fae were such diplomats; it was a shame that their peaceful way of life was probably going to devolve into an all-out war.

For now, though, her being in her own suite alone was the only way, the only thing that made sense. Who knew when irrational possessiveness would return, and none of them could afford that level of drama right now. At the moment, she was so exhausted, if she didn’t lie down, she would fall down-and if any male, wolf or not, tried to put his hands on her, she’d definitely have to kill him where he stood. More to the point, she needed every ounce of brainpower to noodle the problem of what to do about the individual spells that could make them all self-destruct.

Rupert stopped in front of a massive door, bowed, and then stepped before her to open it in a grand, sweeping gesture. “If it please milady?” he asked in an ebullient tone, his eyes expectant.

“Wow…” Sasha murmured. She didn’t move, just gaped for a moment as she took it all in.

Everything was white on white on white and twinkling with Faerie dust sparkles. Tall white candles sputtered with iridescent flames, and a perfect wash of blue-white moonlight spilled across the bed and floor. A series of thick white alpaca rugs dotted the polished stone floor. It seemed as though, for all that was lost in the rest of the castle and village in terms of bewitching, nothing was spared on making her room spectacular.

There was no getting used to Fae surprises, no matter how much she tried. As silly as it was, for a moment she felt like a princess, and almost looked down to see if her mud-crusted boots had somehow turned into glass slippers. Now, as she stared at what lay before her, she felt too dirty to even walk into the pristine space Rupert offered. The wolf life pretty much followed natural law, but the Fae had a way of turning even the most basic of life’s accoutrements into a wonderland.

An ornate, four-poster bed was positioned against the far wall, draped in gossamer sheers. White satin pillows littered a thick duvet. Behind an opaque screen that was partially open, she could see the edge of a white porcelain claw-footed tub. Her gaze quickly took in the antique white vanity loaded with every conceivable potion and lotion a woman could dream of, down to a sterling comb-and-brush set.

Sprays of white roses in delicately etched crystal vases were everywhere-on the vanity, on the bedside tables, on the dining area table, and two bookended the fireplace mantel.

Lush white-on-white satin overstuffed chairs and a love seat were scattered about. An antique white armoire stood against the wall flanking the bed. Closer to what seemed like the outer, less personal space of the grand suite was a table set for two, complete with a silver-domed tray and slim, elegant silver chalices.

“I literally don’t know what to say.” Sasha turned to Rupert, who seemed pleased by her admission. Yet, with the obvious strain on castle resources, a twinge of guilt and worry niggled her.

“Shall I draw the lady a bath?”

How could she say no? Sasha hesitated and then looked down at her clothes for a second.

“The closet is full, milady.” Rupert waved his arm, not entering her room and keeping a dignified distance from her. “Everything here has been attuned to your total comfort. Just ask and it is so. Your soiled clothes and boots can be left in the white hamper by the armoire and within an hour you can retrieve them folded and laundered, your boots polished, as though new.”

Sasha looked over her shoulder quickly as she heard the sound of bathwater filling the tub. She could only imagine how her guys were taking all of this. Woods and Fisher probably had tears of joy in their eyes. She just hoped the alphas weren’t affronted by this extraordinary display of Fae male prowess. Wolves did the strong sexy thing; the Fae did the smooth sexy magick thing-but regardless of species, a male display was a male display, peacock-plume spread or rhino head butt, it was what it was.

“There are fresh towels in the bath laid out for your use, milady.” Rupert stood aside further to encourage her to enter the room. “In the closet is a variety of choices, from ball gowns to more casual options. And when you desire a meal, just state your choice out loud, then lift the lid off the silver platter, and your meal shall be served. If the selection should not please you, simply cover it up and it will be immediately removed. You may observe the same process when you have finished dining.”

“This is really, really, really… over the top, and deeply appreciated… but the expense of all these resources on me…”

“Is what Sir Rodney expressly demanded,” Rupert said with a worried smile.

Sasha monitored the slight strain in his voice and the troubled look in his eyes. “Then please tell him thank you. Let him know that I was simply blown away.”

“You heard Doc,” Clarissa said, rubbing Bradley’s shoulders, standing behind him as he hunched over a computer keyboard. “Sasha told you no less. That’s your fifth cup of coffee and you have to get a couple hours’ rest.”

He didn’t look up from his task of typing and furiously scribbling notes as he responded to her. “There has to be a way to call the doppelgangers to us… And if we create a charm that is made of iron, rowan…”

“You’re scaring me,” Clarissa murmured, hugging him from behind. “Sasha said to stay put. Silver Hawk can’t even get back into the shadow lands now, anyway. Come on, let’s get out of Dr. Williams’s office and go get some shut-eye in the residents’ lounge with everybody else.”

He nodded, quickly acknowledging her hug with a fast peck on her cheek. “The shadow lands aren’t blocked to all Shadow Wolves, just to the ones who’ve been targeted-the leadership. I’ve been studying the sigils,” he said, finally looking up at her. “Their wolves might have been blocked in a blanket spell against the leaders and their top lieutenants, the very clansmen that would be accompanying them to the Fae ball. But to shut down all the shadow lands would be too much of a drain on their dark resources, and they’d have to have had a power-of-three location spell that was time-sensitive to the light.”

Bradley pushed away from the desk and stood, talking as he walked about, thinking out loud. “ ’Rissa… What if Bear and Crow put on the alpha amulets that would allow them to enter the shadow lands with cold iron and rowan and whatever else I can come up with to break the stranglehold this curse has on our etheric doubles?”

“But what if they get lost in there… They aren’t alphas that can go in alone.”

“What if they had a seer?” he asked quietly, staring at her with an unblinking gaze.

“I can’t go through the shadow lands; no human physiology can.”

“I would never put you in harm’s way,” he murmured, seeming hurt that she thought he would. “But an astral projection of your mind to their minds, your unfettered consciousness, could guide them as well as help them lure the misguided etheric bodies to them. All they would have to do would be to pierce the sigils that were fused to them, and the doppelgangers would be freed of the impediment. Then you bring them out of there as quickly as possible.” Bradley ran his fingers through his hair. “On the outside, you’d have me, Silver Hawk, and Doc to anchor you in the power of three on this side.”