Page 70 of Bishop's Flight
His expression froze. “Nothing?”
Carwyn’s heart was thumping at a slow, steady rate. An ancient instinct for someone whose heart hadn’t needed to churn in a thousand years. Emotion was overwhelming him. The bond to his mate hadn’t severed—he knew she was still alive—but something was very, very wrong.
“There was a burst of panic, and now I can feel her but it’s a low hum.” He rubbed his chest. “Like she’s sleeping. This is how it feels when she sleeps before me.”
Carwyn was older than Brigid. He could be awake during the day if he needed it. He could feel the dawn tugging at the edge of his body, but it was easy to ignore when he was this worried.
“I need you to go to Oleg’s house and find out what happened.” He slapped Lee on the shoulder. “Go. Do it now. Talk to the human guards at the gate and call me.”
Lee’s dark eyes went wide. “You want me to go see the Russian?”
“Yes. He and Brigid are friendly. She was going over there to ask a question. If something happened, I need to know. If she didn’t show up, I need to know.”
“Don’t you want to call Agnes and Rose or someone at the—?”
“Lee.” He grabbed the man’s shoulders and attempted to pull himself back from panic. “Do you understand that I am helpless right now?”
Lee’s voice was tight. “You don’t seem helpless to me. Honestly, you seem terrifying.”
Carwyn took a deep breath and stepped back. “I am sorry. But I cannot leave this house without incinerating myself, and my reason for existence is in danger. Do you understand?”
Lee nodded.
“I will call” —he lifted a hand that he was barely keeping from curling into a fist— “allthose people, but you are the one that I trust. And I need you to go now. Immediately.”
Lee hesitated for only a few seconds. “Yeah. Of course. I’ll go. I can go. I think it’ll take me about forty minutes to get there. Will you still be awake?”
“Yes.” If he were a wind vampire, he could fly, but not even vampire running or tunneling speed could get him to Oleg’s before dawn. “Talk to the guards, tell them you work for me. You will be fine. Find out when she was there. Find out which direction she went.”
“I will.”
He walked out the door, and Carwyn held tightly to the thread of amnis he felt humming in his blood. Brigid was alive.
She was alive.
It was thirty-seven minutes later when Lee called. “Okay, I’m at the gate and these guys are not cooperating with me. I said I’m looking for Brigid Connor, and they’re saying they don’t know who that is.”
“Bullshit.” He spoke into the speakerphone. “Give your phone to whoever appears to be in charge.”
“Okay, sure.”
There was some muffled muttering, and then a voice came on the line.
The man had a thick Russian accent. “Who is this?”
“This is Carwyn ap Bryn, immortal son of Maelona of Gwynedd, daughter of Brennus the Celt. Former priest of Rome and head of my clan. Who are you?”
“Uhhh, this is Yuri.”
“Nice to meet you, Yuri. Now my mate, the Irish fire vampire Brigid Connor, went to Oleg’s house an hour and a half ago to ask your boss a question. They’refriends. I need to know if she was there, and I need to know where she went when she left. If she’s still there, I need confirmation. Speak to Mika or whoever is in charge right now.”
It had occurred to Carwyn that Oleg would have safe quarters for guests, but that didn’t explain the panic he’d felt in her amnis.
“You are vampire, yes?”
English clearly wasn’t his best language.
“Yes.”
