Page 35 of The Arbiter

The flight from Maine to Louisiana takes longer than it did the first time, even in my own private jet. It’s a possibility that it just feels that way since for once, I feel like I’m leaving a part of me behind. Never have I ever fallen so deeply for anyone so fast in my life, but I’m guessing that’s because I’d never met Nocturna before.

She's most certainly one of a kind, sarcastic, protective, smart, and sexy as fucking sin. The best of all worlds. I'm worried about leaving my people down here unprotected without me, but they're more than capable of taking care of themselves. I've lived for others my entire life, one person after another. I'm feeling very selfish for wanting to be with her instead of on my way back to the plantation. After everything is said and done, it's not out of the realm of possibility for me to make a more permanent move closer to Nocturna. But first, I need to handle the current situation and make sure that all of my people are okay. I fall asleep with Nocturna being my last thought.

“My liege, we’ve arrived,” Rafael says, shaking me awake. I stand and stretch my arms to the ceiling before following him to the waiting car outside. A light rain is falling, doing nothing to help the Louisiana humidity, and my shirt is already starting to stick to me underneath my leather jacket. When I slide into the air-conditioned car, it’s most welcome.

Rafael gets in the passenger seat as my driver, Sam, finishes throwing our bags in the trunk and takes his seat. He adjusts the mirror and catches my eye, “Are you glad to be home, my liege?”

Itisgood to be here, even if I do still miss Nocturna. Thinking of her puts a smile on my face as I answer, “Yes, I am.”

The rest of the ride is quiet as the three of us become lost in our own thoughts. About a mile or so away from the estate, Rafael’s phone rings. Even without my exceptional hearing, I would have been able to hear the yelling on the other end.

They only get two sentences in before the car is rammed on mine and Sam’s side. My head cracks against the window hard enough that I feel as if I’m going to pass out instantly. Black spots dance in my vision as Sam groans in the front seat.

There’s a click of a gun in the front as Rafael says, “Don’t move, my liege.”

He barely gets the words out of his mouth before a shadow falls over both doors on his side. They’re ripped open, almost at the same time. A shot rings out, and as a second one resonates through the car, a silver net is thrown on top of me. I hiss in pain as it cuts through my skin, making me immobile.

This all happens in a matter of less than a second, so I have no time at all to react, especially when I just about got knocked the fuck out on the window. Infernal are stronger than humans, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be injured or weakened. I get a quick glimpse of both Rafael and Sam slumped over in their seats, then two hands reach in to drag me out by my hair, making my head feel like it’s going to explode. If they die, whoever is in charge better make sure that I’m dead too. Otherwise, I will assuredly hunt them down and drain them dry.

I’m hauled out of the wrecked car and into the back of a black SUV. A heavy weight slams down on my head as I feel a prick on the inside of my elbow. Then the nothingness takes me.

***

Nocturna

“I just don’t get it,” I say more to myself than anyone else in the room. After our findings in the cabin, Larkan had called everything in to his people, and then said that we needed to get the hell out of there. Something about not wanting to explain my presence at the scene, which is totally fine with me. There’s enough going on in my weird ass head that I didn’t feel like dealing with Rite enforcement too. Larkan, who’d parked his car in the same turn off, followed me back to the Apothecary.

We now sit in the meeting area with Jamie, Cedric, and Enoch. The latter hasn’t spoken a word since we got back, and I can’t exactly say that it’s going unappreciated. More accurately, however,theyare sitting. I’m pacing a hole into the floor.

Felix shifts in his chair. “What don’t you get, Mistress?”

I’m stuck in my head, so I answer without a filter. “Why in Damnation would Saul do something like this? I understand that he has a hatred for all things not Lupin, but it just doesn’t make any sense. He’s an Infernal, for fuck’s sake. Life can’t be all that bad for him.”

He, Larkan, and Jamie go into a debate on motives, but I zone them out. My skin crawls as a weird sensation creeps up my spine.

“Nocturna,”a voice whispers in my ear. The same voice from my nightmare the other night, but it feels so real. It’s more than a sound. I can feel the heat of his breath caressing my neck, his fingers trailing along my shoulders as my hair is gently pushed to the side. The smell of sulfur rises to my nose, and the sound of death echoes around me. I gasp as I jump back and spin to make sure there’s no one behind me. My second form flashes defensively.

Jamie yelps in surprise at the reaction from the guys. The table behind me gets flipped to rest against my back, scattering our glasses and their contents everywhere. Larkan has his blades whipped out and jumps in front of me as Enoch comes flush with my right side. All the while my heart has yet to stop racing, but the thought that I can’t protect myself against it, coupled with their actions, angers me.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I yell, shoving the two of them away from me.

“Us?” Enoch asks, speaking for the first time. “You spooked so bad that your second form came out, and there’s something wrong withus?”

I relax until my second form recedes. “I’m fine, just stressed from all the shit going down, okay? So stop freaking out every time I move.”

Enoch glares down at me but moves back to the other side of the table to help Cedric pick it back up. He mumbles something low enough for my ears not to be able to catch it, but I choose to ignore it. In front of me, Larkan has turned and is putting his blades away. “You sure you’re okay?”

When I nod, he looks skeptical and says, “I’ll accept that for now, but you’re going to have to trust me enough to confide what’s really going on. It’d be easier if it was sooner rather than later.”

I nod again, and he moves back to his seat. As weird as it is for me to say, even to myself, I miss Monroe. He helped keep me stabilized so that my powers wouldn’t fluctuate like what just happened. Between the good I feel tugging at me around Larkan and the darkness that surrounds Enoch, it’s as if Monroe is my balance to keep me steady. I let out a deep sigh and turn back toward them.

As if on cue, my phone starts to ring. Digging it out of my back pocket, I see that it’s an unknown caller wanting to video chat. I push answer without a second thought, and Monroe’s hunched over body flashes up on the screen immediately. My brain can’t decide whether it wants to be shocked or terrified, so I settle on anger instead.

I feel Larkan come to stand at my back, so he can look over my shoulder.

A distorted voice comes through my phone. “We only want you, Arbiter. The Strige walks free if you turn yourself over to us. You have one week. Choose wisely. In the meantime, we’re going to have some fun with our new friend here.” The screen goes black, and it takes all that I have inside of me to keep from throwing the phone against the wall. I want to scream and fucking cry. Out of all of the people that could’ve gotten taken, why him?

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to do what I have to in order to get him back.”

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