Unfortunately, they didn’t know where Sabine’s vampires were, as they’d shown no sign of themselves in the two days since Aria’s message had sailed over the wall. There were no nearby towns for Sabine to go through and rampage anymore. It was only a matter of time before the woman made it here.
“She’s going to eventually give up her search for him and come for us,” Gideon said. “Probably sooner rather than later. We’re still weakened without him and she knows it. Now is the prime time for her to pounce.”
Melinda’s hand instinctively fell to her belly at his words. It was still too soon for her to be showing, but every day she fell deeper in love with the child growing within her, and she would do everything she could to keep it safe. Catching her protective movement, Ashby rested his hand over the top of hers.
“We will get through this,” he vowed.
Gideon glanced between them before his gaze fell to her stomach. “Congratulations.”
“I bet that hurt, didn’t it?” Ashby asked.
Gideon actually chuckled. “A little.”
A flash of movement drew Melinda’s attention back to the street. She tensed, her fangs tingling as she watched shadows slipping through the trees.
“I don’t think that’s the cavalry,” Ashby said.
“Our quiet is about to end,” Gideon said.
A rock lodged in her throat as she watched the vampires cloaked in brown slipping from the trees. They moved with the determined step of those who believed they had a right to be here and believed they couldn’t lose.
“What if she’s found Braith?” Melinda whispered.
“The men and women gathered within here have all seen, or at least heard, what she’s done to those other towns. They will fight her no matter what,” Gideon replied with far more confidence than she felt right now.
Melinda tried to believe him. However, the vamps here may not like what had been done to those towns, they may resist Sabine, but no one wanted to die. When they got a sense of Sabine’s power, they may well think they had no chance of defeating her.
All around the wall, the king’s guard raised their bows in preparation of a fight, but the vamps entering the town stopped before they could be within easy striking range of the walls. The rock in her throat grew into a boulder as the intruders split to each side of the road in one fluid motion.
“Well trained,” Ashby murmured.
“Ours are better trained,” Gideon replied.
From the edge of the forest, Melinda watched as the striking woman they’d seen once before, stepped out of the woods to walk through the vampires who had split apart to create an aisle for her. Her vivid red cloak was as bright as blood on snow against the gray, overcast day as she moved toward them.
Gideon’s nostrils flared. “Power,” he said.
“A lot of it,” Melinda replied. “Enough that those in here may follow her if they think we will lose.”
“We need Braith.”
“In case you forgot, there is a bit of a problem with that right now,” Ashby said.
Gideon cast him a scathing look. “Then we will hold her off until the problem is resolved.”
“I’m sure it’s not all that easy to pull a Lazarus, and it might have been as long as a month before Atticus rose again!” Ashby retorted.
“Stop it!” Melinda interrupted harshly. “There is nothing we can do but defend ourselves and those fighting with us. Fighting with each other is not going to help! Braith has a bloodlink. He will rise sooner than Atticus did. Aria is plotting something. We have help out there, and Jack will come. All we have to do is hold them off until they are ready to make their move.”
“How do you know Braith will rise sooner?” Gideon inquired.
Melinda bit her bottom lip before turning to face him. “He stayed alive with an arrow through his heart for hours, and it was for Aria. Because of her blood within him making him stronger and their link, he’ll come back earlier than Atticus did and he’ll do it for her. If he doesn’t, we are all doomed.”
Sabine stopped at the edge of her followers and lifted her hands into the air to command everyone’s attention. All around Melinda, a ripple of shock ran through the guards on the wall as Sabine’s gesture held each of them riveted upon her. Even from this distance, the pull of the woman’s power could not be denied.
“I am not here to fight!” Sabine called in a clear, girlish voice that floated to the residents gathering nervously near the gates to hear what was about to unfold. “I am your rightful queen! Your true ruler. I am of the royal line, older than your king, or I should say, your ex-king. I’m also more powerful as I’m sure you can tell.”
More murmurs went through the crowd; Ashby took hold of her hand, squeezing it as her skin became clammy and sweat beaded across her brow. The breeze blowing down the mountains and causing tendrils of hair to tickle her face should have cooled her. It didn’t.