The Rescue

Daniel called out to the voice in his ears that guided him to that space. “Where are you?” Crouching on his knee upon the tallest stone on the ridge he landed on, Daniel rubbed his fingers together as he felt Rosemary nearing.

Before he even saw them with his naked eye, his mind heard the beating of the hooves on the ground and the faint heartbeat that reached out to him. “There you are.”

When they finally appeared from the other side of the hill, Daniel closed his eyes and reassured the little one they would be together soon. “I’m here; it’s alright now.”

“Are you sure you don’t wish to turn back? It’s a long road ahead of us.” Not even a single day into their journey, Rosemary’s body ached from the hard seat underneath her, and as she stretched away from the soreness, Uzzi wrapped his arm around her to provide the little comfort he could.

Leaning her head against his shoulder, she questioned whether she could make the trip. With her hands cradling her growing belly, the nagging pain under her fingers told her she should turn back now despite what her mind was trying to convince her about her future with Daniel. “I don’t know what to do anymore. Everything I do feels wrong.”

“There on the ridge!” Just about twenty-five years ago, when Rosemary was still a baby, her mother was killed along this stretch of highlands. So, when Mage spotted a dark figure kneeling on the tallest rock in the horizon up ahead, the soldiers took formation around the wagon and prepared for an ambush.

The nearer they came to him, the figure slowly rose and lifted his palms to the skies above him. His shaggy, black hair floated on the surrounding wind, and his black eyes, ablaze with fury, pierced through her very soul. Rosemary was overcome with dread and relief all at once. “That’s Daniel. He came for me!”

Bending to his will, the horses slowed to a trot, then stopped entirely and bowed their heads as Daniel jumped from the rock and stormed towards the caravan.

When she stepped down from the wagon, Rosemary didn’t know whether to run away or into his arms. She could see the storm raging around him, and it filled her with fear. But, at that moment, she finally understood that Daniel would forever be a part of her world no matter what she did. There was no escaping him.

“Rosemary!” When his voice rang through her ears and demanded her to come to him, Rosemary’s face pulled down into a pouty frown, and her chest moved in waves as she sobbed out in shame and sorrow. Running as fast as someone in her condition could into his waiting arms, Rosemary cried into his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He pulled her from his chest and encircled her head with his hands, then bent down to be nose to nose with her. The kind voice he usually saved for her only was void of such care. “What the hell were you thinking?”

Rosemary trembled under his angry grasp, and her lips quivered as his disappointment flowed to every part of her. “I don’t know. I’m so lost.”

Pulling her back against him, Daniel kissed the top of her head and looked to Mage. “I’m taking her home.”

From the look in his eyes, it was clear that it was not a matter to be debated, so Mage nodded from his horseback, still not understanding how Daniel got there. “Where’s your horse?”

“I don’t need one. We’ll meet you there.” He tucked Rosemary into his chest, wrapped his arms around her, and then thought of the woods.

The black mist came easier this time, as everything did when Rosemary was near. Shielding her from the dark magic that swallowed them whole, Daniel pulled his cloak around her back and spoke softly in her ear this time. “Keep your eyes closed and hold tight to me.”

Rosemary held her breath as the sensation of her feet on the solid ground faded away, and all the only thing left was Daniel pressed against her body. The air from her lungs was sucked away and replaced by nothing but the sound of their three heartbeats.

When the hard, stony surface of the Great Hall found its way to her heels, Rosemary collapsed into Daniel’s arms and gasped for the sweet breath of life. He lifted her against his chest, then rushed her up the stairs and continued to her room.

He came to the door, and his mind threw it open, then slammed it shut once they were inside. He lowered her to the bed with care, then swept his fingers across Rosemary’s forehead. “Are you alright?”

Nodding twice, Rosemary said, “I’m sorry.”

With nothing but angry words on the tip of his tongue, Daniel blinked away, then pushed himself back on the bed and placed his hand on Rosemary’s slightly round belly. Closing his eyes, he communed with the life and breathed a sigh of relief as she answered him back. His hand shook uncontrollably, and Daniel balled it into a fist to hide it from Rosemary. As afraid as he was for her safety, the thought of something happening to the child she carried made him boil with anger for his mate.

“Are you angry with me?” Daniel’s eyes darted back up to her, and he huffed out his nose as a sarcastic grin came to his lips.

Rosemary’s teary eyes did little to ease the bitterness he was feeling. “Yes, very.” Turning away from her, Daniel unlaced her boots and tossed them to the floor. “You both need rest. Take a nap, Rosemary. Don’t let me see you get out of this bed until I return for you.”

When she placed her hand on his back, Daniel closed his eyes and jerked away. “Not now. We’ll talk later.”

“I’m sorry.” Rosemary sat up and rested her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Pushing her hand away, Daniel turned back, then guided her shoulders down onto the bed and hovered above her face. “I warned you not to leave me behind. I begged you.” Daniel closed his eyes and breathed all his anger out of his nose before looking at her again. “The two of you are part of me. You can’t just walk out of my life; I won’t ever let that happen. You can go on pretending like this isn’t going on between us if you wish, but you can’t leave the city. Tell me you understand me.”

“I won’t. I swear.” Rosemary pushed her tears off her cheeks. “Please don’t be angry at me, Daniel.”

He blew out a long breath and kissed Rosemary’s forehead, then backed away from the bed. Pulling the chair closer, Daniel sat down and leaned over with his elbows on his knees. “Go to sleep now. I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Rolling on her side to face him, Rosemary slid her hand to his, and he lifted it to his lips. “Sleep.”

When the magic of his voice commanded her, Rosemary whimpered as her heavy eyes wove shut, then he placed her hand back on the bed beside her lips. Like the portal that brought him to this world, Rosemary’s baby pulled his fingers back to her mother’s belly. Feeling the pulse beneath his fingertips, Daniel bit down on his lip. “I know you.”

Closing the bedroom door behind him, Daniel went to the window and wrapped his fingers around the railing, then dropped his head as he tried to catch his breath. With the worry over Rosemary’s whereabouts gone, he was left a weak-kneed, teary mess of a man. When he heard footsteps approaching, Daniel pinched the tears from his eyes and sucked back the rest. “She isn’t to leave the city’s borders ever again, not without my permission.”

Nicholas crossed his arms and leaned against the windowsill as Daniel looked out over the city. “Agreed.”

Glancing over his shoulder, Daniel licked his lips as he thought about how to say it. “Is it possible…can you live more than once? To belong to one family in one life and then to another in the next.”

Nicholas snickered to himself and nodded. “Yes. That is the religion, Daniel.”

He blinked as he cleared the choking feeling from his throat, and Daniel nodded at what he’d suspected since the baby reached out to him. “She’s my baby. I don’t know how…” Daniel pressed his fingertips to his chest, and his tears spilled over as the thought of almost losing her overwhelmed him. “She calls out to me, and I feel it here. She’s mine, Nicholas, I know it. She’s my daughter.”

Resting his hands on Daniel’s shoulders, Nicholas glanced to the floor and considered it as he thought back to the long-ago days and where their bloodlines intersected. “It is possible.”

He sucked back his tears and shivered as he worked out every detail. “She’s my mate. We’ve been together before. She’s our daughter.” Daniel’s lips pulled down into an ugly scowl, and he shook his head. “She doesn’t want our baby.”