“You must be a natural, then.”
“I don’t know about that, but I like them.”
She smiled. “Do you want children, lots of vampire toddlers running around your villa?”
“I guess I’d always thought one day, maybe. I don’t know.” But when he looked into the future, all he saw was more of The Society and Axton and now he had a colony to worry about.
Willow touched his knee. “Hey, I didn’t mean to distress you.”
He spoke quietly. “I just honestly don’t know what to do about all these families. If they choose to remain and Axton is after them, it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.”
“Well, I suppose that will resolve itself soon enough, but right now, I’m thinking you look very sexy holding that child over your shoulder.” She settled her hand on his arm.
Malik’s gaze shot to hers and he didn’t mistake the look in her eye. That her sweet forest-rain scent suddenly perfumed the air made him wish he had her alone.
“Sexy, huh?”
She nodded.
“Well, I’ve got another arm. I could probably hold a couple more, if only to keep seeing that look on your face.”
~ ~ ~
Willow chuckled softly, but she hadn’t been kidding. Watching him so at ease with the wraith children had lit her up like crazy. She was very female and, yes, she found herself longing for a family of her own especially when she happened to see mothers with their children.
She gave herself a shake, however, refusing to start wishing for things that couldn’t be, at least not right now when she had twenty-thousand souls to tend to.
But perhaps what moved her about Malik was that he loved and cared for his realm in the same way he held this little girl.
She liked this man a lot, even if he was a warrior.
Just as she opened her mouth to tell him as much, a familiar dizziness overcame her as well as a
n acute awareness that a new charm now worked against her protective vine shield.
So soon? She couldn’t believe it. Whoever the fae was that had been creating these spells, she had tremendous power, more than Willow had ever experienced before.
“Malik,” she said quietly. “Trouble.”
He frowned. “As in serious?”
“Another charm, and much more powerful than the last. The whole colony is in danger. I need to let Illiandra know. She’ll sound the alarm.”
He nodded, then rose and searched for the mother of the wraith-child. She wasn’t far, just chatting with another woman also holding a sleeping child. When he inclined his head to her, the woman hurried to him and drew her baby into her arms.
Willow pathed to Illiandra, alerting her to the new danger. A moment later, the white light that filled the town began to dim in slow stages and a soft whistling passed down the high street. Willow had seen practice drills, and this one went exactly as expected.
Every citizen simply melted into the surrounding streets and homes. When the light disappeared entirely, the town was in complete black-out, the stars above the only illumination.
Willow felt a strange vibration above her and looking up she saw smoke forging a hole in her protective shield. She rose to her feet and focused all her energy on her shield, but the spell was like a constant battering against her stream of energy, becoming more powerful as each second passed.
At the same time, she sensed a warning from the protective spell around her treehouse complex. “Malik, someone is in my home going through my things. This isn’t good. If it’s a fae, the one making these charms, she’ll be collecting articles that she’ll use to cast a spell against me.”
He took his cell from his leathers. “I’ll get some Guardsmen over there right now. Is the spell at your gate still down?”
Willow nodded, but she trembled. The energy she streamed pulsed through her, causing her to break out in a sweat. Her hands shook.
He shifted away from her then spoke quietly into his phone. After a moment, he addressed her. “Evan is sending a squad over to your main treehouse right now.”