He brought it up to his armoured chest and stared down into her eyes, his violet ones pleading. As mercurial as ever. Vail’s mood always had been dangerously unpredictable.
“He is dangerous. Make him go away. He will seek to harm me through you and I cannot bear it.”
Now Bleu was just offended. “I will not… and besides, I knew Rosalind first.”
Vail hissed at him, his eyes almost jet black and pointed ears flattening against the sides of his head.
The elf male released Rosalind’s hand and turned on him, the black slashes of his eyebrows dropping so low that his eyes were nothing more than slits as he glared at Bleu.
“What do you mean?” Vail bit out and then snapped back to Rosalind, his eyes wild and filled with hurt. “Did you lie? Did the foul creature truly admire you in the Third Realm… did he desire you? Did you—”
Rosalind pressed a finger to his lips. “Nothing happened between us. I only said those things to make you jealous so I would know your feelings for me.”
Bleu arched his left eyebrow at that, and being termed a ‘foul creature’. It seemed Vail’s opinion of him was as low as Bleu’s opinion of Vail. And what the hell had Rosalind been thinking using him as a method of making Vail jealous? No wonder the male hated him and didn’t trust him.
“I love you, and only you,” Rosalind whispered, her head tipped back and blue eyes fixed on her mate’s violet ones.
Vail’s expression softened but it didn’t last long. Storm clouds descended again, darker than ever as he slid his gaze towards Bleu.
“I still desire the male to leave.” His eyes dropped back to Rosalind and emotions danced across his face as his eyebrows furrowed. “I do not wish to be reminded of the things I have done… not today… please?”
Rosalind offered her mate a sympathetic smile and opened her arms to him. Vail stepped into them, stooped and clasped her to him as he buried his face in her fall of golden hair. She held him, cupping the back of his neck, stroking the shorter lengths of his blue-black hair. When she blinked, her eyes darted from the trees behind Vail straight to Bleu, and starlight flickered in their blue depths as they darkened, the sense of power he felt flowing from her growing stronger.
Bleu shifted back a step and that was when it hit him.
The reason why Vail was troubled today, more so than usual.
His stomach dropped to his feet, the space in his chest going cold as he cursed himself for not realising it earlier. He could have avoided disturbing Vail, upsetting him, if he had chosen any day other than today to visit him.
Any day other than the anniversary of the one on which, all those thousands of years ago, Vail had fallen under Kordula’s spell and attacked his own men, slaughtering most of his legion. A battle Bleu had barely escaped with his life.
Rosalind murmured softly to Vail and his fingers tightened against her waist, black claws pressing in to clutch her, as if she was the only anchor in the storm of the emotions battering him. Bleu could sense the turmoil and pain in him, hurt that he had caused.
He backed off another step, an apology balanced on his lips, but then he remembered why he had come. He couldn’t leave without asking for their help. The fate of thousands, no, millions of lives depended on him now.
And on Vail.
He looked at the male, feeling deep in his gut and his heart that this was Vail’s chance, his shot at taking a giant leap towards redeeming himself. The elf had taken thousands of lives over the last forty-two centuries, but he could save millions in the next few minutes.
“I didn’t know,” Bleu said. “I am not here because of that. I am here because I require your help… I need to find the sword.”
Confusion crinkled Rosalind’s fair eyebrows.
Her mate instantly lifted his head, turning sharp violet eyes on Bleu. “The sword?”
Bleu nodded. While his mate didn’t know what they were talking about, Vail knew