Free Captured Sun by Shari Richardson Page A

has promised his servitude in return for our safety, but I don't trust her."
    "Maire, you can't do this alone," Kerry said. "It's not safe."
    "I won't be alone. Alfred is going to redeem himself," I turned to him. "Aren't you."
    "You're going after Mathias? Knowing what Serina will do to you, you're still going?" Alfred's shock at my devotion was obvious.
    "I don't have a choice. She took my heart and soul with her. I can't live without him."
    Alfred considered my words before turning to Kerry. "I will protect your sister as best I can, but I cannot guarantee her safety."
    "That's not good enough," Kerry cried.
    "It has to be, Kerry. I need you to go home, tell Mom and Tawnya that I had to take care of this, that it was a dream that sent me. You know that will keep them from asking too many questions. I'll come back as soon as I can get Mathias."
    Xavier's eyes told me he didn't believe me, but he kept that thought to himself.
    "I'll keep the boys on the watch around the house and the shop. Kerry will stay with me. Your family will be here when you get home, Maire," he said.
    "Thanks, Xavier," I said, hugging him. I kissed Kerry and pushed them both out the door. When I closed the door behind them, I realized that tears coursed down my cheeks unchecked. I was certain I'd never see my family again, but without Mathias I had no reason to live. I had to go to England. I had to find him and I had to do what Alfred had been unwilling to do. I had to save him.
    "Where do we start, Alfred?"
    "The airport, I suppose." He rose from his chair and stepped closer to me. The hair on my neck rose and I backed away from him.
    "You need to keep away from me, Alfred," I said. "I saw what you did, heard everything you said. Mathias begged you to keep his secret, but you didn't. You gave him to Serina as much as if you had physically handed him over to her. I don't trust you."
    Alfred held out his hands and took a step away from me. "I don't understand your connection to my son, Mairin. I didn't realize he would be willing to sacrifice his freedom for your safety. In my world, humans are not cherished as Mathias cherishes you. When I spoke, I did so knowing only that I could not allow Serina to kill my son. You say you saw what I did. Did you also see the torture she had begun? The scars she will leave on him? Would you have allowed that to continue, to end in his death? I think not."
    I nodded. He was right. I would have offered my neck to Serina if I'd believed doing so would stop her from hurting Mathias. "So we agree we don't trust each other, but we both love Mathias. I guess that's as good a place as any to work from," I said.
    Alfred sat in the chair by the window, peering into the brightening dawn. "Mathias mentioned your dreams to me. How they are often premonitions," he said. "Can you make yourself have one? Perhaps it would be enough to tell you where they are."
    I shook my head. "I've never tried to force a premonition. They've always just come to me," I said. "It's been extremely frustrating lately that the dreams involving vampires always seem to come just a little too late."
    "Perhaps it is because we do not truly have a future," Alfred mused.
    I shuddered at the though. "Mathias has a future," I said.
    "Only if you can find them. Will you try?" Alfred's pain was something I hadn't been prepared for. He'd stood by and allowed Serina to take Mathias, despite his obvious love for his son. Serina's power over him was horrifying in its ability to overrule his free will. No one deserved to have his life reduced to being forced to follow orders without thought or choice.
    I knew I was too wound up to sleep, but I lay down on the couch. Alfred was right. Without a premonition to tell me where Serina had taken Mathias, our arrival in England would be nothing more than an expensive trip into misery. I had to try. "Wake me when Xavier calls."
    I closed my eyes and pictured Mathias' beautiful face. His dark eyes, his cool lips, his pale