Luke stood on the tarmac, overseeing the loading of their gear into the private jets they’d chartered to fly them back to Portland. As he watched every corner and every shadow for any signs of something amiss, his breathing grew shallow.
Roxi slid her hand over his shoulder and ran her fingers over the back of his neck, massaging the muscles at the base of his skull. “Dōšagīh, Jean-Paul asked if there was anything else you needed from him at the moment.” Her voice was a low, even though Jean-Paul probably heard it easily with his werewolf ears.
Luke coughed lightly to buy himself a few seconds. “I’m sorry. I got distracted. No. I don’t think there’s anything else. Looks like we’re almost loaded and ready to go.”
“Luke, it’s been a real pleasure meeting you. I want you to know you’re always welcome in Paris.” Jean-Paul smiled broadly.
“The feeling is mutual.” Luke reached out to shake Jean-Paul’s hand.
Instead, the big man pulled Luke into a hug, air kissing his cheeks. “Safe journey, my friend.” He released Luke and kissed Roxi’s cheeks. “Roxi. It was wonderful meeting you. Try to keep this guy out trouble.”
Roxi laughed. “If I spend my time doing that, who’ll keep me out of trouble?”
Sam poked her head out of the lead jet. “You ready to go, Luke?”
Luke startled at the sudden call from Sam. “I think so. We’ll be there in a moment.”
Sam nodded and withdrew into the jet.
“Jean-Paul. Thanks for everything. If you ever find yourself in Oregon, you’ll be my guest, and I’ll show you around.” Luke fixed a smile onto his face he hoped read as genuine enough.
“I’m due some vacation time. I might have to take you up on that offer. Now, go! Your departure time is quickly approaching.” Jean-Paul shooed them toward their plane.
Luke nodded and turned around, taking Roxi’s hand. Together, they strode toward the jet, Luke guiding Roxi up the stairs first then following her. Once he sat down next to Roxi and buckled in, he waited for the door to close, then for the plane to taxi toward the runway. Breathing shallowly, his brow furrowed and every muscle in his body wound tight.
As soon as the plane lifted off the ground and the G-forces increased, pushing him back into his seat, he exhaled explosively.
“Are you alright, dōšagīh?” Roxi asked.
He inhaled deeply, holding it then exhaled and repeated it a few times, expanding his chest and trying to get his muscles to relax. “I was afraid we wouldn’t make it off the ground. I guess I didn’t realize how much trauma I was carrying with me from my abduction. The situation was nearly identical.”
“Except Jean-Paul is an honorable man and your ally,” Roxi said.
“Yeah. I tried to keep that in mind, but my reptilian brain was trying to take over there. Thanks for stepping in. I think you staved off a full panic attack.”
She squeezed his hand and kissed his cheek. “I’m glad it helped. You know, I had a nice time in Paris, but I can’t wait to stop living out of a bag and have a place to call home for a while.”
“Only for a while?” Luke asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Who knows what our future holds, and where we’ll be called off to fight? It’ll just be nice to wake up in the same place.” Roxi leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder.
Luke liked the sound of “we.” She was right, though. For a while, they might settle in and create a home together, but it’d only be a brief respite until their next campaign in the long war against the vampires. For the first time in ages, maybe ever, Luke thought there might be an end in sight. They had met and survived an entity that claimed to be the master of the vampires. If they could find it or draw it out, they could try to kill it, and by killing it, maybe end vampiredom entirely.
Then he would be free. Free to love Roxi and Maggie and his friends, and to finish raising Gwen, though he’d done precious little of that since she moved in with him. He planned to correct that, though, and do everything he could to ensure she had the best upbringing she could ask for.
Roxi reached up and ran her hand down his cheek and jaw. “What’s got you so pensive, dōšagīh?”
“Just thinking about the future,” he replied.
“What about?”
“Just that I might have one.”
“Oh, Luke. Of course, you will. Everyone here wants to end this so we can build the world we want without monsters hunting us, at least supernatural ones. I want to have a future, and I want it to be with you.” Roxi snuggled into him.
As Roxi’s words sank in, Luke realized that not only might he make it to a future in which there wouldn’t be vampires, but he had a spark of longing for that future and the good things he could build into his life. The things he wanted weren’t just for others’ safety and prosperity, but his own. He wanted a future, and he knew who he wanted to share it with.
“I want that too, Roxi,” he replied.
She straightened up and turned Luke’s head for a kiss. “I love you, Lucius Silvanius Ferrata.”
Luke smiled, hope burning in his eyes. “I love you too, Roxiustana Surena.”
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Luke Irontree will return in Ancient Sword Falling.
Keep Reading for a short preview.
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