Hunted By Firelight by Krista Street
Chapter 15
~ WYATT ~
I sat in for the rest of the discussions. There was no way I wouldn’t despite technically being off-duty. A group of powerful men were hunting my mate and they were proving more elusive and lethal by the minute.
The only positive aspect of the meeting was that despite Marnee’s obvious displeasure at Avery being my mate, she maintained her professionalism. She contributed to the squad’s brainstorming session on how to best protect Avery within these heavily warded walls, which meant her earlier actions were perhaps one less thing I had to worry about.
“How long do you think it’ll be until they find us, sir?” Charlotte asked after swiping a drink from a tray one of the servants was passing around.
“It’s hard to say.” Bavar lifted his glass and took a sip. “Our journey here was cloaked, the enchantments around this forest make navigation and scrying spells difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. Best bet is several weeks. Worst bet is a few days.”
My balled hands tightened. A battle was coming. That was inevitable, but now the question was when. “And when they find us, will Shrouding Estate’s ancient wards hold?”
A swath of pink and yellow clouds rolled across the sky, blocking out what little sun came into the room as Bavar finished his drink. “I’m fairly certain the wards will hold if we’re attacked, but for added measure, we could move Avery to the safe room if an attack is imminent.”
I cracked my knuckles. “How long would the wards hold under a serious siege?”
“At a minimum, a few hours, but possibly indefinitely. They would only fall if those robed men possess enough magic to break them. Many have tried and failed, so it’s possible they’ll never be able to breach them.”
Bishop stretched his legs out. “Should we take Avery back to earth, sir, just in case they find us? Wouldn’t she be safer at headquarters?”
“Yes, she would be safer at headquarters.” I worked my jaw. “But then we risk Avery’s health failing again. We don’t know if that would happen, but right now, that’s not a chance I’m willing to take. So we keep her here at Shrouding Estate for as long as possible, only moving her if the wards fail and the safe room is compromised.”
“My thoughts precisely,” Bavar replied. “The safe room will hold as long as the walls stand. But if the wards fail and the walls fall, I’m afraid none of us are safe.”
Most of this wasn’t new information to me. Bavar had told me about the wards and the iron-clad safe room—the Whimsical Room—on our trip here after I’d woken from my slumber on the carpet.
He’d also mapped out the estate for me so I knew where all of the hidden exit points were. The combination of the estate’s wards and the forest’s magic—which could be less than welcoming to foreign visitors—was the entire reason Bavar had chosen this place as our safe house.
We’d already devised a strategy for how to best secure Avery’s escape from the estate should it come to that, but it was good to bring the rest of the squad up to date with our plans.
If an attack did happen, we would need their help to keep the robed sorcerers occupied while a group of us whisked Avery to safety.
“Squad Three, if you’ll follow me.” Bavar stood gracefully from his chair, the dagger strapped to his waist shining in the fairy lights which were magically suspended mid-air near the ceiling. “I’ll reveal a few of this estate’s secrets, namely the hidden exits and tunnels. Consider yourself privileged. Few outside of the Fieldstone family are privy to such information.”
Since I already knew where the exits and tunnels were, I didn’t join them. Instead I prowled back to the stairs, intent on seeing my mate.
I was halfway up the staircase when the scent of baking cookies drifted to me, and just underneath that was a trace of lilacs.
Reversing course, I retreated back down the stairs and to the Merimum wing where the west kitchen lay.
The cookie and lilac scent grew stronger the closer I got to the kitchen. Other, more distinct scents—sugar, chocolate, flour, and what smelled like vanilla but slightly different—mixed with it.
“These just need ten minutes in the oven, then they’ll be ready.” Avery’s soft tone carried to me.
I rounded the corner and silently pushed through the massive swinging doors that led to the kitchen off the butler’s nook.
Standing in the doorway, I stopped, taking in the scene. Inside the sprawling kitchen, dirty bowls sat on the large stone island in the center of the room. Several tin trays with evenly spaced out cookie dough balls were lined up on it. And flour coated every surface of the spacious countertop.
Avery was bent over, sliding one of the cookie trays into a large double oven. Several other trays were already inside it. Her ass faced me, so round and perfect that for a moment, all I could do was stare.
She straightened and turned to the fairy who was assisting her, a smile on her face. The fairy wiped her hands on her apron, but then her eyes suddenly grew wide, her back going rigid when she saw me. Avery followed the fairy’s line of sight.
“Oh.” An attractive flush filled my mate’s cheeks. “I didn’t realize you were there.”
I stalked toward her, taking in her pink complexion, her eyes alight with happiness, and the messy bun on the top of her head. Like the fairy, she also wore an apron. Floury handprints stained it white. Beneath her apron were the same bright pink sweater and skintight fae slacks she’d worn before I’d peeled them off of her.
Damn, she looked fine.
When I reached her, her breath caught, and she tilted her head back to meet my stare. I was fairly certain a predatory look stole over my face, as a hint of musk entered her scent.
But even though my wolf rumbled in pleasure at the effect our courtship was having on our mate, that wasn’t what had hit my gut so hard that for a moment I couldn’t breathe.
The feeling of absolute gratefulness overtook me. Down here, in this kitchen, coated in flour and dressed so cutely that I wanted to smack her ass playfully, Avery looked alive and healthy. It was a far cry from how she’d looked only a few days ago when the Safrinite comet had taken her life.
I swallowed the thick feeling in my throat and said gruffly, “Looks like you’ve been baking.”
To hide how overwhelmed I felt, I pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Tendrils framed her face, and a light sheen of sweat coated her forehead, but she looked happy. Content.
And fuck if that didn’t make me the most elated wolf in this realm.
“Yeah, I, uh . . .” She cleared her throat, her gaze darting to the fairy assisting her. “I woke up and wandered into the hall. One of the servants told me that you were all deliberating in the drawing room, and I don’t know, I just had this urge to bake something.” She frowned, her forehead creasing. “I don’t know why. I’m not sure if that’s something I used to do or not?”
“You did. You do,” I corrected, waving toward the trays. “You love baking. It was something you often did every time you moved to a new city when you were growing up. It would keep you busy when you were new to a place and didn’t have many friends.”
A curious glint entered her warm brown-flecked-with-gold eyes. “Did my parents tell you that?”
“No, you did.” I took a step back since her heart was beating so quickly. I had a feeling my looming presence was to blame. “And I’m guessing you remember something about baking, if you were able to create all of this?” I nodded toward the trays and dirty bowls.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Avery frowned, and her gaze slid to the fairy again. The woman helping her stood quietly, her hands folded in front of her. “I don’t remember exactly, but with Nessa’s help, I was able to find the equivalent fae ingredients for what I thought I would need to bake cookies.”
“Did Nessa help you with combining the ingredients or measuring them?”
Avery’s frown deepened. “No, that’s the weird thing. Once I had the measuring cups in my hands and the ingredients in front of me, it was like my body took over. I got lost in it. Not really thinking or worrying if I was doing it right.” She shrugged. “I let my hands guide me, and I don’t know”—she smiled, her lips curving in an expression of contentment—“doing it made me feel happy, and it calmed me.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” I curled my hands around the island’s edge. Seeing her so at ease made me want to pull her into my embrace and nuzzle the smudge of flour just under her ear.
Gripping the edge tighter, my nostrils flared as I took in the subtle difference of the ingredients’ scents. “Looks like you found the flour equivalent.” I quirked an eyebrow at the powder coating her apron.
She laughed. “Yes, although Nessa said its texture is slightly different than the flour found on earth, although it bakes similarly so hopefully the cookies will turn out okay. Speaking of—” She sidestepped around me and grabbed the rest of the trays. The dough balls were warming, taking on a light sheen.
Nessa jumped into action, skillfully whisking away the trays Avery hadn’t grabbed and loading them into the upper oven.
I stayed leaning against the island as I watched my mate work. It reminded me of our first night together under the stars, three months ago, when Avery had baked a sponge cake and I’d observed.
“Have you thought of attempting a sponge cake with jam and cream?”
She stilled. One of the trays she’d been holding sat on the edge of the oven, but she made no move to push it in.
Nessa took it from her, sliding it into place before closing the oven door. A twirl of her fingers and pulse of magic made the timer above the sink activate.
Turning toward me, still frowning, Avery bit her lip. “Sponge cake, jam, and cream.”
“Do you remember anything?”
Her brow furrowed more, a confused expression overtaking her face. She closed her eyes, her face scrunching up into a knot of determination, but she groaned softly, then opened her eyes. “No.”
I pushed away from the island, no longer able to be in the same room with her and not touching her. Before she could blink, my arms were curling softly around her waist and my head was dipping to inhale the sweet fragrance coating her skin.
She gasped when my lips brushed just below her ear. “It will come in time.”
Her fluttering breaths grew shallower, her hands automatically steadying herself on my shoulders. My muscles tensed and hardened beneath her grip, and an urge to crush her to me was so overwhelming that I almost did.
But instead I pulled back, reminding myself that I needed to take it slow, not push her too fast or too hard regardless of what my wolf wanted.
She let go, and I took another step back until two feet of distance separated us.
“Are those biscuits I smell?” Bavar’s voice carried to us, and a second later, he pushed through the double doors.
Nessa immediately lowered her head and sank into a deep curtsy. Avery merely blinked.
A brilliant smile lit the fairy commander’s face when he spotted the closed ovens humming with heat. “Oh, it is biscuits.” He rubbed his hands together. “How divine. That must mean your memory’s returning?”
Avery shrugged and glanced at me again. “I don’t know because I still can’t remember anything concrete, but Wyatt said I liked to bake before . . .” Her eyes flashed violet for the merest second, and I knew she was once again thinking of waking up in the field by the capital, the otherworldly power strumming through her as she lay in terror.
“Indeed you did.” Bavar sauntered to the island.
Avery cocked her head at Bavar. “Did I bake for you?”
He tilted his head back, rapture overtaking his features. “Did you ever. I may have persuaded you to make me an item or two. Your biscuits—or rather, cookies, as you refer to them—cakes, tarts, and pies were some of the best I’ve ever tasted, so imagine how relieved I am to see that such talent hasn’t departed from you.”
Avery laughed and then eyed the oven. The cookies had risen in the lower oven and were almost ready to come out. “Well, you haven’t tried them yet. It’s possible they’ll taste like sawdust and will need to be thrown out.”
Bavar quirked an eyebrow. “Doubtful.”
A shimmer erupted over the sink, a melodic alarm sounding. Nessa silenced it and kicked into action.
She extracted the cookies, and when finished, a dozen trays sat on the island, so many steaming cookies waiting in front of us that I couldn’t count them all. Their heavenly doughy scent filled the room.
“May I?” Bavar waved to the cookies.
I choked on a laugh when Nessa scrambled to scoop some cookies off the tray for him.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fairy so excited about cookies before,” I remarked.
“Then you obviously haven’t eaten enough of Ms. Meyers’s biscuits.” Bavar’s eyes closed when he bit into the morsel. A moan of ecstasy parted his lips.
“I take it you like them?” Avery grinned as Nessa’s cheeks flushed.
“Oh my. Oh yes.” Bavar scooped another cookie from the tray, his first already gone. “Such pleasure I derive from your baked concoctions. Please tell me you’d like to switch professions and be employed as my personal baking chef.”
Avery laughed again, and I rolled my eyes.
Bavar arched an eyebrow at me. “Taste this and then tell me you’re not actually worried about every fairy in this realm trying to steal Ms. Meyers away from you, commander.”
Avery blushed, probably from how Bavar so casually referred to her as mine, either that or because he was so enamored with her cookies.
I obligingly took one of the morsels from his outstretched hand. The second I bit into it, a burst of flavors coated my tongue—rich chocolate, a doughy center, sweet sugar, and that fairy flavor that hinted at vanilla but was different—and I knew that my mate had missed her true calling. She shouldn’t work at the Supernatural Ambassador Institute. She should open a bakery.
“Wow.” I finished the cookie and reached for a second. “You may be right.” I tossed another cookie into my mouth. “I may have to lock you up, babe, or risk another man trying to steal you from me.”
Avery’s cheeks flushed again, and I wondered if I’d embarrassed her by calling her babe in front of Bavar, but I didn’t have time to ask because Bishop, Heidi, Terry, and Charlotte strode into the kitchen.
All of them looked tense. Given what we’d learned from the database and further findings at the library, I wasn’t surprised. We didn’t know when the sorcerers were coming but coming they were.
A fresh bandage covered Charlotte’s shoulder, but she moved easily and didn’t appear in pain. I wondered if Lex had done another healing treatment on her after their tour.
“I thought I smelled something baking.” Bishop’s gaze landed on the cookies. “Are those up for grabs?”
“Please eat as many as you want,” Avery replied.
Bavar shook a finger. “Now, now. I wouldn’t go that far.”
I smothered a chuckle but felt grateful that the squad members not on patrol duty were getting a much needed break as they began devouring the sweets.
The disappearing cookies got a glower from my fellow commander, but then Bavar shook his head, his expression light.
Underneath it, though, I saw the same feelings lurking in his eyes that I had.
Who were we fighting, and more importantly, what did they intend to do with my mate?
