He shakes his head, his pupils dilating when I offer the side of my neck again. He cradles the other side of my neck with his hand, tenderly brushing his lips against the place he’s about to bite.
No, my blood blossom,he says telepathically in fae.No one will be able to breach where we’re going.
Good. Then bite me. It's time we meet The Scarab.
16
BAELFIRE
When Silas’sred magic fades, we’re standing under a dark sky, like it’s about to turn twilight. Snow billows around us, sliding across a white landscape spotted with a few spruce trees. I’ve flown to a lot of remote wildernesses to hunt over the years, and if I were a betting legacy, I’d say we’re somewhere in the Arctic Circle.
That would explain the subzero temperature.
Crypt immediately drops into Limbo to scout. A gust of wind sends a waft of Maven’s addictive, delicate scent to me, and I glance down to see that she’s already shivering. The cold doesn’t affect me, but even though my mate is the toughest fucking person I’ve ever met, she needs a coat ASAP.
“Here, Boo.” I wrap my arms around her.
She groans with relief, even though she’s still shaking. “Fuck, you’re warm.”
Pin her. Claim her. Mine, mine,mine?—
I grit my teeth against the sharp urge to bite the side of Maven's neck. My inner dragon starts snarling and pitching a fit, aching to hunt and kill if he can’t permanently mark our mate right this second.
Even though I killed a couple of hellhounds back there, it hasn’t helped much. My dragon’s always been an impatient asshole, but it’s ten times worse lately. When he pushes at the boundary inside my head again, trying to take control, I squeeze my eyes shut and fight like hell to keep him from attempting to kill Everett or one of the others again.
Maven’s gloved hand gently squeezes my arm. I realize she’s looking up at me with a question in her eyes, brow furrowed.
“I’m good,” I say, not wanting her to worry.
Even though I’m really fucking not good.
Silas has me lift an arm so he can check on Maven’s wounds. “Forgive me,sangfluir. I should have warned you about the cold, but I promise it won’t be for long. We’ll be untraceable by the time Douglas awakens and traces my magical signature here.”
Everett slides out of his coat, and I help him wrap it around Maven. Obviously the walking Popsicle doesn’t need a coat, so I bet he put it on earlier in case she would need one.
Kinda respect that.
She accepts it, her dark gaze sweeping over our surroundings curiously.
“We’re in far northern Alaska,” Silas explains before whispering more creepy-ass-sounding words as he slowly heals our keeper’s stomach and her neck where he bit her.
His nose starts to bleed from whatever magic shit he’s doing, but he wipes it quickly away, ignoring Maven’s sharp look.
“This is the midst of polar night, hence the darkness. The sun won’t rise much above the horizon for weeks.”
She’s still staring hard at him. He sighs and gives her a placating look. Everett rolls his eyes.
Another silent fucking conversation. I’m starting to understand why it gets under Crypt’s skin so much.
Speaking of the stalker, Crypt reappears, tipping his head at Silas. “There is nothing for miles save a barren expanse I cannot enter. Almost as if it’s an inhabited dwelling. Care to explain?”
Silas takes Maven’s gloved hand and begins walking in the direction we need to go. “If I could, I would have by now. Everyone who comes here is sworn to the utmost secrecy.”
I take her other hand, so hopefully, she’ll be a bit warmer. I want to pick her up and cradle her little body against the cold wind, but I learned my lesson after the last time—my fierce little keeper doesn’t like to be pampered.
Which just makes me want to pamper her sweet ass even more.
After a few minutes of traveling through white nothingness, Maven slows, eyeing the emptiness in front of us.
