“It’s complicated,” Hollis grunts. “But I swear on my own life that we have a plan to get Gwen in safely and get her out exactly the same way. You know I like my life.”
Finn and I glance at each other again. We can’t trust them, and we both know it. He lifts our joined hands, kissing them softly, and I know without any words that he has my back. I have his too. I smile at him before looking right out the window. We stop in the middle of a field about half an hour later, and it’s raining softly as I open the door. Hollis’s words stop me from getting out. “Only you and I are going into the city, Gwen.”
“I am not leaving her side. Especially in a city of our enemies with a backstabber at her side!” Finnegan shouts.
“Shut the fuck up, Finnegan. Someone might hear,” Hollis growls at him. “The only way to get in is to say she is mine for the day and that we’re coming into the city for pleasure. There’s an unspoken agreement on the north wall that you can bring women or men in for a day without anyone asking too many questions. We’ll have to kill them on the way out with Severi because they’re not going to let us out with him, but that’s where you can come in. You can hide in the forest, Finn, and watch out when you see Gwenieve and Severi coming. That’s your time. They’re going to need help. The gate is usually guarded by twenty Vian with shielding powers.”
“One, you’re asking my mate to be a fucking sex slave to get into the city?” Finnegan’s disgust leaks through his voice. “And two, you’re asking me to leave her with you? The pair of you are fucking little betraying shits I wouldn’t even trust to watch my shoes.”
“Everything I did was to keep her safe. I swear it. To the Gods above and below. I’d rather die than harm our mate,” Rhodes firmly states.
“But that didn’t work because you shattered her heart, you absolute moron,” Finnegan growls.
“I know. Like I said, we all make mistakes,” Rhodes answers, and they stare each other down.
Hollis ends it. “She is our mate, and we had months to take her to the Vian king. He ordered us to watch her and take her at the right time. We said it was never possible. Even when she was taken by Severi, we were working with Severi to get you back. He didn’t have a choice, and he has trusted us since his mating ceremony. When he first knew of you.”
I shake my head. “Any more lies you want to inform me about?”
They are both silent. So that’s a yes. Fuck them. “Won’t the guards know who I am?”
“No, they won’t look twice. They don’t give a shit, and they are lazy fuckers. It’s why they have a crap guard job in the first place.” Hollis shrugs. “Plus, I regularly move people in and out of the city for ‘pleasure.’ It’s not uncommon.”
“Why do you move people in and out of the city?” I demand.
“Complicated.” Hollis goes tense and looks at his brother. “I’m the one who moves them, but it’s my brother’s tale to tell you.”
“Right, okay. More lies.” I roll my eyes at them both and get out of the car. The cold rain is refreshing after the heat of the car, and I slam the door shut behind me as everyone else gets out after me.
Hollis pops the boot open, pulls out a red cloak. “Put that on and pull the hood up. We don’t have to walk far.”
I start tying up the cloak, and Finnegan comes up to me, moving my hands away, and he ties it for me. “Be careful,” he softly asks. I nod once as he cups my face, and he kisses me. A deep, smouldering kiss that sends heat burning down my spine, right to my core. He makes me almost forget the world as I taste him, taste the salty rain and feel him press his body against mine.
“I’ll be okay.” I break away, feeling Rhodes and Hollis watching.
“Is it worth it for him? Severi?” Finnegan asks, touching my hand once. “I need you to tell me he is worth you risking your life and possibly being caught. I will come for you if you are, but this is a massive risk. Tell me that…tell me he is what you want, and I am on your side.”
Severi. The prince of the Vian. He is cocky, a real bastard at times, and winds me up…but he is mine. I knew it all along, but I couldn’t admit it. There isn’t a world where I wouldn’t risk myself for him. “I always hated how much I liked him, how much my Nexus wanted him too. He has saved me a dozen times, and I think it’s time I saved him back. I know this is a risk, and I wouldn’t be here if he weren’t my mate. He is, and he has sacrificed so much to keep me alive. I owe him a life, Finn.”
“Don’t trust them,” he whispers slowly as he brings the hood up above my head. “And save your mate. If he is on your side, then he is on mine too.”
“I will never trust them,” I agree out loud. I don’t care if they hear me.
Hollis is waiting with Rhodes as I walk over, wanting to drag Finnegan with me. We haven’t been apart for a long time now, and it’s strange to not have him at my side. Hollis nods ahead, through a path woven in the middle of the cornfield. “Let’s go.”
I head after Hollis, looking back once to Finnegan and Rhodes in a heated discussion. I’m really glad I’m not around to hear how that must be going. I turn forward as Hollis drops back a step to walk at my side. It’s silent out here other than the odd bird tweet and the patter of the rain. The cloak is doing little to keep me dry.
Hollis looks down at me. “When we get close, you’ll have to do something truly horrible, and you might cry at the idea—you’re going to have to hold my hand. I know, it’s a reallyterrible, awful request, but you’ll need to hide us with your gift when we are in the city. Can you hide three?”
“Please don’t joke with me about the past. It’s no longer funny,” I snap. “And maybe. Severi and you might be a little hard to handle.”
“I’m sure you can handle the both of us at once.” Hollis’s eyes drop to my lips for a second, and my cheeks burn.
I have to change the subject as I look forward and see the field spreading out for miles in every direction. There is nothing to be seen here. “Where is this Vian city? I didn’t even know that Vian had a city or an army until recently.”
“They’ve always had one. They actually have three around the world. One in America, one here, and one in Antarctica,” Hollis answers. I didn’t expect him to list them all. I’m still his enemy after all. But he is leading me to the city, anyway. “This is where the king usually is with Georgina, but they aren’t here. They are gathering top commanders in America and coming back here in a few days. We’ve all been commanded to get the armies in shape for war. It won’t be long now.”
My mouth dries. “Antarctica? Why is there one there, then?”
