Needing to touch him, I slowly placed my palms flat against the hard planes of his chest muscles. They lifted as he roughly sucked in air.
“This is not your fault,” I told him firmly. “You didn’t want me to leave. I knew the risks when I did, and you saved me in the end.” Popping up on my tiptoes, I went to press a kiss to his cheek. He let out a low rumble and turned his head so hot lips crashed into mine.
A low moan slipped out as our mouths moved together, his tongue caressing mine. My body went weak again, and it was only Daniel’s strength that kept me standing. “You’re never leaving my side,” he said, pulling back briefly, before pressing his lips to mine again.
Lexen cleared his throat, and I blinked a few times before I remembered that we weren’t alone here. Daniel and his best friend exchanged a look, and I recognized the urgency in Lexen’s eyes.
When Daniel turned back to me, panic immediately took hold. I held my breath as he said, “I’m going to make a liar of myself, because I actually have to leave you alone for a short time. The council has a lead on Laous. They had certain locations tipped to track him, should he go there, and the land of clouds was one of those. We have no idea why he went there, but he’s now on our radar. A small party has been assembled to go after him.”
No wonder he was so angry at Rao. This was exactly what Laous had been dreading.
“Where will Emma and I be while you’re gone?” I asked. “Laous wants us alive. He told me he was going to keep us prisoner, just in case he needed more blood. These tanks…” I waved my arm across the room, “are kind of the perfect solution. Alive, but completely compliant.” Ready to obey his every command. Misogynistic asshole.
Daniel’s strong arms wrapped around me, and I sank into him. The relief I felt at being back with him was almost impossible to describe. If I had to try, though, I’d guess it was how it felt to come home after being gone for a long time. For those people who had real homes.
He spoke against my hair. “Laous is not going to touch either of you again. I know I promised once, and my word might not mean as much as it should, but I’ll do everything in my power to ensure you’re safe.”
“Your word means everything,” I assured him. “Everything in your power is more than enough.”
“Hopefully we take him out today,” Lexen added. “The council seems pretty confident.” He turned to Emma. “You and Callie will be staying with Chase.”
Lifting my head from Daniel’s chest, I looked up to meet his eyes. He nodded. “Chase is the only overlord not to be in the search party, and that is solely so he can stay and protect you. Laous is afraid of House of Leights. He will never step foot in the trees. He has hurt too many of them over the years to face their wrath.”
A tree’s wrath? That sounded pretty cool, and scary.
Part of me wanted to argue. I didn’t like us separating. This team thing was really growing on me, along with the concept that we were stronger together, especially when it came to dealing with Laous’ psycho ass, but I knew he needed to be there. To protect his friends. To protect the secret keepers. Emma didn’t argue either, but it was clear she was no happier than me.
We moved toward the door again. My heart fluttered as Daniel made a point to stay by my side. We walked like a couple, like Lexen and Emma, so close that our arms brushed against each other, which sent shivers down my spine and through my stomach. The distance that had been there when I first awoke in the gel was gone, disappearing with his confession of guilt. He had been beating himself up for letting me leave the school, and for not finding me right away. I could already tell he was the sort of guy who took his responsibilities seriously.
We stepped outside – it was nightfall wherever we were. The dark made me shiver, but it wasn’t all-encompassing like the world in my head, so I pushed through it without too much distress. I was not alone. That made all the difference.
“How did you find me? How long was I missing?” I asked. It felt like days when I was in the dark, but maybe it hadn’t been that long at all.
“Laous thought he was safe, bringing you down here,” Daniel replied. “This entire bunker, plus the land around it, is off the grid, so to speak. The network is weaker here. He made a mistake, though, by not bringing you directly here.”
“The cloud land,” I breathed. “The place he picked up the tracker.”
“Why did he take you there?” Emma asked. “That land has nothing in it to help him contain or hide you. It’s just a place the council uses for the bigger meetings.”
I shook my head. “It wasn’t Laous that took me there … it was Rao. He—”
“What did you just say?” Daniel interrupted, sounding like I’d completely taken him by surprise.
“Uh…” I faltered for a second. “When Laous first tried to take me, I fought him off. Knocked him out, too. I should have run, but I decided to try and find Emma’s necklace first. Which would stop Laous from finding any more of the secret keepers.” I winced thinking about what had happened next. “I missed Rao stepping out of a transporter. He hit me hard enough to disorient me, and then took Laous and me to the cloud land.”
Daniel’s voice was glacial. “He hit you?”
I nodded, not going to lie to him. His body started to shake, shoulders lifting as he heaved in breaths. I turned panicked eyes on Lexen, who had already stepped in front of Emma and me.
“Daniel does not take kindly to men hitting women. Especially not his woman,” he explained, and I tried not to act stupid about being called “Daniel’s.” “And Rao is the name of Daniel and Fraizer’s older brother – the one that’s missing, presumed dead. The story was that he fell into the justices and no one knew. Trapped in the Flames of Ether, where the fire can even burn an Imperial.”
Everything stilled in me, the badly scarred and disfigured guy was … Daniel’s brother. He must have fallen into the flames, as they’d thought, but he didn’t die. Laous saved him, but also kept him hidden away.But why?
The heat around Daniel increased; he was not dealing well. My insides and instincts were screaming at me to get my ass over there and comfort him, but Lexen kept pushing me back, sidling left and right as I tried to step around him.
“I need to go to him,” I finally demanded, having enough of this game we were playing.
Lexen just shook his head, crossing huge arms over his chest. He was doing a very good impression of a warrior statue. “Nope. Not happening. Dan is not in control of himself right now, and he would kill me if I let you get hurt. Or attempt to kill me anyway. I’m pretty much unkillable.”
