The fire of my power surged within me, but luckily for him, this day my arms were full and I had no time to beat this overstepping motherfucker to death. "She's fine. I take care of my mate."
He held both hands up, and I didn't bother to tone my energy down. I was without reason when it came to Lale, and any male that thought to go near her would learn how little tolerance I truly had. Darin was only alive because I’d needed him here in the Delfora.
His bravery this moon had saved him, but there were no more chances.
Ignoring everything else, I called my sands to surrounded Lale and me, hating how small she felt in my arms. For the first time in more years than I cared to remember, she was vulnerable, having sacrificed her massive powerbase. But it didn’t matter, because she was strong in her own right, and I had more than enough power for us both.
My entire mission in life, from this point forward, was to protect and love my mate. Fuck, she would be so sick of me by the end she’d probably pull her blades on me. Honestly, I couldn’t wait.
There was no hotter moment than when she kicked my ass.
Truth was, I could not live without this stubborn, frustrating, and beautiful female.
From this day forward, all threats against us would be eliminated without thought. The raging deserts had nothing on me and my need to protect her.
Until the sands faded.
53
Never in all my many years had I experienced the sort of emptiness that was sucking me into the darkness now. The loss of power was such a shock to my system it had shut itself down to protect us. Me and the miracle I carried. That flutter of foreign energy I’d felt inside when I was desperately searching for a way to save Reece was not actually foreign at all. It was a life we’d created in the silver sands, and it was only thanks to that power that I’d been able to save Reece.
Despite my fatigue, I knew my mate was with me, his hot sands and energy carrying us across the Desert Lands. As much as I wanted to open my eyes and see the sands below, there was no way I could until some of my base energy was restored.
Which happened the moment we stepped into the silver sands.
Reece had taken me to the grotto.
As water washed over my body, I let out a low moan, my senses bursting to life. Opening my eyes, I met a searing set of blue ones, those thick, heavy lashes framing hooded eyes. Eyes I’d never thought I’d see in this realm again. “Mate,” I whispered, choking up.
Reece always looked perfect, but there was a weariness around his eyes. “You scared the fuck out of me, Lale,” he said, voice a harsh bark. “Don’t ever sacrifice your power like that again.”
I waited for him to finish berating me, a smile trying to force its way across my lips. Just hearing this stubborn asshole side of him again was the greatest gift. “I gave you everything,” I told him. “And I would do it again in a heartbeat. The only reason I held back even the one layer was I needed to ensu—”
My word was cut off when his lips crashed onto mine. His taste, spice, and power filled my mouth, and I briefly forgot everything, including my name. When he pulled away, still cradling me in the water, both of us breathing heavy, he lifted me closer. “Just heal, Lale,” he told me. “Let the grotto refill what you naturally hold, and we’ll worry about the rest later.”
“I have to tell you something,” I said in a rush, before he distracted me with his damn sexiness again. "When I was searching through our bond, trying to use your power over the sands to save you, I felt a flutter of foreign energy deep in my power. Deeper than I'd ever gone before."
I had his full and silent attention now, even as he held me tight against his body.
"I got out of your barrier because a speck of silver sand fell from my hair.”
His brow furrowed a beat as I paused to let that sink in. "You cannot take the sand with you," he said slowly.
I nodded. "And yet I did.”
“Foreign energy inside?” he repeated, before understanding dawned in his expression; once again, that genius brain had put the pieces together in no time.
His hand trembled as he slid it down my body to press against the armor over my stomach. "How can this be possible?" he murmured.
Bonded or not, we should never be able to have children together. Transcendents did not carry young with any outside of our light, but Reece and I were breaking all the rules now.
"It had to be the silver sands," I said, having had more time to think it over. “After our moon in the grotto, I left with a speck of sand and a miracle. The grotto allowed me to take sand because I carry a child of its essence. Our child.”
Reece closed his eyes, heat under his hand seeping into me as he searched through our bond just as I had done back in the Delfora. The moment he felt the spark of life, it fluttered under his touch. "Fuck," he rasped, clearing his throat. "We had so much to lose. I almost missed this moment—and every fucking moment after.”
His hands shook as he wrapped them around me, holding on desperately. “Fuck,” he repeated, and it was unusual to see him in shock like this. Reece never let anything phase him, but this moon, he was unable to keep it together. The truth of what we’d almost lost was hitting him hard.
Been there, done that, had the mental triggers to show for it.
