In that moment, the dangers beyond the jungle and the shadow of an uncertain future vanished, held at bay by the quiet certainty of his arms.
CHAPTER 25
JASSYN
Jassyn plunged through the portal after Lykor, each step a rebellion against his better judgment. He might be courting death with this reckless pursuit.
The rift flung him into a world of savage cold, where a violent gust of wind clawed in greeting, raking him with icy talons. Jassyn wove a shield—not as a preemptive defense, but to stave off the bitter chill.
Or so he told himself.
The jagged silhouette of the wraith fortress loomed in the distance, the volcanic ridge a shadowed crown against a cloud-streaked sky. Boots sinking into the shifting snow, Jassyn drew his cloak around his shoulders.
Ahead, Lykor stood as if forged from the surrounding mountains, crimson eyes flaring with a dangerous glow. He jabbed a finger toward the portal, the motion sharper than the biting wind.
“Go back to the jungle,” he growled, voice rolling across the frozen expanse like distant thunder.
A gale howled between them, whipping Jassyn’s curls across his face. He shoved them back with a trembling hand, the cold seeping through his shield.
“I’m coming with you,” he said, voice steady despite his pounding heart. Tunneling his awareness into the frosty air, he swept out a hand and forced the wind to part around them.
Lykor’s lip curled over his fangs, disdain sculpted into the unforgiving planes of his face. “No. You’re not.”
Without waiting for a reply, Lykor stalked toward him in a deliberate challenge, each step punching through the snow, his breath billowing in furious plumes. Jassyn braced himself, clutching his cloak tighter, anchoring his feet against the reckless rush of standing his ground.
He’d done it before and he’d do it again if that’s what it took to crack through the wall Lykor had built around himself. Whether it was guilt for using coercion against him, a sense of duty to make amends, or some darker thrill, Jassyn held firm as this storm of a male bore down on him.
Retreat wasn’t an option—not with what was at stake in their resistance against the king. Not when Lykor’s relentless drive might lead to his own destruction.
“Let me help,” Jassyn insisted, his pulse a thudding wreck as shadows writhed in Lykor’s fists. A streak of rending slashed through his ward, the magic fraying like his nerves. His breath hitched. “I…I can weave shields, restrain the wind, or—”
With a snarl, Lykor’s gauntlet struck forward. Jassyn tensed, but he saw the motion falter—so slight it could have gone unnoticed—before Lykor seized the front of his cloak.
“I don’t need your help,” Lykor hissed, steam curling around his words.
For an agonizing moment, Jassyn was certain that Lykor would hurl him back through the portal, reducing his effort to nothing but a stubborn mistake.
“I barely managed to mend you the last time you portal jumped alone,” Jassyn pressed, meeting Lykor’s blazing glower. It was madness to provoke him, to trust that Lykor wouldn’tobliterate him on the spot. But he didn’t back down. “Maybe if you let me accompany you, you won’t end up freezing to death.”
Lykor’s eyes narrowed, fangs flashing inches from his face. “Enlighten me as to which part ofnoyou didn’t understand.”
Jassyn drew a shuddering breath, the icy air stabbing his lungs as temptation whispered through his mind. He could force Lykor to accept his assistance—perhaps even erase the memory of this argument.
But that wasn’t something he could live with. The thought unraveled as swiftly as it had formed, tension draining from his shoulders. The decision had to be Lykor’s—this would never work unless he knew that he still held the reins of control.
“I know you don’t trust me,” Jassyn said softly, “and you can throw me back through that portal if you want.”
He hesitated, throat squeezing tight as he searched Lykor’s eyes. “But I’ve been where you are. I know what it’s like to chase something so hard that it leaves you in pieces. You don’t have to do this alone or tear yourself apart in the process.”
A flicker of confusion flashed across Lykor’s face before his features shuttered. “What the fuck is that supposed to—”
Something shrieking slammed into them.
The impact clubbed the air from Jassyn’s lungs, an animalistic scream lancing through his ears. Fangs snapped perilously close to his throat as he tumbled, cloak twisting around his legs. His shoulder struck Lykor’s armor as they crashed into the snow.
Warping to his feet, blue light erupted from Lykor, bursting outward in a violent pulse. The shockwave of force flung their attacker through the air, body spinning against the gray sky before crashing to the ground.
The snow seared into Jassyn’s hands as he wrestled free from his furs, staggering upright.
