“Let’s snuggle, and you can tell me as much of your life story as you can manage before I fall asleep. How does that sound?”
Warmth rushes through me and I nod.
“It sounds perfect, mate.”
TWENTY-TWO
MAC
Armed with Jareth’sillusion magic and following the scent locked in Atlas’s nose, I cling to Drax as we travel through the void to the mage’s hideout. At least, that’s where I hope we’re going. Only time will tell if Rune figured out a way to ditch us now that he knows we’re pursuing him.
When my feet touch solid ground again, I exhale, glancing around at our surroundings as cold rain pelts my skin.
“I hate rain,” Cassius grumbles, folding his arms across his chest. “Where is the mage?”
“Where arewe?” I ask. “This doesn’t look like Tokyo or Scotland.”
“It’s not,” Atlas says, his head tilted up to the falling rain. “It’s France.”
“France.” I blink several times to focus on the field of wildflowers we’re standing in. That’s when I finally get that sense ofhomethat happens whenever I’m back in my birthplace. “There it is.”
“What?” Drax asks.
“The scent of my parents’ home. It took a second to find it.” That thought is jarring. I can always sense home, but just nowmy mind framed it as where my parents live. This isn’t my home anymore. My home is…
“Are you okay, mate?”
I turn my gaze to Drax, my beautiful demon mate, and nod. “Yeah. I’m good.”
“Any idea where to go from here?” Roman runs his large hand through his damp hair.
“I think so,” Atlas says. “Follow me.”
We trudge through the wet landscape together until we arrive at a small clearing under a canopy of trees. It’s completely dry here and that’s a sign that the mage is close.
“There,” Atlas says, pointing to a large tree.
“That’s just a tree—oh.”
The air around the tree shimmers, and I realize it’s another one of Rune’s illusions. We continue our approach, but I whisper, “Everyone, get ready.”
Each of us pulls one of Jareth’s illusion bombs out of our pockets and prepares to use it when Rune is close. Atlas is the first to see the actual door, and as he pulls it open, it creaks, making me cringe. I don’t know if it’s possible to sneak up on Rune, but that certainly didn’t help.
As soon as we’re inside, we’re faced with a growling dog much larger than anything nature could produce. Roman springs into action, fur rippling across his flesh as he bares his teeth, but before he shifts completely, Atlas is there with a steady hand on his shoulder.
“It’s an illusion.”
Roman looks confused for a second before he nods. “Oh. Right.”
We walk right past the growling beast, only to be met by a swirling whirlpool of hissing liquid. Atlas kneels down and drags his finger through the liquid, shivering but otherwise unaffected.
“Just cold water,” he says.
We continue down the dark hallway, on alert for whatever magic may appear. An eerie looking old man dressed as a priest and brandishing a silver crucifix darts out from the shadows, heading straight for Cassius.
The vampire looks amused, then bored, simply shoving the religious artifact out of his face. “Your boy Rune needs to update his knowledge of the lore,” Cassius snips. “Everyone knows crucifixes don’t scare vampires.”
The priest dissipates into the air, but I prepare myself for what Rune may think is my weakness. He knows I’m a dragon, but what could he try to scare me with?
