“Amara?” Braxis asked in concern.
“No,” I whispered, my breath trembling out of me as I pushed off his lap. “It can't be. It won't work. They'll never accept him.”
“Amara?” Braxis reached for me.
I held up a hand. “Give me a second, darling,” I spoke in English without realizing it—too upset to remember to use his language. But Braxis understood me anyway. That's right, the brute wasn't as primitive as I'd thought. He wasn't anything that I'd thought. But he couldn't be mine. “No,” I whispered again, then flinched as another flash of red hair speared my mind. I pushed it away determinedly. A flash of his hair merely meant that he was in my future, it didn't mean that he'd be my lover. “Braxis.” I looked back at him and the denial died on my lips. “Okay.” My whole body relaxed with that one word—as if it had been fighting me up until that moment.
“Okay?” He spoke in English as well and it sounded so strange from him that I smiled.
“If my men don't kill you first, you can have your second chance.”
Braxis shouted triumphantly—so loud it rang in my ears. He scooped me up and lifted me off the bed to joyfully spin us in a circle. I couldn't hold back my giggle nor could I stop myself from admiring his face. Braxis was a damn handsome man when he smiled. That jubilant grin turned the hardened warrior into a playful lover. When he set me down, I felt flushed, giddy, and a bit insane. What was I doing? I couldn't twirl around with him like a teenage girl. I had to get back to my men and Danu.
“Braxis,” I went serious, “I need to get back to Danu. Please.”
“Of course,” he said immediately. “I'll have the pilot set a course for Earth. You can do that”—he waved a hand at me—“vanishing thing you do when Rusalla's powder wears off and I'll meet you there. Just tell me where to go, hashanna.”
I took a steadying breath. It was time to give him a little more trust. “It's called twisting and it's a Danutian ability. But I was drained of some of my magic while trying to save Danu. I can't twist. My Danutian husband can't even find me anymore—my magic is that diminished. Otherwise, Everan would have come for me by now.”
“But you healed me,” Braxis protested. “I would have died. I felt myself fading. Your magic revived me. I felt warmer—as if fresh blood had burst through my body.”
“Yes, I used my color magic to stop your bleeding and give you blood. I still have some magic left but it's not enough for me to twist.”
“You were cut off,” Braxis murmured. “No way to escape or be rescued.”
“Yes.”
Braxis made a partially amazed and partially smug sound.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Don't you see? This only proves what I know in my heart—that you are meant for me.”
“I don't understand.”
“I took you at the perfect time.” He lifted my hands and placed a kiss over the knuckles of each. “If I had come a few days sooner or later, things would have been different. We wouldn't have had this time together. But instead, I came for you precisely when I was meant to.”
I gaped at him.
Braxis pulled me into an embrace. “Thank you for trusting me with this information, hashanna. I won't betray you.” He let me go but kept a hold of my hand and led me to the closet that held my clothes. “Get dressed and we'll go to inform the pilot right now.”
We both slipped into some clothes and shoes but when Braxis reclaimed my hand and headed for the door, I hesitated.
“Wait.” I pulled back on his hand. “What about your men? They won't approve of this. You promised them that you'd use me to bargain with Lucifer.”
“Gregory betrayed us,” Braxis said grimly. “We have a new enemy—one who I intend to hunt down and destroy. That will give them something else to focus on.”
“Well,that, I heartily approve of,” I growled. Then I blinked as an idea came to me. “Hold on. There may be a way to get both of us home.”
He went still. “Go on.”
“We'll need to contact my uncle first and explain what happened at the Triari outpost. Then I'll speak to King Lucifer on your behalf.”
“You think that Lucifer is going to forgive all we've done and allow us to return home just because you ask it of him?” Braxis scoffed.
“Yes,” I said firmly. “I do. I can be very convincing.”
Braxis chuckled. “Indeed you can. Very well. We'll try contacting them.”
