“Xae,” I whispered and hurried over to hug him. “We could go back if you want. Build a home there. Rebuild your pack like we did for Fress.”
Xae's expression immediately softened, and he bent his head to kiss me. “I've already rebuilt my pack. I don't need that place and its sadness. I want to look forward, not back.”
“Then that's what we'll do,” Rath said as he passed by us on the way to the dressing room. He patted Xae's thick shoulder.
“I love you, my not-so-lone wolf,” I said.
Xaedren grinned. “I know.” He smacked my bare ass, pushing me after Rath, then pulled his tunic on. “Now, put on some damn clothes so we can eat. You're not the only one who's starving.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
In the weeks that followed, we trained hard. First, we had to get Vexen adjusted to using elemental magic. Next, we had to train together and practice working as a team. When Vex was ready to go further, I showed him how to blend the Elements.
And during it all, I trained to capture Death.
Every day was a long day, but we fueled each other—love and brotherhood keeping us strong and motivated. The other lords helped too. Not with the training but with motivation. When we trained at the citadel, a crowd would gather, and hearing them cheer for us helped. It reminded us that we were more than our little pack. We had a clan too.
We also went on missions. Every time my pendant glowed, I hoped it was the last battle—that the Corrupter would be there. But he never showed. It felt as if Death were hiding from me. So, I guess that whole paranoia over Ara telling me to run thing was unfounded. Death was running from us.
“Where is he?!” I roared as I stepped out of the arrival chamber, fresh from our latest mission. Well, not so fresh, but straight from—shit, not so straight either. Ugh! You know what I mean.
It had all gone smoothly except for one thing—no Corrupter. Plenty of the Corrupted and lots of the dead, but no Death the Consciousness.
“He hasn't left his fortress since your last battle,” Air said.
“The fucking coward,” Fire snarled. “He knows Ember is ready to end this.”
“I am!” I flopped my arms against my thighs. “I need to end this!”
“Cease,” Xaedren said as he pulled me into his arms. “It will happen when it's meant to.”
We were both wearing armor, so it wasn't a comfortable hug and there was a lot of clanging at first, then some scraping, but I sighed and relaxed.
“He cannot hide forever,” Rath said.
“Well . . .” Water said hesitantly.
“Well, what?” I stepped away from Xae, my relaxation vanishing.
“Well, Death can control the dead and the Corrupted without Aranren present. So, he doesn't have to take the Corrupter out of his fortress. He could keep him trapped there indefinitely.”
“Isn't it bad enough that he's trapped Ara inside himself?” I whispered. “He has to trap him in a fortress too?”
Vex wore leather armor, and he had already removed his helm, so he only creaked a bit when he strode over to me. He took my helmet off, then bent his forehead to mine and just breathed deeply. My body instinctively followed his lead,breathing slowly and deeply. My racing heart calmed and the panic that was threatening to consume me retreated. Vexen's long hair formed curtains around us and his scent wafted from it, adding to the tranquility.
Vex lifted his head a few minutes later and looked deeply into my eyes. “Better?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“That's a great trick,” Kel said. “You wanna do me next?”
Vexen lifted a brow at Keltyr and, his cat eyes glinting in mischief, drawled, “If I wasn't in love with Ember, I'd consider it.”
“Ha-ha,” Keltyr said, but his eyes twinkled. “And what does that matter? We're bonded. You're good with me slipping my tail up—”
“Kel!” I snapped. “Not in public. That's not all right.”
“Yeah. Sorry.” He grimaced, then winked at Vex. “But you know what I was going to say.”
