“I am going to hunt him down,” he growled.
She clutched him, fingers digging into his back. “Don’t go. I think he wanted to lure you into a trap.”
He froze.
She had risked herself to warn him.
She had fought back.
She had escaped.
She had run to him.
His chest tightened with something fierce and tender.
“How did you get away?” he asked softly.
“He didn’t tie my feet. I knocked him down and ran.”
A slow, reverent awe filled him.
She was brilliant.
She was brave.
She was his equal in every way.
“You’re safe now,” he murmured, cupping her face. “I’ve got you.”
She looked up at him, eyes shining. “I know I’m safe. I’m with you.”
And in that moment, Vaelor knew with absolute certainty:
He loved her.
Completely.
Irrevocably.
And he would never let anything take her from him again.
Chapter 41
Mara
No sooner had they returned to their camp than their visors chimed with the sharp, metallic tone of an incoming message from the Game Master. The holographic text flashed across her display:
CHALLENGE SIX LOCATION UPLOADED.
FINAL CHALLENGE TO FOLLOW.
Her stomach tightened. There was no time to process what had happened with Blaine. No time to talk. No time to breathe.
Vaelor immediately covered the fire, his movements sharp and efficient. Mara helped pack the bedding and tent, her fingers still trembling from the adrenaline crash. She kept glancing at him—at the way he scanned the shadows, at the way his jaw clenched every time the wind shifted.
He was on edge.
More than on edge—he was coiled, ready to strike.
