Garrett could admire the calm way his father voiced the threat. Yet he was getting closer to being able to destroy Ulric, and Dessie was his way of gaining access to Ulric’s world. They had all three Keys and the Lock now. If he could just figure out how they combined to destroy Ulric, then he could end this thing for good. That opportunity hadn’t existed before they’d found Dessie.
Now it did, and he was strong enough to kill Ulric. “The ritual changed me, Dad.” In ways he’d never understand. His torso was fused, but he was also able to navigate the universe and climb through dimensions to reach other worlds. It hurt like hell, but he’d done so during the ritual; he should be able to do it again. Especially since the portals were reopening. “I can kill him.”
“Ulric? In his hell world?” Talen tossed the ball into a wooden bin by a garage door two houses down. “I’ll go with you.”
“Can you teleport?”
Talen frowned. “No. None of us can any longer, thanks to the meddling of the Seven.” There had been a time when most immortals with demon blood could teleport anywhere on this world, but that had ended years ago when one of the manufactured worlds had fallen. “But if you’re making your way to hell, I’m going with you.”
There was nobody on the planet Garrett would rather have at his back than Talen Kayrs. Unfortunately, he didn’t know how to get himself to hell, so he sure didn’t know how to bring another soldier. He sighed.
“Listen. About Dessie—” Talen started.
“I know,” Garrett interrupted, noticing the abundant plant life around his parents’ house, as well as many new hybrids. His mom did love to experiment. “She’s human, and there’s a chance that can’t be reversed. So I should protect my heart, yada yada.”
Talen paused. “Did you just say yada yada?” One of his dark eyebrows rose.
Garrett caught sight of his mom inside the front window. “Apparently.”
Talen grasped his arm. “Look at me.”
“All right.” He didn’t need another lecture about Dessie’s immortality, but he also didn’t want to brawl with his father in the front yard. “I understand what I face with Dessie if I can’t mate her. That she’ll grow old and die. I don’t need a lecture about it.”
Talen’s gaze narrowed. “Your mom got sick after we mated, and the virus negated the mating mark, as you know. I thought she might become human and die, and it nearly killed me.”
Garrett sobered. “I know.”
“No. You don’t.” Talen’s grip tightened, and white lines extended from his eyes as his face tightened. “Even if Cara had turned human, grown old, and died, I wouldn’t change a fucking second with her.”
Garrett paused. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know if this woman is your mate or not. But if she is, you take her as is, even if your time together will be short.” He drew Garrett closer. “Don’t waste a heartbeat for either of you. If she’s the one.”
Garrett’s chest heated. “Thanks, Dad.” Of course his father would understand.
Talen released him. “Besides. You’re Garrett fucking Kayrs. If anybody can save that girl, it’s you.”
* * * *
Cara finished watering her plants and watched her men having a serious discussion on the porch. When Talen became intense, the atmosphere of the entire subdivision changed. It was odd seeing her child with his father and both as adults. So strange that her baby had become a fully adult male, as deadly and dangerous as his father. She hadn’t had enough time with him as a child. Not enough fun times with a dependent toddler so happy to see her after nursery school each day.
He’d been thrown into adulthood way too early, and the kid had been born with the Kayrs intensity to start with.
Man, they looked alike.
Both well over six feet tall, muscled chests, hard-cut features. Talen’s stamp was all over Garrett, from his wide stance to the stubborn shape of his jaw. But Garrett’s metallic eyes and old soul were all his.
The amount of testosterone on her front porch right now would probably kill her hydrangea hybrids. She grinned. The level of immortal handsomeness outside was something to behold. They were both hers. Both would always be hers in one way or another. Even if Garrett mated, he would always be her firstborn son. At the moment, her only son.
Though she was always hoping for more children. It was difficult for immortals to procreate.
The males moved away from the window, but she didn’t want to miss anything, so she stepped on the sofa seat and then its back, trying to angle her neck to see where they went.
The front door opened. “What the hell are you doing?” An iron-hard band was instantly around her waist as Talen snatched her off her perch and held her off the ground. He slowly turned her to face him, keeping her aloft.
“Observing.” She placed a kiss on his nose, her feet dangling near his knees. “Let me down.”
The gold in his eyes flickered to blue. He twisted the same arm holding her, using his hand to catch her hair. Then he yanked her head back and took her mouth. His kiss was rough and hard. Hot. Fire flowed down her throat to her body, lighting every nerve she had. Her body began to burn, and desperation spiraled through her head. The need for him, even after all this time, was brutal.
