I shouldn’t be here. I should be out there, looking for her. Was she safe? Had she won the battle against Ryker? Had she killed him?
Had I lost her?
Anxiety clutching my being, I looked down, examining the distance between me and the street. I needed to leave this place. I needed to find Isis.
Gauging approximately fifteen floors underneath me, I swung my leg over the metal railing and flung myself onto the balcony right under me. My wolf’s stealth helped my bare feet land silently onto the terrace, reaching for the next railing and dropping another floor. The first three levels were a breeze, but by the fourth, my palms struggled to hold on to the damp metal railing, and my grip began to weaken. I aimed for the next balcony, but my hands slipped before I could angle my body and jump onto the terrace, falling off the building instead.
The next railing crashed against my ribs, and I bounced outwards, plummeting toward the street.
“Aa—!” My scream cut mid-breath as strong arms suddenly caught me, flat-out stopping my fall. Gasping, I glanced up to find D holding me against his bare chest, dark, leathery wings flapping behind him while his irises turned red from the fury.
Our descent was slow from there, measured, but his every muscle jerked, the intensity of his stare saying he might just strangle me himself for pulling this little stunt and hurting myself.
His chest was warm against my hands, yet another contradiction from the frigid cold beings that Vampires were supposed to be. D helped me stand the instant his feet touched the ground, and my wolf stirred unhappily inside me from the loss of him. I truly needed her to get her shit together, because all she wanted was for me to caress and ogle the Vampire’s chest.
I stumbled a step before I could get my bearings, a hand flying to my ribs just as D’s wings folded into his back. Thankfully, only the rain accompanied us in the street right now, so there were no human witnesses.
“There’s an elevator in the penthouse, you know?”
Well, the rain,andDante.
His shadows swirled among the storm until he stood next to me, seeming a bit more amused at my attempt to escape than D was. “It’s a private elevator too,” he specified. “And wouldn’t you know it? It only has two buttons. One to the top, one to the lobby. So easy.”
Huffing, I pushed the soaked hair out of my face and glared at D, refusing to acknowledge the Dark Witch’s sarcasm,andignoring the ache radiating on my left side. “You didn’t have to do that; I could have?—”
“Sure, why on earth would I save your life,again?” D argued. “I mean, you can fly too.”
“I don’t needyouto save me,” I growled, biting down the pain.
“Of course not. I should have just let you splatter on the street.”
“Not exactly my idea of painting the town red, but okay.”
“Shut up, Dante!” both D and I snapped, but his lips twitched, saying he was enjoying this.
“You could have just asked for help,” D continued.
“You can’t keep me here against my will!”
“We are not keeping you against—” D pinched the bridge of his nose—probably asking the goddess for patience. “We are protecting you, Natasha. Isn’t that obvious? And what are you so desperate to achieve that you would literally jump off a building?”
“I have to go back to the mountain, okay!” I retorted, my hand gripping my side a bit harder to lessen the pain.
Dante’s gaze fell to my body, concern replacing his amusement—like he hadn’t yet realized that I seriously hurt myself. Bands of shadows rose around me instantly, numbing the pain as they swirled over my ribs.
“My family risked everything to get you out. I almost died getting you out of there. What the hell would you go back to the mountain for?” D demanded.
“I need to find Isis!” I yelled back at him, seeing the red ire immediately leave his gaze, guilt, and sadness engulfing his hazel eyes.
“Natasha, Isis?—”
“No!” I cut off Dante. “I can’t just be here without knowing whether or not she’s alive. I need to know she didn’t lose her life because of me…” My words drowned in the sorrow and worry gripping my soul, but I forced them out anyway. Unfortunately, that wasn’t all I needed. The dark truth I struggled with, spilledfrom my lips before I could even stop it. “And… I need to know she didn’t kill Ryker.”
I expected the red ire to return to D’s irises, but they filled with an emotion I couldn’t understand. It was as though I had sliced his heart open instead.
“You are worried about Ryker?” he asked, stunned, and insulted.
“You don’t understand,” I whispered, ashamed. “The Ryker you saw that day, is not the Ryker I grew up with. Not the one I knew one day would be my mate. That Ryker would never?—”
