“In a moment.” She inhaled another lungful of air. “Go on, I’ll catch up in aminute.”
Since they were close to the castle, Elytani nodded and jogged off. Gah, immortals and their insane stamina! She drank more water from her bottle, then reached down and rubbed her burning calf muscles. Her thoughts back on her mother, she hoped she’d get a few hours of sleep at least. With her memories of her time in captivity blocked, it terrified Shae what might occur when theyreturned.
“Excuseme.”
At the strange voice, Shae straightened and frowned at the tall woman approaching her in a dark green, tunic-style dress that hugged her curvy figure. She could only be another immortal. Silky, cinnamon-brown hair framed her striking face and flowed down her back. There was something vaguely familiar abouther.
Shae swiped away a strand of hair that stuck to her sweaty brow, suddenly feeling too grubby in her knee-length black tights and graytank.
Dark brown eyes skimmed over her in disdain. “We musttalk.”
“About?”
“You are Dagan’s mate,no?”
Her spine stiffened. She narrowed her eyes. “I am. Who areyou?”
A knowing smile crossed the other woman’s face. “I introduced myself to you in themountains.”
What the hell was she talking about? Then it clicked. “The dream—you!”
“Indeed. I’m Kaerys, goddess of chaos. Hisbetrothed.”
“Really?” Shae countered. “Yet, he matedme.”
Kaerys flicked her comment off with a wave of her hand. “It means nothing.Heknows that better than anyone.” Her expression hardened. Power rolled off her and stung Shae like pinpricks. “Because ofyouand some noble self-oath he’s taken,henow suffers, and will continue to hunger since he refuses to feed fromme.”
Her stomach twisted into an excruciating knot at the woman’s words, but it didn’t stop her. “So you’re saying you’re willing to be a donor for him without demandingmore?”
“Why would I do that? He’s mine.Mybetrothed. He stayed faithful to me through the ages.” She stalked up to Shae, her dark eyes steaming with hostility. “But now, because of you, he’ll soon be at mortal strength. With his honor so ingrained, he’ll continue fighting never-ending evil until his last breath. Yes, human, he will die because you areselfish.”
Andthatstruck her in the chest like an arrow as her fears were given words. Because everything the witch said was true.Shewas nothing but a liability. And because of her, Dagan would lose so much. He could…die.
Oh, God! Her knees buckled. The bottle fell from her hand. Shae grabbed the backrest of the bench, tears blurring hereyes.
“I’m glad you see sense,human—”
“What the hell are you doing here,Kaerys?”
At Dagan’s roar, Shae glanced back. His chest heaved, like he’d run all the way to her. He probably had, but she could barely think straight at the dread seeping throughher.
He could die, the words ricocheted inside herhead.
The goddess cast him a sultry smile. “There you are, my love. After we parted, I thought it only fair to find her and explain the way thingsare.”
What? He’d been with her? No-no, she rubbed her burningeyes.
“Shae—” He grasped her arms, making her look at him. “Whatever she’s implied hasn’thappened.”
Shae struggled to get her thoughts away from the yawning chasm that would reel her into darkness. “Thenwhy?”
Those yellow eyes flared with suppressed fury. “She’s been keepingtrack—”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Kaerys burst out, stomping closer to him as if to break their intimacy. “I came because you’re hurt.Again.”
“Shut the hell up,Kaerys!”
“What?” Shae hurriedly searched his black t-shirt but couldn’t see anything. She grasped the hem of his tee. He caught her hands, his lips compressing. His usually sexy bronze skin appeared pallid and stretched taut over the bones of his face. And she knew. “You’rehurt.”
