She cast him an annoyed look, then meeting Nik’s flat stare, remorse clouded her eyes. “Those words were not a curse, and never meant for you, but yoursire.Histouchshould be banned,” she said, sounding a little weary. “In hindsight, I know now it was wrong to send you away, but I thought you’d have a better life elsewhere—have friends…” She reached out as if to touch him, and her snake slid over to him, coiling around his arm. “It was no excuse to put myself first.”
At her remorse, Nik sighed, staring at the cobra on his forearm—the same serpent whose blood she used to cast his protection spell. Hell, he didn’t hate her. She was his mother. But he no longer cared about all that now.
“It is time,” the ancient goddess said. She set a pile of clothes next to him, then she touched his face, and warmth seeped through him.
Frowning, Nik rubbed his jaw, finding it almost beard free. Only a light scruff remained.
“Thought you might want to look a little less scary.” Gaia smiled, then she touched his temple. His thoughts jolted, cracking through the block in his mind.
A woman with pale skin and waist-length, purple-streaked black hair stirred in his mind. Husky laughter escaped her, her starburst-hued eyes flashing like stars in the sunlight, and his heart thumped hard.
He knew that face—
“Fare thee well, Guardian,” Gaia said softly.
His parents echoed her words. “We will visit soon,” his sire said.
Hell, was that a threat?
Snorting, he handed hismataher pet, and Gaia ushered both of his parents out.
Nik wrested off his sluggishness and tore free of the remaining filament covering his lower body. With uncoordinated movements, he lurched off the stone slab and fumbled into the new clothes. Everything seemed so unreal, but a need deep within his soul drove him forward. He had to find the face in his heart.
Chapter 36
Nik steppedthrough the portal into darkness and found himself on a narrow street, a cacophony of sounds shattering his woozy mind. The stench of piss and decaying garbage slapped him in the face.
Really, my lady? Was it too much to send me directly to the castle?
Soft laughter echoed in his mind.You are my Guardian. Needs must be met.And on that cryptic note, the gateway to the subterranean world of the ancient goddess hissed closed behind him.
Grunting, Nik shut his eyes, thoughts of his mate flooding him. Even though his memories were slowly returning after being in that regenerating haze for so long, his mate was the one who poured to the forefront. Her mischievous smile, her warmth, her touch. His Shadow.
About to dematerialize, a familiar sensation abraded his psyche, the smell of sulfur faint. Nik pivoted and barely ducked in time to evade the fiery hellbolt coming at him.
“Your bitch did this. Heal me,” the demon snarled, his features gaunt, almost skeletal. He clutched his belly with one hand.
Nik had no clue what the idiot gabbed about. Wasn’t interested. But the taint of a putrefying wound crowded his nose. “Consider this your lucky day that I don’t kill you. Get lost.”
A snarl erupted. Another sizzling hellfire bolt formed in the demon’s hand.
Seriously? Nik wanted to find his mate, not deal with this mangyskatá—a memory surged.Laex?
His stomach roiled. This fucking asshole had betrayed them, put a blade to his mate’s throat, hurt her—and ultimately causedhisdeath. Dark anger erupted.
“Did you just call my mate a bitch?” Gaian sword summoned, Nik swung his weapon, slicing the scourge clean across the neck. His head fell, rolling to hit the building. Within seconds, his body deflated and disintegrated. A dark ball of energy shot out, hovered for a second…then it slammed straight into Nik, taking him back several steps.
Fuuuck!Guess he was back to being a damn soul sponge.
Nik hurriedly tightened his psychic shields, trapping the dark energy within as it battered at its prison to escape.
“As if I want you assholes in me,” he growled.
This time you do,the soft words drifted through his mind.Because she loved you and desperately wanted to save you, all her goodness infused in you, keeping out the dark souls. Do not fear. I fixed it.Light laugher now.Enjoy my gift.
His lady boss had a warped sense of humor.
Nik ran his tongue piercing against the roof of his mouth, his anxiousness growing, and dematerialized. Moments later, he reformed on the terrace of the rec room. He glanced up at the looming castle. Moonlight cast a silvery glow on the ivy-covered stone façade and over the rolling lawns and spruced flower gardens. Inhaling lungfuls of the brisk air, his gaze fastened on the shut French doors, his mind focused on only one thing.
