Her cheeks flushed a light pink. “Well, Shadow has.” Then she blurted, “It’s really important you take her to Romania.”
Týr chuckled. “Are you crazy, my mate?”
“Honey, please?” Kira’s stare didn’t waver. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, but…shefeelsit.”
He stilled, and whatever amusement lingered in his eyes faded. “Shefeelsit, huh?”
“Yes,” the girls agreed in unison. Shadow had no idea what that was all about. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting to Nik.
Týr glanced at them, then at Shadow and back to Kira. His eyebrows dipped together. “This isn’t wise, Kira. Nik wanted time alone.”
“Please,” Shadow begged, refusing to let her only chance disappear. “I will leave as soon as I know he’s all right.”
“Hell.” He tunneled his fingers through his messy hair, his brow creasing as he considered. Finally, he inclined his head. “Very well. Better me than anyone else, I guess,” he said as if he’d already had an encounter with Nik. “You good to go?”
Her heart in her mouth, Shadow nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. Nik could throw us out,” he drawled and walked out onto the terrace.
Ugh, she could do without his teasing. Shadow followed.
Týr lifted his hands, and with a wave, the air in front of him shimmered and magically split open, revealing a swirling vortex.
Shadow gasped. She’d been prepared to hold on to him and dematerialize to wherever they would go, but this was spooky.
“Faster this way,” Týr told her as if sensing her apprehension.
“You’ll be safe with Týr,” Kira said, giving her a quick hug.
Right. Shadow swallowed, terrified as hell to be stepping through a supernatural rent in the air. But she ground down her fear, straightened her spine, and clasped Tyr’s elbow, following him through the gateway, as long as it would take her to Nik.
Chapter 12
Shadow steppedonto Romanian soil and into late afternoon sunshine. The portal behind her hissed shut. The gentle murmur of water reached her. A river? Probably. Tall, dense trees surrounded her like sentinels waiting for twilight, and insects twittered a musical dissonance. In the distance, mountains rose high up, the tips disappearing into dark, heavy clouds.
“We need to dematerialize from here,” Týr said at her side.
“Okay.” Her fingers tightened on his arm, her tummy coiling like a spring. The air swirled once more, her molecules dissolving to become air. Ugh. She shut her eyes, not wanting to think of how she might come out on the other side.
When she felt solid ground beneath her feet, she opened her eyes cautiously. Still in one piece. Good.
Shadow lifted her head and forgot her wariness. Holy crap! Her jaw nearly smacked her chest at the sight of the looming, granite building in front of her. Its mismatched turrets disappeared into the low-hanging, vaporous cumulous clouds, giving the whole place an unwelcoming vibe. A brisk breeze swept over her, and she shivered, the noon sunlight casting a deceiving warmth over the dark, spooky building.
“What is this place?” she whispered, afraid to talk too loud, in case she awakened any slumbering ghosts. Then she did a mental eye-roll at her morbid thoughts. Nik lived here, not ghouls.
“A monastery, and our other abode.”
This was nothing like their elegant castle in Long Island.
Curious now, she glanced about her at the granite courtyard, then crossed to the balustrade winding its way around the abbey-like building. Whoa. She blinked, staring down from the sky-high monastery to the sea of forest far below. It looked like someone had tossed shades of green paint on a canvas, the verdant colors broken by a silver-gray river winding into the distance.
Behind her, the enormous domed door opened with a squeak of timeless weathering. Shadowsensed rather than heard Nik coming out. She pivoted.
The abbey’s dark custodian stood there like some ancient warrior protecting his fortress. Despite her wariness, her entire being seemed to stretch toward him, longing to get closer. Something dark flashed in his gaze.
“Fuck, Týr,” he growled, spearing the blond warrior with an icy glare. “She shouldn’t be here.”
Whatever softer emotion Shadow felt dispersed. “I asked him to bring me,” she retorted, back on familiar, antagonistic footing with him. “I’ll leave when I’m ready.”
