Unamused, Nik folded his arms over his chest, his pale green eyes fixed on his mate.
“You shouldn’t be running, Shadow,” Ely added, concerned at her friend’s winded appearance.
“All right…” She exhaled. “I did hurry. I wanted to catch you before you left on patrol.”
“You could have called her,” Nik growled. “Or telepathed and letmeknow you wanted to talk to Ely.”
She snorted. “I need the exercise. Soon I’ll be the size of a house, waddling about and unable to walk. You can carry me then.” She was needling Nik, but the warrior didn’t rise to her baiting. “Anyway, I was in the TV lounge, and it’s not that far—”
“Two corridors away,” Nik muttered, drawing her to him as if to reassure himself she was okay.
She rolled her striking eyes but leaned into him. “Since I knewyouwere still here,” she told him, “I figured Ely would be, too. Here—” She handed her cell phone over. “Call Aba. He’s trying to reach you. Sounds urgent.”
Nik’s gaze shifted to Ely. Confusion slowly changed to thoughtful as understanding dawned in his light eyes. Yeah, he finally figured out who the guy she’d been seeing was. Well, she wasn’t going to hide it, not anymore.
Ely called Aba. He answered on the first ring.
“Aba?”
“Could you come over, please?” he asked. Her sensitive hearing and innate knowing picked up an undercurrent of disquiet. It had to be about Nate.
“I’ll be there.” Ely handed the cell back to Shadow. “I have to go—”
“What’s wrong?” Shadow grasped her arm.
Unable to talk about this, Ely shook her head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, I’m sure it’s nothing major,” she said to ease Shadow’s anxiety, because she was as bad as Kira worrying, when it came to family. “I’ll see you later.”
She dematerialized, reforming moments later in the quiet workshop and sprinting for the door, her long coat flying open. Aba appeared at the entrance.
“Thanks for coming.” He ushered her into the living room and shut the door.
“What’s wrong, is it Nate?”
“He left for the Dark Realm last night, really upset. What happened? Did you speak to him?”
Her heart sank. “I tried, but he refused to listen. He only heard the part of me being the angel who saved him as a child, and he cut me off…” Her throat constricted, and she found it hard to get more words out. “He left.”
Warm hands touched hers.
“If blame is to be laid, then the fault is mine, not yours,” he said, his anguish leeching the color from his face, leaving him ashen. “Iwas the one who brought him back from the dead. I couldn’t bear for a child to die when I could save him.” Sorrow darkened his eyes. “I might have lost my consort and young millennia ago, but the pain, the loss, never truly goes away. Then, two decades ago, a cry that wrung my heart made me seek it out. A child, shot, lay dying in the alley. I saved him.” His throat worked. “I was given another chance to love and have a young again, but at what cost? He suffers because ofme.”
No.Because I made that first fatal decision… But if she hadn’t, then she would have never met Nate and known what happiness could be like. A huge vise clamped her chest at the thought.
So, now he pays the price?her conscience demanded. Gods, she rubbed her eyes. No, she would never have let him suffer, not this torment he lived daily.
Aba expelled a shuddering breath. “I must find him before he takes part in the damn death fight.”
“What?” Ely blinked, trying to get her emotional grid to connect at the switch in conversation. “Nate didn’t mention anything about any death fight.”
“All his fights are to the death. I fear this one might be fatal.” Aba shut his eyes. “He tries to spare me, pretends they’re normal brawls, but I know my son. I just received news there’s another one taking place in a day.”
This can’t be happening!
Ely thrust her hands through her tightly woven hair, pacing the tiny living room, pain splintering her scalp as her fingers dug in.
“Reyes?” Aba’s tense voice drifted to her. He was on his cell. “I need you to watch the garage for me… Thanks… No, I’m not sure how long I’ll be away, a few days probably… Okay. I’ll see you when I get back.”
Nate was in the Dark Realm. How the hell did she go there and find him in such a massive world?
