Ohhh. Leya didn’t know what to say. Aerén remained silent, watching her. She knew he had a strong bond with his enforcers, two of whom were his childhood friends.
“You weren’t responsible, and don’t have to shoulder the blame for someone else’s wrongdoing.” She offered him a smile. “So, there is no need for an apology, not from you.”
He shut his eyes briefly, then nodded.
Both he and Thiorr departed.
“My thanks for giving him a measure of peace.”
“But it’s true,” she said. “One cannot help the kind of siblings or family they have.” She took in the eerie dark thickets of trees and found she missed Cidéra, though not the intense humidity bathing the lands.
The sound of squirrels chirruping drew her attention, and she found Aerén watching the tiny creatures dart about, stirring the fallen leaves.
“Where are we?” she asked.
“Near the Hudson, on Sebris’ private property. They keep this soft spot for the portal guarded. Come, let’s get out of here.”
“Wait. I need to know how much time has passed.” She let go of him and shivered again as she retrieved her cell from her parka pocket, switching it on. “Darn, the battery’s dead.”
Aerén took the cell from her. The sound of electricity sizzled and sparked from his palm as he held the device then it quieted into a gentle hum and vanished. He handed her cell back.
She switched it on, and it powered up. “Handy ability,” she teased, and his lips twitched.
The display flashed, and she stared at the date. “It’s nearly midnight. Only a few hours have passed since the rebel pushed me through the portal…”AndI’ve lived a lifetime in just over a week on another world, with a man unlike any other.“I’m back, just in time for a midnight snack.”
“What?”
Leya shook her head. “The time thing is surreal.”
She pushed her cell into her pocket. Being back here on the day she left made her feel like her life in Cidéra, an experience that had changed something fundamental within her, had ceased to exist. A thread of fear wound its way through her.
“Hey.” Aerén lifted her chin with a finger, the moonlight highlighting the sculptured planes of his striking face. “I am here with you.Weexist.Weare. We’re not a memory in the ether because time barely moved with this portal crossing. I remember everything about you…” He trailed his warm lips down her jaw. “From those little sounds you make when I have my mouth between your thighs to your resilience and sheer bravery when you were caught in a deadly situation with the rebels. We are real,caelimea.”
Leya wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her face into his chest, absorbing his warmth and strength. She wasn’t brave. She was terrified in the cave and then at nearly being sliced in half by a closing portal—but Aerén? The heavens knewhehad to be incredibly strong to survive all he had for millennia.
“Nothing has changed with us,” he reiterated.
She hoped so. She really did.
“And the rebel after me?” She tipped her face to his.
He kissed her mouth. “No sign of him, so, he’s likely still wounded. They don’t have quick healing abilities. But I will be waiting—” His head snapped up, his expression hardening.
Frowning, Leya turned in his arms then smiled at the man approaching.
“Sensed an intrusion in the wards here, and there you are,” Taegér drawled.
Aerén remained impassive, as if some pesky creature had crawled out from its hidey-hole at night to annoy them.
But it didn’t faze the Darkrean.
“Running away from him sosoon, huh?” He grinned at Leya, the moonlight turning the white tips of his overgrown brown mohawk to silver. “Then you came to the right person, beautiful Leya. I’m here for you.”
“Continue in that vein, and you won’t see tomorrow.” Aerén’s warning was as cold as his stare, and Taegér grinned.
Oh, man. Before they came to blows, she said, “How is Brenna?”
“She’s well. Since you’re here…” And the devilish light in his eyes brightened like the sun. “I’ll stop by and see you at your place of business tomorrow.”
