“You matter to my beloved mate.” Sebris drew Brenna close, and she frowned at him. A flicker of amusement ghosted in his light eyes. “She says it was a pleasure for me to aid you both.”
Brenna snorted. “It wasourpleasure, really.” Then those crystalline blue eyes shifted to Aerén. “I do hope your wound heals soon, and I’m so sorry we couldn’t do more, but thank you for saving my friend.”
Damn. Of course, they’d know each other. They lived in the same city, and Brenna had a flower shop or something, he recalled. He inclined his head.
“Right, then.” Taegér shoved away from holding up the jamb. “Let’s roll. It’s close to midnight.”
Aerén nodded to Sebris, who watched him with a hint of amusement.
Wrapping an arm around Leya, he dematerialized them. The black fortress built into the mountains vanished in a haze of gently falling snow and swirling mist.
Moments later, they reformed, and he gritted his teeth, pain ramming through him as his molecules resettled.
Fucking demon!
He wished he could kill the rebel who’d started this shit all over again.
Despite the unbelievable cold encapsulating him, the fever within continued to rage. Power splintered his mind, seeking ways to escape. Something he couldn’t afford to let happen, not with Leya so close.
Besides, Empyreans didn’t get sick, ever!
“Wow!” Leya breathed, grabbing his arm as she found her footing, dragging his focus to her.
And all he could do was stare, caught in a chimera.
The snowy land, its hills, and the soaring black mountains in the distance all became a blur. The moon shone down between the heavy clouds, casting its heavenly light over her form hidden in the thick coat, highlighting the joy on her lovely face.
And the pull to her grew.
“It’s so beautiful.” She stared at the frozen gray sea a short distance from them, the sludgy waves slowly folding over and fragmenting onto the shore.
Aerén couldn’t take his eyes off her.
“Yes, Dregarus has its own beauty,” Taegér agreed, breaking the spell. “We have a few minutes, and just so you know,” he glanced at Aerén, “this will take us back to our place near the Hudson. I’m sure you can get her back to her home… Or, I could do that.”
Leya frowned at Taegér, then she glanced at him, and Aerén tried not to look at her.
The ass might be taunting him, but the reality was one he couldn’t ignore any longer. He had to Ground ASAP. If his fracturing shield collapsed, Leya would become a casualty. And that he refused to have. Or, he could leave her at his home in Cidéra. The castle was well shielded and away from everything—
Let her go, Ren. Ground, then go and track for the one who would aid your world. Remember everything you’ve fought for?
How the fuck could he forget that when it bombarded him like shrapnel every damn day. Mouth tight, he tried to shut off his obsession. She wasn’t a Chosen.
“It’s time,” Taegér said, lifting his hands. A shimmering portal split the icy night air. “We have only a minute before it closes,” he warned.
Shutting off whatever emotion would sneak out and mess with his head, he said, “Would you take Leya—”
“What?” She glared at him as if he’d betrayed her. “You saidyou’dtake me back.”
He grasped her arm and moved a few feet away, out of Taegér’s hearing range. “I know what I said, but I have to go to Cidéra for a while before I head back to Earth—”
“And find your true Chosen. Yes, you couldn’t makethatany clearer.I’m such an idiot.” Her delicate features hardened. “Iremained here even though Brenna offered me a way back home, because you were hurt protecting me, but I get your point.” She wheeled away, her boots squishing through the powdery snow, and aimed for Taegér, whose attention was fixed on the distant mountains.
Fuck! How was letting her go turning out to be so damn hard?
Through the splintering crash of ice waves, Aerén’s heightened hearing picked up a cacophony of rumbles. He stilled, eyes narrowing.
A colony of dark dots approached in the distance like an army of ants on a white blanket.
