“Shit,” Taegér cursed softly. “Yo, Empyrean, you need to get Leya outta here before the portal closes. You have seconds left.” He dematerialized.
The portal shimmered on one side, the black line ofcaenison the other. Hell, he never left any fight until his enemies were dust, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Leya’s safety came first.
“C’mon.” He grasped her arm, but she fought off his hold. “I don’t needyouto accompany me, I can find my own way home.”
“Leya, we don’t have time for this!”
Swords clashing echoed in the distance. Her gaze darted to the sound, fear darkening her eyes. With a gasp, she yanked free and sprinted for the shrinking portal.
“Leya,no!” He lunged for her, grasping her arm before she threw herself through the rapidly reducing gateway. He dragged her away as the portal hissed shut, his heart almost crashing through his sternum at the near disaster.
“What is wrong with you?” She wrenched free, her coat hood falling off her head, fury reddening her cheeks. “I was leaving—”
“Youwould walk through a closing portal?” he snapped, frustrated to his pounding skull. “It would have sliced you in half!”
She froze, her mouth dropping open. Then it snapped shut, and she glowered at him instead.
Screeches echoed, reverberating across the icy plane. He didn’t dare wait to explain why she wouldn’t be going to New York just yet or the danger to her. They had to get out of there before the battle drew closer.
Hands lifted, he opened a portal, the pain intensifying at using his abilities. Then he faced her.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Her chin tipped up in defiance. “Taegér can take me home when he’s done fighting.”
“Too bad!” He swept her into his arms and stepped through the flickering portal.
CHAPTER11
“How dareyou haul me away from the portal home?” Leya glared at him, anger and hurt torquing her. “Now I’m stuck here withyou! How could you do this? My family probably already contacted the cops about me missing.”
His expression grew darker.
She wiggled in his arms, trying to free herself, wishing the sense of betrayal would eff off. She wasn’t this Chosen, and he couldn’t have made it any clearer he had no further need of her by dumping her onto someone else. “Put me down.”
Growling, Aerén set her on her feet, still keeping a hold of her arm. “You have to be one of the most difficult females ever. Very well, let’s get a few facts straightened out.One!” he snapped the number, “That portal willnottake you to your office in New York City but to the Hudson River.Two, if I’d let you enter a closing portal, you would have been sliced in half!”
Great, remind her of her near death again, and that she owed him her life.
“Three, the rebel from the cave, his threat cannot be taken lightly. He will come after you just to get his revenge becauseyoudistracted him with your snowball missile. So, I need to locate and kill him. That means you will have to put up with me until I’m done!” he said coldly.
Wonderful! Now, she owed him for saving her many times over.
Then he added, tone still flat and pissed, “The Dregarus portal can take us back to the day we left Earth. No matter how much time passes here in Empyrea, you will get home on the day you left.”
Yes. Brenna had said so.
Then her mouth tightened. “And yet you would have let me go off with Taegér none the wiser about the rebel threat,” she countered. “So, forgive me if I don’t believe you—”
“I would have warned him,” he snapped.
With no comeback, she glowered at him from beneath lowered lashes. “Fine. Do whatever you must, then I want to go home.”
“Trust me, the moment I can, I will.” His words were clipped as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of her, and her belly twisted with disillusionment. Yes, people could be drawn to each other and still not like the other, but how had they reachedthislevel of antagonism?
He started walking, still holding her hand.
Did he think she’d run off?
Stifling an exhausted sigh, Leya followed but soon stopped, jerking him to a halt. She peered up at the slants of sunlight filtering through the darkness. It was day here, not night. And they were in some kind of dense black forest of trees… No, awitheredforest of massive trunks and interlocking branches.
