“I’m okay. He didn’t hurt me.”
“Let him scan you, Leya,” Aerén ordered, his tone grim, no sign of her taunting, wicked lover. “We don’t know who the bastard is. But we have to know if he put a damn spell on you.”
Her stomach heaved. “A spell?”
Zior moved closer and held out both hands, palms up.
Her chest tight with worry, she removed her hand from Aerén’s and placed both of hers in Zior’s. He shut his eyes. Warmth flowed through her from where their palms connected…
Minutes passed, and the knots in her belly grew tighter and tighter. She glanced at Aerén, whose stare resembled ice.
Finally, the mage drew back. Nothing showed on his even features. “Might I speak to you alone, sire?”
“No, tell me!” she panted. Fear had all the air escaping her lungs.
Bile rushed up her throat when he didn’t speak, and a chill settled deep into her bones.
Something was horribly wrong.
CHAPTER19
“Please, just tell me?”Leya begged at Zior’s cautious silence, so sure she would vomit.
“Go ahead.” Aerén nodded at the mage, his expression calm.
If his composure was to ease her anxiety…Too late,she wanted to growl. Instead, she wrapped her arms around her waist, bracing herself.
“She’s been touched by an entity, but I can’t go beyond whatever barricade the apparition put up. It stretches as far as I can push, but it won’t let me break through.” His brow furrowed, his ash-blue eyes troubled as he scratched his temples, dislodging a bronze strand from its tie. “It’s not something I’ve come across before. I have to work in the room, since it was his access point, and try to trace it back to where it originated.”
“Do what you must and find who’s behind this, ” Aerén ordered, reaching for her hand.
Leya stood there, unable to move. If she did, she’d crumble from the fear consuming her.
“I won’t let anything get to you again,” he said softly, then glanced at his enforcer. “Drav, warn Haroth that no one’s to enter the room Leya used, except Zior.”
Drawing her close, he dematerialized them. Leya shut her eyes, ice encasing her that some spirit was after her.
Aerén reformed them but kept ahold of her. “Leya?”
“I’m okay, I’m okay.” She pushed away from him.
“No, you’re not. You’re about to fall—”
“I can’t sit, I’m too mad.” Fear gave way to anger. Whoever this apparition was, why would he do this? A gut-deep certainty stirred. To hurt the man who watched her with a troubled stare. A man who was coming to mean much more to her than a passing fling.
“Anger is good,” he murmured as she paced the length of the enormous room.
She pivoted to him. “It’s not me they’re after, butyou! Goddammit! Aerén, I told you this. The vision is a warning!”
“I’ll be fine. But you’ll stay here in this room.” He strolled closer. “If you’re scared or have any more unwanted visitors—not that I expect any here—I’m just a door away. Well, a living room separates us.”
Jesus, he was more stubborn than the weeds sprouting in her nursery!
She pulled at the tunic sticking to her damp thighs like duct tape. Trying to get her equilibrium back, she said, “I need a shower and clothes. Do you think someone could bring my jeans and top? I don’t know who took them.” And she’d lost her panties, too. Great.
She stopped her pacing, finally taking in the enormous room. Her jaw nearly hit the elegant floor.
“Wow, this is beautiful.” The room was stunning, done in the lightest cream and pale aqua, with sharp green undertones, creating a pretty seafoam shade.
