Freezing winds enclosed him. His thoughts scattered, unable to bring anything into focus…just that danger lurked.
He struggled to flash and leave, but he couldn’t move. Even breathing hurt as he strained to self-heal without success. He tried to push to his knees, but they refused to cooperate.
Lore grunted, agony ratcheting higher and higher as if his back had been flayed with flaming whips. He was imprisoned in an endless haze of anguish. He longed for darkness, for oblivion from this torture, this damnation?—
I miss you.
The soft words broke through his torment.
He lifted his head from the soggy snow and struggled to find the one who spoke to him. Faint images of teasing amber eyes hovered at the edges of his blurred thoughts, then faded away. “No…don’t leave.”
He thumped his brow on the granite, more pain ripping through his back as his mind finally gave way to blessed oblivion.
Nia leaned back in the lounger on the deck of her brother and Ely’s boathouse as the moon hid behind the dark clouds. She hadn’t been to the castle since that horrid day after Lore had left, when she’d found out he’d broken their mate bond to spare her his fall from grace.
Blowing out a rough breath, she slipped her new cell, one Echo had given her, into her parka pocket. She’d texted Saia to say she’d lost her phone and would call soon. Right now, she really didn’t want to share her dread and the agony of waiting, of not knowing where Lore was.
It had been a week, and still nothing, except for the growing emptiness within. Dark thoughts tormented her.He’s dead…he couldn’t accept his changed status and his fall… He’d sought oblivion in the Dark Realm.
But remembering their torrid lovemaking, his insatiable drive?—
No!She jumped up, refusing to believe he’d do what Michael had implied, that he’d find gratification in the Dark Realm.
She gripped the railing and stared at the bobbing sailboat, her desolation deepening.
“I miss you…”the words escaped her in a whisper.
“Here.” Echo’s voice broke through her reverie. Sounds of mugs being set on the glass tabletop echoed in the quiet. Her twin had been a constant visitor in the passing days.
She turned. “It’s been a week, Echo.”
“Remember, time is irrelevant for angels. Michael will let us know if there’s any news.”
And that was the only thing Nia could hold onto. She paced the length of the deck, trying to keep herself together. As she marched back and forth, Echo reached out and stopped her. “We have to believe it will be okay.”
Swallowing hard, Nia nodded and collapsed on the wicker lounger. She warmed her fingers around the hot ceramic and took a sip of the steaming chocolate.
Echo lowered to the chair opposite her. “You should come to the castle. You can have your own room instead of sleeping on Nate and Ely’s couch.”
“I know.” But she couldn’t bring herself to go there, be among the other happily mated couples when her heart lay in tatters. At least here at the boathouse, with only her brother and Ely, she could cope.
They both went to work at night, giving her the solitude she needed. However, living in limbo was like peeling off a scab over and over again, the memories and worries consuming her. Was he okay? Did he survive?
She shivered.
“You’re cold.” Echo jumped up, grabbed a throw from the other chair, and started to tuck it around her. Nia hastily set her cup down and took the fabric from her.
“I can do that…” She appreciated her sister’s care. Except for Bennett, everyone at Nan’s mansion had merely tolerated her. But her old life was over now.
Echo sat down again. She appeared paler than usual beneath the moonlight.
“Are you all right?” Nia asked softly.
“I wish I knew.” She blew out a tired breath and leaned back in her seat, staring across the deck at the gently undulating sea. “I’m so glad Aethan’s gone to work, because if he heard that, he’d be hovering again.”
“How long since this…” Nia didn’t want to saysickness, remembering Echo’s irritation the other day in the study, so she settled on, “This lethargy started?”
Her gaze came back to Nia, her striking bicolored eyes dark. “Since my return from the Fae Realm.”
