He set her backpack on another small, trunk-like table. “The cavern was here. I just expanded it to suit my needs. As for the décor, that’s all Hedori’s doing. You’ll meet him soon enough. He had the cave ‘civilized’ decades ago—apparently tired of my barren lifestyle, or so he claimed.”
Ash laughed. “Well, he’s certainly done an amazing job.”
She removed her parka as her gaze fell on the bookshelf, which covered one wall just past the bed. She dropped her coat over an armchair before making a beeline for it.
“So you read?” she teased.
“One way to keep my mind occupied.”
And she understood. To drive back the horrors of Tartarus.
On one side were paperback thrillers, and on the other, she trailed her fingers along worn leather-bound spines, examining the titles—ancient and weighty. Then her gaze settled on worn copies ofDivine Messengers: The Lost Sumerian ChroniclesandWalking Among Mortals: A History of the First Age. A slow smile spread.
No wonder Race was so comfortable debating her father. He’d not only lived through the time period, he’d read the books, too.
“Dad would love to see this,” she said, tracing a fingertip over the faded embossed lettering of one book. “No, more like get inside your head to see it all.”
“Not a wise idea,” Race murmured, his arms sliding around her waist. “Then he’d know all the dirty things I like to do to his daughter.”
Ash huffed, heat blooming through her.
“I like you in my space,” he said softly. “It feels…right. Brighter.” He pressed closer, his breath a warm caress against her neck. “I have rooms in the abbey, too, so it’s your choice where we live.”
After everything he’d revealed about his imprisonment, she never ever wanted him to feel trapped again.
She squeezed his arm around her waist. “I like this better. But we’ll have to get the rest of my stuff later. I only packed for Lemuria.”
“We will. Ash?” And she stilled at his quiet tone. “There’s something you should know.”
She turned in his arms and searched his face, instinctively bracing for whatever it was.
“As Guardians, we live under the radar—and our mates must as well. It’s two-fold. First, to keep our home base hidden from our enemies. They always look for ways to weaken or kill us, so they strike where we’re most vulnerable.” His thumb stroked her jaw. “Our mates.”
She grasped his hand, frowning. “So I can’t work?”
Regret darkened his eyes. “That’s the hard part of being with one of us. You can’t hold a public job, can’t appear in their systems any longer, can’t give anyone a trail to follow. If governments learned immortals walk among them, they’d hunt us, or try to weaponize us.”
Her breath hitched. Her job. Her career or…him.
She knew then what—whom—mattered most.
“All right,” she whispered. “We’ll talk about it after Lemuria. I’m sure I can do something. Set up a research facility from here. Work quietly.”
A smile. “And I will aid you.”
Ash tilted her head, eyeing him curiously. “So why exactly are we here? I thought we’d go straight to Lemuria.”
“Don’t you want to spend a little time alone with me?” he drawled.
She huffed. “Do you even have to ask? But you brought me here for a reason, so what is it? Come on, do tell.”
He let her go, crossed to the shelf, and, between the space of two books, removed a small leather pouch. He turned. “Do you know how to wield a dagger?”
Ash stuck her hands in her back pockets. “Well, Echo did show me last night—I asked her. I mean, I have a dagger, and I must know how to use it, right? She is amazing and so incredibly fast.”
“Good.” He strolled back. “And self-defense?”
She scrunched her nose. “I took a course in high school. Rather rusty, I’m afraid. But I do have pepper spray.”
