Summoning his powers, he let them flow into his arm, then lifting her chin, he kissed her.
Xyn felt the surge Urian gave her and it wasn’t just from his kiss. He’d handed over a portion of his strength to her, as well. “What have you done?”
He smiled down at her. “I’m trained to fight at half strength. You’re not.”
And with that, he fell back into the portal.
Stunned, she met Acheron’s swirling silver gaze.
He shrugged at her. “Tory thinks I’m headstrong? I’ve got nothing on that one. I haven’t been able to do anything with that dumbass since the day I met him. May the gods have mercy on you.”
Rolling her eyes, she went in after Urian, cursing him with every sickening twist of the vortex. Which thanks to Shadow, didn’t drop them into the main hall at Stryker’s feet.
Because Shadow was able to manipulate the Nether Realm between the worlds, he took them in so that they arrived not far from her old cave. She actually envied him for the powers … in a way.
They would be nice to hold for a bit, but with them came a profound loneliness and solitude that made what a dragon endured seem kind in comparison.
As soon as they landed, she caught the look on Shadow’s face. Feeling for the dark demon, she went over and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
Startled, he stepped back from her.
Xyn scowled at his reaction. “You act as if no one’s ever thanked you before.”
“They don’t normally. Not sure how to handle kindness. It terrifies me.”
That was the biggest tragedy of their kind. Or perhaps that was the biggest indictment against humanity. When kindness and decency became so rare that people no longer knew how to respond to it, or when having witnessed a kind act they felt the need to comment on something that really should be so commonplace that it never should be newsworthy.
If anything should ever be so common as to be taken for granted, surely in the name of the gods, it should be kindness and not cruelty.
Shadow glanced around the dull gray landscape. “Ahh, I see today’s forecast is gloomy with an overcast of doom and despair. I like it. Should we build a summer home?”
Blaise laughed. “My soulmate! We should hang out more.”
Brogan appeared offended by that. “You fickle beast. I thought I was your soulmate? Now you’re making overtures to Shadow? I can’t leave you alone for five minutes.” She sighed heavily.
“Would it help if I said he’s not as cute as you?”
“Not really. Damage done.”
Xander sighed. “I’m thinking this might have been a mistake.”
Shaking his head, Urian laughed. “Brother, I think that every day. Shall we?”
Ash had justreturned home when he found Styxx waiting for him.
“Where’s Urian?”
“Oh shit” didn’t quite capture the feeling of dread that ripped through him as he realized just how badly he’d screwed up. Because he was used to dealing with Dark-Hunters, he wasn’t used to thinking about the fact that Urian now had “parents.”
More to the point, he wasn’t used to remembering that Urian had a mother and father who would kick his ass if anything happened to him.
Ash gave his twin a nervous grin. “Um …”
“That’s a bad sound, brother. That’s the kind of sound you normally make that precedes my desire to hurt you.” Styxx crossed his arms over his chest as he pinned him with a gimlet stare.
“Let me remind you before you kill me that in order to get to your son, you’ll have to go into the domain where my mother resides, and she won’t be happy if you harm me.”
The look of disgust on his face might actually have been amusing if Ash hadn’t felt so bad about causing it.
