I pressed my finger into the folds of my filthy shirt to keep any blood from dripping onto her ground. No way was I giving her any more that she might use later.
Another howl filled the air, this one seemingly right inside her tent home.
“Hurry up,” I snapped.
She narrowed her eyes. “Ready?”
“We’ll get Honor a body,” Justice told me. “Don’t worry.”
I nodded, my throat clogged with emotion.
“Be safe.” Rage stepped closer, and I felt the heat of his body at my back. Surlama plunged her sword into the ghost’s chest and his high-pitched shriek rocked the garden area, causing me to cover my ears. What the hell? I opened my mouth to ask what was going on, then the vined trellis behind Surlama began to shimmer with a golden light.
“Get ready,” Surlama told me.
I flinched. What was I doing? What would the Realm of the Dead be like? How would I find Honor there? And—crap!Turning to Surlama, I asked, “How do I get back, once I find Honor?”
A portal opened into another world: vibrant green trees with turquoise flowers, blossoms in vivid colors blanketed the ground, and dazzling birds flew in a pale lavender sky. I stared, my jaw agape, and stepped toward the beautiful space.
“I’ll send for you,” Surlama said.
Her voice drew me back, and I glanced over my shoulder just as something crossed her face, a wild expression I didn’t trust. Before I could demand more answers, the ghost stepped through the portal, and I felt a sharp tug at my navel …as if I wastiedto the apparition.
What the…?
My blood.She’d bound me to the spirit?
Cursed mage council!
“Better hurry, it’s closing,” she hissed as the edges of the portal began to shrink.
I spun to get one last look at Rage, to tell him I’d find Honor and be back soon, but he leapt across the distance, slammed into me and, wrapping me in his arms, pushed us both through the opening and into the Realm of the Dead.
Surlama shouted, but the sound cut off when the portal snapped shut.
Chapter 2
With the forceof Rage’s body, I stumbled through the portal and tripped over my feet, but my mate held me upright, standing on solid ground.
“Nai.” He pressed his hands to my back as his breath feathered over me.
I sucked in a sharp breath, but not even a heartbeat later, my legs trembled, and the air whooshed out of me. The tethering sensation, tying me to the ghost, snapped, and the spirit flew off over the rolling hills toward a white castle in the distance.
“Rage!” I gasped, looking up at my mate in shock.
He panted but met my gaze with a grin. “You didn’t think I’d let you come here alone, did you?”
His black hair was disheveled, and dark soot still smudged his face from the mid-year games. His green eyes were bright and filled with emotion as he stared down at me.
“Our first date. In the underworld. Very …romantic.” I quirked an eyebrow but couldn’t completely stop the smile of relief. The Realm of the Dead wasn’t the kind of place I wanted to visit alone.
He pressed a kiss to my forehead before releasing me. “Only the best for you.”
“Har-har.” I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants and then looked around at the beautiful land. The longer I stared, the more surprised I felt. It was so … pretty. I didn’t know what I’d expected, but it wasn’t this. We’d dropped into an orchard of some kind. Silvery fruit I didn’t recognize hung from the branches of the nearby trees, their neon-green leaves so vibrant they didn’t seem real. I moved down the row, brushing my fingertips along the golden bark.
“Maybe we should go to the castle,” Rage said, pointing to the stone structure on a large hill overlooking the valley where we stood. His forehead beaded with sweat, and he winced with each step.
“You okay?” I hurried back to him. “Are you hurt?”
