“Obviously.” I rolled my eyes playfully, but it did nothing to ease the ache in my heart.
After we stepped into the library, we headed toward the back where the portal lay. Honor was there, waiting for me. Rage looked at Honor and smiled. “Thank you, brother.”
Then my mate turned his attention to the onyx stone door, his eyes narrowing with absolute hatred. “Nai, I need you to know something.”
I gulped at the seriousness of his tone, and my voice came out breathy. “What?”
“If anything ever happens to you there, if I feel you’re hurt or in pain through this—” he tapped the left side of his chest just over his heart. “—I need a way through that door. I won’t have anything keeping me from you.”
There was so much pain in his gaze, and shadowy remnants of it seeped through our bond such that I could only imagine what he’d been through after I’d left.
“Understood, my love. I’ll talk to my family and see what we can do.” I leaned forward and rose onto my tiptoes, grasping his cheeks in my hands, and then captured his mouth in a toe-curling kiss.
“Gross, get a room.”
I recognized Justice’s voice and broke away from Rage with a grin as I spun, searching for the other green-eyed brother. I found him leaning against a bookshelf, looking significantly worse for wear.
“Justice!” I pulled him into a hug, and he wrapped his arms around me, giving me a brief squeeze before he pulled away. His hair was a mess, and dark circles marred his eyes.
“You had us worried,” he said, his voice gravelly. His gaze darted to Rage before returning to me. “Honor said you’ve had a tough couple of days too.”
“You nearly started a war,” Noble called as he strode down the aisle. I turned to face the final Midnight brother, who was shaking his head and wagging a finger at me as he approached.
“Okay, lay off the guilt,” I told them, rolling my eyes. “I feel bad enough.”
And I did. Like a twenty-ton brick, guilt hung heavy in my chest—guilt heaped on top of guilt—for leaving without warning, and now … for leaving again.
Rage caught my hand and tugged me back to him, tucking me close once more. “We’ll still meet every day for ten minutes, right? How is four o’clock?”
With a big sigh, which did nothing to relieve the trepidation coiling in my chest, I rose up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Dropping my voice, I whispered in his ear, letting my lips brush his skin. “See you at four,mate.”
He caught me, his hands on my hips as I lowered myself, a smile playing on his full lips at our secret. We’d sealed our bond. No one could take that from us.
Not now, not ever.
Honor and I passed through the portal. Reyna was nowhere to be found in the hallway leading into the library. The only sound was the splashing of the magical fountain in the library’s rotunda, and I turned to look at Honor.‘Thanks for being here with me.’
He gave me a wolfish grin.‘Of course, sis.’
I blinked at his term of endearment.‘Sis?’
Honor padded down the aisle, stopping to look back at me over his shoulder. Not only was his grin still there, but he offered me a short bark that sounded a lot like laughter.‘You might be able to fool the mages, but I can smell Rage all over you—way stronger than ever before. You’re family now.’
My eyes widened, and my pale skin probably turned the color of a flamingo—all the way from my scalp to the tips of my toes.‘You can? But, I showered after…’
Ever the gentleman, Honor turned away as my admission caught up to me, and my blush deepened.
‘Please pretend I didn’t just say that,’I muttered, scurrying to catch up to him.
‘You’ve got it,’he said through our bond as we wound through the library toward the door marked spirit.‘For what it’s worth, I’m glad you and Rage sealed your mate bond, even though you weren’t able to have a human wedding ceremony first.’
My skin went from pink to deep red, like a freakin’ beet.‘Uh … thanks? I think…’
‘Are we done talking about this now?’Honor asked.
‘So done.’Because what girl wanted to talk about intimacy with her brother-in-law?‘Let’s focus on something else’—pretty much anything else—‘please?’
Honor laughed, just as we arrived at the doorway to spirit, my grandfather’s study, and then more laughter swelled around me, followed by voices.
