But Asherah knew the truth. Knew what was causing this.
“Come, come, little princess. We only want to take you somewhere safe.”
No, they wanted to hurt her. She could hear it in their voices. Her control of the sea was only so strong at her barely seventy-five years. She was a baby to their kind and wouldn’t reach her next pinnacle until having lived a century. Then she would be able to fight. Then she could destroy. The best she could do now was send up walls to block their path, but it would only last for so long.
A dark, hooded figure stepped into the path in front of her, and Asherah skidded to a stop.
“Why are you running, child?” Only red lips and pale skin were visible in the person’s profile.
“I need to get home.” Asherah could sense the ancient power in the woman before her. The strength in her words.
The woman turned her head to the side and pushed the hood back, exposing her beautiful face. Her eyes closed and she listened for a moment before she lifted a thin mirror from under her cloak and watched the surface.
“I will save you, Asherah Danaan of the Sea. I will take you to the palace. Come with me.”
The figure spun, lifting her arms and bringing forth a swirling dark mass. Asherah recognized a portal into the In Between.
She backed up, afraid to go, but the yelling behind her got louder. The men were getting closer. His men who would make sure she was silenced before the Naming.
“Come, little one. I will get you to her. I know you’re afraid, but this is the only way.”
Asherah took her hand, letting herself be led into the portal.
It wasn’t until they were through it that she realized she would never leave again.
Skuld had taken her. He’d known it, but seeing it pissed him off. Heath couldn’t get all the information he was receiving, or even make sense of it all. But from what Asherah had helped him remember, and the part he just saw, something clicked into place.
Skuld was a mastermind to the Fae destruction, and Silva had been a damage casualty of it all. And that bastard Joran also played a part in it.
For now, Heath would only focus on his mate. He’d get her out of here and face this later.
He slid his teeth from her skin and sealed the wound with his tongue. “Asherah, we have to go.”
She pulled harder on him, rubbing her body against him and withering.
“Baby, I know. But we have to leave. As soon as I have you somewhere safe, I promise to give you everything you need.”
He had to pry her from his throat and set her away from him before spitting on his fingers to seal the wound. She was wild for more, red staining her lips and a flush spreading over her skin.
“More.”
“Later. We have to get you somewhere safe.” He took her hand and turned to leave.
“But it’s not finished.”
Heath looked over her shoulder. No, it wasn’t. The markings that should be on her were not present, but he knew why. To properly Fate with her, he’d have to be inside her, climaxing as they fed from each other. This was only a fix, a way to get their bodies coming together.
It was already happening. When he inhaled, she exhaled, and their hearts beat as one. It would have to hold until he got her free.
“Just focus on staying by my side.”
It wasn’t that he wasn’t taken with heat. That he didn’t want to ignore the outside world and have his way. But his alarm was screaming at him, and her safety meant more than getting his dick wet.
He tucked her to his side and gripped Wraith in one hand. “Can you control your water to protect you so I can still fight? Or maybe extend it to my men?”
Asherah took a deep breath. “Your men are Heart Tethered to you, so I can ensure my seas don’t hurt them by recognizing part of you in them, but it will not be as comfortable for them.”
Heath nodded. “As long as they’re safe, I’m okay with that. Ready?”
