That seemed to mollify the Fae enough for him to nod in agreement.
Carlo looked over to Lennox. "Is that acceptable to you?"
The destructive arts mage shrugged. "That's fine with me. As long as we get the mission accomplished and I get back to Kalinda, it's fine enough."
Carlo narrowed his gaze on him. "Youdorealize she has mated and will never be with you."
Lennox nodded. "Of course. But that doesn't mean I can't have my feelings."
Before Carlo could react and grab the man, Teague jumped between them. “We're not going to spend time fighting here.” Teague glared at Lennox. "Knock it off. She is not yours and she never will be; that has already been established, so you need to stop. Let’s move on so we can do our job."
Lennox nodded but said nothing else. Carlo would make sure not to tell Romano or Dominic what Lennox said. It seemed the mage still harbored feelings for the woman.
"Well, at leastsomeoneknows how to keep his emotions under control," Nanshe commented.
Carlo didn't deign to respond to her. It would be better for him not to. It wasn't about her thought; it was about the Chaos. He might have sounded like a broken record, even to his own damn mind, but he was fucking scared. Terrified, honestly, and doing any more than that would hurt them both. He just tracked on quietly.
The three men with their one female member headed forward, streaking as silently as they could on fast and light feet. The terrain stayed mostly the same, but Carlo could see trees in the distance. They looked like they were made from onyx with the leaves hanging almost to the ground.
Teague groaned. "That's where we met the golem the last time we were very nearly at the Forgotten Tower."
Carlo looked over at Teague. "Is there any way for us to circumnavigate it so we don't have to see it?"
Kallan shook his head. "None. It spans across the entire space as wide as I can see. It might eat up our time to go around it than to go directly through it."
Carlo nodded. "Through it, it is. Kallan and Teague, since you know the terrain better, take point. Nanshe, you stay behind me and Lennox."
"I am not some weak little–"
Carlo interrupted her before she could get into her tirade. "It’s not about how big you are, and it's not about how strong you are. I know you're powerful, but do this for me as my mate. My wolf will go crazy if it sees you in danger and I won’t be able to focus on what I am trying to do. Now stay back there, woman, like I told you to."
Nanshe huffed, but she took up her position behind Lennox and Carlo. His wolf was quiet now that he didn't have to argue over his mate's safety.
They all forged ahead until they met the edge of the forest where the earth looked more like swamp than solid land. It was odd to say the ground was slightly moist in a place where everything was just shades of black and gray, but it still looked like a splattered ink spilled near the base of the trees.
"Don't go too close to them. You might fall in. We don't know the depth and we had to be careful of it before," Kallan warned.
They slipped into a line and snaked their way through the undergrowth. Not too far in, a grumble and rumbling sound filled the air just before a massive rock flew at Carlo and he barely dodged it.Fuck.
“Looks like the golem is awake,” Teague called out.
It was the only warning they had before a giant made of stone and vines crumbled into the clearing, roaring his way in.
Carlo nearly panicked. “We're going to have to take it down. What worked last time, Teague?”
“It was a concerted effort between us. Cynes and Kallan held guard while Heath, Eiravel, and I hacked away at it. Eiravel finally smashed the thing’s head to pieces.”
Carlo cursed under his breath. This was going to be harder than he thought, but they had to make it.
“Fine. I'll shift. We'll do what we can. I don't care if we just have to muscle through.”
Nanshe tapped him on the shoulder. “Or we could simply use a portal and get out of here.”
Carlo grunted, already shifting into his wolf and streaking ahead with a vicious howl. His strong claws ate up the ground underneath him, his pads spreading to keep him balanced as he ran and leapt forward. The freedom of being a wolf was unlike anything he had ever known.
The air had so much information about their enemies and what was going on around them. Boundless senses slid over his tongue. The world was alive with information, and his wolf reveled in it. This was much different from the almost-human side of Encantado, and it was obvious, even to his wolf. But he was an animal, and animals knew how to adapt.
Carlo jumped into the air. His supple spine arched as he flipped and landed on the back of a golem. His claws scraped for purchase as he tried to hold on, snapping at the back of the golem’s neck, trying to see if there was some sort of weak point.
