Thane stood in front, pacing back and forth a little. I glanced at War, who was busy staring at Gareth. He studied the shifter warily, probably expecting him to go feral again at any moment. I wasn’t ready to tell them what happened between us earlier this evening. Not yet. It wasn’t the right time to explain.
I met War’s eyes, going still as I realized they were now pinned on me. His jaw was clenched tight, and there was a stiffness in his stance; his arms crossed over his chest. His nostrils flared as he breathed in deeply, and my heartbeat sped up.
I didn’t have the time I thought I did. I kept forgetting how keen a vampire’s senses were. He could probably smell the shift in our scents. Even I could sense iteasily, the way Gareth’s scent mingled with mine. Mate bonds were detectable by smell, and I realized right then that War already knew.
“I just want to stress the fact that while this portal is open, the wards will be down. I can’t power both without exhausting my magic,” Thane said, coming to a stop in front of me.
“It won’t hurt you, right?” I didn’t want to agree to anything that would cause him pain. Not for this. “We can come up with another plan. We don’t have to do this.”
He cupped my cheek, leaning in to place a peck on my lips. Gareth growled under his breath beside me but made no move for Thane. The warlock pulled back, shooting a grin at Gareth and then at me. “I’m tougher than I look, little wolf. I’ll just be a bit tired afterwards. I might even need to be comforted.” The tips of his fingers ran down my cheek, dipping to my throat. I swallowed thickly, my body buzzing. “Maybe you could be my naughty little nurse; what do you think?”
I laughed, and War audibly groaned. Even Gareth snorted.
“Don’t hold your breath,” I teased with a wink. I didn’t mind playing his naughty nurse. Not if it meant I finally got to touch him the way I’d been fantasizing about. My fingers itched to trace the mural of tattoos that decorated his entire body. I wanted to know the story behind each and every one of them.
He pulled back, his blue eyes filled with electric heat, and dark promises I knew he was more than ready to fulfill. “Right then, let’s do this, shall we? I’ve got a date with a sexy nurse, and I don’t want to be late.”
Before I knew what was happening, I was being liftedfrom behind. I yelped as War picked me up and placed me on the couch we’d shoved back against the far wall.
“What the fuck?!” I kicked out at him as I bounced on the cushion, glaring at the burly vampire.
“Portal magic can get messy. Stay back until it stabilizes.”
“You could have asked instead of tossing me around like a caveman."
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Thane laughed as I pouted and glared. “Finally, my brother sees some sense! Welcome to the dark side.”
I looked to Gareth for help—my mate. The thought hit me like a truck, knocking the wind out of me. He was already looking at me, but there was a slight smirk on his face, so I immediately knew he’d be no help.
A phone alarm sounded, and War pulled his from his back pocket and switched it off before nodding for Thane to begin. I swallowed thickly, sweating already with nerves.
“Let’s hope I don’t blow up this cabin,” Thane said with a laugh.
Eyes wide, I pulled my legs to my chest and pressed back against the couch cushions. A thrum of vibration and electricity spread through the room. The air crackled with it, making the hairs on my arms stand on end. Even the hair on my head rose, as if lightning was about to strike where I sat.
Thane faced the fireplace wall, his arms outstretched, bright-blue magic dancing over his fingertips. I watched in awe as the magic crept up his arms, rippling over his skin like lightning. An artificial wind swept my hair off my shoulders as a ball of light appeared, hovering in the air in front of Thane. It swirled and crackled, sparks of magic falling off of it like sparks or plasma.
I’d never been this close to this level of magic before. Of course, I’d seen it on TV plenty of times. There were realityshows, game shows, and dramas dedicated to each Darkling species, but those were all just fiction for the sake of entertainment.
When I was in high school, I used to be obsessed with this TV show about a girl who was in love with two brothers. One was a vampire, and the other was a human. They had an entire friend group filled with warlocks, witches, shifters, and some other humans, and they got into all kinds of crazy dramatic situations that involved levels of magic and lore I could only dream about.
In reality, I’d never been close enough to a warlock or witch for them to feel comfortable showing me the kinds of magic they could do.
That part of me that was obsessed with Darklings was waking up again, stirring memories inside of me. Relief swept through me as I watched the glowing ball get larger and larger by the second. Relief that the real Beatrix Castewell wasn’t completely gone. She was still in there, only buried deep, hiding away for her own protection.
The ball of light grew until it was roughly the size of one of the cabin windows. Thane’s arms were still raised, and the guys flanked him on either side. War’s brows were drawn as he watched his brother, and Gareth was pivoted in my direction, and I had no doubt he was ready to grab me and sweep me out of the cabin if something went haywire.
Thane held the light stable for close to a minute before something began to happen. The chaotic crackling of electricity started to wane. Thane’s shoulders relaxed as a bright violet hue appeared in the very center of the glow, growing by the second. The violet light mingled with the blue, and I sat forward, excitement rushing through me. I knew that light. That magic.
Bastian.
In the very center of the violet ball of light, there was a hollow opening, and as the ring of purple grew to match Thane’s blue, it created a sort of window. On the other side stood Serenity, Atlas, Merrick, Faust, and Bastian. The warlock had his arms outstretched, mirroring Thane’s stance exactly.
Thane had explained that in order to open a stable portal, it would take two warlocks, one on either end, using their own magic in tandem. Some people had tried to do it on their own in the past, but apparently it was too dangerous, and maintaining magic like that for too long could kill you.
We all waited in silence as the warlocks held the portal until the magic blended and stabilized. Eventually, the rim of the portal smoothed out and stopped crackling, leaving us all in blessed, calm silence.
