Page 131 of Unveiled

“And what happens to you when you answer?”

Adrian’s voice thinned. “It hurts.”

Connor pulled him fully into his arms. “Then you’re not answering anything.”

“I don’t know if I can stop it.”

“Yes,” Connor said, fierce and immediate, “you can.”

Connor gathered him into his chest. Adrian froze for half a second then let out a deep breath.

“It’s too loud,” Adrian said. “Every fracture. Every whisper.”

“Love.” Connor tipped his chin up gently. “Look at me.”

Adrian did. Connor cupped his face. “Focus on your breathing. Hear my breath. Do it with me.”

That was all it took. Long minutes passed before Adrian’s breathing slowed.

“Better?” Connor asked softly.

“A little,” Adrian murmured. He smiled softly. “You’re very soothing when you want to be.”

“I try,” Connor grumbled.

Adrian’s hand settled over Connor’s chest. “I don’t want to die sealing a rend.”

Connor went still, then wrapped his arms tighter. “You won’t.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“I can so.”

Adrian laughed. His man was something else. “You can’t fight destiny.”

Connor’s jaw set. “I’ll fight that too. You won’t die. Not for the valley. Not for the Council.”

Adrian stilled, his heart stumbling once before settling again. Sleep claimed him and with it, the knowledge Connor would always have his back

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Connor

The night didn’t fall normally. It dropped fast enough to steal the breath from Connor’s lungs.

One moment, Castle Brannigan lay under a typical Highland dusk, grey clouds, a fading sun, the cold promise of rain.

The next, it went dark.

Connor felt it. A prickling at the back of his neck. A pressure in his chest. A sense that something had shifted in the valley’s bones.

Across the room, Adrian flinched, pressing a hand to his sternum. “Fuck, not again. Not so soon.”

Connor’s blood iced. “No. Not again.”

But apparently, Adrian wasn’t seeing him anymore. His pupils dilated. His breath hitched. His body shuddered as if caught between two worlds.

And then the world broke. The floor shuddered beneath them like a heartbeat.