“Like I said. I can’t seem to keep my feelings neutral all the time and I imagine you’ll see it when I look at her. I’ve noticed you both reacting to things you’re seeing in my eyes. It seems I can’t pull off the dead look anymore.”
Jasper looked completely baffled. He ran his free hand through his hair. Ternach and I both watched him, waiting to see where his train of thought would end up. Jasper closed his eyes and Ternach looked at me, frowning. I shrugged. I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt about this new Ternach, but I had to admit that I liked him a hell of a lot more than the one who was always trying to kill me. Jasper frowned then nodded.
“How do we break the bond?”
Ternach shrugged. “I have no idea.”
Blue eyes met green again. Jasper growled. “I don’t like this.”
I squeezed his hand. “Me neither.”
Ternach grinned. “I’m not going to lie. I find this amusing.”
“Of course you do,” I mumbled, more to myself than to him. I stood and pulled Jasper up with me. “Let’s go. I’m hungry and tired and I want to talk to Damian and Rainen. They might have an idea about how we can break this bond.”
“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to hear your conversations since we can shield now. If you learn of anything that may be of importance, just, oh, I don’t know…send me a feeling.”
I frowned. “You’re not coming with us?”
Ternach cocked an eyebrow. “Not everyone is as forgiving as you, my love. I have a hunch that Rainen would love to take me on in my present state and I’m fairly sure she would be victorious.”
“Are you sure you should be out here all by yourself when the only thing you can do is shield?”
He grinned. “So concerned for my welfare is my love. I’ll be fine.”
Jasper nodded. “We’ll let you know what we find out.” He started to walk away and I followed.
Everyone looked up as we entered our camp. Rainen was the first to speak, her midnight blue eyes wide with shock.
“Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like. You’re bonded to Ternach?”
I nodded. “Any ideas on how we can fix that?”
“We could kill him.” She didn’t sound very hopeful as she made the suggestion.
I shook my head. She turned to my mate.
“Jasper?”
He shrugged. “Hayden doesn’t want to kill him.”
I frowned. “Do you want to?”
He shrugged again. “After feeling what he’s feeling as a result of losing most of his magic, I admit I sympathize with the man. On the other hand, after everything he’s put you through, I’m finding it hard to convince myself that getting rid of him while he’s weak isn’t the best option we have.”
“I just… I feel like we should help him.”
His jaw clenched. “Help him do what, Shlova? Kill you? He’s already promised you that the instant you go after Braw he won’t hesitate to do so.”
I felt my own temper rise. “The only reason he’s bound to protect Braw and the staff is because I cursed him with that energy! If it weren’t for me and that kiss he’d just be a regular pain in our ass and not on anybody’s side. I’m not going to kill him because of something I caused.”
“By the moons, Hayden, you can’t protect everybody and everything. We are about to declare war! Beings are going to die! A lot of them are going to die and he’ll be a big factor as to how many of them are from our side!”
Everyone sat and stared, none of them willing to get involved. I honestly couldn’t remember ever having a full out screaming match with Jasper, but I supposed there was a first time for everything. The instant that thought went through my head my train of thought evaporated. All I knew was I didn’t want to fight with him and that our packs didn’t need to see us falling apart because of the stress of our situation. I could see the conflict in Jasper’s eyes; his need to keep me happy and safe was battling with his need to keep his packs safe. He’d spent his entire life trying to make sure his men made it back home to their families and now I was telling him he couldn’t get rid of a problem which might cause a large number of them to die. These men and women were volunteering their lives because we had asked them to. Was I willing to sacrifice them for the life of one immortal who was constantly trying to kill and abduct me?
“I’m sorry.”
Jasper had been about to yell something else. He stopped short, his mouth still open. He looked at me for a second then closed it. “What?”
“I’m sorry. You’re right.”
He frowned.
“What do you think the best way to do this would be?”
He simply stared at me. I took a step toward him and he blinked. His eyes softened.
“Not you, Shlova. I know what you feel like when you kill a being in self-defense. I’m not going to let you hunt down somebody you don’t actually want to kill. I’ll take Rainen.”
“But…”
“No buts. Do you really want to kill him?”
I shook my head. It was no use lying to the man when he could read how I was feeling. Even with my shields up Jasper was starting to get good at pushing through my defenses. “I feel bad for what I did to him and would like to help him, but you’re right; I’m not going to ask these men and women to fight for us then not do everything in my power to keep them safe.”
He nodded and Rainen stood.
Tell them not to bother, my love. They won’t find me.
“I thought you couldn’t hear our conversations if we were shielding.”
I may have lied. Now, don’t feel bad, I won’t hold it against you that you wish me dead. Were I in your place, I would probably do the same thing. I’ll meet you in Paradin, my love. I’m still hoping you’ll change your mind and turn around, but I don’t think that will happen. It seems we’ll get a rematch after all.
“He’s gone.”
Jasper growled. “What happened to not being able to hear us?”
“He lied. You didn’t hear him?”
Jasper shook his head.
“The shields must be strong enough to block Jasper because of his lack of magic, but you and Ternach are more closely connected due to the original bond and your energies.” Rainen frowned. “I don’t like this.”
“That makes all of us,” I mumbled.
“Come have something to eat, Shlova. We can figure out what to do with him later.”
I took a deep breath. Things just kept getting more and more complicated. Then again, had I really expected things to go smoothly? This was war after all.
*****
Jasper was stuck in place. He willed his legs to move and growled in frustration. Ternach’s eyes met his. The dream flashed and he saw the immortal launch himself at Hayden, felt his own heart split in two; he felt that dead feeling he’d only felt the day his mate had died.
“No!”
Jasper sat up abruptly, his breathing so quick he was sure he would black out. His chest hurt and he was covered in sweat.
“Jasper?” Hayden’s voice was frightened under the calming tone. “What’s wrong?” Her small hand touched his arm lightly. He pulled her to his chest and buried his face in her hair.
“You have to cross over.” He barely managed to get the words out past the sobs he was holding in.
“What? No! I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”
“He’s going to kill you, Hayden. I saw it.”
She looked up at him, her strange green eyes narrowed with her frown. “You had a dream?”
He nodded.
“It’s my job to dream. You don’t have dream seers eyes and you’ve never had one before.” She ran a hand through his hair. “Maybe it was just a nightmare.”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t a nightmare. I could feel it, Shlova. I can still feel it. This is what I’ve been dreaming every night, but this is the first time I remember it. You’re going to die and I’m just going to stand there frozen in place because of something and watch him
do it.” He rolled his shoulders to try and get rid of the tension in his body. The half dead feeling in his chest was slowly leaving. He took a deep breath to help it along. “I can’t loose you, Shlova.”
Hayden cupped his face in her hands and he closed his eyes.
“I’m right here, Jasper, and I’m not going anywhere. I already promised, remember?”
He nodded. “I remember.”
“I can’t leave, Hun. I won’t. I need to see this through. You of all people should understand.”
He took a deep breath and nodded again. She kissed him softly.
“Could you promise me you’ll stay away from him?”
“I will. I promise to stay as far from him as I can.” She kissed him again. “Ok?”
He nodded and lay back down. Hayden snuggled into his chest.
“Are you alright?”
“Not quite.” He took another deep breath. “Maybe another kiss would help.”
She smiled up at him. “So now you’re the one having dreams and I’m the one kissing you better?”
He shrugged. He meant to tell her she always made him feel better when she kissed him, but her hands ran up the back of his neck, tangled in his hair, and pulled his lips down to hers. The pain in his chest melted away and he wondered if maybe she was right. Maybe it had been a nightmare.
She pulled away. “Better?”
He kissed the bridge of her nose. “Much better, thank you.”
She smiled. “My pleasure.”
He tightened his arms around her as she settled against him. He found himself awake long after she had fallen back to sleep.
Dodge ambled over to where they were laying. Is she sleeping?
Jasper nodded.
She shouldn’t be coming with us.
“I agree but I can’t convince her otherwise. You know how she is.”
Dodge nodded. Stubborn. He stretched his wings before continuing. We could trick her and get her away.
Jasper blinked. Now there was something he hadn’t thought about. “How?”
Next time we get to some open ground, I’ll fly her somewhere safe. It doesn’t have to be in the other world; it just has to be far enough away that she’ll be out of harm’s way. She can’t displace herself so we don’t have to worry about her magically appearing in the middle of the battle.
Jasper thought it over. “It would work. The problem is afterwards. She’d be mad we tricked her. Furious.”
Dodge nodded. I’m not saying we wouldn’t feel the brunt of it for a while after the fact. Quite frankly, I’d rather have her mad at me for the next twenty years then to not have her here at all. I’ve had the dream too, Jasper. It’s bits and pieces and I can’t tell exactly what happens, but Ternach jumps at her and then I feel her die. That’s where I wake up. I’ve been having the dream since we left Howel and the closer we get to Paradin, the clearer it gets. She won’t survive this one. There’s nothing either of us can do about it.
“Can we win without her?”
Dodge’s head came up in surprise. He took a minute to answer. I doubt it.
“I’m at a loss, Dodge. I don’t know what to do. We need to win this, but I can’t lose her.”
“I’ve thought about it too, but I can’t find a solution.” Alex’s voice was just a whisper behind them.
“I’ve had the dream too.” Matthew sounded miserable.
“I’m with Dodge on this one.” Phlann ran a hand through his blond hair. “We’ll find a way to do it without her.”
Kacey sat up. “If we survive Braw without her, there’s no way we’ll survive Hayden when we get back to her.”
Jasper ran a hand over his face, careful not to wake her. “Have you all had this dream?”
Everyone in their pack nodded and he growled low in his throat. Hayden stirred against him.
“What’s going on?” She looked around. “Why are we the only pack awake?”
Jasper shrugged. “We just couldn’t sleep.”
“Jasper?”
Everyone looked up at Danny as he walked into our camp.
“I, umm… well, I was in charge of taking the north perimeter for the last watch and…” He frowned. “I found this.” He held out a dagger and placed it Jasper’s waiting hands. “I wouldn’t have recognized it were it not for the fact that he’d shown me the names on it.”
Jasper frowned. A shiver ran through him and he took a deep breath. “Something’s wrong.”
“What?” Hayden got up and started to pack their things. The rest of their friends followed suit.
“It’s Luke’s.” He stared at the twins’ names engraved on the blade for a second then jumped to his feet. He leaped over three campfires to reach Damian’s . “Get everyone up. Something’s happening. We’ll leave now; catch up when you can.” He found Cole’s camp. “You’re in charge of the cats.”
Cole nodded. “Stay safe.”
“Stay safe. We’ll meet you up there.”
He gave Hayden’s leg a squeeze as she swung onto Dodge and they all bolted into the night.
*****
I leaned forward onto Dodge’s neck to avoid being hit by a branch. When the danger had passed, I straightened only to see another one coming at my face. I threw myself backwards so that I lay flat on his back.
Sorry.
I straightened and patted his neck. “No worries.” We had been running most of the day and by the way my stomach was growling, I was betting it was past lunch time. “Look, there’s a clear spot up ahead. Maybe we can spot something from the air. Jasper!”
He looked back at me and slowed until we were even with him.
“We’re going to fly.”
He blinked his perfect blue tiger eyes to show he’d understood. He looked at Dodge who gave a tilt of his head. Jasper gave a quick nod then sped up again.
“What was that all about?” I stayed as still as possible as Dodge’s wings started to beat and we lifted off of the ground.
What was what?
“I swear to god, Dodge, if I feel you turning away from where we’re going, I will jump off of you, I don’t care how high up we are. Do you understand?” I felt him grunt.
Perfectly.
“Good. Now, let’s see what we can find from up here.”
Dodge soared higher into the air and I looked down into the woods to try and find any clue as to where Luke, Mel, and their pack might be.
“Can you see anything?”
No. Nothing. They couldn’t have been that far ahead of us. Maybe they weren’t heading straight north. With Tyler guiding them, maybe they veered off somewhere.
“West or east? You pick.”
Dodge angled to the left and sped up. We had been flying for a half hour when I finally gave him a pat on the neck. “Let’s go back, Buddy. Your wings must be getting tired.”
He blew out of his nose. I’ll manage.
Hayden, my love, what brings you to these parts? I hope you’re not looking for me.
“I’m not. Where are you?”
I heard a snort in my head. Are you still trying to kill me?
“I’m not here to kill you. I have bigger things to worry about right now. I’m looking for my brother-in-law’s pack. They were hunting down the human pack that kidnapped my nephew.”
Ah, now see that I can answer for you. Look down. What do you see?
I looked and tried to find a landmark he might know. “There’s a clearing with one, two, three, four large boulders in it. There’s a stream that runs through it.” I squinted. “Is that you?”
His laughter sounded in my head and the being in the middle of the clearing waved at us. Go straight north of this clearing. They aren’t too far away.
“Are they safe?”
For now. They’re coming up to the pack they are hunting. I hope your brother-in-law can fight. The pack that holds your nephew is twice the size of his.
“He can fight and he won’t be alone. You might want to vacate the clearing. My pack will be coming thr
ough shortly.”
Why warn me when you could try to take me by surprise?
“You just finished helping me so I’m returning the favor. Don’t think I’m going soft on you.”
Of all the words that come to mind when I think of you, soft is not one of them, my love.
“Good. Now get out of here before Jasper and the rest of them get here.”
I thank you for the warning and I shall move along. Good luck with the search for your nephew.
Dodge angled back toward our pack, circled behind them when we found them, and hit the ground running beside my mate. Jasper’s head came up at the sight of me.
Dodge blew out of his nose. I’ll explain later.
I glared at the tiger. “We’ll have a chat when this is done. For now, there’s a clearing just up ahead. Luke isn’t too far north of there and he’s about to run into the pack that has Trent.”
By the time we had reached the clearing I was too worried about Luke and Trent to still be mad at Jasper and Dodge. Jasper kept looking toward me as if trying to judge how I was feeling. I finally gave him a small smile.
“I love you.”
He blinked in acknowledgement.
“Be careful.”
He nodded and gave a low growl.
“I promise I will be too.”
We broke out of the woods at a dead run and found ourselves in an immense field. We heard shouts; some of them yells of welcome, others screams of surprise. I saw Mel fall under two men, her black wolf form disappearing under their bulk. I nudged Dodge in that direction with my legs and pulled my swords out of their scabbards. One smooth stroke across both of their backs was enough to free Mel before she was hurt too badly. Her eyes widened at the sight of us before turning back to the battle at hand.
I heard Jasper growl and watched as he shifted, pulled his dagger and threw it. His elbow came up and connected with a man’s face just as the dagger impaled itself in another’s back. The man fell to the ground.
“Luke! Catch!” Jasper tossed his brother his dagger and the two of them stared at each other for a moment. I noticed the same wild look in both of their eyes.
Dodge spun around and kicked back with both hind legs. I heard the sound of the human’s chest imploding with a sickening wheeze. I slashed down with my swords as another man tried to reach up and pull me off of my horse. He screamed as my blade connected. The spray of blood was hot against my face.
Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) Page 25