by Kay, Sharon
“Again, elf, I’m sorry for that. Allow me to return what I took.”
Jason nodded, and Mathias stood next to him. Towered over him was more like it. Eyes closed, he held a hand above Jason’s head for a few seconds.
Kai watched in open appreciation. Nice trick. Handy for a tracker-spy. He glanced back down at Brooke’s motionless form. “You’re missing all the fun, baby.”
Mathias stepped back from the elf.
Jason blinked. “The Solsti! Is she okay?”
“That’s what we’re trying to find out,” Ashina said wryly.
“Nolan! Niall!” Jason gestured to two of his friends. “Allow the Lash to return your memories.”
The other two elves who had been involved in the fight with Draven stepped forward, and Mathias repeated the process. Their faces paled as they looked at Brooke’s still form.
The four elves who had been Cale’s prisoners moved closer, awe in their eyes.
Mathias looked at the four. “We think Cale kidnapped you on behalf of another. You guys might have been on your way to being lab rats for some mad scientist.”
“I overheard him on the phone one night,” one of the four said. “He told her there would be a delay. I could only hear his side of the conversation, but he sounded like he was trying to placate her. He kept reminding her of all the, uh, subjects, he brought her. Said that if she could wait a day, he’d have two more.”
“Did he say her name?” Mathias asked.
The elf nodded. “Elegia.”
Mathias frowned and looked at Kai. “Ring any bells?”
Kai shook his head. He gazed down at Brooke, who hadn’t moved a muscle. “Wake up, baby.” I’ve got something to tell you.
He picked up her slender hand and rubbed his thumb across the back of it. I love you. You’re mine. He cleared his throat and spoke to Ashina. “Isn’t there anything you can do?”
The healer shook her head, ebony hair swishing around her shoulders. “Her vital signs are steady. I don’t sense any stress in her body. I’ve never treated a Solsti before, but I think she just over-taxed herself.” She met Kai’s gaze. “Has she done that, um, procedure before?”
“Not on a creature that large.”
“Let’s give her a few minutes then. Can you sense anything? Through your bond?”
Kai froze. The mating bond. Had it formed? No, at least not fully, he thought as he stroked her hair, which was still completely brown.
Hell, he had no idea how this worked. His only mated friend was Gunnar. When Nicole had been in distress, Gunnar had felt it as strongly as a sledgehammer to the heart. But now, Kai sensed only silence. Either there was no bond, or Brooke wasn’t in pain.
“I don’t feel anything.” Hope and confusion warred in his mind. He was sure he’d heard her voice in his head. I love you. His eyes dropped to her beautiful face. She looked peaceful. Her mind was quiet. No words, no emotion.
Ashina reached over and laid her hand on his shoulder. “Then just hold her. I’ll be right here.”
Kai gathered Brooke in his arms, getting into a comfortable position on the ground. Wake up, baby. Gods above, he needed her. The whole freaking world needed her. And she’d knocked herself out saving his ass. Again. Damn. When he’d said that to her yesterday, he’d been joking.
Ah, hell. She’d warned him about Raniero. Rosa’s words echoed reproachfully in his ears. One of the Solsti is gifted with dreams of foreshadowing. And today, he’d had more confidence in his own skills than in Brooke’s dreams. Time for that to change.
Mathias’ voice broke through his thoughts as the Hunter spoke to the elves. “Any idea where this Elegia is located?”
“No. It seemed like we walked around this forest for days. We thought it was deliberate, to confuse us. But now, it seems he was looking for your group,” one elf said.
A sharp wind gusted, rattling the leaves overhead. Shimmering energy pulsed in the air, and every creature with a weapon turned toward it. Rising from the ground, a gentle swirl of mist spun the gray dirt in a lazy circle. A soft pop echoed off the trees.
The dirt settled, revealing a red-haired, curvy female demon. A Deserati.
What the hell? It couldn’t be. “Miranda?” Kai asked.
The female glanced at him but ignored his question, focusing on the plethora of weapons aimed at her. Her green tail slithered back and forth across the ground behind her. “Easy, boys. I’m looking for someone. I don’t know who you are, but as soon as I find my employer, I’ll forget I ever saw you.”
“Who are you?” Kai asked.
The demoness turned to him and rolled her eyes. “Not Miranda. But I’m not surprised you know my twin. A lot of guys do.”
“I didn’t know she had a twin,” Kai muttered.
“Let me guess, when you spent time with her, not a lot of talking went on,” the female drawled.
Kai frowned. Maybe he was a bastard, but some part of him was relieved that Brooke was out cold for this little exchange. “That’s all in the past. Who are you looking for?”
“My name is Bianca and I’m looking for a Lash demon named Cale. I don’t suppose you’ve seen him?”
Kai exchanged a glance with Mathias. “What’s left of him is over there somewhere. You may have to dig through a few Serus bodies first,” the Hunter said.
Bianca’s green eyes widened to the size of saucers. “He’s dead?”
Mathias nodded.
“I have to see.” Darting in the direction Mathias indicated, her heeled boots leapt over Serus remains. She came to an abrupt halt, her face contorting into a disgusted grimace. “Holy freaking gods above!”
Bianca turned and jogged back to them, a smile spreading from one pointed ear to the other. “Woo-hoo!” Her fist pumped the air. “He’s dead! I’m free!”
“Free?” Kai asked.
“I’ve lived in forced service to him for decades,” she said. “To pay off a gambling debt my father racked up. It was either Cale killed him, or I worked for Cale.”
“What kind of work?” Mathias asked.
“I’m a porter.”
“So you’re the porter.” The Hunter rubbed the back of his neck. “We heard he had one. He probably planned for you to transport these elves today.”
Bianca shrugged and crossed her arms over her chest. “He never gives me details. Just tells me where and when to meet him.”
“And where do you bring the captives?”
“I get a different set of coordinates each time. Never the same location. But they all were in the northwest region of Torth, along the Bloodspire mountains.”
“Does the name Elegia mean anything to you?” Mathias continued.
Bianca shook her head. “No. Are you done? Because I have a few questions of my own.”
Mathias scowled. “One more, female. Who met you at the exchange points?”
“Armed guards. Dozens of them, all different species. All male.” She held up a hand when Mathias opened his mouth. “And no, I don’t know where they took the prisoners. After they secured the captives, they made me leave before they headed off.”
Kai and Mathias exchanged a look. “Thank you, Bianca. Now at least we have a general location,” Kai said.
Raniero took a step closer to Bianca. “I was also forced into service for Cale.” He inclined his head. “I’m Raniero.”
The porter’s lips parted as she gazed up at his towering frame. “You’re his merc. I’ve heard stories about you. The rumor is Cale caught you with his daughter—”
“That would be me,” Ashina piped up, waving from her position at Brooke’s side.
Bianca swiveled to face her. “Did he really banish you?”
“Yes. I’ve lived on Evena for a hundred years.”
“Damn.” Bianca let out a low whistle. “But you found each other.”
“Very recently.” Ashina smiled.
“That’s so romantic,” Bianca sighed, a dreamy note creeping into her voice. She tilted her head and smile
d at the healer.
Mathias snorted and rolled his eyes.
A tingle of warning crawled up Kai’s spine. He looked down to see Brooke’s eyelids moving as if she was having one of her dreams. He wished he could spare her from them. He hated the terror that engulfed her so thoroughly that it carried over into her first moments of wakefulness. You’ll never wake up alone, Sprite. I promise. I’ll be with you, in your mind and in your bed. If you’ll have me.
CHAPTER 27
BROOKE DREW A SHARP BREATH and her body jerked. Her eyes flew open to meet Kai’s brown ones, shining back at her with tenderness and concern.
“Shh, it’s okay. I’ve got you, Brooke.” He rocked her back and forth.
Rocked? She blinked and realized she was in his lap. “He’s gonna kill you!” She squirmed in his hold.
He held her tight to his chest. “It’s all over, baby. You did it.”
“Over?” She struggled to sit and look around, but he wouldn’t let her.
He kissed her forehead. “Yes, over. Cale is dead. So are his Serus guards.”
She stopped her attempt to see what lay behind him, and blinked as images fired through her mind. The horror from her dream, a blade at Kai’s throat. Her anger and fear that he could die. And Cale…Cale’s body shriveling, blood and water everywhere…She had done it.
“That was me,” she whispered.
“You kicked ass, Sprite.”
She threw her arms around his neck and instantly regretted moving so swiftly. Bad idea. Her lips pressed together and a wave of nausea rolled through her.
A throat cleared close by. “Hi, Brooke. Can you look at me?”
Brooke turned in the direction of the female voice and froze. Luminous green eyes met hers, capturing her in a stare as strong as Kai’s arms. Those eyes were both familiar and new. She felt like she’d looked into them her whole life. They looked just like Nicole’s eyes. That makes no sense.
The woman’s dark hair framed her heart-shaped face. “Brooke? Does anything hurt?”
Brooke shook her head, unable to look away. How do I know you?
“I’m Ashina,” the woman said. She took Brooke’s hand, and a rush of warmth shot into her arm. Not like the heat she felt from Kai’s touch. This was comforting. Loving. Familial.
Ashina blinked, and a shiver ran through her slender frame. A smile lit her delicate features. “You’re going to be fine, Brooke. You just passed out for a minute.”
“Who are you?” Brooke whispered, still clutching Ashina’s hand.
“I’m a healer. I’m a Lash demon. And…” She glanced down for a second before meeting Brooke’s eyes. “Cale’s daughter.”
Remorse flared in Brooke’s heart. Not for killing Cale, but for causing loss to Ashina. Had they been close? “I killed him,” she whispered.
“Everyone present is very glad you did. Me included. My father was a monster.” Ashina’s gaze shifted, focusing somewhere behind Brooke. “We’ll tell you the whole story later.” She released Brooke’s hand and stood. “I’ll give you two a moment.” Soft footsteps swished through the grass as the healer walked off to join the rest of the group.
Brooke studied her hand. It tingled from the warm impression left by Ashina.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. The healer…she seems so familiar to me, but I have no idea why.”
“She’s been sitting here with us for a while. Maybe you heard her voice when you were still out.”
“Maybe.” She looked at him, reaching up to cup his cheek. Drops of dried blood dotted his jaw. There was more at his throat, where the small cut from Raniero’s sword had already healed. “I thought you were going to die.”
“Told you it takes a lot to kill me.”
“I saved you again.” She shot him her best cocky grin.
He laughed, and the relaxed, happy sound warmed her heart. “Yeah. Guess we’re even now.” Turning his head, he kissed the center of her palm.
His lips sent tendrils of heat all the way to her toes. But the future weighed on her like a thick blanket. “Kai…something really bad is coming.”
“I know.”
She swallowed hard. “I’ll have to do this again. Use my power this way.”
His eyes locked with hers. “I’ll be with you. Every step. Every fight.”
“You will?” Her heart flipped. I love you.
He stroked her hair. “Remember when you thought I was asking you to go steady?”
“Yeah.” A jittery feeling spread through her body. Anticipation lit up her insides like a Roman candle.
“I want more than that.” He tilted her chin so she could meet his eyes. “I love you.”
She nearly forgot to breathe as waves of happiness washed over her heart. Her hand clutched his T-shirt to draw him close, but he wasn’t done talking.
“I want to be with you forever. I want to fight at your side. I want to be there when you wake from every bad dream.” He kissed her hand. “And every good one, too. I want you, Brooke. Be my mate.”
Her soul exploded in joy, a million fragments swirling, melding with the essence of the man who held her. Gazing into the soft amber glow of his eyes, their bond wrapped her heart in a chain of diamonds, binding them together forever.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I love you, Kai.”
“You’re mine.” He lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her with tender possession.
His soft, demanding lips sent shimmering waves of pleasure down her arms. Mine. The man she never thought she wanted had become a soul-baring force she couldn’t live without. He belonged to her. We saved each other.
As their souls entwined, she realized she could share in his strength. The burst of power from him was exactly what she’d needed to finish her task with Cale. Kai would never hold her back. He wanted to fight at her side. Together.
She tangled her tongue with his, deepening their kiss. Still on his lap, she shifted so she could run her hands through his hair.
He groaned. “You’re killing me, Sprite. We’re not alone.”
“Damn.” She pulled away from his sensual mouth and gazed into the warm honey glow of his eyes. “Is that it?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Is what it?”
“We agree to be mates, and then we are? No special words or ceremony?”
His mouth met hers in a swift kiss. “No ceremony. Unless you want one. Some mates make up their own.” He raised her hand and kissed each knuckle. “We’ll be able to sense each other’s emotions all the time. And when we’re close by, we can project our thoughts.”
“Oh yeah. Nicole and Gunnar do that all the time. It’s kind of annoying.”
He nuzzled her ear. “It won’t be annoying when I’m telling you exactly what I’m gonna do to your naked body.”
A shiver of promise zinged up her spine. She felt the carnal heat of his words just as strongly as she heard them at her ear. She linked her hands behind his neck and pressed her lips to his. Her fingers wandered into his hair, sifting through his blond locks—
“Our hair!” She pulled away and sat up straight in his lap. “When will it change?”
He chuckled and kissed the tip of her nose. “That takes several hours. We may not see the change until tomorrow.”
Brooke shook her head. “I gave Nicole such a hard time about that. She probably won’t let me forget it.”
“You two are going to look like Goth sisters.”
“Yeah.” She rested her head on his shoulder, wishing she could stay wrapped in Kai’s arms forever. Well, that’s what being mated is all about. But they were still in the gray-green forest. It seemed like they’d been here for months. She peeked over his shoulder and sucked in a breath.
Bodies lay everywhere. Some gave off a sickly smoke, some were twisted at odd angles, some had arrows protruding from…wait, arrows?
“Did you and Mathias kill all the Serus demons?” She pulled back to face Kai. “It looks like I missed a lot of the action.”
&nbs
p; He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m glad you didn’t have to see the carnage. The Serus demons were moving to attack. Mathais, Raniero, and I were going to divvy them up, but then the elves got their butts in gear.”
“Jason? And his brothers?”
“All safe and sound. And Mathias returned the memories he took. He can’t return Jason’s memories of Rosa though, because she erased those.”
“Oh. Well, some is better than none.” Relief coursed through her. She didn’t know why the memory thing bothered her so much. It just didn’t seem fair. Sometimes memories were all you had to catalog the events in your life. She ventured another glance at the group standing several yards away. “What about Raniero?”
Kai shrugged. “He dropped his weapon as soon as Cale went down. He couldn’t fight the urge to protect his mate. No male can. If anyone threatened you, I’d rip his intestines out through his nose.” His voice ended on a menacing growl.
Brooke shuddered, but in a blast of heat that touched her every cell, she knew he meant it. “Hey, I feel your anger. Or chivalry, or urge to protect. Whatever you call it, I feel it. Here.” She patted her heart.
“The bond is strengthening.” He captured her mouth again.
She would never get enough of his kisses. As if the elements approved, a familiar warmth tickled her back and shoulders. Smiling against Kai’s lips, she said, “Is that the sun?”
Rays of gold highlights shot through his hair as he tilted his head back, eyes closed. “Yep. It only shines about three times a year here. And you got to see one of them. Lucky Solsti.”
“I’d almost forgotten what it looked like.” When was the last time she’d seen the sun? Oh, yeah, the morning Kai brought me to my office. That seemed like months ago.
Someone in the demon group laughed. A flash of red caught the light moving against the green leaves. Red? She hadn’t seen much red, or any other colors except green and gray, since they’d arrived. She looked closer. Long red hair and curves. Disbelief shot through her. “That’s not…”
“No. It’s her twin.”