Page 109 of Gray

Gray softly smiled. As much as the thought of him going off on his own terrified me, I refused to coddle him. I’d stand behind his decision. Even if it made me sick with worry.

“I won’t apologize for protecting my brother,” Alastair told me. “However, I see no other choice this time. If this is what he’s decided, so be it.”

“We’ll leave right away,” Castor said, looking at Daman.

“Wait.” Kyo grabbed his husband’s arm.

“Are you worried about me, little dragon?” Castor cupped Kyo’s cheek.

“No.” A total lie. That worry was written all over his face. “But the world isn’t exactly a friendly place right now. And there are zombies. And… other stuff. What if—”

Castor kissed him.

Meanwhile, Daman and Warrin had moved closer together. Warrin was several inches taller and dipped his head as they spoke softly to each other. The bitterness in Daman’s expression lifted as he looked at his mate. Love shone in his eyes. Maybe a bit of sadness too.

Because they were saying goodbye for now.

The plan was for them to find Belphegor and then call Alastair to give him the location. The rest of the brothers would then fly to meet them. Those of us left behind would be charged with protecting the town in their absence. If the assassination was successful, there wouldn’t be a war in the celestial realm. The attacks would stop too.

“What do you need from me?” Konnar asked.

As Alastair strategized with him, Gray slipped his arms around my waist.

“Hi,” he whispered in that cute way of his.

“Hey.” I smoothed my thumb along his jaw. “Ready for a nap?”

He nodded and rose up on his tiptoes to grab my neck. I held him against me and nodded to Alastair before turning from the group and walking toward the mansion. He was asleep before I even reached the porch.

***

“Will you keep him safe while I’m gone?” Gray placed Dino-Pete on my thigh as I sat beside him on the bed. “I don’t trust Simon to be here alone with him.”

Two days had passed since Daman and Castor left. They had called an hour earlier and said they’d located Belphegor in Scotland. He was holed up in a castle along the North Sea, just outside of Stonehaven. While Alastair made the preparations for them to leave—and told Lazarus the plan—Daman and Castor were keeping a close eye on the fallen angel, tracking his movements just in case he traveled anywhere else.

I gently moved the glass dick figurine aside and gathered Gray in my arms. “Why can’t I go with you?”

“Just ’cause.” He turned his face into my shirt. Hiding. “We’ll be flying, for one, and you don’t have wings. Even though it would be hot as hell if you did, I like you just how you are. No wings or forked tongues required.”

“Forked tongues?”

“Dragons have them. But I like your tongue. Ireallylike it when it’s licking my ass.”

A short laugh escaped me. “Behave.”

“Nuh-uh.” He crawled more into my lap and smiled at me. There was something tense about it though, not as warm and carefree as usual. “I want to be naughty for as long as I can and make this memorable. So you don’t forget me, ya know?”

“You say that like you don’t expect to see me again.” I rested my forehead on his. When he didn’t say anything, my soul cracked wide open. “Promise me you’ll come back.”

Gray held me, not saying a word. He couldn’t promise he’d come back, because this was war. And the only certainty in war was that it was unpredictable. He gently bumped our foreheads together before his lips slanted over mine.

My airways constricted.

I recalled what Galen said about bonded mates who joined their life forces, about how if one died, the other followed. As I kissed Gray, the uncertainty of whether or not I’d see him again made my eyes sting. If something happened to him, if he died, I wanted to go with him. But we hadn’t bonded in that way.

The kiss ended too soon.

“I have to go,” he whispered. “Alastair and the others are waiting downstairs.”