Page 48 of Hell Kissed

Rhys

Aric’s hard body slides against mine as he lowers me. The defined lines of his biceps are smooth against my palms. My gaze holds on the fiery depths of his russet eyes until my feet peacefully touch the icy ground. The heavy ring rests loosely against my middle finger, and even though it was Kyvain’s, it was a gift from Aric.

And I’ll never forget that as long as I live.

Violent wind whips around us, clawing at my hair as I look out over the world below us.

Wispy clouds cling to the edge of the mountain. Bits of green grass and blue water can be seen between them. A serene sensation falls over me. This is it. This is what heaven must feel like.

“I don’t think we should take her,” Aric blurts out.

All three of us turn to look at the wide, manic-eyed man.

“What?” I ask in a shaking breath.

“I said that two fucking realms ago!” Latham growls.

“We’re taking her,” Torben says with nothing more than a murmur of quiet authority.

“No.” Aric steps toward his friend, but I note the way his shoulders square up in a less than friendly way.

Torben seems suddenly attentive to something other than the task at hand. And the glare he gives the dragon shifter is total controlled confidence.

“We have an order. We will follow through with that order.” Torben speaks clearly and casually,

but just under that layer of calm, cool collectedness is a monster I can tell is rearing to rip out.

He seems every bit a shifter.

And yet he isn’t…

The three of them are more than a mystery to me despite how much trust we’ve gained through this journey. What more are they hiding?

“Why don’t you want me to go now?” I turn on him in an instant, and his molten eyes catch mine.

“Because you don’t belong there,” Aric answers flatly.

“I don’t belong anywhere. But I’m going to find my mother.” I look from one man to the next, but it’s Latham’s tragic gaze that catches my attention. “My motheristhere, isn’t she?” I ask slowly.

I need answers to so much more than that, but we have to start somewhere.

A pause drifts through him, but there’s an honesty in him that I’ll never be able to ignore as he nods solemnly.

“Okay,” I whisper, the single word coming out more clear and concise than I expected given the fast pace of my heartbeat. “Then stop acting like you’re in charge of my life.” I step past Aric, and I feel his attention follow me as I look up at the seven foot tall man before me. “Where to now?”

Torben’s eyebrow lifts high as a surprising smirk pulls at his lips.

Until he points straight down.

I follow the direction of his index finger, but I still don’t understand.

My mouth parts but then closes again as I try to process.

“You have to come up in order to get back down,” Aric adds, as if that explains it all.

My mouth falls open then.

Wait.