Page 168

A key scraped in the lock. Adric lurched into action, snatching up Rosana and scrambling to his feet.

He waited with bated breath as the door swung open to reveal a tall silhouette with a pair of gleaming eyes. The shadows arranged themselves into a night fae female in a warrior’s trim black uniform, her jet hair slicked back in a perfect ponytail.

He shoved past her, Rosana cradled to his chest. “She needs to get in the water. Now .”

Two more warriors, both males, waited in the hall.

“The prince has granted your request,” the female said. “If you’ll follow me…”

“I know the fucking way.” His inner GPS would get him to the surface.

“As you wish.” The men flanked him, and she followed behind.

A few twists and turns, and he was at the stairs leading up to the black marble foyer.

He took them at a run. In the foyer, the tall door once again opened as he approached.

He jogged up the steps leading to the outside and sprinted the fifty yards to the pond, the long-legged warriors loping alongside him.

Dusk had spread its gloomy fingers over the compound. A few night fae had already emerged from their lairs, but although he caught them eyeing him and Rosana with interest, they stayed out of his way.

He lowered Rosana to the grass beside the pond and stripped off her clothes.

The three warriors hovered over him until he snarled at them to back off.

“She’s not going anywhere.” Shifters were used to being naked in front of one another, but he was damned if he’d let these cold-eyed fae ogle his mate’s naked body.

The female inclined her head, and they all moved a few steps back.

Dragging off his own clothes, he picked up Rosana again and strode into the icy pond. When it reached his waist, he lowered her into the water.

She shrieked and flung out her arms like a startled infant. One hand latched onto his shoulder in a death grip.

He frowned. “Easy now. It’s okay. You’re in the water now. You can shift.” He bent his knees, submerging her to the chest.

“No!” She shook her head wildly. Both hands clamped around his neck.

“Shift, angel.” He lowered her a little deeper, but she clawed at him, climbing his body like he was trying to drown her.

What the fuck—?

“Rosana.” He gave her a shake. “Shift. Change to your dolphin.”

Her eyes popped open—and looked right through him. “Go away,” she hissed. “You’re not really here.”

Panic coated his throat. He lifted her out of the water and brought his face close to hers. “Rosana! Look at me.”

“ No… ” She squeezed her eyes shut. “Why won’t you leave me alone?”

“Because,” he growled, “if you don’t shift, you’ll die.” But he had the bad feeling she didn’t hear him.

As he lowered her back into the pond, she flailed her arms and legs, frantically trying to escape. Her breath came fast and hard. He heard the frenzied beating of her heart, saw the frightened flutter of the pulse at the base of her throat. Worse, he felt her blind, unreasoning fear.

He stood it as long as he could, and then rose back to his feet with her. In her weakened condition, she could die of sheer terror.

He cuddled her to his chest. “It’s okay, baby. It’s okay.”

At the pond’s edge, the three night fae warriors gathered like a flock of tall black vultures. Watching and waiting.

He snarled over his shoulder at them. They stared back, blank faced. The eyes of the male on the left flickered red; he was eager to feed. But he didn’t, no doubt under orders from his superiors.

Rosana locked her arms around his neck and burrowed her head into his throat. Like she was trying to crawl right inside him.

In desperation, he tried to pulse life-energy through the mate bond. But he was blocked by the shield he himself had erected between them.

He dropped back his head to stare up at the darkening sky. If he were a wolf, he’d have howled in anguish. Rosana was dying, and taking his heart with him.

Her breasts pressed against his chest. By some odd coincidence, their pendants had lined up side by side, his quartz touching her chest, her amethyst against his breastbone. He felt her reaching out to him—mate to mate—and knew what he had to do.

He’d rejected the bond to protect her. Now he had to accept it.

In the end, it was easy. He simply let the shield drop.

The shining strands leapt toward each other, his blue intertwining with her sea-green.

Rosana jerked. Mumbled something.

His stomach dropped. Her thread was so thin and weak. A shimmer so fragile, it hurt him to see it—and yet also incredibly beautiful, glowing with Rosana’s very essence.

He poured his love into that fragile green strand. Willing her to feel how much he cared.

Willing her to live .

To his astonishment, a new thread shimmered into being, a gossamer gold that belonged to both of them. Together, they twined into single bright cord.

Rosana’s breath shuddered in.

Hope leapt in him. He pressed kisses to her face. “That’s it, love. Come back to me.”

Her eyes opened. As she focused on him, a wondering look spread over her face.

She touched his cheek. “Ric. You—we—”

“Hey there, angel.” Rubbing his lips over hers, he pulsed life-energy into her. This time, it worked, moving right to the deepest parts of her, healing her from the inside out.

She heaved a breath. They remained like that for a long minute.

When her lips curved in a smile, he felt it clear to his soul. “We’re mate-bonded. But—” She frowned, shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I’ll explain later. Can you stand now?”

When she nodded, he set her on her feet in the pond. She blinked around her. “We’re outside. In the water.”

“It’s a pond at New Moon. Big enough for your dolphin.”

“Oh. How—?”

“Go ahead.” He gave her an encouraging squeeze. “Shift.”

She blinked again—and then released him to sink beneath the surface.

She barely had enough juice to shift, but he remained connected to her, urging her on. That and sheer grit got her through. The dark waters glittered, and then she was a river dolphin with a long beak and charcoal gray body.

He watched tensely while she lolled in the water, sucking air through her blowhole, until she revived enough to give him a feeble nudge with her beak.

His whole body sagged in relief. He set his cheek against her smooth gray face. “Go. Swim. Catch some fish for me.”

She cast him a worried look, clucked a question. Somehow he understood.

What about you?

“It’s okay. You can find me later.” He pressed a kiss to the edge of her beak. “I love you.”

She hesitated, but she must have seen the wisdom of that because her body brushed against his and she was off.

The last thing he heard was a short series of clicks. I love you, too.

He watched until she was across the pond. Already she seemed stronger. She was going to be all right.

He turned and walked out of the pond.

The night fae warriors surrounded him. A fiery purple fae ball glowed in one of the male’s hands, but he didn’t need it.

Adric knew that if he didn’t cooperate, Rosana would be back in that cell so fast his head would spin.

“Here.” The other male tossed Adric his T-shirt and pants.

“The prince is waiting,” added the female.

As soon as Adric was dressed, the three warriors marched him back to the prince’s lair. Just before he walked down the steps, he caught a glimpse of Luc watching from a stand of trees, his too-thin face unreadable.

Adric expected to be taken to the prince, but instead the warriors took him back underground. He resigned himself to being locked in the cell again, but they kept going, navigating through a series of long, twisting corridors.

He gazed around, awed in spite of himself. The earth fada were considered master miners, but this beat anything he’d ever seen. The buildings aboveground were the tip of the iceberg. The night fae had an entire city down here. It must have taken centuries to carve out.

And still, they fucked with his clan, sucked its resources.

He shook his head, disgusted.

At last, they exited in an immense, windowless hall with soaring Gothic arches. Fanciful columns shaped like giant palm trees supported the ceiling with curved stone fronds. The only lighting was a handful of darkly shimmering fae lights ranging from purple to forest green.

Adric strode barefoot to the hall’s center, the warriors on his heels.

“Well?” he demanded of the shadows. “I’m here, Prince Langdon. Now what?”

Olivier appeared in a nearby archway clad in his butler’s uniform of black pants and crisp white shirt. His bow tie this time was lavender dotted with tiny white skulls.

“My lord. If you’ll follow me.”

He turned to go back the way he’d come, but Adric leapt forward and grabbed his arm. “Where’s the prince?”

The guards clamped cold fingers on him, yanking him away with superhuman strength. Furious, he fought against their hold, but the two men dragged his arms behind his back.

An iron dagger flashed in the woman’s hand.

He glared at her. “I demand to see Prince Langdon.”

“Be still, fada.” The blade hissed across his T-shirt, slicing through the material to his chest.

He jerked. It felt like she’d drawn a line of acid on his skin.

Her dark eyes flashed an unholy red. “I can bring you to the prince whole,” she said, “or I can bring you carved. Your choice.”

Adric narrowed his eyes. “Bite me.”

“If I may, Neoma?” Olivier stepped between them, forcing her back a step. To Adric’s surprise, she allowed it. He clucked his tongue at Adric. “My lord, there’s no need for this. My orders are to make you comfortable, provide you with dinner. The prince will see you tonight.”

Neoma sheathed the knife. The corners of her mouth turned up in a way that sent icy water down Adric’s spine. “Yes. Tonight.”

“Fuck that,” he snapped back. “I want to see the prince now.”

The warriors released him. Adric’s neck tingled. He spun around.