Chapter 20

Zenon’s skin pulled tight as though it no longer fit his body. Every bone and muscle ached. Scorching heat lit his insides on fire, but all he could focus on was the magic infused alloy at his wrist. When he’d been restrained before, he’d had no choice. This time, he’d allowed it. And more than that, he’d taken Nickie’s choice away from her by presenting her wrist, as well.

If he ended up in that godforsaken field again with his mate at his side, suffering as he had, he would never forgive himself. And she shouldn’t, either.

“Stop. It’s not going to happen. Hazel’s helping us, not delivering us to the enemy,” Nickie said into his mind, her voice like a cool breeze to soothe his torment.

“What if we’re wrong?” he asked. Her reassurance might not be founded, but he needed it all the same.

“We’re not. But if we were, we’d deal with it. Together.” Her fingers squeezed his as the room they’d been standing in faded, then disappeared altogether.

One moment, they were standing in Hazel’s living room, the next, they were hurtling through time and space at speeds even he had never traveled. Nickie cried out, and more than anything, he wished to hold her and offer comfort, but as though frozen in stasis, his body refused to move.

Flashes of light zoomed past them. Stars? Energy? He couldn’t tell, but the brightness hurt his sensitive eyes.

“No, don’t let go,” he heard her screaming as though from a great distance. He hadn’t let go, never would. Her hand was still snug in his, their fingers entwined.

“I’m here, my Nickie.” His voice sounded weak in his mind. He sought the link to her, found it, and latched on. Whatever was happening, he would fight with every ounce of energy he had. He would not lose her. “Tell me what you see. What is happening?” he demanded.

The utter silence that followed had his heart stuttering. “Nickie,” he yelled into her mind.

“I’m here. It’s dark and cold, but I’m okay.”

Dark and cold? That was not right. “Come closer to me. I will keep you warm,” he said, unable to keep the panic from his voice.

“Where are you?”

He heard her fear, and worse, her emotional pain sizzled along their link. The spell casters were doing something to her.

“I’m right here. Your hand is still in mine. Fight it, my Nickie. Feel my fingers around yours. I didn’t let go. I won’t.” As sluggish as his body was, he squeezed it so she would know the truth.

“I felt that. Why can’t I see you?” she asked, her voice steadier than it had been.

“They’re trying to trick us, but they cannot. Remember? We are mated. Our bond is unbreakable. Even if our fingers slipped, the shackles would keep us together.” Whether him talking to her helped or not, he couldn’t tell, but it made him feel better.

The air around him shifted, and some of the lethargy plaguing him evaporated. When he was able to move his head, he turned it toward where Nickie was, seeing her, yet not. It was as though she was made of mist. Anger burned inside him once more. It was one thing for the spell casters to attack him, but quite another to go after his mate. With more energy than it should have taken, he pulled her roughly to him. Surprised by the solidity of her body, he wrapped his free arm around her shoulder, anchoring her to his chest.

She gasped and looked up at him, her eyes wide. “Oh, there you are,” she said, her voice stronger than it had been.

“Here I am. I would never let you go,” he vowed again.

“They said you would. In my head. That you’d decided you didn’t want me,” she said, a slight wobble in her voice tore his heart to shreds.

He shook his head, never taking his gaze from hers. “They lied. That would never happen. You are the other half of my soul, my Nickie. I cannot exist without you. I would not wish to do so, even if I could.”

Her smile started small, but it grew with each passing second. Bit by bit, her body became less transparent. “How can they make it sound so real?”

“They play upon our fears, bolstering them, using our own minds against us. We must resist.” Before she could respond, stabbing pain seared through his mind like a hot poker.

The magical band around his wrist sizzled, blistering the skin beneath. The scent of charred flesh burned his nostrils, but Nickie’s smile remained. If anything, it took on a sinister look that had him recoiling.

“They want us to give up, but we won’t, will we?” she asked.

When he didn’t respond, her eyes widened, wicked glee shining from their depths. “I won’t let you go. I’ve got you,” she threatened. The arm she’d wrapped around his back tightened.

The fiery heat at his wrist shot up his arms and circled his neck like a noose—or a collar. They had tricked him again. Not with a child in distress, but with a false mate. He was going back to the field to suffer after having tasted a moment of freedom and the softness of a woman.

Nickie looked up at him, and for a second, he could almost hear her maniacal laughter bouncing around in his head, but then she repeated her words. “I won’t let you go. You’re mine to love and to cherish. Forever.”

Her gentle caress in his mind cooled the raging fire. It filled him with everything Nickie, shoving the rest out until nothing but her love and devotion remained.

She didn’t stop until he sagged against her, eyes closed as relief poured into him, and even then, she maintained the connection.

He sucked one ragged breath in after the other, taking cool air into his lungs as he released the fear that had overtaken him. Just the thought of captivity had driven him to the brink of insanity. He would not survive it again. Not intact.

“We made it,” Nickie said as the restrains around both of their wrists popped open, then disappeared as though they had never existed. She brought her hands up, driving her fingers through his hair and bringing his face down to his. Her kiss was hard and fast. “I don’t ever want to see that horror on your face when you look at me again.”

It wasn’t until she released him that he peered around them. Night had fallen. Up above, millions of stars twinkled in the inky sky. He’d seen them every night for millennia, but from a different angle. He could immediately tell they weren’t in his graveyard of a field.

“Are you okay?” she asked, worry straining her voice.

He took another lungful of air. “I am well, my Nickie. I am sorry for worrying you.”

She smiled up at him, as sweet as ever. “They don’t mess around, do they?” she asked, not needing to expand on who they were.

“That they do not.” He pulled her close.

A throat cleared not twenty feet from them. Too lost in his fears and worries, he hadn’t noticed the man standing there. He turned, keeping Nickie in his arms so that he was between her and the new threat. If they thought for a second that they could harm her… They would have to kill him first. He would almost relish it if they tried.

“It’s okay, friend. My name is Clive. We met at Pine Valley. Hazel sent me ahead to secure your transportation and some things you will need for your journey.”

Nickie gasped. “Clive? As in, the eagle?”

“At your service,” he said in an amused tone. “Well, not really. I’m at Hazel’s service, and she’s sent me on this mission.”

Zenon loosened his grip on Nickie but didn’t release her. “Where are we?”

Clive stuck his hands in his jeans pockets and kicked the toe of one sneakered foot on the frozen dirt. “We’re on the north-east side of the mountain where the phoenix is kept.”

Clive’s head snapped up, his features scrunched as if pain lashed through him. “I must go. They have her.”

“Who?”

“Hazel. We knew it would come to pass, but she refused to listen to reason. She is beyond stubborn. She needs me now.” Brilliant sparks glittered around him, then in a flash, he was gone.

Nickie didn’t utter a word, but her small sob said it all.

“She will be fine. We have to believe it,” he said, pulling her close once more.

Nickie nodded against his chest and sniffled before straightening her spine and squaring her shoulders. “We should get going.”

Zenon looked around, finding a vehicle parked a short distance away. Had it not been for his phoenix’s sight, he might not have seen it. “This way.”