I chuckle when it dawns on me that he has been planning on taking me here all along.
* * *
Arden and I don’t get far from his sacred circle before Landis appears before us.
Goddess, I know it has only been a few hours since I kissed him, but the moment we shared before Arden dragged me away was too brief.
The etheric glow of Elfhame and the faerie lands illuminates his silky auburn hair and his flawless skin. His eyes are dark… shadows more than anything.
“Have you been waiting for me?”I ask through our mental connection.
“Always,”Landis replies in the same way, longing and desire flare in our bond.
My incubus steps closer, and Arden walks behind me until they are sandwiching me.
Damn, this feels too good.
He says aloud, “I tried to give you and Arden your privacy, but you and I are connected.” He nods over his shoulder. “And the house isn’tthatfar away.”
Arden clears his throat. “I suppose you heard everything.”
“And all three of us felt it too.”
I blush hard. Then I believe I see the sparkles the others see in me. I glance down at my hand. “Did I?”
“You always sparkle, but you flared up just then like a burst of energy,” Arden says, as he reads my mind, knowing what I was wondering.
Arden’s bond circles my heart and soul. And Landis’ bond slides around my body and touches my soul.
Ifeeltheir affection for me. It’s so powerful that I almost drop to my knees with the entirety of their love. But I have my mates to catch me.
“What happened?” they both ask, worried.
“You,” I breathe out. My eyes sting with overwhelming love. “I’m not used to all this. It’s hitting me hard right now.”
Landis nods his understanding and kisses me gently. “We aren’t holding back at all. We missed you so much. Worried about you. And to see you alive and whole…” He chokes on his words.
“When you fell from the sky, we thought you were done for,” Arden adds. “Then we didn’t know if you’d make it here.”
“Didn’t trust me?” Rourke’s voice cuts through the night. It isn’t accusatory, but it could easily be taken that way.
“We saw you save her from the fall,” Arden replies. “But Branden could see burns—on both of you. And it isn’t like your father isn’t without his resources to track you.”
Rourke nods and rubs the back of his neck. “Hisresourcesalmost caught us on the way here. He’ll keep searching.” He glances around at the faeries’ forest. “You sure this place is secure?”
“As secure as any place in the realms.” Arden shrugs. “But nothing is going to be completely safe… not when there are people like your father out there.”
“Or my father,” Landis grumbles. “Let’s go inside and keep our girl warm, huh? It’s not a summer night, you know.”
I am chilly. And with that thought, I feel a fire stir within me. My body warms.
“What was that?” all four guys ask.
“I guess I called on my fire magic?” I question, since they seem to have had a strange mutual reaction to my power.
“But it didn’t feel like regular fire magic usage.” Rourke moves closer, studying me.
“It felt… it was sort of like a shift…” Arden watches me like I might grow horns or fur. I mean, this is the supernatural world. I suppose it’s not impossible.