Page 15 of Dreaming of Darkness

“Positive.”

I tucked into her close, not because it wasn’t the truth, but because my body was still thrumming with the need to complete the bond. Three and a half hours, I thought to myself, and then I can tell her about what we could be. Our future, it was so close.

So close, in fact, that I didn’t feel the cool heat of magic slip around Bailey and I until we were yanked straight out of the living world and into the Underworld.

***

Bailey

One minute I was staring down the long, drably colored hallway of my office, the next my body was dropping against a stone bench. The cool air was different, it smelled similar to my home. Even the sounds were similar, a soft buzzing of a crowd. But I knew instantly something had changed.

Leaning forward, I gripped my knees and pleaded with my stomach to not empty itself all over the neat path that was just below my heels. A warm hand, strong and gentle, swept over my shoulders.

“Bailey, fuck, are you okay?”

I dragged another breath in, then two more. My stomach finally gave up on the quest to destroy any chance of dignity I might have still had in front of Traum. Oh God, Traum. I jerked up, my eyes finding the tall male sitting beside me. Unlike me, he appeared unphased by whatever had dragged us here.

“What’s happening?”

Traum gave me a half-smile, but it didn’t feel right. “You are one in a million, my love, one in a million.”

I blinked at him, running a shaking hand over my middle. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you to panic, because this isn't a bad thing. But” Traum hesitated, “You are in the Underworld.”

I swallowed, trying to buy myself a moment to calm the racing in my heart, the thickness of my throat. “Am I dead? Is that what this is?”

A snarling growl ripped from Traum’s throat, “No, absolutely not. You are safe, Bailey, and I plan on making sure you stay that way. I’m guessing, based on where we are located, that our relationship has jumped from my tribe to the council. No doubt they have questions about us.”

Traum’s hand on my back stilled, “To be honest, I have some questions about us.”

I flinched away from his hand, or rather his words. “What do you mean?”

“That came out wrong, Bailey, I meant only that I don’tunderstand how any of this is possible. We are allowed by the Lords of the Underworld to find our mates, but this drive, this pull between us seems far more escalated than anything I could’ve imagined. I had never heard of a mating bond pulling us through the boundaries of the Underworld.” I gestured around us, “And yet, here we are.”

“The bond didn’t pull you here,” a deep voice answered for us, “I did.”

I turned slowly, finding my stare directly in line with a heavy set of grey abdominal muscles. They flexed as I drew in a short breath and jerked my chin upwards to the broad, angular face of an unfamiliar male. He was dressed in a robe of all things, the exposed chest and belly a deep grey color that was only highlighted by the sharp lines of muscles ribbing his torso.

“Hello, Traum,” the male said, stepping back and gripping Traum’s forearm.

“Lord Arafel,” Traum said, his head dipping in a greeting.

“I’m sorry to have brought you here so abruptly,” Arafel cast me an apologetic glance, “My mate always gets quite sick traveling through the boundaries. But I saw no other way to speak to you both, and I needed to do it quickly.”

“I’ll be okay,” I said in a rush, the unnerving blue gaze was back on me, and I barely resisted the urge to squirm. This new male, he wasn’t nearly as attractive as my mate, but there was something about him that made me sit up and take notice.

Arafel gave a short nod, “Come inside, no doubt Chef has some kind of snack laying around for Lucia.” A small smile curled his lips, “She is a late night snacker.”

“I am too,” I said before I thought better of it, then bobbed my head when the nerves that speaking with someone that looked like him reared their head, “Lord Arafel.”

He appears unphased by my awkwardness. “She also claims it makes her feel better after we jump boundaries, feel free to helpyourself.” Arafel had led us into a small room, the scones on the wall casting a warm glow up stone walls adorned in tapestries. There was a table there, set with four chairs, the backs of two were set lower than the others.

I eyed them, a little confused. I’d only seen two males so far, but they were both exceedingly tall. Why the strange seating? I didn’t say anything, just folded me into the smaller chair, sitting forward on the edge so that I could be close to both Traum and the table.

I glanced over at the incubus, suddenly wishing I could be closer. Manners aside, Arafel was a big fucking guy. I wasn’t sure what I was doing here, nor did I really understand where here was.

“For the harpies,” Arafel said suddenly, seating himself across from me in one of the larger chairs. Traum moved quickly to sit by my side. Surprising me by reaching out, snagging a leg of the chairs and yanking me closer.

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