Page 59 of Angel's Smoke

Titan stepped forward, his fist curled beneath his bearded chin. “What if?—”

“It’s too small,” Iron replied, dropping the curtain on the hopes of everyone around him. “The shard is just too small to hold the power needed to transport us all back to the Empyrean.” He walked toward the shard and lifted the luminous thing between his thumb and forefinger as though he were examining a specimen. An awareness filled his soul, sparking its insistence straight into his core while effectively burying the rest of his hope beneath the rubble.

He knew at once what the magic was trying to tell him and wished like hell it had a different message to convey.

Fuck.

“There’s only enough power to transport one of us through the realms, and that’s being generous. Likely, it’ll be a one-way trip for whoever takes it.”

Chrome shook his head. “Are you serious?”

“Yes.” Iron dropped his head and shoved the shard back in his pocket as if it were no more significant than a scratch-off lottery ticket.

Rose stepped forward, her hands out in a pleading gesture. “Is there really no guarantee that someone could return? If that thing is supposed to take you to the Empyrean, doesn’t that mean there’s a whole freaking host of Heavenly whoop ass waiting for you guys up there?” Tears brimmed her eyes, and Titan held out his hands to her, but she skirted around them. “No, I need to know this. You’ve been working your entire lives to get back home. Are you telling me, with all the wonders you’ve told us the Empyrean holds, that there’s no magic that could bring someone back here?”

“We sealed the gates for a reason,” Iron said. “Cyro’s armies were about to bust through. Who knows what kind of headway they’ve made since our time in the mortal realm. If we go back, there’s no telling what we’ll be walking into, what we’ll be able to access, if anything. We could be plopped into a battlefield with no backup, no support, and no way to punch through the gates without a flood of charmers entering.”

“But you’ve got your powers back!” She was screaming now, tears streaking down her face as she finally let Titan grab her and draw her against his chest.

“There are no guarantees, except that one of us has to make a choice. Otherwise, the rest of this realm might look a lot like what we’re standing on now.”

“Can’t we wait?” Bridget asked, her hands fisted in front of her. “Do we have to send someone now? Or at all, for that matter?”

“Cyro has the rest of the relic,” Steel reminded her softly. “There’s no telling how long before he uses his dark magic to crack the code on how to get that relic’s Empyrean magic to open the gates for him. We can’t let that happen, love.”

“But can’t we wait?” she yelled, echoing Rose’s hysteria. “A day? A week? This is all happening so fast. Can’t we just take some time to think about this, even if the outcome remains what it is?”

Iron knew what she was doing. Asking for more time with her soul bond. Buying precious selfish minutes where life could go back to the way it was, where ignorance won out over reality for just a little while longer.

He couldn’t blame her in the slightest, especially as Anna hugged him tighter, nearly squeezing his sanity right out of him.

Tungsten heaved a sigh, then said, “Bridget’s right. This is . . . not what any of us expected. Let’s take three days to consider how we wish to proceed. I do believe the mages owe us that much of a fucking kindness.”

Silence overtook their tired trip home. No one said a word or offered a look of encouragement for the shit sandwich they’d found themselves unable to stomach.

Which was just fine with him. Iron didn’t need to witness any more looks of pity or consolation passing between them. Not from his brothers or his precious soul bond.

Because he’d already mapped out his course of action the moment he’d pocketed that damn shard.

He’d give Anna and her baby the life he’d promised them. A life of care and comfort among his family who would watch after them for the rest of their days.

Which, if Iron had anything to say about it, would be a very long fucking time.

Because he was going home.

Chapter29

The coldness seeping into Anna’s limbs had nothing to do with the lingering chill that the promise of spring had yet to chase away. It was a bleak reminder that everything had a duty to fulfill, even down to the changing seasons. Eventually, the snow would thaw, and the flora would get its act together by popping up where it needed to. The ice would recede and all those migrating birds would make their way back to their warmer-climate homes in the ‘burbs.

But as she walked on wooden legs into her cold cabin that had yet to be graced with the seasonal tepid goodness she’d been assured would arrive any minute, one thing had become overly apparent.

Time was ticking, and not in her favor. Whether it was in the sad abandonment of unfulfilled bonds or hopeful future encounters that had been robbed of their luster, none of it would look like the happy life she’d finally known in Iron’s arms.

She wanted to call bullshit on all of it.

Anna toed off her shoes, threw her coat on whatever surface felt so inclined to catch it, and went to her bedroom. Vaguely, she heard the front door close and registered the familiar details of Iron locking them in safely at the top of her little mountain. Coats hung up properly, shoes moved to the boot tray Iron had bought her, curtains brushing softly against their rods as he shut them, blocking out all presence from the outside world. All pleasant domestic actions that had been stamped as past due and would soon be called home by their rightful owner.

Each sound was heavy and final in a way they hadn’t been before. Movements that were once comforting and sturdy now felt like heavily punctuated goodbyes. How many more times would she get to hear Ironthunkingthrough her living room, refolding her throw blankets so the corners lined up evenly? Or hand-washing her favorite mug that she’d put off enjoying her hot drinks in for so long because life had tumbled her a bit too hard for her to manage anything that wasn’t dishwasher safe?

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