Page 94 of Bound Paths
“Take care of your people first,” she said, looking resigned. “I still have time, and if things aren’t settled on the continent, we won’t settle them here.”
He turned to her and nodded. Rose might be over-reading, but she would say a lot was communicated in a single nod. Carter wouldn’t spare more words to try to convince her of his intention. He would prove it to her by returning.
A cool mask once again slid over Cassandra’s face. “You should go back the standard way, head to the fields outside the city,” she said. She sounded tired and a little wistful as she let them go. The Lady of the Veil had dug deep into Carter’s magic. Rose wondered what she had found.
“We should get back,” he said to Rose, Juliette, and Darren.
“Let’s see what damage the Suden Point did to my caves,” Juliette said.
“Not really the Suden Point anymore,” Darren pointed out.
Juliette laughed. It sounded good on her. Juliette had carried more weight than the rest of them through this ordeal. Her connection with Zrak was something she had to work to sustain. Rose couldn’t imagine what Juliette would feel to truly be free of the ritual. “You’ve got me there,” she said as they left the castle.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
For the first time, Rose landed gracefully in the Osten caves. She had barely stood when fingers intertwined with hers.
Luc.
She gripped back tightly, pulling him into a desperate embrace. Her lips pressed to his, a promise that she would never let him go again if she could get away with it. His returning kiss was just as bold, his tongue sweeping into her mouth as he cupped her face in his hands. The touch of his skin on hers was electric, a power she was only beginning to understand—one she’d spend the rest of their existence studying.
Someone coughed behind them. She broke from Luc and searched the cavern in which Juliette had paid so much. Rose hoped this would be the last time the Osten Point had to visit these caves. Juliette smirked at her, as if she, too, was finally starting to believe it was over. Of course, Juliette and Carter had landed gracefully. Only Darren, still unused to the travel, ended up on his hands and knees.
Luc’s hand slid back into hers, unruffled by their interruption, and led them to where Darren pulled himself offthe ground. Luc let his other hand reach for Darren’s. “Thank you. I know that took a lot of trust.”
Darren tilted his head. “I couldn’t say no to the Suden Point.”
Luc let go of Rose’s hand only long enough to slide the gold ring with the onyx stone off his finger. He laughed as he reclaimed her hand and dropped the ring into Darren’s open palm. “I hope you don’t expect that to be the way it works for everyone. I assure you,” he said, looking around the room at the Compass Points, “they had no problem saying no to me…frequently.”
Darren smirked as he stood, wiping the dust off his pants. “That was not pleasant.”
“I don’t want to tell you how many trips it took before I was able to land on my feet,” Rose replied.
“Well, hopefully, that was our last one,” Darren quipped.
“Speak for yourself,” Carter said back in his fae form.
Rose glared at him. “How dangerous is the task you’re helping her with?”
Carter directed his attention to the wall, the first location he and Rose used to journey beyond the veil together. “I don’t know for sure. But I know she can’t do it without me. I also know it’s the right thing to do. Our continent and her realm are connected.”
Rose pulled her hand down her face in a very ‘Luc’ gesture. She agreed with him, but part of her wished it was a burden she could have carried.
“This matches the other side,” Carter said, pointing at the circle on the wall. He floated fireballs around them to light up the room, giving the cave that eerie purple glow.
Luc smiled at her and kissed her cheek. “You won’t get him to say he shouldn’t have done it,” he said. Carter released a breath like he appreciated Luc’s intercession. Rose was far from letting this go, but whatever it was, it was done. The best she could donow was make sure Carter knew she’d help him when he needed it.
“He did what he had to do. Just like I did by taking Aterra beyond the Veil in the first place.” Luc shrugged. “Thank you,” he said, his gaze resting on Carter.
Carter nodded but didn’t make eye contact.
“Do we think this will work?” Darren asked.
“Dear old Dad hasn’t come bursting through yet,” Luc hedged. A mischievous gleam danced in the corner of his eye. “Trust me, he would have if he could. You couldn’t see it, but without Carter—without a veil cat to show the way through—the space between worlds is challenging to navigate. I’m amazed he and I made it through the first time.”
Juliette tipped her chin up in thought. “I can’t believe you gave up the Suden Point seat,” she said, leveling her gaze at Luc. “How do you know that part won’t backfire now that you’re back on the continent?”
Darren’s face squinted in thought. Maybe he hoped this was a temporary position.
