Page 62 of Shadow Master
“No,” Harmon said. “I’m staying here. I can lead the army to our base once the mist retreats.” He glanced at Balan. “If that’s all right with you.”
Balan smiled. “That would be most helpful.”
“No.” I took a step toward Harmon. “I need you with me.”
His smile was sad. “No, you don’t need me, Justice. You want me, and fuck does that feel good. But right now, I’m needed here. Get the posts down, and I’ll be there.”
There was no argument against it. He could be helpful here, and it wouldn’t be for long.
I straightened my spine and nodded. “I’ll see you soon, babe.”
“You can count on it.”
Together Hyde and I stepped into the mist.
Twenty
Athos took point through the mist with Lugh still on his back. The king could have walked once we were out of sector three, but Athos didn’t seem to mind carrying him. Maybe the hound was imagining he was carrying Brady, which he technically was. Lugh just happened to be a hitchhiker in control of my mate’s body. Looking at him hurt my heart and made me want to punch something all at the same time.
We were halfway across sector two, halfway to base, when Hyde pulled me to a stop. He turned me to face him and kissed me hard on the mouth. The shock of his lips on mine froze me to the spot for a fraction of a second, and then my body ignited for him. For a moment, I forgot where we were. For a moment, the urgency that had coursed through me a second ago melted away. My hands ran over the back of his head, pulling him to me to deepen the hungry kiss.
“Is this really necessary?” Lugh drawled.
Hyde broke the kiss, his expression tormented.
And it hit me. This was our last kiss. This was goodbye. What had happened beyond the mist could never be repeated. My stomach clenched, and a soft sob caught in my throat.
We’d crossed the line, and as much as I’d convinced myself we could go back to the way things had been, deep down, I knew it was a lie. We’d consummated our love, we’d connected. There was no coming back from that. How could we? But there was no going forward either. Our actions had placed us in a painful limbo that, if left unresolved, would fester and eat away at us.
“Excuse me?” Lugh snapped.
Athos growled at the king to shut up.
“I love you,” Hyde said softly.
Fuck, I would not cry. “I love you, too.”
We stepped away from each other and continued farther into the mist.
Lugh didn’t say another word, but I could feel him watching me. He probably thought we were ridiculous, not that it mattered what the fuck he thought. He’d be gone soon enough. I’d make sure of it.
A screech to our left had Hyde and me falling into battle stances.
Lugh looked back, his mouth tense. “What was that?”
You best get ready to fight, Athos snarled at Lugh.
Lugh couldn’t understand the hound, but my stance and my unsheathed weapon were enough to clue him in. He leaped off the hound’s back and unsheathed his massive sword.
The screeching was almost on us, magnified somehow. No, not magnified. There was more than one creature. There were several. I knew that sound from sector three. The fucking spider creatures. What were they doing in sector two? The explosions and the trial sonar pulse must have disorientated them.
And yep, they were headed right toward us in a cloud of dust.
Hyde rolled his neck on his shoulders. “Get ready.”
Adrenaline flooded me, and then the spider fuckers were on us.
* * *
