Page 77 of Take No Prisoners
"Let's hope that's soon enough," Vadim grumbled.
Chapter 19
Efren
The sun was nearing the horizon as they approached the skiff. Yet another day had passed without watching the sunset off the deck. Efren would get Niall back there one of these days. He hoped they could enjoy it this time.
Now, he only wanted Niall to be comfortable. The weary young man stumbled and almost fell into the shallows as they approached the skiff, but Efren grabbed him around the waist and pulled him to his side.
"We'll be sailing for my dock," he said over his shoulder as he helped Niall into the skiff. "Please have Petri bring us some leftovers from the feast."
"We're not feasting." Vadim ran to catch up with him and grabbed his shoulder, yanking him back onto the dock. "We need to prepare. This is an all-hands situation. Coryn could be here in days, if not hours."
"Niall needs food and rest."
"We all do," Beatrice said. "Your alone time can wait." She winked, but the words still pissed him off. Niall had used a huge amount of magic to break the trap. Even if he'd recouped some of it when it broke, he still needed to rest.
"The others will return from the barracks soon," Beatrice said. "Vadim, you and Klaus can paddle to the mainland and ask Petri what they can prepare on such short notice. That will give Efren and Niall a moment to regroup while we wait."
"Fine." Vadim motioned for Klaus to join him in the skiff, and Efren helped Niall climb out again. "Thank you for taking this seriously," he said as he pushed the boat away from the dock.
"Coryn's not as powerful as Vadim thinks she is," Beatrice said once Vadim was out of earshot. "I felt her strength waning. She can't siphon from us at this distance, and her weavers are too weak. I also sensed a change in Niall's power, something I've never experienced before. Did you borrow Efren's power?"
Niall sank onto the dock boards and kicked his legs over the side. "I took back what I'd given him to supplement the containment spell."
"You made it reflective." She frowned. "That wasn't all you took." She turned to Efren. "Could you feel it?"
"I felt something." He couldn't explain it. Yes, it felt like Niall was taking power directly from him, but he'd also given Efren a piece of himself, delicate and brittle like blown glass. Efren wanted to wrap it in a containment weave of its own to protect it, except when he tried, the weave fell apart.
"I think we traded tiny pieces of ourselves," Niall said. "My water magic is the same now as it was before, but it's changed. I know things I shouldn't know, like how Efren can call the sharks."
Beatrice frowned. "I've never heard of this type of exchange before."
Efren knew how to protect the fragile gift he'd been given. He reached out with his core and wrapped around it, smothering it in feelings too new to speak aloud. He cherished Niall's precious offering the same way he wanted to worship his body. New, indeed. He'd never felt this way about anyone.
"It's not power," Efren said. "We talk about soulmates like they're legend, but what if they're real? What if we really can exchange pieces of our core when we're truly compatible?"
"We're worried about an invasion, and you're talking about soulmates?" She scoffed. "Get your head out of your ass, Efren. We'll need your water weaves to refill our freshwater tanks beneath Horseshoe Island. One was compromised with salt water during the last storm surge." She ticked off several other areas he could assist with their defenses, but Niall's hand at his elbow stole his attention.
Niall grinned and placed his other hand over Efren's heart. "How did you do that?"
"I wanted to protect it, so I—" He didn't want to say it out loud, for fear Niall would judge him as harshly as Beatrice. This was Niall, though. If anything, he would know Efren was telling the truth, not making up a wild story. "I let you into my core."
"I did the same with yours." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Efren's in a chaste kiss. Before Efren could make it more, he pulled away. "Beneath your gruff and commanding exterior hides a gentle softy."
"No one would dare say that about me on the ship." Efren tried to glower at Niall, but he couldn't hide his true feelings from the tiny bit of Niall's core inside him.
Niall grinned. "Whatever has changed between us, I like it."
Beatrice clapped her hands near their ears, and they both jumped. "Are you two listening to me?"
"Listening to what?" Niall asked.
"You said you'd give us time to relax while we wait for Vadim," Efren reminded her.
"I did." She nodded. "Please forgive me, though Vadim is right. There's a lot to do in a very short time. My list can wait until we're all together and each can take some of the burden. I'll prepare the table for our meeting."
"I'll fill the island's water tanks while we wait."
