Page 49 of The Magic of Eternity
Ifound myself standing within a small, windowless room that held shelves of cleaning supplies, obviously a stock closet for the maids within the castle. I’d felt Fisher’s presence in my mind a few moments after we entered the room, and I called out to him. Sloane and Joris were engaged in a conversation, so I let myself focus completely on my mate who I hadn’t seen in weeks. Knowing he was so close and yet I still wasn’t able to see him was a cruel type of torture.
I described to him the window where we had been standing, looking out over the courtyard. Since we were just around the corner, I knew we’d have to send Joris out there to be on the lookout. When Fisher’s presence faded away, I found both Sloane and Joris staring at me curiously.
“Well?” Sloane asked. “What did he say?” He knew without me even having to say that I’d just been having an internal conversation. My mouth twitched, wanting to smile despite the tense situation we were in, because we were at that point in our relationship. The point where we just vibed, instinctively knowing what the other was doing.
“One of the guys is coming here; I’m not sure who. They’re bringing the vaccines! So as soon as they get here, we’ll need to get that injected.”
Sloane’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure about this? What’s even in this vaccine? How do we know it’s safe? I don’t know if I like the sound of that, Red.” Sloane was spitting a million words a minute, and I swallowed my indignation because I knew he was only worried for my safety and that of the babies. Still, if I had a chance to get my magic back and use it today, to save someone, to save myfamily—wasn’t that a risk I was willing to take?
I put my hand on his chest, to calm him. “Okay, let’s just take a breath for a second. I don’t know the answers to any of that and honestly, I understand where you’re coming from. We’ll have to ask them when they get here what they know about it. Can we try to stay calm and listen for footsteps? Joris?” I turned my focus to the young demon. “Do you think you can step outside the door and keep an eye out? I told Fish that we could see the platform from where we were standing, but now we’re in this closet so I don’t want them to accidentally miss us.”
“Of course, my queen,” Joris answered without hesitation. Immediately, he walked outside, and let the door swing shut.
“So they’re still okay?” Sloane asked me.
“Yeah,” I replied. “According to Fischer, everybody’s fine. They were able to gather a group of fighters, and they’re gonna mix in with the crowd. So once we get vaccinated, we can go out there too.”
“Red, listen,” Sloane started, but I didn’t hear anything further, because suddenly I was gasping. There was a surging energy within my chest, and with each second, the feeling just got stronger and stronger.
“Kai,” I whispered. I barely had time to spin around before the door was pushed open, my Alpha taking up the entire width.
“Cub, thank the gods.” In two strides, Kai’s body was pressed firmly against mine. He was shaking. Or maybe that was me. Or maybe it was both of us. All I could do was chant his name, hoping to the stars that he was really here, and that by speaking his name it would make him real. That I would be safe to blink my eyes and know that he wasn’t going to disappear.
He felt quite a bit thinner than I remembered, and I pulled my tear-soaked cheek away from his chest to peer up at him. His eyes were shiny with his own tears as he cupped my face with his hands.
“Never again, Cub. I can never do this again. Do you understand? Every second I’m not with you is agony.” I barely had a chance to process his words before his mouth was crashing against mine.
The steady beat of the drums was still audible here in our little closet, though it was hard for me to hear them over the sound of my racing heart in my ears. I moaned into Kai’s kiss as his tongue brushed against mine. A reunion, and a promise.
Leaning back, I broke our kiss because I needed to look him over. I needed to see that he was actually safe, that he was unharmed. My eyes trailed down his frame, not finding any visible injury, and relief flooded my body. The worst thing about the separation had been the things I’d thought of in the dark. The way my mind would betray me, making me dream up all of these horrible, terrifying scenarios. To find him like this in one piece…
More tears slipped out. “You’re okay?” I asked in disbelief.
“I am now,” he replied, giving me one of his signature playful grins that never ceased to send the butterflies in my stomach into a fluttering swarm. Kai’s eyes lifted over my shoulder. A genuine, full smile broke out, and I knew that he was seeing Sloane. A whine was all the warning Sloane received before Kai darted around me and pounced, taking both of them to the floor.
“Gods dammit, Kai,” Sloane complained, though there was laughter in his tone. The two men embraced one another on the cold, dusty stone floor in a supply closet. How we got here, I would never know, but I knew I’d never forget this scene.
“Oh shut up, Sloaney Baloney. I know you’ve missed me.” Without warning, Kai planted his lips full on Sloane’s mouth, making my mouth drop open in shock. Sloane squirmed, but he wasn’t fooling me. He wasn’t actually bothered by this kiss. It only lasted a second, and Kai jumped back up, extending a hand to one of his best friends, and helping him up to his feet.
“Are you done kissing everybody now, you overgrown housecat?” Sloane asked with a huff, pretending to be indifferent.
“For now,” Kai teased back. “Look, we don’t have a lot of time; I just couldn’t help myself. But I do have these.” I watched as Kai reached into his pocket and produced two syringes.
“What are these exactly, Kai?” Sloane looked down at the vaccines as if they were going to jump up and bite him.
“We don’t know much about them, and I know that’s not ideal. To make a long story short, I was gravely injured.” I couldn’t help it—my hand flew to my mouth. Kai’s eyes moved to mine as he reached for my hand, taking it into his own and bending down to press a kiss to it. “As you can see, I’m alive, and that’s thanks to this right here.”
“And to me,” a squeaky voice called. Sloane and I looked at each other, our eyes wide.
“Who the fuck said that?” Sloane barked.
“Oh,” Kai chuckled. “That would be Napoleon, and he’s right. Without him, I definitely wouldn’t be standing here right now. He also dosed himself, and now he can speak to all of us, bizarrely enough.”
Napoleon scurried out of the pocket on Kai’s chest and perched himself on his shoulder. “Good, giving credit where credit is due is basically a soldier’s unwritten oath.” His little black head turned from Kai and landed on me. “Saige,” he said. “You’re looking fierce today, like a true warrior. Where did you procure such a fashionable gown befitting a battle?”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. “I had it made for her, Mouse,” Sloane piped up, taking his own credit where it was due.
“Huh,” Napoleon grunted. “Well, I wasn’t aware that you had an eye for such things. Here I thought that all you were good for was brooding and being a smart-mouthed dragon. It’s good to know you have other talents, should the need arise.”
