Page 37 of Vicious Little Vows
“Eva,” he groaned, his hands now gripping my hips, grinding me against him.
My entire body felt filled with moonlight, cool and exhilarating. It spurred me on, and I nipped at his collarbone. His hands went under my dress, pushing up past my hips to grip my bare flesh.
Neither of us noticed when the door opened, but my magic had returned enough for me to sense the other guys. They stood in the doorway, and I knew they had come because they sensed us too. I had bound them all to me, and there was no turning back.
FIFTEEN
Istraightened as Crispin pulled away, opening my mouth to say something—who knew what? That was when we heard it. Aboomsomewhere outside. It reverberated through the stone, making the entire room tremble.
Everyone was gathered around me in a second. Even Ringo came scampering through the open doorway, his eyes wide and fearful. He hopped into my arms just as Gabriel lifted me to my feet. I swayed as another explosion rattled the stone beneath us.
“What’s happening?” I gasped.
Lucas came into the room last. He didn’t look scared. He looked pissed. “He’s found us. It’s celestial magic. Unless your own mother is attacking us, it’s him.”
Did he mean… Were the explosions caused by my grandfather? He was a celestial—he could cross the boundary no problem—but he couldn’t bring an army with him, unless they were celestials too. Or goblins. Our nameless watchers came to mind.
“Do we face him?” My voice trembled. This was a man who had terrified my mother. He was the reason she’d been hiding all these years. But she was alone, mostly. Together, we might be stronger than her.
“Not this way,” Sebastian said. “If he has come here knowing everything, he is confident in his success.” He took my hand. “We need to go somewhere he cannot immediately follow.”
Gabriel had the forethought to swipe my boots from the ground, bracing them beneath one arm before he gripped my shoulders, and Mistral took my other hand. Crispin had finally gotten to his feet after tugging on his shoes. “I’m sorry about this,” he whispered, then his lips were on mine.
The same power from the previous night coursed through me. With Ringo nestled against my neck, I thought of the first place that came to mind. Somewhere hard to follow. The room shook again, and I thought I heard stone coming loose and crashing down. Then the magic took us.
The stoneprobably would have hurt when I landed, only I landed on two of the guys. It still hurt though, because Lucas landed right on top of me, white wings blocking everything from sight. Ringo shivered against my neck, then Lucas was abruptly removed, revealing Gabriel shoving him away.
Soon we were all standing, though my body was trembling so badly it was a miracle I stayed that way. Lucas looked around, his attention snagging on the glowing blue water. It definitely was a sight the first time you beheld it, but the rest of us knew to look elsewhere. The carved celestial pattern was no longer just a carving, it was glowing the same blue as the water.
“We do need to buy some time,” Crispin said thoughtfully.
I glared at him. I couldn’t help it. “I’m appalled that you can sound so calm right now.” My words came out raspy. I felt like I could hardly catch my breath.
“If he found you in the Citadel, he’ll find you here,” Mistral said. “I do not know how he’s tracking you, but if he has spies in my lands…”
“Then he might know about this place,” I finished for him. “But maybe not about the portal.”
Lucas stomped up behind us, finally done looking at the glowing water. “Wait, what portal? What are you talking about?”
“The elven portal was just a pocket realm,” I said to no one in particular.
“A pocket realm your grandfather likely knows nothing about,” Crispin finished.
He was right. It was absolutely insane to consider, but so was my grandfather attacking the Citadel like he was going to war.
“We’ll go there to buy time,” I decided. “Then once we can, we contact Penelope. When we face him, I want all the firepower we can get.” All of the guys nodded their agreement, but there was one last issue, something that had my stomach tied in knots. “But what if we go there, and we can’t get back out? We almost didn’t escape the other pocket realm.”
“It’s either that,” Mistral said, “or go back and fight. Unfortunately, I believe Sebastian is correct. To not only brave the Bogs, but to attack so openly.” He met my eyes. “I would not risk you, Eva. And the longer we stay here, we risk my people too.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I felt the same about all of them. I couldn’t just risk them. We needed a better plan. I turned toward the glowing etching, lifting one hand to comfort Ringo as he clung to me. I thought about offering for him to stay behind—without me, he wouldn’t be in danger—but we were on the wrong side of the pool and I wasn’t sure if he could swim out on his own.
And so with one hand cupping Ringo, I knelt, and the guys all gathered around me. “Everyone, make sure you hold on tightly.”
They each grabbed onto me, even Lucas. My hand trembled as I reached toward the carving.
It didn’t even take an effort. The land had shown me to this place, and it wanted me to go through. That last thought gave me pause, but it was too late. The world spun.
And when we landed, it was upon a deathly still sea of gray.
