Page 17 of Call of the Ride
Jarilo snorted, but otherwise ignored the implication. “So what brings you to the world ofhumans,sister? Still interested in wasting time interacting with non-believers? Although I am pleased to see you’ve at least found some half-breeds to slum around with…”
“You’rea god?” Anthia bluntly interrupted. Her gaze judgmentally roamed over Jarilo, clearly finding him wanting. “Funny, I would’ve expected someone more…impressive.”
One can always count on Anthia to put a man in his place.
The god’s attention snapped to the shifter with extreme interest. “Careful, little swan, or I’ll tell your daddy you’re misbehaving.” Anthia’s scowl deepened as Jarilo inexplicably gestured toward her purse, but she didn’t respond.
“What are you the god of?” Tan cut in, possibly to rescue Anthia. I could still feel his dawn power thrumming beneath the surface, but it was more watchful than raring for battle.
Jarilo preened as Marena rolled her eyes. “Oh, I’m only one of the mostimportantgods in the pantheon—besides our supreme ruler, Perun, of course. My domains are spring, agriculture, war, and fertility.” His gaze zeroed in on Anthia again. “Some would also say I have a hand in ‘erotic sexuality.’”
The shifter was saved from responding yet again when Tan’s phone rang. “‘Ello,Guene…WHAT?!” My Rider leaped to his feet, practically overturning the table, as panicked as I’d ever seen him. “Is he alive? What hospital are you in? What do you mean you took him…all right, all right, we’re coming—just hold on!”
Alarm was thundering through my veins as Tan grabbed my hand and dragged me after him toward the street. I could hear the others calling after us, but I was too busy desperately pulling on our bonds to ensure my men were safe. Asa felt stressed, although not in pain, but Nox’s connection was even fainter than when he’d first returned from the darkness. I didn’t know how to interpret either of those readings, and simply sent a prayer to the Mother Goddess, hoping she could somehow hear my plea.
Mokosh, please protect your sons until I get there!
Chapter 14
Vasilisa
The idea of something happening to my Darkest Midnight ignited a rage so primal my powers lashed out at the world around us. Tan steadily cursed in a garbled mix of languages as we raced back to the hotel, swerving around the cars I kept accidentally freezing along our route. Miraculously, we made it back to Catty’s in one piece, and my Rider blindly tossed our car keys to the valet before hustling me into the elevator.
My anxiety was almost blinding, but I dug my claws into Tan’s arm and focused on my breathing instead of the possibility of Nox being gravely injured. Any uncertainty about our bond or lingering anger I felt toward my Rider no longer seemed important when faced with the threat of losing him again.
I won’t survive it...
We burst into our suite to find Asa pacing the sitting room, looking extremely agitated, but otherwise, no worse for wear. “He’s alive,” he carefully spoke, which was the only information he’d provided to Tan earlier. “He’s in the bath right now…healing himself.”Before I could ponder the strangeness of that statement, he continued. “Sweetness, can you please go take care of him while I debrief Tan on what a clusterfuck today was?”
I got the sense Asa needed more from Tan than a listening ear, so I simply nodded and left the room to grant them privacy. Passing through the bedroom and vanity area, I removed my shoes and quietly opened the bathroom door before slipping inside.
The large porcelain tub took up most of the space, with a curved copper wall on the far end to catch the spray from the overhead shower. A stained glass window showed a medieval scene of three men surrounding a sundial, which seemed an odd choice for the bathroom. I turned my attention to Nox, who was reclined in the tub with his back to the door, his enormous black ram horns curling outward, glistening with steam.
He tensed as I stepped into his line of sight, and I found him watching me with a guarded expression. Our bond had been weak since we’d retrieved him, so I gathered what information I could from what I could see of his body. There was a fresh injury on his left shoulder, with a small cloud of darkness partially obscuring the wound from sight, although it didn’t appear to be bleeding. I wasn’t entirely sure why Nox’s current state warranted such a frantic phone call from Asa, but I was so overwhelmed with relief that I let it go for now.
“The fuck are you wearing?” Nox’s dark eyes swept over my scandalously short dress, gaze lingering on my bare legs as his glare deepened.
I cocked my head, debating how badly I should tease him given his recent trauma, but unable to resist. “Tan convinced me to add a few new items to my wardrobe, but I can take it off if you prefer?” Slyly smiling, I pulled the dress over my head before unceremoniously dropping it on the floor.
Nox’s eyes widened, his gaze snapping to my crotchless panties. “Jesus fucking…what the fuck?!” He groaned and swiped a large hand down his face before looking skyward and chuckling humorlessly. “Fucking Tan…”
“Yes, well, Tan and I didn’tquitefuck in the dressing room,” I laughed airily, shimmying out of the panties and stepping into the bathtub on the opposite end. “But it was a most enjoyable afternoon.”
Nox leveled me with a hard stare, apparently in no mood to play. “Is there a particular reason you’re torturing me, witch?” he growled. “Because last I checked, I’m the one who stopped you from blowing yourself up in some misguided attempt at self-sacrifice.”
“Yet you saw it fit to sacrifice yourself instead?” I fired back, feeling raw fury roiling beneath my skin, pulling power from my other Riders, as the infuriatingly difficult one in front of me was still disconnected.
I could sense Tan and Asa on the other side of the bathroom door—like coiled springs ready to intervene if necessary—but this was between me and Nox.
No matter if we kill one another in the process.
The two of us glared across the water in charged silence for what felt like an eternity before my Darkest Midnight’s expression unexpectedly shattered. “Just…please don’t do that again,” he choked out, his enormous shoulders slumping in defeat, looking as vulnerable as I’d ever seen him. “I can’t lose you, Vashka. I just fucking can’t.”
My anger instantly bled out of me, replaced by a wave of understanding. My Rider wasn’t trying to defy me at every turn. He was simply doing what he thought was best, even if I found his methods questionable. Leaning forward, I drifted to Nox’s side of the tub, crawling into his lap and feeling him instantly thicken beneath me.
He grimaced apologetically and started to speak, but I clapped my hands over his mouth, determined to make him understand. “For so long, I’ve only had myself to rely on, along with a chosen few. I’m still learning how to trust people again, and it’s difficult for me to let anyone in.” Seeing he was still watching me expectantly, I added, “And you won’t lose me—just give me time.”
I lowered my hands and Nox nodded, absorbing my words as he absently brushed his fingers down my bare back. “But you already made a deal withhim,”he whispered, his jaw tight and expression wary.“And I don’t know how to save you from that.”
