Page 66 of Shackled to the World
The air surrounding her was murky, mold creeping across the wood, leaving a rotting, broken corpse of the deck barely standing. Tiny particles danced around her, and she flickered in and out of existence. No matter how hard she concentrated, it was a struggle to remain solid.
Thunderclouds roared overhead and fear flickered across the faces of the gathering crowd. More than a few wolf eyes gleamed back at her. Annora clenched her hands into fists, the sting of her nails biting into her palms calming her just enough for the dust to slowly fall out of the air like rain.
Prem streaked outside, crawling up the wooden post to stand on top of the railing. He stood on his hind legs, reaching out to her, chittering away. She scooped him up in her arms and ran her fingers down his spine, the motion soothing both of them.
She turned toward her guys, noting their worried expressions. Though they wanted to protest her going off on her own, she was thankful that they kept silent.
Then her eyes fell on Edgar and her hand froze mid-stroke as a devious idea began to sparkle at the back of her mind. “Edgar…are you still able to see through Prem?”
Darkness began to gather in his fathomless blue eyes, and a crooked smile crossed his face. “Yes.”
Annora turned toward her team, excitement building in her gut. “You guys go. I’ll take Prem with me. They don’t know what Edgar can do. I’ll be monitored the whole time. When I get to the location, you guys can confirm the handoff. If anything goes wrong, Edgar can get to me.”
None of the guys liked the plan, but neither could they come up with anything better. The crowd split up into teams and disbanded, the majority going with the guys as backup.
While she and the guys were hoping for a clean exchange, none of them trusted Erickson, so a few of the members would remain behind on campus to keep a watch.
The guys wanted to send a few of the wolves and witches with her as backup, but Annora wasn’t sure what the afterworld would do to them. She could travel with the team unharmed because they were her mates, but she had no idea what prolonged exposure would do to anyone else.
She wouldn’t risk more people.
The few she pulled into the afterworld previously began to rot almost immediately. She wasn’t willing to risk it—not tonight, not when so many other things could go wrong.
The ferret jumped down and scurried under the bench to the edge of the deck. He reached between the railings, wiggled his body, then plucked up something from the ground and jammed it into his mouth, glancing around furtively. When Annora leaned closer to get a better view, she saw a little plate was resting on the ground with a mound of dry cat food waiting.
She glanced at Loulou and Mason, unable to decide which one of them was spoiling him.
Both were likely culprits.
Xander grabbed her arm and dragged her into the house, the rest of the guys following only a step behind. He stopped in the middle of the living room, then began pacing back and forth.
Edgar glanced at the guys, then at her, every inch of him the stubborn lord. “I’ll get the book while you say your goodbyes.”
Edgar no more than left the room when Xander came to a stop in front of her and crushed her to his chest, squeezing the air out her. “If you run into trouble, get out of there. We’ll figure out some other way to get Logan back.”
Annora wrapped her arms around him and held him just as fiercely, knowing he was lying to her.
There would be no second chances.
She leaned back enough to look into his teal eyes and noticed the white tips of his hair were standing on end. The air around them stirred, and the sound of huge wings fluttered in her head. Reaching up, she brushed her lips against his. “Come back to me safe.”
Without giving him a chance to reply, Mason plucked her from Xander’s arms and hauled her against his massive chest. She clung to him, her feet dangling two feet off the ground. The troll practically vibrated with energy, the need to destroy their enemies riding him hard. Annora reached up and brushed her fingers along the wild mass of pink hair. Static crackled under her touch as the strands of his hair swayed toward her, curling around her fingers and brushing gently across her palm in a caress. “Be careful out there, big guy. You’re not indestructible. I want you back in one piece, you hear?”
The only reply was a rumble, his beast in too much control for him to speak beyond a word or two. He lowered her gently to the floor, then slipped a finger under her chin and tipped her head back, clearly asking the same from her, and she nodded. “I promise.”
Seemingly satisfied, he turned and left…leaving her alone with Camden.
“I’ll get him back for you.” He stood with his legs spread, his eyes hard, every inch of him the imposing commander.
Knowing he wouldn’t touch her of his own accord, she went into his arms and rested her head on his chest. “Please don’t do anything foolish.”
He laughed almost silently, then kissed the top of her head before pushing her away. “I could say the same thing to you.”
Annora pursed her lips, unable to argue, then she thrust out her hand. “Let’s make a pact…we both promise to do whatever it takes to make it home alive.”
There was only a slight hesitation as he slipped his hands into hers, but instead of shaking her hand, he brought it up to his lips, kissing the back of it lightly, looking at her over the top. “Deal.”
Footsteps sounded in the kitchen, and Camden pulled away, then glanced up as Edgar entered the room. Camden tugged on her hair, giving her a nod. “I’ll leave you to say goodbye.”
