Page 17 of Taloned Heart

But Lore knew the moment she started this journey toward him that she wouldn’t leave without Zephyr knowing that she was coming. He would not suffer for much longer, and she had every intent on getting him out very soon.

Finally, the last spell warped around her body like a bubble. It didn’t burst, but this one was flimsy and felt as though it would be so easy to tear.

He was right where she’d left him. His arms were strung up too high and his shoulders twisted into an impossible position. Zephyr’s knees were bleeding on the ground, the scabs seeming to stick him to the stone floor.

HIs head hung low, as though he had completely given up and she would not see him do that. Not now. Not ever.

Lore knelt in front of him, her heart breaking at the sight. She wanted to heal him, if only a little, but she feared that if they saw he’d healed, then they would beat him again. What if giving him a single night of comfort led to far more days and nights of torture?

It was better to leave him like this, even if it made her entire being revolt at the thought.

Solidifying her corporeal form, she touched her hand to his forehead and smoothed his sticky hair back from his head.

He followed her touch as though it were a cool balm to the pain inside him. And as she watched, she saw the very moment that he realized what he’d done. His eyes snapped open in horror and she wondered if someone had touched him like this, only to force it all to come crumbling down around his ears.

What torment had he gone through to be afraid of a kind touch?

Those wide eyes blinked a few times before he realized it was Lore in front of him. He breathed out a relieved breath, only to stiffen once again. “Are you really here?”

“I am.”

“They said you hadn’t visited me. That I was mad to even claim it.”

“You can’t tell them I was here this time.” She brushed her hand over his forehead again, knowing that he enjoyed the coldness of her touch. “I’m so close, Zephyr. Abraxas and I are in Umbra. We’re coming for you. So I need you to stay alive.”

“They won’t let me die.” His chapped lips pressed together in disappointment. “I’ve tried.”

“You will not try any longer.” Her voice was hard, perhaps a little too firm for a man who had gone through so much. “You will stop all that foolishness now. I am coming for you!”

“I’m tired,” he whispered, the chains clanking as he tried to draw his arms down around himself. “I’m cold. And I’m so tired of fighting.”

Tears pricked her eyes, and Lore did the only thing that she could think of.

She drew him into her arms, wrapping herself tightly around him and holding his head against her shoulder. Though he could not hug her back, she felt a shudder rock through his entire body at the cold but comforting touch. “I’m here now, and I will make sure this never happens to you again. I promise.”

He nodded, and she felt him start to drift away. As though his mind couldn’t stand the hope that she’d gifted to him.

She’d stay the night. She’d hold him and keep all those monsters at bay for as long as she could. But when the sun came up, she would have to return to her struggle to find him.

And as she felt the sun rise, her heart broke a thousand times over.

CHAPTER7

Abraxas got them to Tenebrous without issue. He had known that he would, but when he’d woken up the next morning feeling refreshed and energetic, he was horrified to see the dark circles underneath Lore’s eyes.

She hadn’t slept. She hadn’t given him an explanation as to why, either. But he could see it in her eyes. The way her gaze had hardened, and she pushed them to go faster than they had before.

She’d seen Zephyr. Or she’d talked to him. She’d done something with her magic and he was so angry at her for that.

The risk! She always forgot about the risk when it came to herself, and he knew she understood why they were going slow. Margaret would not kill Zephyr. She couldn’t chance that. She needed to use him as a puppet for the remaining humans to trust her. Otherwise, she’d have her own rebellion brewing right underneath her nose.

The elf was intelligent. Margaret knew how to keep a kingdom crushed underneath her heel. And Lore knew that as well.

So why was his beautiful, stubborn, annoying, heartbreakingly wonderful mate risking her own life?

Because that’s what Lore did.

He’d thought he would have gotten used to it by now, but he had not.

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