“Once the explosive charges are set, Araquiel will let us know,” Derek added. “He’ll notify the twins, too. From there on, it’ll be a race to get the bilocation spell going.”
“I’ll crack the floor open,” Vesta replied.
“I’ll help,” Ben said, giving her a confident smile.
“Heck, count us in!” Lucas cut in, pointing a thumb at himself and Kailyn. “The more fae, the better, and we’ve got plenty in our ranks here!”
I could no longer ignore the sore knot in my stomach. It made me feel uncomfortable, mainly because I knew it had something to do with my instincts. This was going a little too smoothly for my taste.
“Does anyone else feel like this is too easy?” I muttered.
It got me everyone’s attention, while Isda resumed the food dispensing, then made her way out of the diamond dome, accompanied by her fellow Faulties.
“What do you mean?” Rose asked.
“We usually bump into some kind of hurdle at this point,” I said. “Yet, nothing so far. I don’t know, I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”
“What kind of bad feeling?” Nevis replied, concern drawing shadows under his icy blue eyes. “Did you see or hear something? A Perfect’s emotions, or something?”
I shook my head. “No, nothing like that. It’s kind of hard to explain. A gut feeling, I guess. We’ve been through enough already for me to spot a pattern of sorts.”
“Maybe you’re just really worried about what we’re about to do,” Grandma Claudia suggested. “It’s quite big and complex, honey. So many things could go wrong, I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Nothing is set in stone here,” Nevis said to me. “It may look seamless now, while we’re in limbo, but a lot could go sideways when we start to roll out the second part of the plan.”
Maybe he was right. Maybe it was just my concern clouding my judgment. We’d been dragged back so many times that I’d become accustomed to sticks and stones getting stuck in my wheels. Everything depended on this operation. We’d risked everything by turning ourselves in, and we were smack in the middle of enemy territory, under Ta’Zan’s watchful eye.
“Rose? Elonora? Anyone there?” Harper’s voice came through the comms system.
I could hear her clearly in my earpiece. “We’re here,” I said. “All of us. In the diamond dome. What’s the scoop?”
“The fae ship is close to Strava now,” Harper replied. “They’ll stop and wait for your signal before they breach it.”
“Stand by, then,” Ben said. “We’re waiting for the explosive charges to be set. Once we’re out and we detonate them, the fae will see their signal loud and clear.”
“Okay, we’ll keep an eye on the colosseum just in case,” Harper replied, then a familiar click followed. The line was clear again.
Nevis gently gripped my wrist and pulled me away from the group. We were still within earshot of the main conversation, but with enough privacy for him to cup my face and drop a sweet kiss on the tip of my nose.
“Whatever it is that’s troubling you, Elonora, let it go,” he whispered.
Gold blossomed around him, his aura mirroring everything he felt for me—and I, for him. I locked my arms around his neck, relishing the feel of his toned frame against my body.
“There’s a lot of that,” I said. “I don’t think I can drop it all.”
He smiled. “Don’t think of what’s coming as the next stage in saving the world. It might feel overwhelming. Think about it as the next stage in our relationship.”
I blinked several times, confused by the concept. He chuckled softly.
“What will you do to get the two of us together, forever, undisturbed by anyone?” he continued, then pressed his lips against mine for a moment. It gave me enough time to think of an answer.
“Anything?”
“Therefore, what will we do in order to get out of here and be together?” he asked, his eyes closed as he rested his forehead against mine. His warm breath tickled my face, and I realized, right then and there, that I’d never be able to define happiness without him, without his touch and his calm, low voice.
“Everything,” I breathed, then tilted my head backward and kissed him.
His heart thundered in his chest, sending echoes through mine. His lips were soft, the taste of him forever seared into my memory. I didn’t even notice his arms snaking and tightening around my waist, as he pulled me close and deepened the kiss.
“Elonora, I will do anything, as long as you’re with me. I’ll endure everything, as long as I know that, at the end of it all, you’ll be waiting,” he said, covering my face with delicate kisses.
“Just so we’re clear, I’m totally into the icy Athelathan weather, but I do hope we can slip out on the occasional tropical cruise once we’re done with this fresh hell,” I said breathlessly, prompting him to laugh lightly.
He ran a hand through my hair, looking at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. “We’ll go wherever you want to go, Elonora. I’m afraid I’m far too addicted to be away from you, ever again.”
How had we come to this? How deep could this bond between us be, if we were so emotionally dependent on each other already? In any other situation, I would’ve been concerned about how quickly I’d fallen for Nevis, but in this case, I had to admit I was thankful.
I had him as my anchor, the rock I held on to when the waters got too choppy.
“I can’t wait to see the look on your parents’ faces when they see you and the Snow Cone here together.” Grandma Claudia giggled from ten feet away.
It was enough to make us take a polite step back and turn around to face her. I was sure Nevis and I both looked as though we were two teenagers, caught making out behind the bleachers during a football game. Grandma Claudia would’ve made a fine superintendent.
“Yeah, me too,” Varga said, crossing his arms and grinning like a hungry daemon. He didn’t even need his vampire fangs out to send shivers down anyone’s spine. “I’ll bet you Dad will have Nevis take the Trials, just for kicks.”
That made Grandpa Yuri laugh, maybe a little too hard for Varga’s comfort. “Wait until he has you take them.”
It was enough to wipe the smile from my brother’s face.
