Page 80 of Princess Avenged

The cloud cover is thick tonight, so the moonlight is muted, making the island’s forest seem eerie, the imposing size of the trees more ominous, especially in contrast to the bright colors of Arizona.

Flame’s hands wrap around my ribs, as he lifts me off the plane, but instead of letting my feet touch the dock, he holds me tightly against him, passionately kissing me. The dock rocks and rolls as the others get off. Especially when Axe strides down the floating dock to great Ember.

But the movement only heightens the excitement of our kiss, especially when Blade comes up behind me, stroking my back and pressing his thigh against my bottom, as my lips and tongue spar with Flame’s.

Crusher clears his throat, and I come up for air.

He’s standing, arms crossed, at the end of the dock, and Ember and her mates are already climbing the stairs toward the cabin.

I slide down Flame’s body and the two vampires hold my hands as we walk toward Crusher.

“What did you find out?” he asks. “What’s next? How do we get that fucking thing out of Phil?”

“Where is Phil?” I glance into the dark woods, hoping to catch a glimpse of his golden eyes, watching us.

“Not sure,” Crusher replies. “We haven’t seen him since last night.”

Fear grips me for a second, and I close my eyes, trying to calm myself.

“Hey,” Crusher says, his voice soothing. “He’ll be okay. While you were gone, he was his normal self, more or less. Don’t worry. Whatever it takes, we’ll get him back.”

Opening my eyes, I smile at the big vampire, remembering the reasons why I was drawn to him. Crusher is comforting me, reassuring me, just as he’s done for his brothers since they were kids. And I also love his humility. How he can be in full command while still insisting that he’s not their leader.

“Let’s go up to the cabin,” I say. “Ember and I will tell you guys everything we learned, or as much of it as we can.”

Crusher’s hand rakes through his hair and his eyebrows draw together. “That sounds like you’re not going to tell us everything.”

“Ember knows more than the rest of us,” Blade quickly answers. “There were details that the magic keepers would only tell her.”

Crusher nods, then turns to lead the way up the stairs to the cabin.

I’m grateful that Blade found a way to satisfy Crusher’s question without lying. Because the spell Circe cast means we can only share information with the others if it’s essential. Not keen to lose my ability to speak, I’ll let Ember be the guide of how much we can share.

Chapter

Thirty-Four

Blade

Even though we’ve just been on a trip to Arizona together, I feel like I haven’t spoken to Ana in a very long time—that we haven’t had a chance to really talk or have alone time together for too long—but I don’t object as Flame holds her on his lap as we listen to Ember.

Ember gives the others an overview of our situation, leaving out many details. So, I go through a list in my mind. Ana and Phil need to cross through some kind of portal into another realm. Once over there, Ana needs to stab Phil through the liver, and she needs to use a specific weapon, one we may or may not even have. And then, that action may not even kill the demon.

Just now, I realize that the magic keepers didn’t say anything about crossing back through the portal, but I assume that’s something they told Ember. Perhaps she will cross over with us and guide us all back.

Discomfort is crawling inside me. I hate having so many open questions and was truly hoping for more solid answers from the magic keepers—a list of concrete tasks to complete.

“Assuming this works,” I interject as Ember pauses for a moment. “Assuming that Ana successfully kills the demon, how do we get back?”

“We?” Ember tips her head to the side.

“Yeah.” I gesture around the room.

Ember shakes her head. “Only Ana and Phil can cross through the portal.”

“No fucking way.” Crusher leans onto the back of an armchair. His muscles threaten to burst through his sleeves, and the bones of the chair creak. “I swore an oath,” he says gruffly. “I will not leave Ana alone with Phil. Not ever. Not until we’re certain this nightmare is over.”

“The crossing will be very dangerous.” Ember looks down as if trying to figure out how to react to Crusher. “It’s foolish to risk more lives than absolutely necessary.”

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