Page 88 of Above Cursed Winds

Trailing behind her, Nero dragged Sehrin by the neck, taking Zia’s word at face value. Myko’s father was silent, locked within himself and psychically gagged.

Zia didn’t know if her mate would be lying broken as his currently mortal body failed him, or if he was minutes away from true death. She had to get to him, had to hold his hand and see him perhaps for the last time.

Filling her lungs with courage, she stepped into the brilliant sunlight at the base of the stairs.

“Hold him, Gideon!”

Luna’s shrill voice was the first thing that barraged against her senses, and once her eyes adjusted, she stood dumbfounded.

Before her stood a vampire, an Elemental monarch, and a Raeth healer, all three of them trying to restrain one red-haired Elemental dead set on pulling away from them.

Jeremiah.

Jeremiah was alive and … attempting to escape?

Blinking, Zia stood frozen, trying to understand the picture in front of her. Lightning-quick, roots coiled around Jeremiah’s legs, anchoring him to the earth. Rona grappled with his arms, holding them behind his back as Luna rounded to press her fingers into his temples.

Struggling to shake them off, the wind Elemental whipped his head back and forth, only to be foiled by Gideon’s incomparable strength.

As soon as Luna’s fingertips connected and she’d taken hold of his psychic energy, the Elemental stilled, and the potent punch of Luna’s power exploded out from her. In a flash, Zia was at Jeremiah’s side, but didn’t know if she should assist in restraining him or tearing the earthbound roots from his legs.

As if sensing her confusion, Luna spoke urgently. “He’s been coerced, Zia. The compulsion is exceptionally strong, and he’s been programmed to jump until he’s dead.”

Gasping in shock, Zia brushed her fingers along the smooth skin of Jeremiah’s upper arm. Fear pumped through her blood, and fury followed just as quickly. The man had been conditioned for suicide. He hadn’t jumped of his own free will.

And she didn’t have to think very hard about who’d done this to him. Only one person had access to him, and had been with him only moments before he’d jumped.

Sehrin.

Zia had never known he had the power.

Slowly, the roots uncoiled from Jeremiah’s legs, and Rona gradually loosened his arms. The Elemental continued to stare unblinking into space, and Luna persevered in healing the coercion that’d gripped him so desperately.

Steadying him as Luna finished, Zia’s heart pounded. She burrowed into his chest, inhaling his scent. Even though his arms weren’t around her, she clutched at him, needing the anchor of his soul.

Nothing in her immortal life had prepared her for the turmoil of watching her mate leap to his death, nor the vengeance she still needed to met out. Seeing Jeremiah blank-stared following the coercion had been her breaking point. Tears salted her cheeks. Each droplet wet his shirt, leaving a lingering stain of sadness on him.

None of it mattered when his arms circled around her.

“Zia.” His voice was a gentle purr swathed in a deep timbre. “You’re okay. You’re okay, Z.”

Softly, his fingers sifted through her hair, massaging her scalp in an attempt to soothe her. Hearing his comforting tones only lit the building fire within her.

“You jumped,” she squeaked into his chest, barely audible. “You jumped off—and I couldn’t stop you.”

Another sob tore from her throat. All the years of prevention, holding herself apart from any romantic interest, had dissolved after one week of being in Jeremiah’s company. All her careful planning and resistance to courtship had failed spectacularly, and Key’s prediction had come true.

Now, it’d happened, and Jeremiah was still alive.

“I know—I’m so sorry, Z.” Pain infused every syllable. “I tried to stop; I tried so hard. I tried to tell you it wasn’t your fault, that I didn’t want to go. That I love you.”

As the words sank in, her wailing turned bittersweet. Slowly, she raised her chin, desperate to see those gorgeous eyes. Finding them already fixed on her, Zia whispered, “I love you too, Jeremiah.”

An explosion within her soul had her clutching him closer. Vibrant emotions colored their thoughts as the mating bond between them solidified with a single, final push. Their souls tugged together; an invisible knot tied in an unbreakable connection that’d never waver.

As the ghosting link transformed, Zia laughed through her tears. Her world had spun on its axis, realigning so that she’d never be alone again. The Elemental was her fated mate, eternally bound to her now and forever.

Her hands sunk into his hair, and his mouth captured hers seconds later. Kissing him urged her onward, sinking into his chest as strong arms pulled her in.

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