Page 43 of Above Cursed Winds

The plan had always been for Nolan to go in alone, with Nero and Zia on telepathic standby on the island should he call for assistance. Key, on the other hand, seemed to be suggesting at least two people on the ground.

“Zia and the redhead.” Key waved flippantly in Jeremiah’s general direction. “He goes, too.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate being volunteered for the death-by-random-home-invasion mission, but I didn’t sign up for wet work. And I need Zia for our investigation, so she shouldn’t be endangered either. Hard pass.”

“You’ll go, Jeremiah, or I’ll teleport you back to Paracel, inform Gideon and Rukia why you’re purposefully avoiding them, and chain you to the floor while they lecture you about the merits of friendship and honesty.” A sickly-sweet smile stretched Key’s features while she batted her eyes at him. “Your choice, handsome.”

Jeremiah flicked incredulous eyes to Nero. “Is she serious?”

“Dead serious, Elemental. We learned to stop questioning Key long, long ago. Might as well just do what she says.”

“Fine.” Then, Jeremiah’s eyes narrowed. “Keep your silence, Raeth.”

Key’s smile was eerie. “Oh, the things I know, Jeremiah. If you want a future, you’ll do as I say.”

Apprehension churned in Zia’s gut as she caught Jeremiah’s confusion once more, but Nero’s question tugged her attention back to him. “Zia, you good with taking Nolan’s spot?”

“Of course, sovereign.”

“Good. Considering the hurricane, this needs to be a quick in and out, you two,” Nero said. “We’ll need everyone back here when it hits, no exceptions. Jeremiah, I know you’re not finished here, but if you’d prefer to return to Paracel during the worst of it, I’d understand.”

“Nah. I’ve always wanted to be in the center of a hurricane,” the Elemental replied. “I’ll stay and help if I can.”

“Crazy kid.” Nero’s lips curled in a smile. “Time to go, Zia. Keep communication open and let us know what you find.”

It took them less than five minutes to prepare to leave. Though she longed to ask Jeremiah what Key had meant about his purposeful avoidance of Gideon and Rukia, she couldn’t bring herself to ask.

“Ready, partner?” the Elemental said with a cowboy twang.

“Yes, rookie.” She holstered her favorite silver daggers and continued in a serious tone. “I’m teleporting us to Kane’s location. Nero gave me coordinates.”

“Don’t drop us in the ocean, m’kay?”

“Scared of getting wet?”

“Oh, about as much as you are, Z.”

Deeply seductive, Jeremiah’s’ voice purred into her ears, and she shivered when his hand gently caressed the small of her back. Leaning into the contact, Zia let him gently cinch around her waist, savoring the contact she was starved for.

“Beam me up, Scotty.” His eyes were playful. “All systems go. Houston, we’re ready for takeoff.”

“Do you ever stop being the comic relief?”

“Not if I can help it.”

Zia closed her eyes to concentrate. Though she’d never been as proficient as Nero—nor any sovereign, really—she could handle teleporting two people anywhere across the states.

As long as she could focus.

And Jeremiah’s hand, a warm steadiness against her back, was most definitely not helping matters. The gentle way he held her, as though she was something to be prized, was so different to Sehrin.

After Key had confirmed that Sehrin wasn’t her mate, Zia had decided he was the only man she could regularly see without her curse becoming true. She quickly realized, however, that intimacy with him would never quench her thirst for tenderness and passion. On the rare occasions Sehrin had held her, it had felt begrudging and forced, a cold means to an end.

Shrugging off the shiver of desire for the Elemental, Zia focused on her task. Within seconds, they were weightless. The teleport completed only seconds later, their feet solidifying on solid ground in Kane’s House.

The vampire himself stood up from his desk in greeting, offering them a tight smile.

“Welcome to my House. You know where you’re going?” Zia nodded in reply. “Good. We need you to be in and out of there, no heroics. Also, Jeremiah, Gideon left a message for you.”

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