Page 62 of The Stolen Bride

His delight affected me as staunchly as his kiss, and I nibbled on my bottom lip to halt a smile. So I’d only known him a short while. I wanted a chance with this man. Wanted to be with him today, tomorrow, and forever. He’d saved my life. Protected me. Peered at me as if his entire world orbited around me. Kissed me as if my lungs held the air he required for his survival. And look at him. A wild man with gorgeous white hair in total disarray, sparkling eyes, and lips puffy from my kisses. Even now, in conversation with another, he sought contact with me, pressing his hand on the small of my back.

I’d have to give up my spa, but I wasn’t exactly human and had zero desire to bottle my emotions again. Something that would be necessary around humans. Besides, berserkers had pets too. I could open a new shop. Legends and Lather? Celestial Pet Spa?

Bodi glanced between us, a tinge of disgust infiltrating his features. “We should go. The goal is still to reach Deco’s fortress, ja, and not be sitting ducks?” He marched ahead of us.

Viktor twined his fingers with mine and ushered me forward, staying near his brother. “Have you seen any others?”

“Ja, and I wish I hadn’t,” Bodi replied, his tone tight. “Kellan shifted, and we fought. I injured him, but I couldn’t bring myself to slay him. But leaving him alive cost me. He came after me with Deco’s men.”

Shoulders rolling in, Viktor sighed. “So less than a handful of us remain.”

Guilt pricked me. I’d killed four of them.

My boyfriend, for lack of a better word, sensed the direction of my thoughts, lifted my knuckles to his mouth, and kissed. “They attacked you. They deserved what they got.”

Bodi missed his next step, surprised, but I nearly floated out of my body.

Suddenly Viktor jerked as though struck by a bolt of lightning. He stopped, released me, and pounded his fists into his temples before pulling at hanks of his hair. “What, what, what?” he bellowed.

Concern punched me. “What’s happening? What’s wrong?”

“The Valkara. Something’s wrong. She’s trying to speak with me,” he said, his voice ragged. He swung around and slammed his forehead into a tree. Bang, bang, bang. Cracks spread through the trunk. “But she’s so quiet. Too quiet. Be louder!”

On instinct, I wedged myself between him and the tree to prevent his next blow. Jagged cuts dripped blood all down his face, and the sight hurtme. I cupped his cheeks, cooing, “Breathe in, baby. Good. Now out. Yes, yes. Now, picture yourself throwing your frustration out of your head through your ears.” Something my fatherused to say to me before I learned to bottle. “Go on. Picture it.”

He frowned but gave a clipped nod. “Done.”

“Now listen.” I didn’t want him talking to the woman, but he had to want to sever their tie. If he desired a relationship with her, well, that was on him. I refused to protest again. I just knew our relationship wouldn’t last, and the mark I’d just decided to take wouldn’t happen. The choice was his.

A moment passed in silence. Two. His nostrils flared. “I hear her.”

I waited several moments more before saying, “Focus on her words.”

His eyelids narrowed to tiny slits. “She’s telling me…” He cursed beneath his breath. “She is the one Deco imprisoned. He’sharmedher. She’s weakening. Perhaps dying.” Viktor pounded at his temples again. “If I do not reach her—I must reach her.”

Ice spread over his expression. He looked to Bodi, to me. “Try to keep up.”With no other words, he took off in a mad sprint through the jungle.

Bodi and I shared a look before leaping into action, trailing him. Though I was faster than ever before, I lagged behind. The prince hung back, keeping both his brother and me in his sights, but something gnawed at my gut.

“Your outfit is an…interesting choice,” the prince said, all casual-like, as if we were merely taking a stroll in a park.

Twin circles scorched my cheeks. “Blame your brother. He picked it.”

The prince flashed a smile, there and gone. “You are good for him.”

“I know.”

He chuckled at my swagger. I comprehended the manresponded to bravado. And Bodi hadn’t even heard the half of it! I’d done the impossible and made his brother smile. “But, um, maybe be on the lookout for turul-shifters, since he’s forgotten everything but his precious Valkara.”

A grunting sound escaped him. “As if I’m not always on the lookout.”

I scanned the canopy above our heads, through the teak and banyan leaves, unable to shake an uneasy feeling. “This could be a trap. I don’t trust her.”

“You are not the only one,” Bodi muttered.

We experienced a surprising beat of comradery.

“She’s powerful, right? Knows the secrets of the Starfire that turned mortals into berserkers. Can use a set of keys to unshift a shifter. This whole ‘Deco has captured me, and I may be dying’ feels a little too convenient.” Something didn’t add up. Maybe my suspicions revolved around Viktor’s feelings for the woman. Maybe not.

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