Page 85 of Unleashed

A gentle hand touched his bicep, drawing him out of his thoughts. He shifted his gaze to see Nina standing before him, smiling. She was so small, so beautiful, so precious…

“You didn’t lose me.” She reached up, twined her fingers in his mane, and tugged his head down into a kiss.

The warmth of that contact with her spread from his lips to suffuse his entire body. It eased his worries and soothed the rage simmering in his chest. Despite her appearance, Nina was anything but delicate. She’d shown as much courage, tenacity, and toughness as anyone he knew — even more so because she wasn’t physically enhanced like he and his brothers had been.

Though they were not invulnerable, Vortok, Balir, and Aduun had been able to rely on their supernatural healing speed and resistance to damage since their change. Even wounds that would’ve guaranteed death in their old lives would heal in a matter of hours. Paired with their immense strength and speed, they were nearly unstoppable when facing most natural flesh-and-blood foes, and Vortok recognized that they’d grown reckless because of it.

Nina didn’t have that luxury. Her physical limitations were much closer to what those of Vortok’s people had been before Kelsharn altered them; every battle placed her in mortal danger. Floodwater, treeclaws, a fall from a great height, cold and frost, the desert heat and the creatures that had pursued them — any of those dangers could easily have been her end, where the valos could struggle through most and survive despite the agony and hardship they would’ve endured along the way.

When she finally broke the kiss, dropped her hand, and stepped back, Vortok nearly threw an arm around her to draw her against him. He wanted more of her, needed more, and that need made the warmth she’d instilled in him grow. But she’d had it hard during this trip, especially last night; if he was aching, shehadto be in pain.

He contented himself with cupping her cheek with one hand. She paused and leaned into his palm, closing her eyes for a moment as she covered his hand with both of her own.

“You are so beautiful, Nina,” he said in a low voice. His chest tightened, and his throat constricted, making speech suddenly difficult; a wave of emotion swept through him, powerful and overwhelming. His heartstone resonated with it, but it was not the primary source. “You are more than I deserve, even if I must share you.”

Nina stepped closer and smiled, her eyes bright with a sudden sheen of tears. “Oh, Vortok,” she said softly. She reached up and gently grasped his mane again. “You deserveeverything. And though you are sharing me, you still haveallof me.” She guided his hand to settle on her chest before placing her own hand over his heart. “You are my heart as much as I am yours. I love you.”

She turned her head and looked at Aduun and Balir who had drawn closer. “I love all of you. You are equal in my eyes.”

The tightness he’d felt in his chest and throat intensified as the powerful emotions inside him swelled and blossomed. That was the word for it, that simple word that somehow embodied so massive and consuming a concept —love. Nina projected her love freely, and it swept through him, easing his aching muscles and lending him renewed strength.

“And I love you, Nina,” Balir said, moving closer.

“I love you, too,” Vortok rumbled.

Aduun stepped nearer as well. “We all love you, Nina.”

“I know,” she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Vortok spread his arms and drew her into a hug. She put her hands on his shoulders and nuzzled against him as Aduun and Balir joined the embrace.

They remained like that for a while, the four of them locked together, secure and comfortable with each other and the dynamics of their relationship, which was unlike anything any of them had ever experienced. Vortok knew he would always have his flares of jealousy and possessiveness, but when Nina said she wastheirs, said she loved them equally, it was nothing but truth.

“Let’s find your people,” she said against him, pressing her lips to his chest before turning her head and kissing both Balir and Aduun in turn. “Ourpeople.”

Vortok hadn’t forgotten their purpose, hadn’t forgotten their people, but he was still reluctant to release her. It required a considerable amount of effort to open his arms and step back. He’d rather have held her forever than continued through this swamp.

“Which way, Nina?” Aduun asked.

She pointed without hesitation. “They’re louder now.Muchlouder.”

They set out single file with Aduun in the lead and Vortok, bags slung over one shoulder, in the rear.

The lack of rain was a massive improvement over the prior day, but their progress remained slow. No one was safe from the hungry muck beneath the murky water. Even land offered little respite; the heavy rainfall had left most of the ground soft and muddy, in some places even more difficult to traverse than the water.

Vortok couldn’t contain his grumbling as they trudged onward, especially when his weight worked against him, sometimes sinking him up to his knees. It took Aduun and Balir together to pull him out at one point, and both of them nearly became stuck in the process.

His fur bristled every time something brushed against his leg underwater, and he found himself in a heightened state of awareness throughout. The attack during the night had rattled them all. He couldn’t be the only one imagining lashing vines rising out of the water at every little splash. Fortunately, Nina’s presence provided a welcome counterbalance.

Vortok’s eyes wandered to her often, admiring not just her body, but her fortitude. She walked, stumbled, and clawed her way forward without complaint, and when they’d stop to rest or refill the waterskins with run-off caught by the large leaves, she was usually the first to suggest they move on again.

It was difficult to mark the passage of time thanks to the overcast sky, but he guessed it was around midday when Aduun sighted something ahead. They hurried — relative to their sluggish pace, anyway — to the next piece of land and narrowed their eyes, peering toward the thing in the distance.

“Stone,” Aduun said. “It’s stone. A cliffside, just like in the forest.”

“Another artificial border?” Balir asked.

“Most likely.”

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