Page 32 of Guardian of Shadows

“I appreciate that, but I— Why’s it so hot in here? Did the air conditioner stop working?” Elle fanned herself with her hand. Anthony wasn’t hot, but that didn’t mean his mate wasn’t. Before Anthony could get up and check the thermostat, Elle gasped and slapped her arm. “Tony...”

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“I don’t think Grevolus believed me. My arm. It’s burning.”

“That motherfucker.” Anthony rolled off the bed and hurried to the galley. He picked up the washcloth from earlier and filled it with ice. When he returned to the bedroom, tears were running down Elle’s cheeks. He set the ice against the sigil, and Elle placed her hand on it, keeping it in place.

“Thank you. I tried using my magic to lessen the pain, but it didn’t work.”

Anthony pressed a kiss to her forehead while swiping at her tears with his thumbs. He kissed her lips softly, then retrieved his phone to call Carleigh. She’d have to forgive him for reaching out so early, but this was an emergency. After dialing, he put it on speaker.

“What’s wrong?” Carleigh answered.

“We have a problem. Grevolus called and asked where Elle is. She skirted the truth, but he said her sigil shows her to be somewhere she isn’t supposed to be.”

“I thought you were going to have it removed. Isn’t that why you went to Norway?” Carleigh asked.

“We did. Elle’s Queen tried, but she wasn’t successful since it was done with dark fae magic. The elders refused to cross the portal against the goddess’s command, so Elle’s sister and the dragon princess have gone to ask for help somewhere else. We have no idea how long that will take or if they’ll even be successful. Since Grevolus is expecting her back in Georgia tomorrow, we’re flying back to Tennessee now.”

“Guess I don’t need to catch that flight to Norway with Tor and Bodi. What do you want me to do?”

“Can you make it appear as if Elle is still in Nashville? At the Compton Suites specifically?”

“That’s easy enough, but what if he shows up in Tennessee?”

“He said the cops came by his place, so now he’s insisting he and Elle have to move. He told her to get her ass back there.”

“You’re not going to him, are you?” Carleigh asked while typing.

“I don’t really have a choice,” Elle said. “If this is him warning me, I don’t think I’ll survive anything worse.”

“Can’t we pay the bastard off? Make a bargain with him to remove the sigil for an ungodly amount of money?”

Anthony thought it was worth a shot, but he didn’t know the male. “What do you think, Sweetheart?”

“We could try, but we’ll need to be careful. He’s evil, and I don’t doubt he’ll try to take the money and not remove the sigil.”

“Carleigh, please reach out to Luna. We should land in Nashville around eight their time, putting us in Atlanta around one or so.”

“You got it. I’ll see you both soon.”

Elle removed the ice from her arm. “Do you think Celeste would make me some coffee?”

“I know she would. Are you hungry?”

“Not really.”

“Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Anthony knocked on the cockpit door, and when he stuck his head in, Celeste said, “I’m on it,” before he could ask.

“Thanks, Celeste.”

Elle had moved from the bedroom to the seating area of the cabin, and Anthony plopped down beside her. He’d never felt so useless in his life. Before he could get too maudlin, his phone buzzed with a text. He should have expected his twin to reach out, what with his mood being as dark as it was.

Elle leaned against his arm so she could look at the screen. “Red Jr.?”

“Tabitha.”

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