Page 398 of Primal Bonds

The city fell away. The highway was lined with trees, giving the impression they were in the country, but she knew it was an illusion. This section of the East Coast was a string of towns one after another, with a continuous stream of traffic traveling the I-95 corridor.

“Don’t worry.” Fane squeezed her waist. “Adric will be okay. Your brother’s bloody hard to kill.”

She growled. “He shouldn’t have gone without me.”

“Mm.” Her mate wisely refrained from pointing out that she’d gone to Iceland without Adric for the very same reason—to protect him.

She heaved a breath and cast Fane an apologetic smile over her shoulder. “Thanks for coming.”

He shrugged. “I know the court better than any of you. Besides, I spent sixty turns of the sun with the fae. I might even be able to help. Envoy, remember? I was one of the ice fae’s top negotiators.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He wrapped his arms more securely around her waist, his hard-muscled body warm against her back. Despite her worry, her cat gave a little purr of contentment.

Fane brought his face as close to her as their helmets allowed. “You need to remember something, love.”

“What’s that?”

“You’re not alone anymore.”

Dion went with his gut and aimed straight for New Moon.

Three hours later, they entered the forest surrounding the night fae court. They slowed their motorcycles to a crawl. A look-away spell pressed at them, but he drew on his internal GPS to keep moving forward, even when the pressure grew so strong it was like slogging through invisible quicksand.

Rui somehow picked up Rosana’s scent. “This way.” He jerked his chin at a narrow gravel road.

They bumped down the rutted lane until they reached a clearing. Rui engaged his kickstand and swung off his bike. He crouched, nostrils flared, to scrutinize the prints in the moist earth.

“Rosana was here,” he said without raising his head. “Along with the wolf and Adric. And a night fae—a mixed blood, I think. Lady B?” He glanced up at Dion.

Neither of them had met Lady Blaer, although they knew from Dion’s brother Nic that she was a night fae/ice fae mix.

Dion inhaled. “That’s my guess.” Beside him, Tiago grunted assent.

Marjani pushed her way through the other men to his side, her mate following. She drew a slow breath. “That’s Lady B, all right. I’ll never forget her scent. And the other two are definitely Adric and Luc.”

Rui circled the clearing, still in a partial crouch, gathering further scraps of data. “Adric’s trail leads out of here—I believe he was following the wolf.” He pointed down the narrow road. “But Rosana’s scent ends here, along with the fae.”

Dion’s stomach constricted, the small hope that they’d reach his sister in time crushed. “So she teleported out of here with Rosana.”

“To New Moon,” Marjani added.

“That’s what I believe, sim. But if she’s behind their wards, we can’t know for sure.”

“I know.” The cougar fada’s hand went to where her quartz rested beneath her leather jacket. “At least, I’m sure Adric’s there.”

“You can’t contact him?”

She hesitated, shook her head.

He took a step forward. “What aren’t you telling us?”

“He cut off contact with me. But I could still feel him, up until a couple of hours ago. Then—nothing.”

“And that means?”

“He’s behind a ward or—” She compressed her mouth.

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