Page 31 of Needed in the Night
“Is Isla all right?” I demanded, without bothering with a greeting.
He studied me. “She’s fine,” he replied finally, and I started to breathe again.
I had never spoken to a shadowbat before. His voice wasscratchy and sibilant, but clear enough that I could understand him easily.
“But she won’t be if we don’t get out of here soon,” he added, and my gut wrenched. “If she’s your mate, you need to do what’s right for her.”
I stood frozen, my hearts pounding in my ears. How did he know? How long had he known? And most importantly…
“Does she know?” I rasped.
“No.” He stretched his wings and wiggled more deeply into the sofa’s plush backrest, as if making a kind of temporary nest for himself. “She finds it difficult to see what’s in her own heart because of everything she’s been through. I won’t say any more about that because Isla’s secrets are hers to tell when she’s ready. It’s not that she doesn’t want your love or devotion. She does, very much. And she deserves it. She cares about you deeply.”
“As a friend.” I did not intend for my voice to sound so hollow, but it did.
Again, Brae eyed me, as if debating what to say.
“That is what she tells herself,” he said. “But when she speaks of you, I see her change. She worries about you constantly, and she says your name in her sleep. If you tell her I told you that, you will regret it very much.”
I found myself short of breath again, but for an entirely different reason.
His eyes glowed. “I love Isla. So if you hurt her in any way, or let her come to harm, I swear on all the gods above and below I will make sure you suffer for it.”
“You do not need to worry,” I said, without rancor because he spoke out of devotion to Isla. “I love her with all my hearts and soul.”
I had never spoken those words aloud. Giving voice to my most profound secret made my skin tingle and hearts race.
“Then you’d better tell her so and get her away from here.”Brae’s stare was intense. “You’ve sensed it too, haven’t you? Something in the air. Something closing in.”
“Yes.” My chest rumbled. “What do you know about it?”
“Nothing more than you do,” he said, which was a disappointment. “I’ve been keeping watch and listening in whenever and wherever I can, and I’ll continue to do so, but?—”
“I will protect her,” I stated.
He made a chuffing sound. “Isla needs someone to stand beside her, not in front of her. If you’re smart, you’ll remember that.”
I frowned. “Why would she not wish to be protected?”
“I didn’t say she doesn’t want to be protected,” he countered. “I said she wants someone to fightbesideher, and someone to fight beside. If she’s your true mate, isn’t that what you want too?”
Stunned, I stared at Brae. A Pallasian shadowbat understood the physiology of true mates that well?
I thought of the confrontation between Isla and the Hardanian. The way she faced him had thrilled and satisfied—and yes, aroused—me as much or more than anything else about my mate. Truly, in my hearts and soul I did not want to stand in front of her and fight her battles for her. I wanted to do as Brae described.
“Yes, that is what I want,” I said quietly. “It would be my greatest honor and privilege to fight at her side.”
“Then do it.” He rose and stretched his wings. “I don’t keep any secrets from Isla. You can tell her we spoke today when the time is right. Soon, she’ll ask you to go with her back to Madame Ycari’s shop to pick up her perfume. Start planning now what you’re going to say to her when you get there, and what you’re going to do to get us the hells away from here.”
I had been planning my future with Isla from the moment we had met.
“I will,” I said.
“Good.” He glanced at the window. “If you wouldn’t mind…?”
I activated the window. Brae took to the air, faded to a shadow, and flew out of my apartment, disappearing from sight before I could reach the window.
My shift was due to start in minutes. But rather than close the window immediately and leave, I let the breeze and sunshine caress my skin and the familiar scents of Onat’ras fill my nose and lungs.
