Page 259 of Shadowblood Souls
All five wafts of essence have converged into one larger current. A few little trickles veer off in a variety of directions, but by far the most floats away from us to my right, toward the sun that’s dipping toward the western horizon.
“One of the locations we had our eye on is a couple hundred miles in exactly that direction,” the demon says with the slightest hint of awe. “The other two are nowhere near it. I suppose we know where we’re going now.”
As we lower our arms, he swipes his hands together in a brisk gesture. “Which means you’d better get going. I’ve left tablets and phones in the helicopters along with the rest of the equipment we discussed—I’ll be sending your pilots flight plans and you all the details I have so far on that specific possible facility. You can look them over on the way there and discuss how you want to proceed. And please keep me in the loop.”
“Where are you going to be?” I ask.
He motions to the jet. “I’ll take a more direct route, as close as I can get, and make sure our ground support is in place.”
Andreas has moved to join me. Riva turns toward the two of us, a flicker of worry crossing her face.
She darts to Drey, and he catches her in his arms. I avert my gaze as they collide with a kiss so potent my skin prickles with my awareness of it.
“We’ll see you soon, Tink,” he promises, a little hoarsely.
As Riva eases back from him, her gaze slides to me. My body balks, but the images from the facility are still floating in the back of my mind.
What if I never get another chance to do anything at all?
I step forward and tentatively wrap my arms around her. Riva hugs me back with all the strength that’s wound through her slim form.
My pulse hiccups, but I find the determination to lower my head and press a kiss to her hair.
My stomach twists itself into a dozen knots. I can feel the other guys watching me, wary and concerned.
On my behalf, or hers?
None of that really matters, though. Not when she releases me and I see the brilliant smile that’s lighting up her face, just for me.
“Stay safe, Shrimp,” I tell her, as if I’m not worried at all.
Our two groups veer apart as we hustle over to the choppers. I clamber on board, ignoring the nervous tension coiling around my gut as well as I can.
Our pilot materializes out of the shadows into the cockpit. “Your equipment’s in the bag there,” she says, and starts the motor whirring.
Andreas yanks the door shut and drops into the seat next to me. He glances over, his gray eyes a little darker than usual.
“You’ve got to tell her, you know.”
He doesn’t need to spell out what he’s talking about. My body goes rigid.
I push through it, reaching for the duffel bag on the floor. “Did you tell her how it was foryou?”
Drey sinks into the seat with the lurch of the chopper taking off. “Yeah. She didn’t blame me for it. She knows none of that shit was our choice.”
My hands ball, my claws prickling at my fingertips again.
What he told her isn’t half as bad as my own story. It’s not even in the same ballpark.
“You could figure something out with her if she knew what you’re dealing with,” Andreas adds in a gentler tone.
My voice comes out gruff. “We’ll see. We’ve got bigger things to worry about right now.”
We’re about to break back into one of the facilities. The last place on Earth I’d ever have wanted to go.
And I’ve got to make sure every one of my friends and the woman I love make it back out again with me.
Thirty-Four
