Page 8 of Fire Touched

Elijah smiles, his chest puffing out with pride. ‘That is Terran. My home. Official Earth lands.’ He leads us the final few paces toward the line, glowing before us, light blooming from the ground.

‘Why is the ground glowing?’ I mumble. ‘What will it do to us when we cross?’

Elijah smirks, a secret glinting in his eyes. ‘Consider it a… barrier.’ He reaches out and takes Moira’s hand. ‘Come.’

‘Hang on, what kind of barrier? Moira?’ I prompt, as she raises her foot to step blindly across the weird glowy line.

‘It protects against anyone will ill intent,’ Elijah says.

That seems to be enough for Moira, because between one blink and the next, Elijah and Moira step over the line. I reach out for her, sputtering, and perhaps muttering unkind things about her idiotic faith.

Killian smiles down at me. ‘I’m sure they’re okay. Elijah wouldn’t let anything happen to her.’

‘He just bet his life on that,’ I mutter darkly.

‘Come, we have no ill intent.’ Ella steps up to the line next.

Beside her, Carter’s blue eyes widen. I’m inclined to agree.

‘Ella, stop,’ I snap.

Ella looks back over her shoulder, the picture of calm, a small smile playing over her lips. ‘We have to trust our friends, Katie.’ She steps over the line before I can comment that she’s known Elijah for less than a fortnight.

Carter shrugs, as though he has nothing to lose, and follows without a backward glance.

My gaze snaps up to my mate. ‘Am I the only one with any sense?’

Killian wraps his arms around me. ‘No.’ Then he steps forward. ‘If you trust no one else, love, trust me.’ He steps right up to the ominously glowing line and holds his hand out. ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’

I growl, reluctantly reaching out and taking his hand. ‘If this glowy line makes me grow limbs or roots or something, it’s your ass.’

Killian inclines his head, a smirk tugging his lips. His rough fingers spread warmth into mine, through to my hands and washing over my body. The comforting touch of my mate is nearly enough to ignore the brief hot flash that passes over me as we cross the barrier into Terran.

I gasp as we step over the line, onto the other side, and any remaining breath in my lungs is immediately sucked out as I take in my surroundings.

‘Took you long enough,’ Moira chides.

Killian’s hand still firmly wrapped around mine, he smiles. ‘Told you it would be okay.’

I’m too gobsmacked to kick him for saying ‘I told you so’. My mouth hangs open. ‘I’ve never…’ I can’t even get the words out. Green sprawling lands, hills and lush fields take up my vision, a brighter, more vibrant green than I have ever seen, ever imagined.

The soft, lazy breeze greets us, caressing the wayward strands of hair about my face: as though the Earth herself were greeting me. My eyes flutter closed, just for a second. I snap them back open, desperate to see again.

Elijah chuckles close by. ‘Yeah, it has that effect on people. Come. My father will greet us at the entrance, then we need to speak with my Alpha.’

Killian’s auburn eyes meet mine. He plants a kiss on my forehead, then searches my gaze. ‘You okay? Did the glowy line bite you?’ he teases.

‘Shut up,’ I mutter, unable to stop looking around. ‘This is amazing.’ Everywhere I look, life and nature bloom. The grass underfoot is luscious and soft, bowing to us in the breeze. The wolf in me straightens as a deer runs by, it’s short, twig-like legs lithe and graceful.

As though sensing my thoughts, Elijah turns. ‘We have strict rules here. No hunting. We get our food from the butchers. They hunt out of town. We protect life here.’

To my surprise, the deer meets my gaze, her eyes dark but open. Trusting.

‘You seriously have rules against werewolves hunting?’ Killian asks.

‘That’s the way we do things here,’ Elijah says, uncharacteristically firm.

The deer bounds up to me in three, quick leaps. I blink down at the small creature. ‘You’re brave,’ I murmur.

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