Page 13 of The Last Aether

The SUV bumped along the dirt road, two black vehicles with tinted windows in front of us, two behind. The contingent of royal guards had met us at a portal seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Atlas had explained that they had a series of safe houses you could only access through portals but only if you knew their exact location. After I’d been shot, they’d taken me directly to one of their most secret ones, unsure if more assassins would be coming.

The vehicle was silent as we drove towards campus. Riven hadn’t said a word when we’d come downstairs or at any point in the journey. Now, he glared out the front window as he followed the line of SUVs. Kai had his feet kicked up on the dashboard, his gaze scanning our surroundings.

I was sandwiched between Phoenix and Atlas in the back. Atlas’s fingers wove through mine as Phoenix’s hand wrapped around my thigh. But both were staring out either window, looking for trouble.

“How did you know?” I asked softly.

Phoenix’s gaze flicked to me. “Know what?”

“That I was shot.” The events of a few days ago were hazy at best, but I didn’t think any of the guards had put out a distress call.

Riven stiffened in the front seat, and no one said a word for a moment.

“We all felt it.” Atlas’s words were quiet in a way that I knew the experience had marked him, marked all of them.

Phoenix’s fingers tightened on my thigh. “It was like a fire in our chests.”

Kai stared towards the driver’s seat. “It was Riv who realized something had happened to you.”

I couldn’t look away from the ice-cold man in the front seat. He didn’t show any signs that the event had affected him, but I wondered if that was a lie.

“Thank you for coming for me.”

Phoenix gripped me harder. “We’ll never let anyone hurt you. Not ever again.”

My stomach cramped. That wasn’t a promise they could make. It wasn’t something that was in their control.

Riven’s hands tightened on the wheel, his knuckles bleaching white. “What will keep her safe is if no one knows the bond has formed.”

A lash of pain sliced across my sternum. Why did it hurt so bad when his sentiments were nothing new?

“You might want to keep your shirts on then,” I muttered.

Riven’s spine snapped straight. “What are you talking about?”

“The bond marked us,” Atlas explained. “I didn’t notice it at first, but I have one of those silver streaks over my heart. I’m guessing we all do.”

Riven muttered a slew of curses.

Kai groaned. “You know I don’t like clothes.”

Atlas clapped him on the shoulder. “Buck up, buttercup. It’s fully clothed for you for the foreseeable future.”

He glared out the window. “I could just go pantless. Maybe I’ll look into one of the muumuus. They look comfortable. Everything free underneath.”

Phoenix snorted. “God help us all.”

For the first time in hours, I laughed. It felt so damn good. “I’ll get you a muumuu, Golden God.”

He turned in his seat, brushing his lips across mine. “You’re too good to me.”

Atlas just shook his head, but he was smiling.

“Stop fucking around,” Riven gritted out. “We’re two minutes out and you’re worried about your bare ass? We need to be focused so one of us doesn’t end up dead. Or did you forget what happened three days ago?”

Wisps of smoke gathered around Phoenix. “We know what happened. None of us will ever forget.”

I laid a hand on top of Phoenix’s, squeezing. “I’m okay.”