Page 20 of The Last Aether

A few tears slipped from my eyes. “You have no idea how many of them there are. It could be a trap.”

Riven’s voice cut in. “I’ll have his back.”

“So they’ll kill both of you?” I snapped. “As much as you’re an asshole, Riven, I don’t want you dead either.”

He was quiet for a moment. And it was Phoenix who finally spoke. “The Network has nothing on me. I’ve trained for this my entire life. They won’t have a chance.”

Atlas’s broad frame filled the doorway. “It’ll put Aura in pain if you leave.”

It was unfair of him to put that on Phoenix’s shoulders, but I would’ve given anything for him and Riven to stay.

“Aura…” Phoenix trailed off, as if choosing between going after the person who had tried to hurt those he loved and causing me pain was torture.

“Go,” I whispered. “I’ll deal with the pain.”

“No,” Kai argued.

“Wait,” Quincy interrupted, moving into our circle. “It hurts when you have physical distance from your mates?”

I nodded, rubbing my chest where the pain had been. “Like fire.”

He frowned. “You need a point of connection before they give you space, and having a token from them would help too.”

Phoenix pulled off a necklace that had been tucked under his T-shirt and slipped it over my head. I fingered the gold disc with a flame pressed into it. “Thank you.”

Riven frowned but stared down at the ring on his right hand. He tugged it off and pressed it into my palm. “Here.”

The metal was warm. So opposite of everything Riven espoused to be. I swore it hummed against my skin.

Quincy cleared his throat. “You need to touch her. A bond touch. An intimate touch.”

Riven’s head snapped in his direction, eyes flaring with some undiscernible emotion.

Quincy held up both hands. “Your essence will remain with her for several hours that way, and she won’t be in pain.”

His jaw worked back and forth.

“You don’t have to. I can deal.” Each word hurt, but it was nothing compared to the knowledge that the idea of touching me was torture to Riven.

He shook his head and moved in, cocooning me between himself and Phoenix. Riven stayed like that for a few beats and then his head dropped to my neck, and he inhaled deeply, his lips skimming my skin.

The touch was fire and ice. A riot of sensations at the barest contact. I couldn’t imagine what it would feel like to lose myself in him.

Riven breathed out and I felt the air swirl around me, coating me in comfort and protection. That air combined with Phoenix’s smoke until I was lost in a sea of both of them.

A second later they both stepped back. I felt the loss instantly. My body tried to follow them both, but I forced myself to stand still.

Unshed tears burned my eyes again. “Be careful. Please.”

Phoenix strode forward again, taking my mouth in a hard kiss. “I’ll always come back for you.”

I held onto those words with everything I had as he let me go. My gaze found Riven. His jaw was hard, but his eyes blazed with a mixture of retribution and something I couldn’t name. All he gave me was the barest of nods. But I held on to that too.

12

“Stop pacing.”

I sent a glare in Kai’s direction and kept right on moving. I followed the path of the floorboards in front of the fireplace. The window had already been replaced and the curtains were now drawn.