Page 9 of The Arcane God

“Steig,” she whispered, standing up. Her auburn hair glowed in the light of the single blue darkrock lantern sitting on the table before her as she rushed towards him. “What’s going on? Is it true what I feel? Did they do it?”

“They did,” Steig said, speaking in a hushed voice so as not to wake the children in the other rooms. “Everyone else feels it too.”

A wide smile lit Lara’s beautiful face. The joy of it always took his breath away—the pure wonder she exuded made his heart soar. But then, just as quick, his heart broke a little as he thought of everything she didn’t yet know—because he would have to be the one to tell her.

“But your father…” Steig began, watching with regret as the smile fell off her face.

“How’s he taking it?” she asked cautiously, as if already knowing the answer.

“Not great, as you can imagine. He suspects Ty.”

“Well, at least in this instance, you can’t say he’s paranoid,” Lara said ruefully. “What is he planning?”

“He’s sending me, Gunnar, and Chans after him and Ena. To capture them.”

“What?” Lara asked, a look of fear on her face quickly replacing the joy that had been so fleeting. “He’s sending you?”

“Yes,” Steig admitted, hating it all over again.

“And you agreed?”

“Agreed? No, I didn’t fucking agree, Lara, but he threatened to put me in a collar if I refused. To take me away from you and the kids. What the fuck was I supposed to do?” He knew his tone was too harsh, that she was just trying to catch up to all that had happened, but he felt so guilty for having said yes, the frustration just spilled out of him.

“Of course I know you didn’t agree willingly,” she said, reaching out to soothingly stroke his arm. “But Steig, you can’t capture Ty and Ena and bring them back here. You’d be bringing them back to their slaughter. Heir or not, Cole is not going to let this slide. He’ll find an excuse to kill them both.”

“I know that,” Steig said, struggling to keep his voice down as he ran his hand through his thick, dark curls. “It’s a death sentence.”

Lara took a deep breath, clearly now on the same page with him about how absolutely fucked they were. “Okay, this is bad, but…maybe there’s something you can do.”

“Like what?” he asked, and for a millisecond, he let himself be so incredibly grateful that he wasn’t alone in this. That he had her to help figure it out.

“I don’t know…sabotage his capture, maybe? If you do find him, that is.”

“And do that without Gunnar and Chans noticing and ratting me out to Cole?”

“I know it’s a long shot, but maybe an opportunity will present itself. If you’re smart, and cautious.”

“That’s as good a plan as any, I guess. But Lara,” Steig said, needing her to understand what he already did, “he’s not going to give up until he finds him. Until he makes me find him.”

She nodded. “That may be true, but there’s nothing we can do about that. We just need to get through this right now, day by day, and hope we figure it out later.”

Steig hung his head in resignation as he reached out to stroke her arm, the feel of her in his arms bringing him comfort.

“When do you leave?” she asked quietly, looking up at him with sad, hazel eyes.

“First thing in the morning. He’s sending us to the Auster Coven, to look for them there,” he replied.

Lara nodded sadly, heartbreak written on her face. It was obvious to both of them that no matter what—through a collar or a mission—this was a punishment from Cole designed to keep them apart. He’d never been worthy of Lara in Cole’s eyes.

“Should I wake the kids? So you can say goodbye?” she asked, trying and failing to keep the waver out of her voice, and the sound of it broke his heart.

“Yes, but…not yet. Please,” he said, looking into her eyes. All he’d ever wanted was to be with her, to be near her fierce joy, and the love of the family they’d created together. But it had never been that simple for them, and it never would be. Not until Cole was gone and Ty became king. “I’m so sorry, Lara.”

“Don’t,” she said, shaking her head and bringing her hands to his face. “Not for one second, okay? It’s all worth it to me, Steig. All of it.”

He pulled her into him, kissing her fiercely, as his hands tangled in her soft hair. She tasted of home and sunshine—the warmest flame from a fire, almost too hot to touch, and yet he couldn’t care less if he got burned.

Their kiss deepened, almost frantic as they both knew that this separation…it would be a long one. He stroked her tongue with his, holding her hard against him, and he could feel her lust rising with his own. With his Power, he could feel that thread between them tugging in his mind…did she want him to feed it?