Page 205 of Knight’s Retribution

Then he shot into the sky, and Kyler threw her head back and laughed, exhilaration thrumming through her all over again.

And then they danced.

They danced among the stars.

Chapter 25

“You ready?” Rocco asked her from the other side of the room.

She glanced up. Her mate’s expression was somber. He’d woken early this morning and been restless and quiet all day.

The night before, up on the roof, felt so long ago.

Today, they were either bringing Tobias and Scarlet home, or they weren’t, and tensions were high. Kyler could feel it. The whole compound felt different, heavier.

She nodded, and Rocco took her hand when she reached him.

They headed up to the control room. Rocco’s brothers were already there with their mates. Grace was dressed for combat and Luna was dressed like Kyler, in form-fitting clothes that they could move easily in since they were going today as well. Eve, Mia, and Meredith looked frustrated.

“We could help, you know we could,” Eve was saying.

Lazarus massaged the back of his mate’s neck. “Yeah, sweetheart, but we have no idea what’s going to happen. This isn’t like the equinox or solstice. We don’t know if the portal will even open, and if it does, how long or what the fuck will come through. There are too many unknowns.”

Mia moved in front of Zenon. “No one can get past my fire. Take me. Once Tobias and Scarlet are through, I can hold back whatever else tries to escape.”

“No,” Zenon said. “We’ve already been through this. Not fucking happening. You heard Laz.”

“You don’t let us help during the solstice or equinox either. You’ve seen what we can do together,” she said, her voice rising.

“Yeah, I have. But that’s not happening today. This shit needs to be as controlled as we can make it.”

“Luna can cover us,” Meredith said. “And I can amplify her, make her shields even more powerful than they already are.”

Luna looked at the males standing around them. “They’d be even safer with me than they would be here. You know that. No one and nothing could get to them. They could help.”

Grace put her hands on Chaos’s arm. “We might need them. They can stay back behind Luna’s shields. With Meredith there, if anything goes wrong, Luna can cover all of us. She might even be able to lift a shield in front of the portal and stop anything from following Tobias and Scarlet.”

Luna looked around at the big males. “You know what I can do, you know.”

Chaos looked to his brothers, a question in his dark gaze.

Lazarus looked down at his mate, at the determination in her eyes, and cursed. “Fine, but you stay behind Luna’s shields. I do not see you or hear you or even sense you.”

Eve drew an invisible cross over her heart.

“Gee thanks, Lazarus,” Kryos growled out, “you think Zen and I can keep our females home now?”

“Nope,” Meredith said. “And you sound like a goddamn Neanderthal.”

Zenon was shaking his head. “No, no fucking way.”

Mia looked up at him. “I’ll be safe. You know I will be. We’ll do this, then we’ll come home, all of us. Tobias and Scarlet included.”

His yellow eyes flashed black and then back, and he growled, the sound ripping through the room. He scooped up his mate, lifting her off her feet so their faces were an inch apart, and he pressed his forehead to hers. He said nothing, just breathed roughly, and Mia said nothing, she just held him back, giving him what he needed.

Finally, he pressed a kiss to her lips and lowered her again, tucking her in tight to his side.

“Brent, Marcus, and Willow will meet us there, Grace’s crew as well,” Chaos was saying.