Page 42 of Broken

It was just the job, he told himself. It was his responsibility to make her feel calm and safe.

But as he ran his hands through her fur, and she shifted position so that her warm weight pressed against his leg, he felt something inside him uncoiling and releasing, the warmth stealing inside him like it had last night.

He rubbed her fur for a long time, until they both fell asleep.

They slept through till dawn. Cole half-woke when Ireland sleep-Changed, just long enough to sleepily pull the extra blanket up from the foot of the bed to cover them, and lying back down with his arms around her.

She didn’t wake at all, just turned over and wrapped herself around him, her head tucked into the curve of his shoulder. He drifted off, inhaling her scent and letting it envelop him in comfort and contentment.

Until the dream started again. Once more, Cole was floating in that dim fog. And once again, Riker was there.

Cole studied him. He looked just like he had in real life—same eyes, same scars, same attitude.

“Shit,” Cole said. “Are you seriously going to show up every fucking time I fall asleep? Because that really will be hell.”

Riker sneered at him. “Quit bitching. At least you’re still alive.”

Well, there was that. But he didn’t need to pay for it by having Riker popping up in his dreams. “So pass over to the other side, why don’t you? Go towards the light. Or the flames. Whatever. You’re the last thing I need.”

“Wrong again,” Riker said. “You need me, and you need to get your shit together. You have to protect Ireland.”

“What the hell do you think I’m doing? In case there’s no windows to the outside where you are, I brought her to the Ridge.” Why was he defending himself? Riker wasn’t even real.

“Oh, you took her home like a stray puppy? What good is that going to do? You need to get out there and find the spell to get that bracelet off her. It’s the only way she’ll ever be safe.”

“From who?”

“The Bright Fae Council. Have you not been paying attention?”

“I’ve been busy not dying. There really hasn’t been time to chat, especially since Ireland is a wolf at the moment.”

Riker shook his head. “Yeah. Didn’t see that coming. When are you going to put her back?”

“I don’t know. I kind of like her this way. I think she thinks I’m hot.”

Riker snarled at him. “Figures you’d take advantage of her when she’s in trouble.”

“Isn’t that what you did?”

“You don’t know shit about me, Hunter. Never did.”

“Look, Riker, if you don’t have anything useful to say, get out of my head.”

“How’s this for useful? Your best buddy Thanatos is planning on breaking into one of the Bright Fae’s most dangerous strongholds. And he’s planning on using Rye to do it. So now that you’re bound to her, and have control of her magic, he’s going to sacrifice both of you to get what he wants.”

“Why the hell would he suddenly want to do that?”

Riker said, “To break a powerful Dark Fae out of prison, hotshot. And it’s not sudden. He’s wanted to do it for centuries. But he only just now learned she can be found, thanks to offing Maximilian and taking his entire magical library. She’s a sorceress, and he’s going to let her loose so they can wreak havoc on the world.”

Centuries? That would put a whole new light on what Thanatos was. But wreaking havoc on the world wasn’t his style, and Cole didn’t know why his subconscious would think it was.

Unless it wasn’t his subconscious…

He said, “Even if this is true, what do you want me to do about it?”

Riker said, “Leave the Ridge. Take the book, get the spell, and get that bracelet off Rye. And then leave her alone.”

“That was the plan.” Except for the leaving her alone part. He already didn’t know if he could do that.

Riker shook his head. “You’ll fall for her. Everyone does. But you need to walk away, or you’re the one who will destroy her. It’s what you do.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t know shit about me. Or Thanatos.”

Riker snorted. “You’re too trusting. He’s a sorcerer, same as Maximilian. They don’t care who they hurt, as long as they get what they want. He’ll feed you both to the Bright Fae and sleep like a baby at night. If he sleeps.”

This isn’t real, Cole told himself yet again. It’s just my fears talking.

“Get out of my head, Riker. And don’t come back.”