Limb by limb, the giant broke and shattered until Eiravel tackled it to the ground and smashed its head under his booted foot.
“Well, that was fun,” Cynes said, trying to catch his breath.
Heath still wanted to kill Cynes. “Shut up.” Heath looked to Kallan. “The Renegades?”
“They are at the hideout for now. They wouldn’t leave until they knew you were safe.”
Heath nodded. The Renegades were not all they appeared to be. Mercenary and ruthless, for sure, but they had reasons to be that way.
“He’s got a Foraltae. She’s invisible, but hot.” Cynes grinned at Heath. “She’s trapped in the Forgotten Tower. We may have royally fucked our mission ‘cause Silva isn’t a bitch at all, and we may not make it out of here alive. I think I’ve caught you up.”
Heath silently counted to ten. “Cynes.”
Cynes lifted his hands. “What? He was going to ask.”
Heath looked to make sure Ash was safe, and his heart swelled when she stood at his side. He couldn’t feel her physically, but just seeing her was amazing. He took the time to fill Kallan and Teague in properly.
Teague whistled. “Shit. That’s a … lot. So Joran … why don’t I remember him?”
Kallan shook his head. “Because you never cared for politics. He was the creator of the criminal exiling.” Kallan jerked. “I remembered that.”
Yeah, it seemed learning from his Foraltae was opening all of their minds. Like simply one of them speaking the truth helped others see it too. She was saving their lives and didn’t even know it.
“Thank you, Ash.”
She frowned at Heath. “For what?”
“For helping us.”
“Oh, that’s right. Invisible,” Teague commented. “I am Teague, a bard Unseelie.”
“And I am Kallan, holder of rivers.”
“Merry met, Kallan and Teague,” Ash greeted.
“She said, ‘Merry met,’” Heath passed on.
Kallan crossed his arms over his chest. “So we are going to this Forgotten Tower and going up against a Norn to get your Foraltae.”
“It seems like it.”
“Heath, you always find yourself in the worst of problems.”
Heath couldn’t argue with Kallan. For once, though, he was sure of why he was going. “Let’s get out of this place and rest up before making the trip. We’ve got plenty of running to do.”
“What he means is, let him spend time with his woman,” Cynes added.
Yep, I’m going to kill this fucker one day.
Chapter Ten
The familiar sunny home and piled firewood sprawled before Heath as he stalked toward the front door. If he was here, he knew Ash was too. Every mile he got closer to her, she became more real, spent more time at his side, and that made him happier than he ever thought possible.
He set a punishing pace for he and his cadre during his waking hours, pushing his body to exhaustion until he could sleep.
And Ash was always beside him.
Through every curve and turn, Cynes marked their progress on his map, Kallan tested the boundaries of his portal making to get them out once they had Ash, and Eiravel watched for enemies. Even Teague helped with camps and provided snacks.
