“It’s about to get weird, babe. Just bear with me.”
She frowned as he turned his hair a warmer brown and made his eyes match, hiding the silver sparks.
“You look …” Asherah stepped closer, running her hands over his now sable-covered jaw. “This is different, but still you.”
“You know we’re in danger here, yeah?”
“I know. You changed your look to hide yourself.”
“Exactly. We can go meet up with the Renegade wolves then head to Silva.”
Asherah shook her head. “Fate with me.”
Heat spread across Heath’s cheeks. Um, no. It was not the time to be talking about fucking his woman. “We can–”
“Fating makes us life bonded. If there are those who would see you dead, my sister will stop them if for no other reason than to save me.”
Heath couldn’t argue with her there, and he couldn’t deny nothing would making him happier than seeing his mark across her chest and shoulders. But this wasn’t how he’d planned to do it.
“Look, he’s got performance anxiety. Maybe he won’t be able to get it up.” Cynes chuckled.
“I assure you my male gets it up just fine and keeps it there.”
Cock at full mast.
“I just wanted it to be ours,” Heath muttered.
“I know, but it helps us now. It won’t change the fact that we are Fated. We had our moment in the dream.”
He could accept that. The first time they came together hadn’t been about anyone else but them. This time … he’d make sure it was good for her no matter what.
“We can travel to the end and have the wolves keep watch. We don’t have any other choice,” Kallan offered. “She’s right about having something to stay their hand other than our battle prowess.”
“So be it,” Heath agreed. “We can catch a ride there. The more we’re not on the streets, the better.”
Ash stared at the paved roads, her face slack with awe. Heath looked around Encantado with fresh eyes. The brown and green of the trees, the delicate blue of the sky. Everything was different for her, he knew. She’d been in the In Between so long she barely remembered Seraph, but even her homeland looked nothing like this world.
He couldn’t say he didn’t miss being here, that he didn’t love the hustle and bustle of living in such a large city. But he also felt the executioner’s blade at his neck. Dominic ran a large area within Encantado, and his wolves would be gunning for him. He also had Kalinda at his side, and she was the strongest mage in the city. Even the Guardians, for all their skill, technically weren’t stronger than her. It was their experience and knowledge that made them more dangerous.
Thinking he didn’t want to deal with them any sooner than he had to, Heath moved the group away from the touristy location of the Scorched Earth Memorial walls. They could blend in as best they could and keep heading north to the main thoroughfare.
He tucked Asherah against him, pained that he had to stop her innocent exploration of what she was seeing. But she went without complaint. By the time they reached a road, he was sweating. Power raced over them, seeking, measuring, but he held his glamour tight. He recognized the pull of the Guardians, and he needed to get all of them the fuck out of here.
Tossing his hand in the air, he hailed three cabs. They could all travel to the Cirque Inn just on the outskirts of District 17. It would put them close enough without being found by anyone before they were ready. It’s where he had hidden with the others before.
“Where to?”
“Cirque Inn.”
The cab driver turned around. “You a resident? No one goes there when they’re visiting.”
Exactly. “Yeah, I know where the real fun is.”
“Got you. We’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
Asherah dug her nails into his thigh as the cab pulled from the curb, and he tucked her face into his chest and held her. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling. The first time he’d seen a car, it was slow and spunky, puttering in the streets slower than he could run. But it gave him time to get accustomed to it. Now, he took for granted many of the modes of transportation the humans and mages used.
Asherah was being tossed in at warp speed, without any chance to slow down.
