She created a ten-foot radius around them, where the Hollows simply melted. She couldn't get rid of them all, but at least she could assist him.
Carlo shifted as best he could so he could speak to the others. “Get within her sphere of influence!”
Lennox was the first at his side, grabbing a Hollow by the head and tossing him into the air. He used fire to enhance his strength. Teague screamed again, creating a bloody path until he could move, sliding in with Kallan at his side.
“What is this ... this sphere?”
“Nanshe is doing it, Kallan. She can protect us and get us to the inside.” Carlo looked at his mate. “Do you know where she would be?”
Nanshe raised her eyes to the Forgotten Tower. “At the top. That's where it would be the most secure.”
Carlo followed her gaze, the building rising high into the sky like a jewel carved out to create the castle-like structure. The Gothic archways and architecture were breathtaking. If he wasn't so worried about getting in there as quickly as possible and saving Asherah, he might like it.
Oh, and if it wasn’t owned by a bitch who wanted them all dead, he might actually think this was a cool time to do some sightseeing.
“Easiest way to get in will be straight up the stairs, or we're gonna all port again,” Kallan offered.
Again with the fucking porting.
Nanshe, her hands spread at her sides, couldn’t hide the faint tremble in her limbs. She was maintaining the sphere for now, but she couldn’t do it forever. It was draining her, and Carlo didn’t like to see his mate pain.
It didn’t matter if he’d claimed her or not.
Gritting his teeth, he seethed, “Why didn’t we port directly in the first place?”
“We all can't port directly into each other's homes. We can port closely and then get deeper. I could have gone straight to the door in one jump, but I'm also trying to hide my presence as best I can. I’m hiding behind Kallan’s magic, and by doing so, it limits what I can do.”
Carlo nodded at Nanshe’s explanation.
“We have to take the stairs, or the port.” Kallan looked pointedly at Carlo. “I don't think it's a choice between which one we're going to do; we do one or the other.”
“Port it is,” Carlo finally agreed. “Because I want to get out of this goddessforsaken place as quickly as possible.”
“Finally, you have some sense in your head,” Kallan returned.
Carlo clipped the Fae on the shoulder in retribution for his smartass response, but he couldn't say the Fae was wrong.
Nanshe, make this as painless as possible.
“I'll do what I can.”
Nanshe lowered herself to the ground, pulling closer to the center of the men. “Everyone grab on to me and hold on tight.”
They did as she commanded, and then she lifted her head and screamed.
Carlo was worried about his mate, too worried to be afraid when the portal suddenly opened underneath them and they dropped through the hole.
He gripped her. “Are you okay?”
She said nothing, and the Chaos ripped away whatever response she tried to give. Before he could take his next breath, they were already sliding across the onyx floor in a room with a huge archway with glittering runes across it. But they didn’t glow or have the same power Carlo felt from Torin’s.
“They're not active,” Nanshe mused. “They're not holding anything. Where's Asherah?”
Carlo’s gaze swept the room. “She’s not here, and there aren’t any enemies either.”
What the fuck is going on?
