Page 106 of Veil of Night & Flames

His grip tightens. “But I am not going to pretend I have changed my mind about the barriers. I have not. I have, however, greatly changed my mind about my lieutenant. And I find that addressing her treachery is something I am very eager to tackle.”

“Tonight?”

“No. If I move tonight, she’ll know I’ve seen her true face. I’ll wait and let her think she still has time.”

“What do I tell Chase?”

“Everything I have told you. Every word. And tell him that the soldiers who answer to me—and not to her—will stand for the Real when the time comes, and that when there is work that needs us both, he need only send for me.”

“Okay.”

“And Beloved.” His thumb moves once over the back of my hand. “Would that you could stay with me, but I fear it is not safe.” A small smile touches his lips. “More, I know you would refuse. So promise me this—in the days coming, trust nothing that doesn’t reach you from Chase or me directly. Not my court. Not anyone who claims to carry word from me, however familiar they seem. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

Leth shifts, restless. The sky has begun to thin at one edge—the gray that passes for dawn in this realm.

“Go now,” he says. “There is no time.”

Then he cups my face in both hands and presses his forehead to mine before releasing me to take that long step forward back to the Realm of the Real.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Istep into Chase’s kitchen with a grin and a perky “I’m back,” and the second I do, this sexy, stalwart, totally chill ancient warrior not only jumps—he drops an egg.

It lands with a splat, and I can’t keep down my laugh.

“Now you’re in trouble,” he says, pulling me close and kissing me like he means it. And, yeah, I like it. A lot.

But not so much that I don’t push him away. “Sorry,” I say, with a shake of my head. “I need a man with nerves of steel. You jumped.”

“Startled,” he corrects. “The egg just slipped.”

I make a tsking noise as I shake my head, right up until he takes my wrist, tugs me to him, and presses my hand against what is a very nice erection.

“Oh,” I say. “I guess that kind of steel counts, too.”

He laughs, then pulls me in for the kind of long, slow kiss that says he missed me. When he finally draws back, his thumb moves once along my jaw. “Tell me everything.”

So I do. And the laughter goes out of the room as I talk, because there’s no funny way to say any of it.

“He knows,” I tell him. “Kali’s army. The creatures. All of it. I handed him the whole thing, and you know what he did?” My voice is climbing, and I let it. “Nothing. He still wants the barriers down. He’s just going to deal with Kali first.”

“Arrogant bastard,” Chase says. “He talks about all the realms breathing the same air like it’s a gift. But you can’t put the Others in a room with Retribution and call it unity. Retribution would gut them before the air even cleared.”

“Exactly. And when I pointed out that people from my realm are going to die, too, he agreed. That’s the part I can’t get past—that the Real getting torn apart is an acceptable loss to him.”

Chase is quiet for a moment. “That’s him,” he says finally. “He has a picture of what he thinks will happen, and he’s wrong. He has no understanding of just how intense the devastation in the weaker realms will be.”

“I cross my arms and scowl. “Oh, he understands.”

Chase shakes his head. “Whatever else he may be, my brother is not intentionally cruel. He is, however, ridiculously stubborn. Once he believes a thing, his path is set.”

I just scowl. What else can I do?