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“It uh…” he took a few staggered steps down the decline, continuing to study that horizon line.
“Aren?” I pressed, gently setting a hand below his shoulder blade.
He shook his head as if to clear it. “It’d be a cleansing of sorts.”
Somehow, that wasn’t comforting at all from where I stood and as Rika and I locked gazes, I gathered she felt much the same. Regardless, Brody nodded and began the steady march down the next slope as Jason—still in jaguar form—lowered his head so Rika could clamber between his shoulders.
Throat suddenly thick, I rushed to catch up to Aren’s impossible stride. Clearing away the lump, I asked, “So. Two ways to change the world?”
“Erm… yeah,” he breathed.
“You see a ghost, Commander?”
He forced a smile I certainly wasn’t buying. “Something like that. But uh… yeah. Two ways to change the world. According to Ansel, at least. I find myself agreeing with him.” It was the first time I’d heard him say Ansel’s name without his voice breaking. Still, the shadow in his eyes told me it hurt like hell. I knew that pain. Or at least… a shadow of it. I knew what it was to lose sisters. Probably more than most people ever did. But Ansel had been by Aren’s side for five centuries—I imagined it felt more akin to losing a limb. An extension of himself.
Needing to keep him talking, I pressed, “And those are?”
On a long-suffering sigh, he said, “By force, or by inspiration. It’s always been my hope that I would only ever rely on the latter.”
“August and Ansel said you never use your command?”
“I save that for life and death circumstances.”
“It seems August intends to follow your footsteps.”
His expression softened measurably. “Ahh, the ripples.”
Grinning, I slipped my hand into his, laughing when Rika squealed as Jason leapt up the mountain with her. With the warmth of laughter in my ribs, I asked, “What about you? When all of this is over, what will you change?”
“I love the mountains, but… if we make it through this, it might be time for that sleepy stretch of coast,” he said, smirking affectionately, as if it were a given I’d be there. My mind flashed back to that beautiful day in Florida—his gift in the water—and my heart ached. It felt like a lifetime ago.
“Still thinking Naples?”
“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Or maybe it’s time I get some fresh scenery.”
“Amalfi?”
“Better,” he rumbled with a smile, “but there are so many tourists. I always had a soft spot for Montenegro. Maybe Croatia.”
“Never been,” I admitted.
“Not sure how they’ve fared through all of this, but it’ll be worth a trip.” Aren filled his lungs and released them, only to kneel, his hand pressed to the ground. Praying, I realized, as lightning flashed. Startled, I looked ahead, only to realize the storm was descending with unnatural speed, a gust of warm air blowing my hair around my shoulders. Like the rest of these godsdamned wards, it didn’t obey any natural laws.
“Catch up to the others,” he said calmly, rising and locking our hands together again. His voice might’ve been calm, but my heart rate was not.
Nodding, I hurried my stride. Jason and Brody had both halted their progress under a massive canopy of pine.
“All we can control is how we respond,” he reiterated sagely. When I glanced sidelong, I found a cheeky grin, and challenge in those winter blues.
Nodding, I broke into a run as the sky broke open above us, a downpour crashing onto the ground.
The iridescent moss of The Middle wasn’t like earth, though—there was no mud to slide in, just wet ground. We were soaked in moments. Rather than rushing for cover, Aren turned his face up to the sky and laughed, his arms spread wide as he bellowed, “Take us home!!”
And then the beautiful asshole hit me in the face with a magic water ball. Mouth agape, I stared, wide-eyed, only for him to do it again. Drenched, I narrowed my eyes on his grin—
And retaliated.
Instead of shielding himself, Aren took the hit, that iconic boom of laughter warming my chest as he immediately laid chase.
