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He moved in close, sliding an arm around her waist. Ready when you are.
She closed her eyes and he felt her begin her locating searc
h. He also sensed the clarity of that search, that her skills had improved tremendously. Between the visions that were no longer marred with dark waves and what he sensed right now, he knew that Eve’s experiment had proved exactly the right therapy for Shayna. Her abilities felt solid in a way they hadn’t before.
Of course, she was siphoning his power, a steady stream that flowed out of him, something he loved. But Shayna had changed.
She took a long time as she extended her locator ability, and the minutes piled up.
Everything okay?
I’m trying to be thorough. I’m going continent by continent. The Western Hemisphere is clear.
He shared that with the group and a cheer went up.
He felt Shayna falter for a few seconds because of the noise, but she quickly put herself back on track.
A few minutes later Shayna sagged against him as she opened her eyes. “I didn’t find anything and trust me, I cruised the entire globe. There’s nothing there.”
Gabriel smiled. “While you were doing your search, I had another locator do her search—Adrien’s woman, Lily. She didn’t find anything, either. I think we’re good to go.”
The cheer that went up this time shook the air.
A wave of something Marius didn’t recognize at first flowed through his body and he kept cheering. The biggest, most dangerous obstacle his world had ever faced no longer existed.
He immediately called Rumy, who communicated the news to his security team. More cheering resonated through his phone.
Gabriel finally quieted everyone down and added another bit of information. “The team I just sent out, a hundred of my best men, got the slaves out, the ones living in squalor beneath the land bridge. No sign of Daniel, either. The women are safe.”
“Thank God,” Shayna murmured as another cheer went up.
When everyone had once again grown quiet, Gabriel dispersed his team but gave permission at the same time to spread the news far and wide. The latest threat to the peace and safety of their world had just ended.
Turning to Marius, Gabriel clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Well done. Now I have something I want to give Shayna with your permission, but it’s something of a surprise. Will you allow it?”
“Of course.” It went without saying that Marius trusted Gabriel with his life.
CHAPTER 13
The process of using Marius’s power and her own innate locating ability to search the earth for any trace of a remaining extinction weapon had left Shayna feeling strung out. But she couldn’t imagine what kind of surprise Gabriel had in store for her, although a hot bubble bath sounded really nice about now.
Shayna knew Gabriel was a really important person in Marius’s life. He was an exiled leader of their world and a father figure for Marius and his brothers. He was handsome with strong cheekbones, piercing gray eyes, and short, spiked black hair. Beyond that, he radiated a kind of warmth that instantly made her trust him.
“Follow me,” the Ancestral said.
She hopped on board Marius’s booted foot, a much easier task to accomplish given her running shoes, and settled against him. How comfortable the process had become since the first painful flight out of Seattle. She felt as though years had passed instead of just a couple of days, that she’d lived a lifetime with the man holding her tight and helping her feel secure.
The trip was short given that both men could fly at lightning speed, but the trajectory took them deep into the North African earth through cavern after cavern. A lot of the cave systems were layered one on top of the other, often amounting to hundreds of nonlinear miles—an unfathomable number.
Marius landed them in what proved to be a large, comfortable guest suite, with a broad, thin waterfall extending the entire length of the dining area. Soft lights at the base set the blue-flecked wall behind the water glittering.
All the furniture appeared to be made of mahogany with freestanding walls separating the rooms. Glancing up, she understood why. The tall curved ceilings were kept in their natural light-blue crystals, a physical structure very familiar to her. “Oh, my God, this is a geode, or at least part of one.” She’d never been more surprised.
Gabriel smiled. “Essentially, yes, one of the larger ones in our world. When this one was discovered and excavated, portions were shipped elsewhere to other dwellings to be shaped into new architectural features. But this is the original. I kept it for myself and had it made into a haven of sorts.”
“So you sometimes come here? This is part of your home?”
His smile broadened. “Not exactly. I have felt for a long time that someone would be coming into our world who could put this space to use, if just temporarily. Once I heard about you, Shayna, I decided that if the situation permitted, I wanted you to stay here.”
