AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jagger hissed and felt the burn once more ripple along his heated flesh. Every inch of his six-foot-six frame trembled with the need to act, and he flexed his fingers in anticipation.
“I don’t have time for this,” he said as he began to move toward the exit. “Believe whatever the fuck you want, but your sister is my woman. We’re mated and I will do whatever it takes to protect her.”
The man’s face was pained and he inhaled a ragged breath as his talons receded and his flesh morphed back into its human shape. His blue eyes were piercing. “She was mine to protect and I failed.” He exhaled harshly. “Did she open the path to the portal?” the eagle asked as he ran his hands through his thick blond hair.
“It wasn’t here,” Jagger answered, scowling as he continued. “I have no clue where it is, and at this point I don’t care.” He shot a look at the eagle. “I’ve got a bigger problem and its name is Azaiel.”
The eagle knight’s face whitened considerably. “Azaiel? He’s here? In this realm? How is that even possible?”
“I don’t know, but he came for her last night, used some of his fucking mojo on me and I need to get to her before …” Jagger exploded, his fury making him nearly incoherent. “If anything happens to her …” He couldn’t go on, not wanting to follow where his thoughts were leading.
“How long ago?” Finn asked as he moved toward Jagger.
“I’m guessing a few hours at least, which means I don’t have time to play catch up with you.” Jagger moved around the eagle, dismissing him, his mind already pushing ahead.
“He’s leading her to the portal.”
Jagger paused and turned back to the eagle knight. “You know where it is?”
Finn stared at him and then sighed heavily. “I only just learned where the real Cave of the Sun is located, I hope we’re not too late.”
Jagger stilled at Finn’s words, not liking the bleak look that hid behind the eagle shifter’s eyes.
“What’s going on that you’re not telling me?” he asked sharply.
“You don’t know, do you?”
Jagger’s anger exploded. “Know what? I don’t have time for these games. Can you
help me get to her or not?” His breathing was rough and the animal stirred beneath his skin, causing a burn to ripple along his flesh.
The eagle clenched his hands and Jagger could see he was struggling with something. “It should have been me, but the DaCostas …” He turned eyes that blazed with anger toward him. “I’d kill every last one of them if I could.”
“Yeah, get in line,” Jagger snarled. “You were saying?”
“To seal the portal requires a sacrifice.” He pinned Jagger with a black look. “Skye can only do that by sacrificing her soul.”
“Well, what the hell does that mean?” Jagger asked the question even as the dread that had been kicking him in the gut went into overdrive.
“It means that if Skye succeeds in sealing the portal she will never return.” Finn’s voice was dead. “She’ll be trapped forever in the demon realm.” He paused and his face went white.
In hell.
The eagle knight’s words exploded inside Jagger’s brain and for several long minutes he couldn’t breathe. It felt like his world had been suspended. The pain was incredible and he felt the anguish gathering inside his heart as his soul cried out in denial.
He knew what she’d been keeping from him. She’d never planned on having a life with him because she wasn’t coming back.
The fury he felt in that moment was unprecedented. If Skye were here in front of him right now, he wasn’t sure if he’d kiss every inch of her in relief or fucking kill her.
He couldn’t accept that she’d open his heart and then slam the door shut. He snarled loudly and turned away. It was simple, really.
He wouldn’t accept it.
“I’m going after your sister. I don’t give a flying fuck whether she’s sealed the portal or not, because even if she has, I will find a way to get to her.” Jagger clenched his teeth, welcoming the anger. “And when I do, hell will be the least of her worries.”
Jagger felt his power erupt along his spine, flowing out to every cell in his body as mist wound its way along his flesh, bringing with it the heavy black fur of his warrior.
Finn was already morphing into his animal form as the two men erupted from within the dark recesses of the cave. To most in their world, it would have been a peculiar sight, a jaguar and an eagle, enemies for centuries and yet now thrown together by fate.
