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“I think we surprised him,” Chris replied. “I reached him first, Lightning speed and all, and seeing me was not something he’d expected. However, we need to find Jeff and leave now because our element of surprise is gone.”
We have Jeff and Tessa.Carmon’s words were welcomed with sighs of relief.We also have a small group of people to bring with us. Archer is among them.
Awesome, but we need to go now.Drew’s happiness, if he’d felt happy at fulfilling our mission, had dissipated.
We know. We’re on our way to you.Dalton followed up the conversation.
Brynn wiggled in my arms and her hazel eyes fluttered open. “Adam?”
“Hi, baby, how are you feeling?” I ran my fingers through her hair as her eyes closed again and she took in a deep breath.
“I’m about two seconds from freaking out again if that guy, the Mindo-something, is still hanging around.” Brynn scrunched her eyes closed as the others came around the corner.
“He’s gone for now, but we have to leave before he comes back. Come on. I’ll help you stand if you’re able.” Brynn helped me as I pulled her to her feet once I’d stood. A girl broke off from the group of people Carmon had brought with him.
“Brynn, are you okay?” The blonde girl seemed a little hesitant to approach, and her eyes danced between Brynn and me. Worry lines etched deeper onto her face the closer she came to us. When her eyes landed on my hands holding Brynn’s hips in an intimate manner—not a grip a stranger should have on her friend—her eyes narrowed up at me.
“I’m okay.” Brynn pulled from me and closed the distance between herself and the other girl. She didn’t slow as she reached the blonde but wrapped the other girl in a tight hug. They looked a little awkward, Brynn being so much taller than her friend, but they were close. The tight hug told me that much. How long had the two known each other? Brynn had never mentioned this blonde.
“You scared me to death, running off like that, but when that man followed…” Brynn’s friend shook, and her eyes closed. “Don’t ever do that again, Brynn.”
“I’m with her.” Archer stepped forward to talk to Brynn and gave her a hug, one Brynn reciprocated.
The boy jumped back at my growl. Archer and the new girl’s eyes widened when they caught sight of my glare. Yes, Archer was a friend, family even now that Cal was bonded to his sister, but Brynn was mine. How many other guys had she hugged? Not that she couldn’t, but I preferred males to stay away from my wife even if they didn’t know she was married. No one knew. Until today.
“Oh, uh, hey Adam. Nice to see you. Long time no see.” Archer gave me a hesitant wave while Brynn turned and glared at me.
“Be nice.” She crossed her arms over her chest, and I smirked at her.
“I am being nice, baby. I’m always nice.” My smirk turned into a cheeky grin, and she rolled her eyes.
Archer, however, cleared his throat. “Baby?”
“Time to go. Drew’s carrying Jeff while he’s passed out. Adam has Brynn’s back. Chris is covering both healers. The rest of you, cover our new friends.” Carmon began to pass out orders, and I took Brynn’s hand in mine to pull her close again. “The Mindolin will not want us to escape. Should he find us, he’ll most likely be after Adam’s head. Do what you can do defend him without being in his way.”
Someone cleared their throat, a male cadet judging by his uniform. “Excuse me. I’m sorry, but why do we have to protect Adam? Who is Adam?”
Carmon pointed to me. “That’s Adam. If you want this creature dead, you’ll want Adam alive. And Brynn.” My wife gave me a sidelong glance as Carmon continued, “You haven’t had a chance to see outside, have you? The city is destroyed, and more will fall if we don’t leave now.”
The collective gasp from everyone with us who hadn’t witnessed the carnage outside proved they hadn’t yet heard about the city. Well, they were about to see it firsthand.
“We’re with you, Commander.” Archer saluted Cal, a tactful way to bring the other cadets into line. His peers followed suit, and Carmon just waved them all forward, not wasting time with the formality. We’d already wasted too much time.
Cal led us at a full run, his Life element telling him where people were in the building.
I’d love to save more lives,he said as we neared our escape passage,but we’ve done our job. Tessa, Brynn, Archer, and Jeff were our number one priorities. The city will have to survive on its own. We can’t go up against the Mindolin yet. The longer we stay, the higher our chance is of running into him again.
Carmon sounded like he was trying to convince himself of this more than us. This decision, a decision no one should have to make, was why I backed him up. It was why I never wanted to lead.
We’ll follow you, Cal. Like we always do. We’re not questioning you.I sent as much reassurance to him as I could over our link, and Carmon surprised me when he sent gratitude back my way.
A chill spread over me again when we reached the doorway leading to the outside. This time, the chill wasn’t interior but outside my body, and the temperature continued to drop.
“What’s going on?” Grace ground out. “I can’t stop this.”
Grace, a Lower Air Elemental, controlled temperature. If she couldn’t stop the temperature plunge, who could?
Everyone’s arms wrapped around themselves, and their teeth chattered.
