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I stiffened and let that information pierce the haze in my mind. My blood whooshed fast, my fingers tingling. Eidolon was still trying to grow his power. He’d never stop
Ark gently went on, "If we get to the armoury and take whatever's there before Eidolon's storm reaches it, we'll have leverage to bargain for X's release."
I glanced away, swallowing thickly. He still had hope. Mine had been blasted apart by a single dream.
But I knew how it felt to be without hope, and I refused to take that from Arkan so I forced a nod.
"So," I rasped, my throat burned raw by emotion. "Are we taking the winged army, or going solo?"
Arkan's shoulders dropped, drawing my attention to the creased grey shirt he wore, then the two days’ stubble on his jaw. He expelled a rough breath, his eyes softening.
When a smile curled the edges of his mouth, I almost wept, and knew this was the right thing to do. Even if it killed me to leave Taj and Dev, Arkanneededthis and—and if he still had hope, he could hope for the both of us.
Until we saw a body, no matter how certain I was, no matter how empty I was inside, I couldn't trust that X was dead.
"Solo," he replied, stroking my jaw with his thumb. "The armoury is particular about who it grants entry; the more people, the less chance we'll get in."
"Why do I get the sense that chance is already pretty slim?" I asked.
"Slim is putting it mildly," Bel remarked, and then made a zipping motion across her lips when I shot her a look.
"Good thing we're stubborn," I told Arkan, trying so fucking hard to be the Avie I'd been three days ago. She would come back, right? If Dev and Taj recovered and we found X alive out there, she'd come back.
I ignored the sheer denial in my thoughts, and asked, "What exactlyisthe black armoury?"
Arkan opened his mouth to answer, but he glanced over the top of my head. I followed his line of sight and my stomachcrampedwhen I saw Shira sprinting through the crowd on the lawn. Her flawless hair was a little rumpled and there was a wide-eyed look on the beautiful medic’s crimson face.
"Babe?" Bel asked, her pert mouth falling open. "What is it? What's wrong?"
Babe?Well, that explained why Shira wasn't hung up on my mate anymore.
"It's Taj," Shira breathed, stumbling towards us and looking like she'd seen a ghost.
I backed up a step, only Arkan's grip on my hand keeping me from falling. He squeezed my hand so tightly, my bones rearranged.
"Did—is he—?" I choked out.
My bottom lip caved in, wobbling wildly; I couldn’t finish the question. My face scalded as tears built, the tip of my nose tingling.
Not Taj too, please.
Shira had the same eloquence as me; she just turned and flapped her hands in the direction of the hospital. The Company of Murkyr blurred as I pulled away from Arkan and raced numbly towards the big castle doors. My legs threatened to buckle at any moment, but I kept running.
A shadow filled the doorway before I could reach it and I nearly shoved past them until I noticed claws and followed a bulging grey arm veined with pulsing lava like scorched earth up to a monstrous face only a mother could love. Or only a mate.
My legs slipped out from under me and I cracked my knees on the stone tiles of the doorway when I fell, gasping for air. I barely felt the ache in my knees.
I couldn’t—couldn’t breathe—
"What are you doing on the floor, you crazy bitch?" Taj asked and knelt in front of me.
5
"Taj!" Arkan shouted with more emotion than I'd ever heard. A bomb went off in our bond, all three of us filling it with so much emotion that all I could do was sob. I tipped forward—and Taj caught me against his chest. He was warm and solid andhere. Alive—he wasalive.
I sobbed loudly, not caring that I was breaking down in public, that an army was behind me with a clear shot at my emotional scene. My mate was alive, and sure, he looked like shit, but he was walking and talking and holding me. He washolding me.
Panic speared my chest, distant but powerful, and I reached back, sinking into the reassurance of Joseph's soul like he was a hot pool after I'd nearly frozen to death.1
