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He noted the terror in her voice and glanced down in time to see a giant shark-like creature rise out of the depths below. The creature had a razor-sharp sail for a dorsal fin, and a long snout with rows of jagged teeth that reminded Zenix of a dinosaur from the ancient past.
Nolan let out a scream as the creature bit down on his leg as he tried to swim away. The water churned as he struggled against its hold on him, then they both disappeared as he was dragged under. The only thing left behind in the sudden silence was a small circle of light that slowly faded.
“What the fuck?” Zenix wheezed out.
“No more boat rides,” Ayla said, shivering slightly.
He could tell she was still in shock, but at least she was safe. And that was all that mattered. “Yeah,” he agreed. “No more boat rides. Can you carry me back to the island?”
Instead of answering that question, she started flying toward home. “Zenix?”
“Yes, mate?”
“I don’t think any of my fans will be bothering us on the island.”
Hugging her tightly, he pressed his lips against the small cut on her neck. “I guess there’s a bright side to every situation.”
Epilogue
Zenix watched asAyla danced her way across the stage of the new concert hall. He felt immense pride each time he watched her perform, but this time was extra special since it was the opening night of her new show.
What should have taken months to construct had only taken a few days after Dragon Warrior Eden Nazira had shown up on Evo. While the Dragon Warrior had no interest in the mixed reality game, she had been curious enough to visit Evo in order to study the dangerous creatures living on the planetoid.
News of the tragic death of one of the members of Contagious had traveled fast. In honor of Ayla’s friendship with the rest of the band, they had kept the truth of the situation quiet. Instead, they had told everyone that Nolan had fallen overboard after getting drunk, and Ayla and Zenix had tried to save him.
Sometimes, a lie was more humane.
While they had all been worried the death would cause problems for the game launch, it actually had the opposite effect. More reservations had been made in the wake of Nolan’s tragic demise since everyone had been talking about the incident for weeks.
Ayla’s shock and grief had left her feeling heartbroken. She’d thought of Nolan as a friend and a surrogate little brother and had never even considered that he might mistake her kindness for something more. Zenix had tried to assure her that nothing she’d done had caused Nolan’s actions.
Sometimes crazy was just crazy.
Zenix hadn’t been able to make himself care about Nolan’s death. The bastard had tried to hurt Ayla, so the crazy fucker had gotten the end he’d deserved. He kept that opinion to himself, though he knew his mate had probably heard it through their bond.
Her friends and family had rallied around her, helping her through the worst of her grief and sadness. But what had helped her the most was simply spending time with Zenix. Every day they spent together, their bond grew stronger. So did his abilities, which had shocked them both.
He’d started getting premonitions about whenever she was in danger, both in dream form and in flashes while he was awake. Perhaps it was his love and worry for her that had caused the change. Whatever the reason, he was grateful for it.
So far, he’d been able to prevent her from being injured in big and small events. He had saved her from breaking a finger while playing the game on one of the other islands and had stopped her from getting hit by a ball thrown by a careless visitor on the mainland. He’d even prevented her from getting a paper cut from reading an old book and had caught her seconds before she’d fallen after the heel of her shoe had broken.
He loved being her safety net and had truly learned how to appreciate his abilities by using them to protect her. Keeping her safe was certainly a full-time job, and he felt better knowing that she had a team of guards that followed her wherever she went.
Because of Ayla’s unique security issues, their island had been kept private and closed off to visitors. After mating with Travis, Lina had quickly changed her opinion about staying on the planetoid. Both of them had been overjoyed with the idea of Ayla setting up a show on Evo, and Ayla had been equally as thrilled to have them as her closest neighbors.
Artem had officially moved into one of the villas, while Ayla’s guards, band members, and some of their permanent crew members had also decided to make their new homes there on the island.
Since some of her staff and crew might not want to relocate to Evo, Ayla had called a meeting with them, giving them all the option to stay or go. Whatever they had decided, she supported their decision. Fortunately, most of her crew had decided to stay on, excited about the prospects of the new residency on Evo.
And while they had been busy planning the new show, Eden Nazira had shown up.
Ayla had become friends with the Dragon Warrior after she had attended one of her concerts. After that, they had met up several more times as Eden traveled around exploring the different space stations and planets.
Zenix had never met Eden, but he did know her sister, Amari, who was mated to his friend, Roman Newgate. It had been a little strange for him when Eden had arrived out of the blue and announced she would be staying with them, but seeing Ayla happy about their visitor had made him automatically agree.
Thankfully, the Dragon Warrior had simply meant she would be staying close by. Using her magic, she had created herself a guest house further down the beach. While she’d been at it, she had also built Ayla a brand-new recording studio next door to their home.
Since she liked Ayla’s music, Eden had also constructed a new concert hall on the mainland. The Artanes had been a little irritated when she had put it right in the center of a large park, but they had stopped complaining when she had simply lifted the entire building and moved it somewhere more suitable.
