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“Absolutely.” I held my hand up in the universal girl scout honor pledge. “Wham, bam, thank you ma’am and I’m gone.”
Axel relaxed on a chuckle, but only minutely. “Fuck.”
With one last hug for Axel, I wrapped my arms around Chayton and gave him a sweet kiss.
“I’m not giving up on the bond. Just know that, okay?”
“I know,nizhóní. Neither am I.”
I hated pulling out of his arms, but I wanted to say goodbye to Dason as well.
“Don’t give me that look.” Dason arched a brow, his arms crossed over his muscular chest.
“What look?”
“Like you’re saying goodbye. This isn’t that. You’re only saying see you in a few minutes, understand?”
I laid my hands on his forearms and nodded. “Sir, yes sir.
His mouth ticked up on one side. “Be careful and listen to Jolon.” He nodded toward the other man, acknowledging him as my alpha. “I wouldn’t let you go if I didn’t trust him with your life.”
Jolon and Dason shared a long look before Dason melted and pulled me into his arms. I breathed him in and closed my eyes, laying my head against his warm chest.
Over the last couple of days, Dason had become a safe place for me. Wherever he was, I wanted to be, and now I had to go on this journey without him.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust my other mates, far from it, but a bond had formed between Dase and me when he’d saved me from the vampires and cared for me, and I wanted him with us when we faced what, in the pit of my stomach, I knew was going to be a difficult challenge.
It took all my strength to pull away from him and leave them all behind, joining Jolon, Syler, and Kota by the entrance to the mausoleum.
They watched me go, and I smoothed my hands down my jeans to calm my nerves.
“Ready?” Jolon inquired, and after one last deep exhale, I nodded.
Syler used a blast of magick to break the stone door that sealed the grave, and Jolon illuminated it with his magick. I coughed then gagged, leaning over as I dry heaved.
Kota rubbed my back until I got myself under control and stood straight again, though my knees wobbled more than before, and my stomach was a twisted mess.
“I thought mausoleums weren’t supposed to smell like this.” I covered my nose, took a deep breath of as much clean air as I could, and stepped inside, following Jolon and Syler into the dark depths.
“It’s not surprising. This one has been through hell and back from the shade attack, and it’s been neglected ever since,” Kota said, covering his nose with his sleeve.
Rows upon rows of graves lined the walls, each one a perfect rectangle, though many of the stones were cracked, which was probably where the smell came from.
Dust and cobwebs littered the interior, and a snake slithered past when Jolon’s light spread across its hiding spot.
I jumped, and my heart raced, but I picked my way along the severely slanted floor, trying not to brace myself on any of the graves along the walls. The last thing I needed to see were skeletons or decaying remains.
My stomach rolled again, but I soon forgot about it.
At the far end of the mausoleum was an indescribable energy.
“God.” I picked my way over the debris, shouldering past the others as I moved toward it. The need to get closer blossomed like a flower in spring, unfurling in my chest until it was undeniable. I’d heard witches talk about vortexes of energy before, and if there was any way for me to describe the pulsing thrum of power along the back wall, that had to be it.
Catching part of a design on the floor, I bent down and brushed the dirt away with my fingers, revealing a symbol carved into the stone. It was faint, and so aged and covered with dust it was hard to see, even after cleaning it up.
“No wonder the shades missed this place,” Jolon commented while shining the light so it bounced off the stone walls, studying the rest of the interior. “Who knows if they can sense energy the way we can, and that symbol wasn’t super obvious.”
Syler signed, and Jolon translated. “Or they couldn’t open it.”
