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“Jeremiah?”
Rukia’s voice cut through the blaze of noise around them, and Isaiah let his guard down long enough to look behind them.
A trio of immortals stood as their guard in front of them, and at the center was a wind Elemental who’d literally stopped bullets in midair. As the impact of Jeremiah’s power beat into him on a psychic and physical level, Isaiah gaped.
The red-haired man held absolute authority over every facet of his element.
It wasn’t until he blinked through his shock that Isaiah registered Derikles and Sia flanking the man. Both Raeths held swords at the ready, prepared to defend their sovereign with their very lives. Neither looked affected by the soundwave, and for that he was both surprised and immensely glad.
In a burst of wind, Jeremiah literally forced the mercenaries off their feet and had them careening backwards across the pavement, the gusts sending them down the street with unparalleled force. The abrasive soundwave cut out half a second later.
Promptly relieved of the oppressive sound, Isaiah’s senses righted instantly. He heard Derikles’ voice shouting above the riptide of wind half a second later.
“Isaiah, teleport!”
He didn’t think twice. He brought them to the first place he could think of: Paracel.
The teleport was rudimentary. They all ended up hurled onto the wood floor of the great hall as a result of the rapid retreat and the lingering effects of his distorted senses. Their bodies clattered unforgivingly into the hard surface, earning more than a few sudden curses.
“Damn!” Jeremiah exclaimed as he ran a hand gingerly over his hip, recovering the quickest. “Throw us on the floor, why don’t you.”
Rukia, still cradled in the protective circle of Isaiah’s arms but sprawled on the floor beside him, threw the wind Elemental a hostile glare. “If you haven’t noticed, he’s bleeding from the head.”
“Sovereign, are you injured?”
Removing his ear plugs, Derikles’ eyes met Isaiah’s, concern written across every inch of his face as he looked up from where he’d landed on the floor. Sia, who’d ended up beside him, wore the same transparent expression.
The impact of their care for him hit him like a Mack truck. He’d spent centuries holding everyone at arms’ length, avoiding attachment and shunning affection, but it’d found him anyway. Only now, with his mate in his arms, did he realize the error of his ways.
He spoke the only words that could form on his tongue. “You came for us.”
“Both of you seemed dead set on burning the house to ashes and killing yourselves in the process.” Jeremiah stood, rolling his shoulders languidly. “When you both vanished, we put two and two together. The other dignitaries offered their assistance, but once Nero contacted Derikles, we figured we’d have it covered when Sia joined the party.”
Isaiah’s face twisted in shock and skepticism. “The other dignitaries?”
“Nero and Aidan were eager to ride in with the calvary,” Derikles rose an eyebrow as he dusted himself off, “but we weren’t certain we could cover the teleport of a dozen people to your defense.”
Sia nodded solemnly. “Losing another sovereign and the werewolf alpha if things ended poorly didn’t bode well either. We staked a lot on the ear plugs working.”
Rukia tightened her grip on Isaiah’s torso, both of them still sprawled on the floor where they’d landed. Confusion deep in his voice, he looked to his second.
“Why would they want to help us?”
“Believe it or not, sovereign,” sincerely rang in Derikles’ tone, “regardless of your intentional apathy toward others, there are people who care about you. And your new mate, of course.”
None of them seemed surprised at the mention. “You felt our bond through the network?”
“She burns brightly, sovereign.” Sia’s face dissolved into genuine happiness for them both, and immediately Isaiah’s heart softened toward her.
Rukia stirred in his arms, bringing his attention back to the beauty he held captive. “Alright, sparky, stop crushing me.”
Smirk quirking over his lips, Isaiah released her so she could stand. He found his balance compromised by his ruptured eardrums when he followed her movement. She quickly locked an arm around his waist as he wavered.
“Steady there.” Rukia beamed up at him, her silky ebony hair a wild tangle around her features. “Wouldn’t want you falling head over heels, now would we?”
“It’d be disastrous, I’m sure.”
Even as the thoughts came unbidden to the forefront of his mind, standing here with her arms enclosing him, he knew that he could no more hurt her with his abilities than he could hurt himself.
