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“A temple and my mother,” she replied, because what else could she do? “I’m going to find it first.” But where to start? Back to the beginning? The Hall of Secrets, where she’d first heard that whisper? “You’re staying here like a good little prisoner.”
“No. Wherever you go, I will be accompanying you.”
Ha! “I’m the seer in this relationship, and I say you’re staying put. Not that we have a relationship,” she added in a rush, her cheeks heating.
“We have a relationship all right,” he said, and he didn’t do it with resignation or dismay but fierce determination. “And I will catch up to you shortly. Before I go, I plan to ensure the Astra understand me better.”
She didn’t mean to, but she grabbed his shoulders through the bars, rose to her tiptoes, and kissed him. “Be alive when I return or heads will roll.”
“Carrot,” he said, letting her go, “you can check me for injuries in five minutes. That’s all I require to find you.”
No way he could escape the Astra, even with his shifting ability. They’d nixed the ability with that cuff.
She pressed another swift kiss to his lips before spinning and racing off to prepare for victory.
Rathbone stood rooted in place as Neeka disappeared around a corner. They hadn’t solved anything, but he wasn’t letting her leave this palace without him.
“Are you in love with the oracle?” his guard asked, appearing perplexed. Ian was Roc’s younger and more powerful brother. The original Astra Commander who’d lost his position when he’d refused to sacrifice his virgin bride.
An excellent question. Neeka was flighty and forgetful upon occasion and treacherous always. But she was also soft and warm and eager to unveil her brilliant smile. A true partner willing to step up and do whatever proved necessary to get a job done. Take a blow and stay down? Not his carrot. She raised her chin and forged ahead. He’d hurt her deeply, yet she’d still come to him. Still protected him, in her own way.
Love or not, he’d meant what he’d said. He was keeping her. Woe to anyone who attempted to separate them.
“It’s my guess you Astra are impervious to whatever substance you add to your metal. A substance you use to weaken prisoners and prevent them from flashing and even shifting. Am I right? Let’s find out.” As he spoke, he transformed into Roc’s image without problem. Since he’d been Roc before, he carried the male within his genetic makeup now. With a slight pull, the metal split from his wrist. “Oh, yes, I’m right.”
Ian tilted his head to the side, scanning up and down, as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
Rathbone grinned, but not with amusement. A bubbling well of fury-tinged determination powered the action. “Tell Azar the next time he sees me, he dies.” That said, he teleported throughout the palace until he found Neeka in a bedroom, bent over a bed, shoving piles of jewelry into a bag.
Shedding Roc’s image in favor of his own, Rathbone appeared directly behind her. He gripped her by the waist and spun her, towering over her much shorter frame. “The King of Agonies reporting for his injury check, ma’am.”
She yelped, taking a swing at him. Rathbone ducked, hooked his arms around her thighs and yanked her feet out from under her. Her shriek nearly broke his ears as she fell onto the mattress.
He sprang up, pinning her. “What else did you see in your vision?” he repeated, as if their conversation had never lagged.
“Oh! You are so annoying. But there’s no time to flirt.” She beat at his chest with her fists without any real heat. “I saw Lore’s remaining bones, okay? They’re somewhere I’ve never been and can’t picture, so I don’t know how to get there. But I do know where I can snatch a clue.”
“What do you plan to do with the bones?” What didheplan to do with them?
“I’m still figuring things out.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face, a new habit. One he expected to perform on a daily basis as Neeka’s consort. Being her male had changed things for him. All his childhood, he’d yearned to belong. Now he did. The most cuddly, devious harpy had picked him as her partner. A title he wore with pride. She lit a fire inside him no other could quench.
“Where do you wish to go?” he asked.
“With you? Nowhere.” Her gaze darted. Searching for someone, anyone else to transport her? Too bad.
He pinched her chin, forcing her attention on him. “With me oryougo nowhere.”
Frustration pulsed from her. “I’m returning to Nova, okay? To save a few minutes, I need to avoid Kanta and his theatrics. Azar can flash me straight to the red door. Speaking of the Astra, he’s using you as an insurance policy. I have to give him the orb and remaining bones or he’ll kill you, blah, blah, blah.”
“We go together, even if we go with Azar,” he announced, ignoring the insurance police nonsense. “That’s how things will be from now on.”
“No way. You and Azar will be all over each other, and I’ll be the third wheel,” she grated up at him. “Again.”
“I told you. You are theonlywheel, carrot.”
“And for another thing—” Wait. “The only wheel?” she eked out. “You’re ditching Lore, not just the stable?”
