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“Hide with me.” I tried to reach for him, but my arms felt so heavy.
“I can’t.” He cradled me against his chest as he carried me through the boathouse. “The only way this’ll work is if I lure the demon away from you. Otherwise, he’ll just tear down the rest of the wards and find us both. I’ll make sure he sees me, and then I’ll head for open water and try to outrun him. I’ll also tell Carter where to find you, and he’ll make sure you’re okay.”
“No! Don’t go without me. I can help you.” Everything was going out of focus, and I began slurring my words.
“You’re no match for a demon. Neither am I, but at least I can do this—I can protect you, the only way I know how. You’re everything to me, Mateo, and I hope you can forgive me.”
I mumbled, “Please, Elias. Don’t—”
In the next instant, everything went black.
Chapter 7
I awoke slowly. I was someplace cold and dark, and there was the sound of wind and water. My head ached, and my mouth was dry.
When I could, I sat up and looked around me. I was on a wood floor in a small room, covered by a wool blanket. It was hard to concentrate, and a few seconds ticked by before the fog lifted enough for me to remember what had happened.
I staggered to my feet, not quite free of the potion’s effects, and opened the door to what turned out to be a small storage room. The boat was gone. I tried to reach out with my senses, but I couldn’t find Elias.
As panic welled up in me, I rushed along the walkway, using the wall to steady myself. When I reached the open gate, I looked out over the choppy sea, but there was nothing but wind and rain and darkness.
I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. I had no idea if Elias was safe, and I absolutely hated the fact that there was nothing I could do to help him.
Fear and anger fought for the top spot as I muttered, “Damn it, Elias.” I knew he thought he was doing the right thing, but I didn’t want to be left behind! I belonged at his side, so we could face whatever was happening together. Instead, he’d given me absolutely no choice in the matter, which was infuriating.
I retreated back a few feet to get out of the worst of the wind. Then I sat down on the walkway, pulled my hood up, and wrapped my arms around my knees.
There was no way of knowing how long I’d been unconscious. Not that it really made a difference. If it’d been five minutes or two hours, the result was the same. I was stuck here, helpless and frustrated, while somewhere in the night my mate might be fighting for his life.
Because it was the only thing I could do, I kept reaching out with my senses and trying to find Elias. Of course, that would only work if he was relatively close. Not like he’d come back here if he lost whichever of the brothers was pursuing him. It would be the first place the demon would look.
After a while, I felt a dark energy on the periphery of my senses. I could only hope it was Carter, but at this point I had no idea, so I got up and hurried back to the warded storage room. Then I looked around and picked up an old plank to use as a weapon, even though I knew that was ridiculous. If one of the brothers had come back for me, what was I going to do, smack him with it? All that’d do was get me killed faster.
As soon as the door was shut, I couldn’t sense that dark energy anymore. Then I realized the concealment spell on the storage room was working both ways, blocking anything in or out. I hated feeling cut off like that.
Minutes ticked by. I felt nauseous and my anxiety was through the roof, but all I could do was wait.
Suddenly, the door to the storage room was flung open, and a tall, dark figure loomed before me. Instinctively, I threw the board at his head, then thrust my hand out and hit him right in the gut with a ball of pure energy.
Carter staggered back a few feet, stopping just short of falling in the water. Then he doubled over with his hands on his knees and muttered, “Ow.”
I rushed to his side and asked, “Are you okay?”
He straightened up and dabbed at the spot on his forehead where the board had made contact. “I’m fine, but that didn’t feel great.”
“I couldn’t tell who it was through the wards you put in place, and I was worried the other demon had doubled back.”
