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“I don’t know. I’ve wondered the same thing. Some has to be Aetas’ energy, but the aura is off. Something or someone doesn’t want anyone inside. It feels wrong to me, almost threatening. But I can’t help but feel drawn back. I long to be here, Hunter, and I don’t know why.”
My hand dropped. “If that is your wish, I will get you inside. Maybe not today, but I promise I won’t stop until I find a way.”
Her head cocked to the side and something was going through her mind, but I wasn’t sure what it was.
“If you can get me in, maybe this feeling will go away. Maybe then I will be at peace.”
“Then what?”
She glanced back at the door. “If I have no reason to stay from the outcome, and Marko does not show improvement,” she turned back to me, pausing. “I will leave with you and we will do what we must to save our kind.”
I had Tessa in my arms before I could help myself. My lips crushed into hers for only seconds before I placed her off to the side and charged at the door with all of my strength. Hitting the metal was like falling multiple stories and landing on the pavement. I grabbed my shoulder, blinking past the stars in my vision.
“That isn’t regular metal or I would have gone right through it.”
Tessa took a deep breath. “I could have told you that. Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just took me by surprise is all.” I immediately stepped back, scanning the front. No windows. “Stay here.” I took off at a fast pace, moving around to the side of the marble building. My eyes ate up every inch as I looked for any sort of opening I could come across. The back was solid as was the other side. As I met Tessa back in the front my teeth clenched in aggravation. If I could ease her mind, we could leave here. We could be together. Alone and away from this new Marko. “The door is the only way in.”
“Then it is impossible.”
“No. Nothing is impossible. They put the body inside. If they got in, so can we.”
Tessa glanced around the surroundings. With cautious steps, she moved even with the door, putting a good few feet between them. “Steady yourself. I have a feeling we’re about to get hit with one hell of a shockwave.”
“You think it’s protected by a shield?”
Worry came to Tessa’s features. “Yes. My concern is, whose?”
“Don’t. Not yet. We’ll save that for last. What about our gift? Can we turn to smoke and try to slip through the crack in the door? Or materialize ourselves inside?”
“Not the materialization. We’ve never been in there. You can only materialize yourself into a place you’re familiar with. Our fog …we could try, but if there’s a shield, we’ll be blocked.”
“Dammit.” A small sound left me. “Let’s try to slip in, then.”
Smoke began to pour from underneath Tessa’s dress and I tried to focus, but my gift still didn’t come easily. A good minute went by while Tessa appeared as a dark smoke around me. Finally, my hands began to fade. Once it began, I was gone within seconds.
We both pushed toward the door, our essence merging as we filled the entire surface of the barrier. I could feel a tug against my energy and I let it lead to the very top. The pressure we hit was all the conformation that was needed. There was a shield, but amazingly Tessa’s strength was able to push into it. The force stuck to us tightly, swallow us whole as we penetrated through. The snap that popped against my energy was like being hit with bullet. The pain took my breath away and I went to pull back on instinct, but Tessa wouldn’t let me. She surged forward and I was suddenly falling, hitting the marble floor with a hard thud.
Darkness poured around me and Tessa was standing over me, pulling me up.
“Hurry, we won’t have much time,” she rushed out.
Panicked for her safety, I scanned the dim surroundings. It was dark, but a glow toward the center of the room gave me enough light to see that the room was almost completely empty. There was two things present—a marble rectangle the size of a body, and a weird machine that had a red flashing light.
“Aetas?” I was already running forward, as was she. We arrived at what had to be the casket at the same time. Our hands settled on the lid and we looked at each other. Tessa’s face was full of fear and I knew I had to have been displaying the same emotion. My mind was screaming that this was wrong, but I had to put my mate at ease.
“I have to see,” she whispered
We both pushed at the same time, easing the heavy marble up. Tessa’s breath hitched and my own got caught in my throat. A cry filled the space and she gripped to my arm.
“Oh, God. Help us. Help us all.”
Chapter 22
Marko
Tessa’s voice stirred me from a deep sleep, lifting me from the darkness, into such a place of light that I could have cried. And she was crying. Looking at me as she sobbed. Just as she began to come into focus, the lid was slammed shut and I was back in the dark. It all happened so fast that I wasn’t sure if I was still dreaming.
