“We can talk about my genius later.” Emery strode over, all business. “Penny, you need to get out of here.” He slung a backpack over his shoulders. “That elf is going to follow our group until we can give it the slip, so no one should be guarding the portal from this side. But you have to go now. Do not, under any circumstances, let an elf stop you. It’ll want to question you, and that’ll lead to torture. Do you understand— What are you doing?”
Penny’s hands were moving, clearly working magic. “I’m putting up a screen to deaden the trail Charity’s magic is making. Right now, I bet that elf is making use of it. Oh, also, I’m not going back.”
“Yes you are.” Emery grabbed her upper arms and turned her to the left. “You are going back. It’s too dangerous to stay with us.”
“It is safer to be in danger with you, where you and all these fine shifters will take lead, than in supposed safety with Reagan, who creates trouble and then shoves me in front of her while laughing. Besides, you need me. Without me, you’ll have no idea when Charity’s magic is seeping out of her, calling anyone who can feel it—”
“My magic is a low hum now,” Charity said, her voice cutting through the dual-mage’s argument. It reeled in Devon’s focus. Her glow, which had been absent moments before, pulsed within her, breathtakingly beautiful. “It feels better.” Her words were almost a whisper, sultry and sensual. So much stronger. “Everything feels better. You feel better.”
Steve tensed, tightening his lips, and shook his head. His body was still responding to her sensuality and probably her proximity.
Devon couldn’t take it anymore. He was standing on human legs before he’d thought to change. Breathing heavily, weak from the effort and the energy exchange, he nonetheless stalked over to Charity as the dual-mages finished their argument, and took her from Steve’s arms.
Her smile was just for him. The love in her eyes increased the speed at which their energy and magic pinged back and forth until it seemed like they were sharing all of it. Like they were one.
“Am I too heavy?” she asked him, curling up in his arms as Devon followed Emery and Penny through the brush.
He hugged her close, feeling the reassurance of her magic curling around and within his. He’d almost lost her. She was alive because of the dual-mages, a debt Devon would repay if it was the last thing he did.
“You’re light as a feather,” he whispered, hiding the strain from his aching and energy-starved arms. The small hairs on the back of his neck rose to attention. Danger was drawing closer. “Faster, Emery. That elf has gained speed.”
Emery glanced back with a furrowed brow. “Shifters can sense predators on their tail?”
“It seems that shifters with the help of fae magic can.” He gave Charity a squeeze. “Thanks for arranging that boost in my effectiveness.”
“Good,” Emery said. “Keep me updated. Powerful elves can run as fast as elder vampires, and they are every bit as vicious and cunning. In fact, aside from what they eat and the fact that one is born, the other created, there isn’t a whole lot of difference between the two.”
“Can they track?” Charity asked.
“They bring in other magical species to track for them,” Emery said, emerging from the brush onto a thin dirt path. He took a left, heading toward a thick wood with moss weeping from branches and vines draping between the trees. Light reduced down to murky shadows and pools of black, emanating a forbidding feeling that urged Devon to turn away. “If we see one of those on our trail, we’ll need to kill it. They’re better than any dog. Better even than a hellhound on a blood trail.”
“A hellhound…on a blood trail?” Penny asked, looking behind them with wide eyes. “That’s a real thing?”
“You don’t know much about the magical world either?” Charity asked her.
“Not really. I didn’t know about magic growing up. I’m still learn—” Penny stubbed her toe and fell face-first into Emery’s back. He slowed as she clutched his shoulders to pull herself back to her feet. Once there, they walked on without saying a word. They’d learned to rely on each other, to share their strength.
Much like Devon and Charity were doing.
He couldn’t help but squeeze her again, and when she turned his way to see why, he stole a quick kiss. He’d be relieved when this was all over and they could get back to their lives.
“The time will come when you need to make a choice. A choice that concerns the rest of your life and, more importantly, her life. I cannot see when this choice will come, but you will know when it is before you. The choice you must make will be against your heart. Against everything you’ve always wanted. Against your very being. To save Charity’s life—to give her a life—you must take the hard road, sacrifice your heart, and let her go.”