“Your skill is still gaining in strength.” He eased in behind me and stroked my arms.
“Hey, not so close, Guy. You’ve got to be careful too.”
He rested his chin on the top of my head, and rubbed as if trying to soothe me. “I need to remain close. I won’t let you fall, no matter what Faith said.”
Of course he wouldn’t. He was my mate and our bond pulsed strongly. I squeezed his hands then dragged his arms around me. I needed him too, even though I shouldn’t give in to that need. “You would make the best boyfriend. That’s if you weren’t a warrior.”
“I can’t change who I am.”
“I’d never ask you to.” The sun glinted along the horizon. “I never thought this would happen.”
“What would happen?” His lips whispered across my cheek, so soft.
“That I’d like you this much, to the point where I don’t want to give you up.”
“That’s how you feel?” He held perfectly still.
“Truthfully, yes.” I couldn’t lie to him. Didn’t even want to.
He dragged in a deep breath. “Hell, since we’re being honest. I never thought I’d begin falling for you either.”
“You mean that?” Please, please mean it.
“Yes, not that I can do a damn thing about it.”
“Then we’re still ending things?”
“Yes, even though every hour that passes means an hour less with you.”
“This is such a mess.” Goodness, why were we putting ourselves through this? I pulled away in an attempt to be the responsible one.
“Don’t.” He grabbed my hand. “I lost my mother at such a young age, but at least I knew her. The same goes with you. I wouldn’t trade the time we’ve had together for anything in the world. We need to store the good memories, and appreciate them for what they are.”
“You’re saying the good memories will sustain us?”
“Yes.” He raked a hand through his hair. “Or they better.”
“This is still a mess.” I stormed away then kicked the craggy edge, mad and frustrated. A flare of heat coursed through my veins, pulsing and building. Damn it. I hated that I’d miss him once this was all done.
“Silvie, look at me.”
I swung around. Flames flared to life at my fingertips. “Just back off. This is my battle, not yours.”
His wide-eyed gaze shot to my feet. “Hell, you’re melting the rock.”
“What?” No way. But the black granite bubbled at my feet. “Crap. I’m melting it like tar. Am I that hot?”
“You must be, but I can’t feel your heat. Can you get your temp down? I can’t get to you. Heck, I can’t believe this rock can melt.”
“Well, it is.” It continued to bubble outward, a hot, sticky mess.
“Cool it now. You’re right on the edge.”
Sheesh. Like I couldn’t see that.
“How am I supposed to—” The edge oozed away at my feet. Shoot.
“Silvie!”
I slipped over the side as he yelled.
The ocean rose up, so stony cold.
“Don’t fight the fall,” Faith growled in my head.
“You could have told me it was this kind of fall,” I screamed back.
“Raise your arms and tuck your head in.”
“I’d better survive this. What kind of best friend are you?”
Damn. Two-hundred feet. It was a death drop, but Faith would never desert me. I kept that at the forefront of my mind as the icy waves loomed.
I hit hard and plunged deep. My breath was knocked out of me.
No.
Not deep. I was in the dark.
Where on earth was I?
I grabbed my sides, patted around to my back. Nothing was wet, and the sensation of ’porting was strong. Oh boy. Had I just ’ported?
“Did I come into another skill, Faith?”
“Yes, so cool. I wish I could have been there.”
“So do I, because I really wanna rip your head off for not telling me. You are so gonna get it.”
“A ’porter has to move fast to initiate their first speed jump, and yours was complicated by your fire skill’s energy burst. This way you’re dealing with both at once.”
“Don’t try and wriggle your way out of this. I just speed-jumped into a black hole. I didn’t get a chance to attach a location or coordinates.”
“Yeah, but your explosive heat was contained in the hole.”
“Guy will be freaking out.”
“Then I’ll go so you can talk to him. Just make sure you come up with a soft place to land.” She closed the link.
Unbelievable. I had to ’port free of this hole and since I was on foreign soil, with no way back to Peacio, the only choice I had was Guy’s room. Grrreat. I braced myself as I brought his room’s image into my mind. I added the coordinates and let go. Then slammed down.
I crashed into his bed. The wooden legs snapped and collapsed and everything creaked and groaned, including me.
The glare of light coming through his window was punishing, and when I dragged in a breath, it rattled around in my chest and barely made it back out.
“Guy.” I threw open our link.
“Where the hell are you? You disappeared into thin air.” His voice was panicked, well, beyond panicked.
“Bring a healer, okay. I landed on your bed.”