Chapter 23
Wilder was champing at the bit.
Morning had come and gone without any word from Castor or the Perdition Ridge duo. His worry for Abbie was so high it was stratospheric. Evie had done her best to entertain him, but even she couldn’t contain her concern for the others.
“Will you find Nate, Evie?” he asked as she examined his back. “And Damian. We need their firepower.”
“I will if you remain here and don’t do anything foolish.” She pressed her fingers to the wound and grunted her satisfaction. “This is healing neatly. How is your pain level?”
“Manageable. And I’m regaining sensation in my legs.”
“Good. Two or three more magical infusions and you should be fully recovered.”
“I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done,” he said as she helped him to roll over.
“It’s no bother. I’d have done it for any of my great-great-grandchildren,” she replied with a cheeky smile.
He laughed. Her humor was as expected, considering the story of the “big dill” socks his cousin Mackenzie told at a family get-together. The idea of this lovely lady posing as Sebastian Drake’s dotty old aunt was hilarious.
Wilder touched her arm as she straightened his coverlet.
Her brows shot up as she sank onto the mattress. “What is it, my dear?”
“You are better than I ever could’ve imagined. I’m honored to have gotten to know you during my stay here.”
When she smiled, it lit the room. “And I you, Wilder. I’m glad Abbie has you to care for her.”
“What was she like before the bank robbery?”
“Fun. Refreshingly happy, despite the memory loss.” Evie glanced down at their joined hands. “But underneath, she had a longing Nate felt and I saw. When she woke the first time, she called your name.”
“She did?” His heart hammered, pounding so hard it felt as if it were trying to escape his chest. “She actually said Wilder?”
“Indeed, she did. My heart was broken for the poor thing.”
“I only wish I’d have known she was alive earlier. If I suspected for one minute—”
Evie pressed her index finger over his lips. “Shelve the regrets. The Fates had a plan for her, though it’s unclear what that is right now.”
“Actually, I know,” he confessed.
Her expression arrested, and her mouth dropped open.
Wilder chuckled, getting the impression she wasn’t easily shocked.
“Well, out with it,” she ordered.
He wasn’t sure why he felt the sudden urge for privacy since there were only the two of them. But he couldn’t shake the feeling they should be discreet when discussing the Fates.
“Can you ward the room against eavesdroppers?”
Although she narrowed her eyes, she nodded, then used an effective incantation the Thornes would eventually call “Granny Thorne’s cloaking spell.”
“Please, continue, my dear,” she urged.
“Okay, so Isis possessed Cookie’s body at the restaurant and gave me the scoop. It seems Abbie was brought here to spark Draven’s instincts and trigger his Guardian powers.”
“I don’t quite understand. Why her?”
“He is in love with a woman named Céleste Duval, but she was married off to another, and on the night he would’ve saved her, the Fates stripped him of his memories.”
“Dear lord!”
“Yes, it gets worse. Apparently, she’s married to an abusive bastard like Bart Mercer,” he said grimly.
“We must tell him!”
“The Goddess indicated I should wait for the right time, but I don’t know when that is.”
Wilder could almost see Evie weighing the pros and cons of revealing what she knew to Draven.
“He doesn’t remember his past,” she eventually said, as if seeking clarification.
“No. It explains why he’s so protective of Abbie in her state.”
“Yes.” She rose and patted his hand. “Trust Isis. She’s always seen our family through the tough times. She will again.”
“I know. But as someone who has missed his fiancée unbearably, I hurt for him.”
“Your empathy speaks well of you, my dear.” Evie brushed the hair back from his forehead, following it with a featherlight kiss. “I’ll find Nathanial and Damian, but you must remain here. Don’t go charging off alone.”
Although it killed him to agree, he did. It wouldn’t be smart to gad about when he could hardly walk and didn’t know where the hell to start.
“Is it like Jonas not to check in with you?” he asked.
“We’ve never been in this particular situation before.”
Wilder didn’t fail to note she avoided a straight answer. “So like Alastair.”
“I can’t wait to meet him,” she replied with a twinkle.
“Look at your husband and imagine your personality.”
Evie grinned. “That’s a terrifying thought.”
“Isn’t it, though? Al’s formidable and well-respected, if not feared.”
“Good. Now, is there anything I can conjure for you before I go?”
“I’m fine. Please bring Nate and Damian here, and tell the Aether it’s imperative he help Castor. He’ll regret it if he doesn’t.”
“He won’t like an idle threat,” she warned with a stern look.
“It wasn’t meant as one. Castor and Alastair turn out to be his best friends. He wouldn’t want anything to happen to him.”
“I see. In that case, I’ll make sure he joins our search party.”
In a flash, she was gone, and Wilder was left to stress out until someone returned. His inactivity lasted three whole minutes.
Throwing back the covers, he eased his legs over the mattress edge and used the side dresser to haul himself up. His body shook from the effort, and sweat pooled at his lower back as he straightened into a standing position.
“One step in front of the other,” he urged himself. Shuffling forward at a hundred-year-old tortoise’s pace, he reached the end of the bed. Thank the Goddess for the scrolling metal frame, because of a certain, he’d have been face down without it.
“For Abbie,” he chanted whenever his body wanted to quit. “For Abbie!”
He was halfway to the window when the door swung open.
There was no mistaking the black-haired man, despite his oddly arrogant attitude.
The Aether had finally arrived.
“Tell me about this Castor.”
Abbie was burning up. Her leg was on fire, and she felt suffocated by the heated weight encircling her. The instant she realized an unfamiliar man held her, she freaked, and her body’s electrical force field flared, but fizzled.
Royal swore softly, but didn’t release her. “Pull it back, Fire Cat. You have a fever and need the warmth.”
“Well, I’m hot, so get off me,” she snapped, shoving at his broad chest.
“Doesn’t mean your fever’s gone,” he replied dryly. “And I’m comfortable at the moment, so indulge me.”
“The hell I will!”
She wiggled to escape, only to have his arms tighten.
“Calm down,” he ordered in a low, urgent voice. “I have no intention of hurting you. But your heightened fear is feeding Morcant, and you need to simmer down. My holding you is for show.”
“You could’ve started with that last bit.” She followed Royal’s cold stare to the man tucked in the corner.
The creepy fucker was half in shadow, with his glowing eyes. The gleam of his smile sent a ripple along her nerve endings and made her want to puke.
“What is he doing?” she whispered, striving for the calm Royal encouraged.
“He’s an Arcane Devourer and lives off strife. The best we can figure is he absorbs the heightened energy,” he said in a hushed tone. “I try never to give him what he wants.”
“That’s some remarkable self-control you have there, buddy.” She shifted her head to see his face. “Thank you.”
“Life is all about control, Fire Cat.” He watched her closely as he said, “As a witch, you should know that.”
Her face might not give her away, but she was sure the tensing of her body did.
“What elemental are you?” he asked, loosening his steely arms to give her a little freedom.
“I don’t know.”
His brows dipped. “How can that be?”
“Whatever magic I was gifted didn’t manifest until I fell off a mountain.” She hesitated to tell him she was a Traveler’s daughter. There was no telling what an outlaw might do with the information. “And how do you know about witches? Most mortals don’t unless they get involved with one.”
“That’s not important.”
His tone indicated further discussion was closed on that end, and she waited him out. Eventually he said, “We fell in with some a year back. It’s how Morcant became part of our gang. Jennings is twisted, and Morcant enjoys feeding on the chaos he causes.”
“Is that why Jennings shot Gus?”
“Yes. He’s a sick fuck.”
She blinked at his modern speech. “What year were you born?”
He stilled.
“Not this century, I’d venture,” she said.
“Don’t go there.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m tired and want to sleep,” he retorted without heat.
“How are we supposed to do that with Creepy McCreeperson hanging about like a fucking spider waiting for a fly?”
Royal’s white grin flashed in the low light. “You rest, Fire Cat, and dream delicious thoughts of me. That’ll keep him from feasting.”
Her stomach flipped. Whether from the suggestion of delicious thoughts of the man holding her or from the horrid image of Morcant tapping into her dreams, she couldn’t begin to say. There was no way she was sleeping now. Besides, her leg ached too fucking bad.
“Did you fall through a portal, too?”
Royal’s surprised jerk gave him away.
She gasped. “You did!”
“Shh. Keep your voice down. The others may be on the other side of the fire, but noise carries in these caverns.”
“Tell me.”
“No,” he replied succinctly. “Go to sleep.”
“I can’t. My thigh hurts too badly.”
“Want to lift your skirts for me to take a look?” His offer was jam-packed with sexual innuendo, and Abbie’s entire body grew warm.
“Stop it,” she warned. “I’m engaged, and I love Wilder.”
“Is he one of those people searching for you who I’m supposed to fear?” he taunted softly.
An unexpected sob caught in her throat. Brought on by the burgeoning emotions of worry and sorrow.
Had she and Wilder suffered two years apart only to meet an end like this?
Her to die at the hands of renegades while he bled out on a sidewalk in The Devil’s Backbone?
The fucking place should’ve been called The Devil’s Armpit!
“Rein it in, Fire Cat. Grief is just as good as fear for our resident energy vampire.” He cradled her against his chest, rubbing small circles on her back. His actions were at odds with his gruff warning to get it together and encouraged her to cry. “Shhh, Abbie, it will all be okay,” he promised.
The urge to rail at him was severe, to tell him she’d be back in Perdition Ridge, finding out Wilder’s fate by now, if they hadn’t accosted her. Yet after learning what the Freakazoid in the corner could do, she had no choice but to shove it down.
Searching for a distraction, she asked, “How long have you been in this time?”
“Seems like forever,” he confessed. “At least two years now.”
She stilled. Two years was a helluva coincidence. “Where were you when it happened?”
“My brother Silas and I were climbing—”
Her mouth dropped the instant she registered why he seemed familiar. “I remember you! Wilder and I were going up as you were coming down. We passed you in the middle.”
“That was you? Jesus. We were all fucked that day, weren’t we?”
What were the odds? But her recall had to be faulty, because there were five people in his group that day. Three men and two women.
“Did the others fall through the portal, too?” she asked quietly.
“Only Julia.” By his tone, she was someone important to him. Or had been, anyway. But there wasn’t another female hanging with these guys, and it didn’t speak well for the woman’s chances.
“Who was she?”
He glanced toward the corner, and Abbie followed his gaze.
Morcant had curled into himself and fallen asleep.
Thank the Goddess for small favors.
“She was my sister-in-law.”
“Was?”
“The portal kicked us out in different places along the canyon over three days. Julia was first, apparently. We found her body just outside this cave’s entrance.”
“Oh my god!”
Abbie’s stomach rebelled, and the urge to hurl was strong. Her latent power influx had caused the death of Silas’s wife! If he ever found out what she was and what she’d caused with her magic… Well, let’s say she wouldn’t be placing any bets on her survival.
As if guessing her turmoil, Royal pressed his lips to her ear and said, “I feel the tension in your body. But you need to hear me when I say this, Fire Cat. Don’t ever let my brother know what you are or what you can do, understand?
He blames magic. He’ll carve your heart out and leave it to wither beside the husk of his. ”