Chapter 23
“Iam going absolutely bat-shit crazy,” I muttered, swinging from one tree branch to another like the damned howler monkeys that were chittering away in the branches across from me.
Unlike them, I wasn’t doing this because I was trying to get anywhere.
After a whole week on the island, I was literally bored out of my fucking mind, and with little else to do, I was mimicking the wildlife while figuring out new ways to train my muscles.
It turned out that the local animal population was a lot less scared of me when I was in human form.
I thought they still sensed the predator in me, because a lot of them stayed away, but the howler monkeys had grown used to me to the point that they didn’t even run away when I tried to climb into their trees.
Of course, some of the animals had good reason to fear me, especially the white-tailed deer – whenever I got hungry, I’d simply change into beast form and go hunting, and deer and the wild pigs were on the top of my menu list. I’d also tried fresh fish and lobster while swimming in the ocean as a panther, but they were harder to catch, and I had to eat a lot more of them to satiate myself.
During the first couple of days, I’d gone around the island with the map I’d found, locating Messindor’s ancient caches.
Some of them were tougher to find than others, and each of them held something different.
One had a pair of pistols, a small sack of gunpowder, and a box of blackened bullets that I scalded my fingers on before I realized they were silver.
Another location turned out to be a cellar dug into the ground and filled with glass jugs of booze, no longer drinkable.
But in a third one, I’d found a clay jar filled with gold that was heavy enough to pay my food and rent for the next few years.
Not that money was a concern for me right now. Or booze. Or guns. Most of the stuff I unearthed was fairly useless to a person in my position, but I did take the gold back to Messindor’s cave dwelling. If I ever got off this forsaken island, it would definitely come in handy.
As I swung my body from one tree to the next, a howler monkey took offense to my encroachment of his territory, and it lobbed a bright red fruit at my head.
I ducked barely in time, then shot him a glare as he chittered angrily at me.
Looking up, I saw a female in the branch above me, holding tightly onto the baby monkey wrapped around her chest, and sighed.
The guy didn’t want me disturbing his family.
Dropping down to the ground, I made my way to the beach and took up my usual spot beneath a shady tree just at the edge of the forest. The sun was halfway through its descent to the horizon now, and soon would be setting on my seventh day on this island.
I always sat out here for a few hours in the very early morning, and then again in the later afternoon, to keep a lookout in case any ships passed by that I could signal.
None had as yet, and it was hard not to feel as if the entire world had forgotten my existence.
I’d stopped checking on the serapha charm after my fourth day on the island.
It was too disheartening not to see any change in the distance between Iannis and me, even though I knew he had to be coming.
Maybe the charm just didn’t register change in distance outside a certain radius.
I wished I had some sort of scrying glass, or that I knew how to make one, so I could see what was happening in Solantha.
How was the shifter community faring? Had they heeded my advice and withdrawn their support for the Resistance?
Or had the ones who’d been released from prison decided to take up arms against the Mages Guild in retaliation for the injustice committed against them?
Had the Mages Guild confirmed definitively that Thorgana was the Benefactor, and had they gotten anything useful out of her?
And what about Chartis and Yantz? Were they finally in custody, or had they escaped yet again?
I wanted to think everything was going well, but I couldn’t help but worry that things were out of hand. What else could be taking Iannis so long to come find me? The city must still be in danger, or he would be here already. After all, he’d said he loved me. He’d said he wanted me to be his.
Stop that, I snapped at myself as tears smarted at my eyes.
There was no point speculating as to the reasons behind Iannis’s absence.
He’d proven his faith in me when he’d organized the raid on Thorgana’s mansion based on my say-so, and I needed to have faith in him.
He would come. I believed that with every fiber of my being.
I just wished he’d hurry the hell up.
I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the horizon, but my vision eventually blurred, and I fell asleep.
It wasn’t a deep sleep – I never allowed myself to fall asleep completely while I was out in the open – but more like a trance, allowing my mind to drift while keeping my ears and nose alert for any threatening changes in my environment.
Sometime later, the sound of footsteps on wet sand caught my attention, and a familiar sandalwood scent followed close behind the sound. My eyes popped open, and I squinted against the brilliant orange-and-gold sunset as my heart began to pump hard and fast. Could it be?
A tall, broad-shouldered figure, backlit by the sun, was walking toward me, his long hair rippling in the wind.
He was dressed in a loose, button-up shirt and shorts rather than his usual robes, but his addictive, masculine scent was unmistakable, and my heart leapt in my chest. Beyond, I could make out a small sailing boat at anchor in the bay.
“Iannis,” I whispered, stumbling to my feet.
He picked up the pace as I rushed to meet him, and the next thing I knew, I was in his arms. He lifted me off my feet and swung me around, kissing me until I forgot I was on a deserted island, forgot I was anywhere but in his arms. He tasted like the sea, but also like Iannis, and I greedily clutched at his broad shoulders, wrapping my legs around his hips as I pressed my body tight against his.
“You came,” I gasped against his mouth between ravenous kisses. “You finally came.”
“Of course I came for you.” He pulled back a little to meet my gaze. His hands tangled in my hair, and he cupped the sides of my head as he searched my eyes. “Did you doubt I would?”
“No,” I said honestly, and I kissed him again, clawing at his shirt. “What the hell are you wearing?” I muttered as I fumbled with the buttons.
“Sailing attire,” he growled as he lowered us to the sandy beach. “I can’t wear mage robes for every activity, you know.”
His shirt was half-undone now, and I slid a palm up the expanse of his chest, marveling at the warm, silken touch of skin poured over hard muscle.
Man, but he was sexy as hell, with his dark, cherry-wood hair tangling in the wind and his gorgeous violet eyes burning with desire.
The brilliant sunset backlit his form, making him look like some kind of god glowing with celestial flame.
“Did you really sail all the way here?” I asked, popping another button open on his shirt.
Iannis grinned. “That would have taken too long. I used an airship for most of the distance. When I realized you were on a deserted island, I hired the boat for the last bit. It seemed worth the small delay for the added privacy.”
“I imagine the serapha told you where to go, but what happened after I was whisked away? Did you realize what had happened to me?”
His expression darkened. “Not right away. When I rushed downstairs and there was no trace of you – only that murderer, Yantz – I feared the worst.”
“Only Yantz? Argon Chartis was not there?”
“No, he managed to sneak away again. We only learned what had happened from interrogating Yantz, and by that time, of course, Argon was long gone. Janta, from the library, came to me with a tale about an old gulaya … but how did you know it was still active?”
“The scent of magic,” I explained. “It seemed worth trying, at least.”
“I’m glad it did work, and it saved your hide. And even more glad we exchanged the serapha charms, to guide me to you.”
I nodded in agreement and slowly, teasingly, popped another button on his shirt.
Iannis arched a brow. “You’re awfully relaxed for someone who is in heat,” he commented, leaning forward and nipping at my lower lip.
I grinned. “The heat’s been over for several days now. Somehow, I managed to survive without you.”
He winced. “I am sorry I was not there when you needed me, Sunaya.”
“Don’t be sorry.” I brushed my thumb across one of his high cheekbones, drinking in the sight of his face. “You came as soon as you could. And I’m just happy you’re here now.”
“Well then,” he said, eyes drifting up and down my naked body – my leather pants had been ruined by the elements and my top was shredded, so I’d spent the majority of the past week running around naked.
“Are you saying that you really want me? That this –” he brushed his thumb across my nipple, and I gasped, “isn’t just a side effect of your shifter heritage? ”
You are more than just the sum of your parts.
I wrapped my arms around Iannis’s neck, drawing him flush against me. “I’ve always wanted you,” I murmured against his mouth, then I kissed him again.
Iannis swept his tongue inside my mouth, and I moaned as the dark, exotic taste of him filled me.
Desire burned low in my belly, and a pulsing ache spread through my body with each stroke of his tongue against mine, each brush of his fingers against my tingling skin.
Impatient, I used my claws to shred the shirt from his body, and he laughed, rising up a little so he could shrug off the tattered garment.
“More,” I demanded, grabbing the waistband of his shorts. I was about to rip them off as well, but he closed a hand over mine.