Like Nik.
His absence dug a hole in her stomach and, no matter how much she told herself it was better this way, she missed him. But he didn’t want her with him.
Refusing to let her hurt fester, she rose and went back inside. Echo and Ely were chatting while their movie played on in the background. Kira, however, wasn’t there.
“You sure you okay after healing the rift?” Ely asked Echo.
Healing the rift? Shadow frowned. She’d met Echo earlier. The woman was friendly but a little subdued. She appeared somewhat pale beneath her honey-hued skin as if she’d been sick.
“I’m fine. Sleep helps a great deal—oh, god,” she groaned. “Please don’t let Aethan hear you say that, then he’ll cart me back to bed—”
“And that’s a bad thing?” Ely teased.
“No.” She huffed out a laugh and glanced back. “Hey—” She smiled at Shadow, pushing back her jaggedly cut ebony hair from striking, bicolored silver and gold eyes. Her brow creased. “You okay?”
Ignoring the pit in her stomach, Shadow nodded. “I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“You aren’t. C’mon, sit.” She patted the couch beside her. “Kira’s in the kitchen, doing her best to—”
“Ta-da!” As if on cue, her friend bounded inside, her cheerful smile making her dimples pop. “We have cake!” She ignored the other girls’ wary expression and set the platter on the coffee table.
“I’m not hungry,” Echo said quickly as Kira began slicing the decadent two-layer chocolate slab.
“Me, neither,” Ely added.
Shadow found the girls’ hasty refusal odd, but it didn’t stop her. Food was food. Besides, the cake looked delicious. “I’ll have some.”
“Great.” Smiling again, Kira tipped a slice on a side plate and handed it to her.
“Thanks.” Shadow ignored the fork and took a bite. The richness of the chocolatey frosting and soft sponge melted in her mouth. “Wow. This is good.”
“It is?” Ely straightened from her sprawl in the armchair.
“Let me try—” Echo leaped to her feet.
“Nuh-uh.” Kira stepped protectively in front of the cake. “I saw the faces. Only Shadow and I will eat this.” Her mouth quirked in a sly smirk. “Of course, I’m going to save the rest for my man.”
“Did I hear my name?” Týr strode inside, his dark gaze instantly finding Kira.
In broad daylight, he was even more stunning than Shadow remembered, and it was obvious he was totally in love with her friend.
Týr slipped his arm around Kira’s waist and kissed her brow, causing Shadow to lower her attention to the cake, wishing…wishing she could have had that, too. Even though it was a useless dream, Nik took up space in her thoughts once more.
“We have cake?” Týr glanced at the delicious confectionary on the coffee table.
“I made it,” Kira told him, beaming as she held out the platter.
Instantly, the tall, tough guy went motionless. Nothing showed on his face, but Shadow had the distinct impression he hid his wariness better than the girls. However, he selected a slice and bit a little. And blinked. Then he took a larger bite, and a groan broke free.
“Damn…” He grabbed Kira around the waist and kissed her on the mouth. “I take back everything I said in the past, elska. This is amazing.” He relieved her of the platter. “The Empyrean would kill for this.” Grinning, he stalked out with his gains.
“Darn,” Echo grumbled to Kira. “You finally did it, and we lost out.”
“Yup. Hedori’s a great teacher. However, I still have a long way to go, but he is patient. Now you’ll just have to wait…”
Shadow watched her smiling friend rib the others, wishing her life was as carefree and happy as Kira’s. “Who’s the Empyrean?” she asked, trying to get herself together.
The girls went quiet and stared at her for a second, then at each other.
Jeez, it was like she’d asked for the dark secret of how the Guardians came to live on this world or something. Sure, she wanted to know, too, but she wasn’t going to pry. “No worries, no need to tell me. I just…” She shrugged. “Well, Týr mentioned it, so, yeah…”
Echo blew out a deep breath, stirring her overlong bangs, then she nodded. “It’s okay. Empyreans are angels, but a different species to the Heavenly ones. And Aethan, the guy with the blue hair, he’s my mate, and also one of them. Ely comes from Empyrea, too.”
Shadow’s gaze darted to Ely, who lounged on her chair again, curling a swathe of gleaming, pale hair around her finger. She was an angel?
Ely rolled her eyes and scrunched her face. “Guilty, I’m afraid.”
The woman had an odd sense of humor, but she was incredibly beautiful, possessing an ethereal quality that finally fit.
Her fault, Shadow realized. She’d tagged them all as one species; as immortals. Of course, there would be angels. Heck, she’d lived with demons—Aba and Nate—the latter being half-demon. He hadn’t said so, but she knew. She’d seen the eerie red streaks in his eyes at times, just like the ones appearing in hers. But her mind fixated on one particular immortal. Her heart clipped like a fleeing racehorse as she asked the question tying her up in knots.
“So when Týr called Nik Greek last night, it’s not because he’s from the European continent, is it…?”
Kira bit her upper lip, then said, “No. It’s because he’s from the Greek pantheon. You know, Mount Olympus and such?”
Shadow gaped, feeling as if someone had clocked her on the head.
A god!
Nik was one of those powerful beings?
She dragged in a shaky breath to ease her compressing lungs, finally understanding why he’d told her upfront it was only about needs. As if there could ever be anything more between them. Worse, she was so far beneath him, fallen even lower now, fused with a species they all considered vile.
Shadow’s gaze dropped to her half-eaten cake, her appetite deserting her.
“You okay?” Kira asked quietly.
“Yeah.” She set her plate on the table. “Just letting it all sink in.”
A Greek god.
Only she’d want the impossible. Just her luck in this godforsaken life.
Aware of the girls watching her, Shadow forced a smile and headed outside again, avoiding Bob, who lay on the tiled terrace like a gray rug, asleep in the sunshine. Her friends’ soft voices drifted to her.
Several deep breaths later, she managed to calm down a little. She leaned against the wrought iron table when a ripple of unease slid through her, and she stilled.
Whatever was causing this hiking anxiety, it sure wasn’t her nodes. She rubbed the chill from her arms and skimmed through her thoughts, trying to find the cause of her disquiet… There was only one person who could make her insides twist with worry.
She darted back into the living room. “Do you know where Nik is?”
All heads swiveled her way, the movie discussion forgotten.
Kira frowned. “No.”
“He said he’d be gone for a few days, so, where?” She didn’t care she might have revealed her deeper feelings for Nik, but something wasn’t right.
“I didn’t even know he wasn’t at the castle.”
Dammit. Shadow glanced at the blonde angel. “Ely, you’re a Guardian. Do you know?” She pressed her hand into her agitated tummy, a sense of foreboding gripping her. “Is it work-related?”
The woman sat up. “Not that I know of, but now that you ask, he wasn’t at the morning’s meeting, either. And no one said anything. What is it?”
“I don’t know.” The urge to get moving tugged at her. “It’s this feeling that I should find him, like he needs—” Her? Yeah right. “Someone.” Hell, she had no idea if he did, but she’d face his wrath after assuring herself he still breathed.
“Shadow,” Kira said softly, her fingers rolling the turquoise and black beads at the end of the skinny braid in her hair. “Wherever Nik is, he can take care of himsel
f. The thing is, as nice as he is, there’s a certain reputation following him among the guys. Of course, they wouldn’t confirm or deny it.” She snorted. “Not only is he dangerous, but there’s no emotion in him, as if his power has leeched it all out. And with just a look, a touch, he can freeze a person. Most times, you don’t come out of it alive.”
Oh, she’d felt his coldness, all right. But beneath it all, there was something more. A warmth that wanted out. A warmth she’d felt and longed for.
“I know.” Shadow rubbed her clammy palms down her skirt. “I saw it all when I first er, bumped into him during a demon attack in an alley. Those he froze shattered into fragments from just a kick then dissipated into the ground.”
“You saw that?” Echo blurted, appearing dumbfounded. “Does Nik know?”
Frowning, Shadow gave a cautious nod. “Yes.”
“And he let you retain the memory?” Ely’s copper eyes rounded to the size of headlights. “I mean, considering how tight they are about privacy and us remaining undetected. They usually clear a mortal’s memories of things like that.”
The girls glanced at each other. Clearly, something passed between them, then Echo spoke as if she were the chosen leader. “The only place he’d go that we know of is Romania.”
Feeling as if she couldn’t breathe, Shadow whispered, “The other side of the world?”
“Oh, honey, it’s okay.” Kira hurried over, putting an arm around her waist. “He’ll be back.”
“No.” She broke away. “You don’t understand. He… I need to go to him.”
“Shadow, he opened a portal there. He could be anywhere.”
Christ. “We-we had a disagreement. A quarrel earlier,” she whispered. “And there’s this feeling growing inside me that something’s terribly wrong.”
The girls stared at her, openmouthed.
“Kira, remember when you had a feeling about Týr?” Echo said softly.
Her friend’s lovely latte complexion drained to ash. “Oh, shit.” She swiped back her curly hair from her face. “Okay, okay, let me think.” She paced the length of the couch, brow creasing.
The door opened, and Hedori entered, carrying a tray. Heck, he appeared more like a warrior than a commonplace steward with his tough build, attractive features, and long, braided, steel-colored hair.
“Coffee to go with Kira’s delicious cake,” he announced with a quirk of his lips, setting the tray down.
“Hedori!” the girls chimed at once, as if he could solve all of Shadow’s problems.
He straightened, his eyebrows nearly touching his hairline. “Should I be wary of all this feminine power surrounding me?”
“No,” Echo laughed. “But I’m sure you know where Nik is, right?” she asked sweetly.
“Indeed, I do,” he answered slowly as if aware something was afoot. “Why?”
Shadow sensed her chance. “Can you take me to him, please?”
The smile faded. The lines of his lean face morphed to implacable. “No. The sire especially asked that I keep you safe at the castle.”
Trapped here, he meant.
With a regretful smile, Hedori walked out.
Dammit it, Nik. Shadow pivoted and paced to the open door, the hole inside her widening in worry.
“Darn. I knew he wouldn’t relent,” Kira grumbled.
“Ki?” Echo said. “Aethan’s somewhere out on the estate with Dagan training. Do you think Týr would—”
“Of course!” Her excitement had Shadow spinning back, her smile fueling Shadow’s hopes again. “Okay, I sent him a message.” Shadow frowned, and she tapped a finger to her head and grinned. “Telepathy.”
Shadow nodded, realizing this warrior was her last hope.
The door opened, and Týr strolled inside. “Elska, you made me fold my game of pool to the Celt. I hope it was for a good reason I lost my bet.”
“I’m sure you’ll win back the dollar.” She rolled her eyes, and his mouth twitched in a smile. “And it is. We have a feeling that Nik’s in trouble.”
One dark blond eyebrow quirked. “You?”
Her cheeks flushed a light pink. “Well, Shadow has.” Then she blurted, “It’s really important you take her to Romania.”
Týr chuckled. “Are you crazy, my mate?”
“Honey, please?” Kira’s stare didn’t waver. “I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important, but…she feels it.”
He stilled, and whatever amusement lingered in his eyes faded. “She feels it, huh?”
“Yes,” the girls agreed in unison. Shadow had no idea what that was all about. Right now, the only thing that mattered was getting to Nik.
Týr glanced at them, then at Shadow and back to Kira. His eyebrows dipped together. “This isn’t wise, Kira. Nik wanted time alone.”
“Please,” Shadow begged, refusing to let her only chance disappear. “I will leave as soon as I know he’s all right.”
“Hell.” He tunneled his fingers through his messy hair, his brow creasing as he considered. Finally, he inclined his head. “Very well. Better me than anyone else, I guess,” he said as if he’d already had an encounter with Nik. “You good to go?”
Her heart in her mouth, Shadow nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me just yet. Nik could throw us out,” he drawled and walked out onto the terrace.
Ugh, she could do without his teasing. Shadow followed.
Týr lifted his hands, and with a wave, the air in front of him shimmered and magically split open, revealing a swirling vortex.
Shadow gasped. She’d been prepared to hold on to him and dematerialize to wherever they would go, but this was spooky.
“Faster this way,” Týr told her as if sensing her apprehension.
“You’ll be safe with Týr,” Kira said, giving her a quick hug.
Right. Shadow swallowed, terrified as hell to be stepping through a supernatural rent in the air. But she ground down her fear, straightened her spine, and clasped Tyr’s elbow, following him through the gateway, as long as it would take her to Nik.
Chapter 12
Shadow stepped onto Romanian soil and into late afternoon sunshine. The portal behind her hissed shut. The gentle murmur of water reached her. A river? Probably. Tall, dense trees surrounded her like sentinels waiting for twilight, and insects twittered a musical dissonance. In the distance, mountains rose high up, the tips disappearing into dark, heavy clouds.
“We need to dematerialize from here,” Týr said at her side.
“Okay.” Her fingers tightened on his arm, her tummy coiling like a spring. The air swirled once more, her molecules dissolving to become air. Ugh. She shut her eyes, not wanting to think of how she might come out on the other side.
When she felt solid ground beneath her feet, she opened her eyes cautiously. Still in one piece. Good.
Shadow lifted her head and forgot her wariness. Holy crap! Her jaw nearly smacked her chest at the sight of the looming, granite building in front of her. Its mismatched turrets disappeared into the low-hanging, vaporous cumulous clouds, giving the whole place an unwelcoming vibe. A brisk breeze swept over her, and she shivered, the noon sunlight casting a deceiving warmth over the dark, spooky building.
“What is this place?” she whispered, afraid to talk too loud, in case she awakened any slumbering ghosts. Then she did a mental eye-roll at her morbid thoughts. Nik lived here, not ghouls.
“A monastery, and our other abode.”
This was nothing like their elegant castle in Long Island.
Curious now, she glanced about her at the granite courtyard, then crossed to the balustrade winding its way around the abbey-like building. Whoa. She blinked, staring down from the sky-high monastery to the sea of forest far below. It looked like someone had tossed shades of green paint on a canvas, the verdant colors broken by a silver-gray river winding into the distance.
Behind her, the enormous domed door opened with a squeak of timeless weathering. Shadow sensed rather than heard Nik coming
out. She pivoted.
The abbey’s dark custodian stood there like some ancient warrior protecting his fortress. Despite her wariness, her entire being seemed to stretch toward him, longing to get closer. Something dark flashed in his gaze.
“Fuck, Týr,” he growled, spearing the blond warrior with an icy glare. “She shouldn’t be here.”
Whatever softer emotion Shadow felt dispersed. “I asked him to bring me,” she retorted, back on familiar, antagonistic footing with him. “I’ll leave when I’m ready.”
But dammit, how did she ask if anything was wrong when he appeared like a grumpy bear awakened from mid-hibernation? She settled for the truth. “I sensed—I thought something was wrong with you…”
“Do you see anything wrong?” he drawled, his expression lacking amusement.
She scowled, wishing she could scrub this sensation from her mind that something worrisome was going on with him. But he seemed okay, with his mile-high walls up again.
“We aren’t staying, Greek,” Týr muttered. “So reel in your ire. C’mon, Shadow. He appears his usual delightful self. Let’s go.”
Frustrated by Nik’s intractable stance, and the uneasiness in her tired brain that wouldn’t quit when it came to him, Shadow turned to Týr. “I’m sorry I wasted your time.” More fool her for following her stupid feelings.
“It’s never a waste of my time to help,” he said gently, eyes soft with understanding. He drew her close.
“No!” Rough hands hauled her away from Týr, and a raging caveman stood between them.
Honestly. Shadow glared at Nik, looming over her, his expression as hard as this granite mountain they stood on. “What is wrong with you?” she demanded. “You don’t want me here, so let me leave.”
The stare Nik leveled at her, blistered her nerves.
Man, no reasoning with him in this mercurial mood. Inhaling a deep breath, she faced Týr. “I’m so sorry.”
“No need to apologize. I can handle the Greek’s crazy moods.” A smile hovered, deep dimples creasing his cheeks. “Ready to go, or are you staying—”
Shattered Dawn (Fallen Guardians Book 5) Page 14
