Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(108)

“No,” Fallon protested in shock. “Bloodshed is forbidden here. Not even the king is allowed to strike out in violence.”

“Oh.” Sally bit her bottom lip. “So once he’s here—”

“He would be safe.”

Sally’s lips parted to demand that Fallon do whatever necessary to protect Roke, only to falter when she caught sight of the grim determination etched onto her sister’s pale features.

“What about you?”

Fallon squared her shoulders, looking every inch a dignified princess.

“I can take care of myself.”

“Fallon—”

“Please,” she interrupted Sally’s protest. “Let me help.”

Sally hesitated before giving a slow nod. She hated the thought of allowing her sister to do something that might get her in trouble. Or worse. But, she had to get word to Roke.

The goddess only knew what he would do if he discovered he couldn’t open the doorway.

“What do you want me to do?” she at last asked.

“Join Father in the throne room,” she urged. “I will bring Roke to you.”

“You’re sure?”

Fallon smiled with . . . was that anticipation?

“Never more so.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Roke paced the center of the field, a murderous fury boiling his blood.

After running at full throttle for the past seven hours, he’d at last homed in on his missing mate.

She was here.

He could feel her.

Hell, he could even catch the scent of peaches.

But he couldn’t get to her.

It was as if she was sharing the same place, but in a different dimension.

“Roke?” Moving to block his restless path from one end of the field to the other, Cyn studied him with a puzzled expression. “What are we waiting for?”

“She’s here,” Roke muttered.

Cyn glanced around the clearing that was hidden in the middle of the Canadian national park.

“In the middle of an empty field?”

Roke hissed in frustration. “I don’t know how to explain it, but she’s close.”

Cyn nodded. “The doorway to the Chatri homeland must be near.”

“How do I open it?”

His companion hesitated before giving a shrug. “I don’t know that you can.”

That was not the answer Roke wanted.

He didn’t care what he had to do, he was getting back his mate.

“There has to be a way,” he snarled.

“We’ll figure it out, I swear,” Cyn said, attempting to soothe. “But we need to consider a place to stay for the day. Dawn is less than an hour away.”

Cyn thought he would leave?

When he’d finally pinpointed her location?

Hell, no.

“She needs me,” he stubbornly insisted.

“Then you have to make sure you stay healthy enough to rescue her.”

Roke rolled his eyes. “When did you turn into a mother hen?”

“When . . .” The large vampire’s words dried up as there was a sparkle in the air less than a few feet away and a female figure suddenly appeared. “God almighty. It’s an angel,” Cyn croaked.

Roke had to admit the stranger did look angelic.

Her long, burnished gold hair surrounded a face so delicately carved it would make an artist weep in delight. Her eyes were faintly slanted and the color of amber with unexpected glints of emerald.

As she moved forward the silk of her white gown caressed her tall, slender body causing the large rubies that were sewn along the hem to glisten like fire in the waning moonlight.

Definitely angel material.

Immune to her beauty, Roke stepped forward, struggling not to wrap his fingers around her neck and demand answers.

“Where’s Sally?” he rasped.

The unknown female glanced toward Cyn who had his gun pointed directly at her heart.

“If you’ll put away your weapons I’ll take you to her,” she promised, her voice a brush of velvet over his skin.

“Fine.” Roke took a step forward even as Cyn placed a restraining arm across his chest.

“Wait,” he growled, keeping his gun pointed toward the female Chatri. “How do we know this isn’t a trap?” He glared at the woman. “If you have Sally then bring her out here.”

She folded her arms, calmly ignoring Cyn as she held Roke’s gaze.

“If I do, the warriors will destroy you.”

Cyn muttered a curse at the implication he could be bested. The female clearly knew very little about male pride.

“They could try,” he snarled.

Again, the female ignored him.

“Once you’re within our homeland they can’t touch you,” she promised. “Will you come with me, vampire?”

“No, he damned well won’t. Not until we know—”

“Cyn,” Roke sharply interrupted, glowering at his friend.

“What?”

“Back off.”

Cyn growled as he lowered the gun, his muscles clenched as if he were expecting a full-out attack.

“I don’t trust her.”

Roke stepped around his bristling friend. He didn’t trust the female, either. But it wasn’t as if they had a whole lot of choice.