Exile: Sídhí Summer Camp #3 (22 page)

Nick surged forward, wrapping his arms around
her. “I’m fine. It’s okay.”

Her fingers convulsed, dropping her cherished
sword to the ground. Sucking in a lungful of air, she rubbed her
hand down his neck. It was only a scratch. “Oh, my God,” her voice
cracked, “I nearly killed you.”

“But you didn’t. I’m fine,” he said,
tightening his arms around her. “I never picked Shelby over you,
never!”

It took her a second to remember the
conversation she had with Maynard. She shuddered, choking on a weak
laugh. “I know you didn’t. I was just trying to make him think I
didn’t care.”

“Sarah,” Mac grumbled, “you have your boy
toy. Can we please leave?”

Refusing to release him, she turned in Nick’s
arms. “I peppered her with silver and crystal. Even if they escape,
we can track them.”

“Those two are the least of our problems,”
Nick said, gently rubbing his hands down her arms. It didn’t seem
to help. Another second and she would’ve killed him. She felt
frozen to the bone. His next words snapped her back into focus.
“The umbra are behind everything. They’re using the Khr'Vurr as a
distraction.”

Mac snarled at him, before saying, “That
distraction nearly killed you, Sarah, and everyone in your
cabin.”

“I didn’t say it wasn’t effective, but the
bigger plan will kill millions, if not billions.”

Mac snorted. “If you combined all the valleys
together, there aren’t a billion Sídhí.”

“No, but there are that many mundane humans,”
Nick said grimly.

“Explain,” she ordered in a tone that allowed
no disagreement.

Nick chuckled. “Who’s being bossy?”

“Sorry,” she said softly. “One of my guards
foresaw Earth bathed in blood. He never sees detail, just a lot of
destruction and death.”

Nick cursed. “The umbra plan to finish what
the dead Chi’Kehra started thousands of years ago. They plan to
merge the valleys with Earth.”

“I don’t suppose you know the details?” Mac
said between clenched teeth.

Obviously, the two would never be best of
friends.

“No,” Nick said, “but I broke the neck of an
umbra. It’s only been a few hours, so if it hasn’t healed…”

“We can get the details straight from the
source,” Sarah said, smoothly finishing Nick’s words with a feeling
satisfaction.

“We can’t forget the dragons,” Mac argued,
holding up a hand when Sarah started to speak. “I’m not saying that
bringing the umbra in for questioning isn’t important, but the
minute those dragons heal, they will retaliate. And without either
of you around, they will target Emily and the other teens in your
cabin.”

Nick growled.

Sarah nodded her agreement. Curiosity was
eating her alive, but she didn’t have time to question her friend’s
preoccupation toward Emily. Yes, he’d only mentioned her twice, but
for Mac, it was two times more than he ever talked about any
female.

“Nick and I will go after the umbra. You go
after the dragons. When you finish, come back and pick us up,” she
paused as Nick shook his head.

“He won’t need to port us out of here,” Nick
said.

“Phoenix cannot teleport from location to
location,” Mac said slowly, as if speaking to someone too dense to
understand Sídhí abilities, “but we can shift between dimensional
layers, including the In Between. When we shift, we disappear then
re-appear in the same, exact location, just in a different
dimension. If I shift dimensions while on a boat in the Caribbean,
I stay in the Caribbean. I can’t go to Africa.”

Mac plowed ahead without pausing. “If I enter
the In Between on Earth, I see the mirror image of Earth. That’s
why you currently see the mirror image of this valley, not Earth or
another valley. The In Between is built of shadows, not
reality.”

“My point,” Nick said through gritted teeth,
“is we won’t need you.”

“Nick,” Sarah said softly, hating to disagree
with him, “only umbra and phoenix can shift into the In Between.
There’s one dragon clan that can see into the In Between, but they
can’t go In Between.”

His hand curled around her hip, long fingers
applied gentle pressure to the sensitive skin of her waist. “Yeah,
I get that, but the umbra took us through a gateway that exited the
In Between. He said it was one-of-a-kind. Once we go through the
gateway, we can port wherever.”

Appearing a bit stunned, Mac clamped his
mouth shut on whatever retort he was about to give.

She eyed the phoenix. She trusted him without
reservation. Well, except for one thing. “If, for some reason the
dragons manage to escape do not spend days hunting them. Go
immediately to the campgrounds and keep an eye on the others.”

“And don’t spy on them from In Between,” Nick
grumbled, glaring at Mac.

Before Mac could argue, Sarah threw her
weight behind Nick’s words. “I agree. No, watching the teens from
the In Between. They know about you, and you, my feathered friend,
need to become comfortable with working alongside other races. Join
whatever activity Emily and the others are doing and keep them
safe.”

Mac opened his mouth to argue.

“It wasn’t a request,” she said softly,
dangerously.

Mac’s lip curled up, revealing pointed
canines. “It that all, Liege?”

Sarah snorted her agreement.

Mac turned. A moment later, Sarah could no
longer hear his running steps.

She pulled away from Nick’s embrace. “How
about I cut all that silver off of you?”

“Please,” Nick said, quickly raising his
manacled hands.

Glaring at her fallen sword, she froze. How
was she going to explain a solid crystal sword? Anytime she needed
the sword, she pulled synth crystal from her body and created it.
She didn’t even have a sheath for it.

“Sarah?” Nick said gently. He glanced at the
sword and back at her. She knew the instant he understood her
silence.

His reaction stunned her speechless.

He chuckled. Reaching down, he picked-up the
discarded sword and handed it to her hilt first. “I think this is
yours, my Lady Chi’Kehra.”

Air hissed from her lungs and her teeth
snapped shut with a bone-jarring crunch. “What?”

Leaning toward her, his lips caressed her
cheek in a brief, gentle kiss. “Chi’Kehra, exile, halfling… none of
it matters. I want you as my mate so don’t even go there,” he said
emphatically, wrapping his fingers around her neck. “I will never
let you go, vampire boogieman or not.”

Hearing his heart-spoken words her mind
blurred into a thousand shards. “I guess the sword gave me away,”
she said, grasping at something, anything to say.

His lips tilted up, and she knew he was
trying very hard not to laugh. “Actually, the sword gave you away
several days ago when you responded to Miranda’s cry for help.”

“Oh,” she said, not-so-brilliantly. Looking
into his eyes, she saw what she had honestly never hoped to see.
Complete, and absolute, acceptance of what she was. With a soft cry
of delight, she hugged him tight, burying her face against his
neck.

Eerie, otherworld music burst through her
brain, vibrating through the very core of her body. Jerking
backward, she looked into Nick’s stunned face. His features
reflected her shock.

She didn’t have time to react before he
cupped her face in his large hands. “Lady Sarah Trellick, aka
Chi’Kehra, do me the greatest honor and become my bonded mate,” he
said solemnly, an instant before he opened the tiny organ in the
middle of his brain.

The moment his lifeBud burst open, Sarah’s
lifeBud cried-out in recognition. She didn’t know how it was
possible, she had felt the agony of the little organ as it burned
out, but she couldn’t deny the song of the Sídhí bursting through
her blood.

She didn’t hesitate, not for a single
instant. She opened her lifeBud.

Glowing through her mind and body, the two
separate organs mentally surged toward each other. As the separate
halves wrapped together, her entire body ran hot, scorching with
intensity and healing wounds she never knew existed.

Entwining together, the bond pulsed with
power as a seamless union connected them, creating a mental
lifeBond that could never be destroyed, creating a bond that she
would destroy the entire world to protect.

Hotter than the molten core of the sun,
Nick’s love rushed through her. Pure and unwavering the passionate
emotion embedded itself in her very soul. “Mia Cara,” he murmured,
kissing her over, and over again.

For some time, they simply held each. Neither
of them ready to give-up the wondrous moment. Slowly, the song went
silent. Nick’s purr took its place.

She looked up at him and felt his love - his
overwhelming joy - surge through her.

He tightened his hold on her. “How?”

Right, that was a very good question. She
didn’t know the answer.

As heartfelt relief, his and hers, pounded
through her body, she gave a slight shrug. “Not a clue,” she
paused. “Unless you stopped the Dyrst’Lye before he finished.”

“You were still screaming when I attacked
him,” he said roughly. A shaft of ragged pain rammed straight
through her.

Gasping, she touched his chest, trying to
ease the pain of his memory. “Okay, definitely, none of that.”

Softly, he growled, and the emotion became
blunted. It didn’t go away, but the pain became manageable.

“I didn’t bleed a lot. Maybe, he just tore at
it and I healed.” A tight band of concern slipped around her chest.
“With being Chi’Kehra, I heal extremely fast.”

“Thank God,” he said fervently.
Unbelievingly, his relief matched the joy he was feeling.

“Sarah?” The confusion on his face said more
than the single word. “From everything Jared has told me I know
it’s going to take a while to get accustomed to your emotions, but
what you just felt was… I don’t know. It felt like you were
over-the-moon happy, but confused, or maybe it was shocked.”

She continued rubbing his chest, enjoying the
simple touch. “You’re vampire, a one-hundred percent, honor-bound
vampire. Yet, even before we bonded, you knew I was Chi’Kehra.
You’ll never know how much that means to me.”

He chuckled softly. “Yes, I do, to the very
depths of my soul, because I feel every emotion going through
you.”

Her lips curved into a smile. “Yeah, I guess
you do at that.”

He glanced toward the cell door. “As much as
I hate to suggest it, we need to get a move on.”

“Agreed,” she said reluctantly, letting her
hand linger on his arm as long as possible. With a sigh, she
stepped away from him and picked-up her abused sword. With a couple
of skillful swings, she cut the silver chains off him.

After that, they didn’t dillydally. His hand
curled firmly around hers before leading her out of the cell. He
set a swift pace down the tunnel.

“What?” he questioned.

She started to smother her chuckle, to hide
her reaction, when she realized the most wonderful thing: she never
had to conceal anything from him ever again. “How did you know I
wanted to ask you something?”

“A flicker of your emotions touched me, and
kind of said,
hey you
,” he said with a wide grin. “Did that
make any sense?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “It shouldn’t
have.” But his words had made sense, perfect sense.

She sent a tentative tendril of thought
toward him, a soft knock asking for entry.

When he didn’t respond, she bit her lip and
didn’t say anything. Not all lifeMates shared their thoughts, but
she had really thought Nick would want too.

The smooth walls of the prison changed to
rugged rock. Everything was a moldy gray. “I’m so dense,” she said
as a sudden thought dawned on her.

“Right, leader of your own valley, in charge
of who knows how many warriors, and you’re dense,” he said,
snorting in amusement. Arrogance coated his feeling of amusement.
He was proud of her.

“Once a year, or so, it does happen,” she
teased.

“Or when I’m right and you are wrong.”

She snorted in disbelief and said, “I
mentally knocked and you ignored me.”

“I did the same. I thought you wanted
privacy,” he said with a frown.

“No, I want you with no exceptions.” She
squeezed his hand, silently acknowledging his offer.
“Unfortunately, you’ve got me totally distracted. I should’ve
remembered that when we are In Between nothing works right. I’ve
only been here a few times, but I know most people can’t speak
telepathically without a good amount of power behind the
sending.”

“I didn’t make the connection. When I was
planning my escape from the umbra, I thought all the silver
nullified my Sídhí abilities. I guess it wasn’t just the silver.”
Grumbling, he held out a hand. “I can’t even make the tips of my
claws appear.”

“Could be worse,” she said quietly.

“Really?”

“I’ve heard of people getting lost here and
never finding their way out.”

^____________

Tightening his back muscles, Mac tucked his
wings closer to his body, trying to gain a little more speed as he
ran after the escaping dragons. He could make his wings ‘disappear’
by pulling them into his body, but he wanted them instantly
available if he needed to get airborne in a hurry; he didn’t want
to waste a second while they unfurled.

He shifted into the real world, leaving the
gray, bleak world behind.

Snarling his frustration into the empty
corridor, he considered the people he hunted. They had a huge head
start, one he was not happy with, not that their escape was his
fault.

He grunted, admitting it wasn’t Sarah’s fault
either. He wanted his best friend to be happy, and Vampire Boy
seemed to make her glow, but her attention was no longer focused on
catching the bad guys; her mind was totally absorbed with her new
boy toy.

Whatever the reason, Mac hated letting the
shifters gain such a head start. His instinct kept insisting the
dragons could destroy everything.