Chapter 26

TWENTY-SIX

COLLINS

I paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, not saying a word for long moments. Finally, I stopped and turned to face him. “Let me get this straight, you’re telling me she fell into a portal?”

Bash nodded.

“Like to another realm?” This was unreal.

He nodded again.

“Well, let’s go get her.” I pointed toward the door, ready to leave.

Bash held up a finger, then he began writing faster. Funny story, that portal has been locked for centuries. I don’t know how she got in it. We’re going to need the Nephilim’s assistance to see if we can get her out .

“You have got to be kidding me. How did she manage to fall into a portal to another realm that had been locked?” I tugged at the ends of my hair. “No, you know what? I believe it. She’s always getting lost, and it’s always my damn job to find her. This is so Tallulah. Damn it.”

Bash shook his head, then wrote across the paper. But instead of just showing it to me, he rose to his feet and moved in closer, stopping me from pacing. I was so close to his bare chest and that sparkling gemstone. I wanted to reach out and touch him, to lay my head against his chest and feel the comfort I knew would come from being so close. He sucked in a deep breath and handed me the paper.

I know you want to get her right now, but we have to get the Stone before my mother does. If she gets it first, it’s not just my realm that will die, ALL of the realms will fall to her chaos. I promise you that after we find the Stone and fix this, I will help you get her back. I was trying to get her back home, but I couldn’t speak to her and she ran from me. We will find her .

I knew his words would’ve been more soothing if I could hear him speak, like his voice would help me some way. But the thing was, I needed Bash. All of him. Not just notes and gestures. If this was going to work, we both had to be at our full capacity. “I can’t handle this. How do we get your voice back ? ”

Bash hung his head and shrugged. Cleo needs her stone in order to have magic to give my voice back. But the mage Stone Keeper took it, so we have to find her to get it if I’m ever going to speak again .

I nodded up at him and shuffled from one foot to the other. “Okay, let’s do that. Let’s grab Cleo and take her to get her stone.”

His jaw dropped and his brow furrowed.

“What?” I clapped my hands together. “Smash and grab. Boom. Done.”

He grabbed up the paper once more. Cleo is 5,000 years old. She was a pharaoh of Egypt. She’s very smart. It’s going to take brilliance to trap her.

“Hey, I got your mom to out herself, didn’t I? Just load me up with crystals and I’ll use that to trap her.” I bluffed at the casino all the time, played with people to get them to spend more and talked them into things they normally wouldn’t do. And for Tallulah, I would smack a bitch down. With Bash by my side, we could do this.

He pressed his lips into a hard line and nodded. How good are you with your earth magic?

I opened my hand and let my magic flow. Vines crept over the windowsill, dropped down the wall, then slithered along the floor like snakes until they reached my feet.

Bash placed his hand over mine and the vines grew thicker as they wrapped around each other and then bound themselves around my ankles, holding me there. He looked at me, then down toward the vines.

It only took me a second to catch his drift. “Ohhh, we can hog-tie her—Rodeo style.”

He gave a silent chuckle.

“You blind her, I hog-tie her.” I pressed my hand to my chest and then his. “Wait, wait, wait. Navy-blue hair? In a hut? Does she go by the name Kori?”

He nodded.

My jaw dropped. Kori was Cleopatra? No freaking way . I raised my eyebrows. “Well, I have definitely met your sister. She’s the one who dressed me in this.” He wrinkled his nose. “But I think I’ve got this.”

Bash scribbled across the paper. How are you gonna get close ?

I patted his chest, letting my fingers run over his soft, glittery skin. “Don’t worry. I’ve got a plan. All you’ve got to do is wait outside the hut. When you see the signal, blind her.”

Oh, we’re going to have to fly out with her .

I shook my head. “I don’t have wings. Unless . . . can you carry both of us?”

He scowled. You were born here. You have wings .

I glanced over my shoulder, looking for the wings he spoke of. “Well, I, umm, don’t see them.”

You have wings. Trust me. Flying for the fae is like breathing underwater for a fish. He crooked his finger at me, then sauntered toward the door.

I followed him out the door and onto the thick tree branch. For a moment, I forgot we were hundreds of feet in the air over a frozen crystal forest. Bash looked so at ease here. Hell, his light-blue hair and eyes matched the light-blue tint of the ice. Even though our breaths came in foggy puffs. When he got to the middle of the branch, he turned and faced me.

“Just promise me you won’t throw me off the branch and think I’m going to fly. I’m not made for it, and I would prefer not to be roadkill. Okay so?—”

He pressed his finger over my lips, silencing me. His eyes locked on mine as he trailed that finger back over my cheek and down my jawline. Slowly, he trailed it down my neck and hesitated at my collar bone. I was transfixed and couldn’t look away. All I could do was feel that one point of contact. The tip of his finger over my skin sent goosebumps over my body. Warmth pooled in my stomach and spread as he trailed it lower down the center of my chest to where his necklace hung. He toyed with it, letting it tickle my skin. He leaned in closer as if he was about to kiss me. My heart soared and excitement flooded my veins.

My shoulders jerked back all of a sudden and something popped from my back. Glittering aqua wings fluttered up. They were translucent, with only the barest hint of aquamarine coloring.

“Holy shit. I have wings.” I reached out and touched them, expecting them to feel soft and feathery. Instead, they were smooth and strong with magic that flowed off them in waves.

Bash placed his hand on my wings and they glowed even brighter.

“Wait a second . . . did you just make me pop wing for you?”

He bit his bottom lip, fighting a smile. Of all the times I wish he could speak, now would be one of them. Instead, he stepped back and let his own wings unfurl from his back. His were a beautiful translucent color too, with hints of blue all throughout them. He offered me his hand and began to lift up off the branch.

I looked down . . . I should not have looked down . “You know, I don’t know if I’m good for this. Even with the right equipment, the player can be awful, you know what I mean?

Bash wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. His lips slammed into mine, and I melted against him. The taste of vanilla filled my mouth and I wanted more of it. Our tongues wound together, and I wanted every inch of him pressed close to me. My mind went completely blank. Nothing else mattered. The fluttering of my heart filled my ears.

His lips pulled away from mine, and when I opened my eyes I was hovering above him, with my face just over his and my body parallel to the branch. My wings made a light fluttering noise and I stayed there.

I watched as they beat like a hummingbird’s wings. “ I’m flying .”

Bash flapped his wings, joining me in the air.

I wrapped my fingers around his and held on for dear life. “How do I get down, or stop, or go left or right. Maybe I could just keep flapping my wings and you could pull me?”

He chuckled and shook his head. He pointed toward his temple, then to the right.

“Are you saying all I have to do is think it, and that’s the way I’ll go?”

He nodded and used his free hand to make the walking motion with his two fingers.

“Like walking?” My voice raised of its own accord. “Are you serious?”

When he motioned for me to try it, I had no other choice. I just let my instincts take over. If this was supposed to be like walking, then I was going to do the damn thing. My body drifted to the right and then back to the left without so much as a second thought. Bash let go of my hand and landed back on the branch. He made the corkscrew motion and I giggled.

I pulled my arms in tight to my body and spun around in a circle, floating up and down. The wind whipped through my hair and prickled my cheeks. He motioned to the left and then right, and I felt my body easily moving. He wasn’t lying. This was like walking. A thrill went through my body. I loved every second of this. It was freedom. It was amazing. It was exactly what I needed to kick some ass.

I touched down on the branch next to him and beamed up. “I see what you did there . . . with the kiss. Was that just to distract me? Or was it for someth?—”

He leaned in and pressed his lips to mine once more. This one wasn’t frantic or punishing. It was sweet and lingered with a gentleness I didn’t think Bash was capable of. He cupped my face as though I was the most precious treasure ever. My wings started beating again, and I hovered off the branch. He pulled away with a half-cocky grin.

I landed back down next to him with my heart trying to beat right out of my chest.

He winked and I fought not to smile. I wanted to be lost in this moment forever, but we had a curse to break, a world to save, and a bestie to rescue.

No big deal. I clapped my hands together and rubbed them back and forth. “So, rodeo time?”