Chapter 26

Oz

As the boat docked in the port of the Quad Cities, exhaustion settled over me like a heavy cloak. The journey had been long and bloody, like most missions I"d been assigned back on Arcadia. But this one was far from over. There were nearly two hundred miles of ungoverned, gang-managed, lawless terrain ahead of us through No Man"s Land to reach the trains in Chicago.

I was tired just thinking about it. I hadn"t slept in two days now. I was running on fumes. Forget my muscles. My bones were tired. But as I stepped off the riverboat, a surge of unfamiliar warmth flooded through me. My first thought was that it was magic, and I was being put under a spell. Then I looked down to see that Stella"s hand was in mine, our fingers interlaced.

I"d never held anyone"s hand before, never felt the weight of someone else"s trust resting in my palm. It was her touch igniting a fire within me, her fingertips reaching to the depths of my soul. The heat of her affection radiated from her palm and seeped into my skin to soothe the ache in my weary bones.

"You"re tired." She brushed her fingers across my brow and through my hair with her free hand. "We"ve gotta get you to bed."

The woman already had my soul. I"d been erect since I first spotted her walking down the street. Now my heart was a goner. It pounded right at my sternum, trying to get closer to her.

Looking around the docks, I saw that the other travelers had dispersed. Few had thanked us for our intervention. That didn"t bother me. Out in the wilds of No Man"s Land, friends turned into foe and then back again quick enough to give anyone whiplash. Everyone was scurrying away and watching their own backs. I never had any intention of watching out for any of them aside from steering the boat to safety.

The clang of metal against metal, the shouts of sailors, and the creaking of ships created an assault against my senses. I was tired of the salty tang of the river on my tongue. I wanted to get us away from all of it.

I pulled Stella into my side as I made my way through the crowd. A ball rolled up to my foot, halting our steps. I looked down to see the shifter cub from the boat. Once again, he looked expectantly from me to the ball and back again.

I almost moved around the ball. Almost. Maybe it was Stella"s hand in mine. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation. Maybe it was the fact that we"d just survived a near death experience.

I stopped the ball with the tip of my boot before it rolled off the side of the pier and into the water. Turning my foot, I gave it a kick that sent it back to the cub. He caught it with a gleeful grin.

The kid rejoined his group. A woman put a hand on his small shoulders and pulled him close. She bent and bussed a kiss to the top of his head. I swallowed hard before turning sharply to the right, giving the mother and cub my back.

I fisted my hand but didn"t get very far. Stella"s fingers were still wrapped around mine, making it hard to ball my feelings up. I avoided her gaze, not wanting to invite any discussion.

She said nothing, only pressed her palm more tightly to mine. Sending me more of that bone-melting warmth.

"You"re a good man, Oz."

She was wrong. I knew she was wrong. But her words didn"t feel wrong.

Everything she said to me sounded like the truth. I was under this witch"s spell. I wanted to be her hero. I wanted to worship her for the rest of her days. I wanted to be a good man.

The scent of her on my fingers called me a liar. I"d just finger-fucked my best friend"s fated mate.

Mine, said the panther.

The mark on her neck spoke louder. It was something I couldn"t hide, like my feelings. Something my king would kill me for.

He could do that once Stella was safe in Arcadia. She would choose the king over me, and that would be the end of it. With that thought, something in me shifted. My life would be over soon. Might as well enjoy it.

Stella didn"t balk at the story of my past. She didn"t blame me for my brother"s death, just like Dion didn"t. The only one who did was my mother, and she wasn"t a glowing beacon of maternal warmth. So maybe I wasn"t as bad as I thought.

The settlement, teeming with activity, carried an unmistakable air of danger. I sensed it in the wary glances and hushed conversations of the passersby. My instincts, honed by years of survival, remained on high alert.

Stella walked beside me, absorbed in the task of mending her designer clothes with her magic. The threads twisted and turned under her deft control. I couldn"t shake the feeling that her actions were drawing unwanted attention. Her elegance and the evident quality of her attire marked us as outsiders, making us targets in this rough settlement.

I reached for her hand, halting her movements. Even the slightest touch sparked a possessive impulse within me. She stopped what she was doing. A grin spread across her beautiful face, and she tilted her head up for a kiss.

I could not deny her. Allowing her lips to brush against mine, I seized her mouth. I was the pirate now, and I"d plundered the most precious treasure in this realm and any other.

"Stella." I reached out to trace the mark on her collarbone. "You need to be cautious. We have to blend in."

I tugged at the hem of her blouse, which shifted the top of the garment. Her gaze followed my movement, a salacious grin turning to a frown as my fingers didn"t go lower than that hem.

"You"re suggesting I don"t blend in?" Her tone was laced with amusement.

I regarded her, this woman destined for royalty, in the middle of the gritty streets. These alleys were unworthy of her grace. The people should lower their gazes in her presence. "No, princess. You do not."

I reclaimed her hand in mine. Now that I"d experienced this hand-holding business, I had no intention of stopping it. As we forged ahead, a sense of belonging and rightness enveloped me whenever I glanced at her, even as my mind cautioned me about the complexities our bond entailed.

There were more shadows and whispers in the streets than people. The remnants of a bygone era stood as silent witnesses to the chaos that reigned in this city that had once been. There were remnants of what once were notable architectural and tourist attractions. A dilapidated shell of what looked like an art museum was now marred by graffiti and shattered windows. A pavilion lay in ruins, its exhibits plundered and its machinery rusting in the harsh elements. A botanical center had been reclaimed by nature. The gardens were overgrown and untamed, the pathways cracked and broken.

Stella, adorned in her tailored garments enhanced by her magic, stood out like a beacon announcing a big pay day. Her pristine appearance called many eyes to her in the grimy surroundings, drawing unwelcome attention from those who sought to exploit her magic. The only thing that made most stop in their steps toward her was me at her side.

A hungry person might act mindlessly. Hungry people didn"t need to think straight if they had numbers on their side. The farther we got into the city, the more people I saw walking in pairs, in threes, and in groups.

The need to get us off the streets as quickly as possible gnawed at me. In this unforgiving landscape, safety was a luxury we couldn"t afford to take for granted. The panther within me emitted a warning growl. The crowds backed up a step, but that trick wouldn"t work again.

Surveying our surroundings, I assessed our limited options. Most buildings that could pass for shelter appeared as black holes that fed off violence. Stella gestured toward a hotel across the street. It exuded a seedy aura, the type likely offering rooms by the hour, a far cry from the safety and comfort I yearned to provide her.

I hesitated, torn between fulfilling her request and my instincts clamoring that it wasn"t the safest choice. It wasn"t like we had many others. So we crossed the street.