Chapter 30

THIRTY

Drogo

I don't want to be this close to danger with my best friends and Tara, the people who mean most to me in this world. Coming to this passageway never brings anything good… although, I actually can't say that. The last time we passed through, we got Tara. And she's worth anything and everything. Even coming to the place my brothers died.

But I still don't feel good about being here. Not because of the reasons from before, but because this place is dangerous, and I don't want my sweet mate near anything dangerous. Already, when Tara sent word to her people about her mother's death and her new status as queen, they'd made it known that a cousin of hers would be taking her place as queen instead.

A cousin, apparently, as vicious as Tara's mother.

They didn't want a shifter bride as their queen, and they wanted war with us once more. Tara accepted this. Accepted that these were her ruthless people, witches who would never accept her as their queen, or accept peace.

So she'd come up with another solution to handle them. Unfortunately, it involves a dangerous place where I fear for her safety. Where I fear I'll lose her again.

My heart aches at just the thought of that day I spent without her. It felt like my life was falling apart. Like I'd never be able to draw in an easy breath again.

I can't lose her. Never again.

But Tara said we had to come here. She thinks she has the only real solution to stopping the wars between witches and shifters for good. I hope she's right. If she can pull this off, she'll be a legend. She'll bring peace to the Shifter Kingdom just with the power of her two hands.

I have to trust that she's got this under control. I do trust her as my mate. She's proven to me over and over again that there's not an evil bone in her body. Hell, she's saved my ass more than once.

Already it's been weeks since she put that spell on the web in the river, and our people are getting better day by day. The water even heals injuries and other sicknesses. It's slow, but it works its magic.

I've never been more grateful for magic.

Arlys' father walked to his room all by himself the day we left on this journey. The maids cheered him on, but we just heard yelling, so we ran to his room and got to witness him walk down the hallway without any assistance. Arlys broke down in tears when he saw it, running to embrace his father who looked a lot less weak and even a little heavier.

Hell, I almost cried too.

Tara knows what she's doing, and I'm going to be by her side throughout it all.

I glance in her direction.

She looks back at me, as if she was waiting for me to make my way through my thoughts. "Ready?"

"Just one more second."

Going to the valknut, I kneel down and let a feeling of peace wash over me that I've never felt in this place before. Brothers, this symbol was created by my wife to honor you. I hope it'll rest over this place – a place filled with so much violence – and be a symbol of peace and love.

I'm about to stand, when I feel an urge to say more. I always thought that I was showing you honor and love by not being with Tara, but I've realized that the best thing I can do to honor you is to live a life filled with love and happiness. And that's exactly what I have with Tara. I might not care for witches, but this one is different. She's a good one. I think some part of you led me to her, and for that I'll be forever grateful.

You're loved. You'll never be forgotten. I hope you've found peace in the afterlife.

Standing, I smile. "Now, I'm ready."

And I am. I'm ready to be done with this final task, so I can return home and just be with Tara. Lavish her in love. Focus on showing her how much I care about her and how sorry I am for what an ass I was to her.

"And this won't hurt you?" Arlys asks, staring out over the Deadly Passage, his long hair blowing gently around his face. He looks every bit a shifter prince.

She shakes her head, her smile widening. "It might tire me out, but it won't hurt me."

"And we'll watch for any witches," Rinan says, sounding serious as his eyes dart around.

Garrick huffs. "Hopefully, none of them will be dumb enough to approach us."

That seems to be enough for her. She stands in front of the passageway and raises her hands in front of her. Her brows knit in thought as we feel her magic washing over us, or at least, I imagine we do.

Watching her perform her magic always leaves me in awe. She's powerful in a gentle way. Whatever she's performing magic on bends to her will. It's amazing.

My mate is amazing. And I don't deserve her one bit.

The metal in the passageway is no different. It starts to bend and shift and stretch, making scraping noises that fill the air. I cover my hands with my ears. It's deafening, sounding as if it's coming from all around us, but I watch with wide eyes as all the metal from the passageway begins to grow and change. It stretches and elongates to thin, sharp-looking threads that span the passageway, shooting from one side to the other.

Time passes. Minutes. Then hours. I can feel her powers reaching far beyond where we can see, reaching across the entire Deadly Passage. Calling to all the metal within it.

More and more pieces appear and stretch before our eyes, finding places to stick to until there's a web of sharp metal threads covering the whole passageway. Literally. It's a web of sharp, deadly-looking metal, giving a new meaning to the name "Deadly Passage."

There's no way anyone can get through this.

At last, Tara sighs and drops her hands, her body drooping. I tear my eyes away from what she just created and shuffle to her side, my arm on her back to help her stay up. I've learned that although Tara makes magic look easy, it weakens and drains her energy to do big jobs like this.

She leans into me. Her soft, warm body feels good against mine. "I want to sit down."

We all gather around her, but I help her walk to a large rock nearby and sit her down, then I go back to the passageway entrance. I want to get a closer look at what she made. I reach my hand out and place a finger on one of the metal threads. To my shock, it slices deep into my finger.

I yank my hand back and curse.

"Let me heal you," Tara calls to me, her voice weary.

And I feel instantly guilty for being so stupid. "Not yet. You're still tired. Get your energy up, and you can heal me later on." I know healing won't drain her, but I don't want her to have to heal me because my curiosity got me hurt.

"Are you okay?" Garrick asks, touching her shoulder.

She nods, her beautiful face just a shade too pale. "Just tired."

Rinan sits down behind her and rubs her back. Her eyes flutter closed and a little smile darts across her lips. Arlys and Garrick stare down at her, no doubt with the same wonder I have in my own eyes. Our mate, she's perfect, strong and soft all at the same time.

Sucking my finger for a moment, I look back at the web. "Can another metal witch undo this?"

She answers without hesitation. "I put a curse on the metal as I wove it, so it will be dangerous to try to break. Besides, there currently are no other Metal Witches, and it's a magic they find useless enough not to teach."

"Then it's done," Arlys says, looking relieved.

"It is," she says with a little smile.

Garrick sighs, but his gaze is locked on her. As always. "I guess we should go back to camp and rest."

"Rest?" she asks, lifting a brow.

"Unless you have some energy to still work out," I say, my groin already tightening

That smile of hers widens. "I've got some energy left."

Hours later, I'm holding her, the other guys snoring around us as I gently trail my fingers down her arm. When I reach her hand, I hold it up in front of us. It's a simple hand. There's nothing extraordinary about it, but with just her pointed fingers and her magic, she can do amazing things.

"You really are incredible," I say.

"You know I'm going to get cocky if you keep saying things like that," she teases me.

"Never," I whisper, kissing the top of her head. "You're mine. My witch. My bride. My wife. And my mate. And I'm never going to give you up. No matter how cocky you get."

"Promise?" she whispers, looking up at me with those big brown eyes of hers.

"Promise," I say, kissing her gently.

And I mean it. I'll love this woman with every fiber of my being until the day I die. And for shifters and witches, that's a very long time.