Page 83 of Of Flame and Fury
Like a rebellious teen, she grows brighter and more obnoxious. The footsteps are almost on top of me. Something reaches the edge of the ravine.
I don’t see him. I feel him. He’s a predator, vicious and angry, and he’s…hunting.
I back up and away from the fire as he rampages forward, lifting Sparky like a shield.
“Taran!”
Gemini leaps over the fire. From one step to the next, he’s on me, cuddling me and wrapping me in his massive body.
My chest heaves in and out. I think I’m crying, but no tears come. I think I’ll pass out, but my eyes are alert, taking him in.
“You’re alive,” Gemini says. “Jesus. I thought I lost you.”
I want to scream with joy and fear and everything I feel at seeing my mate. Other than a pained gulp, nothing else comes out. He strokes my hair away from my face laughing. “You’re not saying anything.”
I laugh, too, while my pent-up tears cause a sting within my eyes. “Trust me when I say, I’m more shocked than you.”
My face is covered with dirt and whatever fake-Misha parts hit me. Gemini doesn’t care. He kisses my face and lips, keeping me close as if I’ll vanish again. I return his embrace and his love, terrified he’ll leave me too.
We fall into a perfect silence, not like the one that surrounds us, but one I need just then. His body is strong, warm, and beautifully real. I welcome it, allowing his strength to reenergize me.
“How are you…here?”
His large hand slides along my back. “Misha.”
“What?” I ask. “What do you mean, Misha? I thought you lost him?”
“That’s what we all believed.” Gemini releases a long breath. “He arrived into Genevieve’s quarters not long after you were sucked into the fucking circle.”
“I wasn’t sucked.” He makes it sound like I didn’t put up a fight. “I fell.” Never mind, that’s not any better.
He throws back his head, laughing. “You have no idea how good it feels to hear you argue with me.”
“I am pretty damn good at it.” I rub my face against his chest. He’s wearing sweatpants and nothing else. The same clothes he returned in when they thought they lost Misha.
“What happened?” I ask.
“After you ‘fell’ into the hole, Celia continued levitating above it. None of us could get into the circle, and we wouldn’t allow her to move, worried she’d get sucked in.”
“You mean fall,” I correct.
I don’t have to see him to know he’s smirking. “WecalledGenevieve back. She couldn’t do anything. Misha could.”
“How is he?” I ask.
Gemini isn’t impressed by Misha. He doesn’t care how powerful he is, and his friendship with Celia bothers him. It’s not admiration I hear in his voice, it’s something else. Perhaps the barest trace of respect. “He came in, weak from battle and bordering on bloodlust with hunger. Aric fed him—”
“You lying,” I reply in my thickest Jersey accent.
“I assure you, I’m not. Aric gave Misha his blood.”
My jaw is opened in the most unattractive way possible. “Tell me they fell into a passionate embrace. That both had screaming orgasms as a result. Tell me it was so good they spooned like lovers afterward and shared a cigar.”
Gemini makes a face. “No. And thank you for that visual.” He shudders. “Aric cut his veins open and poured his blood into a glass.”
“Oh,” I mutter. “I think my way was more exciting, thrilling even.”
“For you,” he quips. “Not for them. It’s an honor to have the blood of an alpha as revered as Aric. Yet there was Misha, holding his nose as he drank. His vampires glanced away, disgusted. Except for Edith Anne, who asked for a sip.”