His honeysuckle eyes, which had just the slightest threads of gold through them, brightened as we continued to stare, memorizing each other. I desperately wanted to ask where Braxton was but I was afraid to hear the answer. I could see nothing in the vicinity around me, though those roars had come from somewhere.
“My turn,” Maximus demanded, shoving his brother to the side and wrenching me into him. The vampire Compass’s strong body trembled as he held me, and I found myself wrapping my arms as tightly around him as I could, offering comfort, warmth, and the knowledge that I was here. I was safe. They had finally found me.
Eventually, I couldn’t wait any longer. “Did Jacob make it out? And where is Brax?”
Maximus set me on my feet, and after a quick hug from Louis, I was soon in the center of a man sandwich. The three massive males made me look positively petite, which I freaking hated. Someone get me a goddamn ladder, I was getting out alpha’d here by a stupid quirk of genetics.
“We haven’t seen Jake since he followed you into the labyrinth.” Maximus looked more than a little worried about his fey brother.
“I left him in there after I made sure Larky followed me,” I said in a hurry. “I’m going to kick his scrawny ass so bad. When the dragon dick attacked us, he decided to be a freaking sacrifice and took off.”
My attitude came out in full force when I was freaked out. Jacob better be okay.
“Who the hell are you calling scrawny?”
A surge of relief just about dropped me to my knees. I swung around to find Jacob and Jonathon, my father, striding out of the darkness near the end of the maze. My feet started to move then and I sprinted to reach them. I threw myself at Jonathon. He caught me with ease. We hugged for a long time before eventually I pulled back to stare into his comforting face.
His blond hair was extra bright here, but I was surprised to see that his eyes, dark blue like my own, were sunken, with some very fine lines visible around them. My father was not old for a shifter, only a few hundred years, so he still looked early thirties, but clearly the stress of recent times had taken its toll. I had a brief worry that maybe something else back home had happened. I really hoped Lienda and Mischa were okay.
My twin was never far from my thoughts; I could always feel her in my head and heart. We had been bonded from the moment she’d unlocked her powers; a part of me was irrevocably linked to her, very faint now with the distance between us, but I believed I’d know if there was anything serious going on with her.
Jonathon’s strong hands remained on my biceps, holding me in place. “I’m so glad you’re okay, Jess. It’s been hell the last few weeks, absolute hell, and I know that it’s not over yet, but with all of us back together I believe we can beat him. We can finish this. There is no other choice.”
I had so much to tell them, all the things I’d learned in the castle, but that would have to wait until I found my mate.
I swiveled a glare on Jacob. He opened his mouth but I cut him right off. “Don’t say a mutha-effing word. I will deal with you later. For now we have bigger problems.”
The asshat didn’t even have the decency to look worried. If anything, his eyes were sparkling as he tried not to laugh.
“Hey, Jess, Jake, Jonathon…” shouted Maximus. “Come on, we have to help Brax.”
Spinning around I saw that the other boys had not followed me across to my father. I spotted their backs before they disappeared into the brightness.
Braxton needing help had my feet scrambling and my heart racing. I headed in their direction even though I couldn’t see them any longer. Jacob and Jonathon caught up to me within a few strides, and we moved in a single-file line across this land of white and light. I guessed this was the center of Faerie, the place that would lead us to the Isle of the Gods.
I was trying to remember what Rose had said about this area. Could Larky have followed me here? I was pretty sure Rose had told me he was able to be in this center place. With Braxton? Holy shit!
My feet were slamming against the white ground, my eyes cataloguing everything. There were no defining features here, just the darkness of the labyrinth behind us and the blinding white in front. I couldn’t really see more than about five feet in front of me.
As we ran Jonathon reached out to take my hand, giving it a squeeze. “I’ve dreamed about hearing your voice again, Jess. I really missed your snark. Your mom and sister have been beside themselves with worry. Mischa especially. Your sister is fading away without you. We need to let them know you’re safe as soon as possible.”
“Hopefully we’ll be back with them soon,” I said, giving my father a smile, relieved to hear that my family had been alive and well the last time he saw them. I wanted to ask him more, but now just wasn’t the time. I needed to focus on this place, and Braxton.
From what Rose had said, this was the center of Faerie, the area where we would find the path to the Isle of the Gods, but it was almost a nothing space. Just as I was wondering if we’d be lost in this land of white forever, I realized the landscape was changing. As if a fog were lifting from the space beyond us, I could now make out some mountainous shapes. Very odd mountains. They almost looked like large mounds of coral, the sort of coral which was dead, leached of all life.
“What the hell is this place?” I murmured as my boots crunched on the coral pieces littering the path. I was starting to really panic about the fact that Larky had most probably followed me out of the labyrinth. I’d been trying to protect Jacob, and had instead put the rest of my pack in danger. Especially Braxton.