It was going to take more than a few minutes of us being back together for him to let go of the rigid anger which was riding his entire demeanor. I’m sure that rage was the driving force behind his actions for the past few weeks. It might have only been a few days’ separation for me, but for him it had been a lot longer than that.
The rest of the quads must have decided that their brother and I had had enough one-on-one time, they moved closer, stepping in to join us. The five of us were feeling the pull on our pack bond, we needed skin on skin contact, a moment to reinforce our pack ties. Jacob was on my right, Tyson on my left and Maximus at my back. Strength flooded through me, and the weird niggling of not-wanting-to-be-touched faded away. I closed my eyes, just breathing it all in.
Eventually Jonathon pulled his alpha voice out. “I know you guys need this, but Larkspur could return at any moment. We should start moving. We don’t know if next time he’ll call on the power of the marked to detain us.”
“We really have no idea what Larkspur is capable of,” Louis said from behind me. “When he was alive rumor had him displaying skills equal to a level six sorcerer. And yet, just now I got no magic vibe from him … which is odd. Still, we can’t forget that he has an army at his disposal. It was pure arrogance today which led him to believe he could take you all on with just his sword and dragon. He’ll not make that mistake again.”
With obvious reluctance the quads pulled back from me, all except for Braxton who kept me close to his side. Something told me I was going to be spending a lot of time in his arms in the coming days. Boy had been possessive before, now he was going to be downright annoying. Still, I was not complaining. His arms were my home, and I could stay there forever, no worries.
One of his large hands settled on my lower back and he started rubbing gently. Had he somehow sensed the dull ache which had been plaguing me there? As always, his hands were the most skilled of any I knew – oh, and his massages were pretty great also.
I was relieved to see that the gashes across his tawny skin were already healing, and a few muttered words from Tyson took care of the spatters of blood and damage to his clothes.
Right now I wanted nothing more than endless time with my quads, but alas, dragon dick was ruining my life again; we had to get to the Isle of the Gods.
I sighed. “Dad’s right we need to move. We have to go to the land of the shining ones. I believe they’re our best chance at finding a weapon which can take down the dragon king.”
A multitude of expressions crossed the men’s faces. I hurried to explain further. “The reason the king can’t be killed is because of the connection between him and the dragon marked. We have to find a way to break those ties, and since it appears this curse originated with the fey gods …”
I trailed off, and since no one looked surprised, I figured this wasn’t the first time they had heard of this. As a group we turned to face the four bridges. They spanned as far as the eye could see.
“How do we know which one leads to the Isle of the Gods?” I hoped one of the others would know.
“You ask them.” Power dripped from Louis’ words. “They’re an illusion. There’s only one true road from here. You have to make the choice. Tell them which path you need.”
I used my free arm to give him a hug. “I’ve missed you, big brother,” I said, my grin actually lifting into something real. Probably one of the first true smiles to cross my lips in some time.
“I missed you too, Jess. Please don’t get kidnapped again. It was stressful and worrying, and I had to deal with not only your guard lizard, but the rest of your men.”
Braxton grinned, probably impressed with his ability to piss off the sorcerer. My heart clenched tightly then, and it was as if I could finally feel the true depth of my heartache during my separation from the boys. I’d been numb during my time with Larky, too numb to really feel the pain, because the cut had been so deep. I couldn’t let that happen again, I could not lose any of my pack. I would not survive it.
We were already close to the edge of the land, I gave Louis a side look and he nodded, so taking a deep breath I stepped up to the first of the four bridges and yelled: “Isle of the Gods … the shining ones.” I felt a bit like an idiot shouting at a bridge, but I trusted Louis knew what he was talking about. He seemed to be a Faerie expert.
A shimmer of light beamed through the golden side arches and I was blinded for a second. By the time my sight cleared, the four-bridge illusion was gone and in its place was one massive structure. This single bridge was at least sixty feet wide, spanning off into the distance. I knew it would stretch for as long as it needed to reach our destination.
“Jess…” Jonathon’s voice stopped me right before I was about to step out onto the wide, glowing wooden planks. “I’ve stayed as long as I can, but now that I know you’re reasonably safe, I’m going to head back to Stratford. The town is falling apart. There’s no leadership, and if I don’t get this under control, the human world will soon be more than aware of our supernatural communities. I know you have your boys with you, you’ll be fine, but your sister and Lienda are alone.”
I didn’t need his explanations, I understood completely. I actually loved that he had so much trust and faith in mine and the pack’s abilities to take control of this situation.
“Totally fine, Dad. You have responsibilities. I’ll be happier knowing you’re there to keep everyone safe. We’ll meet you back home as soon as we figure out what the hell is on the Isle of the Gods which might help us defeat the king.”