“We… We have to be touching.” She swallowed past the dryness that had suddenly appeared in her throat. “For this to work.”
His gaze dropped to her outstretched hand, and he clenched his jaw.
Had he not known contact was required?
Brynleigh had realized it the moment he declared he was coming with her.
They hadn’t touched yet. Not really.
She could still remember the world-altering impact of their first touch, and she was equally excited and petrified to see if that spark remained between them after… everything.
Ryker inhaled, and his face hardened as though he was preparing himself. After several long moments, he finally moved.
It seemed to take him ages to cross the divide between them and put his hand in hers, lacing their fingerstogether.
Brynleigh’s heart seized at the familiarity of the gesture. Ryker was warm, whereas she was cold. Calloused where she was soft. His hand enveloped hers, and…
Oh gods, the sparks remained.
She almost hated them for still being present after everything they’d been through.
Was she the only one feeling this way?
She glanced up at him and frowned. His face was blank. The only sign that the touch affected him was the slight feathering of his jaw.
Maybe he didn’t care anymore. And maybe… maybe she should try to do the same.
After all, she was just an asset.
With that depressing thought in mind, Brynleigh called on her shadows. They curled lovingly around her, cloaking them in darkness.
“Hold on,” she reminded him again.
In response, Ryker’s fingers pulsed around hers.
Her stupid heart fluttered at the action.
She didn’t have time to focus on her feelings. Instead, she drew on her darkness and pulled them into the Void.
One moment, they were in the forest. The next, they were passing through the emptiness that belonged to vampire-kind.
Darker than the night itself, light never existed here. Stars were a foreign concept. Life did not have a place in the In Between. There was nothing but shadows and darkness and flickers of power.
Brynleigh had heard tales that the goddess of the moon inhabited the Void, but she’d never been to Isvana’s moonlit palace. No one had, except the Sunwalking Queen, many millennia ago.
Ryker’s breaths came in short bursts as Brynleigh pulled them through the Void. This method of travel wasn’t kind to most non-vampires. True to his word, his grip was like iron around hers.
She glanced at him, the darkness not impeding her vision, and her lips slanted down. Sweat was beading on his forehead, his skinwas paler than normal, and a pained grimace twisted his beautiful mouth.
“We’re almost there,” she murmured, wishing she could urge the shadows to move faster.
He grunted, squeezing her hand.
Several more seconds went by before the shadows delivered them to their destination. The darkness melted away, leaving them in an alley.
The moment they were on solid ground, Ryker disentangled their fingers and stepped away from Brynleigh.
Her heart twisted at his obvious rejection.