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 slightfeathering 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 skin was 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.
Ryker crossed his arms and studied the alley. “Where are we?”
He was looking better now that they were out of the Void.
“Can’t you feel it in the air?” Brynleigh pulled the collar of hersweater away from her skin, the heat making her regret her clothing choices. “We’re in Sandhaven.”
The southernmost metropolis in the Republic of Balance, Sandhaven was the oldest still-standing city in the entire continent. Founded during the Rose Empire by the seventh Empress, it was still a thriving city.
And it washot.
Even now, with the moon high in the sky, it felt like they were standing in an oven. The air smelled of sand, heat, and sweat. Pockets of light dotted the street beyond the alley, sirens wailed in the distance, and the wind carried faint streams of music from the Rosewood into the hot evening.
It looked and sounded the same as the last time Brynleigh had been here, but something was different.
Brynleighwas different. Or maybe it was the fae beside her. Either way, nothing was the same.
“Let’s go.” She wanted to get this over with. Usually, she didn’t mind shedding a little blood, but tonight, the thought didn’t thrill her as much as usual.