Then he turned to me. “Be careful, Michelangelo,” he said.
I met his worry-filled gaze—it gave me another glimpse of who my brother was. He cared about his people, and deeply, too.
But he’d called me Michelangelo? The unfamiliar name resonated oddly within me. So much so that my voice shook when I answered. “I will.”
Why couldn’t I remember him? He was mybrother. It was obvious we’d been close—his pain and frustration with my situation was written in his every glance and gesture.
He and Ash passed through the gate. Cara moved before it, raised her hands, and concentrated.
While we waited for her to redirect it, I examined our rescue squad. Besides me, Breana, and Dani, it included four members of Team Centaur—the Jumper, Riley, the ex-Centaur and nowStorm Drake, Marcus, the big red Dragon shifter, Havoc, and the fourth member of their quartet, a lean young man named Rafael.
Even Nettie and Grunt had a part to play in this mission. They waited quietly with us. Grunt had a variety of well-stuffed bags attached to him, and he wore a harness. I thought I saw leaves poking out from the packages in several places.
Although it remained a foggy memory, I was pretty sure I had bad associations with herbs and carts…
Cara finally uttered a satisfied sigh and lowered her hands. “Okay, crew. Here we go.” She glanced at me. “Put up your hood, Riggs. The one we are meeting knew Razir.”
I did so, adjusting the cloak to fit over the sword’s hilt. That it let me, and not Tyrez, draw it, had me more than a bit freaked out. How could it dictate who used it? Was the blade sentient?
Cara had the information I sought, but I had lacked the opportunity to ask her. And to be honest, I wasn’t convinced she’d answer, anyway.
I pushed the thoughts from my head and reached for Breana’s hand. I wasn’t sure she’d take it, but she did. As her fingers interlaced with mine, a sense of rightness flooded me. I might not remember my own name, but I knew that wherever she went, I would follow.
The glance she shot me offered a quick flare of silvery blue against her usual brown. Like the ice creature inside her peeked through—and it riveted me.
When I ripped my gaze away, Marcus was staring at us, dark brows low. He stayed as far away as he could. Surely, after we’d worked together so well to save the eruption evacuees, he’d softened towards Bree?
You couldn’t tell by his demeanor. He worestubbornlike a second suit.
We all grabbed hold of each other in a long chain and stepped through the gate.
A man awaited us. Not a man, exactly. He had bushy brown hair and horns on a slender body. My damaged brain coughed upSatyr.
His scent permeated the air.Whoa, that was strong stuff. When his gaze fastened on Breana, I moved between them. Not that she’d succumb to his pheromones, necessarily. But the move was as much instinctive as deliberate. I noticed Havoc and Marcus had put themselves between the Satyr and Riley, too.
Male Satyrs were just not trustworthy around beautiful females—or any females.
How did I remember that, but not my own brother?
The Satyr leaned against a mid-sized, covered wagon, upon which perched not one, but two Phoenixes.
Cara greeted him. “Hello, Jacques.”
Jacques did not appear particularly happy. “So,mon amie, when do I get to know what this is all about?”
The Watcher regarded him solemnly. “It really is better that you don’t know.”
Jacques waved his hands in the air. “You want my help, but don’t tell me what is going on.Ce n’est pas juste.”
“It is for your own safety, my friend,” she said. “There are forces at play right now that are particularly deadly.”
His eyes narrowed. “I don’t know aboutmortifère. But inconvenient, definitely. I have been asked to move.”
That surprised Cara. “By who?”
“Ourprestigieusenew Emperor. He wants to relocate the entire Satyr colony to the forest on the other side of the mountains.”
The constant fidgeting of his fingers revealed the request was upsetting to him. By the way Cara stiffened, she had a similar reaction. “Taran doesn’t have jurisdiction over your colony.”
