Page 412 of Primal Bonds
He withdrew his claws, stared unseeingly into the trees.
“Hey.” Marjani touched his back. “She’ll be all right. You’ll see. Adric will make sure of it.”
He jerked his chin in acknowledgement. “It’s dark. We should go in.”
Wednesday morning dawned. Dion woke from a restless sleep with a sense of dread. Time was running out. The new moon was just two days away.
Cleia had spent the night at Rising Sun with Brisa while Dion bunked down with Tiago, both of them tossing and turning for those hours they weren’t on watch, their worry for Rosana a constant, clawing thing.
He glanced at where his brother lay staring at the ceiling and threw off the sheet. “I’m going for a swim.”
Tiago rose as well. “I’ll come.”
When they exited their room, Rui was waiting. They left Jaxon and Ed on watch at the motel and headed for the Potomac. Dion and Tiago swam as their dolphins, with Rui joining them as his bull shark. When they returned, Dion sent Jaxon and Ed for a swim while Tiago opted to make another attempt at slipping through New Moon’s wards by water. Meanwhile, Rui held a convo with Marjani and Fane to determine if there was anything they were missing.
Dion took up a position in the forest near the court. The temperatures remained just above freezing, with a chilly wind rattling the bare branches. He paced a path through the trees, straining for a glimpse of Rosana, but the unnatural fog prevented him from seeing more than a few yards.
A black rage filled his head. That his sister was trapped underground in one of those cryptlike lairs. Upset, afraid, unable to shift.
With those perverted bastards enjoying her fear.
His claws pricked out. He dropped his head back, fangs bared. His animal wanted to slash and burn, to tear out Langdon’s heart and feed on it.
The air nearby shimmered and then twisted as Cleia ’ported onto the grass between the woods and the court. She walked to him, a pretty peach-colored dress whipping around her long legs, her bright hair in a businesslike braid. Her only concession to the January cold was a soft cashmere shawl.
“My love.” She touched his unshaven cheek. “You have to eat. Starving yourself isn’t helping Rosana. And when was the last time you slept?”
Dion raked a hand through his hair. He hadn’t tied it back for days, and his only clothing was a T-shirt and the leather pants he’d been wearing when Rosana had gone missing. His animal was too close to the surface to accept such human restrictions as shoes or a coat.
“I slept last night.” For an hour or two. “And I’m not hungry. How’s my Brisa?”
“She’s good. She misses her papai, of course, and Rosana.”
He ran a hand down Cleia’s silky braid, needing to touch her. “Tell Brisa I miss her, too. With all my heart. And that I’ll be home as soon as I can—with Rosana.” He glared at the night fae compound.
“I already did.” Cleia ’ported in a thick ham-and-cheese sandwich and a cup of coffee, and thrust them both into his hands. “But you still need to eat, and sleep more than a few hours a night.”
When he just stared at the food, she sighed. “Dion. I’m as worried as you are. But you can’t give up hope. We will get her back. And meanwhile, she’s with Adric. From what the prince said, that was a condition of her remaining at the court. Adric won’t let them hurt her.”
Anger fisted in his chest. He hadn’t forgotten that Rosana had been sneaking off to see the Baltimore alpha right beneath his nose. Even Tiago had known, or at least suspected. The sensible part of him knew his anger was misplaced, that it was just that he was so damn afraid for his sister, but he didn’t care.
“If it wasn’t for him,” he growled, “she’d never have been there in the first place.”
“You don’t really believe that.”
“No?”
Her lush mouth set. She started to argue further, but he shook his head.
“Querida. Not now. Por favor?”
She expelled a breath. “You’re right. When they’re safely back home, then we’ll argue about whether they’re mates or not.”
“Mates?” That fist of anger tightened around his heart. “Who said anything about them being mates? It would never work. She can’t live in Baltimore—I told Adric myself.”
“Did you now?”
“And he agreed.”
