Turning to me, he studied my face and then his gaze dropped to my chest, "You are almost as sorrowful as my son was when he brought you home to meet me." Cupping my face in his strong hands, he purred, "Tell me my daughter in law, where is my son's body and why are you so unhappy when his soul resides inside you."
Everyone grew quiet and suddenly, Riella shimmered to shadow, falling into my arms, wrapping around me, the fur of her hood tickling my face.
"Let us find shelter first," I rasped, "then I will tell you all what has happened."
Chapter 67
ThecavePeninahadfound was large and accommodated the blazing fire Bane provided with ease. But despite the added heat, the ice lining the walls barely melted, a shimmering glaze against the flames. The others gathered, stripping off their outer layers and reaching for the warmth of the fire, no one speaking, everyone waiting for my next words with baited breath, quietly digesting what had transpired the past two days.
"Where is he?" Asher asked softly, breaking the silence.
My lips thinned and stiffly I nodded to the shadows. Everyone watched with avid interest as they swirled upon the ground growing larger and then lifting away completely revealing Emon in all his sleeping glory.
Tyr crossed his arms with mock hurt, purple eyes studying his best friend, "Of course the asshole got his first tattoo brandswithout me."
My eyes trailed along Emon’s markings as I traced the edges of my own just inside the fur cuff of my coat. "Do not worry my friend, he got them without me too."
Xi placed her arm around me and hugged me tightly.
"Rem?" Penina said softly. Tearing my eyes away from my shifter mate, I looked into her questioning eyes. "Where is Emon's bag? That he traveled with in Sheol? It might help him once he wakes to have something familiar."
My eyes narrowed on the innocent look in her warm brown eyes. Her piercings shimmering in the firelight.
Riella clapped her hands and more than one of us jumped. On edge in these new lands and after the story just told. "Oh, I'll get it! Zaki!" she cried.
When a long eared, red eyed bunny appeared hissing at everyone except for Riella and I, they reared back.
"Zaki," Riella sighed, "Be nice."
Tyr arched his pierced brow, the tattoos over his shaved head wrinkling, "Anyone want to explain why we are sharing a cave with a demon rabbit?"
Asher leaned in with a fascinated expression. "It's not a demon, it's a pookah."
"He is my spirit guide," Riella smiled at him and stroked his fur. "Zaki, we need faedere's bag."
The pookah nuzzled her hands before flashing away to return seconds later, dropping our bag in front of us with a loud thud that echoed off the walls of the cave. "Thank you Zaki," I said, shifting the bag over to Penina. "I am hoping having you all here once he wakes will also help."
"So how do we wake sleeping beauty?" Bane growled out from the entrance of the cave, his eyes never leaving the Sanguine night. It was only slightly dimmer than when we first came, the eclipse full and permanent in the sky.
I sighed rubbing at my temples. "His soul is inside of me, I must breathe it back into him with a kiss. "
Tyr's laughter roared, before twitches of smiles broke across all our faces. "Like a goddess damn princess?" he guffawed.
Penina smacked him. "Can't you tell this is hard enough on her?" But she could not stop the grin on her face from spreading. "I cannot wait to tease him for the rest of his life for this."
Asher winked back at her. "Aye, me too lass."
I sighed and rubbed my hands on my thighs before rising. "I cannot delay this any longer." Walking towards my soulmate, I waved my hand, the shadows making the glass disappear instantly. Staring down at Emon's strong jaw line, I trailed the scruff of his beard, before reaching up and brushing his hair off his brow. I was more than eager to see his golden eyes open, but also I was fearful to face what I might see in them when they did.
The others gave me my space, waiting patiently and supportively at my back.
Breathing deeply and closing my eyes to concentrate, I reached for Emon and Ethereal's souls. They flickered inside my chest just like the lights in Sheol. I felt for the shadow around their outlines, grasping onto them and pulling it upwards at the same time as my lips leaned over and touched Emon's.
They were soft and I savored the touch, feeling the loss of his soul acutely, leaving behind just the frozen chill of my heart that I prayed he could warm again.
Please, please, let this be enough, I pleaded, losing myself in the feel of his lips, breathing his soul back into his half dead body.
My weariness and grief was overwhelming, my mind foggy and slow with so much fatigue that I missed the warning growl rumbling from my soulmate's chest.
