He'd really thought the goddess had been teleporting him to the Amazon jungle where she'd once kept an Alterant in an invisible cage bound by majik.
But she'd teleported him to Atlanta instead. That had been ten hours ago and it was closing in on eight at night.
No sign of Evalle.
What had transpired after he left? Tell me Evalle didn't get herself in more trouble with Macha.
Or had Macha sent Evalle home with orders to stay away from any demon unless she intended to kill it?
Settling down beneath a clear, starry night, he sat cross-legged and closed his mind to everything except finding his spirit guide. He still had not fully conquered his Ashaninka blood, but he'd held onto the energy flowing from his Navajo side since returning to the city.
With a little luck, he'd be able to connect to Kai.
He searched inside himself for the peace that his Navajo ancestry had brought him over the years when the battle to walk the line between human and demon had potholes threatening to suck him down to the dark.
"Storm!" Kai's voice burst into his mind with so much happiness he found a smile for her by the time he opened his eyes.
Her hands were clasped under her chin and her face held an adolescent excitement that warmed him. "You are safe."
Was he? Maybe he would be, if he was somewhere other than Atlanta.
Without Evalle, he had no reason to stay. But he also had no desire to be far away from her. That was too conflicted for him to figure out tonight.
"Storm?"
"Sorry, my mind is wandering. I'm glad to see you. Thank you for watching over me."
She gave a nod. "However, there were others who came to your aid."
"I know Evalle did, but who else?"
"Your friend the Sterling witch showed up at your house when Evalle was trying to contact me."
He cupped his eyes. "I can only imagine how those two got along."
"They worked together."
Lowering his hand, Storm started to question if Kai was telling the unvarnished truth, but Kai would only have known as much as she perceived from conversations with Evalle or Adrianna.
He would expect both of them to treat Kai with respect, which would have hidden the fact that Evalle hated Adrianna. Hate was too strong a word for a simple case of jealousy though, and Storm enjoyed Evalle's streak of possessiveness.
Or, he had until now. Macha had very likely put an end to Evalle ever seeing him again, and Storm couldn't blame the goddess. Why allow Evalle to see someone who would be a hunted man once word got around?
"Why are you sad, Storm? Is Evalle in danger?"
"No, she's safe and she'll remain that way as long as she stays away from me."
Kai's frown was comical, as if she couldn't decide if he was joking or not. "You do know that is not going to happen."
His throat tightened, but he managed to say, "I'm fairly certain the Belador goddess will forbid Evalle from any further association with me."
Leaning forward with her hands on her knees, Kai shook her head at him. "Evalle traveled to another realm first to find you then she returned to bring you back. That was no easy task."
"And it cost her something she'd never had until the last couple of days. She gave up the ability to walk in the sunlight," he said with more force than he'd intended.
Oddly, no thunderstorm boomed overhead, the usual sign of Kai's displeasure with him when he raised his voice. She said, "That was Evalle's choice."
He kept his words calmer. "It doesn't change the fact that she made a huge personal sacrifice."
"That in itself should be enough to tell you Evalle will not stay away from you regardless of who orders her."
Not unless Macha threatened Storm's life, but he wouldn't debate this further with Kai. He changed the subject. "Would you please go to my father and see if you can offer him any peace where he is? I have no way to free him."
"I will be happy to go as soon as our time ends, but I am not certain I can do much." Her brown eyes filled with sadness.
"I understand. Just do what you can and tell him I love him." Storm had no one to blame but himself for allowing Nadina to get the upper hand. Evalle thought she was responsible for losing his father's soul as well as his, but she had only done what Storm would have in her shoes.
"Stay in peace, Storm. We will visit again later." Then Kai faded as Storm closed his eyes and slowly flowed back into his body where it still sat on the blanket.
He stretched back with his head pillowed against his arms.
Energy swept toward him from the side of the house.
He recognized the source and didn't move. "Did Macha finally do something for you, Evalle?"
"Yes." Her footsteps were light, but his jaguar hearing picked up the slightest sound.
He let out the breath he'd been holding, worried that she'd come after dark because she had not regained her ability to be exposed to the sun. "I'm glad. That's how it should be."
Three more soft steps and she stood at the side of the blanket, looking down. Black hair spilled over the shoulders of a vintage BDU shirt that had seen its share of time on a working soldier in the past. Jeans hugged legs that were impossibly long from this vantage point and ended at the worn boots that hid razor sharp blades.
Five foot ten of badass female.
Sexy badass female who propped her hands on her hips.
He lifted his gaze back to her face. "Should you be here?"
"I don't know. Should I?"
He tried to take his eyes off her beautiful green ones, but he was drinking her in with deep gulps, needing to save this view of her for his future when he'd be all alone. "No, you shouldn't be here. This won't be a safe location once word gets around that I'm in Atlanta again."
"I would have thought you learned your lesson today, Storm. You failed to shove me away then. You can't do it now."
He growled and finally sat up, then pushed up to his feet to face her. Now, if he could just keep his hands off of her. "It's not that I don't appreciate all that you did for me. There are no words to express how much you amaze me over and over again, but VIPER is hunting demons. You're expected to hunt them. Being with me is going to put you in conflict at the very least and in danger at the worst. I'm not shoving you away. I'm trying to keep you safe. I need you to be safe."
He gave himself credit for not grabbing Evalle and running as far as he could to keep her with him, but that would take her from all that she held dear.
Clearly disinclined to help him out, she stepped up and looped her arms around his waist and laid her head next to his heart. "If anyone shows up we'll deal with them together, but right now VIPER and the Beladors have their hands full with the Medb infiltrating the city. Tzader is reinstated as Maistir and Lanna is safely back with Quinn. Quinn's another worry, but one that will wait for tomorrow." She lifted her face to him. "I'm tired of battles. Don't make me fight to stay with you, because I will."
His body longed for her touch and he had no discipline left when it came to her. He wrapped his arms around her and his world paused in that moment. The feel of her in his arms could only be described as coming home.
Except for regaining his father's soul and his own, all Storm had ever wanted was right here with her.
Someone made a harrumph noise.
Within a second, Storm flipped around to face the threat and had Evalle behind him.
The old druid from Treoir stood ten feet away with his hands behind his back, and appeared to be patiently waiting.
Evalle shoved up beside Storm, muttering, "We're going to have to talk about you doing that." Then she exclaimed, "Garwyli!"
"Good to see ya, girl. Did ya tell him?"
"Not yet. He was too intent on sending me away."
Garwyli must have thought that was absurd. At least that's what the expression on his face showed. He told Storm, "I hadn't considered that you might be addle-brained."
"I'm not," Storm ground out.
"Th
en you should be thankin' this young woman for puttin' your father at peace."
"What?" Storm turned to Evalle. "What did you do?"
She scratched her head. "Macha said she couldn't return your father's soul so I asked if she had someone who could help him cross over to his final resting place. Macha was going to tell me no again, but Garwyli offered to do it. She said she didn't care who did what as long as I was done irritating her."
The old druid cackled. "The goddess can be a bit tryin' some days."
"Some days?" Evalle asked with a smile that lacked humor.
Getting past his shock, Storm asked, "My father is really at peace?"
"According to Garwyli," Evalle confirmed. "It took a while and he did a bunch of things that I couldn't begin to explain since it was in something that sounded like Gaelic."
"'Tis a bit older language than that," the druid said, smiling slyly. "I was able to reach the spirits that could guide your father to his final resting place. It was much simpler than tryin' to return his soul."
"I appreciate you doing that, but you could have put in a word with Macha before you left me stranded for eight hours," Evalle said with good-natured prodding.
"It's not as though you could return to Atlanta until darkness fell."
Everything skidded to a stop in Storm's brain. "What? Didn't Macha fix your reaction to the sun?"
Evalle shrugged. "I didn't ask for it."
Garwyli added, "To be honest, Macha would not have been able to change that part of your organic makeup without knowing specifically who took the ability from you."
"I didn't realize that. Thanks for explaining." Evalle acted too casual, but Storm knew that ability had to be a devastating loss to her. One he had no way to fix, which was going to make him crazy. She lifted her chin to the druid, humor lighting her voice when she said, "I'm glad to see you, but what are you doing here with us mere mortals?"
Garwyli sobered. "I listened to your pleas to Macha and witnessed what Storm did in Treoir even at risk of what might happen with him going there as a demon."
Evalle flinched at that term, but Storm had been trying to tell her that some things just couldn't be fixed. Storm leaned over and kissed her forehead then her lips. "I wish there was a way I could thank you for my father."
She lifted up and held his face. "I wish there was a way to give back your soul."
The druid made a testy sound of clearing his throat. "And I wish for a way that you two would be quiet for a moment."
Properly chastised by the old goat, Storm gave in to the need to hold Evalle close and put his arm around her. "Sorry. You were saying?"
"After watching the selfless way that you two were willing to sacrifice for each other, I decided to visit someone I hadn't seen in over a thousand years. He owed me a favor that I thought it time to call due."
Who held onto IOUs for a thousand years? Storm kept his question to himself, allowing Garwyli to continue.
"I told this old friend that his son had been misbehavin' and had taken somethin' I wanted returned." Garwyli lifted his hand, palm out and a bright glow bounced on his palm with the enthusiasm of a two-month-old puppy. "Hanhau's father ordered him to return your soul and I have the honor of delivering it to you."
Storm stared at Garwyli's hand, not sure he could believe what he saw.
Evalle touched his arm with trembling fingers.
He met her gaze that floated in liquid happiness.
His eyes were no drier. Heart thundering in his chest, Storm looked to the druid. "What do I do?"
"Call it home to you. Just reach out and open your heart to it."
Evalle stepped away and turned to watch him with encouragement shining in her eyes.
Storm extended his hand that he had to admit was trembling as well. The second his fingertip touched the glow, energy flowed into him like a gentle river, filling him from head to toe as his soul flooded through him to become one with the rest of his body.
There was no way to describe the sensation of having a soul returned to someone who had never lost one.
He bowed his head to Garwyli, humbled by what this druid had done.
Evalle said in a hushed voice, "You're glowing, Storm."
Lifting his hands, he could see the hum of light she was talking about. It was pale green, as natural as the forest. Then the glow dimmed until he stared at his human hands.
"Your eyes are brown," Evalle cried out and launched herself into his arms. He caught her, pulling her to him and swinging her around and around, listening to the beautiful sound of her happiness.
When he finally eased her back to the ground, he hugged her back against his side and turned to Garwyli. Swallowing hard, Storm said, "Thank you. I wish I had more than mere words to give you."
"It wasn't my doin' entirely. You had a champion. I knew Hanhau when he was a boy destined for ruin. Had he found someone who fought for him the way your champion has for you, he might have been saved."
Storm knew Garwyli's words were the truth.
No one would ever be equal to his Evalle.
"Let an old man go home," Garwyli said, scratching his chin. "I'll inform Macha that Storm's soul was returned and it would be a blow to the Belador reputation should someone not inform VIPER of such to prevent any mishaps."
That meant even Sen would not be able to take a shot at Storm out in the open. The liaison for VIPER had already tried to crush Storm's jaguar once when there'd been no witnesses present.
But that was because Sen hated Evalle and Storm had stepped between them. It was bound to happen again, but this time Storm would be ready for Sen.
"Good night to ya." Garwyli shimmered with blue sparkles, then vanished.
With the old guy gone, Storm drew Evalle around to face him. "I owe you an apology. Several, in fact."
She looked away, but not before the hurt slid through her gaze. "It's okay. I know you said a lot of things you didn't mean as a demon."
Touching her chin to turn her face to him, Storm searched for a way to repair the damage he'd done. He would never be able to make up for what she'd gone through and what she'd sacrificed, but he could give her the honesty she deserved.
"I wasn't telling you the truth when I said I couldn't feel anything and that I wanted you to go away. Even while my Ashaninka blood ruled me, you kept breaking through the cold emptiness inside me with your relentless determination. I said that I would have killed you if you had turned into a demon. That was a lie, too."
Her eyes widened then squinted in suspicion. "How did you lie without it harming you?"
"I felt twinges, but with my demon blood ascending, my body had no problem with me lying so the consequences were minor compared to what it was like before and would be again now." He stroked his hand over her hair. "I will forever regret the pain I caused you regardless of thinking I was doing my best by you when I tried to make you leave me. I also need to apologize because I failed to tell you that we're ... mated. I shouldn't have-"
Grabbing the collar of his shirt, she pulled his mouth to hers for a kiss that burned with hunger. Holy mother of ...
When their lips parted, she licked hers and said, "Of course we're mated and I'm not the least bit unhappy about that even though I'm not sure exactly what it means. You'll explain it to me. I forgive you all the rest if you promise to never do it again."
"I promise and, as for being mated, it means you're mine. Forever." Storm scooped Evalle into his arms.
"And you're mine." She chuckled when she'd normally be barking at him for acting like a caveman. "Decided to finally go back in the house?"
"No." He laid her down on the blanket and straddled her hips, sitting on his knees.
"Uh, Storm." She laughed, green eyes glowing in the dark night. "I know it's hard for humans to see in pitch dark, but what about everything else that rambles around at night?"
He had her shirt off and reached for the zipper on her jeans. "No one will see us as long as we stay on the blanket. I put a spel
l over it when I planned to sleep out here." He paused, thinking of their last time together. "I was out of control ... in the shower. That won't happen again. I'm going to love you the way you deserve."
He'd majik up a condom from the house and hope nothing came of that one time they hadn't used protection. Not that he had anything against children, especially with Evalle, but she had a lot of life to live first.
"Is the demon gone from your blood?"
He stilled and let the red glow roll over his eyes then returned his gaze to its natural state. "I will always carry both bloods in my body, but I regained control after locking my power with yours to bring back Brina. I am now fully in control instead of the other way around, even more so with my soul returned."
"So no replay of what happened in the shower?"
"No. I won't ever lose control like that again with you."
Evalle reached up and ran her fingers through his hair that had tumbled free from the leather thong. Her lips twitched with a saucy smile that turned into a sexy pout he'd never seen on her before. "See, I don't remember our shower as you being out of control. I think of it as finally getting a look at just what I've been missing with you being so careful around me." She lifted an eyebrow of pure challenge. "But if that was too much for you or you don't think you can handle another round of-"
"Ever the hellion." He leaned down to kiss those sexy lips while he got busy unclipping her bra and baring her breasts to his eager fingers. "Mercy. How did I end up with the most beautiful woman in the world?"
She smiled, a gift he'd never take for granted.
He touched her tightly budded nipples and dragged a moan of pleasure from her. He pulled away from her mouth just long enough to warn, "Don't expect to walk for a week."
"Talk, talk, talk. Is that all you can do with that mouth?" She ran her hands over his chest.
He reached down and slipped his hand inside her jeans, fingering her damp heat until she lifted off the blanket.
When she sucked in enough air to come back to earth, Evalle started unbuckling his belt with impressive speed, but then she was a Belador. Her eyes flicked up at the sky for a moment, then back to her task.
He assured her, "I'll have you home before daylight even if it kills me to leave this blanket."
"What's with the blanket outside? You have a bout of camping fever?"
"Not even. The house smells of the witch doctor whose name we will not speak tonight." He pushed Evalle's shirt off her shoulders. "I'm not spending another minute in that place with her taint floating in the air. I'm sure as hell not taking you around it again."