“The suns are coming up. It’s time.”
Adrianne twirled her pendant, which Gabriel knew she only did when she was nervous. He wished he could say something that would ease her fears, but he couldn’t. She was right to be concerned.
“What’s the one rule here?” he asked.
She rolled her eyes, which made him smile. He’d been quizzing her since they got out of bed, and she was obviously sick of it. He welcomed her irritation. It was better than fear.
“Everything here wants me dead,” she answered dutifully.
“That’s right.”
If they had more time, he’d like to test her and see what kind of new powers she might’ve gained from taking in his energy. If she’d picked up anything useful, it’d be good to know before they ran into trouble—because surely, they were going to run into trouble.
But time was not on their side. Frankly, he was shocked his father hadn’t already found them. Which could mean he was just toying with them.
Either way, it was time to get the hell out of here—so testing Adrianne’s potential new powers was out of the question. They’d just have to wing it and hope for the best.
In the meantime, he’d wrapped what was left of his T-shirt around her head like a turban, created a make-shift poncho for her out of the animal skin they’d slept on, and loaded her down with all the handmade knives he’d left here while he was growing up.
When she was swathed from head-to-toe in clothing and weapons, she glanced at him, shirtless and unarmed, and raised a brow. “Why am I dressed like this and you’re barely dressed at all?”
He leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose because it was one of the only uncovered parts of her whole body. “I’m used to the suns. You’re not. I don’t want a repeat of that time at Myrtle Beach.”
“Oh, come on! I was thirteen and grabbed the coconut oil instead of the sunscreen. It was an accident! And I don’t burn like that anymore.”
“You looked like a boiled lobster and spent five days blistering, peeling, and crying,” he reminded her. “And that was after spending three hours under one sun on a partially cloudy day. There are three suns here and no clouds. Not ever.”
She sighed. “Point taken. I feel ridiculous, though.”
In his opinion, she was incapable of looking anything other than sexy as hell. He looped a finger through the belt of knives he’d slung around her waist. “You look dangerous, which is hot. Besides, I need you to protect this skin. I have plans when we get home that involve trailing my tongue over every inch of it.”
Adrianne shivered, which made him smile, then said, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
And with that, she marched past him, bravely into the unknown.
He shook his head as he followed. God, what a woman his wife was.
Wife.
The thought should make him edgy. Nervous. It would’ve in the past.
Now the only fear he felt was worrying about how he was going to keep his word to her and get her home safely.
And the entire plan—Adrianne’s entire future—depended on them breaking into a prison, convincing a supernatural creature who’d been locked up and tortured for years to help them, and escaping without attracting the attention of a man who may or may not already know they were coming.
But they’d make it happen. Because the alternative? Letting Adrianne down?
Well, that was fucking unthinkable. He’d keep his word to her, even if he had to fight every fucking demon in this dimension to do it...including his father.