No part of this made sense to her. Well, except for the symbols—they seemed to make more sense than they should. All those dreams, all those nights of drawing them, not knowing what they meant or where they’d come from. She searched dream dictionaries, gone to psychics, and accessed historical texts all in vain. Her subconscious conjured them and she drew them, plain and simple. And now these symbols were alive with power, floating to her consciousness fully formed, but with only a feeling of what they could do—nothing concrete. Giving her abilities she could barely accept.
There was no explanation for what was happening. But what she didn’t understand, she could at least appreciate. The symbols on her body were for protection. She’d been unconsciously tattooing protection runes—or whatever they were—all over herself, and she was slowly developing an awareness of each and every one of them.
“I can hear them coming from behind, fast. They must have picked up our trail somehow.” Dy kept moving deeper in the woods, using the light of the moon, it seemed, to avoid any dangerous obstacles.
He was another mystery to her. Dyami, super hot rock star, handling all this crazy stuff like he was in the know. Wouldn’t any normal man balk at the idea of magic and spells? And seriously, navigating the forest terrain like some survival expert? What was up with that? And what about that kiss? The sweetest kiss she’d ever had, one that blasted her with a lust so profound that she’d instantly wet her panties with desire. It had to be the adrenaline, right? Wanting to screw a man while on the run from a crazy knife-throwing kidnapper and his buddies was enough to drive any woman into the arms of a hero. Right? That was all it was.
Keep telling yourself that, princess, and we’ll be just fine.
“We’re going to have to stop. Find a way to fight or hide.” He paused at the edge of a clearing, scanning for the next step. “Without weapons, though, I think it might be better for us to hide, hope they overlook us. Maybe you can use something from your repertoire?”
“That thing I did back there, it didn’t last long. I can feel it fading faster now.” Strange, like the symbols were actually alive in some way when she drew them, and died as time passed. She mourned the loss, wanted to feel the surge of power again. There was an element of addiction there—she could tell—wielding whatever it was she wielded. Intoxicating. Just like Dyami’s touch. Enthralling. “I might be able to do something that will throw them off. Maybe buy us some time.”
Dyami nodded, distracted as he searched the area around them, disentangling his hand from hers and leaving her without his touch for the first time in over an hour. She mourned the loss of that too. Like the distance of a few feet was leaving a gaping hole in her heart. Curiouser and curiouser.
He disappeared, weaving in and out of the trees. Her heart almost exploded with panic each time he left her line of sight.
“Here.” Dyami came back for her, snatched her hand to cradle in his own as he tugged her farther into the woods. “There’s a ravine with some overhangs. We can nestle in there, hope it throws them off.”
A symbol floated into Summer’s mind, fully formed and functional. “I think I can distract them enough to keep moving.”
“Do what you need to do.”
Summer let go of his hand reluctantly, then moved quickly from tree to tree, etching the mysterious symbol on each. She had a feeling in her gut that Vic knew these symbols too. That he had even used one or two on her in the time they’d been together to sedate her into compliance on a few occasions. Or maybe to distract her from things that he didn’t want her to see. She couldn’t explain how she knew this. It was just a feeling, but she was learning her feelings were pretty dead on lately.
“Trust your gut,” Dyami had said. “What does it tell you?”
Her gut was telling her she was more powerful than Vic. Her ruse would deflect him enough to buy them the time they needed.
“Done.” She walked back to Dyami, who’d been watching her the whole time. Again, unfazed by what he was seeing. “You must think this is so crazy. I can hardly understand it.”
He cradled her face in his massive hands, angled her head so that he could stare into her eyes. “Nothing about this seems crazy to me.”
She licked her lips, willing him to kiss her again. He didn’t disappoint. Leaning down, he kissed her tenderly, like he was sampling her mouth, lingering as he pressed his lips to hers. She wrapped her arms around his waist, her body up against his, pushing her mouth into him as she teased his lips with her tongue. With a soft rumble of a chuckle, he opened up to her, let her devour him from the inside as he did the same to her. Exploring each other, entangling tongues, all consuming as they melded into one another.
They heard the crack of branches snapping at the same time, pulled away from each other on a whoosh of breath. Dyami lifted his finger to his puffy, wet lips. Quiet. She could feel them too. They were near.
He moved her to the ravine, guiding her down until she was resting in a small depression. It was only big enough for them to sit nestled into one another, Dyami in behind, his arms and legs cradling her. Overhanging branches, tree roots and leaves gave them some element of disguise. In the daylight, this would never work. Night offered the perfect hideout. He rested his chin on her shoulder, nuzzling her neck briefly before letting out a contented sounding sigh as he squeezed her tight. Yes, it did feel right to be in his arms. Stranger still, it felt like she could never again be apart from him and survive. She nestled closer, taking the momentary comfort he offered.
“They definitely came this way.” Vic’s voice seemed to boom from above them, carried on the wind, no doubt, to seem like he had breached her hastily made barrier.
Summer tensed at the sound of him so close. Dyami gave her a reassuring squeeze.
“Has she been casting?” A woman spoke next, frustration evident in her tone. “Are you sure we’re headed in the right direction this time?”
“Yes.” Vic hesitated. “I think.”
“You think? What the fuck, man?” The woman spat her words.
“Calm down, sweetheart, Vic knows what he’s doing,” another man said.
“No, Talia’s right. Vic’s been unsure this whole time, leading us in the wrong direction for a good thirty minutes. I think we need to head west. She must have used a symbol somewhere back there to throw us off again. Vic, you missed it.”
There was a beat of silence in which Summer thought her heart might explode. By their voices, she counted one woman, three men, and they were closer than she would have liked, having moved to the other side of the ravine. She could just make out Vic’s legs, recognizing him by the boots he always wore. His fists were clenched at his sides, a gun in one hand. She shuddered. He was not the man she’d thought he was.
“Fine!” Vic said on an explosion of breath. “Whatever, I missed it. Let’s go.”
“Admit it, Vic, you haven’t been as with it as usual. She’s stronger than you already.” Talia’s voice held a note of satisfaction, like she was reveling in Vic’s inabilities.
“I told you she was marked, didn’t I?” Vic growled. “Her abilities have surpassed mine already, so what? Isn’t that the way it always is?”
“So you’re admitting that you might have led us astray?” Talia came into view, two menacing looking weapons in her hands—like mini swords with prongs on each side.
Vic slid his gun into the back of his jeans. “Yes, okay? I’m admitting the possibility of that. Let’s head west.”
“Eyes out for wolves, folks.” Talia motioned with one weapon in the opposite direction. “I’m looking to get me a skin before the end of the night.”
Summer felt Dyami shiver, and his whole body clenched a moment later—a symptom of their soaked clothes and the cool night air no doubt. They needed to get dry, find food, make some calls to extricate themselves from this situation. The only thing keeping her from losing her shit completely was the fact that Dyami was so calm, living the nightmare with her. As long as she had him, her hero, acting like a normal human being, she felt like she was safe.