One portal opened to the left, right beyond a red tree with pretty bright purple leaves. Just one?
Sam grabbed her wrists in one of his hands. “Hold on.”
She clutched his neck, wrapping both legs around his waist. They tumbled up into the sky and then fell, zooming right through the portal, spinning end over end. She shut her eyes and just held on.
They landed hard, Sam on his feet, bouncing twice.
Cool air brushed her. She slowly opened her eyes to see a thick mist all around them. Below Sam looked like a pier of some type. Water, or a liquid thicker than water, bubbled all around, as if something gleefully waited for them to fall. She shivered.
He gently set her to the side. “Stay close to me.”
“No problem.” She all but plastered herself to his rib cage. “Where are we?”
Sam stood straight and tall, staring at what looked like a far shoreline. Well, not so far. But the mist made it difficult to see. “Ulric?”
“Ulric?” she whispered.
A figure strode out of a rock formation to the shore, and even she could tell he held tremendous power. He looked like the Cyst general she’d seen the other day, but he was taller, thicker, and somehow, more dangerous. His white hair bisected his scalp and ran down his back, and his eyes were a pure purple. Did they change color? She’d noticed that the eyes of most immortals did. Her knees shook and she pressed them together.
Ulric looked her over. “She’s special.”
Sam’s body tightened. “Did you call us here?”
“Yes,” Ulric said, his gaze licking over her like a tongue.
She pressed even closer to Sam, and he partially pivoted to stand in front of her. Even so, she ducked her head to look around him.
Ulric smiled, revealing razor-sharp canines tinged with red. Blood? “How about you leave the girl here?”
“No,” Sam said.
Ulric tore his gaze away. “Keeper? It was difficult to get you here. The Lock did a decent job of closing portals, and I had to bring you the long way around. Sorry about that.”
Tension rolled off Sam. “What do you want?”
Ulric shrugged. “Ideally? You dead. I can keep you spinning through worlds until a beast somewhere cuts off your head, and it looks like your female will go with you. I can’t have you being the Keeper.”
Honor pushed herself against Sam’s side. Her head rang. Forever? Could they be trapped in these spinning and dangerous worlds for eternity? “Is it true? Do you really want to kill all Enhanced females?” Sam had told her the entire legend the night before, in between mind-blowing orgasms. “How does that make sense?”
Ulric didn’t look at her again. “Your female doesn’t know her place.”
Honor straightened. “Right now, it’s right here. Are you afraid to answer me?”
Sam’s lip twitched. “Question, Ulric. Rumor has it one of your generals is trying to duplicate your ritual. He’s certainly kidnapped more than a hundred Enhanced females, and based on my intel on the guy, he’s more than prepared to sacrifice them all. Is it possible he could shield his entire body as you have?”
“No,” Ulric growled, the sound vibrating back from unseen surfaces. “That’s impossible. My people would never let that happen.”
Fury rolled off Sam, but he remained calm. Even slightly bored looking. “Your people got their asses kicked in the last war, and the Cyst have risen within the ranks. You have a rogue general who’s going to make you obsolete. You might want to concentrate on that sad fact.” He slid an arm around Honor’s shoulders and secured her closer to him. “Is the Intended just for you, or for whoever leads the Cyst faction? It’s an interesting question, no?”
Ulric’s too pale face turned red. An ugly red. “I’m going to make sure you last for a long time in these hell worlds, Keeper.”
“You know, the name is growing on me,” Sam said, all but vibrating next to her.
Ulric threw his head back and then stiffened, fixing his gaze on another platform not too far away. This one was vacant.
And then it wasn’t.
A very pretty teenager stood there in jeans and a black sweater, her boots a matching black. She had long auburn hair and incredible blue eyes. Despite her petite size, she held an air of power. She looked around, turned her head, and sneezed.
Sam snarled. “Hope?”
This was Hope? The prophesied one? She looked like a normal teenager—maybe eighteen?
The young woman looked at Sam. “I felt you come here. Sorry. I thought I’d shut all the portals.”
“You can’t shut them,” Ulric said, his voice deep. “I can always open them and pull the Keeper and his female through. The unnatural opens the door to opportunity.”
Hope lifted her chin. “Yeah? Well, for now, fuck you.” She clapped her hands.
“Wait!” Sam hissed.
Hope paused, even though a portal opened up above them. “What?”
He pressed closer to the edge and to her, holding on to Honor. “I have an idea. The ritual I underwent was unnatural, and because of that I caught something. Gave it to Honor.”
“Because she’s your mate,” Hope whispered.
Sam nodded. “Agreed. Look what just appeared.” He held up his right hand, revealing the stunning marking of a K surrounded by raw and bleeding lines. “There’s only one way to get rid of the locator he has on me. You know it.”
Hope paled. “That’s crazy.”
“The marking. It’s here.” Honor grabbed Sam’s ribs. “What’s crazy? What’s happening?”
“It’s the only way,” Sam said quietly. “If it doesn’t work, get Honor out of here.”
Ulric bellowed, and the skies opened up to reveal a swirling mass of copper pain. He clapped his hands, and all three of them flew through.
Honor felt as if her soul had been shredded from her body.
Then, nothing.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sam hit a spongy gray surface and rolled, keeping Honor with him. “Damn it all to hell,” he muttered, landing on his back with her on top of him. A soft sun shone down, and he caressed her spine.
She blinked, looking dazed. “What happened? I thought we were going somewhere terrifying?”
“Hope tossed us at the last second, and we went through a different portal.” It felt okay on the spongy material, and right now, nothing was stabbing or biting him, so he took a deep breath.