It wasn’t enough.
He continued forward, his stomach rolling as his feet skidded along the ground.
Almost as one, two hands wrapped around him, their grasp stronger than iron. One around his free arm, the other on his shoulder.
“Not so fast, Brother,” Kael said.
Lucian came to a grinding halt, Effie half-suspended over the ledge, held up only by the fist wrapped around her buckle.
“Mother’s tits,” Ronan swore as he and Kael pulled Lucian farther back from the edge.
Lucian barely heard the other’s frantic voices as they crowded around him. Their words were drowned out, their presence entirely forgotten as he dropped to his knees. The only thing that existed for him right now was her. That he’d come so close to losing her.
Pressing his back against the wall of the cave, he cocooned Effie’s much smaller body in his.
It had been close. Too close.
Adrenaline caused his body to shake as he wrapped his arms around her.
“I’ve got you,” he whispered against the cool skin of her forehead. He hoped wherever Effie was, she could hear him. That she would come back to him.
He wouldn’t feel quite human again until he could see her eyes twinkling with impudent laughter. Or see one of her smirking grins as she called him a bossy asshole.
Anything to affirm he hadn’t lost her.
Lucian’s heart continued to slam against his chest as he held onto her. The whole thing happened in under a minute, but Lucian was still breathing hard. Each ragged breath coming out in a harsh pant.
Taking a deep breath, he watched as tremors continued to rack Effie’s limbs, her vision unaffected by her brush with death.
It was another full minute before she grew still, her eyes slowly opening.
“Lucian?” she asked, her voice faint. “How did you get over here so fast?”
A shudder tore through him. He almost hadn’t been fast enough. All he could see was her, the delicate pulse fluttering in her neck, the bright blue eyes blinking up at him, the soft pink flush returning to her cheeks.
He’d almost lost her.
With a low groan, Lucian dropped his lips to hers in a desperate kiss. He cupped her cheek in the palm of his hand, his fingers splaying in her soft curls as he pulled her closer.
Effie’s breath washed over him before she was kissing him back, her body arching into his. Each press of her lips against his was just as frantic.
It wasn’t enough.
Needing more, Lucian changed his angle. He slid his tongue along the seam of her lips, taking the bottom one between his teeth and biting down before gently sucking on it.
Her lips parted on a wordless gasp, and he slid his tongue against hers, needing to taste her. Lucian’s heart continued to race, his need driving him as their tongues tangled together.
It still wasn’t enough. Lucian feared nothing would be.
She was inside him now, laying claim to part of him he’d never given to anyone else.
Never had a simple kiss affected him like this. Effie was sweeter than honey, more intoxicating than Daejaran wine. He’d never tire of tasting her.
His hand moved over her cheek, sliding down the side of her neck to rest on the exposed skin just below her throat. Her heart was beating hard beneath his palm, and Lucian would have moved it lower, continuing his exploration of her tempting body . . . if not for the distant sound of someone clearing their throat.
Remembering they weren’t alone, Lucian tore his lips away. His was still shaking when he pressed his forehead to hers, although this time perhaps not from fear.
Her eyes were dazed when they met his, her cheeks flushed. “What was that for?”
Brushing his thumb over her lips, Lucian’s voice was rough when he replied, “Don’t ever do that again.”
“Have a vision?” she asked. “I can’t exactly control those.”
His arms tightened around her without conscious thought as he shook his head. “No, almost die.”
“Oh,” Effie said, swallowing.
Her vision was momentarily forgotten as she studied her Guardian. He looked wild, his chest rising and falling in rapid breaths and his eyes equal parts bronze and umber. She could tell he wasn’t totally back in control. Whatever had happened while she was under had terrified him. It clearly wasn’t a feeling he was used to.
“You almost fell off the edge,” he told her.
“But you caught me,” she said, resting her hand against his cheek, sensing that he needed the reminder.
“Barely,” he whispered, the confession guttural.
And there it was. Lucian wasn’t used to coming anywhere close to what he considered failure. It had cost him something, those moments of uncertainty. No wonder he looked like he was on the brink.
“I’m right here; I’m safe,” she promised.
Closing his eyes, Lucian took a deep breath before relaxing his hold on her.
If not for the shuffling of the others beside them, Effie might have stayed put awhile longer. Coming to in Lucian’s arms—his worried eyes raking over her face—wasn’t something she’d ever forget. It took more effort than it should to force herself to stand and move away from him.
He moved with her, holding his hand out to help her rise. She had to fight back a smile when he didn’t let her go.
Her Guardian wasn’t quite okay just yet. Effie wasn’t about to complain. Holding his hand did just as much to soothe her as it comforted him.
“Are you alright?” Ronan asked, once they were both upright and facing their small group.
Licking her lips, eyes darting to Lucian a final time, she nodded. “Yes.”
“Gave us quite a scare, little warrior,” Kael said, his dark skin ashen.
“I’m sorry, I seem to be doing that a lot lately. I wasn’t expecting a vision to be triggered.”
“Of course you weren’t,” Ronan said, shooting Kael a censorious glance.
“I should have warned you to stand back from the edge,” Khouman said, the small man looking a bit shell-shocked.
“Never seen a Keeper in the throes of a vision?” she asked, offering him a small smile.
He shook his head, the small bells in his beard tinkling.
“What did you See?” Ronan asked.
Ice danced down her spine at the memory of her vision, cooling some of the fire Lucian’s kiss had set off inside of her. This vision felt different from the others; darker somehow. Her Guardian insisted that Keepers never had visions about themselves, but Effie couldn’t shake the feeling that this one was personal.
“Nothing new,” she lied. “It can wait.”
Lucian’s hand tightened around hers. “You sure?”
She nodded, knowing she would make a point to tell him about it as soon as they were alone. “Yes. We should finish dealing with . . .” she trailed off, suddenly realizing who was missing. “Where’s Kieran?”
Kael and Ronan glanced around, clearly surprised to find he had vanished.
“He stormed off while you two were indisposed,” Reyna informed them, her eyes glittering with amusement.
As soon as they were alone Reyna was going to grill her. Effie knew it as certainly as she knew her name.
“And you didn’t think to stop him?” Ronan gritted out.
Reyna shrugged. “Why bother? How far is he going to get?”