Page 98 of Heir of Broken Souls

My movements are wild, frenzied as I search. My heartbeat is out of control, my pulse erratic, my breathing labored.

I’m losing my mind.

I’m not the only one it seems, though. My whole court is searching the waters.

A scream works its way up my throat, clawing for a release. There’s no sign of her.

My mate.

My mate.

My mate.

The bond sings the words, yanking on that tether between us.

Flinging open the door in my mind, I run for the bridge, tears pooling in my eyes as the panic in my heart grows to an unnatural high. Then my feet come to a halt.

The door to her mind is shrouded in gold.

Sparkling as bright as the sun, glimmering through the storm.

It’s magic. In its simplest form, it’s magic. As pure as they come.

As pure as her heart.

The panic doesn’t cease though, and while my physical self remains screaming her name, my soul is slow as I tentatively approach the gilded door.

There’s a sharp tug along our bond. Fast enough to snap me out of my stupor the golden door had me under.

I rush forward, ignoring how at my touch, power, light, and warmth sizzles through my palms. It hums through me, seemingly giddy to greet me.

Stepping through, I can’t help but fall to my knees.

Delilah and Aurora sit there, within her mind.

My shoulders quake from the sudden relief.I thought you were gone, I say around the sobs I cannot control.

I do not know how much longer I can endure this. How many times my mind can believe she’s been taken from me before it rips my heart in two.

Delilah is suddenly beside me, her small gentle hands carding through my hair as she tries to lift my head to hers.

But I refuse.

I refuse to show her how weak I am. That all it takes to break me is the loss ofher.

My sobs rise in earnest now. The more I try to control them, the more I try to stop them, the harder they come.

“Oh, darling,” she whispers, a second before her arms wrap around me.

“Where are you?” I ask.

They may be in her mind for now, but that doesn’t answer the question where they are physically.

“Shh,” she hushes. “I’m safe, I’m safe,” she repeats over and over like a lullaby.

The two words bring such immense relief that I sag into her awaiting arms. Before she can see my red-rimmed eyes, I lift her onto my lap, cradling her in my arms, nestling my head in the crook of her neck.

Far away, I can hear the calls of my name, feel the storm raging around my body, feel the rain pelting my sensitive wings. The energy of my court growing frenzied.