Could she?
Before he could actually consider the disturbing question, their freefall came to an abrupt end.
Tumbling through the other side of the portal, Uriel hurriedly turned to keep Kata protected as they emerged into a heavily-wooded forest.
His back smacked painfully onto the moss covered ground as his feet tangled in the undergrowth. Not that he noticed the rock poking into his shoulder or the overhead cry of angry birds disturbed from their nests.
Instead he hissed in fear as a light breeze stirred the thick canopy of leaves and the dappled sunlight brushed over his skin.
It had been centuries since his last glimpse of the sun. With good cause.
Vampires plus daylight equaled instant death.
Something he’d tried to avoid over the years.
Now he braced himself for the searing pain.
A pain that never came.
Astonishment slowly gave way to the recognition that this place was nothing more than an illusion. There could be no other explanation.
Yannah had somehow created this bubble of paradise in the midst of the underworld.
But how? And more importantly, why?
Distracted by the possibility of spontaneous combustion, Uriel nearly forgot the bundle of lush woman he held in his arms. At least until she squirmed out of his grasp and darted away.
“Kata.”