to be harmed too easily.”
Lanie was torn. She wanted her life back but hadn’t expected it to be one that could last centuries. Just thinking about it was overwhelming, and Lanie tried to slow down her thoughts and think more clearly.
Briefly wondering if Cin could keep the nanites from letting her die in battle but stop them from making her immortal, Lanie quickly discarded the idea. It made no sense and was a spit in the face to the nanites protecting her and their creator, who’d done so much for her, including giving her immortality.
Cin stood and took the carafe into the kitchen, knowing Lanie needed a few minutes to herself. He’d wrongly assumed that Lanie understood the ramifications of what she’d accepted when allowing him to enhance her with the nanites.
Although Gabe had told Lanie all about his weapons and armor systems and his near-immortality, she’d never made the connection that she’d be getting the same thing when accepting the nanites.
Cin knew he should feel bad about the miscommunication, but he didn’t. He wanted Lanie by his side for as long as he could have her. Cin knew it was selfish, but he didn’t care. He’d spent centuries selflessly fighting for a planet that didn’t have a clue what he was doing.
Never asking anything for himself, Cin had fought tirelessly to aide others in the universe in their fight against evil, never wanting anything more than reciprocity when the time came to help mankind.
Lanie was the one thing Cin wanted for himself, and he would fight to keep her. She had come to mean more to him than anything else, and he refused to give her up but would also respect her wishes to keep her happy even if it would rip his heart out to remove her immortality.
Cin was on his way back to the deck with a full carafe of coffee when he saw Lanie jump out of her chair, holding the brilliantly glimmering elven pendant away from her chest.
“Told you it was elven spyware,” Cin said with a chuckle. “Niama is trying to contact you.”
Seconds later, the shimmering light flitted from the pendant to the deck and seemed to stutter before a life-sized ghost-like Niama appeared in front of them.
From the looks of her, something was terribly wrong. Niama’s perfect hair was tousled, bruises lined her jaw, and one eye was swollen near shut.
“Mirrored lead faraday cage,” Niama whispered brokenly before her ethereal form collapsed on the deck. “Charriat’s Gorge on Letrania. They’ve built a cave complex.”
Before Lanie could ask anything, Niama’s form blinked in and out for a moment before it was gone, and she turned to Cin. He was already armored up and checking his weapons.
“What’s going on? What’s wrong with Niama?” Lanie demanded as she stood and called on her armor and weapons.
Niama was her friend, and Lanie wouldn’t be left behind.
“The elves are ensnared in a device that is stripping them of their magic and killing them.” Cin was furious. “I’m guessing they went after who was getting the relics for the Consortium and fell into a trap. They don’t have much time.”
Cin made a portal in the air and turned to Lanie. “Are you sure you want to go?”
“Damn right, I am.” Lanie was furious and determined to rescue her new friends.
“Go invisible,” Cin warned before he disappeared and jumped through the portal.
Lanie quickly followed and sucked in a gasp at what looked like the Grand Canyon’s twin. They were standing near the edge, and Lanie looked down at the churning water below them, hoping they wouldn’t have to scale it to get down.
“Give me a moment to find the elves,” Cin whispered. “The Consortium has to be using a lot of power to keep the cage charged.”
Lanie looked around in awe at the triple moons hanging in the sky and the twin suns rising in the west. She had no idea how big the planet was that they were on, but all she could see was a desert-like landscape dotted with tall, pine-like trees.
Everything was white. White sands, off-white barked trees, stones, boulders, all of it was varying shades of white. When Lanie looked in the gorge, there was an explosion of colors and textures with brightly feathered bird-like creatures flying through the air.
There was a plethora of foliage and dense trees lining either side of the water rushing through the deep gorge. The place was beautiful, but it felt strange and eerie to Lanie. Like something wasn’t right with