Mated to the Chaos - Georgette St. Clair Page 0,37

stone itself—even the cushions were white. The filigree around the edges were perfect decorations carved by artesian hands.

This was a place of beauty. Yet it was removed from the vibrancy of life. How could she have stayed here being touched by nothing?

Nanshe smiled at Carlo, and the soft sadness in her touched him. “It is easier to see nothing to remove so many imputes of the past. Life is too painful to see in true color.”

Her words sent a pang of denial through him, but he couldn't understand why. The beauty of this place didn’t belong around Nanshe. Though he could admit it was breathtaking, it didn’t fit her and wasn’t something she deserved.

She should have been in gold and vibrant blues and greens. She should have been surrounded in delicate palm fans with the sea-salt air kissing her skin. She should have been somewhere so different. And once again, Carlo was pulled into a vision, another time when Nanshe wore different clothes. He shook his head to disperse the picture in his head. He had no idea where it was from or why it felt like he knew it, why he should have recognized it, or why the sense of home filled his breast.

“You left Asherah in the Forgotten Tower.” Rage took over Kallan’s features. “We can’t go back without her. We need to find out where Skuld is holding her and get there before Skuld strengthens her defenses.”

The fucker could barely catch his breath and was bleeding out from the wound in his chest, but he didn’t seem to care about that. Carlo growled in warning. No one was going to talk to his mate like that, wounded or otherwise.

Nanshe struggled to her feet. “She isn't there. If Skuld’s replica is guarding this place, Skuld isn't within her territory. Skuld would never leave Asherah if she were. We are missing something, and it is going to take time for us to figure out what it is.”

“We don't have time,” Teague argued. “We need to get to her as quickly as possible and make sure she's safe.”

Nanshe shook her head. “Kallan is wounded and needs healing. We don't have a choice but to wait. You may want things to happen when you want them to, but the flow of time can’t be controlled by any man. Well–"

Her back stiffened as tremors rack through her body and she was tossed to the ground with a cry.

Carlo was at her side in a moment, pulling her into his arms. “Let it go. Whatever you were trying to say, let it go. It is not important now.”

Nanshe sighed, going slack. “I wish I could tell you. I wish I could show you so much, but I can't. My power has rules, and they cannot be denied.”

“Eventually, we will have the information, Nanshe. Relax for now.”

“Stubborn male.”

A buzz went through the room, and Nanshe lifted her face into the air. She closed her eyes. When she opened them, there was a broad smile on her face.

“I think I know exactly where Asherah is. And if she is there, she’s safer than any of us could ever be. Let’s get Kallan healed and then we can leave.”

“A portal again?” Carlo hoped she wouldn’t say yes, but from the look on her face he knew it was a ridiculous wish.

“Of course, we are in the Chaos Realm.”

Fucking Chaos Realm.

Chapter Twelve

“He will have to rest here for a while, but I've put him in a magic-induced coma so the healing will happen faster.”

Carlo was in awe of Nanshe’s skills. The Norn had taken only a short time to get Kallan rested comfortably in a spare room, his wounds magically healed on the outside already, and put in a state of status to make sure he was sound internally. Apparently, Skuld’s magic could disrupt someone’s insides if she pierced one of their magical cores. It was something Carlo had never heard of.

“So what is this magic cord you were talking about?”

“The Fae are built differently as they are the founts of the original magic humans now rely on. The magic within them is stored in different points, their Meridian lines, and looks like little golden cores within the body. The ability to affect those takes high levels of magical concentration. Skuld can affect them if she pierces one directly or uses her smoke to do so. But doing that takes a lot out of her, so it is a last resort or trump card she uses to