Pure Destiny (PureDark Ones #12) - Aja James Page 0,91

across the history of Dark Ones is joining our forces for this mission—Lord Wind himself? That is indeed rare.”

“Well, it was less about Ramses dispatching him and more a matter of the shadow warrior wanting to keep an eye on his son, I imagine,” Jade mused.

“We don’t know what we’re up against—whoever and whatever Wan’er is now,” Aella inserted.

“She must have planned all of this from the start. And if Eveline and Cloud are right,” she flicked a glance toward her Mate, “we can’t let her get her hands on Benji. We need all the help we can get.”

“Then there’s Sophia and Dalair,” Cloud added. “We must use caution. This is a rescue mission first and foremost. We cannot aggress upon the enemy without knowing fully what we’re up against and risk triggering the Destroyer if the Paladin sustains damage in the process.”

“Trust me,” Inanna said grimly, “we’re in no position to launch an attack against the Hydra and her armies. That thing was…”

The warrior shuddered in memory of their recent battle with the two-headed monster.

“We lost my br—Erebu—in the process,” she finished on a whisper. “I cannot lose Benji too. I cannot.”

Gabriel wrapped his arms around his Mate to lend her his strength. But he, too, was shaking. The depth of worry for their son was debilitating.

“We can only send three warriors to ride in one of the helos while our Chosen allies take the other,” Aella said briskly, her no-nonsense tone pulling the anguished parents out of their spiral of despair.

“Cloud, Valerius, and Tal,” she named each warrior in turn. “Our strongest and, luckily, unwounded in the Paladin’s attack.”

“I am recovered,” Ishtar said. “It was but a small nick. If Tal goes, I go too.”

“No,” Tal rejected softly but firmly. “Your Great White Beast is mighty and fierce, but you are not a trained soldier, ana Ishtar, not in the ways of war. You should not have come on the last mission. You are too easily distracted by emotions.”

Before Ishtar could protest, as her mutinous expression showed she obviously wanted to do, Aella quickly concluded.

“Then it’s settled. You three better get armed and ready. Meet Morgan in the training hall. He has new body armors to neutralize the homing device in the killer-bullets our enemies might be using.”

This was a bit of good news amidst the bad, which all of them were more than happy to receive. Ever since Medusa’s networks developed killer-bullets that isolated Immortals based on their varying body temperature, a few degrees higher or lower than humans, like heat-seeking missiles that were programed to explode their internal organs upon impact, both the Dark and Pure Ones had been at a distinct disadvantage.

“Eveline, Ramses sent escorts to take you back to the Cove,” Jade informed her. “Maximus and Ariel are waiting on the ground floor.”

The Seer nodded.

“Good timing. I’ve gleaned about as much as I can from the Shield’s archives. What I haven’t been able to research, Ayelet helped me scan into a digital repository. I’ll continue my analysis back at the Cove and cross-reference with the Dark Ones’ database too.”

With that, Tristan took Eveline downstairs.

As they departed, Valerius asked in his low, husky voice, “What are the mission coordinates?”

Aella grimaced, knowing that he wouldn’t like the answer.

“Within a five-mile radius of 43.6094° North, 71.3219° West. Near Lake Winnipesaukee in the White Mountains, in other words.”

The stoic ex-Roman gladiator huffed a breath in a rare show of emotion.

“Fucking Hydras and their fucking lakes,” he muttered, as the three designated warriors headed out.

*** *** *** ***

The first batch of enemy soldiers closed in on them from the east two hours into their trek.

Wordlessly, Dalair indicated with hand signals for Sophia and Benji to crouch in a leaf-covered ditch behind a rocky ledge. Unless the enemy was right above them, they couldn’t be seen outside of a five-feet radius.

Then, Dalair sprinted into the woods, his footsteps so light they were almost soundless, his body a blur. Within seconds, it was as if he’d disappeared entirely.

“Will he be back soon?” Benji whispered. A true whisper this time, as if he knew instinctively that silence was paramount.

“Yes, very soon,” Sophia answered.

Dalair had telepathically instructed her to count to three hundred. If he wasn’t back within five minutes, she was to take Benji and head in the opposite direction. He’d track them afterwards.

Three hundred seconds was going to feel like three hundred years the way her heart was pounding with fright and adrenaline. She prayed he’d be back before the count