to maneuver, but now at least we have more people working on the problems.”
Garrett held up a hand. “Only the leaders of the nations know about the Seven. They’re not making our existence public, by any means. At least not yet.”
Ivar cocked his head. “What else did Kane say?” If the brilliant Kayrs brother was on the problem of finding Quade, then maybe they wouldn’t even need to use humans.
Garrett tapped his fingers on the table. “He’s been studying the cosmology of extra dimensions, cosmological inflation, baryogenesis, and dark matter. Everything every species has learned, including the humans, who actually have put a hell of a lot more time into these subjects than we immortals.”
Ivar’s breath caught. “Has he figured out how to get to Quade?”
“No,” Garrett said shortly. “Even the Fae don’t know how to find his world. The Viking here is the only one who has actually been there. When we messed with the universe to create those bubble worlds, we apparently created new rules that not even those who can teleport can follow.”
Ronan leaned forward. “We did what we thought was necessary at the time.”
Garrett slowly nodded. “I get that. Fourteen hundred years ago, you didn’t know what we do now, and even though Logan and I are new members of the Seven, we take responsibility as if we were there and took part in the initial rituals. That might be what’s pissing my uncle the king off.”
Ivar could understand the king’s irritation. The original Seven had created three worlds—far away from this one—with the ultimate evil, a Kurjan Cyst named Ulric, in the middle, while Ronan and Quade had manned the outside worlds as guards to keep him contained. Recently, Ronan’s bubble had burst, and he was home now. It was time to bring Quade home as well. Ivar cleared his throat. “We all know that Quade’s bubble will burst, or Ulric’s will. So let’s make it happen on our time.”
Garrett lifted his chin. “Kane said that there’s a chance we’ll destroy this world if we blast open the ones created for Ulric and Quade. It’s not like we understand dimensions or parallel universes or whatever the hell we created.”
Ivar flattened his hands on the table, and the pace of his heart picked up. There was a piece of him, one he’d never admit to, that thought the risk of ending the world was worth it if it gave Quade a chance at survival. Yeah, that probably made him a sociopathic bastard. “Then let’s get the experts in here and find out. We need to bring in Dr. Promise Williams immediately.”
Ronan sighed. “You’re right.” He glanced at his watch and then looked back at Ivar. “She’ll be here tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.”
Chapter Three
The darkness of night carried additional rain. Mature trees scented the air with pine as drops drizzled from rolling clouds and splattered up from the leaf-covered ground. Thick branches protected Ivar as he leaned against a tree trunk, munching on peanuts, watching the quiet bungalow at the end of a private street. He ducked to the other side as a police cruiser drove by and turned around in the cul-de-sac, apparently conducting an hourly check of Promise’s home. Either the local police force lacked manpower, which was likely, or they thought his stupid kidnapping attempt earlier that day had been random.
Promise slid open filmy curtains at the front of her house and waved at the officer. He waved back and drove away.
Leaving her alone.
It was near midnight, and she had changed into soft-looking gray yoga pants with a matching top. Her thick hair was pulled up on her head, and her hand trembled slightly on the curtain. She had long, very curly black hair, high cheekbones, and caramel-colored skin. Her ancestry wasn’t obvious, but her beauty certainly was.
Relief had soothed some of his guilt earlier as he’d watched her walk from a different police car to her front door without a hitch in her stride. So he hadn’t hurt her. Good. The curtain fell, and she disappeared from sight.
A loneliness drifted through him that caught him up short.
Her home was perched on cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean, and the water crashed loudly against rocks below. Trees and branches blocked his view of the water, which was fine, because his interest lay in the woman. If he had found her, his enemies soon would as well. He slid down onto his butt and extended his legs, resting his head on the rough bark. Protecting her