the Kayrs marking. His ears heated, and the blood rushed through them louder than his heartbeat. “Well.”
Logan clapped him on the back. “Your mate is in danger. Strong emotions bring the brand out. It’s nice to know, isn’t it?” His voice remained calm as if he was trying to help Ivar find his balance. Just as he’d done months ago.
Ivar looked up. “Know what?”
“That Promise is your mate. You didn’t have to force the marking or anything.” Logan’s expression sobered. “That’s a good thing, Viking.”
Just how much danger was Promise in? She was too delicate—too human—to survive a hell world. Ivar grabbed Logan’s arm. “Tell me you can track Mercy through other worlds.” Most demons couldn’t, but hadn’t Logan gained the ability after mating Mercy? Ivar couldn’t think straight right now as memories of hell smashed into him.
“Of course I can track her. She’s my mate.” Logan took a deep breath, exhaled, and the world spun away.
* * * *
Light and the smell of freshly baked snickerdoodle cookies impacted Promise first. Soft grass covered her tennis shoes, while three suns shone down, almost gently. She stepped back, her eyes wide, her heart bursting. “Where are we?” Bubbling brooks surrounded them as they stood in the midst of a wide meadow.
Mercy smiled, delight in her eyes. “One of my favorite places. I call it Brookville and have spent days here lounging around. There are no animals, and for some reason, the grass doesn’t get any higher.”
Incredible. Promise’s legs gave out, and she sank to the gentle ground. “Have you been here at night?”
“Sure.” Mercy sat and crossed her legs. “The constellations didn’t look familiar.”
Promise looked up. She really needed to come back at night. “What does the sky look like at night?”
Mercy closed her eyes as if trying to remember. “Maybe some distant planets but no moons or anything. Not like our moon.”
This was magnificent. Promise forced herself to breathe normally. “What is that smell?”
“It’s from the grass,” Mercy said. “The air is a little lighter too.”
“So is the gravity,” Promise said, lifting her hand. “It’s not as strong as at home.” Home. The word meant something different to her now. She reached for the devices, and they confirmed her visual solutions. They were not on her planet. How wondrous. Truly so.
Mercy stood. “Want to go somewhere else?”
“Yes.” Promise followed suit. “That felt different from when we teleported on earth. It was darker somehow. And the pressure more intense.” Before, she’d felt weightlessness. This time, she felt as if she had been moving. If they went to another world, would she sense a different direction? Every point on a graph had a location. “Show me.”
“Okay.” Mercy grabbed her hand again, and the smell of cookies evaporated. The darkness was the same, but she could swear she twisted three times and then moved in a leftish direction. They landed on a green pod in the center of a purple body of water.
Promise clutched Mercy’s hand. “What is in the water?”
“Dunno,” Mercy said. “I’ve been here a dozen times and have never seen anything. Doesn’t mean something isn’t lurking, though.” She grinned.
Promise chuckled and surveyed the readings on her devices before looking around. This place had one sun that was a bright orange color. It was far enough away to give warmth but not burn. “Are there places without stars?”
“Yep, but most are too cold to be habitable. Though there are a few that remain warm,” Mercy said, taking the barometer and compass again.
Promise held her tighter. “Where to next?”
The air shimmered.
What in the world?
Two hard male bodies split the day, landing on the pod. It bounced a few times and then settled, sending waves of purple across the water, submerging several other pods.
Mercy sighed. “Ah, crap.”
Logan’s smile wasn’t anything close to sweet. His eyes blazed a deep green. “I believe I asked you not to go off-world for the time being, mate.”
Ivar didn’t say a word. His eyes glittered, and his jaw looked as if it had been chiseled from the diamond shield she used to protect her brain.
For once, Promise didn’t know what to say. Caution overruled logic. How riveting.
“Logan?” Ivar asked quietly, hauling Promise into his side so quickly she didn’t have time to protest.
“Yep. Don’t move, Mercy. I’ll be right back.” Logan tackled Ivar, and darkness surrounded them. Promise was jostled more, and she made a mental note that Mercy’s teleporting was much smoother than anybody else’s for some reason, right before landing on an outcropping of rocks with