He followed her calm instructions, and his heart rate slowed slightly.
“That’s good. You’re safe.” She clicked off for a second. “Okay. We’ve got a baseline for your brain activity. Go ahead and attempt to teleport anywhere you want. If you don’t want to return to the MRI machine, just pop up wherever you decide. It’s okay, Ivar. If it doesn’t work, we’ll just slide you out right away.”
Her easy acceptance helped him as nothing else could have. He drew on the forces around him, fighting his own weakness. Power snapped through him and wisped away. Nothing happened. Apprehension tore into him. He reared up and hit his head on the top of the tube.
His shoulders were constrained, and his legs kicked out. His eyes opened upon darkness, and instinct took over. Invisible claws raking him, he roared and punched up as hard as he could.
Then he went nuts.
Metal flew, plastic cracked, and even the sheet tore down the middle as he fought the confinement.
Female voices called out to him through the speaker, but he couldn’t make out their words through the raging fire in his head. He punched his arm through the side, and the bed started to move, but he tore pieces with him as he went.
Strong arms grabbed him off the bed and wrenched him to the floor. “You’re okay, Viking.” Adare shook him, banding an arm around his shoulders, keeping him from flailing anymore. “Breathe, brother.”
Ivar punched out and then shuddered. His blood was on fire.
“You’re good.” Adare hugged him tight and then released him, his eyes the deepest of blacks. “I’ve got you.”
Ivar panted out heated air, the raging in his head dissipating.
“Ivar?” Promise’s voice came from the doorway.
Adare held up a hand to ward her off. “Stay there for a second, Professor.” He angled his head, watching Ivar. “Right, buddy?”
Ivar took in several more shuddering breaths and then sat back on the cold floor. His body stopped shaking, and he turned to look at the demolished equipment. He blanched.
Adare slapped him on the back, grabbed his arm, and hauled him to his feet. “Yeah. The queen is gonna be pissed. You’re on your own for that one.” Then he held tight until Ivar’s legs were able to hold him up without help, silently giving the support of a brother.
Promise ran inside and collided with his chest. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea your claustrophobia was that bad.” She hugged him, her hands flattening above his waist. “Or that you had claustrophobia.”
He lifted her chin, shocked to see tears sliding down her smooth face. Tears? For him?
It was like a kick to the heart and a kiss at the same time. “I’m fine, sweetheart.” He leaned in and soothed himself with her scent.
She held him, rubbing his back, making soft noises.
He looked over her head at the queen, who stood in the doorway, her patrician features set in concerned lines. “I’m sorry, Emma.”
Emma’s face, already kind, softened even more. “I didn’t know, Ivar. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
He looked toward the mangled machinery. “Ah, shit.” It was worse than he’d thought. “I have funds to replace that,” he said. “Mercy can transfer the money today.”
Emma shrugged. “We have three more rooms like this one, so no worries. However, I think we’ll stick to blood and physical intensity tests for you.” She turned and slipped out of sight.
Ivar gently wiped the tears off Promise’s cheeks. “You always cry for your subjects?” he asked.
She sniffed. “This is the first time.”
Yeah, that’s what he figured. There were emotions between them, which made sense after the mating. How was he going to leave her sweetness and return to hell?
It didn’t matter how. He had no choice. The day he’d agreed to undergo the ritual to become one of the Seven, and the moment he’d survived that agonizing ordeal, his path had been forged.
Life sometimes sucked.
* * * *
“Your playroom does not suck,” Drake said, sitting cross-legged in front of the video console. “These games don’t even come out for another six months. How did you get them?”
Hope shrugged, sitting next to him with her purple game controller in her hands. “My uncle Kane makes a bunch of these games with different companies. He said that’s how he gets money to buy me presents.” She grinned.
Drake grinned back, his eyes a lighter green today. “I’ve heard of Kane. He’s supposed to be brilliant.”
“Yeah. He’s super smart,” Hope said, her heart all warm. Kane made the best ice