be a trap either,” she said, dangerous sensations tingling through her as his muscles rippled smoothly beneath her palm.
Thankfully distracted, he shook off his grim mood. “How did you leave the temple?” he asked.
Terra turned her head as if suddenly fascinated by the strange rock formations dotted around the cavern.
“I told you. I used a portal.” She hoped that he would leave it at that.
He didn’t.
“I thought Serafs were forbidden from leaving?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, you’re forbidden from leaving?” he prodded. She nodded. With a muttered curse, Javad came to a halt, reaching to grab her by the shoulders. “Terra. What have you done?”
Reluctantly, she met his gaze that shimmered with hints of bronze. “I made a pledge when I gave you my medallion. I had to keep my promise.”
He studied her in confusion. “What about your duty to the temple?”
“It will be there when I return.”
“Are you allowed to return?”
She released a resigned sigh. Javad was strong and loyal and astonishingly tenderhearted. He was also as stubborn as a rabid hellhound.
“As long as they don’t realize I’m gone,” she admitted.
His brows arched in surprise. “You snuck out?”
“I did what I had to do.”
“Why?”
“It was…” She tried to say, “my duty.” Or, “burden.” But the words stuck in her throat.
“For me?” he asked in soft tones.
It was. She’d leaped at the opportunity to be reunited with Javad, risking everything just to see him again.
Rattled by the realization, she pulled out of his light grasp to walk across the cavern. Undeterred by her silent warning that she was done with the conversation, Javad quickly walked up next to her.
“You asked me if my new life made me happy. What about you?” he asked. “Are you happy?”
Happy? It wasn’t a word she thought about. She had a destiny. It didn’t matter if it made her happy or not.
“I can answer the same as you,” she said with a shrug. “When I first returned to the temple, I felt relief. And peace.”
“Because you accepted your place in the temple?”
She shook her head. “Because I realized the Matron was right. The world was a big, scary place that destroyed the innocent.”
He grimaced, but he was too smart to try and convince her that it wasn’t so bad out in the world. After all, they were currently being held prisoner by a vampire who intended to force Javad to fight. Perhaps to the death.
“Why do I sense a but?” he asked.
“But eventually, my original frustration returned.” She hadn’t intended to confess her inner turmoil. This male had no connection to the temple. But there was something in his dark, steady gaze that made the words spill from her lips. As if she were purging them. And maybe she was. “I might have accepted that the Serafs were safer behind the magic of the temple, but that shouldn’t stop us from helping the demons who need us.”
“I thought demons could petition for healing?”
“Yes. And the Matron decides if they’re worthy or not.”
He looked confused. “Worthy?”
Terra’s lips twisted. That’d been her reaction when she discovered that the demons she healed had been chosen by the Matron. And hundreds, perhaps thousands of others were turned away.
“I’ve asked her to define the term.”
“And?”
“And I spent a month locked in my bedchamber.”
Dust filtered from the low ceiling as Javad’s burst of temper shook the cavern. “You were imprisoned?”
“Not really,” she hastily reassured him. Javad could topple buildings when he was in a mood. Now didn’t seem the best time to get him riled up. “I was in a comfortable room with plenty of food and a beautiful view of the gardens.” She smiled. “Certainly, it wasn’t enough punishment to stop me from nagging about our isolation from the world.”
He made a visible effort to control his emotions. “The Matron clearly wasn’t prepared for a Seraf like you.”
His dry tone made her chuckle. “That’s true. I’ve heard rumors that the Matron sends out scouts to ensure I’m not around when she leaves her private rooms.”
His lips parted, but before he could speak, a portal opened over their heads, and something dropped out of the darkness.
Javad shoved her out of the path. “Terra, run!”
She stumbled, grabbing a stalagmite to keep her balance. Whirling around, she watched as the silver net landed directly on top of Javad. He screamed in pain, going to his knees as the metal strands seared deep into his flesh.
“Javad.”
Leaping toward the net, Terra was abruptly halted as a humungous troll dropped through the portal, landing directly in front of her. A