He fell back against the bar, holding on to her just as tight. She was back in his arms where she belonged.
Now all he needed was his sister home and life could get back to normal.
“We’ll find her,” Kennedy murmured, her ability to know what he was thinking nearly as staggering as how deep their bond had grown in just a few short months.
“I shouldn’t have been so hard on her that night.” All the signs had been there days ago, and having gone through the same sensory overload of finding his mate, he should have recognized the signs in Briana, been more sympathetic. Instead he’d fixated on why she’d kept her mate a secret.
“You just want the best for her.” Kennedy ran her fingers across his cheek, and the cat fell into a lazy purr. “She knows that.”
“And maybe if I hadn’t been such a pushy son of a bitch, she would have told me her mate was Lucan.” A fucking wraith was bad enough, but did it have to be the same one that had nearly killed Kennedy?
“Hey.” His mate tapped him on the nose, the same as she did when she wanted the cat’s attention. “I know that look. Saw it just about every time you’d walk in here and see me working behind the bar.”
Tristan ducked his head.
“If it had been entirely Briana’s choice, she wouldn’t have chosen a wraith any more than you would have a human.”
A mate had been the last thing he needed when he’d been hunting the dagger that had been used to imprison Cian. Being put in a position to have to choose between saving his brother or the mate he hadn’t expected, had turned his world upside down.
Nothing had gone according to plan, not even the amazing woman in front of him and what nearly losing her had done to him.
Her lips moved against his forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Reluctantly, he eased his grip on her. “Did Dolan known anything?”
Kennedy opened her mouth to answer at the same moment the window of Cale’s office above them shattered.
A body landed in the middle of the dance floor. Cale?
They both glanced up in time to see Sorcha vault over the edge of the window and land in a crouch close to Cale.
Kennedy darted Tristan a worried look. “Did she forget who she is again?”
Sorcha stalked toward her mate, who sat up, bloodied but otherwise fine. “No, but he seems to have forgotten who I am.”
“You gave up being a huntress,” Cale challenged, pushing to his feet.
“And nothing’s changed.”
Cale shot his brother an incredulous look as though Tristan had a clue what the fuck was going on, then glowered at Sorcha. “Do you think Rhiannon gave you back the ability to flash out of the goodness of her heart?”
Whoa. Sorcha could travel from place to place again just by thinking about it? That ability had been stripped from her when Rhiannon freed Sorcha from her huntress responsibilities a few months ago.
Sorcha shook her head. “It was necessary.”
“And wiping away your memory again? Will that also be necessary?”
Tristan winced. To make sure that the huntresses—gifted with god-like powers—didn’t try to rise up against Rhiannon, the goddess made sure their memories were cleansed every hundred years, ensuring their loyalty.
Sorcha’s fierce expression softened and she took a step toward Cale. He held his ground, which Tristan had to give him credit for. Times like this, the ex-huntress intimidated the hell out of Tristan.
“That’s why you turned into a Neanderthal? You’re worried I’ll be cleansed and forget you?”
Determination warred with desperation on Cale’s face, an emotion Tristan understood completely. “I won’t allow you to be taken from me again.”
Reaching up to cup Cale’s face, Sorcha shook her head. “That won’t ever happen.”
Cale’s hands covered hers, and he tugged her close. “Locking you up seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Kennedy and Tristan exchanged confused glances, and when Sorcha looked over at him, Tristan held up his hands. “That’s a little extreme, even for me.” Mostly extreme. He’d only thought about it for a second himself when Kennedy decided he was better off staying here while she crossed the veil into Avalon alone.
“Uh-huh.” Kennedy eased out of his arms, but he kept her close by threading his fingers through hers. “Briana’s not the only one missing.”
Sorcha nodded as though that confirmed what she’d heard as well. “Nessa is missing too. And possibly Emma’s twin.”
“Isn’t the sorceress always disappearing?” Tristan asked. While trouble seemed to follow Emma, Elena created it.
“She was supposed to visit her mother at the Fae court and didn’t show.”
Kennedy tipped her head up to meet Tristan’s gaze. “It can’t be a coincidence they all disappeared around the same time.”
Meaning he needed to stop assuming the wraith was responsible for Briana’s disappearance. It hadn’t helped Lucan’s case that no one had been able to track him down either. Not unusual according to Sorcha. Rhiannon was known for assigning them tasks that could take them to the most remote parts of Earth or Avalon for months, even years at a time.
“Did you hear anything about the Gauntlet?” he asked. Emma had told them about the symbol Briana had been drawing and what it might mean. The thought of his sister in a death match…
Kennedy squeezed his hand.
Sorcha sighed. “Rhiannon says that if it’s happening, we won’t know until it’s over.”
“And she can’t find out?” Cale asked.
“No one makes her do anything she doesn’t want, but we’re not the only ones talking about the Gauntlet. Or the next campaign.”
“That’s why she gave you your powers back,” Cale guessed, still not looking happy about it.
Anger rose up in Tristan. “So if Rhiannon won’t help, who else would know more about the Gauntlet?”
Sorcha winced. “There may be someone, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Chapter Ten
“Welcome to your next challenge,” Maeve’s voice rose like the sing-song call of the birds waking to the early morning in the forest behind them.
Briana shivered beneath the cool breeze, unsure whether the goose bumps crawling across her skin resulted from the weather or the location. In front of her loomed a dark, cave-like entrance to the catacombs, the monstrous opening poised to devour them.
She took an unintentional step back, drawn to the familiar scents of Avalon behind her.
The cat wanted to pad through the dewy grass and slink into the trees. The pull of it, a sharp longing to prowl the forest, dart over fallen limbs or take to the trees, tugged low in her abdomen.
She glanced over her shoulder, noticed the same considering look on Vaughn’s face. Kel’s as well. The dragon glanced her way, not bothering to hide his uneasiness in the shifting of his stance.
Every instinct warned Briana to be anywhere but here.
Intent on listening to the rules, she focused on the goddess, who hadn’t appeared since the start of the last competition. Although they’d remained absent, Briana had no doubt Maeve and her brother were fully aware of everything that transpired in the house. They’d probably taken notes, planning on using what they’d learned to further complicate subsequent challenges.
Lucan’s arm brushed hers, and the tension coiling within the cat eased a bit. She felt his eyes on her, but
