“Gabe, was it?” He nodded, his pompous gaze threatening me to go against him. “You’re an idiot.”
He started to walk toward me in a threatening manner, but Henry stepped in front of me and held out a hand. “I wouldn’t take another step toward him if I were you. You might be my brother, but I love him more than I love you right now. Don’t push your luck.”
Gabe looked stunned, mouth hanging open, and turned to his father and then his mother for support. When he didn’t get anything but shaking heads and disappointed looks, he stomped toward the door. His father’s words slowed him as he reached for the doorknob.
“Gabe, you’re no longer in charge of this situation. You may go back home.”
His spine stiffened, but he left without another word.
“Now, Finn. What do you propose we do to get us out of this situation? I fear we’ve messed it up royally.”
I looked around and found Henry sitting in a chair behind me, probably staying out of the way. I walked to him and held out my hand. He took it immediately, and when I had his grasped tightly in mine, I turned to address the others in the room.
“I need my phone back, and I’ll take care of this, but first I need food and to see Ameria. I’m sure you understand.”
I walked toward the door I’d come through earlier, but Henry tugged my hand and pulled me the opposite way toward the door Gabe had left through a moment ago. Oh, yeah. I didn’t need to go back to the bedroom yet. Once we were through the door, Henry threw himself at me and hugged me as hard as he could. It hurt, but I returned the tight hold because I felt the same way.
“I’ve missed you so much, Finn. It’s been horrible. My brother took charge and wouldn’t let me say a word. The protocols were set in stone, so I couldn’t argue. I knew when I brought you here, it would be risky, but I didn’t know what else to do.”
I hugged him, and we rocked back and forth in a comforting gesture that soothed both of us. Even though I’d been in a quarantine coma for a couple of weeks, and even though time hadn’t passed the same for me, I had still missed him too.
“It’s fine. They fixed the tracking thing, so that’s one less worry. Now we need to fix this crisis, and it should all be good.”
I let him go and retook his hand. We walked down a long hall, then through a beautiful room with ivory-colored sofas and simple gold accents. The floors looked like marble, but even though everything in the place seemed to be white and bright, nothing seemed cold or sterile. There was a warmth that was welcoming.
“This place is beautiful, Henry.”
He shrugged. “I guess. I like your cabin better. More color.”
I thought of all we’d shared in my cabin and considered something Henry’s father had said. “What did your father mean when he said your blood was mixed with mine now?”
Henry stumbled over nothing on the floor, then righted himself with the help of my hand still holding his. He opened his mouth, then closed it a couple of times before he just blurted out, “I had to use my blood to heal that scratch on your leg. It was spreading the poison fast through your system, and I didn’t know how else to stop it. But that’s not all. My mom told me the consequences of that last week.”
He turned us toward a door to the outside and threw it open before finishing his sentence. I was awestruck by what I was seeing, but I also wanted to hear the rest of what he had to say. He walked me by trees dripping in carnelian, malachite, and moonstone. The fruit hanging from the trees looked like the finest faceted jewels any royal crown would be lucky to own. At last, he stopped beneath a tree that looked like the leaves were made from lapis lazuli, the most brilliant blue veined with gold.
“We’re eternally connected, Finn. As long as I live, you will too because you have my blood in your veins. You’re stuck with me forever. And in my world forever is not just a sentiment, it’s a fact.”
He hung his head as if I was going to be angry with him. I couldn’t let him think I was upset. “How on earth or any other realm could I be angry with a man for loving me enough to risk himself and his eternal future to help me not once but twice, Henry?” He raised his head, hope glistening in his eyes with an unshed tear. “It’s true. I said I love you, and I always will.”
Henry let that single tear fall from his golden lashes, and right there beneath the ancient tree of knowledge, I kissed my eternal mate. It was a sweet, chaste kiss but held all the promise of what would come. I gave him a quick hug, and then we continued walking.
“I need to see Ameria for myself, then can you find my phone? I need to make a few calls and straighten this all out.”
I followed him down the jeweled path, knowing that no matter where we went from now on, we would go together.
Chapter 12
Henry
“Did he say how he’s going to work this all out, son?”
For the thousandth time, I answered, “No, Mother. He just got his phone and said he was
