The instant Mia spotted her sister moving down the hallway toward her, she ran. Without a sound, she threw her arms around Ryleigh for the briefest second, then stepped back and turned to Jackson, her eyes pleading silently for reassurance.
A fist knotted in Jackson’s gut. Instincts he didn’t understand rose to the surface, hindering his ability to think logically. He’d been devoid of emotions for hundreds of years before he met Ryleigh and Mia, and the overload of feelings battered him. He must keep them safe.
Ryleigh kept an arm draped protectively over Mia’s shoulder, her eyes wide with fear. But anger filled them as well. And determination. The same need to protect her sister that had filled them the first time he’d seen her. The love that had kept him from killing her as he’d been instructed. He tore his gaze from hers in an effort to gain some sort of focus.
Eleanor Jacobs stood beside them, sword in hand, a dangerous scowl out of place on her delicate features. Her aggressive stance pulled him quickly back to reality.
He didn’t dare speak, didn’t dare mask the slightest sound that might signal an attack. He drew his eyebrows together and held her stare.
She used her sword to point toward the living room, signaling the direction her husband had gone.
He glanced quickly over his shoulder in the direction she indicated before leaning close to Ryleigh’s ear. “Seek out Elijah.” The prophet would keep them safe until he could figure out what was going on and return to Cymmera.
She nodded and pulled Mia closer.
As soon as he shifted his attention back to Eleanor, she sheathed her weapon at her waist, pressed her hands together, fingers entwined, and lifted them over her head.
The familiar tingle washed through Jackson. Like static electricity.
The intensity increased until she could no longer contain it. Eleanor ripped her hands apart, tearing a portal open in the dim hallway, revealing the Kingdom of Cymmera.
The familiar white stone walls of the castle brought immediate comfort, and Jackson had to resist the overwhelming urge to follow the girls through the portal.
Ryleigh turned to look at him, wisps of long blonde hair framing her face, and caught her bottom lip between her teeth. It sent a jolt through him, reminiscent of the jolt of electricity when he called a portal. He held her worried gaze until the last of Cymmera disappeared, tamping down the desire she elicited.
With the girls removed from immediate danger, Jackson’s resolve hardened. He turned a slow circle in the hallway, reaching out with all of his senses. He moved down the hallway toward Mia’s room, then stood just outside the door where Ryleigh had left the bat. Matt Jacobs would secure the property, search every inch of the yard and house. But he wouldn’t find anything. Whoever had been there was long gone, leaving no trace of what his intent had been.
Positioning his back against the wall, Jackson crouched and ran a hand over the spot where someone must have stood. He placed his hand flat against the floor, and let his eyes fall shut, trusting his instincts completely. If someone tried to attack, he would undoubtedly sense it. Energy flowed into his hand, heated his palm. Someone familiar had stood there. Someone he knew. He concentrated on that one spot, desperate to bring it into focus.
The heat dissipated. The knowledge was there, yet so elusive, like a wisp of smoke carried away on a soft breeze. He couldn’t quite grasp it. Giving up, he stood and faced Matt Jacobs. “Find anything?”
“Nah, nothing. But I didn’t really expect to.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “What do you want to do?”
Matt stared at him, sword held ready. “I don’t know.” With one last look around, he sheathed his sword at his side. “We’ve built a life here, Jackson. Eleanor and I. And yet…I don’t know. I guess sometimes I miss my home.”
Jackson grinned at the other man. “So come home then.”
Matt’s crooked smile didn’t quite reach his dark eyes. “Maybe. I don’t know. I wish it was that simple.” He sighed and propped his hand on his sword handle, fingered the jeweled design. “Anyway. For the moment, I’ll return to Cymmera, until we can figure out what’s going on. I don’t want Eleanor in danger. That’s part of the reason I left in the first place.”
The admission cut through Jackson. His kingdom was in danger, and because of that, some of his people had fled. “I’m sorry I put you in this position.”
The other man waved him off. “It wasn’t your fault. The girls needed protection. You simply did what you had to do. Besides, you made it very clear when you asked me to take them that I had the option of saying no. I like Ryleigh, and Mia’s a great kid. And they are princesses of Cymmera. No matter where I choose to live, my loyalty will always lie with my kingdom.”
“You’re a good man, Matt.” Jackson clapped him on the back. “Thank you.”
“Come on. Let’s go check on them.” Matt’s gaze darted one last time around the hallway, before he turned, lifted his hands, and tore open a portal to Cymmera. He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at Jackson. This time joy flickered in his eyes. “It’s been too long. I forgot how amazing it feels to hold all of that barely contained energy.”
They stepped through the portal into the castle and waited to be sure nothing followed them while the portal closed.
If he knew Ryleigh, she would settle Mia but not stray too far from her side. He thanked Matt again and jogged up the stairs into the tower that held Ryleigh and Mia’s chambers. He pushed open the heavy wooden door and found Ryleigh curled on the couch hugging a pillow against her chest.
She jumped up at the sight of him. “Did you find anything?”
“No. I didn’t really expect to, though.”
Ryleigh frowned. “Why not?”
“If someone was still there when I arrived, I would have sensed it immediately.”
“How can you be so sure?” She played her fingers along the edges of the pillow she still held.
“I’m a Death Dealer, Ryleigh, part of an elite team of soldiers. I’ve trained as a warrior for hundreds of years. My instincts are quite…strong.”
Her scowl almost made him laugh. She still couldn’t wrap her mind around the realities of his realm.
“Speaking of training, we can’t wait any longer. Why did you leave the bat outside the door?”
“I didn’t want to frighten Mia.” She peered at him from beneath her lashes, and heat shot straight through him.
He forced away the urge to soften his tone. “I’ve told you before, if you feel the need to grab a weapon, you never put it down. You must learn to trust your instincts. If someone had attacked, you would have been defenseless.” Not that the baseball bat she insisted on keeping close would be any defense against an attack from another realm. A tremor tore through him at the thought.
Her cheeks reddened. “I know. I’m sorry.” She flopped back onto the couch, clutched the pillow against her, and sulked.
She would, undoubtedly, be the death of him. “All right. Where’s Mia?”
“She’s settled in bed with a book.”
“Is she all right?”
Ryleigh shrugged. “I guess. She seems to be. She wants to learn everything there is to know about Cymmera, so she’s reading an old book Elijah gave her last time we were here.”
“Did you find Elijah when you got here?”
“No. I looked, but I couldn’t find him, so we just came here.”
“Let’s go.” Jackson reached out a hand. Waited.