"Something tells me I should do this more often," he grinned.
I nodded. "You definitely should!"
He laughed lightly and caught my mouth in a long, gentle kiss, his lips soft against mine, his tongue searching as my temperature spiked. The effect he had on me was undeniably powerful.
But the sound of horses galloping in the distance tore us apart. We looked toward the source. To my relief, we saw Jovi, Bijarki, and Anjani accompanied by two other females on horseback.
My heart seemed to relax, and I could breathe again. A smile drew itself on my face.
"They're back!" I exclaimed.
"I knew they would be. I just can't believe they managed to bring Jovi back as well. I would've lost him somewhere on the way," Field said jokingly, prompting me to poke him with my elbow.
His hand slipped up my back. He laughed lightly.
Their horses trotted through the protective shield. The two females with them looked around, visibly confused, unable to see the mansion. Once they followed Jovi through the spell, however, it all became clear, and their eyebrows lifted with surprise.
I recognized the scales and yellow eyes identifying them as Lamias. Bijarki, Anjani, and my brother had been successful in reaching out to the Lamias. My vision of them being followed by the rogue incubi had kept me on edge for a while, until Field had managed to assure me that they were no match for my wolf-brother, a seasoned soldier, and a succubus warrior. Deep down, I knew he'd been right and was thankful once more to have him close in this world.
Jovi was the first to get off his horse and run straight to me, taking me up in his arms and laughing.
"There he is, my little trouble maker!" I laughed as he spun me around.
"I told you I'd be back!"
"I'm surprised they put up with you for that long." I grinned.
"Trust me, we got very close to dumping him." Anjani joined the joke, as she got off her horse with a playful smile on her face.
I noticed the change. Something had shifted between Jovi and Anjani. There was more there than before they'd left. I had a feeling they'd gotten closer. The looks they exchanged weren't difficult to recognize.
"See?" Field said to me, chuckling. "I told you he'd be trouble."
I shouted after Vita and Phoenix over my shoulder, positive they'd be as happy as I was to see half of our group back with what seemed like good news.
///
Bijarki stepped forward, his eyes darting around as if looking for someone. His expression brightened as he saw Vita emerge from the house to join us. He brought the two Lamias forward, introducing them to us.
"This is Tamara, Mother of the Lamias, and her Daughter, Eva," Bijarki said.
I looked at the two creatures, both incredibly beautiful, clearly related yet quite different. Unlike her mother's platinum hair and yellow-green scales, Eva's rich locks flowed black on her shoulders, her skin pale and scales black. They both wore soft silk dresses in shades of white and pale green, complemented by emerald collars and bracelets.
"They've come to speak with Draven regarding our alliance against Azazel," Bijarki added as we all gawked at them.
"It's an honor to meet you. I'm Aida," I said with a polite smile. "This is Vita and Field. Phoenix and the Daughter should be with us soon."
Tamara looked us over, measuring Vita and me from head to toe before she gave us a warm and charming smile. There was something about snakes that made me wary, even when they were nice and smiling. I had a hard time trusting anything that slithered, and my previous experiences with their distant Destroyer relatives had not exactly helped.
"You must be the Oracles," Tamara guessed with surprising accuracy. "And you, Field, you're just as strange as Jovi, yet different. What are you?"
Field smirked, running a hand through his long black hair. I didn't like Tamara much. She was far too confident in her own ability to seduce any living creature, and watching her set her sights on Field with her soft looks and sweet voice made me growl on the inside.
"It's kind of a long story," Field replied, giving me a sideways glance.
"Where's Draven?" Bijarki intervened, cutting the awkward exchange short, to my relief.
"He's not here yet," I replied.
But before any of us could say anything else the sound of thundering hooves and neighing horses made us look out toward the bridge again. Hope blossomed in my heart that I would get to see Serena, Draven, and Hansa next.
Serena
We'd made it back with no major incident through the jungle. A few mindless shape-shifters had been brazen enough to try and jump at us, but Hansa swatted them away with a couple of poisoned arrows, leaving them writhing in the pain of death.