“No!” Loren rushed forwards, heart beating wildly in his throat as his brother plummeted towards the ground and the mess of steel pipes that rose at jagged angles from it.
Purple and pale blue light burst across Loren’s eyes and Vail disappeared.
Loren’s knees gave out and he hit the dirt, the impact robbing him of his breath. He stared at the air as it shimmered, still reaching for his brother, and then threw his head back and roared until his throat burned and he ran out of air.
He collapsed forwards and pressed his hands into the gravel, hanging his head between his arms.
Vail was gone. He couldn’t sense his brother at all, meaning he had closed the connection between them again, severing them once more.
Why?
Loren clawed at the gravel, refusing to believe it was because Vail intended to end his life. If he had wanted to kill himself, he wouldn’t have called the portal. The force of hitting the broken scaffolding from such a height would have caused some of the steel poles to impale his body. He would have bled out before Loren could save him.
Olivia’s warm hand came to rest gently on his back and he closed his eyes, the softness and tenderness of her touch soothing some of the pain from his aching heart. He had been determined to kill his brother and only she had stopped him from making a terrible mistake, but he had failed to save him in the end.
“Loren?” Olivia whispered and he lifted his head and looked at her. She crouched beside him, blood ringing her throat and dirt covering her pale skin, her gaze showing none of the pain he could sense in her. It showed only concern and affection, and something that worked to reassure him. “Archangel will help you find him. We have resources that can help you track Vail and then we can help him. We won’t give up on him.”
Loren nodded, heart buoyed by her words, grateful to his mate for her support and her confidence.
He sat up and looked over his shoulder at Bleu. Sable was tending to him and Thorne watched over them, his gaze tracking every move the huntress made. She glanced across at Loren and rose to her feet, grimacing as she clutched her injured arm.
“I’ll help any way I can,” Sable said, the offer unexpected and touching him deeply. Sable had no reason to get involved. Neither did Archangel, but the determination in Sable and Olivia’s eyes said that the organisation would be helping him whether they liked it or not.
Loren looked back at Kordula’s body.
“I will search for Vail and I will not stop until I have found him.” Loren pushed himself up and Olivia helped him stand, holding his arm and then wrapping it around her shoulders and bearing his weight. He breathed through his pain, every laceration on his body burning and stealing his strength, but it wouldn’t shake his resolve. “I vow I will never give up on Vail, even if he has given up on himself.”
Olivia smiled up at him.
“We will never give up on him,” she said and his heart warmed at her words. “We will find a way to save him.”
He nodded and gathered her close to him, and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, forever grateful to have such a wonderful, understanding, caring and stubborn ki’ara.
Loren pulled away from her and brushed his knuckles across her cheek, and then grimaced when the side of his chest burned as though someone had poured poison from the river of the seventh demon kingdom on it.
Olivia’s brown eyes filled with concern and her eyebrows furrowed. “We need to get these wounds fixed up.”
Loren nodded and looked at Bleu, Sable and then Thorne. “Care to test the limits of your teleportation ability?”
The Third King grinned cockily, exposing bloodied fangs and reopening the vicious split on his swollen lower lip. “One more little female is hardly going to test it.”
Bleu caught Loren’s arm and Sable’s. Olivia looked wary about taking Thorne’s hand and Loren nodded to let her know that he wouldn’t see the male as a threat to him. She was his now and no one could take her from him, although he would kill any who tried.
She placed her hand on Thorne’s and he grabbed Sable’s, and then a black vortex swirled outwards from the centre of their rough circle.
Loren glanced back at the point where Vail had disappeared as he dropped into the portal and swore again that he would find Vail, no matter how long it took.
He would achieve the dream he had dared to give up on.
He would save his brother.
Thorne landed them in the cafeteria of the Archangel headquarters in London, causing a dozen hunters to leap to their feet and throwing the place into pandemonium again. Sable calmed the situation before the alarms blared and lights began flashing, and Loren almost thanked her for sparing him the pain of having to use his powers to silence them.