I slowly dress in the clothes Malachi hands me. No answers have presented themselves by the time I pull on my boots. “Rylan’s right. You should leave me. If there’s some kind of geographical limit on this—”
“There’s not,” Rylan says flatly. “As long as you’re alive, there will be a pull on us to return to your side.”
I spin on him. “This wasyouridea. I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t set out to trap you or bond with you or whatever the hell has happened. Stop looking at me like this is my fault.”
He opens his mouth and I half expect him to cut me down with a few icy words. Instead he sighs. “You’re right. Sorry.”
I blink. Holy shit, that was an actual apology. I glance at Malachi, but he looks just as taken aback as I am. He gives himself a shake. “Get dressed. We leave in two.”
Rylan and Wolf blur out of the room. I take a deep breath and turn to Malachi. “You—”
“Stop telling me to leave you behind. It’s not going to happen.” He dresses in a pair of jeans, boots, and a long-sleeved shirt. Malachi pulls me into my arms, which is right around the time I realize I’m shaking again. “Not because of a mystical bond, either, so get that out of your head.”
“You don’t know what I’m thinking.” That was exactly what I was thinking.
He gives me a squeeze. “We’ll figure out a plan once we get out of here. Give me that long, okay?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
His lips curve. “Would you rather I toss your over my shoulder and just take you with me?”
Kind of.
Except, no, I wouldn’t. I wanted a choice, and now I have one. Really, there’s only one option. If my father realizes what I am, he’ll try to kill me. Or, more likely, he’ll try to break me so he can use me to boost his own power. Neither option are good ones for me. At least with these three, I have a chance. Hell, I have more than a chance.
First, we have to get out of this house.
Two minutes later, we’re at the front door. Malachi tosses my suitcase to Wolf and hefts me into his arms. When I start to protest, he gives me a look. “Seraph or not, you can’t keep up.”
Damn it, but he’s right. “Okay.”
He looks at Wolf and Rylan. “Where to?”
“New York.” Rylan glances at the sky. “We can get there in half a day or so, and even if he sends his trackers, it will be difficult to find us amongst that many humans.”
Malachi nods. “Lead the way.”
He moves as a quick lope across the grounds, not quite blurring. When we reach the edge of the property, Wolf leaps over the seven foot iron fence as if it’s nothing. Rylan follows suit. Malachi hesitates and then we’re airborne. He tenses as we pass over the top, but nothing happens. The blood ward really is broken.
He gives that rusty laugh of his when he lands on the other side. “Freedom.”
“Not quite,” Rylan says.
“Close enough for me.”
We take off into the night, the cool air whipping against my face. I look over Malachi’s shoulder in time to see flames licking through the windows of the house we just abandoned. They spread preternaturally fast, consuming the roof in giant bites. Something gives way and a piece of the house collapses. There will be no rebuilding that particular cage.
Malachi and I really are free. Or as free as we can be while my father still lives.
I open my eyes, resolve settling over me. No matter what else happens with these three men, one thing is certain.
For us to be safe, we have to kill my father.
And I have to be pregnant before we can do it.
PARTII
HEIR