go away with the formidable Sentinel king. Not only did she want to see the progress the world had made since she’d been taken away, but she was yearning to spend time with her supposed match. Kristoff mesmerized her, tempted her toward things she’d never known.
Judging by the way her body responded to nothing more than a simple touch from Kristoff, and considering Athena’s warning about Kristoff’s mental state, it was clear they did need to resolve the mate thing as quickly as possible.
What is the world like now? I’ve seen things on TV, but was it fiction or reality?
For so long, she’d seen only darkness. She was more than ready to walk into the light of the human realm again.
“Any place you want to go,” Kristoff answered in a deep voice that beckoned her to imagine the places he could take her.
He held out his hand.
Completely on instinct, Sophie didn’t hesitate to place her smaller palm in his, and let him lead her wherever he wanted to go. “Show me.” It was a statement with a little bit of a question included.
He nodded once, his eyes changing to an ocean-blue hue as he turned to Zach. “I’ll bring her back safely. You’ll have to trust me. Don’t do it because I’m your king. Have faith in me because I’ve always been your friend and your mentor. I’d die before I’d see your sister come to any harm.”
Kat took Zach’s hand as he stared at Kristoff, silently supporting her mate.
Finally, Sophie’s brother nodded. “You raised me, taught me what I needed to know. You saved me. I’m not sure where I’d be right now if I’d lost Sophie and we’d never met. Obviously, I’d be long dead by now, and I doubt I would have lived long after Sophie was taken away.” He paused before adding, “But this isn’t easy for me. You have to remember that Sophie didn’t have a good childhood, and then was imprisoned in the demon realm for two centuries. She deserves happiness now. She’s my sister and I love her.”
Sophie’s eyes filled with tears as Zach so easily said the words she’d wanted to hear for so long. “I love you, Zach. And I’ll be back. This is something I need to do.”
Zach nodded. “I understand.”
“We all have catching up to do,” Kristoff rumbled, keeping Sophie close to his side. “I have a daughter I very much want to know better.”
Talia smiled at her father. “I want that, too. Very much.”
Sophie could see the longing in Talia’s eyes as she looked at Kristoff. She’d gathered that Talia was Kristoff’s daughter, but she hadn’t known the whole story until the women had pulled her aside earlier. Now, she understood that Talia wanted to know Kristoff as a father, just as she wanted to get to know who her brother was now.
“I know a good place for you two to deal with this situation,” Athena said thoughtfully, then lifted her hand to send the two of them on their way.
Kristoff and Sophie disappeared instantly.
“Where did you send them?” Hunter asked curiously.
“Paradise. A place where they can find each other,” she answered with a smile. “Now let’s get moving and clean up the mess the Evils made so we can live a normal life again. Maybe once our work is done, we can all take the honeymoons we never had because we were too busy trying to save the world.”
“Somewhere warm and tropical,” Kat added with a look of longing on her face.
“On a beach where I can lay around naked all day if I don’t feel like getting dressed,” Talia agreed with a nod.
Drew’s brow lifted in surprise as he looked at his mate, but he was the first one to disappear with Talia, obviously anxious to be gone if it meant he was going to have plenty of naked time with his wife when they could get things done.
Hunter and Zach left with their radiants moments later, obviously motivated by the same thoughts.
“W here are we?” Sophie asked, looking around frantically as they flashed into the destination where Athena had sent them with her
J.A. Konrath, Bernard Schaffer