Лори Девоти - Unbound

Witches? Risk blinked, unsure he had heard the larger shape-shifter correctly.

“Don’t lose your advantage. Leave while the bargain still holds.” With that, the serpent lowered his belly to the ground and slithered out of the hall.

The snake-men hurried them out of the hall toward the door where Kara had first entered what seemed a lifetime ago with Narr. Risk trotted along in the rear, his eyes alert, but avoiding Kara’s gaze. When they reached the first doorway, the snake-men parted, allowing Risk to walk between them until he stood beside the sisters.

Kelly, her eyes narrowed, said, “What’s happening? Why’s this…beast with us?”

Her mind swirling, Kara ignored her. They were letting them leave; she didn’t know what had happened, but Risk had been right. He hadn’t betrayed her. Jormun’s letting us leave. Risk, too — just not…Lusse. The image of Lusse lying immobile on the ground slammed into her.

“Is she dead?” she asked of no one in particular.

The closest snake-man blinked.

“Lusse, is she dead?” Kara repeated.

“Who cares?” Kelly muttered.

The snake-men glanced from Kara to Risk, as if he had said something. One hissed, then said, “She lives, just knocked out. She proved she was the stronger. Only the strongest can serve Jormun.” His eyes gleamed.

“The strongest?” Kelly raised a brow.

Risk growled. To Kara’s surprise, her sister snapped her lips shut.

“So, what happened to her?” Kara asked.

“Too much power. She couldn’t filter it all,” the snake-man replied. He reached into a small crevice near the doorway and pulled out the stick that Kara now knew opened the door.

“But…why didn’t anything happen to us?” Kara motioned to herself, Kelly and Risk.

“Forandre?” The snake-man hissed, a disbelieving sound. “Nothing hurts forandre.”

“And us?”

“Bracelets. They protect. The other witch was lucky. She wasn’t wearing one. In the past, witches weren’t strong enough. The power of Jormun’s change overwhelmed them…killed them.”

“But Lusse…?”

“Survived, strongest. She will serve Jormun well.” The entire group nodded, their tongues darting in and out of their mouths.

So the other witch, Kelly’s friend, Jormun had killed her, but perhaps not intentionally. Kara glanced at her sister, who was staring at the band around her ankle. Did it matter? Dead was dead. A shiver passed over Kara.

The snake-man swung his stick, striking the door. Even before the vibrations had slowed completely, the group had turned and began swaying away.

Something warm knocked against Kara, nudging her through the doorway. She dropped her hand, hitting fur — Risk still in his other form. Walking beside him, down the tube that lead to the portal, she let her fingers rest lightly on his back.

Strangely, she felt no fear — or even unease. Walking beside Risk felt normal, safe.

When they reached the portal, it was already open. One hand on Risk, the other clasped around Kelly’s hand, Kara stepped out of Jormun’s world and into the Guardian’s Keep.

Risk herded Kara and her sister through the doorway and into the Guardian’s Keep, then quickly circled around so he was between them and whoever or whatever might be waiting for them in the bar.

“Well, I didn’t expect to see you again.” The garm, in human form, leaned against the bar, his arms crossed over his chest. His gaze drifted from Risk to Kara’s sister, where it settled and stayed.

The twin grabbed Kara’s arm and shoved her way past Risk. “Let’s go.”

Kara balked. Using her body weight against her sister, she refused to move.

The garm raised an amused brow and turned his gaze back to Risk. “Were they worth it?”

Risk tilted his head.

With a low laugh, the garm pulled a pair of jeans from behind the bar and tossed them in a heap in front of Risk. “Heard you were coming. Thought you might want to change.” He grinned.

Not in the mood for forandre humor, Risk grabbed the denim in his teeth and dragged it backward until he was a few feet away from Kara and her sister.

With a small amount of privacy, he turned his back to the others and began to shift.

“Damnation,” he heard Kelly mutter. Ignoring her, he finished his change and began tugging on the jeans.

When he spun back around, both Kara and Kelly were staring at him. The garm bent down to rearrange some bottles with angry clanks.

Risk stood, dressed only in the garm’s worn jeans, his gaze on Kara, feeling vulnerable and exposed — something he’d never experienced before meeting Kara, before loving Kara.

Unable to form words, he held out one hand.

“No way.” Kelly placed a restraining hand on Kara’s forearm. “We still don’t know what happened back there. Maybe he’s been sent through to watch us, use us somehow.”

Kara shook off her sister’s grip. “He saved us.”

Kelly sputtered. “Not. How do you figure that? We had Lusse dead to rights. We were winning. Then he did…something. Broke your concentration. He caused us to lose the battle.”

Her eyes focused on Risk, Kara replied, “But that’s it. Don’t you see? If we’d won, Jormun never would have let us go. Risk convinced me to lose. Jormun thought Lusse was stronger — that’s how we escaped.”

Kelly frowned. “He convinced you to lose? How? Just with that one note?”

“No.” Kara smiled. “The note should have been enough, but it wasn’t.” She took a step toward Risk. “I’m sorry. I should have trusted you.”

The band around Risk’s heart loosened.

“Kara,” Kelly objected.

Kara held her hand out to her sister, shushing her, then took the last few steps into Risk’s arms. He pulled her to his chest. His nose buried in her hair, he inhaled her scent, her love, her.

“You can accept…” He let the words trail off.

She looked up, her eyes shining with tears. “Everything. I love everything about you.”

When he started to speak again, she pressed her fingers to his lips. “What about you? Can you forgive me for throwing you out? For being so…” she glanced at her sister “…stubborn?”

He laughed, all the stress, worry and fear he’d been carrying evaporating like mist. “Anything, everything. If you can accept me, and all I’ve been, there’s nothing I wouldn’t forgive.”

He lowered his mouth to hers. With a sigh, she met his kiss. His fingers tunneled through her hair, he held her there, forgetting where they were, who was around them, and all the unsolved problems that still lay ahead.

Then her fingers brushed the silver chain around his neck, and she pulled back, concern in her eyes. “What about this?” She gripped the chain as if willing it to melt in her palm.

He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m still bound to Lusse. Even with her in another world, the bond doesn’t break.”

Kara stared up at him, her brows lowered in determination. “Can we break it? You thought we could.”

Risk glanced from Kara to her sister, who stood listening, her face lined with suspicion.

“It doesn’t matter. Jormun won’t let Lusse go. As long as she’s trapped, I may be bound to her, but she can’t touch me.”

“That’s not good enough.” Kara pulled back, out of his arms. “We’ll free you.” She spun toward her sister.

Kelly shook her head. “No way. You haven’t convinced me he’s one of the good guys yet. We don’t know what will happen if we unleash…that.” She made a disdainful gesture toward Risk. “It’s probably all part of his plan.”

“Kelly…” Kara took a step toward her sister, her head lowered, her gaze fixed. “We are going to free him.”

Kelly braced her feet and stared back. “No. We’re not. Trust me. It’s for your own good.”