Uriel

Chapter 2 - Redux

The High Commander released his control of Braeden as swiftly as he'd taken it away. The orange-red glow faded from Braeden's eyes, returned to their normal shade of dark crimson. His tattoo was once again just skin and ink. And the devastation in his gaze...That was one hundred percent authentic Braeden.

"Sam," he said hoarsely, dropping to his knees in front of her. "By the Gods--"

She pressed his head against her abdomen, stroking her fingers through his silver hair. "It's okay," she said shakily. She couldn't let him know how badly he'd scared her. "We're okay."

His arms went around her waist. "It had been so long since the last time," he whispered. "I thought that maybe..." His voice trailed off. "I should have known better. My master would never have let us leave Thule if it didn't benefit him somehow."

Her fingers stilled against his skull. "What do you mean?"

"He knows where we are," Braeden said. He tensed, dropping his hands from her waist and raking them through the sand in frustration. "He knows exactly where we are. He always has."

"How?"

Braeden let the sand run through his fingers before pushing to his feet. "It's this accursed tattoo," he said, tracing the intricate lines and curves that covered nearly half his torso. "He branded me with his own blood so he could find me anywhere. My master once taught me there is no stronger bond than blood. I'm his, no matter where I hide or how far from him I go."

"I won't let him have you so easily." She closed the small distance between them and lay her hand over his, placing their interlaced hands over his breastbone. "He might have put his mark on your skin, but your heart belongs to me."

Braeden's somber expression didn't change. "He's sent someone after us, Sam."

She gave him a light shove. "You don't know that."

His rough fingers cupped her chin, holding her gaze captive. "He can't invade my head without letting me into his. I heard some of his thoughts, until he shut me out. He sent someone after us, as soon as we left Thulian soil. Whoever he sent, they're already here in Rhea, searching for us." His touch turned tender, stroking her left cheek. "I should leave."

Sam glared up at him. She'd thought he'd left such foolishness behind in Thule. "And go where? You said yourself the High Commander can find you anywhere."

"But at least I won't lead him to you."

"It's too late to worry about that. You already have." Braeden flinched, but she refused to back down. "He wants something from me, Braeden. I don't know what, but I do know this: Even if we're on opposite coasts, he'll find me some other way. We're stronger together than apart."

"Fine," he said in a resigned voice. "But I want you to promise me something."

"Anything," she replied, and then immediately regretted the word.

"If there comes a time to choose between your life or mine, let me die."

She let out a derisive snort. "Don't be ridiculous." He placed his hands on her shoulders, but she shook them off. "I won't promise you that. Not now, not ever." She had as much right to die for him as he did for her.

"Sam..."

She fought down the childish urge to throw a handful of sand at his head. "Listen to me, you big oaf. We're in the middle of the Rhean desert. In case you haven't noticed, our horses ran off with our packs. Half our money is gone, and we have no water or food." She jabbed her finger at the white towers and domes, still a mile away or more. "The both of us will be dead if we don't make it to the convent by sundown. If I die because we wasted time arguing in this forsaken sandpit , I'll make your time in the Afterlight miserable."