He needed to be all right. He had to be.

She scrubbed a hand over her face and growled in frustration. Why did things have to be like this? She shouldn’t care for him. However, she did. She should run, right now! Run away and try to go home. As if she even could.

Well you haven’t tried, taunted logic.

Abby flew to a stand, conjured her magic forth and tried to create a portal home. That’s all she had to do—envision her little house she rented that she was so proud of. She could see the little strap of lawn she had out front and could see the front door hanging open like she’d last seen it with Mike standing there. Her body grew warmer and warmer, she could almost feel it happen, but it was as if little shocks exploded from her fingertips but didn’t quite catch like they should.

“See, I can’t do it,” she said, pacing beside Alrik. Even if she wanted to, which admittedly at this very second she didn’t, she couldn’t go home yet. She wasn’t powerful enough. Nevertheless, the sparks from her fingertips, the supreme warmth, told her just how close she was. If she kept growing it could just be a matter of days, maybe a week tops.

Abby looked down at Alrik. His face was turned towards her and his long hair shadowed his cheek.

Could she really leave him? After he saved her life, and after they made love together? Even after knowing she had these...strong feelings for him?

Kneeling down, Abby pushed his hair back from his face. Oh, God, she realized.

She didn’t know.

She just didn’t know if she could do it.

What would happen to him if she did? Would he continue after the queen and get himself killed? Would he come after her and try to steal her away again? She wouldn’t be so easy to grab this time. She’d be prepared for it.

She didn’t have any answers, but she did know that he wouldn’t give up. That was the only thing she knew for certain.

Abby lay down next to Alrik and listened to his steady breathing in and out. She felt exhausted even though she’d only woken up a matter of hours ago.

She laughed. Was it really just this morning that she woke before Alrik?

Her muscles relaxed, thoughts quieted then slowed. The beautiful night sky above was a lovely view to watch. It was so peaceful here. You never heard the rumble of cars, the plowing of heavy machinery, nor had a view filled with paved concrete that covered up the beauty of the earth. None of that was here, and she didn’t miss it. Not one bit.

Alrik jerked beside her. She turned towards him, running her hand softly over his hair, one of the few places she could still touch with him lying in this position.

He mumbled something in his sleep.

She could barely hear the whisper of sound.

“What was that?” Abby whispered, unsure if he could even hear her. His eyes were still closed and sleep still claimed him.

His upper body jolted as if he was being shocked. He cried out; a heavy, grief-stricken sound that tore straight through her and froze her in place.

“Arianna.”

This time she heard it. He’d said a name, a woman’s name. He hadn’t said her name. He’d said someone else’s.

A funny feeling filled her chest right under her sternum. Abby rubbed it. Just who was Arianna? And why did he sound like he was dying when he said her name?

Her stomach moaned with queasiness. Why did she suddenly feel like her heart had just been ripped out?

She would just ask him about it when he woke up. She laughed aloud at the thought. Maybe Arianna was his mother’s name or something. A humorless laugh escaped her. No, he wouldn’t have sounded sad talking about his mother like that. Whoever Arianna was, she could hear how much he cared about her.

The pressure in her chest grew nearly unbearable.

She needed a good slap in the face. Who was she kidding beside herself?

Everything would be okay. It was as if even the smaller, smarter part inside of her couldn’t believe that.

But she had to. For her and Alrik’s sake.

Abby must have fallen asleep. She hadn’t even realized it. It’d just happened. However, she was pretty sure that when she dozed off it wasn’t with a sword pointed to her throat.

Abby’s eyes rounded as she looked down at the razor-sharp blade tucked gently under her chin. Her eyes traced up the long, slightly curved blade to a hand the color of dark cream then up over a ragged, white tunic to a handsome, striking face adorned with golden yellow hair that hung in braids down to his shoulders. It was also a face she recognized.

“Remove your blade!”

Shit. She also recognized that voice.

Blondie stepped back, sheathing his sword with practiced ease allowing Abby to sit up. What she saw made her stomach sink.

“Fuck.”

The rogues had followed them. With a quick look, she made sure Alrik was fine. He was still out like a light but his chest moved steadily up and down.

Leaning down, she kept her eyes on the one man who watched her with unnerving intensity, and spoke into Alrik’s ear. “We have company, babe,” she whispered. Whether he could hear her somewhere in there or not she didn’t know but tried anyway. “Aidan and his men are here. If you want to wake up, now would be the time to do it.”

He didn’t move. Not even a sigh or nod of his head. At least that was better than hearing the mysterious name Arianna. Whoever she was. She hated how petty she was being, but she wanted to know every little detail about this person, their life, and why Alrik said her name with so much...pain. A pulse of pain swept through her. Why did he affect her so much? Why did she even care? She shouldn’t.

Putting on a tight smile Abby stood. She needed to be on even ground with Aidan, the vampire leader of the rogue demons. Gosh, wasn’t that a heck of a title?

“Aidan,” she said with a nod.

Aidan arched a black eyebrow and looked behind him at the rotting carcass of the jaheera demon. “My, haven’t we been busy?”

“Nah, happens all the time.” She grinned at her own joke and crossed her arms to try to look more intimidating. She felt anything but confident right now. What she actually felt was raw, hurt... a bit like crying.

He’d brought all of his men. There were at least twenty of them. Some wandered around the demon carcass, others sat by a fire eating great hunks of meat, and a few watched her, Alrik, and Aidan with curious glances. Great, she needed this complication like a hole in the head.

After the fight with the jaheera there was no way she could conjure up the kind of barrier spell she’d done in Aidan’s castle if they needed to escape. No way. And even if she could, how was she supposed to move Alrik? The man slept like the dead. She couldn’t lift him, couldn’t drag him...and couldn’t leave him. She was royally screwed if they tried to steal her or hurt them, she added. Yes, that’d be equally as bad if not worse. All she could do was hope they stayed on their best behavior and left them in peace.

Aidan didn’t smile back at her. He strode forward, his brow creasing with worry. When he neared, he spoke in a low voice. “What happened here, Abbigail?”

Abby fought not to lose her nonchalant attitude, but it finally won out and she dropped it, settling with crossing her arms instead. “We were attacked. We took it down. Simple, I guess.” It didn’t feel simple, though. Not in the least.

Aidan looked back at the demon. His mouth floundered open and closed as if trying to find the right words and then he laughed humorlessly. “Maybe you don’t understand or maybe it is I who doesn’t understand, but that is a jaheera demon. I personally have never seen one until now, but several of the men have. They say it has been ages since these demons came onto this rift.” He caught her gaze and leaned in, crossing into her private space. “They say these creatures are caged by magic in the nether-rift. So, tell me, Abbigail, human witch, just what is it doing here and why is it after you?”