The sort of warmth that could only be described as near orgasmic flooded my body, and I sighed, wishing I could just wrap myself around him, kiss those decadent lips, and never come up for air. Before I lost myself any further into that fantasy, Shadow used the energy I’d shared and zapped us to another location. One with land.

“It’s the outlier islands,” he said shortly.

This had me looking around with more interest since I’d only ever seen them on a rough Inky map.

Shadow pulled us away from the edge of the sand and water, and farther into the mainland. Unlike the Concordes, there were no visible lava fields here; it was very jungle-like, with a thick and dense foliage, humidity sending moisture across my skin within seconds of walking.

“She’ll hopefully have some trouble tracking us here,” Shadow said, sounding strong and sure, but I felt his fatigue through our bond. “Inky, can you form a barrier around us as well? We need to finish this final cage. No mistakes.”

The mist rose up, bursting into a huge covering, which would hopefully block some of our energy from being traced. As soon as Inky was in place, Shadow released my hand, gesturing for the others to form a circle again.

“I’ll be the lookout,” I said softly, stepping away. “I’ll warn you the moment I feel her power closing in.”

“Don’t try to tap into her power, though,” Alistair warned me. “She’s bonded to you, through your Nexus origins, and she will feel it if you search for her.”

I nodded. “Don’t worry. I won’t do anything to jeopardize us.”

Behind me, their power settled into the land as they started to weave their second fortress. A quick glance was all it took to see that this time each strand was thicker and brighter. As Shadow had said, they’d learned from their mistakes, and if this was our last shot at stopping a war, they were giving it everything they had.

Taking my part of the whole process seriously, I strolled around the perimeter, tamping down my energy so that I didn’t inadvertently give us away. My senses were on high alert, and I felt the moment a foreign spark of power drifted closer to the circle.

I didn’t panic and neither did Inky, so it was clear we’d both felt the same thing. This power wasn’t the Nexus goddess; it was the locals of this outlier island. Their jab of energy was both curious and a touch hostile as they attempted to understand who had invaded their territory.

When they moved closer, I positioned myself so they’d have to go through me first. A flicker of unease thrummed along my bond from both Shadow and Angel, but there wasn’t much they could do except trust in me. In the power I contained.