Or now that her Atlantean genetics were awakening, becoming part of her, would she crave him with an even greater need?
She hoped she’d have the chance to find that out.
She hoped she’d have an entire future ahead of her with Nathan to find that out.
But right now, his injury needed tending, and across the room, Zael was standing over the corpses of the two Atlantean warriors.
Nathan broke contact on a low moan. As he raised his head to regard Zael, he brought Jordana under his arm in a protective stance. “Will more soldiers come?”
Zael gave a sober nod. “Once it’s determined these men have failed and are lost to her, Selene will send out more. She’ll keep sending out more. The queen does not accept defeat easily. She forgives even less.” Zael’s gaze slid to Jordana. “The best place to elude her is in the colony.”
“Or through a blood bond,” Jordana pointed out.
“If you remain in the mortal world, that’s all that would protect you. But only if Selene’s legion doesn’t find you first.”
“And she has me.” Nathan said it like a vow: firm, unwavering.
“True,” Zael acknowledged with a level glance, but his grave tone stopped short of encouragement. “Unfortunately, nothing can be as certain as the asylum the colony can provide. It’s hidden, known only by a small few outside the realm. I am one of only a handful trusted with its location, aside from the exiles who live there in seclusion under the colony’s protection.”>“We had to assume that as Cass’s longtime business partner, Gates knew he wasn’t human. We needed to know why they were keeping those kinds of secrets, Jordana. And more urgently, we needed to determine whether Martin Gates and Cass could also have ties to Opus Nostrum.”
“No. That’s impossible.” As incredible as it was to her to imagine Martin Gates having anything to do with Cass’s notorious club, she refused to believe her father—either of them, for any reason—would ever be part of the terrorist group responsible for multiple assassinations and the recent attack on the global peace summit in D.C.
Nathan nodded. “We realized soon enough that wasn’t the case. Martin Gates and Cassian Gray were keeping a very big secret, but it wasn’t Opus Nostrum. It was you.”
He stepped closer, but she retreated a pace. “How long did you know the Order would be coming after my father? Did you know the whole time last night?” Jordana’s voice sounded broken, even to her own ears. “Were you planning for his arrest even while you and I were alone together in my office? Did you use me, Nathan?”
Now Zael growled, low under his breath.
Nathan’s scowl deepened. “Did I use you? Fuck no. Never, Jordana.” He gave a sharp shake of his head. “But understand I also had to do my job.”
She scoffed quietly, even while her heart caved to him a little more. “Are you just doing your job now too? Is that why you’re here—because of what I am? Because of who I am?”
“I came because as soon as we figured out where you might be, nothing would’ve kept me from finding you. Nothing.”
He stared at her, moved forward despite the further warning that curled up from the back of Zael’s throat. “You need to come back with me, Jordana. Yes, because of everything we know about you now. You need to come back to Boston, where it will be my job and the Order’s to keep you safe from Cass’s enemies. Or anyone else who might think he has a claim on you,” he added, slanting a challenging look on Zael.
“I have no claim,” Zael said evenly. “But someone more powerful than any of us does. It was at her command that those soldiers tracked and killed my old friend Cassianus. And unless they’re stopped—or unless they lose the trail they’re most certainly on now—those same men will continue to look for Jordana by order of their queen.”
“Their queen,” Nathan murmured, clearly suspicious. “What are you talking about?”
“Jordana is her granddaughter.”
Nathan’s answering curse was rough, disbelieving. But Zael continued, undaunted. “The soldiers were closing in on Jordana last night in Boston.”
“Closing in on her,” Nathan said, then he seemed to understand. “Because her latent powers are maturing. Her Atlantean nature is leading them to her like some kind of beacon?”
Zael gave a grim nod. “They will track her to the ends of the earth unless steps are taken. They were in Boston since the night they located Cass. They would’ve found Jordana. If I hadn’t reached her first, they would’ve already taken her back to the realm.”
“Ah, Christ.” Nathan turned a stricken look on her. “And I had left you alone. They might’ve come for you, and I wasn’t there.”
Anger flared in her. “It’s not your job to protect me, Nathan. Dammit, it’s not anyone’s job to protect me!”
As her voice rose, the prickling in her hands intensified. The buzzing in her veins grew deeper, a pulsating thrum that filled her ears.
She swung a furious look between Nathan and Zael. “I’m not made of glass. I’m not a child. I’m a grown woman, and I’m tired of being treated as if everyone else knows what’s best for me.”
She didn’t realize how strong the sensation of heat and energy had gotten in her hands until she noticed both Zael and Nathan staring at her. Only then did she look down at her palms.
At the fiery glow that emanated from their centers.