By the Horns (38 page)

What kind of proof would satisfy her?

He landed beside Nat and, this time, the expanse before them appeared in the form of an ocean. Great, so they had to swim?

Nat tensed and jumped in. He hopped in with her. The second he hit the water, powerful currents dragged him under.

He flung open his eyes, scanning the swirling waters for Nat. Fuck, he’d let go of her hand. He refused to lose her. Why the hell had he let her out of his sight? He spun around and around, kicking the water, but no matter how hard he bucked, he couldn’t breach the surface to breathe. Despite how far he dove under, he didn’t spot Nat.

The air in his lungs dissipated, hissing out of him like a balloon. The current wouldn’t allow him to go up or down. Only forward. What if he’d left her behind?

The burning spread through his veins.
No choice.
He had to search for the shore and pray she was doing the same. That she would make it on her own.

He threw out his arms and kicked his legs, slicing through the water. Eventually, his feet hit the sandy bottom and he hauled himself onto the shore.

He crawled to face the ocean and scanned its shimmering surface. Where was Nat?

His lungs heaved in oxygen, and he shot to his feet, preparing to leap back in to search for her, but a hand slashed the surface.

Nat. She slithered onto the shore and he scooped her into his arms. Too relieved to do anything but clasp her against his chest, he indulged in the comfort of holding the woman he loved. “You all right?”

“I’ve been better, but yes.” She smiled and the knot in his gut loosened.

“Up for whatever’s next?”

“You bet.” She panted, stretching to her feet.

He helped steady her. “Rest for a minute.” She did, leaning against him. “I couldn’t leave you behind, but the current wouldn’t allow me to go back.”

“Me either.” She glided her hand up and down his arm. “It was part of the test.”

He opened his mouth to ask what she meant, but the path before them cleared, revealing a thick expanse of trees.

“Okay, what’s next?” He surveyed the jungle. Nothing popped out at him as being devious. Just a bunch of trees tangled with vines.

“Guess we’ll find out.” She ventured forward and, the second she did, the innocuous vines became…alive.

They crept downward, along the tree trunks to cover the path, writhing and slithering like snakes.

Nat plucked a stick and flung it into their midst. The vines pounced on it like a pack of wolves tossed a meaty bone. “Dammit. Looks like we’ll be swinging.”

He eyed the thin trees. “They’ll never carry my weight. I’ll have to take the ground path. Ox can handle those vines.”

“
Hmm
.” She tapped her fingers on her hips. “Well, we have to do this together.”

“Hop aboard.” He grinned at her a second before cloaking Ox. He lowered Ox’s head for her to climb on. She settled onto its shoulders, one hand braced on its horns.

Ox grunted, assessed the situation, and bolted forward. The vines snapped at him like greedy tentacles. Ox stamped its hooves on them, smashing the vines in a spray of green ooze.

Nat didn’t just come along for the ride. Snake’s tail whipped at the vines, slicing them with more precision than a machete.

As the end of the jungle came into view, a dark figure swayed in front of their path.
Another obstacle?

Panicked grunts hit his ears.

Shit.

***

Nat tugged Ox’s horns and jerked the beast to a halt a few feet from the dangling figure.
He
wasn’t a test.

He was a student. Caught in the vines. She scanned the treetops and searched for his partner.

“She went ahead without me,” he grated through a clenched jaw, tugging at the vines around his neck threatening to choke him.

Crap. Why would the woman do that? The Matchmaker had specifically warned, no partner, no pass. Some people didn’t listen.

Nat bit her lip. If they didn’t help him… Best case scenario, he’d become the toilet scrubber for one of the Eight Immortals.

The worst? Plant food.

“What should we do?” she asked Kassian. This was, after all, his test.

“He’ll be bloody heavy to carry and he’s injured. He’s dead weight.” Ox’s shoulders tensed beneath her. “Still, it wouldn’t be right to leave him.”

“Okay, then.” She flicked Snake’s tail and sliced through the vines. The man crashed to the ground, thudding on impact and cursing. Lots of cursing.

He rose. “You couldn’t have caught me?”

“Hey, watch it, mate,” Kassian snarled. “Or we’ll leave you to the vines.”

“Sorry.” The man rubbed his ass and tore a length of cloth from his shirt to tie around his bleeding leg.

Vines snaked around Nat’s ankles. “We have to move.”

The languid vines snapped to life, coiling around and snaring them. The ground rumbled beneath her feet and the pathway crumbled, the dirt collapsing in on itself, forming a gigantic crater. They tumbled into it, the man on the bottom and she in the middle. Kassian claimed the top spot of their dangling trio.

The vines had saved them. The plants stood between them and falling into the pit, likely to their deaths.

Kassian grunted as he thrust one hand onto the ledge. A few seconds later, he’d scaled out of the pit and his extended hand dangled toward her. “Grab on. I’ll pull you up.”

Hesitating, she glanced down. The man hadn’t been captured by the vines like she had. He hung by one thin rope that threatened to slide out of his grasp at any second.

Crap. He pleaded, desperation in his green eyes. “Help me, please. I can’t hold on.”

“We have to save him. He’s going to fall.” She grasped Kassian’s hand.

“I can’t hoist you both up at the same time.” Kassian shook his head. “He’ll have to wait.”

The man below her cried out as the vine snapped.

She whipped Snake’s tail faster than she ever had, snaring the man’s waist as he dropped.

Clinging to her tail, he stared at her with wide eyes. Half in horror and half relief. “Please don’t drop me.”

“I won’t.” She nodded once and tightened her hold on Kassian’s hand. Lines of strain creased his features as he bore the brunt of the two of them. “I can’t support both of you.” His grip on her hands clamped tight and the muscles in his forearms bulged, the veins popping.

The man below her weighed a ton. Even worse, he swayed as he dangled from Snake’s tail.

“Yes, you can.” She focused her efforts on Kassian. “You’re strong, Kassian. So strong. Not just in your body, but in your heart.” Her voice broke. “You were strong enough to love me and to risk everything for me, even when I was too frightened to admit I love you back.”

His greenish-brown eyes burned with an intensity that melted her insides. “I love you, Kassian.” She exhaled a shaky breath, the burden of everything she hadn’t been able to voice lifting from her shoulders. “You can do this. Be strong for me like you always have been.”

“I love you, Nat.” He nodded as he lifted their clasped hands, hefting what must have been three or four hundred pounds out of the pit. Ox’s spirit faded in and out, handing Kassian the extra strength.

She gritted her teeth and tightened Snake’s tail around the man’s waist. Her body inched higher until her arms grazed the dirt. Kassian leaned backward, legs extended toward the pit, to drag her the rest of the way out.

She collapsed half on Kassian, half on the ground beside him. With one last grunt, he hefted the man out of the pit.

He lifted his head once, to confirm the man was safe, before gripping her in his arms and kissing the top of her head.

The jungle faded around them and, as she blinked, she recognized the pair of heels tapping beside her face. Nat shuffled to all fours and lifted her gaze to stare at the Matchmaker.

The woman actually smiled. Not smirked or curved her lips mischievously.

She smiled at Nat and then at Kassian. “Well done.”

***

Kassian gaped at Nat before chuckling. They’d made it out. Even more, Nat had declared she loved him. Finally admitted what he’d longed to hear.

“You have proven yourself to me, Kassian. You as well, Natalie.”

He rose to his feet, drawing Nat up beside him. The other man bowed his head and limped toward the group of students who clustered on the far side of the room. He exchanged what appeared to be terse words with the woman who’d been his partner.

Kassian shifted his focus back to the Matchmaker. “What were those tests meant for?”

A mischievous glint flashed in her obsidian eyes. “Love is a leap of faith. Sometimes, one must go before the other.” Yep, the clouds. “It is not a leap alone. It is knowing that, even when you are not together, your trust in your partner will not waver.” Ah, the ocean. “Finally, it is being able to love each other, not at the expense of the world, but to implement the power of your love for the betterment of others.”

Saving the man in the jungle. He and Nat had worked together to protect each other, and used their combined strengths to help someone else.

He grinned at Nat. She smiled back and squeezed his hand.

“But,” the Matchmaker continued, “you proved yourself to me, Kassian, when you convinced my dearest Natalie she could love someone and not be lost because of it.”

He winked at the Matchmaker. “You told me you didn’t want her to fall in love.”

“Ah, but there is a difference between falling in love and loving the one who is your destiny. You are each other’s destiny.” Her voice dropped to a lyrical, amused note. “As long as you pass the rest of my tests. You’re not a Lotus, yet. Speaking of which, Natalie, I’m afraid I’m going to have to permanently demote you.”

Nat tensed in his arms. “What?”

“Yes, well, it seems because of your infraction, I’m going to have to revoke your blossoming clearance level.” With that, she turned, departing the room, her heels clacking on the tiles.

He blinked. “What the hell does that mean?” Bloody code words.

Nat laughed, then turned in his arms and trailed one fingertip down his chest. “I guess I’m not allowed to seduce anyone anymore.” She licked her lips.

He swallowed hard as her finger trailed down his waist. “Oh yeah?” He took back every ungenerous thought he’d ever had about the Matchmaker. She was a bloody saint.

Nat lifted a shoulder and locked her gaze to his. “I could make an exception… but I might get into trouble. For being a bad, bad girl.”

“
Hmm
.” He bent forward and feigned to kiss her, but slapped her ass instead.

She hissed a breath and leaned closer to moan in his ear.

“Well, damn. Come here, destiny.” He clasped her hands against his chest. Nat tilted her chin up and he claimed her lips. Claimed her love.

And claimed her as his destiny.

No doubt about it. Loving Nat had brought him the one thing he’d searched for his entire life.

Clarity.

He pulled back and gazed into her eyes, professing the vow he would never break. “No matter what mask you wear, Nat, you’ll always be mine.”

Glossary