“Then make her your mate. It’s taking you long enough.”

“I plan to, but we’re doing it alone. You’ve seen her. Now I’m taking her home with me where we can have privacy.”

“Privacy?” He laughed. “You’re pathetic. Just like your father. How your mother married such a weak human, I’ll never understand.”

Toby bristled, but he didn’t lose his temper. “We’re going.”

Toby didn’t give me any warning. He grabbed me around the waist as he sped to the front door. I’d barely registered brown wings extending before we were airborne.

Frozen. I felt almost agonizingly cold before Toby landed.

“Damn it. I should have thought about the cold. I wish I had a coat for you.”

We were in the middle of nowhere, in a forest with a thick cover of trees. Only a faint hint of light spilled through the canopy.

“I need to sit down.” I fell down to my knees, wrapping my arms around myself.

“I think you’re worse. You keep getting worse.” He started to pace. “Do you have Levi’s number memorized?”

“Yeah.” I barely got the words out through my chattering teeth.

“What is it? You’re too sick to travel. Maybe just being with him will help a little.” Toby kneeled down next to me.

I shakily told Toby the numbers and waited for him to dial.

I wanted to lie down on the ground, but Toby held me instead.

“Levi, it’s Toby.”

“Just shut up. She needs you. She’s sick, and I have no freaking clue what else to do.”

He started describing our location, and I took small breaths to relax myself. I refused to pass out again.

Chapter Nineteen

“What did you do to her?”

Levi landed in the clearing and immediately pulled me into his arms. I closed my eyes as I waited for my headache to subside.

“What did I do to her? This is all your fault.” Toby paced back and forth. We were still in some random forest somewhere.

“My fault?” Levi held me tightly against him. Despite how weak I felt, there was something so comfortable about being tucked in his arms. “What do I have to do with it? She was fine when I last saw her.”

“It’s your messed up bond that has her sick. If you weren’t so stupid, you’d have figured it out already.”

“How the hell did you even get her? I thought she was with Cade.” Levi’s whole body tensed. Talking about me being with two other heirs wasn’t easy for him.

“Like you didn’t know. We knew you had the house under surveillance.”

Levi shifted, his shoes crunching the fallen leaves covering the forest floor. “It shorted out a few hours ago.”

“You knew Jess was at her own house?” I had to get the words out. If it had been that simple, he should have just told me.

He looked down at me. “Allie? You’re awake.”

“Yes, I’m awake.” I kept the part about feeling like hell to myself.

Toby continued to pace. “Don’t make her waste energy. You have to fix this.”

“Is it really that simple?” We all turned as Cade walked into the clearing where we waited, as though Levi and Toby in the same place wasn’t bad enough.

“What the hell are you doing here? I thought Allie made it clear she wasn’t interested.” Toby’s eyes darkened.

Cade stepped closer. “She also made me a promise.”

“A promise?” Levi asked suspiciously.

“Yes.” Cade looked right at Levi. “She’s picking me.”

“No. There’s no way Allie would do that.” Levi’s voice wavered and he purposely avoided looking down at me.

I made myself speak. “I promised to make him a king, but it’s not what you think.”

“No.” Levi shook his head. “No.”

Cade stepped toward where Levi still held me. “She gave a sworn oath. I have witnesses.”

“What?” Levi’s entire body shook, and I knew that if I could see his eyes, they’d be black.

Toby jumped in. “He can’t hold her to anything she said when she was sick.”

Cade crossed his arms. “She wasn’t sick when she said it.”

Levi didn’t say anything at first, and that scared me. I wanted to explain, but I couldn’t do it yet. Finally, I felt his body relax slightly. “Not another word. No one’s accomplishing anything if she’s unconscious. We have to help her first. We’ll discuss this issue later.”

Cade sighed, like he was realizing he didn’t have any other choice. “We should talk to your grandmother. If anyone can help, it’s Georgina.”

I wished. “She doesn’t know how.”

“She has to.” Toby said it like it had to be fact.

“She’s the one who suggested I flirt with you to find out how.”

“With me?” Toby pointed at his chest. “She thought I’d know?”

“Yes. Evidently you fooled us both.”

“If she doesn’t know, she’ll know someone who does,” Levi said it resolutely. “I’ll take Allie to see Georgina right now.”

“I’m coming.” Toby stepped toward us.

“Me too.” Cade mimicked Toby’s motion.

Levi shook his head. “We don’t need you slowing us down.”

Toby bristled. “As if we’d slow you down. I don’t think she’s in the shape to fly.”

“Obviously not. I’ll get us a ride.” Levi shifted me in his arms so he could get to his phone. I waited while he spoke to someone. He hung up. “Let’s head to the road.”

***

Nestled in the backseat of a car with my head in Levi’s lap, I tried to comprehend what was happening. I was driving across the country with three Pteron heirs to talk to someone who already told me she had no idea how to help. For the first time, I was scared for myself. This wasn’t just feeling under the weather. The headaches were one thing, but overwhelming exhaustion and passing out was another. There was something seriously wrong with me.

“It’s going to be okay.” Levi’s words did little to soothe me, but his hand resting on my chest helped. In the past few months, I’d grown so close to him, I couldn’t even stand the thought of having to say goodbye.

“I love you.” Getting words out was becoming harder, but those were too important to leave unsaid. I couldn’t explain myself to him until we had time alone. I had a feeling that wouldn’t be happening for a while.