Betrayal: Book 3 of the Guardians Saga

Ch. 16.3 Part A and B Honeymoon in Niagara Falls ... Or Not

Days later, at the very edges of dawn, Alex and the older Gabe watched thousands of gallons of water from Niagara Falls rush past them.

They had snuck into the observation area carved out of the Cave of the Winds. The spray misted Alex's hair and face and Gabe's muzzle.

"This is a fairy tale," Alex said. "Waking up with you every morning, falling asleep with you every night."

"Everything I endured has been redeemed," Gabe said. His twisted hand rested on top of Alex's.

"Same for me." Alex slipped her arm around Gabe's waist and squeezed him briefly before releasing him. "I wouldn't mind flying through Niagara Falls this morning." Alex leaned over the railing to watch the magnificent display.

"Are you crazy? The water's freezing, it's not dawn yet, someone might see you." Gabe placed a restraining hand on Alex's shoulder.

She smiled and patted his muzzle in that way that meant she wasn't going to listen to him. "No one will see because no one is up this early, the sun is coming up, and with my slipstream in place, I won't feel the water."

Before she could slip under the railing, a portal appeared, but the edges of this one roared with fire like a rocket.

"Enter to save him or give up your Guardian sword now," the Portal Guardian's voice commanded.

They both knew she meant only Alex in the strange mental way the Portal Guardian sometimes used.

"Who's him?" Alex's hand gripped Gabe's arm so hard that her knuckles were white.

"Gabe's son."

Alex leapt into the portal without a second's hesitation. Gabe startled as he watched Alex disappear.

A normal portal flashed in front of him and he entered it without hesitation. He didn't see Alex, but his brothers, on the other side, in a room of their safe house.

"What have you done?" the Portal Guardian demanded in a shattering voice that filled the room.

She reached from floor to ceiling and even her light seemed angry, shooting blue fire into their eyes so they winced and squinted. Her wings fanned in irritation and she flashed from human to draconic even faster than usual.

All three brothers fell to one knee and bowed their heads.

"I sent my Guardian Alex to you for protection, for healing, not for you to take advantage of her."

"Portal Guardian, please, I love Alex..." Gabe started.

"Love? I am not a matchmaker! I do not send my Guardians to worlds for love, but for war, a mission, or for protection and healing! The war intensifies, The Adversary gains strength as I lose worlds and you dally in bed?"

The voice crashed louder, sharper. "She came to you traumatized, a decade younger than you, and that very night you share a bed with her and dare call it love? I strip you of your Guardian status."

Gabe's hide grayed and he slumped. The Guardian sword at his side vanished.

"Portal Guardian, please! My brother is honorable. He does love Alex." Rile stepped toward her.

"Silence! I'll deal with you last. Cale, did you lose your tongue? Your mind? You didn't see fit to say anything? That was not the way of the Creator of All."

"I failed, Portal Guardian." Cale's greenish gold hide paled as well.

"You also are no longer a Guardian. You must devote yourself to the study of the priesthood full time."