Bonds of the Forsaken: A Reverse Harem Romantasy (Her Forsaken Mates Book 1)

34. Kaiya

With each passing minute, Jaiel”s body grew more hunched, and as darkness fell, I could practically feel the creatures of the Isle closing in. But he still claimed he was ”fine,” it was just a nasty headache …

He seemed to struggle to navigate in the dimming light, so I took the lead, Jax trotting deftly up the overgrown path.

I”d worked alone enough to know that I could handle myself in most situations, but the decimation back in the port had shaken me. How was I going to keep myself and an ill partner alive if things took a turn for the worst?

We desperately needed to reach a safe place before that happened.

”Just another half-hour and we”ll be there,” I muttered, looking back over my shoulder. ”Just hold on, Jaiel.”

He nodded, but his body swayed unsteadily in his saddle.

I stared at the dark slope of the mountain looming ahead and ignored the twisted korras just out of sight to our left and right. So far, none of the hundreds of wraiths peppering the dark slopes around us had made a move to move closer, and I desperately wanted to keep it that way.

We”d been able to navigate around a few groups blocking the path, or too near it. But the detours off the ancient road had used up precious time and daylight until the sun set and only a dim, dusky sky lit our path.

I shot another look down the slopes behind us, unable to shake the feeling of something watching us. But just like every other time I”d looked, nothing seemed to be paying us any attention.

We crested another hill, and the hair rose on my arm as another group of wraith korras came into view … directly on the path ahead of us. First a half-dozen twisted korras, then a dozen more, then too many to count.

Fuck! A gods damned horde.

It blocked our path in every direction.

My stomach dropped as I pulled Jax to a stop and unsheathed my scimitars.

Jaiel stopped at my side and shakily withdrew his sword from the sheath on his back.

His gaze met mine, and my heart stuttered — those bright blue eyes had gone pitch-black, his face hard and emotionless.

It was exactly as I”d feared. That bastard had lied to me! He was far worse than he”d said!!

Forsaken hells. We”re fucked.

Without a word, he slid off his fleiral, stumbling as he landed. He staggered forward toward the waiting horde.

Gods be damned! That idiot was in no shape to fight, let alone take on an entire horde!

Sliding off Jax, I followed him — close enough that he could hopefully hear my words … but not so close to be within reach of those hungry lengths of shadow now whipping around him like black flame.

”Jaiel!” I hissed, heart thundering in my ears. ”Come back before they notice you! We need to go back the way we came!”

He stopped, but instead of turning back, he turned to face a copse of trees to our left and smoothly dropped into a fighting stance.

What the fuck is he thinking?

A large form burst from the cluster of trees as I stared, followed immediately by several more large, lumbering shapes.

Gods!

Four ghoul-type wraiths, their body korras twisted with corruption, lumbered toward us, torn gray skin hanging from arms and faces. They were as tall and as wide as a man could get, their pocked and blistered faces staring straight ahead with empty eye sockets.

Fuck. These certainly weren”t large enough to be mountain wraiths, but they were more massive than any wraith or human I”d ever encountered.

While the shadow lashed out of him in all directions, Jaiel weakly lifted his weapon over his head with one hand. He used his other hand to point his open palm toward the monsters.

I waited, frozen, for the torrent of inky shadows to flow out of his hand and consume the twisted creatures.

But the darkness just spurted and writhed, then exploded in a furious burst. Jaiel yelled and fell to his knees, pulling back the shadows as they threatened to overtake everything.

What in the seven hells?

From behind the large wraiths, a dozen more ghouls emerged, screaming as they shuffled toward us. More screams echoed from behind me, and I turned to see even more ghouls shuffling toward us from the other side of the path.

We were going to be surrounded if we didn”t get out of here quickly!

”Jaiel?” I hissed. ”What”s wrong with your monster?”

”RUN!” He yelled over his shoulder. ”My charisma”s too low and I”m losing control of the shadow. If it breaks free …” His eyes met mine, dark as night. ”You won”t be safe.”

”Fuck,” I muttered.

This was a mistake!

I needed to get him back on his mount and out of here — even if we went back to that terrible fishing village. It had to be better than this!

As if the Mad Queen had heard me, a low pounding sound drew my attention behind us.

I stared in horror as even more massive ghouls poured out over the hills and onto the path behind us, blocking off our retreat.

No. My stomach sank.

There had to be another way …

But there were ghouls in every single direction. We were completely surrounded.

My mind flitted from one doomed option to another.

Fuck, fuck, fuckidy, fuck!We desperately needed that shadow monster of Jaiel”s!

But that stubborn asshole had vehemently opposed the one solution that might give him back control — and all because he was worried about me.

So would he really oppose it if it saved our lives? Surely not.

Maybe the old legends about bond magic and bound fates were wrong …

My gaze slid to the massive figures now only a few dozen paces away from us.

We had no other choice.

”Run, Princess!” Jaiel said, voice shaking as he held up his sword. ”Get on Jax and ride as fast as you can! I”ll hold them back.”

”No. Buy me time.”

”What?! I —”

Ignoring him, I let the world around me drift away, slipping fully into the nothingness of the Korra Realm as I prayed this didn”t completely backfire.

Fully using my power like this was a beacon to the wraiths seeking to feed on uncorrupted korras, and I felt the twisted essences of hundreds of ghouls stir in response.

Almost as one, the horde began shuffling toward me.

Fear stirred inside my gut, and my pulse skittered wildly.

We were going to die.

”Focus!” I muttered to myself.

I just had to find Jaiel and the bond between us.

Dozens of strands stretched from my korra into the nothingness around me, most of them hair thin. Gods! There were so many …

No. I had this. One of them should feel like Jaiel.

I touched one stretching into the darkness below me, and a painful chill ran through me.

NO!I recoiled. Not those!! Never those …

But my soul essence twisted and twirled of its own volition, climbing down the bond, into the void, toward —

”Kaiya!” a distant voice screamed my name. Jaiel”s voice.

Behind his voice were the familiar screams of wraiths and falling bodies.

Jaiel. He needed me!

Gathering all my strength, I yanked my soul essence back from that horrid bond as hard as I could.

Never again!

I searched through the rest of the bonds.

Where in the seven hells was Jaiel”s korra?

There!

It was writhing, tumultuous, and so different from anything I”d seen before — and it darted wildly around me as he struggled to fight off the wraiths.

A violent black essence hung in the nothingness on the outside of his korra, spinning and crashing like an ocean wave into the bright white essence of his Fae charisma. And in the center of it all were the normal blue, red, and yellow essences.

Relief filled me as I searched for the bond.

There — stretching between us was a golden thread — so thin it was almost invisible, yet it shone with health.

”Kaiya, I can”t …”

My chest ached as I felt Jaiel collapse.

Fuck!

I reached along that shining length and gasped at the heat at the other end.

Fucking hell. His entire korra burned like a fire — no, a forge.

I pressed gently into the burning heat of his charisma, somehow breathing into it with my own korra.

It grew almost immediately — as though it were waiting for this. In a panic, I recoiled, and his charisma stuttered in response.

I gritted my teeth. By some stroke of luck, this might actually work.

With a deep breath, I steadied my korra against the hungry heat of his charisma and reinforced his magic with everything I could muster.

His charisma began to expand. Slowly at first, then faster and faster.

In moments, it was much larger than the inky shadow tearing him apart.

But it was growing too fast, and before I could stop it, the white essence was flowing back through the bond and into me!

Heat raged in my chest … and all throughout my body. I winced at the intense sensation. How in the seven hells did he handle this all the time?

Opening my eyes, I met Jaiel”s confused gaze as his eyes began glowing white. He looked about to say something, but spun to block the wraith lunging for me.

An enormous wave of angry black smoke billowed from both hands, enveloping the wraith, and its pained scream hurt my ears.

The shadow expanded in response, spreading in a thick cloud all around us without actually touching me.

It blocked out the last bit of dusk, raging around me like some kind of storm as undead screams filled my ears.

Wind and dust pelted me for what felt like hours — then the shadow stilled, retreating into Jaiel, a few paces away.

I stared dumbly.

The wraiths were gone. All of them. The entire fucking wraith horde had been consumed. The only thing left behind were hundreds of dark mounds and black dust falling all around us.

”That … was amazing,” I whispered, rising to my feet, legs shaking. The asshole would probably make me regret the compliment in a moment, but for now, I couldn”t help but be happy.

We”d survived!

Jaiel turned to face me, but he wasn”t smiling.

”What have you done?” The words were barely a whisper as he collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Dropping my scimitars, I rushed to his side, heart in my throat.

Could I have been wrong?

I pushed the hair from his face and touched his pale cheek.

”Come on, Jaiel!” My heart wrenched. He was ice cold! ”Fuck! Don”t do this to me, you asshole!”

Had he used too much charisma? Or too much of the monster”s power?

A familiar panic rose in my chest as memories flooded me —

Caves.

Relics.

People I loved… dying because of me.

No.

Gritting my teeth, I pushed back the fear. Not now.

Jaiel needed me.

Shifting his coat, I pressed my ear to his chest.

His heartbeat was weak, but he was alive!

”What should I do? How do I help you?” I whispered.

He didn”t respond.

The shadowy wisps of his magic glowed in the darkness, licking at his closed eyes and mouth.

Was the monster winning the war inside him?

Gods be damned.

Sitting back on my heels, I reached out for him in the Korra Realm.

I”d hoped the monster and charisma would have calmed, but they had done anything but! His korra was rapidly alternating between the pulsing bright white of his charisma and the deep smoky black of his monster. As the two sides thrashed and tore at each other, his mind, body, and soul suffered. It was as if it were two beasts fighting for survival in a cage that was far too small for both.

Had he known this would happen? Had I been wrong about his reasons for not letting me help him?

In the distance, groans, and shrieks told me more wraiths were on their way, likely drawn by our fight.

We couldn”t just stay here like defenseless targets.

Jaiel would have to keep himself alive while I got us to safety.

Slipping my ring back on, I hooked my arms under Jaiel”s and began dragging him back to the fleirals.

Gods. Those muscles of his certainly didn”t make him light!

My own muscles screamed as I dragged him, but fear strengthens you … and I was practically vibrating with it.

Mission accomplished, I leaned against the blue fleiral for a moment, Jaiel secured on my mount. My heart was racing, I could barely breathe, and my skin felt wet — but at least we had a chance now.

Tugging Jaiel”s fleiral close, I did a quick knot to connect her lead to Jax”s saddle, then climbed up behind Jaiel”s limp body.

Now. Which way did we go? Back to the village or up to the ruins?

Pursing my lips, I looked back the way we”d come. Dusk had passed, and the road was only lit with moonlight — dark silhouettes shuffled toward us.

A gods forsaken sea of them.

To the ruins it was.