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

37. Tye

The hair on my arms stood straight up, and I scanned the water for a threat, confused. There was nothing between my skiff and the rocky shore of the Forsaken Isle.

Mage forsaken!

I hadn”t even reached shore, and some kind of dark magic was already assaulting me. But there was no going back now. I stared after the trader ship as it disappeared into the distance and gritted my teeth.

I should get back to rowing, but something was definitely wrong … and whatever it was, was almost on top of me.

Fiery pain shot through me as some invisible force wound itself around my body, invading my senses with the scents of fire and charred wood.

The Guardian. It had to be …

The pain grew with every second, but I had no instructions for when to drink the potion. I”d planned on taking it right before approaching the Guardian, but I”d never imagined it would be invisible! And now the creature was upon me. Was it too late?

Fire shot through my legs, and I doubled in half, fighting off the urge to scream.

Gods save me!

I fumbled at the small vial and removed the stopper, downing the thing in a single gulp.

Cool ice burned my tongue and throat, while a sharp citrus and musty scent spread up my nose.

It was putrid!

I gagged and coughed as the liquid tried to come back up, but I forced deep, slow breaths to settle my body. If this was going to work, I needed that potion to stay inside my body.

But the pain grew stronger and stronger.

Either I”d used the potion too late, or it was fake. I was going to die … yet I couldn”t help but think of Kaiya”s face, her scent … so reminiscent of stone and sunshine.

Pain pressed in from every direction, suffocating me until I knew nothing but darkness.

Sharp grit dug into my cheek, my entire body ached like I”d been run over by a cart, and something tugged at my hair repeatedly.

I slapped at it and dragged my eyes open.

Midday sun blinded me, and I squinted to see a small bird-like creature with six long legs and a hooked beak craning its neck at me.

I sat up straight, shooing away the bird, trying not to vomit as my head swam.

Fuck. My entire body ached!

I looked down at my arms and groaned. They pulsed like they had in that shop, and my nails burned.

At least the potion had worked — for the most part.

Getting to my feet, I brushed sand off my clothes and took stock of my situation.

Dark cliffs surrounded the narrow cove I”d washed up in, broken only by a small stream that led up and out to a dense forest of blue-green trees.

It was surprisingly beautiful for being the home to the most vile creatures in the world.

Very beautiful … except that smell. It almost reminded me of —

A misshapen four-legged creature stumbled out of the forest, purple mottled skin split and peeling.

My stomach lurched as a chunk of flesh broke free from the ghoul”s shoulder, then plopped to the ground. I reached to my side and pulled my ax free, glad it had remained in the sheath attached to my belt.

Gods. I hated wraiths — especially ghouls.

I dropped into a fighting stance, preparing to cut the twisted creature to pieces, but the world spun haphazardly around me, and my skin prickled. I looked down — my arms were expanding, cording with muscle — my fingers now thicker and longer around my weapon.

What the fuck?

Focus. I needed to focus. The potion must have side-effects.

I just needed to kill the wraith. I”d killed dozens of ghouls before, and this would be no different.

Three more wraiths lumbered from the forest — one a shade-type and the other two ghouls.

Damn. I knew coming to the Isle would be dangerous, but I hadn”t anticipated my arrival to go so wrong so quickly. For some stupid reason, I thought I”d have some time to acclimate myself.

I searched for an escape route, but the monsters blocked the only exit. It was either return to the ocean or face the four creatures lumbering toward me.

A commotion behind the wraiths drew my attention as a half-dozen forms slipped from the forest. Men and women with homespun clothes and not a weapon between them.

Kings above! Now I needed to keep them safe as well? What were they even doing here?

I waved my hands wildly. ”Get away! This is dangerous!” My voice was barely a croak, but surely they understood the situation …

”Then start shielding, you fool!” the man in front shouted back, his cropped white hair shifting in the breeze. He made some sort of hand signal to his group, and they nodded back.

I stared in horror as, one by one, their bodies began to smoke, then rapidly lengthened and stretched.

Holy Kings!I took a step backward while tightening my grip around my ax.

Wraiths and body mages!

There was no way I could take them all on. Perhaps I could break through them, though …

Letting out a breath, I said one last prayer to the Three Kings and braced myself.

The wraiths were only a few lengths away now, and I yelled as loud as I could and charged. Before I could reach the group, a silver wolf leaped on the wraith”s back, his movement strangely graceful as he tore the monster”s limbs from its body in a series of efficient movements.

Another body mage joined him while the others attacked the other wraiths. In moments, the wraiths were nothing but lifeless shreds.

Kings above …

My eyes narrowed at the body mage pack, and I gripped my ax more tightly.

All the wraiths. Gone. In seconds.

These people were nothing like the body mages I hunted. I had no doubt these were practiced killers, and I stood no chance against them.

I would not be making it out of this cove alive.

I braced for their attack.

Glory to the kings. Someone else would have to stop the witch.

The silver wolf let out a long howl, and the Forsaken howled back as they ran up the path and into the forest.

All but one.

Kings” blessings!They were too confident. This one stood no chance alone.

The silver wolf shifted back to his human form, then patted down his white hair before stepping forward, hand outstretched, a wide smile on his lips. His deep brown eyes were bracketed with smile lines in such a familiar way it made me freeze.

What kind of game was this? And why did he look so … human?

Had I made another grievous assumption?

I”d thought they would be more twisted on the Isle. But these mages were no different from the mages I hunted in the Empire, though perhaps better at pretending sanity.

They could be dealt with just as easily, though.

Dropping into a fighting stance, I lifted my blade, preparing to strike while his guard was down.

”Calm yourself, friend,” he chuckled, voice low and oddly calming. ”We won”t hurt you. I swear I”ll explain everything at the stronghold.”

Ha. I shook my head. He and his people were Forsaken — cursed by the gods. Their hearts corrupted and poisonous to all around them.

Of course they would hurt me!

”Truly, friend,” he said again. ”You can lower your weapon. You are safe.”

I looked the white-haired man up and down. His pack wasn”t trying to kill me for the moment, and I was alone on this Isle with no information beyond knowing the witch was here somewhere.

Perhaps it would behoove me to play along with whatever game this was? At least for now.

Maybe the Forsaken would even reveal something that could help me find the witch sooner …

Letting out a breath, I lowered my ax. It didn”t seem as though it would do much good against him anyway.

The white-haired Forsaken looked over my shoulder, eyes going wide. ”Japhire, wait!”

A sharp pain split my skull, and everything went dark.