Chapter 38
Von
T hrough the swaying canopy of leaves, I would catch glimpses of the crescent-shaped moon.
It didn’t matter what realm I was in, all moons reminded me of Sage and the day I’d first felt her presence call out to me.
And like a ghostly vessel lost at sea, finding land for the first time in centuries, I’d gone to her.
That day stood at the summit of my memories, above all the rest, because it was the day I first saw her.
She had stood behind Aurelius, peering over his shoulder with eyes full of fear.
I couldn’t blame her for her reaction to me—it was as strong as my reaction was to her.
But in place of fear, all I felt was need.
Need to carve myself into her bones, to ink my markings into her skin, to hear my name on her lips. I needed to consume her just as she had consumed me.
And most importantly, I needed to lay a claim— mine .
At the time, I had no idea why that feeling had been so strong, but as the years passed by, the cosmos revealed the truth—
She was my bonded. My mate.
We were two halves of the same star. Destined for each other, long before the Creator plucked us from the sky and broke us apart. Ever since then, we had been clawing at the fabric of fate, desperately trying to be together but always brutally torn apart.
There was nothing I wouldn’t do to be reunited with her.
I sat on the forest floor, leaning against a tree. One of my knees was bent, my healed arm draped over top of it. Tattoos reborn. Silver rings in place. Good as new. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back, resting it against the trunk.
My thoughts were adrift, lost in the ocean of her.
Soren had contacted Sage three days ago. Three. Long. Fucking. Days. Ago.
She said she would come to us, giving us a location to travel to. And so, for the past three days, we had worked our way here, to the lake full of purple shimmering waters. How she knew of its whereabouts, I didn’t know, but I suspected she had someone helping her.
I didn’t know if it would take Sage days or weeks to get to us. I didn’t know how she was traveling or who she was traveling with. I didn’t know anything .
Sage had refused to hand out any information regarding her whereabouts. And although not knowing where she was aggravated me, considering Soren’s involvement, I understood why. She didn’t trust him .
A smile twisted my lips. Clever, infuriating goddess.
Wings flapped, followed by the scrape of claws against the ground.
“No sign of her yet,” Kaleb said as he landed beside me.
I opened my eyes, peering down at his raven form. “Thanks for checking.”
He nodded. “I’ll go do another round.”
“Alright,” I answered.
His wings flared out beside him, and he flew through the trees, out over the top of the lake, and then shot up toward the sky, his caw piercing the night.
Fallon, who was seated with the others around a fire Ryker controlled, looked over her shoulder, peering in the direction Kaleb had gone.
She sat like that for a while, her proud shoulders caving in.
When she turned back around, she drew her legs to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and lowered her chin to her knees.
The reflection of Ryker’s fire danced in her weary, sad eyes.
Ryker, who was seated directly across from her, noticed her reaction.
And for a brief second, he looked as if he were going to get up and go to her, but Harper gently placed her hand on his arm and shook her head.
Fallon had asked Ryker to give her space to sort things out, and so he was trying to be respectful of that, but I could tell how hard it was on him.
How hard all of this was on all of them.
Especially Kaleb.
Folkoln stood and started toward me, a spit with a fire-roasted fish in one hand and a half-eaten fish in the other.
Apart from the fact that I was a miserable, grumpy fucker, what they were eating was part of the reason why I was sitting by myself—it didn’t matter if fish were cooked or uncooked, I couldn’t stand it.
So naturally, my shit brother waved the spit in front of my face.
I curled my upper lip and let out a low growl.
“Oh, come on now, princess, try a bite,” he said, trying to torment me further.
“This—” I grabbed the stick. “Is low, even for you, you emotion-sucking leech.” I shoved it away.
Folkoln chuckled, but the sound was cut off. His expression turned stern as his eyes darted past me. Searching.
Swiftly, I was on my feet. “What is it?” I asked.
He breathed in, his chest rising. “Excitement. Urgency. Fear . . . Pain.”
A piercing caw sounded from above. Kaleb .
My wings sprung from my back, and I shot from the ground up through the trees.
Kaleb flew to me, shouting, “Trouble! Over there!”
To the south, under the gaze of the moon, warriors riding winged horses tracked toward us.
Over half of them were archers. Their arrows were nocked, ready to shoot at the creature flying ahead of them.
It had the head of an eagle, but the body of a lion.
A gryphon. Something was wrong with its left wing, making it struggle to stay in the air.
On its back, were two riders. One of them—
“Sage!” I roared, the might of my voice striking the mountains, causing the world to tremble as I tore through the air, trying to get to her.
“Von!” she screamed, her voice wild with fear—lighting every protective, predatory cell within my body on fire. She had one arm reaching behind her, steadying the other rider, her free hand gripping the reins.
“Fire!” shouted the warrior at the front of the pack, the metal of her blade catching on the light as she dropped her arm.
“No!” The word shredded through my throat as they released their arrows on my mate .
Power, ancient and brutal and unforgiving, charged through my veins before it erupted from my hand in the form of a howling, vicious wind.
When it passed by Sage, it softly caressed her skin, but when it met the arrows, it stopped them dead.
For a brief second, they hovered in the air, subdued by my power.
I rotated my hand, causing the arrows to turn, and then I fired them back at the warriors who dared to harm my female. When the arrows found their marks, the sky exploded with splotches of ichor and blood—like mini fireworks painting the night.
The labored gryphon let out a pained roar as it tried desperately to stay upright. It gave one last flap of its wings—
It’s going down!
Panic lashed at me, spurring me into action. I moved as fast as my wings could carry me, pushing them harder than I ever had before .
I reached for Sage as she reached for me, her other arm still tucked around the rider.
Our fingers were so close—
But a horse barreled into me, knocking me backwards.
“Von!” Sage let out a piercing cry.
My wings flared out, biting into the air, anchoring me in place.
The gryphon gave up its fight and it began to fall, taking them with it.
In my peripheral—a glint of steel.
I swung toward it, Death Weaver emerging in my hand just in time to answer the call of the warrior’s sword, slicing straight through it.
Before the top half of the blade could slide off, I shoved my palm forward, using my powerful winds to blast her right out of her saddle.
She and her mount went careening backwards, flying through the air.
I peered down, searching for Sage. There! Spiraling toward the ground.
Wings tucking in, my sword dissolved, and I dove for her.
She tried desperately to hold onto the other rider, but a current of air fractured them apart.
Folkoln! I yelled through our private channel.
I got her, came his reply as he flew about thirty feet below. He caught the other rider while I flew for Sage. This time, when we reached for one another, we connected.
Swiftly, I pulled her into the safety of my arms. Relief flooded me.
“The gryphon can’t die!” she yelled at me, her blue eyes filled with worry. “My sister. Their lives are connected. Von, you have to—”
I kissed her.
I couldn’t help myself.
It didn’t matter if the next group of riders were coming for us. It didn’t matter if she had just revealed to me that she had some long-lost sister. All that mattered was her.
When she tried to pull back, I bit her bottom lip, forcing her to stay connected to me. A low, possessive growl emitted from deep within my chest, the sound more animal than man.
No , I spoke firmly through the bond, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me—something I would rectify the first chance I got. I kissed her again and again, her lips so soft, so plush against mine. She was heaven and earth and everything in between. And I couldn’t get enough.
As I kissed her, my left hand faced down, and a shadow chain shot from it, faster than a bolt of lightning. When it wrapped around the gryphon’s leg, there was a slight tug, briefly jerking us down, but my wings held firm, keeping us suspended in the air.
This time when she broke the kiss, I let her. She looked down, eyes searching.
“Folkoln’s got her, and I’ve got the gryphon,” I reassured her. “But most importantly, I’ve got you .”
Beautiful blue eyes returned to mine. Creator above, how I had missed those eyes. How I had missed her .
“You bastard,” Sage whispered, her brows pressed firmly together. Then, her expression softened. “What took you so long?”
I looked at her in disbelief, an amused grin tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Out of everything , that’s what you have to say to me?” I teased, unable to help myself.
Her eyes filled with emotion, one I knew well—regret. “Von, I’m so sorry about—”
“No,” I interjected. “That can come later. Right now, all that matters is that you are in my arms. Breathing and alive. We’ll figure out the rest.”
A low-pitched roar emitted from above us. It was the sound of a stallion letting out a final warning before battle. Our faces jerked upward. A winged horse flared its nostrils as its rider charged straight for us. Five more riders behind it.
Six azure daggers, made from densely packed water molecules, formed around us.
They shot forth, five of them finding their mark.
The rider who managed to dodge the one corrected her altered course and started for us.
Sage conjured another dagger, sending it straight for her.
The horse swerved to the side at the command of its rider, but it wasn’t fast enough, and Sage’s dagger chewed into the rider’s thigh.
She let out a scream, falling off her mount, and plummeting to the earth below. The horse chased after her, wings flapping, neck straining.
“Impressive,” I said to my mate, unable to keep myself from placing another kiss on her lips.
Softly, her fingers traced the length of my cheekbone. “How many nights I dreamed of touching this face.” They drifted over my mouth. “These lips.”
I leaned into her touch. Savoring every second of it. Of her.
“Hey, lovebirds, we’ve got company,” Fallon, now in her raven form, hissed from beside us.
I sighed, looking at the next wave of warriors coming for us, swords raised. Fools . The lot of them. Wings powering up, I flew us closer to the ground, allowing for the gryphon to be placed against it first. My shadows disappeared and I descended the rest of the way.
After we landed, I stole one more moment with Sage.
I brushed my thumb over her bottom lip. “I’ll be back for these shortly.”
I let her go and took to the sky, conjuring Death Weaver.