CHAPTER FIFTEEN
VOISSOR AND I CONTINUE TO follow behind Vasari and Ravina as we scan the forest to the north of Maleen’s ruins and the meadows to the south of it.
The trees and rocky hills are throwing longer and longer shadows with every passing moment as the sky blazes with an orange sunset.
From above, the only sign of life I find other than the occasional wild animal is of paths made by regular patrols of clumsy fae: the Lords’ army.
So far, we’ve spotted two small troops that will be nothing to handle on our own.
Tal and Aemon have already broken away from our party to dispatch them.
The footsoldiers are disorganised and undisciplined—clearly no threat, and with only one camp nearby: ours now.
Speaking of camping, we should land and prepare for the night soon.
We will need to send messages. Though this place seems safe enough for now, I want Ravina’s Guard here as soon as possible.
“I’ll let Tisur know that you wish to speak to the mind fae,” Voissor grumbles, flapping his massive crimson wings as lazily as if we haven’t just flown for hours.
A moment later, I feel a pressure against my mental shield, knocking eagerly against my mind.
I open up a small pocket to let Jesper in and give him my assessment.
“We should make camp along the western border of the city. We don’t have long before the sun sets, and we need to call for the Vathian troops.
I don’t like how unprotected Rav is here. ”
“I will pass along the message!” he says before exiting my mind.
My body shivers from the intrusion; sometimes the mental magick of having someone in my mind gives me the same sensations of being touched. My personal space invaded. Another reason why I think the bond between Rav and I would never work.
Voissor snorts. “The Fates wouldn’t have blessed you with a true mate bond if it wasn’t something you could handle.
Listening to you moan about never having your mate is giving me indigestion.
Stop acting like a hatchling before its first flight and just jump, because if I have to listen to another two days of this whining, then I’m going to set myself on fire.
” His ribcage rattles between my thighs.
“That’s a little dramatic, don’t you think?” I ask.
“I think not,” he mutters before putting a wall up between us.
Even my dragon is getting annoyed with my reasonable caution.
But before I can launch my next pros and cons list for why I shouldn’t give in, we’ve landed in a clearing—the largest open space in the area.
From the vantage point of Voissor’s back, I see we are separated from the ruins of Maleen by only a thin strip of woods, and this hilltop has a clear view.
Nobody will be sneaking up on my mate. Not even me—there’s a perfect spot for a guard tent on the northern edge of the camp where the dragons will den.
Ravina lands right by me and scouts towards Maleen, so I turn away, ignoring the clench of my gut, checking instead for water. Nothing nearby, but that’s not my problem. My only duty is to keep Rav safe. From a distance, preferably.
Voissor removes the wall for a moment. “Stop being the prey and running from your problems. Go and get your female.” Then he promptly places it back up again.
Wonderful. My mental ramblings have driven my dragon mad.
Ravina’s voice reaches me from atop her dragon, now a few wingspans away. “I can’t go any further than this. There’s like a wall of energy stopping me…”
I hop down and make my way over to her, being careful not to touch even though my most precious memories are of her smooth alabaster skin grazing mine. So soft and warm…
“Killian?”
I shake myself out of my thoughts and see Ravina peering at me with a deep crease between her brows. “Yes?”
“I asked if you’ve ever heard about something like this before it happened to Maleen?” She turns with her arms crossed across her chest, almost as if she’s trying to hold herself together as she stares at the ruins of her home in the distance.
I step up beside her and feel the energy of the invisible wall that’s keeping everyone out. “No. Our father’s had us looking into every lead after the wall went up and expelled everyone from the borders.”
Aemon blinks next to us, the evening now dark enough to allow it. “Troops should start filing in now. Let’s help set up camp, and we can figure out how to breach that wall tomorrow.” He wraps his arm around her shoulder and she melts into his side.
Fucking Fates. I want that so bad.
Her eyes dart to mine like she hears my thoughts and I quickly make sure my mental shield is in place.
When I’m sure it is, I find her still staring at me like she’s trying to convey a message.
The longing and hope in her large sapphire eyes nearly bring me to my knees.
My imagination conjures up vivid images of her in my arms, her lips against mine and her strong but short legs wrapped around my frame.
I can almost feel myself moving toward her before the thoughts of her dead at my hands blasts across the forefront of my mind. I stumble back, making some sort of half-assed excuses before deciding to make myself busy.
No. Voissor’s wrong. Hurting her isn’t something I can handle.
Maybe the Fates aren’t right all the time. Maybe this is my curse.
THE NIGHT IS calm. Too calm. There’s not a cloud in the sky as the stars twinkle mockingly above , nor a breeze to rustle the leaves of the trees standing taller than any building I’ve seen.
My warrior mind looks for an enemy causing this unnatural stillness, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it had to do with the Nairiden Woods.
This ancient forest is the largest in Damorleia, backing on to two mountain ranges to the north.
These woods hold more secrets than even the Fates themselves, or so I’ve heard.
When we would visit the city as fledglings we were always told to stay out of these woods, and that was one rule Ravina was determined not to break. Even the more skilled adventurers are careful when entering, refusing to go too deep or straying from the paths.
Fates, even the southern portion of the second trial at Phixmery was pushing it for me.
Now the moon is high in the sky and the realm is eerily quiet.
Soft snores drift through the exit of the tent.
Ravina and Jesper passed out hours ago, but there’s no way I can sleep.
I couldn’t stay away from her either, in the end.
Something about being back here has me on edge, and I won’t be caught off guard again.
I will never let harm come to my Little Warrior.
I almost let her get killed in my arms while I was distracted.
I hate that another assassin managed to infiltrate Aemon’s guard.
I need to figure out who the fuck is after her and end them.
A screech rents the air and I’m on my feet and inside Ravina’s tent before the noise ends.
I know that sound, and it’s no wood-owl.
“Get up, we are under attack,” I bellow, thrusting her sword at her just as the warning bell rings through the camp, blocking out the sound of the screeches, but the hairs on the back of my neck stay on end anyway.
“Attack?” She mutters half asleep, even though her warrior’s body is moving as if it wasn’t in bed only moments ago.
“Wraiths,” I hiss, pulling my own blade out.
My grip is tight against the hilt. “We need to get our swords lit.” Since we discovered our enemy’s weakness to shadow flame, the purple glow now lights every camp.
Torches and hearths are shadow-lit all over, with the hope that in the case of an attack, fae can use the fire to protect themselves.
She nods, ducking through the tent door with Jesper and I on her heels, buckling her battle gear one-handed over her sleeping clothes.
She places her dragonstone blade against the nearest fire and it whooshes to life, creating an ethereal glow that makes her look like the warrior queen she was always meant to be.
With a glance at us, she nods before taking off towards the fighting, Nero following after her from the air. A protective growl escapes me. She shouldn’t be running into danger! I shove my blade into the torch until I hear the flames come to life before taking off after her.
I find her at Ember and Roz’s tent arguing with someone: Lennox.
“We will find her. Talyn is probably with her as we speak,” she soothes, the fact that it’s not me she’s soothing making something twist inside my chest. She shouldn’t be talking to just any male like that—even though some small, logical part of my brain knows they’re just friends.
“You don’t get it, Rav. I need to see with my own eyes. I’ll be fine. Stay with these two.” He gestures to Roz and Ember who are staring at him like he’s grown two heads. With a quick glance at me, he takes off between the tents with only a small dagger, alight with purple flames.
Roz touches his own dragonstone dagger to Rav’s sword, igniting it from her flame. Thankfully before we left the blacksmith was able to create a few batches of dragonstone daggers. Not nearly enough to turn the tides of the war, but enough where we can try to help keep others or ourselves alive.
Fucking wraiths.
“Ravina,” I grumble from behind her. “We need to get you to Vasari and in the sky. It’s not safe on the ground.”
“I had to make sure all of my family is safe before I try to save myself, Kill. You should know this better than anyone,” she reminds me.
My instincts want to ream her out, throw her over my shoulder and get her to safety, but I know that she was never the type to hide away, like what I am trying to make her do now. My protective desires are only going to push her from me. Is that something I want, though?
Screeching sounds to the left and my blade is ready. “Get ready,” I growl to the others.
A moment later the smokey shadows of the wraiths slither around the tents.
Their hollow faces are nothing but an endless pit of the promise of death.
My sword cuts through the air, slicing through its wispy body.
Its scream is so shrill that I know I will forever hear it haunting my nightmares.
Just add it to the growing pile, I suppose.
My instincts take over and I fall into the flow of killing.
Some part of my mind is aware that Ravina is near, and when I finally have a moment to take a breath, I search her out—and what I see has me mesmerized.
She was born to wield a blade. I’ve been training for years, but I’ve never seen someone appear so regal while fighting.
The way she dances with her weapon calls to me like a siren song, and the mark that binds us flares to life across my back.
Mine.
Mate.
Her eyes widen and I’m knocked out of the haze. The sword is knocked out of her hand and she stumbles back. Her fear…It’s as if I can taste it.
I move faster than I ever have before. My heart is pounding like a war drum, my focus on the disaster unfolding before me.
Kill.
Strike.
Protect.
My sword arches up through the air, swiping at what dares try to take what’s most precious to me from this realm. A roar. My roar. It bellows as the wraith dies and disappears before I collapse to my knees in front of her.
Somewhere above us Nero caws in panic, but he doesn’t descend. I can only assume she’s communicating with him.
“Rav…” My voice is hoarse as I visually check her over. My nerves are too raw to touch her. If I do, it might trigger me into an attack, and I won’t risk causing her any more harm.
It seems she understood my unanswered question. “I’m okay,” she tells me. “Thank you. I don’t know what happened there. I need to be better aware of my surroundings.”
I nod, unable to say more. Fear for her still seeps through my veins like a poison, keeping me rooted to the ground.
A horn blasts through camp, the sign that the attack is over, and relief sweeps through me, but I can’t seem to shake an icy feeling: those last few moments are replaying in my mind, over and over again.
“Are you okay?” she asks, stepping closer to me.
At least that’s what I think she says. She sounds distant, like hearing her voice through a windy valley.
Suddenly, cool, soft hands cup my face and I jerk back to the present. My skin prickles at the contact and my breath hitches. Pain flares across my body and just as I go to react, I hear her.
“Kill, it’s me. It’s Ravina.”
My breath comes faster, but it’s as if I’m paralyzed. I know her. I know that voice. The soothing cadence eventually brings me back.
“Maeven?” I croak, my mind still a blend of past and present.
She smiles sadly, but not pity. No, there isn’t an ounce of pity in her stunning blue eyes. Just concern. “Can you stand? Unfortunately, you’re far too large for me to carry. I might need to ask for the assistance of Voissor if that’s the case.”
At the mention of my dragon’s name, he pops into my head. “On your feet, rider. If I have to pick you up in front of my mate, the others will never let me live it down.”
I take a second until the feeling moves back into my legs and I rise to my feet.
Ravina never lets me go, even though I could have killed her if my mind didn’t clue in to who she was.
“Don’t ever do that again. Get one of the others if I fall into that kind of state again. I will not put you in harm’s way.”
Her hands snap to her waist and annoyance is written as clear as day. Good. I deserve that.
“Killian, when are you going to figure out that you will never hurt me? We were made for each other.” Her voice is made of pure iron and it cuts deep, but I relish in the burn.
I shake my head. “You don’t understand. You are the most precious thing to me in this realm.
Harming you… I would never recover. Harming you would damage me in a way that would be so irreparable that I know I would lose my sense of self.
Protecting you is the only thing I can do, but only if you aren’t bonded to me.
Please listen to me, Ravina. I’m not good for you. ”
She grabs my hand and a sick part of me revels in the feeling of her touch. I should pull away. Drop her off with one of her mates. But I can’t. I’m trapped under her spell. This is a curse and not a blessing.
“You. Won’t. Hurt. Me.” She squeezes my hands. “Not the way you think. But this hot and cold? That’s what’s hurting me. I need you, Killian. You’ve always had my heart, I just need you to take it.”
“I can’t,” I croak, tearing my hands from her. I notice Roz, Ember and Jesper lingering nearby. Jesp shakes his head in disappointment as I storm past. I should do a perimeter check. Help with the dead… anything…
But all I want to do is turn back and take her into my arms. Tell her that everything will be alright. Tell her that she’s always had my heart, but I’m too broken to keep it truly safe.