Chapter Twenty-Six
Ama
Ever have one of those moments where everything seems to slow almost to a stop while happening in a blink of an eye? I was there. I was completely in one of those moments.
The sound of glass shattering and doors being thrown open echoed through the room, alongside the screams of some of the people within.
I immediately ducked down, feeling glass pelt and bounce off me, my wings defensively shooting out to shield me as my magic roared to life.
I could hear shouting around me, and for a split second, I considered dipping out.
It was absolutely a selfish desire, but after everything I'd been through, the urge to flee instead of fighting was a steady pulse.
After a moment, though, it was gone, and I snapped my head up when Drayven shouted my name.
The panicked outbursts and sudden crashing of chairs as people tried to move away from the edges of the room seemed to fade into the background as I met Drayven's dark gaze, noting the green magic already pulsing in his eyes.
The massive Reaper leapt over the table, landing next to me.
One large hand wrapped around my waist and tugged me against him as his scythe appeared in the other.
I found myself caught off guard by the tension and quiet, lethal energy running through him. I didn't find many things scary, but Drayven right now was truly terrifying— and that, I found, really turned me on. So not the time, Ama.
"I'm fine," I assured him, keeping my voice firm as I placed a hand on his chest in order to step back.
As sexy as I found it, now was absolutely not the time or place for him to go all caveman on my ass and not allow me to fight.
We had bigger fish to fry, and by that, I meant absolutely destroying the obvious traitors to the realm who had ordered this attack.
Swarms of Dark Elves, outfitted in all black, surrounded us from all sides, silently stepping over broken glass as they watched us with a quiet intensity.
There was an edge in the air, and I could practically hear them waiting for a command from their master like a pack of dogs.
Some had daggers in their hands, while others were surrounded by various forms of magic that seemed to pulse and jump from their fingers like dangerous electric storms. All of them had tattooed runes, but I noticed once again that no one had as many as Finias.
Thinking back to my tutoring session with Otto, I gathered that this meant Finias was the most powerful of his house.
The full extent of the situation hit me then.
Holy shit. The Dark Elves really had betrayed us.
Not just me either...literally everyone.
I swallowed, feeling completely lost for the first time.
, My gaze searched the rest of the room, seeking the men who had become so important to me in such a short period of time.
Adrien had pushed his parents behind him, shadows wrapping around them as King Victor kept his arms around Queen Adira, tucking her into his chest protectively.
His gaze met mine momentarily, all previous emotion gone and fear and fury now dancing in his icy eyes instead.
I wasn't naive enough to think the fear was for himself—I knew it was for his parents, and possibly even for me.
The fury though, that one was far more dangerous.
It was one that spelled death for everyone in this room.
My only concern was that he would get himself killed in the process.
I jolted at a low, dangerous growl. Drayven let me have a few inches of space, his gaze meeting mine before he nodded sharply.
I called my scythe, the feel of the familiar metal in my hand and the power pulsating through me helping ground me, and I realized why Drayven had been okay with letting go.
Damien's massive Hellhound frame was now covering my other side as he pressed his nose against my leg, sniffing me.
I had a feeling he was scenting for blood to see if I was injured.
I wasn't exactly sure how to feel about that.
Possibly annoyed, but also stupidly warm and fuzzy because Damien was once again trying to protect me.
Very confusing, indeed. When he snapped his massive teeth, I froze, staring at the dangerous weapons and listening to the deep, low growl coming from his throat as he glared at the nearest threat.
A few elves who had ventured far too close for comfort.
I wasn't going to analyze why I found his blatantly terrifying behavior so damn sexy.
Also, was it just me, or were there an insane number of elves filling the room? The numbers alone were terrifying, and that wasn't even considering the blatant powers they exhibited.
Colt's father slammed his hand on the table, his voice low and thunderous, "What is the meaning of this?!"
My gaze jumped to Colt, who had his body wedged between his mother and the nearing Dark Elves, a storm brewing in his gaze as he looked around, seeming to calculate what his next move was.
I would absolutely love to know what he thought because I was clueless at this point.
Colt might have been a frustrating bastard, but I would absolutely follow his command if he found a way for us all to get out of here safe and sound.
"Save your words," the Queen of Sin laughed, looking absolutely elated and almost manic.
I could feel her energy from here, and anger surged through me.
Were they going to use their Incubus and Succubus powers to influence those around us?
To try to make us more pliable to their wishes?
If they did that...well, I wouldn't hesitate to lose my shit.
Rather the opposite. That would give me every inch of justification to hurt them.
"No," Colt's father hissed. "You think your little plan will be successful!?"
Clearly it was. We were practically at their mercy.
"You think you can slaughter all of us and our people will bow down to you?
! We might not have wanted war between the houses, but this is too far.
We were being gracious when we gave you seats at the table, despite the devil himself never choosing you to represent your houses. I realize now he was right."
At the end of his statement, King Celorn’s onyx-colored wings snapped out fully, silver glinting off the edges of each outer feather, as if they had lethal blades attached to them. Wicked.
I knew I needed to stay quiet because, with how much they disliked me, I would only push people over the edge, not help.
We needed a way to handle this that would ensure the least amount of blood was shed, if that was even possible.
I could practically feel the blood lust radiating off the elves around me.
I tightened my fist around my scythe as I looked around, trying to find something to fix this.
Nico's mother walked towards the center of the room, her head held high as she offered a smooth response.
"As I said, your words don't matter to me.
In fact, I would choose them more carefully because you likely won't be making it out of here alive.
The men and women in this room have orders to kill you at a single command, and even more wait outside. You've lost, Celorn."
I shifted my eyes from her and nearly gagged when I met the gaze of her husband, who was leaning against the inside edge of his table and rubbing his ridiculously obvious hard-on over his pants.
His eyes were focused on the bruising around my neck, and I immediately found myself baring my teeth at him, growling sharply and making my Hellhound's hackles rise. King Marcelo’s responding smile was sick and dangerous.
"Damien." A feminine voice that seemed to be seeped in warning had me glancing back at Damien's mother, who looked absolutely lethal, her dark eyes flashing with a ring of fire as her husband vibrated with tension, seeming ready to shift and rip out the throats of everyone in the room.
Something I was completely not opposed to.
I could tell she was worried about her son attacking the King of Sin, considering he was edging towards him, but Damien didn't move farther than in front of me, the low growling vibration emanating from his chest soothing me in an odd way.
When a high whistle sounded, I looked to Damien's father, who was eyeing the open doors and windows as if waiting for something.
"Your forces won't be coming to save you," Finias' father offered dismissively.
"Convenient that the joint training exercises for the military forces this morning took place outside the Summit walls, wasn't it?
You will find the entire place warded against those pathetic excuses for military options you've brought. "
Damnit. They really had thought of everything. Well...except one thing.
I wasn't positive how the House of Sin and House of Runes thought they would take down the royals of each house when they were, from my knowledge, the most powerful and accomplished fighters of their houses.
I eyed the forces around us, knowing that they were a rather vicious crew.
I mean, assassins were considered assassins for a reason.
Still, they seemed extremely confident, which had me assuming they had something up their sleeves—and that unknown factor scared me.
There was still a question though that permeated everything else and had the ability to absolutely shatter my heart.
Had Finias known? Currently, he was standing next to his parents, his gaze on the table in front of him.
He seemed completely emotionless and indifferent to the entire experience.
I wondered for a moment if maybe he had been part of this the whole time.
When his violet gaze met mine for the briefest moment, though, I saw a darkness there that had me confident not only that he was furious, but also that he hadn't expected this.
His fingers drew up his arms as he quietly spoke words I couldn't hear.