17. Tavish
17
TAVISH
T hough malnourishment during my time in the holding cell was making the room spin, I refused to let my mate get injured by her own people.
I blocked Lira and Finnian, trying to tap into the cool magic of darkness to blanket us. However, I couldn’t access my magic, and I could feel the cold’s frigid grasp on my mate through our bond.
Without my sword or magic, I had no protection, but that didn’t matter. Better they hurt me than Lira and Finnian.
Finnian removed the chains from his wings as strong, warm hands touched my shoulders—no doubt Lira.
“Don’t—” she commanded behind me as I hunkered forward, ready to fight Eiric and the guard as Eiric removed a dagger sheathed at her waist and raised it high.
Lira yanked me back hard. I stumbled. Lira, I growled, needing her to not only feel my displeasure but hear it as well. But considering how weak I’d become, I couldn’t regain my footing and fell onto my blasted butt behind her.
Finnian’s chains dropped to the floor, and he straightened and prepared to defend my mate, but then I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Eiric slammed the hilt of her dagger into the center of the guard’s head, and his eyes rolled back. He swayed on his feet.
As I regained my feet, the guard lost consciousness and dropped forward onto Finnian.
Being as malnourished as me, Finnian fell to his knees and grunted, trying to hold up the guard and himself.
Pivoting toward him, Lira lifted some of the guard’s weight, and Finnian lost his balance completely. Now his butt hit the ground.
The fated-mate connection warmed as Lira’s relief exploded through it and untangled the tightness in my chest now that the sting of betrayal had subsided.
Thank the Fates her sister hadn’t betrayed her.
With her usual compassion, Lira laid the guard on the floor, taking care not to injure him further. I had thought it was a weakness, but now I wasn’t so sure. It took a strong person to have that sort of compassion, and I didn’t understand it. I was certain it was something I’d never achieve.
“E? What have you done?” Lira rasped, squatting next to the guard. “You’ll get in trouble for this. Father and Mother won’t be understanding if they find out.”
“I’m not complaining and am selfishly glad E came to our rescue,” Finnian grumbled, getting slowly back to his feet.
Lira glared at him over her shoulder and snapped, “No one asked you, and even though it’s hard for you to keep your mouth shut, now’s the time to exercise some restraint.”
“And my name is Eiric to you .” Eiric sneered at him.
“Whoa.” Finnian lifted his hands, but I could see mirth dancing in his eyes.
I wanted to smack him, but that would require me to expend more energy. Unfortunately, I wasn’t strong and needed to save my strength. “I shall be happy to remove the tongue from your mouth to make that possible.”
Finnian rolled his eyes. Despite his attitude, he was tense, and he attempted to defuse situations with humor. Normally, I’d ignore him, but we were in an extremely dire situation.
Nose wrinkling, Eiric grimaced at me before turning her attention back to Lira. “They behave like this when we’re in danger.”
My back straightened, but I bit my tongue. Even though I hated to be spoken to that way, especially by a sunscorched, we deserved her criticism… and most important, this was Lira’s sister in all the ways that mattered to her. I wanted to retrieve my sword, but due to the circumstances, I’d have to strategize how later. “We should leave before someone else checks on us. I suspect Fate won’t bless us like that again.”
Lira nodded, turning so she could see all three of us. “You’re right. We need to leave before they begin tracking us.” She headed to the cell door, shut it, and locked it. No one would be able to see the unconscious guard, though someone would suspect something was amiss when they noticed the guard wasn’t right outside the door.
As if summoned by my thoughts, footsteps sounded outside the door, and the four of us descended into silence. After a moment, Lira raced toward the open secret door and waved for us to follow.
Knowing she’d refuse to leave if all three of us didn’t make a move, I gestured to Eiric and Finnian to go first. I could communicate with Lira through our mind link, so the other two needed to be between us in case she needed to explain something to everyone.
Eiric gestured for me to go ahead of her, making me believe I could possibly not despise her after all. Her actions stemmed from her loyalty to Lira, despite her dislike of Finnian and me.
Crossing his arms, Finnian confirmed he wouldn’t move unless I did. Both of them were determined to protect the two people they cared for.
The footsteps grew louder, so I didn’t dawdle. I raced to the spot behind Lira with Finnian and Eiric on my wings. As soon as the four of us had crammed through the opening, Lira bent down and pressed her finger to something at the foot of the door.
“Blighted abyss,” a woman grumbled outside the cell just as the secret door began closing. A key slid into the lock, and there was a click just as the secret door shut completely, casting us in complete darkness.
A bang came from the other side of the wall, followed by a loud gasp. “Greason,” the woman half screamed, half rasped.
There went any hope of us getting out of the castle before someone realized we’d escaped. We need to move.
I left the lantern in the cell, Lira replied, her frustration burning my chest. I can’t see a damn thing.
Damn? I had no clue what that meant, but there was no time to dwell on that. Heal me a little with your magic. I can fix this. I hated to ask her to do it, but we didn’t have time for the four of us to stumble over each other.
The moment her hands touched my arms, I wanted to moan at the comforting jolt that thrummed through us. Though we hadn’t been apart for long, she was meant to be by my side always . While I’d been chained with nothing but time to think, all I could focus on was how much I needed and missed her.
She leaned toward me, her lips finding mine as she raised her hands and cupped my face. She kissed me, and I folded, completely at her mercy. Maybe I should’ve said no, but I couldn’t stop. Her tongue slipped into my mouth, and I swallowed the groan that almost left me, mainly because I didn’t want to risk any guards hearing me. When her warm, refreshing magic pulsed inside me, I nearly came undone.
Between the feel of her, the way my chest felt like it could implode from her love, and the way her magic synced with mine, I forgot where we were and what we were doing. The only thing better would have been burying my cock inside her and giving her even a portion of the pleasure she had me feeling.
Slowly, my magic sparked to life, and the wounds I’d gotten from trying to claw my way out of my chains closed, the skin tightening as they faded away.
White-hot rage warmed my usually frozen blood as I thought of the flamer who was the biggest threat standing in my and Lira’s way. He’d die painfully by my hands in a matter of time, eliminating the threat he posed to Lira and me. I would not tolerate anyone coming between us.
Am I hurting you? Lira asked, her concern bringing me back to the present.
No. I was merely contemplating all the things we have against us and how I’ll bring each one to its knees.
The two of us together, she vowed, making me fall more in love with this perfect-for-me woman.
You’ve done enough. Even though I wanted to continue to focus on the moment, having a future with her was more important.
The cell door slammed shut, and the woman yelled, “Someone get the king and queen now! ”
Lira tensed.
“Are we ever going to make our exit?” Finnian muttered. “I get that you two have been apart, but now isn’t the time for romance. I can hear you, and the guard just rushed out of the room.”
“I can’t see a fucking thing,” Eiric whispered. “How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?”
Even though I didn’t understand every word she’d said, I comprehended the meaning. I flicked my wrist, allowing the inky feel of my illusion magic to take root and emanate light around us.
It lit up the entire passageway, and I permitted only the four of us to see it, eliminating the risk of anyone else spotting it through cracks or holes in the walls.
“What the—” Eiric’s jaw dropped. She then recovered. “I thought you were the king of darkness, frost, and nightmares. How are you wielding light?”
I didn’t want to waste time answering such juvenile questions, but she was important to Lira and had helped us escape. So I gritted my teeth and responded as politely as possible. “My nightmare magic includes powerful illusions. I’m allowing you to see light, but I’m not actually wielding it.”
The entire way appeared like the underground portion of the rightful Unseelie castle Dunscaith in Cuil Dorcha, which had scared me as a young boy. Lira, you lead, and I’ll stay at the back since we can communicate this way.
She frowned but, thankfully, didn’t argue and moved to the front.
When she slid past Finnian, he tried to smirk at me, but with all the bruising around his face and eyes, his arrogance fell short. His attempt to get under my skin at least proved that the Seelie hadn’t come close to dampening his spirits.
Still, as her body brushed his, the urge to punch him took hold. I clenched my free hand to keep myself in check.
As soon as she moved past him, rationality returned to my head. Thankfully, the urge to hurt Eiric wasn’t there when Lira moved past her.
“Everyone, keep up with me. Once my parents are alerted, they’ll know how we escaped and will come looking for us.” Walking faster, Lira led us down the hidden passage, taking us toward the dungeon.
Eiric had no issues keeping up, but Finnian struggled, stumbling over his feet. I’d have been doing the same if Lira hadn’t partially healed me, though my legs and body remained sluggish because I needed to eat and drink. Sprite, you need to slow down. I know we’re in a hurry, but Finnian and I haven’t eaten anything since we’ve been here. I could already feel my magic draining, but I kept that to myself. I didn’t need her worrying about something she couldn’t control.
Her shock pierced the bond. Father and Mother didn’t feed you? Why didn’t you tell me? I would’ve brought you both something.
Despite the horrible situation, I felt my cheeks lift because of how innocent she truly was. I didn’t need you sneaking food or water to us and tipping off anyone who might have been watching. Besides, you would’ve been upset and confronted your parents, which I suspect would’ve changed them from ignoring me to punishing me physically, which would make this escape more difficult. It was better for you to not know.
The entire goal of the Seelie royals had been to prove I wasn’t important by never visiting or feeding us. I wasn’t even worthy of torture. Little did they know that I didn’t care if they found me important or not. All I cared about was retrieving Lira and taking her home. Their opinions didn’t matter because they meant nothing to me.
That was still something I should’ve known. You were keeping information from me. Her hurt struck my chest and heart.
Love, have you not protected me by withholding information of your own? Do you not remember that a certain cousin of mine attacked you in the bathroom?
Her upset changed to anger, heating my blood. If you remember, thorn, at the time, we weren’t together. You were still declaring you’d kill me and all that jazz. Not a good comparison, and frankly, you just pissed me off more.
From somewhere far behind me, the king’s voice echoed down the passage. “She used the blazing tunnels—if we don’t find them before the guards do, it won’t matter. We’ll deal with her when they catch them.”
We’ve got to move faster, Lira linked. You and Finnian have to keep up. She quickened her pace, and this time, Finnian didn’t struggle.
It had to be due to adrenaline because, suddenly, I wasn’t struggling so much either.
Each time we twisted and turned, I expected us to come to an exit but was disappointed. It was as if Caisteal Solais was never-ending. My heart pounded quicker than my feet moved, and I tried to keep the edge of hysteria away, knowing it wouldn’t help.
When we took the next turn, the passage ended in a wall of concrete.
Lira’s shoulders heaved as she bent down and searched for the lever to open the door. However, she kept running her hand around the bottom.
I… I can’t find it, she linked as her fear strangled me. We’re going to get caught.
I took a deep, steadying breath. Then I felt our connection latch on to my calm and push it toward her. I linked, Sprite, how can I help?
Excitement leaped through the bond. You just did. Her hand stopped moving, and she pressed her finger into a very small slit. And just like the other door, this one slid right open, revealing the worst exit we could have.
The opening revealed a cliff that would require Finnian and me to fly down or get flattened. Even though we were immortal, that didn’t mean we could withstand a four-hundred-foot drop. I tucked my illusion magic safely back inside me, not wanting to drain myself any further.
Lira and Eiric didn’t hesitate, flapping their wings with no issue.
However, malnourished as we were, Finnian and I struggled to walk, let alone put all our weight on wings that had been bound for days. Maybe I’d been foolish after all, not getting Lira to bring us something to eat, but I hadn’t wanted to put her more at risk.
She turned to me, eyebrows raised, waiting for Finnian and me to follow.
Go back to Caelan and let him protect you, I linked. I’ll find a way out of here, but go help the Unseelie. They need one of us right now.
She shook her head. I’m not leaving without you. Then she touched Eiric’s arms. “Can you help Finnian fly while I help Tavish? They’ve been starved and bound and fear trying to fly.”
“I don’t fear flying ,” Finnian scoffed. “I fear falling. There is a huge difference, and I wouldn’t hesitate if I were at my best.”
“Oh god.” Eiric snorted and quickly removed the smile from her face. “You sound like Lira.” She landed beside him and placed an arm around his waist. “Time your wings with mine so we don’t get tangled.”
He sighed. “Got it.”
The two of them stepped off the cliff, and thankfully, they worked well together, hovering a few feet away from us. Eiric’s forehead lined with strain, but other than that, her hold on him was steady.
Then Lira flew to me.
Go, I’ll slow you down. I —
“Stop it,” she snarled at me. “I won’t leave you. We’re in this together. So do you want to get out of here or waste time moaning like a little thornling?”
“Lira, he didn’t say anything,” Eiric gritted out, revealing her strain.
“Oh, they can speak to each other through their minds,” Finnian answered. “The fated-mate link is peculiar and also mind-melding.”
“I hear them!” the king shouted. He was closing in on us.
Knowing she was as stubborn as the night was long, I wrapped an arm around Lira as she did me, and we took off.
As soon as we stepped off the ledge, we dropped several feet, but Eiric and Finnian moved beside us as we descended toward the ground.
Sweet, fresh air rushed past us, smelling nothing like the ash and brimstone of the land the Unseelie had been forced to live on.
“There they are! Make sure the princess remains unharmed,” a male shouted above us.
I turned my head to see ten royal guards charging after us.
There was no way we’d lose them unless I used the magic of darkness to hide us, but when I tugged on my magic, it didn’t respond.