28. Tavish
28
TAVISH
T he frigid tendrils of fear that pulsed through our bond strangled me. I could feel the tugs of the darkness covering the eight of us, along with Nightbane below, as I made sure no guard could easily locate us. However, we had to determine how many guards had snow magic so we could eliminate them and hide more effectively. I was stretching my magic too far and could not engulf the entire force of guards with my nightmare illusions.
Something had to be wrong with Lira. The guard in front of me swung blindly, hoping to harm one of us, so I darted underneath him then shot upward and beheaded him. His blood sprayed, but I didn’t pay attention to that or the yells of the nearby guards as they watched their friend die at the hands of an invisible force.
Luckily, ten guards were hovering near the back of the circle, not getting involved in the battle.
I found Lira close to Eldrin, but they weren’t fighting… something I suspected even Lira would be capable of with him after everything he’d done to her.
The wildling.
I’d remedy that particular issue now.
A dragon is heading toward us , Lira connected, answering my unspoken question.
I jerked my head in the direction they were staring, and I gritted my teeth. Was it illusion magic? Why would a dragon be flying toward us? However, I wasn’t chained, and my magic was flaring inside me. I should see through any illusion easily.
My heart nearly stopped beating. There could only be one explanation. The worst possible scenario that could happen in my entire world.
The ashbreath must have learned that Lira was here and had come to take her from me.
I released my hold on the snow, needing to conserve my energy. The darkness was more necessary. I needed Lira to leave and blasting hide. Find Nightbane and go somewhere with him. I can keep cloaking you because of our connection.
Lira shook her head as Eldrin spun around and swung his fist at her.
I opened my mouth to yell, and Lira stopped using her wings and dropped. But Eldrin’s hand swung into her hair and clutched it.
I had to reach her.
A sharp throb bolted through the bond, and I rushed forward, slicing through any guard who got between us. I’d been trying not to kill all of them because we needed prisoners, but that changed when I lost sight of Lira.
Lira’s wings fluttered, and fresh blood dripped from the wing injury she’d partially healed in the prison cell. The wounds had reopened.
Yanking her hair, Eldrin snapped her head upward and sheathed his sword.
He was trying not to make her bleed… not until he could capture most of the blood. Instead, he pulled her up, and pain radiated through our bond.
A guard raced forward, about to get in my way, and I kicked him in the back. He slammed into the female guard fighting Eiric. Both guards dropped as I flew faster toward my mate.
Lira flapped her wings harder, the blood dripping more as she punched Eldrin in the testicles. Eldrin’s eyes bulged as if he hadn’t expected her to be so unconventional. It was one of the things I loved best about her—she thought outside the norm and didn’t mind fighting dirty.
He released her and flew backward as he gripped his groin. But Lira’s wings didn’t hold her weight, and she dropped toward the village rooftops.
“Lira!” Eiric screamed as I pushed myself to catch her.
Blades clashed and guards spun toward Lira, able to locate her since she’d cried out.
My only goal was to catch my mate. I’d trust the others to help Eiric fight our attackers.
Not five feet from the slanted rooftops, I caught up and wrapped the arm not holding the sword around her, pulling her front to my chest. The jolt of our bond sprang between us, and I gritted my teeth, fighting the downward momentum.
Her expression strained as she panted. I… I can’t fly anymore.
It’s fine. We all don’t need to fight Eldrin, especially with the ashbreath heading this way. I turned my head and saw that the beast had almost made it to our land. I could see his crimson scales and the smoke drifting from his snout.
Wings flapped toward us, and I glanced upward to see that the others had left the guards to fight themselves. Eldrin was hunched over, but he was catching his breath, which meant he’d be back to tracking us in no time.
“We have a crater-size problem.” Finnian flew to my side, staring at the dragon prince in beast form.
“God, he’s huge,” Eiric gasped, her breath catching as her green eyes locked on him. “And fucking strong.”
“And here for my mate.” I didn’t appreciate the awe in her voice for the man who’d threatened to strip Lira from me and claim her as his own. The edges of my vision darkened as pressure built in my chest, but I wasn’t sure if it was from that or fatigue. For all I knew, it could be from blasting both, which would be more problematic.
“She’s shrouded in darkness, so she should be fine.” Caelan kept glancing from the dragon to the guards.
“They’re no longer here,” Eldrin snapped. “Stop being foolish.” He stared right at us, tracking the magical essence of the darkness.
Blighted abyss. I despised that he’d been born with royal magic.
“Lira can’t fly, so you need to go on foot,” I said softly to keep others from hearing us.
The dragon prince had made it to the edge of our island. We were flying out of time.
“Eiric, Isla, and Struan should go with her and get far away from the village and castle.” The last thing I wanted to do was separate myself from Lira, but until Eldrin was dead, it was the safest choice. I believed Struan was on our side, and he wouldn’t endanger his daughter. “Anywhere away from here and the cave. Somewhere no one would consider going.”
“No.” Lira wrapped her arms around my neck. “We can’t separate.”
“We have to. Eldrin will track us via my magic, and the dragon will smell you if he gets too close. I need you to stay safe and free to be with only me.” My chest tugged, the mate in me wanting to oblige her request. I didn’t want to leave her side either, but that was futile. I needed her to be far away from the dragon prince and Eldrin. If you remain, I’ll be distracted, worrying about you, and I could get hurt. I was able to say the words because they were true, but I wouldn’t deny I was also using them to get her to agree with me. She didn’t want me hurt either.
I could feel her frustration, telling me my words had swayed her.
Fine, but if you get hurt or captured, I need to know you’ll tell me. Her cobalt-blue eyes shone even through the darkness, searching for the truth within me.
As if I could deny her request. I promise. I flew us toward the stone ground, and Nightbane appeared below us.
Who knew I’d come to tolerate the blasting cù-sìth? Something uncomfortable twisted in my chest as I thought about all the things I’d done to him as a pup.
“Here, I can carry her.” Struan held out his arms. “Flying will get us away from here faster.”
The thought of another man’s hands on her made me want to kill everyone in sight, but Eldrin’s commands became louder. They were heading to fight us once more. “Fine. Keep her safe.”
I kissed her lips and passed her to Struan, then turned to face Eldrin just as the dragon flew over half the village, nearly upon us.
“I’ll take care of her,” Eiric vowed as she, Struan, Lira, and Isla flew quickly toward the ruined part of the island.
If I wanted them to have time to gain distance, the best thing I could do was reveal the four of us who were left. We’d taken out over twenty guards and were still grossly outnumbered, but I hoped that the ten guards who’d been holding back would still choose not to engage in battle. Finnian, Caelan, and I were the best swordsfae in the kingdom, and all I needed to do was kill Eldrin.
“I’m pulling back the darkness from the four of us,” I informed the others.
“Tavish,” Caelan warned. “That’s a horrible idea.”
Before I could respond, Eldrin’s loyal guard, Faelan, shouted, “There’s Tavish. He’s revealed himself.”
The dragon prince roared overhead as five guards swarmed me. Faelan swung his sword, and I blocked it as Caelan, Finnian, and Lorne attacked three of the other guards focused on me.
A female guard jabbed while I was distracted, and the tip of her blade pierced my side before I could jerk back. As the blade slid free, Faelan rebounded and swung at my right hand, which held the sword. I turned sharply, his sword swishing by my arm. The female guard darted toward me, her sword held straight out, and I shoved Faelan into her blade, causing it to ricochet off his armor.
“Detain Tavish now.” Eldrin gestured the other guards toward me just as Finnian slid his blade through Faelan’s exposed neck and Caelan cut the wings off the female. The female dropped to the ground, and ten more guards moved toward us.
The dragon prince blew flames, engulfing three guards, and flew closer to Eldrin.
Eldrin’s jaw clenched. He called out, “I don’t know where the Seelie sunscorched is! Figure it out yourself. I’m dealing with escaped prisoners.”
The remaining seven guards had paused but now continued toward us. The dragon prince engulfed five of them in flames, leaving two unmaimed. Finnian and I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the sword through the guard’s head as Finnian cut the other guard’s throat.
Now, only five of the guards who’d attacked us were left. The other ten had continued to hang back.
“Fine. I’ll help you locate her.” Eldrin’s nostrils flared, but he turned to his fifteen remaining guards. “Kill everyone but Tavish. We can find other people to work the lands.”
Sword raised, Eldrin flew down to where we were hovering and waited for one of us to attack him.
No.
The dragon could pick up Lira’s scent if he followed Eldrin down to where she’d been.
I barreled toward Eldrin and rammed him into the top floor of the cottage that faced the cave where the mushrooms grew for the people here. Eldrin grunted and elbowed me in the nose. After a sickening crack, blood poured into my mouth.
Tavish! Lira’s voice popped into my head. Did you get caught?
Like he’d done to Lira, I fisted the back of his long white hair. Keep moving. The dragon prince is here, searching for you. With the hilt of my sword, I punched Eldrin in the face, unable to swing the blade at him this close.
“She was somewhere near here!” Eldrin shouted and bent completely over.
My legs spun over our heads, and I hit the wall I’d crashed him into upside down. Pain radiated down my back as Eldrin turned toward me with his blade.
“If it wouldn’t weaken us so much, I would kill you right now,” he snarled, placing the edge of the blade to my throat.
Still upside down, I allowed my feet to drop onto his shoulders and squeeze his neck as the tip of his blade slit my skin from neck to chin. Blood trickled from the wound into my face, joining the blood from my nose, and I jerked my feet to the side, trying to break Eldrin’s neck.
He dropped his sword and allowed his body to spin with the move, then escaped my hold as I darted off and flipped upright.
Caelan appeared and stabbed Eldrin in the shoulder. Eldrin groaned as I touched my neck, the injury weakening my magic further. With the amount of magic I was using and the exertion, exhaustion was taking hold. The wound drained my energy and ability to channel my magic.
The ground shook, and rocks from the highest mountain peak tumbled down toward us, taking out two guards.
My stomach dropped just as the dragon roared even louder and took off flying.
I turned my head to see Lira on Nightbane’s back, racing toward us. Eiric flew right behind her.
The dragon is coming for you. Fear gripped me, but adrenaline pumped through me, burning off some of the weakness. I can’t cloak you anymore.
Caelan yanked his sword from Eldrin’s body. “Do we kill him now or make a show of it?” he asked, but I couldn’t focus on that. Not right now.
“Just—” I started, but a sickening grunt caused me to turn my head toward Eldrin.
He’d stabbed Caelan in one wing, and Caelan dropped to the stony ground.
“You will not win, Tavish.” Eldrin slammed into me again, and I fell backward, my wings failing to gain traction as Finnian and Lorne clashed blades with the warriors above me.
I hit the ground, straining my back and wing muscles, but I punched Eldrin in the face. Something crunched, but I didn’t take the time to evaluate as I kneed him between the legs, following Lira’s lead.
The ground shook and quaked from Eiric wielding her earth magic, but she’d used so much that I suspected her ability wouldn’t last. Still, it let me know that she was protecting Lira. I shoved Eldrin off me and saw the dragon fly over Lira and Eiric. Lira had gotten off the cù-sìth, and her gaze darted everywhere, no doubt searching for me as the dragon and Eiric stared into each other’s eyes.
Strange.
Five of the guards barreled toward Lira. I jumped to my feet and flapped my wings, ready to intervene, but something yanked on my foot.
“Eiric, Lira is being attacked!” I shouted, needing her to protect my most cherished treasure in the entire realm.
I flapped my wings, but something stabbed into my calf. I growled and kicked Eldrin, but I had to watch as Eiric tore her gaze from the dragon prince and leaped toward Lira.
This time, when Eldrin yanked, he dug his fingers into the wound, and my body crumbled. I spun around and placed the tip of my sword right above his chest.
“This is for attacking Lira and deceiving me,” I gritted, readying to drive the blade through his heart.
Tavish, help, Lira connected.
Large, scaly wings flapped over us as the dragon took to the sky. I looked up and saw my mate dangling from the dragon’s talons, her eyes wide and her blonde hair blowing wildly around her face.
The dragon prince was taking her.
Blighted abyss. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I needed to kill him here and now before she got too far away.
Underneath me, Eldrin’s legs moved sharply to the left, toppling me over. Eldrin then took the same position I had, with his sword tip at my heart.
I couldn’t seem to care at the moment, watching Lira grow smaller as the dragon flew away. My heart splintered with a pain I’d never thought I could feel.
If I didn’t break free, I could lose my mate forever—and that couldn’t happen. I gritted my teeth, readying to take care of Eldrin once and for all. He’d messed with the true king of Nightmare, Frost, and Darkness one too many times. It ended now.