Chapter Ten
Arianna
Arianna plunged into water so cold it stole the breath from her body.
Darkness swallowed her, summoning the crippling terror from her nightmares.
She free floated for one horrifying second before forcing her limbs to move, kicking hard upward until she broke the surface.
Arianna gasped only to choke on the acrid air.
With burning lungs, she spun to find a tall muddy embankment with flames consuming the trees above.
Saoirse, Zylah, and Gavin emerged next, the two females hauling a weakened Talon between them.
The Demon launched from the water, mud wrapped around his lower portion as he held a limp Ellie in his arms. Raevina floated up with ease, seemingly immune to the brisk temperature.
The female turned slightly to study the flames.
They blazed even hotter and Arianna was certain the Shadow Weaver had everything to do with it.
Good, so long as those wretched creatures couldn’t follow them.
The river’s current tugged her downstream. Arianna collected everyone with her magic and coaxed their bodies toward the opposite bank. They all crawled ashore then collapsed, chests heaving, fighting for breath.
Arianna only gave herself a moment before scrambling to her feet and rushing to Ellie’s side. The Demon still held her sister, but Arianna tore her from his arms and pressed an ear to Ellie’s chest. Her face paled. A horrible, wet rattle echoed from her sister’s lungs.
“Venom,” Raevina rasped, clutching her own chest.
Arianna stared at her in horror. “What?”
“Their bites,” Raevina continued through panting breaths. “Their bites are venomous.”
Arianna stared down at her sister in horror. “W—what do we do?”
“Pull it out,” Talon answered, crawling closer, his body trembling.
“I don’t—what do you mean?”
Talon collapsed and rolled onto his back, his eyes clenched in pain. “I’ve watched you do it before.” He paused to breathe. “You have to pull it out.”
“How?”
Talon only shook his head. Panic surged through her anew as she took in everyone surrounding her. Only Gavin appeared unharmed by the venom.
Six people. How in the seven hells was she supposed to pull venom from six bodies when she didn’t even know where to begin?
“Time is of the essence,” Raevina pressed, sinking down to sit with her legs crossed. “If you can do something, do it now.”
“I—” Arianna’s hands reached for Ellie and she let her magic flow. She didn’t have the slightest idea how—there. Her eyes went wide. She could feel … something. It was heavy, at odds with the blood and other natural fluids running through her sister’s body.
Arianna wrapped a tiny tendril of water around a few particles, then focused on bringing them toward the skin’s surface.
They moved freely. Hope pulsed through her.
She could do this. She grabbed more and more, letting some hover just under the skin, the particles small enough that they’d slip straight through the body’s sweat glands. Then she yanked it all out at once.
Ellie’s entire body lurched like she’d been shocked by iron. Ellie gasped for breath, and her heart pounded from the sudden rush of pain.
Arianna threw the offending substance to the side and sank back inside her sister’s body, replenishing the water she’d stolen from the tissues. Ellie’s muscles relaxed again, her breathing easier.
Arianna dove in again, isolating the particles a second time. There wasn’t much. She’d found the wound along her sister’s ankle easily enough and most of the venom was still concentrated there.
Ellie’s body arched again. She let out a whimper the third time.
“Arianna.” Saoirse’s concerned voice had Arianna whipping her head toward the female, then to Zylah who was lying with her eyes closed on the ground.
The half-breed’s heart beat rapidly.
Arianna scrambled over and knelt at Zylah’s side, placing her hands over the female’s body.
She found two wounds quickly. One at her left wrist and the other by her right knee.
Rather than closing them, Arianna used the openings to pull the venom out faster.
Her healing magic spilled through Zylah’s body next, and the half-breed’s breathing immediately eased.
Her eyes fluttered open and Saoirse helped her sit up.
Arianna left her in Saoirse’s care and ran to Raevina next.
“Him first.” Raevina jerked her chin toward Talon.
Arianna didn’t argue. Talon was lying down, his eyes closed and breathing labored.
“Stay awake,” Arianna chided.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured, but his voice was strained.
Arianna found four bites along his body.
Two on his arm and one on each leg. She grimaced and began pulling the venom out, quickly healing his tissues as she worked.
She didn’t think venom was supposed to affect the body this quickly.
Arianna rolled up his pant leg and frowned at the burn scars on his lower leg. She swore she could feel Raevina’s wrath behind her.
“Are you all right?” Arianna asked when Talon didn’t move.
He waved one hand lazily. “Get the others.”
Arianna shifted to Raevina next, finding a bite along her side, right where her other wound had been when she’d first healed the female and earned her loyalty.
Right, Raevina was accustomed to venoms. She’d said something about how the warriors in Fiadh forced their bodies to build immunity. It had sounded insane at the time.
She turned back to Saoirse, but Zylah was already working on the female, pulling out the venom with runes Arianna didn’t even know existed.
That only left—she slowly turned to face The Demon. His green eyes were glossed over, face speckled with perspiration. His skin was notably paler and his breathing was so labored, she was certain each breath felt like a thousand shards of glass carving through his body.
Despite everything he’d done, something deep in Arianna’s mind forced her to hesitate. It slithered against all her normal instincts, shoving them into submission.
Let him suffer.
Let him fade.
“Heal him.” Raevina’s commanding voice dispersed the shadows like tendrils of smoke. The female stood, wavering on her feet. “Now.”
Arianna stood as well, her hands already shaking.
She had regretted not healing him once. What if those creatures burst through the flames and she needed him a second time?
What if he wasn’t around to grab Ellie and something tore her sister apart the way Vairik’s feral creatures had done to Kirian?
Swallowing hard, Arianna closed the distance between her and The Demon too quickly.
She knelt at his side. His eyes never left her body.
In fact, they roamed over every inch of her, as if cataloging each and every scratch left by the horrendous creatures still burning just on the other side of the river.
She studied the puncture wound on his arm. That had been meant for her. He’d taken the fangs that were aimed for her throat. And if he hadn’t, would any of them even be here now?
That darkness returned, whispering with an oily presence. The creature within her recoiled. Her jaw worked. She could let it happen. If she just waited, the venom would do its job, and he’d finally be gone from the world.
“Heal him, Arianna.” Talon’s voice this time, a plea, not a command.
He deserved death, but something in Arianna’s heart told her this wasn’t the way he should go. If this creature was going to perish, then it would be by her hand, not some foul beast.
He’d saved her. He’d saved Ellie. Her little sister responded to him. Would she stop eating without his influence? Was Ellie’s life tied to The Demon’s?
“Now would be a good time,” Saoirse said.
Arianna hadn’t heard her move, but the Lady of Brónach now knelt at her brother’s side, looking him over with the level of concern only family could display.
She’d nearly lost her mother. They could both be orphans and not even know it.
It would be cruel to take her brother from her now, no matter what he deserved.
The Demon just waited in silence, his gaze flicking between her eyes and hands. Was that distrust? Would he not beg for his life?
She straightened slightly, if his pride—Rion clenched his chest and the single agonized sound that escaped his lips had Arianna’s body lunging for him of its own accord.
Saoirse snatched Arianna’s wrist, holding just tight enough that she wouldn’t easily escape. The female’s eyes were full of pleading and anguish. “He trusts you.” Her voice cracked. “I trust you. Don’t—”
“Saoirse.” Rion’s voice was hoarse, his fists clenched.
Saoirse closed her mouth and released Arianna’s wrist, but the pleading in her eyes never vanished.
This female was his sister. Arianna couldn’t remember the two of them ever interacting.
She couldn’t remember Saoirse ever mentioning The Demon with fondness in her voice, but Arianna saw that fondness now, accompanied by the fear of losing her little brother.
It was the same fear Arianna carried for Ellie.
“I won’t hurt him,” Arianna promised, even if the words tasted like ash on her tongue.
With shaking hands, Arianna rolled up The Demon’s sleeve. The area around the bite was already swollen, black spider web veins spreading beneath his skin. If she didn’t act fast, he could lose the entire limb.
Arianna took a breath, then gently placed her hands on his skin. She immediately recoiled when that same electrical current jolted through her like lightning. Her chest tightened, and that same irritating headache pulsed at the top of her neck.
The shadows returned tenfold, whispering and snaking through her conscious thoughts, leaving behind a substance that reminded Arianna far too much of the venom. She braced one hand at her side to steady herself. Dots swam at the corners of her vision.
“Arianna?” Rion’s labored voice. Rion. She needed to save Rion. Other hands clamped around her shoulders. Who were they? Saoirse? Raevina?
“Stay with us.” Warmth spread through the back of Arianna’s head, then a hand wrapped around her own, sending that same current blasting down her arm again. She tried to let go, but the creature within her body held on, as if it controlled her fingers now.
“I’m here,” Rion said.
I’m here. I’m here. I’m here, but I don’t—pain speared through her again, but anger consumed it. Too many hands were on her. Too many voices echoed in her head. Too many choices were being stripped away.
Not this one.
Arianna forced her eyes open and grabbed The Demon’s arm with both hands. She ignored the pain and focused on the venom in his body. Her palms glowed, and she grabbed the oozing substance, all but tearing it through his system.
The Demon cried out, his voice echoing somewhere far away as she worked. His palm hit the ground, fingernails digging into the dirt. Arianna didn’t relent. She kept pulling, replenishing, pulling, replenishing. Over and over and over, moving as fast as her magic would allow.
Arianna’s heart raced, something inside her crescendoing to a panic she couldn’t explain.
Her vision focused enough for her to see the pain displayed across The Demon’s face.
Rion. Rion’s face. That torment tugged at forgotten pieces in her heart.
Shards buried beneath mounds of darkness.
Those very shards fought for freedom, thrashing against the black netted bindings that held them in place.
The edges of her vision cleared. She could feel the others watching, Saoirse most of all. The female clung to her brother’s shoulders, attempting to steady him. Arianna dove in one final time, her hands nearly numb from the searing shock that continued burning down her arms. Gods above, it hurt.
With a final tug, Arianna yanked her hands back and collapsed onto her backside. Rion gasped, sweat rolling down his face as he leaned further into Saoirse. They both panted, taking several seconds to steady themselves before anyone spoke.
“You’re all right?” Saoirse asked, looking her brother over as if she might see his wounds for herself.
Rion patted her hand. He didn’t pull away from her. “I’m not sure that was any better than last time.”
Arianna peered up at him. The Demon was studying her, his expression haggard. Last time … what did he mean? Was this what Talon had been referring to? Was that the moment she’d saved him and their relationship had grown into something more?
Saoirse finally relaxed. “If I never have to see you at the edge of death again, it’ll be too soon.”
Rion smiled slightly, but his gaze was locked with Arianna’s.
Her breath hitched at the longing there.
A deep pull she couldn’t explain. It made her own chest ache.
A mirror to his expression. A strange sense of relief washed through her at seeing him okay.
But hadn’t she just wanted to kill him a few moments ago?
The Demon’s damp hair hung over his emerald eyes. So much depth. A story. There was a story in those beautiful irises.
The shards in her body fought harder, yanking against their shadowy restraints. She wanted them free. She wanted to know once and for all what Vairik might have done to her mind. Her body.
His lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but Rion stopped himself. They were close. So unbelievably close that she could have reached out without much hindrance.
Neither moved.
Neither spoke.
Those surrounding the pair seemed to disappear. She could still change her mind and end him, but somehow the rage that had been consuming her had been quelled. Was it her magic? The absence of the shadow? A trick?
Arianna could scent him now, taking in that intoxicating presence. It promised so many things she didn’t want to think about, yet so many things she longed for.
“Thank you,” he breathed. Her lips parted. He took a breath, hesitated, then stood on shaking legs. Saoirse stood with him, never leaving his side. “We should go.” She followed his gaze to the burning tree line.
Right, they couldn’t exactly sit here. The inferno was basically a beacon begging Vairik to investigate.
Arianna met Rion’s gaze again. She didn’t understand the contradicting feelings coursing through her. Maybe she wouldn’t until she reached Nàdair, but he’d helped her and Ellie. Even if it was all a trick, a temporary ally was still an ally.
Temporary. She’d keep her guard up. She wouldn’t be fooled by his actions or words. After all, the best deceptions were planted using the truth. Her only problem was the growing inability to discern which was which.