Chapter Forty-Six #2
Rion stood first and pulled Arianna to her feet, then kissed her with tears streaming down his face. She hadn’t been able to contain hers, either.
The world spun again. The image of her thin white dress burst into color, swirling until Arianna found herself inside an elaborately decorated room, her body on top of another’s with auburn hair.
She gripped his hands, knowing he’d never let her fall, that he’d never hurt her, never let anything hurt her soul, either.
They were one. She was his, and he was hers.
Arianna barely had time for a breath before the image zoomed in quickly and shifted to another.
Rion was on his knees, his body too thin, clothes covered in filth. Her hands were in his hair, and he looked up at her with such anguish in his eyes. His lips moved, voicing words she’d heard before. Words she remembered all too clearly now.
She was thrown to the side again, her head spinning before she appeared in a cabin with a fire roaring in the hearth. Rion’s torso was bare, displaying all the scars from his past. Scars she’d never asked him about.
It felt so surreal, clashing with her recent memory of them in a different room. He’d trusted her with his life both times. He was a male willing to set his fear aside if it meant being with the one he loved.
Moments tore through her, one after another. She drank each in turn like a creature starved for water.
Rion as her enemy, covered in blood, slamming her against a wall.
Rion as her lover, begging her to run and leave him behind.
Rion as her mate, telling her he would leave if she desired it.
Rion as her husband, vowing to remain at her side for the rest of eternity no matter what life threw at them.
The world slowly came back into focus. The Fairy Folk were still glowing. The pool still calm.
Her chest was full. Too full. Tears pricked her eyes for entirely different reasons. Arianna stumbled to her feet.
Rion was her mate. And he’d walked away thinking he’d never get to see love in her eyes again.
He’d walked away and accepted it.
The images kept trickling in, pulling her from the present to the past and back again. She stepped back. The Fairy Folk moved, creating a path for her, watching, their faces just a little lifted.
Rion.
Rion.
“Rion!”
She pivoted on her heel, climbed up the small hill, and broke through the trees. Arianna sprinted past her guards. They rushed to follow, their footsteps cracking against twigs and leaves littering the ground.
Eimear’s words crashed through her, and Arianna’s heart pounded harder, pushing her to fly across the distance. She left the trees behind, soaring across an open field. Her heart nearly stopped when she glimpsed smoke rising in the distance.
Sacrifice.
It was him. That’s why she was here. She had to be out of the way. The world wanted Rion. It had always wanted Rion.
Tears streamed down her face, but Arianna pushed herself faster, legs pounding against the hard terrain. It threatened to trip her, grabbing her at her boots and pants, ripping through the fabric like tiny blades.
Not him.
Anyone but him.
He’d sacrificed enough. He’d suffered enough.
No more. No more. No more.
But he was already out there, fighting. She could feel it.
Arianna burst through the door in her mind that had been cloaked in shadows.
Light flooded the space, chasing away the darkness.
It slithered back, sinking into the crevices, shriveling against the brightness that radiated from her mental body.
Arianna looked over the room, and sadness flooded her mind.
The crumbled white marble, the broken stairs, the fallen pillars.
Her gaze lifted to the thick rope at the room’s center.
Every strand had been severed, aside from one. She stepped closer, moving slowly.
The strand was so thin and frail, yet it held, bearing the weight of their connection from both ends. It shone with glittering gold, reflecting the light while the other strands hung dull and lifeless.
Outside her mind, Arianna kept running, pushing her body to its limits. Beyond. But in here, she was careful, cautious.
Arianna delicately stepped around the carnage, her footsteps soft and light. She walked straight up to that center area, the above and below covered in swirling light that reminded her of the sun’s rays peeking through the clouds.
She reached for that single strand, her soul filling with hope as she ever so carefully ran one fingertip down the delicate tendril.
The entire room ignited. Those ropes snapped to life, turning golden before reaching for the broken pieces.
They molded together seamlessly, becoming one as if they’d never been broken at all.
Arianna pulled her hand back, pressing it against her chest. The rope shifted, and those strands melted together, finally, finally becoming one.
A smile stretched across her face. She reached for that tether, tracing her hand over what now felt like steel. They’d never be parted again. Light blasted through the room once more, this time springing from the top, and a presence she’d come to know as well as her own soul filled her body.
Arianna closed her eyes, a smile making her cheeks ache. She could feel him so clearly. He was alive and fighting and … surprised. No, surprised wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the feelings barreling down their bond.
Their solid bond.
In the real world, Arianna could hear the clashing battle. The screams. The scent of the monsters.
She didn’t know how long she’d been running.
She didn’t care, all that mattered was getting to Rion.
Even if she died. Even if her efforts were all in vain, she’d hold him one final time.
She just wanted to remind her mate how much he was loved and treasured before he left the world.
To show him one final time that he wasn’t a monster in her story.
Arianna sent those feelings barreling down the bond, flooding their connection.
I’m here.
I’m coming.
I’m yours.
I’m yours.
I’m yours.
Heartache, agony, and yearning returned tenfold.
Arianna leapt past the rear line, her heart aching at the sight of the piled bodies. There were so many who would never see tomorrow. Her healer heart begged her to help them, but those who’d caught a glimpse of their queen were already rising.
Arianna kept running.
She glimpsed faces turn from despair to hope. She didn’t know how they recognized her. Didn’t care as a roar echoed from deep in her chest. Fight, fight, fight.
She swore she heard that roar echoed back, even if she couldn’t hear it.
Steel clashing against steel rose like a symphony to her left, nearly drowned out by the growls of the Dark Fae that were swarming in mass.
Still, she didn’t falter. Arianna just pushed through the lines of warriors, most covered from head to toe in blood and gore.
Their strategy was working. Push through, let those fight on the front, then pull back and switch. It was the only thing that would give them a reprieve. And judging from the darkness swarming over the hills, she knew they’d made the right call.
The bond tightened.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
I’m coming.
She wished she could scream the words, but her lungs were barely functioning, pleading with her to stop and rest.
She refused.
Just once. She just wanted to hold him once. Feel his heartbeat. His warmth.
The bond tightened even further.
The bodies closed in, forcing Arianna to slow. She bent down in passing to scoop a bloody blade from the ground, then let her magic fly, piercing every dark creature in the vicinity with a deadly blow.
The beasts fell, but more took their place, swarming like a never-ending torrent.
Arianna let her magic fan out, surrounding her body and allies. Even a second could make a difference. Let them see her. Let them believe.
The earth rose in a wave to her front, blocking out their enemies with a thick wall she prayed would never break.
She ran faster.
Ice rose up next, reinforcing said wall.
Arianna felt him before she saw him. Felt that strong pulse of magic as if it were surging through her own veins. A line of their warriors parted, each panting, each with weapons in their hands.
Then he was there.
Their eyes met.
Rion stared at her for a split second, his hair plastered to his face, mixing with sweat and blood. He was covered from head to toe in dirt and gore. But his eyes. They were unscathed, drinking her in as if she were an offering from the gods. As if she were his miracle.
He ran, half limping, sword loosely in his grip.
She’d never stopped.
Arianna leapt and Rion caught her, folding her into his arms. His nose buried into her hair and Rion let his blade fall to the ground, clutching her so tight she thought she might never draw breath again.
Arianna had both arms around his neck, holding him just as tightly.
The weight of the world, of the battle, of death melted from their bodies.
Home.
Safe.
He pulled back, wiping her hair away from her sweaty face. He met her gaze for half a second before crashing his lips into hers.
It was everything she’d ever dreamed of.
Everything her memories had reminded her she needed.
Here. Rion was here and safe and—she hadn’t realized the Fairy Folk were following until this moment. They fanned out, surrounding the pair. One chirped desperately, a sound she’d never heard them make. Arianna followed its spindly finger, looking up, up, up, toward the top of that thick dirt wall.
Sunlight glinted off metal. She blinked, then that metal was flying.
Sacrifice.
Her heart stuttered. Arianna lifted one arm, ready to block the arrow with her magic, but two more released. Then six.
Iron.
Iron arrows.
All aimed at Rion.
Fine.
Let it be her.
Arianna grabbed Rion’s shoulders and yanked him around. He stumbled, then the first sting of the metal pierced the center of her shoulder blades.
She gasped. Her magic vanished, snuffed out like a candle flame.
The next two hit, one to either side of the first.
Sacrifice.
Was it her sacrifice after all? Would her death change the tide of the war? Would it allow Rion to live to rule the kingdom in her stead? Could he even survive without her? She certainly wouldn’t want to.
Sounds in the world faded. A roar rumbled through her chest. Her vision darkened at the edges.
Those beautiful green eyes were wide now, looking down at her, clutching her shoulders tight. His lips were moving. She couldn’t hear his words.
Don’t cry.
She tried to reach up.
Would death claim her so quickly? Was this it?
A spark of pain and—