Chapter 29 Erik
ERIK
Idid not sleep that night, nor any night, it seemed like.
Being on this side of the Sidhe mountain walls made nothing better.
I was a fool to imagine it would. As if seeing her could have smothered the unease, or at the very least lessened it.
Stupid fool. If anything, witnessing what I had made everything worse.
I was being whittled down to a sharpened edge that burned for release.
Shadows surrounded me before tunnelling into my consciousness.
The darkness begged for bodies. For retribution.
As if that were even possible. My conjuring blistered beneath the surface for days, burning to escape, to incinerate the Sidhe King and his court.
To scorch them out of existence, out of storybooks, leaving not a dusting of his influence on this world.
I sighed, attention shifting to the boy in the bed near mine. He did not sleep either. Just laid there, staring at the ceiling.
“Hey, kid.” I kept my voice low so as not to wake every servant in the barrack.
He did not respond, eyes remaining unfocused, staring into oblivion.
I sat. The bed creaked as my weight shifted. I leaned towards him. “Timothy,” I said the name I heard Ariana call him.
“What?” He did not move to meet my eye.
How much do I say? Anything? Ariana seemed to care for this kid, another way for Clause to torment her.
Breaking her heart. How much could she withstand before sinking into hollowness so profound that she couldn’t escape it?
I refused to allow my thoughts to continue traveling down that vein.
No matter where she went, I would find her, even in that darkness. I would carry her out of it.
“What do you know of what is about to go down?” I asked.
My question met with silence. I exhaled slowly.
“Some shit is about to go down.” Cautiously so not to make much noise, I rose to my feet.
“My suggestion is to lie low. Do not engage in the fight, and if you see an opportunity to run and escape this place, take it. And don’t look back.
Or, if you feel an urge to fight, then feel free to come with me.
” I left the kid with that parting advice.
Hoping that he was smart enough to heed my warning.
He did not follow me.
Carefully stepping out of the servant housing, I met with fresh, crisp air.
Not a guard was in sight, as if they were not needed in the city at all.
All of them circled the perimeter. They would soon learn of the errors in that line of thought.
We only needed to pierce their defenses and then had a clear path to their King.
The sky lightened before the first rays of light cut over the horizon.
Paws approached, drawing my attention to the wolf who would guide me into position. The short cave that opened into the Sidhe lands was close to the city. Following the wolf, I headed towards the beginning of the end of this nightmare.
By the time we arrived, two Sidhe guards lay crumpled by the entrance, their blood pooling into the dirt. Kole and Eislyn stood above them, blades glistening with fresh crimson.
“It’s good to see you.” Kole’s gaze swept over me, ensuring I was unscathed, before darting back to scan the surroundings.
“I take it Ariana is doing well, seeing as you are standing here, and the city is not burned to smithereens?” Iver approached with Willis through the cave.
“No, she isn’t,” I replied flatly and everyone but Willis turned to me with heavy stares. The Leader Superior’s Second observed the forested area before looking at the main castle and our ultimate target.
“As soon as the army funnels through this cave, they’ll know we’re here,” Willis stated, steering the conversation toward strategy.
I nodded, turning to Iver. “You, Kole, Eislyn, and the Sparrow are a part of the extraction team.”
Iver grunted. “I haven’t forgotten. Though I am shocked you do not demand to be a part of those retrieving our Bavadrin.”
The decision to follow her lead in this graded on me.
And even though Edda turned out to have been a snake in all of this, I trusted her when she said that following Ariana’s direction insured the best outcome.
Edda cared for Ariana, even if she did not care for any other soul, she cared for Ariana.
“Get her and get out of there.” My voice somehow remained steady even though I felt caged. I understood why Ariana wanted me no where near Clause, but that did not make any of this easy.
Iver tilted his head, his eyes narrowing in scrutiny. “And if she decides she doesn’t want to leave?”
“She will,” I answered, refusing to entertain any alternative.
“And if she doesn’t?” His tone sharpened, testing the edges of my resolve.
“Iver.” I spoke his name in warning.
Willis moved towards us. “Then you do what she wishes.” His gaze bore into me, challenging not my authority but my intent.
For a fleeting moment, surprise flickered across Iver’s face before he schooled it back to neutrality. I held Willis’s stare with a cold one of my own. “I will not stop searching until I find her,” I stated.
“If she wishes-” Willis began.
“I promised her,” I cut him off. “I promised her I would find her. “
Willis studied me for a long beat before inclining his head. “Very well.”
We were wasting time discussing this. Ariana was likely already with him. The monster who did not belong in this world. “Let’s go,” Willis said just before the sounds of wolves howling came from the other side of the cave. The signal.
The ground beneath us trembled as our army surged forward, their footsteps reverberating like a drumbeat of war.
Tension shattered as the vanguard broke through the cave’s mouth, spilling down the hilly slope, past the brush, and into the Sidhe streets, led by one of the wolves.
We melded into the stream of solders. Chaos erupted—shouts cut through the air as the Sidhe scrambled.
Moments ago, the streets had been eerily calm; now, they seethed with uproar.
Most fled in terror, a few chose to fight.
My heart thrummed with power. Adrenaline sharpened my senses.
I felt it before I saw it—the unnatural shift in the wind, a subtle warning honed by my time among the Sparrows.
My body reacted instinctively, jerking back just as the glint of a blade sliced through the air where I had been standing.
A second later, two more knives came flying from the shadows.
I spun away, narrowly evading one, but the other buried itself in the shoulder of the soldier beside me.
Following the trajectory, my attention locked on the male who poised to throw more knives.
Flames sparked to life in my hand, ignited by the familiar pull of my power.
Before the male could throw another, I unleashed a torrent of fire.
The blaze surged toward him with force, engulfing him in a searing wave.
The crackle of flames swallowed his scream, and when they subsided, only ash remained where he had stood.
We pushed forward, weaving toward the castle. Every step brought us deeper into the city.
Yells echoed off the narrow alley walls as more opposed us. The sound blending with the clash of weapons and the heavy thud of bodies falling.
I used my flames sparingly. They were potent, but reckless in close quarters where my own men fought alongside me.
Fire had a will of its own, eager to consume indiscriminately.
And though I had the precision to direct its wrath, that required a level of focus that I did not think was even needed due to the ease we advanced into the city.
Instead, my sword became an extension of my body—sharp, swift, and reliable. It cleaved through the Sidhe defenders who dared to stand in our way. Flames danced along its edge for a heartbeat before extinguishing, adding a point of terror to those who met my gaze.
I could feel the pull of the castle, its towering spires looming above. Clause was there—I was certain of it. But so was Ariana. My grip tightened on my weapon.
Warriors near the front grunted around. Some of those in the line froze, abruptly halted, before falling to the ground. Dead.
There were glints of weapons that vanished as bodies dropped to the ground after being impaled. Malavika.
Rage burned through my veins, fire, yearning to be set free.
“Use the Ribbons!” Iver yelled to the front lines just before another dozen stopped in their tracks, as if running headfirst into something, or in this case, chest first. Blood soaked their leathers from the blades that appeared just before they impaled themselves, going down.
“Pay attention!” I growled. Iver’s plan better work, or we were going to lose too many of our forces to Mal.
I pushed forward. Another wave of soldiers crumpled around me. My warriors.
The seal on my conjuring shattered like glass under a hammer.
I unleashed myself on those who stood in my way, placing themselves between me and Ariana. The fury within promised death. Conjured fire licked my skin before I sent it forward and out, clearing a path ahead.
My mind became a blur, almost silencing the chaos within. Eradicate the threat. Get to Ariana. End the monster. Those three thoughts consumed me, leaving no room for hesitation or mercy. Acting on brutal instinct, I faintly even sensed the souls I destroyed in my wake.
That rage, born of fear, burned hotter than any flame I could conjure. The terror of losing her for good, of failing her, drove me forward, each step fueled by desperation.
Something attempted to smother the flames lining the road as I pressed on, clearing our path. My focus shifted, hand raising to obliterate whoever dared to block us. Moisture caused the flames to hiss. A water conjuror. I concentrated on the spot where the fire hissed, willing it to burn hotter.
Voices screamed beyond the hiss. I could not make sense of it over the roar in my ears.
The moisture lessened. And when it nearly went out completely. I withdrew the flame from that section, wishing to see what stood on the other side. My gaze dropped to a–
“Please! Please spare him!” A mother cried, arms wrapped around a boy, tears streaming down her face behind her pressed-shut eyes.
Fresh burns marked her arms as she did all she could to shelter the boy’s body with her own.
Angry and frightened eyes of a boy no older than eight years of age held my stare, refusing to look away.
A boy. A child.
The sight drew a clarity that nearly brought me to my knees.
The child fought to free a hand from his mother’s hold. Water floated around him, responding to his movements. This was who stood against me? A mere child?
“Please! I beg of you. Not my baby!” The mother’s borderline hysterical screams were like acid to my ears.
I looked around, truly noting the battle. Half of those standing against us were simple civilians. Defending their homes, not knowing that we wanted to help them, not destroy them. We were here to free them, not take from them.
This was wrong.