Chapter 33
He didn’t come for her.
She had been walking for hours now, two men manhandling her through the trees to keep her on her feet. The nausea from the contact subsided a while ago, puking a few times at the start but she figured she had nothing left to empty out of her stomach.
She was in worse pain than the night before, the skin on her back barely healed enough to not rip back open. Her head throbbed from lack of sleep and fighting the pain. Lack of water probably didn’t help and knew she wasn’t going to last very long at this point.
They had come to the edge of the woods, a large meadow with mountains on the horizon. She knew those black mountains and realized who these men were working for.
“Let’s get across this meadow quickly, we are too exposed.” The older man shouted, the obvious leader of the few dozen men traveling with them.
The men shoved her forward, her arms in pain from their tight grip and she tripped over her own feet. They had at least moved her hands to her front, helping her balance better as they walked.
She was numb, her mind trying not to think of where she was going. The mountains lead to Mavros’s land, ones she had escaped from years ago and now she would be going back to.
Maybe she had made a mistake trying to save her friends, but at the time she thought it was the right call. None of them had come for her, which meant they didn’t care or that Kaden had died.
At this point, she would prefer the feeling of them not caring rather than him dead. She could handle the thought of them leaving her to die, but the thought of Kaden dead seemed to break her in a completely different way.
They kept her towards the front of the group, the leader still angry that she had been harmed and wanted to keep her close and eyes on her.
She tripped, her body landing on the grass below and heard the men groan in anger.
“Get up!” One yelled and yanked her to her feet.
The movement was too harsh and she felt her back tear open again, agony rolling through her. She tried to stifle her tears, but she was too exhausted to fight it as they fell down her cheeks.
They took a few more steps, blood trickling down her back when she heard an ominous rumble in the air.
Everyone stopped and looked around, tension rising in the group as the air thickened around them. There was an uneasy feeling, like an unseen danger approaching but she couldn’t see anything.
A sudden figure slammed into the ground ahead of them, fissures spidering out around the impact point with dirt polluting the air.
Silence blanketed the area and when the dust settled, two giant black feather wings could be seen wrapping forward around whatever had landed.
She watched curiously, tears still staining her face, and when the feathery appendages moved she froze.
Vast wings spread out wide, a hooded man standing with duel swords grasped in his hands. She knew those swords, and when maroon eyes glowed from under the shadow of his hood, she almost collapsed.
A sob escaped her throat and his eyes darted to her instantly. It was him, the faintest pull of that thread appearing within her even through the iron and she whimpered again in relief.
His eyes scanned her, the color instantly going dark in them and he glared towards the old man.
“How did you survive?” The old man asked with anger in his tone.
“You can’t kill me.” Kaden’s voice rumbled through the air. “Nothing will ever keep me from her, not even death itself.”
Everyone looked towards her, the tension rising in the air and she tried to pull away from the men holding her, their hold jerking her back.
“Someone has paid a hefty price for her and we will deliver. You can’t kill all of us.” The old man snarled. “You are only one man.”
Kaden’s eyes narrowed and she saw his wings splay out further, the massive span of them the largest she had ever seen.
“You took what is mine and then dared to harm her.” The feral tone coming from Kaden’s voice caused a shiver to go down her aching spine. “I’m going to kill every single one of you.”
She gasped as her eyes watched what was unfolding in front of her.
Black flames burst out around him, scattering toward the men. A moment later, their screams filled the air. Ebony Fire.
Her eyes widened and watched in shock as his swords turned into fire weapons of lethal force, just like she could with her own flame.
He was the wielder of the Ebony Fire.
Screams broke her from her thoughts as the fire shot through the men around her, their bodies instantly turning into ash.
Unlike her flame, the Ebony Fire fed off death and was getting more powerful with every kill.
The men holding her tried to run, but she felt the force of the flames surge towards them, killing the men instantly. She dove to the ground and listened to the screaming around her.
Swords started to clash and she knew some of the remaining men must have gotten to Kaden. Her head close to the ground, she could hear the bodies drop as he cut them down.
Silence finally surrounded her and she stayed frozen on the ground. Her body shook, partially because she was cold and because she was too nervous to look up.
Footsteps approached and she stayed balled up to the ground, not knowing if it was Kaden or someone that might have killed him.
“Alyra?” Kaden’s voice cut through the silence and she slowly looked up towards him.
His wings were gone and he had pulled his hood down so she could see his entire face. His eyes held rage but also mixed with worry as he looked her over closely.
“Who are you?” she choked out, her mind finally able to start processing what had happened.
“What do you mean?”
He reached for her but she pulled away, rolling onto her rear end facing him. He clenched his fist but dropped it back by his side, his eyes watching her carefully.
“You have wings, they are black and you have the Ebony Fire.” she snapped, her body moving further away from him the best she could while still bound.
“I will tell you everything, just please let me get those off of you so you can heal.” His voice was pleading and pointed to the manacles.
“I only know of one person that has pure black wings, Fae wings.” she hissed, her eyes realizing the familiarity now that she thought about it.
“I will explain,” he pleaded again. “I would never harm you.”
Sounds of more wings came from the sky and she saw all three other guards hit the ground behind him, all variations of black wings adorning them.
“You.. You are Mavros’s son?” She choked out again.
It was like her mind became clear in an instant, pieces collapsing together and she shuttered in shock.
He pushed her so hard because he needed her power as quickly as possible. He had sent that messenger the first night of their travels, probably to whoever hired the mercenaries. He knew their route and knew their destination.
She couldn’t explain why he would have killed the men he sent, other than they had gone against his instruction not to hurt her.
Panic rose in her and she could hear the others approaching slowly.
Betrayal.
He had told her not to trust him from the start, and she was stupid enough to do it again, letting her emotions get the best of her. She could feel her heart shatter in her chest once again.
She saw Kaden try to reach toward her again but she smacked his hand away.
“Don’t touch me.” She snarled.
He stayed squatted in front of her but she didn’t look at him. The others had joined them, and to her surprise, Xander stepped closer to her.
“Let us take those off.” Xander’s voice was soft, enough of a shock to make her look up.
He had a key in his hand and gestured towards her arms.
She glared but lifted them toward him. She knew what she was going to do, but needed her power to do it.
He gently unlocked each lock, her wrist flexing as they were released and when he was done, she stayed still for only a few seconds.
She pulled at her power, the small amount she had been nurturing for the last day and when Xander stepped back, she exploded.
Fire surged from her as she jumped to her feet, the men jolting backwards from shock. She was not going to be taken back to Mavros or his kin, she would die first.
So, she ran.
She didn’t get very far before she was being picked up and taken into the air, her back aching in pain.
She clawed at the arms that wrapped around her, kicked and tried to break free of their hold. Lilac filled her nostrils but she ignored the way her body reacted to it.
“Alyra, stop!” Kaden yelled, panic in his voice.
She knew they were getting higher, but she didn’t care and found a small amount of her power still inside her. Placing her palms on his chest, she sent that power flaring out and she was soon falling through the air.
She was going to die, but at least her power would die with her.
There was no way she would recover from this, the pain too intense and she could feel herself give up on everything.
Another set of arms caught her and she tried to fight them off again.
“Don’t die, Raine would be heartbroken.” Finnley’s voice cut through her anger and she stared at him with confusion.
She had her arms around his neck and he was cradling her across his chest. Her power was gone, the small amount she had was spent and the thought of Raine made her mind clear.
If Mavros had Raine too, she needed to protect her at all cost.
They glided through the air, Kaden next to them but she wouldn’t look at him. Xander was in front and Boone brought up the back as they kept flying.
She didn’t know where they were going, she assumed it was somewhere in Mavros’s kingdom, but she fell asleep from exhaustion before she could figure it out.