Chapter 50
She snarled against him, his hand on her leg going further towards her center and she clasped her hand over it to stop him.
“Unless you want to lose your hand, I would suggest you stop now.” she warned, Kaden vibrating in anger in front of her.
“I was told when you arrived I would be rewarded for my hospitality and housing in exchange for your body.” Oak whispered. “Ever since you got here, your men have been way too protective and not keeping their end of the bargain.”
“There was no bargain.” she snapped.
“That’s not what the letter from Elnora said when they told me you were being sent here.”
“We never sent you a letter.”
“It had the king’s seal.”
“You really think I would agree to be your bed warmer just to stay here? I have many other places I would rather be,” she mumbled, her eyes staring at Kaden.
He heard every word, she could tell by the rage in his eyes and she noticed Xander had disappeared.
“Do you?” Oak scoffed. “Your home is gone and from the sounds of it, Emris doesn’t want you to return to Elnora since you are powerless and of no use.”
“She might not have a home, but she has us.” Xander’s dark, deadly voice sounded behind her and with one swift movement, Oak’s hand was gone from her throat.
She launched herself forward, Kaden grabbing onto her and twisted her behind him. Half of her leaning around him, she watched Xander grip Oak’s arm so hard she thought it was going to snap.
None of the guards dared move, the look on Kaden and Xander’s face scaring them into stillness.
“Let me go,” Oak snarled.
“Show me the letter,” Xander demanded.
“It’s a private letter, official business that you and your cronies don’t have clearance for,” Oak growled.
The rest of the crowd continued on, only a few watching the chaos unfold but with her quick observation, it seemed everyone was too scared to react.
“Get the letter now or I will make sure you will require a female to please you as you won’t have any functioning hands.” Xander’s voice was cold as death and she realized why he was the backup Kaden always asked for.
Xander’s grip tightened and she could see the realization in Oak’s eyes that he wasn’t bluffing.
“Fine.” Oak mumbled and nodded to the closest guard, whispering to him before the man rushed away.
With Xander still holding Oak, Kaden turned to her with fury in his eyes.
“You ok?” he whispered.
“Perfectly fine.” she smiled, “Though now I understand why I was sent here.”
He nodded, both putting all the pieces together at the same time.
Emris essentially sold her to Oak to get rid of her and it only worked if he was confident she wouldn’t get her power back.
The guard rushed back and handed the letter to Kaden, who opened it with such force she thought he was going to tear it.
Peaking around him, she could see the handwriting and her stomach instantly sank. Kaden flinched too and she knew he had come to the same conclusion.
“We are leaving.” Kaden barked, Xander releasing Oak’s arm.
Oak stood, anger visibly coursing through him and she wanted nothing more to throw all her power at him with how pissed off she was.
“You and your men can leave, but she stays here.” Oak roared.
The rest of the room went silent and she knew they had a limited amount of time before things got really bad.
A bright reflection caught her eye and she saw a man in a silver mask appear on the dais from the crowd, a red hooded cloak covering the rest of his body and Kaden shifted in front of her to block her.
This must have been the man hunting her this entire time.
Raine appeared next to her, the rest of the group circling around as the tension flared.
The masked man didn’t acknowledge her, but seemed to be walking closer to Oak who’s face went white.
“What a shame.” The masked man spoke, his voice muffled. “You really are a failure, couldn’t even keep her contained for more than a few minutes.”
Sudden movement caught her off guard and next thing she saw was Oak’s head rolling on the floor, body collapsing into a pile.
Before she could think, chaos erupted throughout the room.
Monstrous roars could be heard from outside the mansion, ones she knew to be Trencher’s and she felt the room spiral out of control.
The masked man darted off the dais, people screaming and running towards the main door only to be met with the nightmarish creatures already charging through.
Power flared in her, the fraction of it she had rushed to her finger tips and lashed out toward the doors. Her power incinerated the monsters, giving just enough time for the people to escape.
Xander and Kaden lunged towards the man in the mask, the rest of the group encasing her in a circle with Raine.
The man jumped out of the way, charging towards the doors when more creatures started to come in through the windows blocking Kaden and Xander.
“We have to go!” Kaden roared close by and all of them ran towards the main door with the rest of the crowd.
She grabbed her dagger from her hidden holster and had very little of her power left to use after incinerating the creatures at the entrance. The rest of the group had no weapons and she figured that wouldn’t last long.
People screamed as creatures poured in behind them, grabbing people in their wake. A guard was running with the people and Kaden snagged the guard’s sword off his hip.
The guard didn’t balk and continued running while they turned down a hall.
“We need to get to our stuff quickly.” Xander yelled, leading the group down the hall.
He must have memorized the way back, which wouldn’t surprise her, and before she knew it their rooms were in view.
“Grab your gear and jump out the window!” Kaden demanded and they charged into their room.
Instantly she grabbed onto her bag, thankful they had already packed them and slung it over her, sword and axe in hand.
“Are you going to fly us out?” she asked in a long breath.
“Just to the ground, we are close to the stables so if we can make it there, we will be good to go,” he said quickly, breaking the window open and reaching for her.
She could hear commotion coming down the hall and figured it was more Trenchers coming for them by the rumble that echoed.
Stepping closer, he wrapped his arm around her and as soon as he cleared the windowsill, large wings became visible from his shoulders, and they landed on the ground with a soft thud.
The others had joined them seconds later and they bolted for the stable a few yards away.
More screams sounded, a mix of people and creatures and she didn't turn to see how close they were.
None of them saddled the horses, all of them putting halters on and jumping on them bare back before darting out the door.
Zuri charged forward the fastest, all of them rushing for the closed gate and stayed close to one another. She saw Kaden lash his power out unexpectedly, obliterating the gate just before they ran through it and she saw a flash of silver in the distance.
She had hoped whoever that masked man was didn’t just see what Kaden had done.
They could take off into the sky, the men flying them back to Mydalsa but that would make it known in the evening light what they were if they hadn’t already been discovered. They had to get away on horseback first before being able to return in the darkness of night, if they survived.
Trenchers snarled behind them, her power all but used as she tried to throw a wall up between them and the pursuing enemy. She was able to hold a small wall for a few minutes, killing some and stopping the others to give them more distance ahead of them.
Dozens were behind them, the horses moving a dangerous pace for the terrain they were in but none of them balked.
Kaden and Xander had passed her up front, the rest of the men behind with Raine next to her. They had to get further away, at least to a larger area without trees surrounding them in order to fight the monsters chasing them.
They had run opposite of town, hoping to lead the creatures away from the rest of the people occupying the town and from the sound of it, it seemed to be working.
The sun was starting to set, the late summer evening coming to an end and she could feel her power draining as the wall stayed up for a few more minutes.
Kaden abruptly turned to the right, the rest of the horses following with quick feet and charged towards a large clearing just beyond the treeline.
Roars got louder and she knew her power had run out, the creatures charging for them faster than they could get the horses to run. They would have to stand and fight, even if that meant their death.
The treeline ended, the massive clearing opening up and she looked to Raine, fear hinting at her friend's face.
They all halted suddenly, her eyes going straight to Titus. “You and Raine keep running. Do not stop and as soon as it's dark enough, take her to Mydalsa.” She yelled, pointing to Raine.
“I’m not leaving!” Raine yelled.
She moved closer to her friend, eyes pleading and she held out her axe to her. “Take this,” white flame flickering on its blade. “I will come back for it my friend, but you need to leave quickly.”
Raine’s lips quivered and she saw a glance towards Finnley, a silent goodbye between them. Titus rode up next to them and in a second, Raine was running off with him, her eyes glancing over her shoulder one last time before crossing the middle of the clearing.
The ground rumbled beneath them and she jumped off Zuri, pulling the halter from her face. The rest followed and the horses took off after Titus and Raine, leaving them standing in knee high grass with the enemy closing in.
Kaden grabbed her hand, his eyes scanning her features and then she felt it. A sudden surge of power went through her and she looked down. His power was feeding into hers, the black fading into white and she could see his eyes straining the more he gave her.
“Stop!” she yelled, pulling her hand against him.
“You need it.” He breathed and her entire body vibrated with an influx of power.
Roars came from the treeline and she snagged her hand away, Kaden slightly unsteady on his feet. She knew he gave her too much, he himself was stuck in the fog he had told her of and she was furious at him.
The others stood around her, sword in hand she let her borrowed power ignite.
It wasn’t any more power than she had been able to access on her own, but it was at least a recharge and they desperately needed it.
Quickly she grabbed each man’s sword and added her power to it, making their blades deadly to the creatures just before the first one came charging out of the woods.
She threw a wall of flame up, the first creature slamming into it with a scream before another dozen followed. They started to run around it, reaching Xander first who sliced effortlessly through it and the body disintegrating into ashes.
At least she knew her power on their weapons worked.
More followed as her wall disappeared and before she knew it, one of them was upon her.
Her sword glowed like a bright light, slicing through the creature and dodging a second one. Finnley beheaded it just as she rose to her feet to swing at a third.
All of them cut down each creature that came after them, but it seemed it was a never ending wave coming from the woods. They had already taken down three dozen when the masked man appeared from the shadows of the trees, the sun dropping fast.
Her borrowed power was almost gone, and she could tell from Kaden’s slower movement, he couldn’t give her anymore.
“Give up!” the masked man’s muffled voice yelled as he got closer.
She snarled in return and cut into another creature, her power barely strong enough to incinerate him.
“Come with me and I will call off my pets.” The masked man yelled again.
“You won't touch her.” yelled Kaden from a few feet away.
She felt that tug of their bond, a reassurance he was there with her and he would stay.
Finnley’s scream jolted her, turning to see a creature’s claws sticking through his side.
Horror washed over her and she felt another crack burst in the wall around her power as anger took over.
She pulled on that new power, a furious roar erupting out of her chest before a hard wave of her magic pulsed outward from her. Every creature around them instantly became ash and Finnley fell to the ground.
Xander scooped him up, his eyes glancing to Kaden who gave a defeated nod.
Wings appeared from the men around her, Boone in the air first and then Xander close behind carrying Finnley’s injured body.
“Interesting.” She heard the masked man say, only a few yards from him.
“I will kill you.” she snarled.
“I doubt that.”
Kaden picked her up in his arms and let his massive wings spread towards the man.
She couldn’t see his eyes, or any features for that matter to figure out who he was. The only thing she knew was he wanted her and probably worked for Mavros.
“If she doesn’t. I will.” Kaden growled.
They were launching into the air, the sound of wings beating around her calming her senses a little as they soared away from the battle.
They played their only hand, but in order to try and save Finnley it had to be done. Whoever that was now knew they were Valkyrie, her only hope was for him to think she gave them wings and not Kaden.
They flew in silence, the whole scenario playing over in her head over the last few days and if Finnley would be ok.
This was more than a war between the kings, it now was personal and she would not tolerate it.