Chapter 61
XANDER
Anger raged inside him as he held onto Alrya with a deathly grip.
Kaden had been taken, something he did not anticipate and the shock of the events that unfolded still coursing through his mind. He knew there was nothing that could have been done, but he wasn’t sure how Mavros found out about Kaden’s power.
For years they had kept it secret, since the first day they had met it was like his power didn’t exist. He had only seen him use it a few times and he knew no one in their circle would tell.
As soon as the portal closed, Alrya ripped out of his arms and rushed towards Emris on the wall. He followed her with Boone next to him and they started to release the chains and nailed in the wall.
It took them longer than expected to get the king free but when they did he slumped to the floor with a loud huff.
“Emris,” Alyra said frantically.
“Alyra?” Emris muttered and he saw them look at each other.
“You need to come with me,” she said with a stern voice. “I can’t protect you here.
“There is nowhere else to go.” Emris coughed.
“You can come to my home,” Alrya said gently, her white wings suddenly visible behind her as she kneeled next to him.
He watched Emris’s eyes widen and even Xander was still in awe of her, especially after watching her fight for her home. It wasn’t a surprise she was Kaden’s mate.
“We need to go.” he urged as he looked around.
It was too quiet and they needed to regroup to figure out what to do next. He would die for Kaden, and he was still fighting the anger surging inside him.
Boone stepped forward and started to lift Ermis to his feet and he walked around the other side.
“Can you fly?” he asked.
“I think so.” Emris whispered.
Alrya stood, tension in her muscles and he could see a new struggle in her eyes he couldn’t quite figure out. She was almost too calm with what had happened and it felt like there was something off about the whole situation.
After a few minutes they all launched into the air, Alyra breaking out one of the windows with her flame and they launched into the sky as fast as they could.
He glanced down, no Trenchers in sight and he knew Mavros had returned everyone he had brought with him back to his kingdom. The only explanation was portals, and that was going to be a new obstacle they would need to figure out.
It took longer than normal for them to return, his eyes watching Alyra carefully as she flew next to him. Her face was like stone, a familiar look he knew from Kaden and she was stiff as they soared through the sky.
Once they landed, Emris gasped in surprise while they led him to the longhouse.
Alyra shoved the door open and he heard Raine yell as they entered, Finnley shooting to his feet.
“Where is Kaden?” Finnley asked quickly.
“Mavros took him.” Alyra said calmly.
“What!” Raine gasped.
Ermis sat, his breathing heavy and he could see his wings were still not fully healed from the iron nails.
“Ok what the hell is going on?” Boone barked next to him, everyone sensing something wasn’t right.
He would have thought she would be losing her mind and was surprised she didn’t fight harder when he got taken. Instead, she was standing calmly with her wings out facing away from them, her hand clenched into fists.
“Kaden had a plan,” she said quietly over her shoulder.
“He didn’t tell us he had a plan,” Boone said next to him.
“He knew none of you would like it,” she replied.
“Kaden never hides anything from us,” he barked, her arms folding across his chest.
He watched her closely, her entire body still and he could sense a new electricity in the air. Every nerve in his body went on alert and he glanced at the rest of the males around him, all seeming to sense the same thing.
“He planned on getting taken?” Finnley finally asked.
“Yes,” she answered calmly.
“Why?” Boone yelled, anger in his voice.
“He knew Mavros was after his power and he knew the spy probably saw him when he busted the gate open in Bromel.” Her voice struggled slightly, almost as if she was in physical pain.
“This can’t be happening!” Finnley growled and ran his hand through his hair.
“If what Mavros said is true, he is going to take Kaden’s power and bring death upon us all.” he snarled and saw her flinch.
He watched her tilt her head back slightly, a wicked smile forming on her face that sent goosebumps up his spine and he watched her white flame start to engulf her. When he finally saw her eyes, black started to swirl in them and he felt his heart stop for a beat.
Realization slammed into his chest and he just stared at her in shock as the color around her started to change.
Black flames twisted down her arm mixing with her ivory flame already lit around her and wings bleeding black from the top mixing to white like a gradient coloring.
Xander could feel the air around them tense, his eyes glancing towards his comrades who all had the same wide-eyed stare. He knew they could feel the same blanket of cold wind blow through the room he did, and every hair on his arm stood.
Now it made sense why Kaden didn’t fight and why she wasn’t worried about his power in Mavros’s hands.
Her voice, so cold, so calculating, made his whole body shutter at her darkness now standing in front of him as her eyes turned completely black.
“I am Death.”