Chapter 8
Eight
SAXON
ELLNESARI
It didn’t take long to realize the sun in Ellnesari doesn’t harm vampires.
But centuries living in fear of sunshine is hard to shake off.
My shoulders are tense, and the urge to find cover is ever present.
I can see in Ronan’s and Lucca’s postures that they’re as uncomfortable to be walking in broad daylight as I am.
Not that the vibe in our party is light by any measure.
Everyone is on high alert. If we’re caught in Queen Maewe’s domain, we’re as good as dead.
For that reason, I have my sword ready. Aurora is holding a crystal in one hand and a small dagger in the other.
Karl and Cheryl don’t have swords because they’re more lethal in their wolf forms. The trees in the forest are the tallest I have ever seen, and don’t get me started on the big-as-houses tree trunks.
Not only are they huge, but they’re covered in some weird moss that writhes as if they’re alive. Vivi warned us not to touch them.
“How much longer until we reach the palace? This forest is giving me the creeps.” I shudder.
Before Vivi can reply, Karl and Cheryl stop suddenly. “Shhh. Do you hear that?” Karl asks.
“Hear what?” Aurora whispers.
I concentrate, trying to pick up whatever sound spooked them. Vampires have enhanced senses, but wolf shifters can hear and smell things from farther away.
It’s then that I hear a battle cry, and when the wind shifts, I smell spilled blood. I trade a glance with Lucca and Ronan. Fuck.
“Let’s go!” Lucca lifts Vivi into his arms and sprints ahead.
I do the same with Aurora, throwing her over my shoulder caveman style.
“What the hell, Saxon! Put me down.”
“You’re not fast enough.”
The forest becomes a blur, and any complaints Aurora has, I’ll hear about them later. However, thanks to the bond, I know exactly how she feels. She’s pissed.
Within minutes, we reach the edge of the forest and arrive at a scene that makes my blood run cold. The battlefield involves Queen Maewe’s forces against an army with the ability to freeze everything in sight. Fucking great.
“Saxon, put me down. You can’t fight with me in your arms.”
“Right.” I set Aurora down and get ready to engage.
“I see Miranda and Rikkon.” Manu points into the distance.
I look in that direction, and my stomach drops through the earth. Miranda just collapsed to the ground. She’s been hurt.
“Miranda!” Aurora screams, then takes off before I can stop her.
I run after her, and a second later, I realize we have another problem besides getting between two Nightingale armies. The monsters King Raphael helped destroy centuries ago are back. We all believed them to be extinct.
Aurora is too focused on getting to Miranda and doesn’t notice when one of those monsters charges her.
I jump, raising my sword with both hands over my head.
On my descent, I bring the blade down, cutting the shadowbeast in half.
My sole purpose now is to protect Aurora from beast and asshole Nightingale alike. No one touches my mate. No one.
LUCCA
My pulse is pounding in my ears as I slash my sword left and right, cutting through the bone and muscle of whatever gets in my way.
I can’t allow a beast or Nightingale foe to touch a hair on Vivi’s head.
The horrifying sound the shadowbeasts make as they attack can put so much fear into someone’s heart that if they aren’t careful, they can become paralyzed. That’s how these aberrations get you.
I wasn’t around when Uncle Raphael fought these monsters, but he told me the gruesome stories. After his armies defeated the shadowbeasts, the Nightingales made them immortals. It was supposed to be a great honor, but it came at a great cost.
Vivi and I finally reach the spot where Miranda fell. A tear-streaked Rikkon has her in his arms.
“What happened?” Aurora asks him.
“A shadowbeast got her. I couldn’t stop it from happening,” he answers through a choke.
Vivi gasps, her eyes widening. “You got your powers back, Rik. You can heal her.”
Wait. Rikkon has healing powers? My head begins to spin. If he can heal, then maybe he can help my uncle.
Rikkon shakes Miranda as her eyes start to shut. “No, don’t go yet. Please.”
“If you can heal her, do it now!” Aurora urges him.
He lifts his shaking hand, hovering it over the gash in Miranda’s throat. But the blood won’t stop spilling. His face is a mask of concentration, and the hard clench of his jaw tells me he’s giving everything he’s got, but it might not be enough.
“She’s gone, my son. Let it go.” Queen Maewe appears out of nowhere, and instantly, I tighten the hold on my sword, the corner of my lips curling up into a snarl.
This female killed my mother, ruined our lives.
She tortured her own children. She deserves nothing but a painful death.
And yet, she’s standing here, serene, as if Miranda’s life force isn’t waning away.
“She’s not dead yet. I can feel her heartbeat,” Rikkon argues.
The queen links her fingers together. “It’s only a matter of minutes now.”
Aurora jumps to her feet, shaking with fury. “If you can save her, why are you just standing there?”
“Because my mother is a heinous bitch who cares about no one,” Vivi snaps.
Queen Maewe ignores her daughter in favor of answering Rikkon. “Miranda has served her purpose. She freed you from the bond with Princess Eriel, and indirectly, she killed her. She was never meant to be your consort, Rikkon.”
“I don’t care about what she was meant to be. I love her! I’m begging you. Save her!” Rikkon cries.
I’m all too familiar with that type of despair. I almost lost Vivi thanks to her mother’s capriciousness.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Maewe. Enough with the petty games.
” A male with shoulder-length strawberry blond hair walks over, unfazed by the shadowbeasts around him.
As a matter of fact, the monsters aren’t paying him any attention, and they stopped attacking our group as soon as we got near Rikkon and Miranda. What the hell is going on?
“This is not a game, Ruel. I’m not about to lose my son again to someone who is not good enough for him,” Queen Maewe grits out.
“Not good enough for me?” Rikkon’s voice rises. “Have you stopped to consider that maybe I’m not good enough for her?”
The male, who I see now has an uncanny resemblance to Rikkon, spares Queen Maewe a scathing look. “Well, too fucking bad.” He crouches next to Rikkon and touches the side of Miranda’s neck.
“What do you think you’re doing, Ruel?” Queen Maewe’s eyes bug out.
My jaw drops when the gash on Miranda’s neck knits back together and her ashen face becomes rosier again.
With a loud gasp, she opens her eyes. “Rik? What happened?”
Rikkon pushes the male out of the way and pulls Miranda tight against his chest, kissing her forehead. “It doesn’t matter now, Mir. You’re back with me. You’re back with me.”
“I can’t believe you flouted my wishes!” Queen Maewe shrieks.
The tall Nightingale stands to his full height and faces her, sporting a grin. “Oh, I did more than that, my dear. I made her immortal.”
“Holy shit,” Saxon mumbles.
Queen Maewe’s face turns scarlet. She’s going to retaliate, so I get my sword ready and gently push Vivi back. Rikkon jumps to his feet, carrying Miranda in his arms, and steps away.
“How dare you? I’m the queen, and you went against my desires. I ought to have you killed for treason!”
“And who’s going to take care of that for you? Selor? Isn’t he dead?” Ruel raises a brow. He’s enjoying this too much. He must have a trump card hidden up his sleeve.
“You won’t do anything, because you can’t,” he continues calmly. “I might not have political power in your court, but you need allies more than ever now that King Titus has shown his hand. Kill me and you lose the support of the Vega Kingdom.”
“Your sister cares about you as much as I do.”
“She might not like me much, but she hates you more. Besides, technically, I didn’t go against your wishes. You never told me not to heal the witch girl or make her immortal. Like you never told me not to restore Vryenn’s powers.” He extends his arm, pointing at Vivienne.
Shimmery magic shoots out from his index finger and hits Vivi right in the middle of her chest before I can move a muscle.
Her back arches forward, and then she gasps loudly as her entire body begins to glow from within.
Her hair twists wildly as a gust of wind envelops her, lifting her off the ground for a moment.
“Vivi!” I reach for her, not caring that I might get electrocuted again. But when I touch her hand, there’s no pain. She falls into my arms, and I clutch her tightly against my chest. “Vivi, talk to me.”
She looks up and smiles. “I’m okay.”
A choke gets stuck in my throat. The beautiful sapphire-blue eyes staring at me are the same, and yet different. I can almost see Vivi’s Nightingale magic swirling in her gaze.
“You vile male!” Queen Maewe screeches, drawing my attention to her.
A dark storm cloud forms above her head, crackling with energy. Ah hell!
Ruel doesn’t look one bit worried about what Queen Maewe is about to unleash. He crosses his arms and watches her with a smug expression. The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Shadowbeasts are approaching.
“Behind you, Rik,” Miranda warns Rikkon.
I put Vivi down and hold my sword at the ready. She widens her stance, and her energy builds around her frame. Her power is like a summer breeze to me, but it also gives me goose bumps.
“Don’t worry, son. They’re not going to harm you. The queen, I’m not so sure about,” Ruel tells Rikkon.
Queen Maewe’s eyes go round. “You are behind this!”
A different Nightingale approaches us. He’s freakishly tall—taller than Rikkon—with midnight blue skin and short turquoise-colored hair. The shadowbeasts let him walk unbothered, so I guess he’s on Ruel’s side.
“Am I?” Rikkon’s father arches an eyebrow, answering the queen’s accusation.