32. And Now We Run
CHAPTER 32
And Now We Run
Melinda Mayweather
A melodic voice slices through the tower's chaos, silencing the crowd mid-shout. I whip my head toward the sound. A petite woman glides through the doorway, her mermaid-colored hair shimmering in the light. Nimue, Queen of the Sirens, follows, they’re both wearing dresses that look like they’re sculpted from mother of pearl.
The siren's song ripples through the air, slamming into each person like an invisible wave. Eyes widen in panic before glazing over. A knight near me drops his sword with a clatter, his arm freezing in place. To my left, a woman in elaborate robes opens her mouth, her face contorting in a silent scream of defiance.
Hawke's grip loosens. I clutch his fingers tighter, my heart hammering. Then I realize the song isn’t affecting me.
Hawke's shield flickers and disappears. Even Kellan's guardian wings fade into nothingness. The kings, queens, and council members fall silent, their calls for my execution all silenced.
“Siren. Not fair,” Darkwood says, struggling to get each word out.
Nimue smiles, a hint of mischief in her eyes. "Keep singing, Daphne." She turns to face Darkwood. "But you starting a lynching for Hawke Stormblood's soulmate is fair?"
Gasps ripple through the room.
A Drakonii councilman steps forward slowly, like he’s pushing through a vat of peanut butter. "H-how are you suuuuure?"
Nimue's gaze never wavers. "Because I found her on earth. Yggdrasil itself gave the Prince a vision of her before she arrived in Avalon."
Nimue steps forward, approaching us with certainty in her stride. She reaches toward my neck and my heart leaps into my throat. I jerk backward, my free hand coming up in a defensive gesture.
Hawke snarls and tries to push Nimue away, but his movements are sluggish. It’s like he's fighting an invisible force. His usual quick reflexes are gone, replaced by a slow-motion struggle.
I tug harder on Hawke's arm, my eyes darting between him and Nimue. "Let him go!" I plead to the Siren, but his glazed expression doesn't change.
“Let me see it,” she says, still completely calm.
“See what?”
“Your neck.” She points at the collar of my robe. “He bit you didn’t he?”
Show her. She won’t let us go until she does. Hawke whispers through our bond.
I pull the collar back, exposing Hawke’s bite mark and heat creeps up into my cheeks.
Nimue tilts her head, studying me. "They're bonded. Soulmates," she announces more loudly than necessary. Her eyes lock with mine, searching for confirmation. "Hawke gained his missing soul shard from you, didn't he?"
I nod, my heart pounding in my chest. Protective anger surges through our bond from Hawke.
The crowd erupts once more, gasps and arguments filling the air. Shouts claim that soul bonding is impossible. That we lie. Some voices rise with excitement. Some believe and hope. My head spins in a dizzying whirlpool of noise and energy and emotions.
My breath quickens and my heart races as panic sets in. Too much. Too loud. I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block it all out, but the voices echo inside my head.
A tingling sensation starts in my fingertips, spreading up my arms. My eyes snap open. I recognize the familiar surge of power. My magick, responding to my distress, pulses through my veins.
"No, no, no," I mutter, trying to rein it in. But the more I fight, the stronger it grows. The air around me crackles with energy. Siva. Siva help!
I’m here. She pushes with me agains the stress and the magick. You can handle this. No one is going to let anyone hurt you.
Daphne’s voice rises above the noise, her siren song growing louder, and gradually, the room settles again into an uneasy low boiling growl. And my magick thankfully settles with it.
Nimue’s voice cuts through the tangible anger. “I’ve been trying to tell all of you for centuries that Yggdrasil is sick. That locking the Earth door was a bad choice. Not having our soul mate magick is slowly killing us all. This is the beginning of rebuilding what has been broken.”
It’s so weird believing that anyone thinks I’m the key to fixing anything.
You were already my saving grace, why would you not believe you could help others? Your magick is unlike anything in this world, sweet girl.
The tiniest of smiles tugs at my mouth. I squeeze Hawke’s hand. I’ve only ever been dangerous. Caused pain to people who loved me. To people I love.
Things will be different from now on.
A man steps closer, his face twisted in defiance of the siren song’s grasp. "T-this is n-not your c-choice.” He take a shaky breath and growls. “The council decides matters of the universe."
Nimue’s face darkens and fangs drop menacingly in her mouth. She hisses at the councilman, her words dripping with venom. “You were never part of the plan, Damien Larkspur. You stole authority from the Knights. From Yggdrasil.”
Darkwood struggles to raise his voice, his words laced with contempt. "You've no authority here, Siren! Tell your bitch to stop singing so we can fix this mess you've created."
Kellan's growl rumbles through the room, his frustration almost a physical manifestation. "You can't fix this Nimue. It's too far gone. Let me get her out of here."
Nimue’s dark desperate gaze fixates on Kellan over my shoulder. “They need to listen. She can fix everything. She’s the key. Why can’t they see that?”
Because I hurt people. Because I’m dangerous.
If I could move, my darling, I’d thrash you for saying that.
I gulp for a breath and look back at my mate in shock. My body warms and I’m shocked at how much I just want to kiss him right now.
His lip quirks and his eyes blacken with hunger. You like that idea, sweet girl.
No.
Liar.
This is not an appropriate time to talk about spanking me. People want to kill me.
No one is killing you, sweet girl. Not without going through me first.
In a swift motion, Nimue whirls to face the crowd, unleashing an unearthly scream that sends every man in the room to his knees, including Hawke.
No. No. No.
The pain in Nimue’s voice is tangible, a raw plea for understanding. "You have to listen! Why won't you listen to me? We have to fix what we broke."
I won’t let her hurt Hawke. Not any more.
I step toward the enraged Siren Queen, releasing Hawke's hand. He doesn’t like that I’m going toward her, but I have to. I have to try. "This isn't how you do it, Nimue," I say, my voice steady despite the icy terror flowing through my veins. "You can't force them to be okay with me by hurting them."
Nimue spins back to face me, her fangs still bared, and fury etched on her face. "I can. And I will. I'm done waiting for them to make the right choice."
"I need you to let us go. Please." I hold her gaze, my words urgent. "They'll kill me if I stay. I need to go. And I need Hawke. You’re hurting Hawke."
Her expression softens slightly, a flicker of coherence in her eyes. "Find the beast in the forest. He's on your side. Tell me you will."
“I will.” My pulse races beneath my skin. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go.
Nimue steps closer, placing her hands on my shoulders.
I’m nearly vibrating in place trying to keep my magick under control. We don’t have time for this.
"You fight with everything you have, Melinda. Don't be afraid of the power inside you. You are the key to fixing–"
Shouts and yelling shatter her concentration.
I spin around, trying to make sense of the sudden chaos. Daphne is knocked to the floor. Blood gushes from a gash on her head.
"Go!" Nimue shouts, her voice urgent. "Kellan!"
The room erupts into mayhem. Kellan's guardians materialize, filling the tower with ethereal energy shaped like dozens of dragons. The other Drakonii unleash their guardians too. Together they are managing to hold back the mob.
My heart pounds. I frantically scan the crowd. Hawke has vanished in the commotion. "Hawke!" I yell, my voice drowning in the din. I whirl in a circle, searching for any sign of him. People shove and push, nearly knocking me off my feet.
The room tilts and spins. Every direction blurs into a sea of angry faces and shimmering dragon guardians. I've lost all sense of orientation.
I’m coming for you. Stand still.
I freeze.
A second later Hawke takes my hand, and we're running. His determination and fear for my safety surge through our connection, urging me forward.
Ares and Boaz flank us on either side and the hot breath of Fen's wolf is on the back of my neck. Wraith is right behind him.
I glance over my shoulder, panic rising in my throat. "Kellan!" I shout.
Hawke squeezes my hand. "He'll come later, love. We have to get out of the castle. I have to get you to Vandimoor."
“Nimue said to look for the beast,” I say, panting between words. “I can’t keep up. I’m sorry.” My leg muscles are on fire, and I stumble, struggling to match their seemingly effortless supernatural pace.
Fen's growl rumbles behind me, and I let out an involuntary squeak. "I'm trying!" I tell the wolf.
"He's right." Before I can ask what the wolf is right about, Ares plucks me from the ground. His strong hands grip my waist and he half-tosses me onto Fen's furry shoulders.
Hawke's eyes flash with possessive rage and a snarl rips from his throat. "How dare you touch my mate!" He lunges at Ares, his fist connecting with the god of war's face in a sickening crunch. Anger and possession burn through our bond and light me on fire from the inside out.
Fen leaps past them both, his strides fluid and powerful, a chuffing amused sound escaping his muzzle.
"Hawke!" The castle walls blur as we race through the winding corridors. No. No. No. I need Hawke and Ares and… why are they fighting? We’re fucking running for our lives!
They are all right behind us . Siva’s voice is soft and reassuring in my frantic brain.
“He’ll be right along,” Boaz says, keeping pace at Fen’s left shoulder.
This whole situation is absurd. "What do you mean, he’ll be along? We're running from crazy council people, and my–" I struggle to find the right words, my voice rising in pitch. "I don't even know what to call him—is wrestling with the god of war. How is this even a thing?" I clutch tightly to Fen's fur, trying to steady myself on his massive back. "I'm riding Fen, who’s a wolf the size of a thoroughbred racehorse!"
And I’m naked underneath this night coat.
Hawke. I shout through our bond. Please.
Suddenly, it snaps between us, like a rubber band pulled taut. Hawke's realization that we've pulled far ahead and that his loss of control has created a dangerous distance between us.
The castle begins to shift and change around us. Walls shimmer and dissolve, the stone melting away like it was nothing more than an illusion. The path before us straightens, the twists and turns of the castle's labyrinthine corridors vanishing, replaced by a direct route leading outside. I can smell the fresh air.
I watch, awestruck. The ground beneath Fen's paws transforms, the cobblestones rearranging themselves, forming a smooth, unobstructed path.
Mere moments later, Hawke appears at Fen's right shoulder, his strides matching the giant wolf's loping pace. His presence fills me with relief, our bond humming with a calming strength.
“Are you doing this?”
Hawke puts a hand on my leg. “Yes. It will go back after we pass through.”
Holy shit. “You can just change–”
“Reality? Yes,” he answers.
I glance over at him and tense. A trickle of blood is running down the side of his face from a cut above his eyebrow. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing.”
Ares takes up the front position in our group. He glances over his shoulder, a flirtatious wink directed at me, his eyes sparkling with mischief despite the split lip that twists his roguish grin. Stupid man, daring Hawke to challenge him again.
Hawke snarls at him, a low, menacing sound that rumbles through his chest. I reach to him through our bond again, reassuring him I’m all his . Hawke squeezes my leg and we continue running through the makeshift passage and out into the fresh air of the courtyard.