Chapter 22
twenty-two
Once they were on the outskirts of Dorsey and Vade had made sure they weren’t still being followed, he erupted. “I can’t fucking believe this! We came all this way for fucking nothing.”
“We can still get the spell reversed. It’s not like it’s permanent.” Orelia pushed thick fronds back as they tromped through the brush.
“It feels fucking permanent.”
“Is being bound to me for a few more days really the worst thing that could happen to you?”
“Yes. It is.”
Orelia stopped and planted her hands on her hips. “You know what, Vade. I am so sick of your negative attitude.”
He spun. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t even get me started on how rude you were to Devlin. I know you don’t know how to be kind to anyone, but couldn’t you have at least faked niceties when you were talking to him? The man was literally about to die, for the gods’ sake.”
“It’s not my job to comfort a dying man, and it’s not yours either. We wasted even more time with you doting on him like he was one of your wounded whores.”
She bared her teeth. “If you were dying, you’d want someone to comfort you in your last moments. And fuck you for trying to make me feel bad for caring about someone enough to try and ease their pain.”
He smirked. “Didn’t think you capable of such harsh language, little lamb. Good to see you’ve finally grown some teeth.” He walked off and left Orelia fuming.
She grabbed a rock and prepared to throw it at him just as Vade was wrenched into the sky by his ankles. Another rope shot out from an iron anchor in the ground and wrapped around his wrists, stretching him from ground to sky. He hung upside down, completely defenseless.
Orelia tossed the rock aside and let out a wild laugh.
Vade twisted in the frayed ropes that looked like they’d been there for quite a while as weapons fell out of his belt in rapid succession. “Cut me out of these right now.”
She couldn’t stop laughing. “I don’t think so.”
“Orelia.” Vade spun as he tried to free his wrists, but the ropes held tight.
“I think I’ll leave you up there until you change your ways and start being nicer to those around you.”
“This isn’t a game. Cut me down right now.”
“Show me some manners, and I might.” She sat on a boulder and watched him uselessly try to get free, enjoying the sight of his face turning red as frustration and blood flow took over.
“All you have to do is agree to be nice and I’ll cut you free,” she teased.
“Stop fucking around. Use your brain for once and come get me out!”
Her smile dropped. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll be smart and listen to me.”
“Don’t talk to me like I’m a child. You can hang up there all night now for all I care.” She crossed her arms, enjoying every bit of the futility of his efforts.
“Gods-dammit, witch . . .” Vade grumbled. After thrashing some more, furious eyes met hers, then blew wide. “Duck!”
Orelia dropped to the ground as a burst of wind blew her hair in front of her face and something grazed her pack. She looked to the sky, seeing a massive eagle bank left, preparing to come for her again.
“Cut me down, now!”
Orelia grabbed Vade’s sword off the ground and got into a fighting stance. She narrowly missed the enormous bird reaching for her with its brutish talons.
The eagle whooshed past, squawking loud enough to make her wince.
“Orelia!”
With a mighty sweep, she severed the rope above Vade’s feet. His wings couldn’t snap out fast enough before he hit the ground.
Orelia spun to get eyes back on the bird when she was tackled from behind. Vade covered her body with his, black wings sheltering them both in darkness.
Another squawk pierced the air, and seconds later, the two of them were dragged backward across the forest floor. She gripped the sword tight, the fingers of her other hand raking across the ground as she tried to find something to grab onto, her nails chipping and splitting.
Vade let out an agonized groan as they slid across the leaves. When they finally stopped moving, he grunted in her ear. “Fucking gods . . .”
Orelia twisted her neck the best she could. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
Vade pulled her up and pushed her in front of him. “Run! Now!”
She barely caught herself in time to not fall. “Where?”
“Anywhere! I’m going back for my axe!” Vade ran for his weapon, and she scanned the sky for the eagle, but the thick palms blocked her view.
Orelia ran, knowing he’d be able to catch up at lightning speed. Her pack beat against her back with each stride as she flew through the forest. With how much walking they’d done the past couple weeks, her legs were stronger and able to adapt much easier to the exertion.
She wove through a thick cluster of trees, then fell to the ground, dropping the sword. Her heart felt like it was being sucked out of her chest.
Orelia screamed. The binding spell tugged on her muscles, threatening to rip her apart. She rolled over and made it to her knees, pushing up on her hands, knowing Vade was somewhere feeling the same pain.
She panted, trying to get air down. She had to get to him. Had to go back. Orelia managed to stand with one hand on her abdomen, the pressure doing nothing to stop the pain. She glanced over her shoulder to see Vade’s dark form stumbling toward her, axe in hand, wings dragging behind him.
He yelled something just as the eagle blindsided him and tackled the fae to the ground.
“Vade!” She summoned her power and tried to levitate the assailant, but the bird didn’t budge. Orelia grabbed the sword and ran for him instead.
Talons pierced his wings, pinning him to the ground. Vade screamed up at the sky, his axe stuck underneath him.
The eagle was so focused on attacking Vade that it didn’t see the witch running full speed or the sword that went clean through its neck.
With a shrieking caw, the eagle flopped on the ground before going completely still. Orelia tossed the sword aside and rolled Vade over.
He panted, face bunched in pain. “My . . .wings . . .”
The tears were so wide she could see the ground through them. “Here, let me help you sit up so I can heal you.”
He winced but let her get him to a sitting position.
Another squawk sounded from somewhere above.
“Ah, tredablo . . .more?” Vade said, exasperated.
Orelia helped him to stand, then grabbed the sword, handing him his axe. “Can you use your shadows?”
He grimaced. “Not when my wings are injured.”
She tugged on his arm and they broke into a run, the sound of beating wings close behind. Orelia looked over her shoulder to see the eagle weaving through the trees.
They ran through the forest, seidr weapons in hand, but there was nowhere to hide. No rocky overhang to slide under, no river to jump into. Just trees, trees, and more trees.
“We have to kill it,” Vade said in a pained voice from her side, struggling to keep her pace.
She was too winded to speak, so Orelia nodded instead.
“We can—”
A shrill sound that nearly burst her eardrums rang out, and they both stopped running. The eagle veered off, screeching and shaking its head like it was physically in pain. They both panted, watching the bird turn and head back the way they’d come, seemingly no longer interested in them.
When their eyes met, they both had the same confused look on their faces. Vade hit the ground on one knee, his wings looking like wilted plumrose petals.
She rushed to his side. “Sit here.” When he settled himself onto the ground, she took in the damage. There were many tears in his wings, but she could handle it. She placed her hands on the largest gash in his right wing, and he looked away, squeezing his eyes shut.
Orelia focused on visualizing the wound as she called on the Omnimagia.
“Only downside to being one fae is that we can’t heal fast like you witches can.” Vade’s voice strained. “Our wings are much too vulnerable for my liking.”
She gave him a small smile. “I guess the gods thought if they gave you all the power that it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of us.”
Her comment earned her a laugh. “Perhaps you’re right.”
After she was done with the first wound, Orelia sidled up next to him and pressed down on two large cuts on the part of his wing above his shoulder.
She could sense his eyes had stopped watching her glowing hands and were now watching her face.
Orelia glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. Vade’s gaze was fixed on her lips.
She feigned obliviousness, though she imagined her cheeks were bright red. Something as simple as a look from him could heat her skin, even after he’d just been a pain in the ass minutes before.
She worked her way down to the tip of his wing. The only sounds were their ragged breaths easing and the much cheerier chirps of non-violent forest birds.
“You’re good on this side.” Orelia crawled over his lap and started near the tip of his left wing. Vade winced but didn’t complain as he watched her hands.
“If you hadn’t killed the eagle, I probably wouldn’t even have wings left,” he said. “Fucker got me good.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised I landed the hit. I didn’t think, I just acted.”
Vade grinned, and the sight was far too tantalizing. “The lamb is slowly becoming a wolf. I’m so proud.”
She moved closer to him, working on closing the largest tear in the middle of his wing. “You’re the wolf, fae. The wolf who would have been dead if not for the lamb.”
He chuckled. “Fair enough.” His brows bunched as he looked around. “Where is Bute?”
That was the first time he’d used his name instead of calling him ‘that damn frog’ or something of the sort.
“I left him at the temple. Thought he’d like it there.”
Vade looked surprised. “Didn’t think you were ever going to give him up.”
She made her way to where his wing attached to his shoulder blade. “Had to let him go eventually, and what better place than a druidic temple built on caring for nature?”
He nodded, carefully looking her over. “I didn’t mean to be such an ass in Dorsey. I just couldn’t believe we came all this way and didn’t get a solution.”
Orelia focused on healing his last tear. “I get that you don’t want to be tied to me, but you didn’t have to be so cruel in your ire.”
Vade was quiet for a few moments. “It’s not your company I hate, it’s . . .” His voice trailed off.
Her glow disappeared as the final wound sealed, and Orelia sat back on her heels. “It’s what?”
He let out a long breath. “I don’t mind paying for my sins. I made my choices in life. But I don’t want someone else to be at risk because of the path I’ve chosen.”
“I’m the one that put us in this position, so technically, you’re paying for my sins,” she said, surprised by his concern.
“What you did wasn’t a sin.” Vade surveyed both wings, seeming satisfied with her work. “You did good, witch.”
She blushed. “Thanks.”
He went to push up off the ground and winced, sitting back down, eyes going to a blood-soaked section of his pants near his groin that blended in with his dark leathers. “Must have snagged it on something when that damned bird was dragging us,” he said.
“Is it okay if I put my hand on your thigh to heal it?”
“You’re asking permission now after you already did my wings?”
“Well, the wound is near a private area, so I wanted to make sure you were okay with it. I always ask the girls back home before I heal them in intimate places.”
His brows furrowed. “Why? If they’re coming to you, they already know you’re going to touch them.”
His words dredged up the sorrow she was so used to experiencing while healing the pain of others. “They don’t get a say in who touches them, or where. I like to give them the opportunity to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ because no one else will.”
The line between his brows disappeared, his face softening. “Go ahead.”
She covered the length of the bleeding cut and called on her light.
He watched her glowing hands with something like admiration. “It’s very noble of you to offer the people you help a choice first.”
“It’s not noble. It’s just the right thing to do.”
Vade nodded like he understood, but aside from their current binding, he would never truly understand what it was like not to have a say in what happened to his own body.
When she was done, Orelia turned her attention to the cut above his right eyebrow and the longer one on his cheek. “May I heal these two on your face?”
He nodded.
Gently, she placed her palm on his brow. “Look at the big tough fae, finally needing my help.”
His lips quirked. “Funny.”
Orelia shrugged one shoulder and smirked. “I know.” She sat so close to him, occasionally catching whiffs of his intoxicating scent on the wind, trying to ignore how it always made her heart quicken.
When she moved her hand to his cheek, Vade closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.
Orelia sucked in a breath at the unexpected response.
Black eyes quickly found hers again, seeming a bit abashed.
Her light faded as the cut sealed, but she kept her hand on his cheek, uninterested in removing it.
Orelia searched his eyes, finding she didn’t want to look away.
He could be irritating and harsh, but sitting here now, he wasn’t the infamous Death’s Shadow.
He was just someone who needed help, and for once, she could do something he couldn’t.
She found herself looking at his mouth, wondering what his lips tasted like. A daring woman would have gone for it, but Orelia had yet to find the courage. She wanted to be bolder, braver, but she couldn’t find it in her to make a move.
Vade watched her closely, and she swore there was a spark of desire in his eyes. Perhaps it was just the sunlight playing tricks on her.
Vade was the one to quickly put distance between them, leaving her sitting on the ground, feeling like a fool for thinking he might be interested in her. She rubbed her arm and tried to shrug off the embarrassment.
“Oh, shit,” Vade said.
The tone of his voice made her stay rooted to the ground. “What is it?”
He slowly turned, eyes focused on the forest, barely breathing. “We’re in the Greywood.”