Chapter 102 Hawk
Hawk
Rain cut my cheek, burning against my exposed flesh as I crashed into one of the approaching Aither Fae diving for my mate. The female soared through the air before slamming into the large pool beneath the waterfall, disappearing beneath its depths.
As lightning struck the sky, I clenched my jaw and pulled a dagger from my belt. The wind threatened to take me down, but with the power Ivy’s bond offered me, I created a wind barrier around myself, protecting my wings especially against the onslaught of harsh weather.
I had no idea how I would tell her that I had all my memories back. That the peace we’d found together when they were gone was lost. It was one thing seeking her forgiveness, her love, when I had no idea what I’d done to her. Not knowing the extent of the hurt allowed for some forgiveness.
But now that I remembered, I felt less worthy of the bond now pulsating between us. How could my mate—my brave, beautiful mate—want me after everything I’d done?
You fight for her, and you protect her, I thought, glancing down at the glowing light that was her and Dante. The great terrible battle we thought she would have to fight with him was happening silently, and there was nothing we could do to stop him—nothing we could do to help.
As I turned in the air, I spotted an all too familiar face. Without my memories, I might not have looked twice at him.
But as everything I’d been forced to forget rose to the surface, every terrible thing he’d done—that I’d somehow allowed him to do to my mate—flooded me. And there was no way I could let him get away again.
I remembered going to her isolation cell. I remembered him locking himself in there and hurting her.
I remembered not killing him for it, even though I should have.
Lark fucking Zephyr was here, and I would finally show him the real consequences of his betrayal.
He wasn’t just an agent of Phoenix who became a traitor to the crown. He was my fucking team member. He’d been under my watch, and I hadn’t sniffed out his betrayal.
Everything he’d done was on me, and I refused to let him go again.
I dove towards him on the rocky shore of the lake. Before he could defend himself, I slammed the heels of my boots into his chest and watched with a grim smile as he flew through the air before hitting the barrier walls of the giant stone court overlooking the water.
Blood spilled from his lips as he struggled to stand, but I was on him before he could run, pounding my fist into his face. “You fucking traitor,” I snarled, grabbing him by the jaw and forcing him to meet my stare. “You hurt my mate.”
Something I couldn’t read flared across his red eyes, but instead of allowing him the chance to respond, I hit him again. The male beneath me coughed up blood onto the rocks, which the rain and churning water of the lake quickly washed away.
“You helped turn me into a fucking soldier for him.” I punched him in the nose, smiling at the sickening crunch of bone and the blood that sprayed from it. “You helped me hurt my fucking mate.”
“You have no idea—” he wheezed, but I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed, cutting him off.
“I don’t fucking care,” I hissed, watching his eyes widen with real fear. “You betrayed me. You got our fucking friend killed. And all for…what? Because you felt threatened? By who? Ivy?”
Zephyr made a strangled sound in the back of his throat, eyes flickering between fear and something that looked like relief.
“You will never be able to give me a good enough reason for trying to kill my mate,” I hissed, grip tightening.
I knew he couldn’t breathe, and it brought me too much fucking glee watching the life disappear from his eyes.
“You will never, ever have a good enough reason for betraying me.”
With sick satisfaction, I watched his eyes roll into the back of his head. Not enough to kill him, unfortunately, but it would be enough to cuff him and make sure he faced whatever consequences were waiting for him.
As the water lapped at our feet, I pushed the male onto his stomach and made sure the cuffs were secure around his wrists before rising.
Ivy and Dante, still locked in their battle over the skull, standing almost directly above me.
The light surrounding them, cocooning them in their own bubble as she pulled her power from him while he tried to steal it, darkened.
And from it sparked lightning.
A bolt of it hit the ground near me, the smell of burning flesh and scorched earth quickly filling my lungs as I jumped back. Someone—a soldier from Dante’s army—had been hit, and the creature was barely alive, struggling for breath.
I made it to his side and cuffed him as I watched Ivy’s other mates surround her. One by one, they moved towards her, creating a barrier between her and her enemies. They had her back.
And I would, too.