Chapter 41
“We need a name.”
“Raef, what are you on about now?” Meela rolls her eyes. It almost distracts me from the ghost of a smirk on her lips.
“We’re getting close. We just need the crown, right? History books will tell the tales of our heroism and bravery. We need a name.”
I watch, thoroughly entertained, as she gives him the same look she always gives him.
There’s something more behind the annoyance though.
I know it. Though when we woke up early this morning, they stayed separated, unlike Daegan and me.
I didn’t care that I’d slept on the floor.
I slept more peacefully in his arms than I have in a long time, and waking to him lightly stroking my hair is something I never want to go without again.
He continues, ignoring her glare. “The covenant. No, the order of…”
“The order of dumbasses. The order of cocky bastards. Both are good options.”
He laughs. “The order for short, though.”
She chuckles a little too.
“Are we all motherless?”
“Raef… what?” Meela has a palm up in the air.
“Elysande lost her mother, so did I, so did Daegan, so did Rhydra… what about you Gaethri?”
“Deceased,” he grumbles.
Raef raises his eyebrows at Meela.
“What does this have to do with anything?” Her eyes are narrowed.
“It can be our common ground. For our group name. What are the odds we’ve all lost our mums? The motherless order… the order of the motherless…”
“That’s stupid.”
“No it’s not.”
“Well, I have a mom,” she tells him. “And she’s a nox wine addict.”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize to me of all people here.”
Meela and her mom have always had a difficult relationship. Most of the time, she’s lost in her own world, under the hazy dark spell of the drink. She wasn’t raised by a mother. Not really. I haven’t seen her around the castle in ages, now that I think about it.
Raef drops the topic, stuffing his face with food.
We stopped for lunch after riding most of the morning. Somehow, we got out of there before any Ellyar guards were awake, found Rhydra and Gaethri, and hit the road. Now we just have to hope we don’t run into any on our path.
We’re all scattered about in an alcove surrounded by dark trees as we plan our change in route. One of the inns we stayed at on the journey to Dothron is still our next destination, but after that we’re heading southwest toward Torrynth instead of northwest back to Ellyar.
The veil seems gloomier today. Darker. I think the rain will likely come through it soon.
Daegan hasn’t left my side since this morning.
If anyone has noticed the number of times we make eye contact with each other, they haven’t said anything.
Which is more shocking than the fact that a dragon and an elf hooked up last night.
It’s only a matter of time, though. Give Meela or Raef another afternoon of boredom and they’ll drop all the pretenses.
“Rhydra, can you—”
I’m pushed to the ground. Hard.
I think I hit my head, but everything happens so fast I can’t tell how bad it is.
I hear screaming, everything in me is shouting for me to get up, but I can’t seem to move.
I lift my head in slow motion, and then a hand I know to be Daegan’s is lifting me so hard I’m like a delicate flower in his grasp.
I finally look at the source of all the commotion, then fear and horror wash over me.
I’m pushed behind him as he steps forward with his sword out, stabbing at a massive black… thing.
The beast roars in pain as it thrashes, swiping at Daegan with sharp talons, but he dodges and lands another blow. It’s a fatal hit. The furry, yellow-eyed creature falls to the ground with a hard thump, but there’s no time to celebrate because there are several more behind it.
Standing back-to-back, Raef and Meela are fighting two more off. The one in front of Meela goes up in angry flames as it wails and swings around wildly.
Rhydra is also nearby, but Gaethri…
“No!” I shout.
Gaethri is swinging his heavy mallet, but he’s losing. I watch as one of the beasts sinks its teeth into his shoulder so hard I hear the crack of bone carry across the clearing. It all happens so fast I don’t even have time to react.
He cries out in agony, and I see Rhydra’s head snap in his direction, but she can’t get to him.
“Stay here!” Daegan yells back at me as he charges the two monsters attacking Gaethri.
I think he’s too late.
In just a few blinks, they have Gaethri on the ground, tearing into him with quick, brutal bites. His haunting screams drown out everything else in the clearing.
I finally gather myself and shoot icicles their way, but I fear it’s too late. And my magic seems weak. I’m also using intense focus to avoid hitting Daegan, Gaethri, or any of my friends in the chaos around me. I’m not going to be able to save him. Panic surges through me.
One of the of the beasts tears into him more, tossing a chunk of something bloody aside, and Gaethri’s screams start to fade.
I move closer as I shoot more icicles, but I only seem to be annoying them. I risk a glance at Gaethri, and my heart drops. He’s a bloody, brutal mess of torn clothes, skin, and bone, yet somehow he’s still breathing.
In a moment that feels stretched beyond the limits of time, he locks eyes with Daegan, pleading. “Burn us.”
I gasp and hold my hands over my mouth.
Daegan doesn’t waste any time.
With everyone else to our right, he has a clear path to set the two monsters ablaze. Along with Gaethri, who’s dying a slow and painful death already.
I look away at the last second. I can’t do it.
I feel the heat of Daegan’s fire, and it shocks me back into motion. I glance over at Meela, Rhydra, and Raef, who are all working together to take one last monster down.
It turns away from them as if about to run, then pauses, locking its large, unnerving yellow eyes on me.
And then it pounces.
With a battle cry tearing out of me, I summon every last bit of magic and strength I have into a jagged ice spear and hurl it into its chest, screaming like I never have before.
The monster freezes on the spot. Black, gooey blood leaks out of the wound as Raef runs up behind it and stabs it a few more times.
I release my grip on the spear and it drops with the dead monster.
Whipping my head to my left, I check on Daegan. He’s done what was requested of him, but a fire is catching in the trees ahead of him.
I spray water at them with both hands extended and shaking, but I can’t summon enough. My hands fall, and I let out a small whimper, head dropping in defeat.
And then I feel his arms around me.
He scoops me up and yells, “Let’s go,” and then I’m jostled around as he runs, carrying me like a baby in his arms.
The horses are only a few paces away, still tied up against nearby trees. They’re spooked, though. He sets me atop mine and moves to get on, but I snap out of it long enough to shake my head. “I’ve got it! Don’t leave yours behind.”
“She’ll follow,” he says, ignoring my request. “Let’s get the fuck out of here before more come.”
As soon as he says it, we hear growling coming from deeper in the trees. Everyone takes off at the same time, moving as fast as the horses will allow.
Delirium must be setting in, because when I glance back, I don’t see any of the beasts we heard. But I do see a golden, sparkling trail weaving through the trees before the world turns dark.
~
We reach the inn long before nightfall. It’s the first break we’ve taken since we fled that alcove, and I feel numb. I climb off with Daegan’s help, and then I stagger toward a corner in a daze and vomit.
His hand is on my back in an instant, rubbing it soothingly. It helps a little.
No one says much as we make our way inside. We pay for a few rooms, then find a table for the five of us.
Not six.
Sure, I would like nothing more than to curl up in bed right now, away from this raucous room, but it seems there’s an unspoken sentiment amongst everyone that it wouldn’t be right to separate and not talk about it.
Plus, some of us haven’t eaten most of the day.
Not that I personally feel like eating right now.
Before we sit, Daegan falls back, studying my eyes. Searching for confirmation that I’m okay, maybe?
I’m not.
“We can go to the room if you’re not up for it…”
I shake my head. “No. It’s okay.”
He pulls me in tightly, wrapping his arms around me in the middle of the room. For a moment, as I lean my head against his chest, it drowns everything else out.
But we can’t drown it out forever. Much like my powers, the moment must run out eventually, forcing us to face reality.
“Are you okay?” I ask him. Remembering what he had to do. How Gaethri had pleaded with him to end his suffering.
“Yes.” He kisses the top of my head then leads me the rest of the way, pulling out a chair for me. He takes the seat next to it, holding onto my hand. If he wasn’t anchoring me right now, I fear I’d float away and be lost forever.
A very somber silence falls over the table as we all hang our heads and avoid eye contact. My eyes begin to sting with tears that I try to blink away.
“Fuck,” Raef says, rising. “I’m getting a round.”
No one protests as he walks away.
I glance at Daegan’s side profile as he looks out the window—his perfect, narrow, straight nose, his full lips, long lashes, and the small freckle on his cheekbone. I’m too numb to feel much right now, but sitting close to him, his hand wrapped around mine like he’ll never let go, helps a little.
He looks over and meets my eyes, and something far stronger than lust washes over me.
Something that scares me. Because despite everything today, I can’t stop thinking about how he’s always there when I’m scared or shaken or sick, making sure I’m okay.
Even from a distance, I felt it—how he always noticed.
He squeezes my hand and then looks away as Raef returns, slamming five drinks on the table.
I grab one immediately. “Thank you,” I say weakly.
He nods, giving me a rare closed-mouth smirk rather than his usual full, toothy grin.
“To Gaethri,” Rhydra says with a passionate voice.