Fae war chronicles the c.., p.49
Fae War Chronicles: The Complete Series, page 49
“He destroyed it. I brought the last vial with me, and he fucking shattered it, and we cannot make more. There is no cure, Ember. No instant fix, and you know as well as I do the man out there is not him.”
My hope deflates just a little, though my determination remains. “He’s still in there somewhere.”
Ridley shakes his head. “You’re young, naïve, and wrong.”
“Young? Maybe. But Rafferty is not a lost cause. That’s not being naïve. That’s what I feel in my heart. He is still in there, and I can bring him back.”
Ridley continues to stare at me for a moment then nods. “Fine. But just know, if I get a chance to put him down, I will take it. There’s no fucking way I will stand by and allow him to continue attacking innocent people. Rafferty wouldn’t have wanted it that way.”
Chapter 5
Rafferty
“What are you doing?” I demand, my chest burning with fear as Ember gets closer to the water.
Her reply is a simple one, as though this were an ordinary afternoon, and she weren’t dying. “Going swimming.”
I start toward her. “Wait for Paulina—”
“I’m not waiting for shit, Rafferty. Not anymore.” She steps into the water, moving in farther and farther until she’s braced on the water’s edge with her elbows. Scenarios run through my mind.
She could slip and go underwater. The current is strong enough that she’d likely be pulled down beneath the surface before I could get to her. Fear claws at my throat. “You could slip off and end up downstream, woman.”
“Then get in with me, or shut the hell up.”
Frustrating, stubborn woman. I rush forward and stomp into the river, the water splashing me as I move directly in front of her, every muscle in my body tense so I can catch her should she slip.
She grins—and lets go.
“Bloody hell!” I roar as I jump forward and grab her around the waist. Her slick body pressed against mine, I move through the water and deposit her on the edge. “Are you trying to bloody drown?”
Water drips from her red hair, droplets slipping down her neck before disappearing into the fabric of her soaked dress.
My cock hardens as dark thoughts threaten to ruin the moment. Fuck her now, the voice orders. I need to bury myself in her, fucking her hard and raw as I steal the life in her eyes.
I shake my head.
“I knew you’d catch me.” Ember smiles, completely unaffected by the anguish in my heart. “You always catch me.”
My gaze drops to her lips, and I fight the urge to reach forward and run my finger over them. “Fuck me, woman,” I growl, the words barely audible.
“In a heartbeat.”
Her words might as well have been an anvil dropped on my restraints. I tighten my grip on her waist, enjoying the way her heart races with my hands on her. What would she feel like surrounding me, my cock buried deep within her?
Her breasts in my hands? “You’ve no idea what you’re asking for.”
“I think I do,” she replies. “And if you don’t want to be with me? Fine. But don’t make that decision for both of us, based on some ridiculous notion that you know what’s best for me and my future.”
“You torment me.”
“Or maybe you’re tormenting yourself.” Ember reaches out and trails a finger down the side of my face. The touch is paradise to me, and before I can stop myself, I’m leaning into it. “You deserve to be happy, too, you know. You’re not nearly as damned as you want to believe.”
I shoot up, my body slick with sweat, heart pounding. The red-haired fae haunts me, the very life within her taunting my failures. I want to find her, kill her, take back my life, but even as I imagine doing just that…
Even as I can see myself plunging a blade into her heart and watching as the light fades from her eyes, my chest seizes. I slam my fist against the ache in my chest, a sob ripping from my body.
Flashes of the woman. Red hair blowing in the wind as her face brings anguish crushing down on top of me.
I can see her smile.
Her tears.
An image of her covered in blood, face pale, assaults me and I roll over, falling to the floor with a heavy thud. Breathing ragged, it’s all I can do to keep from crying out. Which is fucking pathetic.
I should have killed her the moment I laid eyes on her. How she’s back, I don’t know, but she’s a weakness.
A thread that needs to be snipped before it drives me mad.
Kill. Her.
I take a steadying breath. And then another. Doing everything I can to get my racing heart back under control. This is not me. This is not who I am, and the simple fact that I can recall the way my hands felt on her body is twisted as fuck.
Energy surges through my body, and I suck in a breath.
The darkness pushes my emotions back, beating me down until I’m back in control of myself.
And the red-haired woman is little more than another obstacle.
“You’ve come to tell me you found who I seek, and yet you let her slip through my fingers?”
Jolvi chuckles. “You should have sent me, Your Majesty.”
“It’s—complicated,” I say.
Wynter leans forward, breasts falling free of what little fabric she’d used to contain them.
Behind me, Jolvi sucks in a breath as his arousal fills the air. Fucking pathetic. Meanwhile, I keep my gaze trained on her face because it's the only part of her I’m interested in watching. Any hint of betrayal, and I won’t hesitate to drive a dagger straight through her heart.
“How is it complicated?” she demands.
“The woman you seek was my mate.”
Her eyes widen, and she leans back. The man beside her reaches down to lift each breast, putting it back in the fabric as though she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It’s all I can do to avoid rolling my eyes. “Was your mate?”
“Yes. Was,” I repeat. The last thing I need is for Wynter to believe Ember is worth something to her, due to some ridiculous notion of a connection.
“And you two are bonded?”
“No. The ceremony was never completed as she was bonded to my brother, Taranus.”
Wynter arches a dark eyebrow. “She was bonded to your brother, and yet, she was your mate?”
“As I said, complicated.”
Wynter smiles. “Now, I cannot wait to meet this one. When will you bring her to me?”
“It’s not as simple as that.”
Always the snake, Jolvi marches toward me. “You’d choose a pathetic mate over your queen?” he accuses.
I keep my eyes trained on Wynter. “Of course not, My Queen. The complications do not reside in some outrageous connection we share but rather in the fact that she is the last fire fae.”
They both gasp. The man beside Wynter pales significantly.
“You cannot be serious,” she demands.
“Quite. I saw it with my own two eyes. As did the other ancients with me. Honestly, I’m surprised no one else delivered this news before I was able to.” I cross my arms. “The woman you seek, Ember—” Saying her name sends a wave of hate through my body stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. My energy slithers through my body, invisible tendrils that stoke my fire. “Is a Phoenix, and her power is immense. If I’m not mistaken, I also sense ancient blood in her veins.”
“You’re trying to tell me that an ancient fucked a fire fae? Our enemy?” her cheeks turn red. “How?”
I quirk an eyebrow. “I am sure you are quite aware of what happens when two people fuck.”
“Of course,” she sneers. “What I wish to know is how this ancient got close enough to the fire fae in the first place. They killed us on sight.”
“Obviously, not all of them shared that logic.” My reply is dry and devoid of feeling. After seven years of nothing. No joy, love, anger—to feel hate is overwhelming though I try to hide it.
“You will bring her to me so I may ask her myself.”
“Of course. How would you suggest I neutralize her magic?”
Wynter thinks on that for a moment. Then, she smiles at me. “The fire fae power can only be used if they are touching one of us. So chop off her fucking hands.”
Chapter 6
Ember
“You’re distracted,” Rainey accuses as she pulls me up from the dirt. I brush off my ass for what must be the millionth time today and nod in agreement. There’s no point in denying the fact that my attention is ninety-nine percent on formulating a plan to save Rafferty and only one percent on learning how to not get my ass kicked.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” she tells me. “Find a way to focus through it. In a fight, the conditions are never going to be ideal. You have to be able to concentrate despite the chaos around you and while compartmentalizing anything going on outside of the situation.”
“I get the feeling you’ve been in a lot of fights.”
Rainey snorts. “Understatement.” She takes her stance, a dagger in her right hand. “Let’s just say I’ve seen my fair share of assholes bent on taking over the world. This one is no different, aside from the fact that the fuckers don’t die.” She winks back at Wally, who is grinning widely at her.
“We’re a resilient bunch, that’s for sure.” He’s grown rather fond of Rainey over the past few weeks.
Rainey faces me again. “What are your goals?”
“To get Rafferty back and save Faerie.”
“Then focus on those. Every single fight is one more barrier between you and achieving those goals. Concentrate on the actions you need to take in order to get to him. Right now, you need to learn how to beat the ancients. Once you do that, getting to Rafferty is going to be that much easier.”
I take a deep breath in an attempt to catch it then nod. She charges, her face morphing to strict determination while I hold my ground. Doing what she suggested, I focus on the actions, so when she gets close enough to throw a punch, I dodge to the left and bring mine up to slam it into her gut.
She grunts but recovers quickly, bringing her own fist into my ribs. One hit, two. Pain stings my sides. I sweep my leg out and knock her to the ground then pin her with my thighs around her throat as I conjure a flame in my hand. Rainey grins a full-force, beaming smile up at me.
“And that’s how you do it,” she says proudly.
To say I’m shocked would be an understatement. I spent over two weeks getting my ass kicked, and while I’ve no doubt I’ll still lose more than my fair share against the seasoned hunter—winning even one sparring match is enough to boost my confidence. “I had a great teacher.”
“You did.” She taps my thighs. “Now, either buy me dinner and make this worth my while, or get off of me.” The words are spoken with a smile and accompanying wink, so I laugh and climb off. Before I can offer to help her, though, Rainey is using her hands and feet to arch her back and flip up on her own.
I glance at Wally, who nods at me. “You did good, kid.”
“Eat something, you three!”
Rainey and I both turn as Bea walks quickly into the training circle, holding a tray of fruit in her hands. Rainey pops a grape into her mouth, and I do the same. “Thank you, Bea.”
“You’re welcome. You both are going to fade to nothing if you keep ignoring meals.”
“Ember here just laid my ass out,” Rainey tells her. “Missing meals was worth it.”
“You did?” Bea’s eyes widen as she regards me with pride.
“I did. Likely a one-off, but I did it.”
“Most definitely not a one-off,” Rainey assures me. “You’re resilient as fuck, and I appreciate resilience above all else. Solid goals equal victory because there’s nothing left to lose and everything to gain.”
Ridley glares in my direction as he passes, and I shrink a little beneath the weight of it. He hasn’t spoken to me since our disagreement two days ago when Rafferty attacked. He thinks his brother needs to be put down—and while I can see his pain at admitting that to himself, I cannot allow it to happen.
Rafferty is all I have left. He is my mate. And while I still don’t exactly understand what all that entails—human-raised and all that—I do know that it is my job to protect him. To bring him home.
“Give him some time,” Rainey says, once again noticing far more than I give her credit for.
I turn her way. “He doesn’t like me much.”
“Ridley is an asshole. A loveable asshole and a loyal one, sure. But an asshole nonetheless. And he’s lost his entire family.” She turns away from me and looks back at the fae who is now kneeling in the center of a group of fae children. They laugh and jump up to scatter. “He’s suffering, too, and unlike you, he’s been at this for seven years.”
My heart falls a little. “I know that.” Seeing Rafferty dark one time had given me enough heartbreak for a lifetime. Having to face him for nearly a decade like that? Having him nearly gut me as he did Ridley? That would have broken me long before, and I am confident enough to admit that. “But I can’t have him put down like a rabid animal. I won’t allow it.”
Rainey clasps a hand on my shoulder. “I understand that better than you can possibly know, but sometimes there really is no other option. And that’s a decision you need to be prepared to make should the time come.”
Spotting Elijah just ahead, she jogs away, leaving me staring after them as they kiss and head toward their hut.
Feeling like I’m intruding even from here, I turn away and nearly walk straight into a blonde fae standing directly behind me. She beams at me, golden eyes wide, and holds out her hands where an orchid sits pristinely in a white pot.
“For you,” she says.
“I—thank you?” It comes out as a question, and the fae laughs as she hands the orchid over.
The pot is smooth in my hand, smooth and cold.
“It’s a spelled orchid,” she explains. “Queen Heelean gave it to me. She said that as long as this orchid blooms, Faerie will stand.”
I stare down at it, tears forming in my eyes. Queen Heelean. I didn’t know the woman well, but the time I did spend with her while she was healing me in the castle was enough for me to know she is a kind, caring person.
“I’m giving it to you because you are going to save us,” the fae tells me.
All air is practically sucked from my lungs at the strength of her resolution. I want to save them. To rescue this world using the power my mother gifted me. But after what happened with Rafferty— “I don’t, I don’t know if I can.”
She smiles. “You can because you are the one that was prophesized. You are going to bring us the true king and restore peace to Faerie.” Then, without waiting for my response, she turns and walks away.
I stare down at the orchid, taking note of the soft blue petals. You are going to bring us the one true king. I really believed that, when I escaped Taranus, I'd put that whole damn prophecy behind me.
Because unless Rafferty is that one true king as I believe he is, I don’t want any part in it. He is the only person I want, the other half I’ve been waiting for. And doesn’t the fact that everyone believes this prophecy allude to my being able to rescue him?
My irritation slips away, and I focus instead on what it could mean. If I am the woman from this prophecy, if it is true, then Rafferty has to be the true king of Faerie because he is my mate.
Right?
“Talk about a lot of pressure.” Sullivan stands behind me, hands in his pockets.
“Seriously, though.” I start walking toward my hut, ready to get some quiet and hopefully figure out just what I’m going to do about my current predicament.
“How does it feel to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders?” he questions, falling into step beside me.
“Heavy,” I reply honestly. “I feel like everyone expects a lot out of me. Well, everyone but Ridley.”
Sullivan chuckles. “Ridley is dealing with his own shit,” he says. “You should have seen him after they brought Rafferty here to save him, and the bastard nearly killed him. Ridley was pretty fucking damaged afterward.”
“I just don’t get it. He was all ready for me to save his brother, and now I feel like he’s lost his hope that I can.”
“Rafferty tried to take you to his queen,” he replies, tone taking on an angry edge. “That doesn’t inspire a whole lot of confidence that there is much to save.”
I swallow hard, understanding what he’s saying but still hating the fact that he may be right. “Do you think I can save him?”
Sullivan stops walking, so I do the same, turning to face him. His jaw is hard, his eyes narrowed on my face. “Truth?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not entirely sure. Part of me is worried that you trying is going to cost me my friend all over again, and the other part—well—I know that you won’t be happy until you do bring him back.”
“He’s my soulmate.”
Sullivan smiles softly, though I do note that it doesn’t reach his eyes. He’s pulling punches for me, and I truly do appreciate it. Right now, even false hope is helpful. “I know he is, love, and I don’t think there’s anything you can’t do.”
Eyebrow raised, I study him with a grin. “Love?”
“Of the platonic nature.” He winks and then begins walking again.
I fall into step beside him, the two of us walking through the dimming evening. Rafferty’s dark expression has overtaken nearly all the good memories I have of him. It’s all I can see: him standing there, eyes obsidian.
I would give damn near anything to see the gold again. Even if it meant spending a thousand years in that desolate ancient prison.
Chapter 7
