Page 60 of A Fate of Ice and Lies (Fated #1)

Chapter

Twenty-Five

TEDDY

Elias seemed to welcome the silence that came with the shrouding darkness of night. At least the stars had the good sense to disappear behind the clouds and hide from his quiet wrath.

I didn’t know how to reach him. How to comfort him.

But I’d learned long ago there was no comfort in watching someone you loved so close to death. There wouldn’t be any comfort in Brenton’s death either.

Elias, George, and Everly held a quiet vigil by Brenton’s unmoving body.

My blood seemed to help him for a few hours as Elias and George worked to repair Brenton’s body.

Brenton’s breaths came slower now. Less frequently.

He’d leave soon, surrounded by the ones he called family.

The ones who hadn’t left his side once since he’d fallen.

I hoped Brenton felt them and found solace in that.

Hoped he’d learned how an Elder dragon had crossed through the tear as a gift to Everly for protecting Nalari.

The stunning gray dragon with a red mark on her head, yellow scales and eyes that resembled blood had told Everly how the other Elders had heard of her courage through whatever connection all dragons had with each other.

How the Elders had all agreed Everly had proven herself loyal and worthy.

Apparently, it was a great honor although I hadn’t felt honored or grateful when Nalari first spoke to me through our minds. It was different now, though, and I was grateful for the element of good my friend had found on such a horrible day.

Everly’s excitement in meeting Adela had been short-lived after the overbearing sorrow hit her again.

While Elias hadn’t seemed to notice her, George and Everly had at least welcomed her, thanked her.

And then I’d had the audacity of asking Adela if she could help Brenton. All I got was a snarl in response.

Unlike many of the people I knew, the fae didn’t waste meaningless words. Didn’t try to lighten the mood with humorless jokes.

Only a few times had one of them spoken of their friend. Of his goodness, kindness, lightheartedness. Of the pranks he’d played and foolish things he’d done.

Always, they kept their hands on him. Squeezing, brushing, letting him know they were there. They’d stay there until the end.

Like it’d done so many times that day, my throat closed, my eyes burning with tears I didn’t want to shed. Not around Elias, who looked back at me with worry when he should only be concerned about himself and his friends.

A part of me wished Ryenne or Donnie had stayed with me. Or that I’d left with Javier and the kids back to Ryenne’s house. I felt useless here. More of a hindrance every time Elias looked at me like he wanted to comfort me.

Me, when he was the one who’d lost today. Losing my house had been devastating, but losing Brenton? He was their family. My family.

I hated whoever had shot my fun-loving, silly friend and hoped Nalari had taken care of each one who’d stolen time away from Brenton and his friends.

On a sigh, I sat next to Nalari and Everly’s Guardian, ignoring the way my pajama pants soaked with the snow beneath me.

My fingers were already numb from staying out for so long.

My toes and nose too. But I stayed there, in the same spot my friends and I had stood to protect Nalari.

The same spot George had sped to with the kids and Hee-haw in his arms. The same spot where Nalari had used her magic to shield us from the explosion.

Only a few feet away from where Brenton lay dying.

“I’m sorry I don’t have anything to feed you or Adela,” I told her.

“I had my fill,” she said distantly.

I shuddered, trying not to think about what exactly she ate when she hunted for the people who’d come for us.

“Your dream journals were the only things that survived the fires at our place,” she told me.

Wonderful.

“There’s a reason for that,” Nalari added.

I didn’t care.

“Isn’t there anything you can do for Brent?” I asked.

Her sadness rippled through our connection, and I muttered an apology.

“It’s only a matter of time until the Guardian of Death comes for him,” Nalari told me. “How he’s made it this long. . . Your blood brought them time they otherwise wouldn’t have had.”

My blood had prolonged the inevitable. There wasn’t any comfort in that .

Nalari angled her large head toward Adela in what I assumed was a silent conversation between them. I looked back at the four fae, whose silhouette I could barely make out with looming darkness. But I felt Elias deep in the fiber of my bones. Felt the emotions warring inside him.

“Adela said there’s something you and I can do to try to save Brenton,” Nalari started carefully, her attention also heavy on Elias.

“What is it?”

“A foolish, dangerous idea, but it’s our only shot.”

“Anything,” I breathed out.

Anything to save him. To keep him here with us a little longer. To erase Elias’s anguish and heartbreak.

“There’s an astral realm. It’s where the Guardians of Death and Life live,” she explained. “It’s where Death will come for Brenton. Adela can guide us there.”

I sat up straighter, wrapping my arms around my legs as I listened.

“We’ll have to fight a Guardian more powerful than any Elder I’ve encountered.”

“Okay,” I agreed.

“We may very well die there.” Her tone was earnest. “Do you understand what that would do to Elias?”

The tear in my heart ripped further.

“I have to try,” I said. “For Elias, I have to try to get his brother back.”

“He’d rather lose Brenton than lose you.”

I knew she was right. I could feel the truth in her words.

“You told me he’d do anything to protect me without remorse. You asked if I’d fight for him.” I paused. “This is me protecting him, fighting for him.”

Because Elias was my mate. He was mine. Mine to protect, to take care of. To love.

And just as he’d give his life for me, I was willing to do the same for him.

Adela stood and took a few paces to lie down in front of me. To hide me from Elias, I realized. The Elder Guardian blinked her red eyes at me, and a sword appeared by my side. I picked it up and tested its weight.

“You’ll be able to enter the realm with anything on your body,” Nalari explained.

While Everly, Brenton, and I usually trained with a dagger, we’d had several lessons with a wooden sword, whose weight was similar to the one I held now.

We’d never trained against a god-like dragon, though.

Terror gripped me so suddenly, it made each breath difficult.

I could only hope knowing where to hit a fae to kill them would be enough to fight a Guardian.

My body shook when I took the sword. I swallowed hard and nodded at Adela as I tapped the gun holstered at my waist. The Elder’s magic circled me, forcing me to lie down. Just as my back hit the snow, I propelled forward. Out of my body. Weightless. Unbound.

The world around me shimmered, the night sky not quite as dark but luminescent. And Nalari, if she was majestic in my realm, here she was enchanting. Ethereal.

Nalari scanned our surroundings while I held my sword in one hand and used the other to make sure I still had my gun. We made our way to Brenton, whose body vibrated with dullness while the other three fae were vibrant.

“How long do you think we’ll wait?” My voice echoed.

Nalari turned to me, her eyes suddenly wide before she disappeared. Everything and everyone disappeared with her .

My breaths heaved from my lungs, echoing in the empty space.

Squaring my shoulders and holding my fighting position, I lifted my sword and looked around.

Around and around. A pulsing gray figure crept toward me, and while every part of me wanted to run, I planted my feet and sent a prayer to my God, hoping He was watching and would help me through this.

“What are you doing here?” the figure asked.

“I’ve come to fight for my friend’s life,” I managed to say without showing a hint of the fear that trickled down my spine.

“I’m already dead, Teddy. You need to leave before?—”

“Brenton?” I asked.

“Don’t tell me death looks so bad on me that you didn’t recognize me,” the figure, Brenton, joked.

I huffed out an exasperated laugh that ended on a soft cry.

“Come to fight for your friend?” a silky voice asked. It thrummed around me, into me.

Brenton grabbed my hand and pushed me behind him.

“She was just leaving,” Brenton said. “Made a wrong turn.”

“That’s a shame.” A cloaked figure stepped forward, and shadows that flowed from his body slithered toward us.

He held a large scythe in his hand, and when he touched the tip, I felt it as if he’d sliced through my chest.

I drew another step back while Brenton positioned himself in front of me again, the figure’s shadows skulking closer.

“Don’t hide, little one,” he said.

Still holding Brenton’s hand, I squeezed before I stood beside him. The figure’s shadows continued to inch closer.

“I want my friend back,” I told the figure, sounding braver than I felt.

Brenton peered down at me, surprise lighting his face. The figure pulled down his cape, and I saw what appeared to be a man. A regular man. Neither fae nor Guardian.

His face was human, with a long, straight nose with a tip that slanted slightly upward. His eyes, a deep green, watched me with open curiosity. Everything else about him—from his height to the way he stood—screamed unearthly predator.

“You seem surprised, Theodora,” he said, a sly smile painting his face.

I held my chin up, ignored the way his shadows enveloped my foot, and winded up my leg to my torso and arms.

“You’re not a dragon,” I said, my heart beating so hard I was sure it’d explode. “I was told I’d meet a Guardian.”

The man laughed, this soft sound that might’ve been pleasant if he were anyone but Death.