Page 47 of Courting the Fae Captain (Romancing the Realms #4)
Sherai smiled sadly at me, and Akira dipped her chin. I nodded at them both—a promise, and a shared order. We knew what we had to do. Even if it was too late, we still had to try.
The thunder of stomping boots came from behind me.
I looked over my shoulder with narrowed eyes as row upon row of soldiers formed at our backs, effectively shutting off any hope of escape.
Then they threw swords and spears to the ground between them and us.
The weapons clanged as they thudded ominously onto the snow.
The sea serpent nodded towards the crowded stand of onlookers, where several servants rushed out with trays of goblets that they handed out to the females.The cups we received weren’t nearly as fancy as those the guests were drinking from. I was betting the contents of ours was different, too.
“A toast,” the sea serpent said as he and the other Pentad members raised their own glasses. “To the dawn of a new empire, and your brave sacrifice.”
Most of the females raised their cups to their lips, but I took one sniff of the contents and subtly shook my head at my friends. Poison, most definitely.
“All females must drink,” the lion purred from behind the sea serpent.
The guards stepped forward at once, combing down the line for any cups still full of liquid.
Several other females hadn’t drunk from theirs either.
The guards forced the liquid down their throats.
I wasn’t surprised to see Portia among them, bearing her teeth and hissing as they yanked her hair back and forced her chin up.
They did the same to Akira, who sneered at them from red lips before they forced it down her throat.
Sherai complied, knowing there was no use struggling.
I took a sip from my cup and winced at the thick, syrupy texture and the acrid bitterness as I held it in my cheek.
The lion broke rank, stalking towards me with all the intention of a predator.
It was obvious he didn’t buy that I’d willingly swallowed the cup’s contents.
He gripped my face hard enough to bruise, then dragged me forward as he ripped the goblet from my hand.
I spat the liquid onto his mask, then was rewarded with a backhand to my face.
Pain radiated through my jaw, and blood welled immediately from a tooth that cut through my lip.
I staggered and wiped my mouth with my sleeve, glaring at the male with the full weight of my hatred.
Pure, undiluted wrath funnelled down the bond as Raithe’s emotions welled down the connection linking us. He was the storm and the sea, waging war on all his enemies. The weight and force of his anger gave me pause, making me blink several times to adjust.
“We are intrinsically linked in a way that would be impossible to describe,” Raithe answered with cold fury. “When I get there, I am going to slice out his fucking innards. If he touches you again ? —”
“I can handle myself,” I promised, stroking the shadowy wall of his mind in reassurance . “I need you to focus on your task. I’ll be fine, Mother Hen. This may be our only chance. At least we have them all here where we can keep an eye on them … and keep them distracted. I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will. Doesn’t mean I don’t get to play the overprotective rooster when I have the chance. And if you don’t kill that male, I swear to all the gods I sure as hell will.”
“You will comply or you will die,” the lion snarled, ripping me from my thoughts as his golden mask roared down at me. “The choice is yours.”
“Okay, I’m thinking we can both rip this fucker to shreds,” I whispered down the bond as power surged to my fingertips, barely held at bay as my anger nearly consumed me.
I kept it in check. A sure death would follow if I acted prematurely.
Worse, he may kill my friends for my actions.
He grabbed me again, this time by the neck, and forced my head back before he poured the full contents of the cup down my throat.
When the liquid overflowed out of the sides of my mouth, a guard behind me pinched my nose, and I was forced to swallow.
“My ruthless little—” Raithe’s words cut off, and I blinked, panic rising in me once again at the gaping chasm inside me that he usually filled. The bond was gone. Raithe was gone.
The lion grinned at my stunned expression.
“A little concoction to even the scales,” he said for the benefit of all.
“Your ability to wield has been stripped from you, but don’t worry, it will return …
if you live long enough.” He slid a hand over the small of my back, then round to my front, his fingers splaying downwards.
Revulsion curdled in my stomach, but I said nothing, did nothing, until he pulled his hand back.
He clucked his tongue. “You’re the alchemist, aren’t you?
I’m surprised you don’t come better prepared.
Alas, there are no potions to aid you today. ”
Isn’t there? a little voice in me wanted to say.
Ever since Raithe and I had returned from our scouting trip to the island, my friends and I had pored over texts to find answers to the mystical veil.
I’d wanted to remove it altogether—to give the females in the prison a fighting chance to escape—but such an obstacle was too large a feat to overcome with limited supplies.
Instead, Sherai had suggested finding a more portable solution.
A liquid cure to the Pentad’s power-blocking magic.
I now wondered if it would also cure the magic that was currently circling in our veins.
I’d been gathering the herbs and testing the solution in the apothecary since.
The ones I’d picked the day Raithe had taken me to fly had proven the answer.
Blackbell. Our saving grace. The vials were waiting … if only I could get to them.
My fingers curled into fists as the lion made his way, along with the other Pentad members, to the stand erected just for them.
The sea serpent looked over us all, his golden mask swivelling slowly from left to right.
And, after the wind shrieked its war song, he clapped his hands just once. “Begin.”