Page 111 of Forged By Malice (Beasts of the Briar #3)

110

Dayton

I wish I knew what damned cosmic entity I pissed off, because we really can’t catch a break.

“Come on, Fare,” I say, holding his shaking body. Sweat beads on his forehead, and his fingers clutch the ground. “Where is she?”

His head whips up, auburn hair wild, and takes off running across the flower field. Stems snap beneath our feet, the bobbing blue lights fluttering away.

“Where is he going?” Wrenley yells, cloak blowing in the wind.

“I don’t know,” I call back.

A rumble shakes the ground, and I swear I see the entire mountain range move. Fluorescent green smoke billows from beyond the walls of Florendel. Then a massive dark shape emerges from the clouds.

“Is that a fucking…”

“It’s a flying ship.” Wrenley gazes up, eyes wide.

The black sails and hull cut through the air. The windows gleam with that same strange green magic that infected Farron’s realm. The magic Caspian used to save our asses.

Farron raises a shaky finger skyward. “There,” he rasps. “She’s there. ”

I grab his shoulder and spin him around as the shadow of the ship passes above us. “We’ll get her, Farron. That ship is heading to Summer. I won’t let anyone harm my realm, and I won’t let anyone harm her. You know me, Fare. You know this.”

“I love you,” he whispers. “And so does Rosie.”

He gives me a weak smile and leans in toward me. But then pauses, his features suddenly lit up by a bright golden light, casting his hair copper. The light … It’s coming from my chest, glowing like the goddamn sun itself.

The light of a mate bond.

Slowly, I turn, following the line of light, so bright and true, to see its origin.

Wrenley stands in the middle of the field of flowers, brown hair blowing around her face. One of the will-o’-wisps is spread across her chest, causing her bond to awaken the light that leads her directly to her mate.

And like an arrow of gold, it strikes me in the chest.

“Dayton,” Wrenley says, “we’re mates.”