Page 31 of Grounded (Convergence #1)

Liria opened her mouth to shout for Thax, but the breath left her as someone punched her in the stomach.

“Liria!” Thax shouted as a wall of feathers formed between them.

There were five of them. All Aethari. All soldiers. One of them was the woman Liria had kneecapped, but the rest were men. The woman was still limping when she came up to Liria. She was also grinning.

That didn't bode well.

“Get his wings!” a man shouted.

“Fuck, he's strong!”

“Hold him!”

“I'm trying!”

“There! Now, asshole, you're gonna watch what we do to Medeans who dare to claim one of us. First, we're going to beat your little slut, and then we're all going to have a turn at her. You need to learn that's all they're good for. Then maybe you'll do right by your betrothed.”

Maybe Liria should have been shocked that her fellow soldiers were capable of assault and rape, but she wasn't. She knew too much about the world—their divided world.

The Aethari may fight beside Medeans against a common enemy, but that didn't make them friends.

So, no, she wasn't surprised. Part of her had been preparing for something like this ever since she made that Aethari woman do jump-crouches.

A glance around the environment, and Liria knew she had no weapons and no help.

The men were restraining Thax. They had his arms and wings—one man holding each.

He thrashed, kicked, and even snapped his teeth at them while threatening to tear them apart if they touched her.

It took everything they had to hold him back.

How the fuck did they think they were going to rape her while he watched?

Thax was losing his shit—more savage than he'd been when he killed those Nethren.

But then their stares met, and he went still. Terrifyingly still.

Liria could have run, but she didn't. She couldn't leave Thax.

Plus, with their wings, she wouldn't get far.

But a Medean soldier was never completely defenseless.

Liria settled her weight onto her thighs.

Five against one, and she wouldn't stand a chance.

But one-on-one, Liri knew she could kick this woman's feathered ass up and down the street.

“Bring it, bitch,” Liria growled. “That knee was just an appetizer.”

“You're going to be the feast tonight, whore,” the woman snarled and drew closer, blocking Thax from Liria's view.

Thaxvarien started shouting for her again, but his voice sounded different.

Odd. His, but not his. Resonant. It became a physical thing, vibrating through the air.

Liria could practically touch it. A glow came from behind the Aethari woman, outlining her wings and the top of her head.

Yes, very strange, all of it, but Liria didn't have the time to ponder deep voices and glowing lights.

Grunts, thuds, and whooshing sounds came next, but those were easily identified.

Liria knew Thax's stillness had just been a gathering of energy.

He wouldn't meekly allow himself to be restrained while she was hurt.

Not her Thax. He was doing his part, keeping four of their five opponents busy.

All Liria had to face—for now—was one of them.

And she'd already kneecapped her. No problem.

The woman scowled over her shoulder, refocused on Liria, and then pulled back her fist. As the Aethari had been posturing and gloating, Liria had been converging.

Or maybe a better term would have been anti-converging.

The skyfire lamp beside them shattered with the overload of magic Liria had siphoned from the closest ley line.

Before it could escape, she drew the trapped lightning down and fried the Aethari's wings.

The woman screeched and fell to the ground, rolling to put out the flames.

“Damn,” Liria whispered. “Feathers burn fast.”

By the time the woman had put out her burning wings, they were half gone. Bloody bones and burnt feathers were all that was left. She was having a really bad night.

And it was about to get worse.

“You will not touch her!” a voice full of power blasted like a pulser, except this pulse hit the very molecules in the air and rippled out to vibrate through the entire world. “Bastards! Traitors! You dishonor our race! And you have just threatened my destra!”

Liria didn't know what that last word meant, but the Aethari woman did. Her eyes went wide, and she paused in the motion of getting to her feet.

“You will all pay the price of challenging destiny!” Thax roared.

A flurry of feathers followed his battle cry.

An explosion of them. They burst up and around the Aethari woman, creating a stunning backdrop of multicolored feathers that had her crouching even as she stood.

It was as if someone had torn open a giant pillow.

Liria's jaw fell as she stared at the spectacle.

Vengeance came from above. The Aethari woman and Liria looked up just in time to see Thax come down, wings pointing toward the sky, legs directing him straight toward Liria's crippled assailant.

Blood streaked his face, covered his hands, and soaked his clothes.

His teeth were bared, and his hands were curled into claws. Oh, and he was glowing.

Yes, glowing. As in—his skin glowed from the inside and his eyes sent beams of acid green onto the Aethari woman.

Targeting her. Thaxvarien landed on the woman's charred and bloody wings in an impressive, complicated maneuver that he made look graceful.

She screamed as more of her bones broke.

Using those broken wings for leverage, Thax pushed himself back into the sky.

But he wasn't done yet. Nope, he just had to turn around.

Thax dove, picked the woman up by her throat, and then tossed her to the ground. She hit the sidewalk hard, her breath coming out of her and her body bowing upward as if it couldn't believe it was on the ground. Then she fell limp and went silent.

At this point, Liria thought the fight was over, but no.

Thax had broken away from his attackers to save her, even though she didn't need saving, thank you very much.

The four Aethari men were still standing, though their wings looked as if they'd been chewed on, and none of them went to meet Thax in the air.

Instead, Thax had to return to them. He did so eagerly, spinning downward as he kicked out with his left leg and wing.

An Aethari went tumbling. Steel flashed.

Thankfully, none of them had pulsers. Or if they did, they weren't using them.

Thax wasn't their main target after all.

But they were quickly coming to the realization that they had to do more than restrain him if they wanted to walk away from this fight. Flying was already not an option.

They came at him together, wings flopping and dragging behind them. Despite how well Thax was doing, Liria wasn't about to sit out the fight. She ran for the group, hands clenching into fists, but she wasn't fast enough. Before she could reach them, Thax took them on. All of them.

Liria had to pull up short and stand aside as her glowing, gorgeous lover savaged their attackers like a wolf that had swallowed a lantern. Blood flew. Bones cracked. Feathers fluttered through the air. There was no opening for her to jump in and help. He kept it tight, ensuring no one got away.

The memory of Thax fighting the Nethren came to Liria as she watched.

Had she thought he was wild then? That was nothing.

Thax had used a sword then. He had only himself for this battle.

Liria wasn't sure if that made the Aethari better or worse off than the Nethren.

At least with the Nethren it had been fast. With these men, it was personal.

Thax drew it out. No quick beheading for them.

He dispensed deliberate punches and kicks.

No longer a soldier, Thax had become a focused killer.

That focus included Liria. Even as he fought, Thax was aware of her.

She saw him check on her often and realized that this wasn't about him or his fury.

It wasn't even about justice. It was about defending her.

Thaxvarien Rennux had one goal at that moment—to protect Liria.

But the truly shocking bit was how he accomplished his goal.

Thax summoned magic. He had pulled power from the Source to defend her.

Admirable indeed, but also impossible. Aethari couldn't use magic.

They certainly couldn't summon power from the Source of Magic.

But there was no denying that glow or that voice.

She was witnessing a historic event. Perhaps even a miracle.

Thaxvarien's love for her defied nature itself.

He had become a converged creature. Just to protect her.

And he was about to become a murderer for her as well.

“Thax!” Liria shouted. “Don't kill them!”

Thax immediately went still, as if she held his leash.

“Baby, don't do it. It's not worth it.” She held out a hand, not to reach for him but to wave him down. “They will imprison you if you kill them. Please don't. I couldn't bear that.”

Thaxvarien, covered in blood, surrounded by moaning men who crawled and clutched at the ground in an effort to get away from him, placed his fist to his heart and bowed to her as if he had approached her in a grand ballroom.

Dear convergence. The sight struck Liria dumb. It was bizarre and brutal but also beautiful and humbling. Then Thax returned to his work—restrained but still vicious.

Breath and hands trembling, Liria watched Thax take down the trained Aethari soldiers as if they were helpless children.

He didn't stop until they were all sprawled on the sidewalk beside the woman, their wings and limbs bent in unnatural positions.

Liria saw their chests rise and fall. They were still alive.

But they didn't move, and she doubted they would ever move easily again. Their days of fighting were over.

At last, Thax stood in a circle of blood and feathers, his perfect wings lifted high and his chest slamming up and down with his harsh breaths.

Now it's over. That's what Liria thought. She was wrong again. There was one last thing for Thaxvarien to do.

He went to each Aethari and plucked a long flight feather from their broken, battered, and—in the case of the woman—blackened wings. As if they hadn't lost enough of those damn feathers already.

“Holy shit,” Liria whispered.

Her bloody lover came to her as the glow receded from his skin and eyes.

With a bouquet of feathers in his hands, he got down on one knee.

Liria sensed the weight of his actions. The significance.

As strange as this was—and, let's be honest, a little psychotic—it was also momentous.

Liria's back straightened and her chin lifted, all while her heart pounded hard enough to steal her breath.

Or was that Thaxvarien Rennux who made her breathless?

Thax lifted his hands and offered her the feathers.

The world went silent. Utterly silent until Liria brushed the blood from Thax's cheek, and with the gravitas normally reserved for ceremonies, she accepted his gift. Then sound returned. The world righted itself. Time ticked forward once more.

Anyone watching might have been horrified.

They probably both looked insane. But that feeling was still with Liria, guiding her.

Her pride wasn't hurt by his defense of her.

Nor was she disgusted by his savagery. This was still her Thax.

Liria knew him. She knew what had driven him to violence and what had brought him to his knees before her with his gruesome gift.

Even if she didn't know the how of it, she knew the why.

It was simple. Love. He loved her. Liria could hardly rebuke him for that.

Words came to her then, flowing into her mind, and over her lips, “Your offering is pleasing to me, warrior. You have proven yourself a protector and brought honor to me and your family. I accept this token of your prowess and shall proudly display it so that all may know that Thaxvarien Rennux has no equal.”

With a roar of victory, Thax shot to his feet. But he didn't stop there. Lifting Liria to cradle against his chest, he launched them into the sky and flew them back toward the fortress.

There, in the peace of a star-sprinkled sky, holding a bouquet of bloody feathers, Liria nestled in close to Thax's heart and whispered in his ear words that came from her alone. “I love you.”