Page 54

I stood quickly bumping into Emon’s chest as I threw a shield of shadow over Riley and Xi who had stood with me. Drawing my sword from the shadow void, I looked up where the sun should have still been shining. My eyes widened at the massive dark swarm.

“Are those—”

“Spy crows.” Both Emon and Tyr snarled together, their deadly fangs had extended, claws were unsheathed, and their eyes flashed bright with a predatory gleam.

They were feral shifter gods. One a glowing sculpture of bronze, the other a tattooed masterpiece of muscle, and they flanked me as if I was their sacred honor to protect.

Except I didn’t need protection.

Averting my gaze I watched the dark swarm of birds, squawking above us.

Up close, spy crows were a medium sized bird, all black, except for their beaks which were bright red with sharp sawing teeth.

My nose wrinkled with disgust when the frantic beat of their wings brought with them the stench of rotten earth.

I touched the shifter king’s arm, drawing his attention back down to me. “They are searching for the city.” I breathed.

He nodded. “Tyr, sound the alarm. Fortify the wards. They shouldn’t be able to see the city but I’m not taking any fucking chances!”

Tyr cursed violently before he transformed into a large formidable white tiger and raced towards the city of Finlandia.

Emon hissed next to me. “I haven’t seen spycrows since my mother’s death.”

I narrowed my eyes up at the sky and winced at the chilling squawks. “A death omen. It was Deirdre’s favorite way to inform her enemies they were her next mark.” Fear filled me. “She must know Riella is here!” I lunged in the same direction as the tiger shifter.

Emon’s firm grip caught me and tugged hard at my arm, spinning me back around. “I need you, the best way to protect Riella is to make our stance here. Not to bring them towards her. Deirdre would expect that of you…of us.”

Wrenching my arm from his grip, I flashed my teeth at him. “Fine but I don’t have to like it.”

“Do we need to know who this Riella is?” Xi asked, despite having been quiet up to this point.

I glanced back to see both her and Riley drawing their lethal scimitars. They always did favor those curved blades. My shadows still draped lazily around them and they were at perfect ease with their presence, Xi even patted at them against her shoulder with her free hand.

There was a reason they were once part of the shadow forces.

Without time to explain, I used the one term they would understand. “ Chickadee.”

Xi hummed and Riley nodded. “Riella equals kill anything that threatens her. My favorite kind of mission.”

No questions asked.

“I always knew the chickadees meant something to you.” Emon said softly next to me, still watching the swarming spy crows that were drawing nearer.

Tyr appeared just a second later, a subtle flash the only sign that he had shifted back. His purple eyes flashed angrily. “Our forces are on their way and reported incoming wraiths from the south.”

Emon cracked his neck to the side. “They can cover all of the West Isles sky and search all of her lands but they will never find our city.” He glanced over at me. “She will stay safe.”

I twirled my blade in my hand and gave him a hard look. “Good. Now what are my orders , your majesty?”

His brows raised.

“You said you needed me here. You wanted this alliance…it seems I still have one monarch left to serve.” I flipped my blade across my forearm and laid it out to him.

“King Daemon Ash Strider, my blade is yours.” Bowing my head low, I waited with baited breath.

It felt…right and if he rejected me now… my heart may never survive it.

“I accept.” He said gruffly.

Exhaling harshly and rising, I stilled at the fierce blazing intensity radiating from his predatory eyes. Enraptured, I could see every one of his emotions in that moment. Hope, admiration, awe, fear…and something else, something that was the answer to all my whys.

I inhaled sharply, stepping back.

Emon blinked, the bright intensity calming.

Growling, he glanced back up at the sky then back down to me. “I need the umbras to take out the spycrows.” The birds screeched down upon us, now flocking in the millions over the valley. “Every. Fucking. One. I don't want a single one of those pests surviving.”

I grinned. “Oh is that all, my king? And what will you be doing while I do all the hard work?”

Emon chuckled darkly and stepped closer to me. His hand reached outward and tucked back a loose strand of hair from my face. “Avenging your flower pissing gnomes it would seem. There are wraiths out there and I haven’t forgotten my promise.”

“In that case, save some blood wraiths for me too please.” I said sweetly, leaning into his palm. His touch felt way too goddess damn good.

“It’s never good when she uses that tone.” Xi whispered.

Riley and Tyr grunted in unison, identical wariness in their expression.

Emon ignored them, his hand caressed over my cheek and skimmed my smile with his roughened fingertips. “What a savage blood thirsty shadow fae you are. Shall I hold them down for you while you gut them too?”

I brushed my lips against his hand. “How kind of you, your majesty.”

Emon’s chest rumbled and his eyes bled with hunger…hunger that wasn’t for killing anymore.

We both jumped back when the shadows snapped up between us impatiently.

Emon chuckled and shook his head. Glancing up at my dumbstruck friends he snarled. “Keep your General safe while she takes care of that feathered shit! Tyr you’re with me!”

Tyr growled low. His eyes glittering with excitement looking to the south.

I raised my hand and the shadows slithered up it menacingly then plumed above us. “You should go, your majesty. I’ll only be a few.”

Riley snickered this time. “It never bodes well for us when she uses that tone either.”

Stepping forward, Emon suddenly gripped my chin. His touch light, but commanding at the same time. “Be sure that you are just a few, for even a mere second not in your presence is a second too long.”

His tone was everything dark and sensual and I shivered at the sound of it. If Emon noticed he didn’t point it out, instead he gave me one last lingering look before snarling and spinning away, grabbing onto his general who was grinning smugly at his friend.

I didn’t bother to watch him leave. I had a job to do and my stomach flipped with a renewed sense of purpose.

“Time to play my loves.” I cooed at the shadows.

Raising my hand upwards they exploded with such a force that I had to brace from stumbling backwards.

I felt Xi’s strong hand grip my right shoulder, then the firm grip of Riley’s on my other.

“Those eager bastards haven't changed one bit, have they?” Xi murmured.

Regaining my balance, I laughed. “Of course not. Would you expect anything else?” The hardest part was never getting the shadows to obey my commands in battle…it was getting them to stop.

The three of us watched with trepidation as they plumed upwards with racing speed straight towards the swirling cloud of spy crows. Darkness versus darkness, the shadows billowed outward like a massive black hole that had torn open the sky.

Raising my other hand, I drew the resting dormant shadows that had spread from the overcast skies and sent them upward to reinforce their sister shadows.

The shadows started to curl, corralling the panicked shrilling birds further and further into their net of darkness. A thunderous boom rippled across the sky before they snapped inwards disappearing completely, along with millions of spy crows.

Not a single one remained as Finlandia’s warm sunny rays glowed down on our upturned faces once again.

Riley cleared his throat and released his hand from my shoulder.

Xi blew out a breath, her white hair billowing out from her half covered face, and dropped her hand as well. “That never fails to creep me the fuck out. Every goddess damn time.”

I snickered but knew the shadows weren’t quite done. I grinned when another snap signaled the start of black shadow feathers raining down on us like celebratory confetti.

I reached up, trailing my fingers lazily through the shadow feathers with dark amusement. “I was wondering where your flourish was…I love the final touch my loves.”

The smoke feathers shimmered around us and then oozed back into one ominous cloud hovering near my feet, satiated after their grand feast.

I giggled down at them like an amused parent.

But our reprieve was short lived when a different kind of piercing wail gathered our attention south. The blood wraiths had arrived.

“I don’t suppose there is any beauty under those rags.

” I commented and tapped my shadow sword at my side in thought, finally seeing them more clearly.

They were hooded creatures, draped in black decaying robes that appeared to be soaked with deep red blood dripping from the tattered edges.

“Let me take a wild guess. Decapitation?”

Riley twirled his scimitar eagerly, his green hair flopping over his brow. “Of course.”

Xi stepped next to him, sighing. “Except those bastards don’t allow you to get that close without trying to fry you with their blue fire of death. Don’t let it hit you…it will spread once you’re hit and it burns like a fucking ice plunge in No cturnes.”

I stretched my neck to the side and started walking forward. Emon and his armies were only a few minutes ahead of us. “Sounds mildly challenging. At least I won’t get bored killing them.”

“Shit.” Xi cursed, following behind me. “I hate it when she gets like this. It always ends with me covered in blood.”

Riley chuckled darkly, shuffling with relaxed countenance. “You know you both look good in blood.”

“I have white hair Ri.”

I felt the earth rumble and I knew Xi was drawing on her elemental powers.

“I’m sure one of the shifters will be more than happy to lick you clean afterwards.”

Gusts of wind blew around us, Riley was summoning his elemental air power.

“Not the hair Riley…it’s not as if they can lick the stains out of my hair. I’ll be looking like a goddess damn pink pixie for the next few days.”

The earth beneath us splintered with her agitation.

An unnatural gust, forced me to turn around to look at Riley with surprise. He was twirling air around Xi’s head and tying it off in a knot. “There. I call it the h-air shield. Get it. Hair…h-air. No blood will get past the shield of air around your head.” He chuckled.

Xi’s jaw dropped and she stumbled.

“Ah shit.” I snickered and shook my head, facing forward.

Xi hissed menacingly. “How long have you known you could do that? How many battles have we fought? How many times have I complained about blood in my hair?”

Riley’s grin faltered and I felt his inquiring gaze on me.

I just shook my head, not bothering to look back at him. “You’re on your own, Ri.”

Xi snarled at him. “When this is over Riley Dragoon, we will be dying your hair pink for the next month.”

Snorting laughter bubbled from my smirking lips.

“Goddess, I missed you both so much.” I breathed.

Riley caught up to me and nudged my shoulder. “We missed you too, Rem. Now shall we show these shifters what it’s like to fight alongside shadow forces? The real legends of this story?”

Xi caught up to me on my other side and whispered conspiringly in my ear. “He’ll be a legend alright. A pink haired one.”