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Rion

Talon lunged for him, ice crackling around his form as both body and magic slammed into Rion, knocking him to the ground.

Rion’s magic blocked the deadly spears of ice, rendering them useless, but he’d barely blocked Talon’s hands in time as they’d reached for his throat.

Talon roared, snapping his teeth and Rion grimaced before bucking him off with his hips. Talon pivoted, landing on his hands and feet like a feral animal before lunging at him again.

Ice snaked up the walls, branching out to surround Rion on all sides. Talon drew his blade and lunged for him again, the ice following in dozens of sharpened spears.

Rion yanked the stones loose, crushing them with half a thought before encasing his body in a protective cocoon. Ice formed at his feet, forcing him to roll to avoid the next attack, but Talon was already there. He grabbed Rion by the front of his tunic and slammed him to the ground before pinning him with his body.

Rion’s magic wrapped around Talon’s arms, stopping the falling blade a mere inch from his throat.

Talon growled at him, his eyes full of rage and grief.

The very floor turned cold beneath Rion’s body. He tore through the stone to their right and hit Talon hard in the ribs, knocking the male off balance long enough for Rion to regain his feet.

“Stop, I didn’t touch her.” Rion didn’t know why he bothered trying. No one had ever believed him before. That familiar tang of rage resurfaced, reminding him of all the pain and betrayals. It was that very rage that had sent him on mission after mission until he’d earned a reputation for himself.

Talon had seen the changes in him. Talon had helped him train his body after Niall’s torment. They’d finally started to build a bond. To trust one another as comrades.

But one misunderstanding and he was the monster all over again.

Rion growled, baring his teeth. The stones around him crumbled to dust.

Talon lunged, but this time Rion caught his ankles with sand and stone. Talon tried to twist from their grip, but Rion held firm and yanked hard. Talon’s jaw hit the stone floor, then Rion threw him into the wall. Rion’s magic engulfed Talon’s limbs, rendering them useless. Then his hand snaked out and grabbed Talon by the throat.

Rage pulsed through his body. Talon was just another name to add to an ever growing list of people who’d betrayed him. He hadn’t even hesitated.

Talon squirmed beneath Rion’s iron grip, but Rion’s magic tightened around Talon’s arms, legs, and torso, grating against his skin, squeezing his ribs until they were ready to snap in half.

The male thrashed, his magic trying to break him free. Spears of ice flew from different angles, but the stones crumbled at Rion’s command and blocked them each time.

Talon’s face turned red as Rion cut off his air supply. He watched the desperation in Talon’s eyes and relished in the feel of a life fading beneath his hands. It’d been too long.

This isn’t you.

Rion startled at the female voice echoing in his head. He turned, searching for who it belonged to, scenting the air in case they were trying to hide, but—no one was there.

Rion turned his focus back to Talon, ready to finish it and move on.

Don’t let him steal another piece of your soul.

“Come out,” Rion demanded. He released Talon’s throat but kept his magic firm. He could deal with another threat first.

She needs you.

Rion whirled again, searching for the voice. They were close. Whoever—

Arianna needs you.

Rion’s entire body locked up and the rage pulsing through him shattered like a mirror disappearing to reveal the truth behind the reflection.

He spun to find Talon pinned against the wall with earth and stone, the male still gasping for breath. Marks lined his throat from where Rion had nearly crushed his windpipe.

He’d almost—

Rion stumbled back, his gaze roaming toward the female on the floor. She wasn’t covered in blood anymore. Her leg wasn’t nearly severed either. Raevina looked … normal. Rion blinked and the blood reappeared, scent and all. Another blink and it was gone again.

Shit. He didn’t know who the voice belonged to. It certainly wasn’t Arianna. The female sounded older. Wiser. Maybe Sive had placed another rune on him he wasn’t aware of.

Rion silently thanked the voice, then checked the rune on his arm. It hadn’t changed, which meant whoever was controlling the glamour was stronger than the average Fae.

Was it Niall? No, Rion was confident he’d recognize that male’s magic. Vairik? Wouldn’t he already be dead in that case?

Talon finally stopped coughing and glared at Rion, baring his teeth in absolute rage. He pulled at the restraints and frost coated the dirt and stone holding his body in place.

“She’s fine,” Rion said, remaining against the wall opposite of the male. Talon’s gaze darted to Raevina, a spark of hope there and gone again. He fought harder. The rock around his left arm cracked. “Look harder,” Rion urged. “It’s a glamour. Search for the bond.”

Talon’s heart pounded, but he stilled again, his gaze roaming over the female as if he barely dared to hope. Rion understood that fear and desperation. He’d do anything to protect his mate. All of them would.

“The bond,” his voice was a hoarse whisper. “It’s—where is it?”

“That’s not her.” Rion watched as Talon’s face paled, then he stopped pulling at the bonds.

“Let me go.”

Rion did, even as he pulled his magic up to surround his own body in case Talon changed his mind. He knew better than to underestimate the warrior despite his age.

Weaver. He had weaver blood in his veins. It explained so much.

“Where is she?” Talon growled as he stared down at the female. Her image kept shifting, as if the glamour were trying to reclaim it’s hold.

“I don’t know.”

Talon turned to him then, his face still a mask of rage. “And how do I know you’re you?”

“You’re not dead.”

Talon scoffed then shadows wrapped around the female. Her body disappeared seconds later, vanishing as if she were made of smoke or mist.

“Where’s Arianna?” Talon demanded.

Rion clenched his fists. “I lost her.”

Talon’s gaze snapped up. “Who’s with her?”

“No one.”

Cold silence drifted between them. The kind that told Rion they were all about to face their worst fears.

“Conall said Vairik wants you and Arianna, which means he won’t kill her.”

“If you knew half the things Niall did to me that wouldn’t comfort you.” Rion’s mind kept flashing back to the memory of that female lying on a table and how her chest had been ripped wide open. Then to the dark creatures that had resembled the Fae far too much for his liking.

“Do we split up?” Talon asked.

Rion ground his teeth. It’d been so easy to turn them against one another. Would they be able to do it again? Did they risk it?

“No, we stay together for as long as we can. We se—”

The floor shook then turned to shadows beneath their feet before everything crumbled beneath them. Rion reached for something to pull him out, but every stone he grasped broke away. Talon cursed, trying to do the same.

Neither found purchase and they both fell into a darkness that consumed everything.