Page 9

Rion

The world had lost all its color. It was just darkness swirling around him, clawing at him, stealing little fragments of his soul that’d allowed faded pigments to seep in from the edges.

His feet pounded against the rough ground. His magic took the brunt of the fight, never stopping. His breath escaped in jagged spikes, as if it, too, were trying to escape the nightmare unfolding before him.

The edges of his vision darkened, threatening to take him under. Had he expended too much energy? Had he never fully recovered from Niall’s captivity? Had he been fooling himself all along?

Rion clutched Arianna tighter, listening to her heartbeat above the roar of the chaos. Her breaths were labored and the scent of her blood had his mind reeling.

Just like his nightmares. This was exactly what he’d suffered beneath Niall’s spells. Did the male have him again? No, no, this was real. He had to remember this was real and that Arianna was really in danger this time. He was the only one who could save her. He just had to get away from these creatures first. Maybe he could find a village or—

Ice spread rapidly beneath his feet and Rion slid, turning his body so that his back collided with the hard ground. The Dark Fae lunged for him, but Rion’s magic burst out, tearing their flesh from their bones. He spun and righted himself, baring his teeth at the foul creatures as he kept running.

He couldn’t stop.

Arianna couldn’t afford for him to stop.

A wave of fire came at him from his right and Rion ducked around it, always moving so his back was to the danger to protect Arianna from it. He felt the creatures hitting him from various sides. Claws and teeth that managed to get through his magic and nip at his flesh.

But he didn’t feel the pain. He couldn’t feel anything above the panic radiating throughout his body.

A spear of ice flew through his upper arm and Rion winced at that, but still didn’t stop. He just sent another wave behind him, hoping it might catch the creature responsible.

They were thinning, if only slightly. Many gave chase, as if they thought the pursuit were a game. Others prowled the woods away from the main hoard and lunged for him as he sped through the trees.

Rion could see a set of mountains outlined in the distance. The mountains had always been a refuge. He could use them. He could get to them and hide and—then what? He knew how to stitch small wounds and care for burns and the like, but Arianna … Rion glanced down at her for a brief moment again. She rested in his arms, completely limp.

Gods above, what the hell was he supposed to do?

Rion didn’t see the creature that grabbed his ankle. Its teeth sank into his flesh and Rion fell. He kept a tight hold on Arianna as he rolled across the forest floor, cradling her head. He should have prevented it from hitting the ground the first time. He never should have gone after those two Fae.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Even if she’d hated him, she wouldn’t be dying in his arms right now.

Rion got back to his feet and kept going, trying to dodge large groups amidst the trees. A distant command echoed from his right. Rion scented the air. Fae. Niall.

Shit .

He veered left, straining in the darkness to search for any signs of the enemy.

Another Dark Fae slammed its body into his and Rion fell again, barely keeping his hold on Arianna. His ankle twisted. Cracked. Rion roared and the rocks came to life, rising up to shred the creature to pieces.

Sweat rolled down his face. His body shook. Rion tried to stand again and nearly buckled from the pain radiating through his foot.

Panic overtook him again. He desperately searched his surroundings. Anything. Anything. There . Rion kept his magic ever moving as he ran with a limp toward a large rock jutting up from the ground. With barely more than a thought, he tore through the center of it, creating a hole large enough for him to enter through. The Dark Fae tried to follow, but Rion crumbled the rock entrance back in on itself, sealing him and Arianna inside.

Rion gritted his teeth against the pain and gently set her down on the hard stone. He couldn’t see, but he could hear her breath and heartbeat. His hand found her wound and came away slick with blood.

She needed help now.

He had to do something now .

Rion cursed at the creatures bashing their bodies against the rock, chipping away at it piece by piece. He took those pieces and let them fly in random directions.

Rion placed his hand on the ground next and searched for their vibrations, catching all who stood anywhere near the wall in his clutches before crushing their bodies.

His head spun, exhaustion washing through him. This couldn’t be it. This wasn’t the extent of his powers. He’d held up an entire city only a few weeks ago.

And perhaps that was the problem. He’d been in captivity. His magic had been suppressed for over two months, then he’d unleashed it in a way he’d never done before. He’d trained endlessly afterward, trying to recover and process his anger.

Then he’d had to fight again and now Arianna—

It was too much. Too much on his mind and body and soul.

Rion clenched his teeth and planted his feet. He shoved the pain to the back of his mind. Let it be too much then. He’d let his body crumble before he let Arianna die in this makeshift cave.

Rion blasted the entrance open, using the debris as a weapon before he reformed the wall, closing his mate inside.

The Dark Fae lunged at him, but they were fewer in number, or was his addled mind just imagining it?

Rion tore them apart, whipping his magic around his body in a frenzy. He drew the only remaining blade he possessed and slammed it into one of the creature’s eye sockets then let his magic do the rest.

He just had to make a path. Once these creatures were destroyed, he could figure out where he was and make a start toward the nearest village.

If the dark creatures hadn’t destroyed that too.

Rising voices sounded too close. Shit, he’d forgotten. There were Fae closing in as well. Likely not Niall, as he’d previously thought, but they could his underlings. Rion could smell Pádraigín on the wind. He could smell them all really. Or was it just a glamour meant to throw him off?

Rion didn’t stop moving. He was a living storm. If he didn’t make it out of this, then neither would she.

Images from his time in captivity plagued his mind. Pictures of Arianna’s body withering before his eyes. Her lips slowly curling back from her teeth as decay took over and stole her from the world.

Rion roared again, fighting the sharp pricking sensation in his eyes and the way his throat suddenly burned.

A group of Fae rounded the corner. One stopped to look at him, their expression a mixture of awe and surprise.

Rion’s heart pounded harder when they veered straight for him. They would know Arianna was nearby. If he let them catch her, she’d be subjected to Niall’s torment just as he’d been.

And he’d die before he let that male lay a single finger on her again.

The Dark Fae were attacking the other Fae as well, which gave Rion a minor advantage as he waited for them to close the distance. He wouldn’t separate himself from Arianna, not when so much could go wrong.

Closer and closer they approached through the thinning creatures. Another small group of Fae emerged from his other side.

Rion rolled his neck and stored the pain in the back of his mind.

Just another battle.

Just another war.

And he’d always won.

Rion stopped thinking and let his exhausted body move. His magic burned in his veins, as if trying to sputter out. He shifted to a halfhearted sprint and grabbed the nearest Fae by the throat, snapping his neck with his bare hands.

He could fight Fae with just a blade and his own strength. He’d save his magic for the dark creatures that could mangle a limb with a single bite.

The Fae’s eyes widened as he let the male fall to the ground. They took note of his injury and Rion cursed again, letting the foul words fall from his lips like venom. He should have been praying, yet the gods had never seen fit to answer him before.

The Fae closed in, but kept their eyes on him as if he were a wild animal they didn’t quite know how to tame. He scented their fear, something he was far too accustomed to. It fueled his rage. Good, let them be afraid, let them see the monster that’d been sleeping in his veins these last few months.

Four turned their attention to him, their magic around their bodies and blades coated with blood. Their comrades continued the fight with the Dark Fae, circling around him until none could break through their line.

They thought isolating him would make him an easier target.

They were about to find out how wrong they were.

Three more shifted their focus to him. Three wielded fire, he could still see it sparking at their fingertips. One controlled water and at least one other was able to bend the plants to their will. That left two unknowns.

Until three more turned to face him as well.

One of the Fae stepped and Rion was already moving. Those surrounding him fell back a step as Rion used his magic to wrench the Fae’s arm out of its socket. He sank his fangs into the male’s neck, tearing the artery wide open. The male screamed and Rion shoved him toward his companions. Two caught him and the others were backing further away with—their hands were up.

Arianna’s heart skipped and his did the same, fear consuming him as he relived the nightmare of listening to it stop over and over again.

When she was strangled. When she’d been beheaded. When his own magic had wrapped around her neck…

A growl tore from him and he launched at another male.

The sword fell from the male’s grasp and he tried to hit his knees, but Rion had his fingers around his throat before his body could fall.

“Please, My Lord—” then his words were cut off.

Another ran forward and hit his knees. “We can help her.” He turned his wrists up and desperately looked between Rion and the male suspended in his grasp.

One twist of Rion’s arm, and the male would die. He didn’t have time for words. He needed to move.

“Please,” the Fae shouted again. “We came to help.” His words were quick, voice shaking. “We’re followers of The Divine, please My Lord, we’re not here to cause you or your mate any harm.”

Rion’s eyes flashed toward the male on the ground then he took a fraction of a second to register that none had turned their magic against him. At least not yet.

His heart pounded with a tendril of hope.

“She’s hurt,” the male said. “I can smell her blood. We can help her.”

“How?” Rion growled again.

“We have a settlement nearby with medicine and healers.”

Arianna needed both, but to trust strangers anywhere near her… To let them touch her…

No, they wouldn’t have to, he knew how to dress wounds. He could just use their medicine himself and perhaps the advice of a healer.

Did he really have any other choice? The Dark Fae were still being fought back and more Fae were joining them, their curious gazes staring at Rion and the magic circling his body.

Rion threw the male he’d been holding then eyed those in the vicinity. “Anyone that tries to touch her dies.”

“Understood,” the male still kneeling said.

He didn’t have enough time to assess them. All he knew was the male wasn’t lying. He was from Móirín, or so his scent claimed. Arianna’s heartbeat skipped again and Rion darted for her.

The scent of her blood washed over him the moment he let the rocks crumble away. His heart clenched at the sight of her and the wound on her side. Gods, she needed help and she needed it now.

This was worse than any nightmare.

This was reality.

Rion carefully scooped her into his arms and emerged with his magic still spiraling around his body. It fought against his control now, but he couldn’t let them see that. His limp was bad enough.

The kneeling male slowly rose to his feet and stared at Arianna in awe for half a heartbeat before shouting commands for them to march north. Rion only hesitated a second before following.

“It’ll be all right,” he whispered to her. “I’m going to make everything all right.”