Page 17

ALARIC

T he Revenant army is acting…strange. There have been seemingly random engagements, small, half-hearted attacks all along the borders of the Sisters, in places where there is no hope of breaking through. It makes no sense. It’s almost as if they’re testing our forces, but they are as strong as ever, coming out victorious and sending the Revenant forces scurrying away within days of each battle. Something feels wrong, but I can’t see it yet, and that’s driving me mad.

We’ve seen no more signs of the armor-piercing arrows and while I would like to believe they only had the one, I fear that’s not the case. I feel deep in my bones that they’re just waiting for another chance to do…something but, again, I have no idea what.

“What the fuck are you up to, Kilgren?” I mutter to myself as I pour over the maps in my war room.

“You know, talking to yourself is a sign of lunacy in many places.” Elias strolls into the room as if he hasn’t a care in the world. It’s one of the things I love most about him. He always appears at ease and totally unflappable, but beneath that, he’s sharp as a razor, always seeing and analyzing, always ready to unleash the utterly terrifying warrior within.

“Is the group ready to leave in the morning?”

“Ready and rearing. I reminded them it’s just a scouting mission and that we likely wouldn’t be seeing battle, but they can hope.” He smiles and shrugs, leaning on the edge of the table and narrowing his eyes slightly as he studies the figurines marking the locations of the most recent skirmishes. I can hardly even call them battles, really. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.

“It’s almost like a distraction.”

I frown. “What do you mean?”

He waves a hand at the table. “All these fights, up and down the borders, usually several at once at different locations with no clear purpose, only for them to retreat soon after the battle begins. It just seems like some kind of distraction, something to keep us busy while they’re doing other things. Misdirection.”

I exhale roughly and run a hand through my hair. I’m exhausted. I haven’t been sleeping well, not since…well, not since Dahlia arrived, really. Not since the moment I knew she was mine and made the decision to forsake the mating bond, but it’s gotten worse these last months while I’ve done everything in my power to stay away from her. It’s like razors being scraped against the inside of my skull, a constant, sharp pain that only gets worse with each day that passes. But I know it’s the right decision. It’s the only decision that will keep her safe.

When I’d seen her that day outside the training rings, my entire body had responded, needs and desires and urges surfacing like beasts from the darkest depths of the ocean, all sharp teeth and hungry eyes. I’d barely stopped myself from going to her, barely stopped myself from giving chase as she fled. Because that’s what she’d been doing as she backed away and ran: fleeing . She’d run from me, some baser instincts deep in her bones telling her what I was thinking, screaming at her that I was a danger. That knowledge had held me in place, watching her as she ran away.

So, yes, staying away is the only choice.

But it still fucking hurts.

We leave at first light. It will take our small cadre at least four days to reach the remote village deep in the northwest. It’s a small fishing village, but their elder wrote to me personally to tell me of Revenant sightings nearby. We’ve never heard of them going that far out into the wilds before, so I felt I needed to come myself. Yet more Revenant activity not making any fucking sense. If Kilgren’s goal is to drive me insane, he might just succeed at this rate.

The journey goes by in a blur, my mind too full and my body too tense to care much about the trip. The temperatures are much lower here, true winter already creeping in. We still have two months, maybe three, before it hits the camp. I wonder what Dahlia will think of it, having only ever lived in the south of Braxhelm. Has she ever even seen snow?

I push the thoughts away and focus on the task at hand.

“There have been no attacks on the village?” I ask the elder, though I already know the answer.

“None, High General,” the man replies. He’s at least eighty, with deeply tanned, wrinkled skin and eyes so dark brown, they look nearly black. There’s endless wisdom in them, and kindness.

“But you say you’ve seen Revenants?”

“Yes, sir. More than one crew has reported seeing them near the Great Bear.” The Great Bear, we have been told, is a cave on the far edge of the large lake. The mouth is lined with jagged rocks that look like giant fangs, and the formation of rocks above resembles a nose, eyes, and even ears—all together, it looks like a giant bear, jaws gaping menacingly. “But they’ve never made any move to attack, and have never come across the lake as far as we’re aware.”

“How close to the cave were the crews who made the reports?”

The elder rubs his chin. “We do not go near the Great Bear, it is a cursed place, but the crews were close enough to know what they were seeing. Black claws and fangs, red eyes, gray skin.” I tense, knowing deep down that they had indeed seen Revenants. But what in the seven hells were they doing here? I suppose the Great Bear might be a good place for a nest to hide, but no attacks in the area at all doesn’t make sense. And choosing somewhere so remote isn’t really the typical behavior of the Revenants. They’re bloodthirsty, always hunting and tormenting humans. It’s their nature, so to be this close to prey and not hunt? It makes no sense.

“Have there been any disappearances? Not outright attacks, but any members of the village going missing? Any news of those who live in the wilderness beyond the village’s borders having issues or being taken?”

“Accidents happen on the boats and out in the wilderness, High General,” the elder says pragmatically, “but nothing like what you’re thinking. We have no reason to believe the Revenants have been living in the Great Bear for any great amount of time, nor that they ever came near our lands.”

“Is there anything special about the cave?” Elias asks, and I can practically see the gears working inside his mind.

“Nothing that we would know of. The oldest tales of our people say that there were dark magics inside that cave, that people who went there were never heard from again. We do not go to the Great Bear.” His voice is firm and final. I nod and share a look with Elias, both of us knowing that whatever is going on here, it can’t be good.

“We will go to the Great Bear,” I say simply. “We leave as soon as possible.”

“We’ll prepare the boats,” the elder says, beckoning towards a young girl.

I incline my head in thanks. The girl is young, his granddaughter most likely, and her heart is beating wildly as she steps closer to her grandfather, Elias, and myself. She risks a glance at me and her eyes widen, her pulse thundering. My chest clenches painfully. Her eyes are nearly the same shade of green as Dahlia’s, though this girl’s don’t have the beautiful gold flecks that make Dahlia’s eyes sparkle.

I clench my jaw and force the thoughts away. We thank the elder again and we ready to depart.

“What the fuck do you think they’re doing out there?” Elias asks as he eyes the lake warily. It seems to go on for ages and ages, and while those old myths about vampires being unable to cross large bodies of water are rubbish, Elias hates boats. He loves the sea, but hates being out on it. It’s always amused me.

“I don’t know,” I admit. “More distractions?” I shake my head in frustration, not really believing it even as the words pass my lips. I can just make out the shape of the Great Bear far in the distance, a dark mass against the burning orange light of the setting sun. I have no idea what we might find, and the elder seems to think that the Revenants have gone, but I prepare for battle all the same and instruct my men to do the same. They’re all busy strapping on armor and checking their weapons when a sword catches my eye.

“Thaylin.” The vampire quickly snaps to attention.

“Yes, High general?” she asks, bowing her head, her silvery-blonde warrior braids slipping over one shoulder.

“Is that a Clayburn blade?”

“Yes, sir. Dah— Lady Dahlia,” she quickly corrects and my lips almost quirk—of course Dahlia would refuse to allow her friends to call her by her rightful title—“asked her father to do me the great honor of forging one of his legendary swords for my use.”

Of course she did. Though I’m avoiding her, it doesn’t mean that I’m not learning about my mate. One thing that I know above all else is how fiercely she loves. To be counted in that number would be a great honor, indeed.

“What is her name?”

“Reaper’s Lady,” she says, smiling reverently at the blade, but she quickly clears her throat and adds a quick, “sir.”

“A good name for a great blade. Do it the justice it deserves,” I say and she bows her head again.

“Of course, High General.” I nod and stride away, disquieted by the warmth Dahlia’s gesture to this vampire spreads through my chest. My mate is kind . She is kind and good and loyal, and I can’t even acknowledge that she’s mine. My hands curl into fists at my sides, and I join Elias on one of the three small boats setting out to take us all across the lake.

“The only thing out there is water. And fish. And more fucking water,” Elias grumbles, eyes darting around like he’s preparing for an attack. “Gods, how big is this fucking lake??”

“There has to be something more than that.”

“Maybe you’re right about the distraction,” Elias says, gripping the edge of the boat so tightly the wood groans beneath his fingers. “Drawing you away from the pass? From the camp?”

I don’t like the thought and quickly tamp down the wild flare of terror at the idea of Revenants attacking the camp while I’m gone, of Dahlia there alone…

“They wouldn’t have known I would personally come to investigate this,” I point out, “not with so many other points of attack happening up and down the borders. But even so, the pass is safe. The camp is safe,” I say firmly, more firmly than I mean to, almost as if I’m commanding it to be so, as if I’m trying to assure myself.

Elias misses nothing, as always, and arches a brow. I ignore him and turn my gaze back towards the Great Bear. She’s fine. The camp is fine. I find myself repeating the words over and over in my mind, like a calming mantra. The boats anchor on the bank a mile or so from the cave and we make our way swiftly and silently the rest of the way on foot, leaving the villagers behind with the boats to wait for our return. I strain my senses, reaching out to hear or smell or see any signs of Revenants.

“I don’t hear anything,” Elias says quietly as we move silent as death through the trees. As we finally approach the cave, I can smell them, Elias meeting my gaze and nodding.

“I don’t either, but the villagers were right: they were here.” The scent is old, not fresh, but it’s unmistakable.

“Ten, maybe fifteen,” Elias says as we step into the jaws of the Great Bear. “You four, first tunnel. You three, next. You five the next. Thaylin, you and the others take the fourth tunnel,” he directs the groups, sending them down various tunnels branching off from the main chamber. “Be alert, all of you.”

The soldiers draw their weapons and silently set off on their directed courses.

“Shall we?” I ask, a hint of a smile on my lips. Elias and I take the final tunnel together, as always.

“You know, if you keep luring me into dark tunnels alone with you, I’m going to start expecting things of a salacious and hedonistic nature, your highness.”

I do grin at that. “As if you could possibly handle me.”

“Please,” Elias scoffs. “You and I both know I am capable of handling far more than you could possibly give. Do you not remember the famed four-day orgy? Four. Day. Orgy , Alaric. Of which I was the star.”

“I recall,” I say, shaking my head. I hadn’t been a part of those particular festivities, but I’d heard enough stories from the week. We laugh quietly as we make our way farther and farther into the tunnel. It slopes down slightly, so we’re moving farther into the earth as we walk, the temperature dropping drastically the deeper we go. I have a sudden, searing memory of being buried beneath those layers of snow and ice, surrounded by a bone-deep cold that I’m not sure ever really leaves me, and scowl. Fucking Ahmed .

“Is she yours?” Elias asks after a few moments of silence.

I freeze. “I haven’t a clue what you might be talking about.”

“Oh fuck off, I know you better than anyone, Alaric. I know that mates are all but myths these days, but…I think she’s yours.”

I run my tongue over my teeth, not wanting to confirm the terrible truth, but a part of me sighs in relief, at finally having someone I can talk to about all of this.

“It doesn’t matter,” I finally say.

“Bullshit it doesn’t matter. You know as well as I do that mates are revered above all else, more than Consorts, more than honor or family or blood. If she’s yours then?—”

“She’s a human,” I snap. “My mate could not possibly be human.” No matter how many times I say it, it doesn’t seem to make the words true. Elias waves that a way as if it’s nothing.

“So, she is your mate. I fucking knew it! I knew it had to be more than just having fresh blood making you seem so different.” He purses his lips. “…but you’ve been spending every possible moment away from her?”

I glare.

“I don’t understand, Alaric. Why?—”

“I have to,” I say quietly, all fight gone, my shoulder slumping in utter defeat. “I can’t acknowledge the mating bond, can’t do the things my instincts are clawing inside of me to do, can’t feel the peace I feel only when I’m near her.”

“But why?” Elias pushes. I stop and stare at my friend incredulously.

“You cannot possibly be asking that. I could kill her, Elias. As easy as breathing, I could destroy her. The things that I want to do when she’s near, the way my instincts take over and I can’t even think straight…it’s terrifying,” I admit. “I’ve never felt so out of a control as I do when I’m near her. And if I did something to hurt her, if I…” I swallow hard and force myself to say the words, the ones I’ve been thinking of constantly, the ones that send cold terror down my spine. “If I killed her, I couldn’t bear it, Elias. I couldn’t live with myself.”

Elias studies me for a long moment, taking everything in and rolling it through his mind. I know he has to see the truth of my words, to understand my reasons for staying away, the reasons why I must suffer in silence and keep her safe.

“You wouldn’t,” he finally says simply. “I know you wouldn’t, Alaric.”

“You don’t,” I snap. “You don’t know how close I’ve come, the way my body tensed to strike, the way my fangs ached to sink deep into her flesh. It was like some demon overtaking my body, and I could barely hold the beast back.” I shudder and gnash my teeth. “I don’t trust myself around her,” I admit. “So, I have to stay away. It’s the way of all other Consorts and princes. It will be the same for us.”

“But—”

“Leave it,” I all but whisper, practically begging. I can’t bear to think of it, to imagine this torment for as long as she lives, and then trying to live without her afterwards, though I already know I won’t be able to.

Elias sighs. “I will—for now. But we will be revisiting this, your highness.”

I snort, grateful to Elias for finding a way to ease the pain, even for a short time, and the two of us continue deeper into the tunnel.

“They were…digging?” Elias asks as the tunnel finally levels off. He frowns as he runs a hand over the side of the cave wall where chunks of rock had been gouged away, rubble littering the dirt floor.

“For what?”

Elias straightens, brow furrowed. “You don’t think…a doorway?”

There are legends of ancient magics, deep, powerful ones that haven’t been seen in thousands of years. Magics that could turn day into night with the wave of a hand, magics that could raze entire armies to dust…and magics that could create doorways from one place to another across unimaginable distances. I’ve never put much belief into any of it…but perhaps Kilgren does. Maybe he believed they could find a doorway that would take them into the heart of the continent. The elder said that these caves were cursed with dark magics, that people went inside and were never seen again…because they went through a doorway?

“Impossible,” I whisper, but a feeling of unease skitters up my spine. I don’t see any signs of anything that could be considered a doorway, don’t feel any sense of anything other or dark or magical, but maybe it is something that must be activated somehow. Maybe it wasn’t a part of the cave, but rather something that could be transported from the cave and taken back to the Revenant stronghold… Fuck.

“Let’s find the others.”

Signs of digging into the earth and the stone were seen in all of the tunnels, but no signs of any recent Revenant activity, the fading scents all two weeks old, at least. It appears that they either found what they wanted or had given up completely. We will remain for another week to observe the Great Bear and do sweeps of the surrounding lands, but I already know that we won’t find anything. I send one of the men back with messages for the generals at the other camps, telling them to send groups to remote villages with histories of magic and see if there have been any similar activities there.

We set up camp on the far side of the lake, and as I lie awake in my tent, my thoughts drift to the only thing that fills my mind and heart with any kind of peace:

Dahlia.