Page 56 of Wings of Darkness (Daughter of the Seven Circles #2)
I frowned, glancing at the beastie as she lowered to all fours. “Stay on Rune?”
Ronen swooped down and picked me up before my mind caught up, then quickly placed me on Rune’s back.
“Really?”
“Run fast and stop for nothing,” Ronen urged, patting Rune’s side, ignoring me altogether.
She took off before I could snap something back.
I yelped, tensing my legs around her body and shoving my arm through the sword strap before ducking down.
I latched onto her fluff, wishing there was more substance to hold.
But at least most of my attention was on staying on and not the thoughts threatening to pull me under.
The trees in the Veil Forest creaked and rattled from a punishing wind, swirling the fog Rune ran through.
My brows lowered as I glanced at my still hair.
Shouldn’t the wind be hitting us? It was hitting everywhere else.
Everywhere but our warm little bubble, as if we had some sort of shield while we ran .
The black, leafless trees merged into a shapeless haze, leaving me unable to discern any details.
If the infected lurked behind the trunks or hid in the fog covering the ground, I would never know.
Rune never paused in her stride, never stopped.
She sprinted out of the forest, past Hoar Hollow, and continued until she passed the castle gates.
Her lungs pumped rapidly beneath my legs as she carried me up the hill, finally slowing down. I eased my hold on her, letting her breathe more deeply, and rubbed behind her ears.
“You did well, Rune. You can put me down now. We’re safe.”
Her fur coiled around my fingers like a wispy hug, and then she plopped herself down on the snowy road. I slid off her back right as Alexei dropped from the sky in front of me.
“Well, I’m glad you’re in one piece. Ronen made it seem like you were fighting for your life in Veil Forest.” Alexei huffed.
I took off Ronen’s sword, grabbed the unusually warm hilt, and held it out to Alexei. I was glad I didn’t have to use it. “He overreacted. We didn’t run into any trouble.”
Alexei’s face blanched. His gaze darted between me and the sword.
I offered it, hoping he’d take it, and he jerked back.
“It’s Ronen’s.”
He laughed, but it sounded a little high and strung out. “I know whose sword that is.”
“Okay, well, can you give it back to him?”
I was sure he was still with the king or doing whatever damage control he had to do, and I needed to get to the arena. I didn’t want to be carting this heavy, giant, soul-absorbing sword around while I trained.
Alexei shook his head, taking another step back and pointing to Rune. “Give it to her. She can give it back to him.”
I didn’t have the energy or time to dissect Alexei’s weird behavior.
Walking to Rune, I held out the sword. She opened her mouth wide.
Taking a guess, I placed the sword sideways, resting it against her five-inch canines.
She bowed her head as if in thanks and closed her mouth over the sheathed blade.
Alexei quietly led me to the arena, leaving Rune to cool down. Something about Ronen’s sword had his flirtatious tongue in a twist. Maybe Ronen never lent out his special sword.
His dappled wings snapped out of existence once we reached the doors.
He opened them to reveal Moira standing too close to Oliver.
She turned, her irises flashing with blue fire, and her mouth popped open as she saw me step through the threshold.
Her shock quickly transformed into a tight, vile smile, like it did when she was about to punish us—but worse.
I left Alexei with the redheaded Dread, who eyed me up and down, judgment clear in her gaze.
“What the hell have you and Ronen been up to?”
“You want answers, MJ, ask him.”
I caught the sharp tone of her reply as I walked toward my squad leader, hoping I didn’t have another Moira on my hands. One was enough.
“Let’s get this over with.”
“Theon and Cyrus,” Moira sang, brushing her hands across my shoulder pads like she was tidying my uniform, “follow us. The rest of you go to our station and pair up while I deal with our imposters.” She squeezed my shoulders, unable to take her eyes off my body.
Heavenly Shit. I forgot to change.
Moira slid her arm around my shoulder like we were friends and led us through a sea of red and black.
But she kept our pace slow, giving every warrior, new and old, time to see what I was wearing.
I couldn’t keep count of how many lips curled in disgust or how many ran their fingers over their weapons and smiled like they couldn’t wait to rip into me and show me how much I hadn’t earned the colors of Hell.
Once we reached the showers, Moira shoved me into the back wall with startling force. My shoulder took the brunt of the pain. Oliver luscelered to my side, rage in his flaming emeralds.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
I gritted my teeth. “Yeah.” I was fine. Only pissed.
“Did you fuck him for that uniform? Or did you service his Dreads like you serviced the king and earned it that way, Hell-whore?”
She picked the wrong time to taunt me.
“You would know.” I lifted my chin. Something moved in the shadowed hall behind the trio, hiding in the doorway of the changing rooms. I scrutinized it for a split second before giving my full attention to the queen bitch. “Wouldn’t you, Moira?”
Oliver squeezed my arm in warning, but I ignored him.
“You must’ve given him great head for a second-rate whore like you to earn the Tormentors position. It’s no wonder he turned to me.”
I still didn’t know what giving head meant, but I could only guess it was sexual .
Her face pinched into an ugly mask. “Cyrus! Bind them.”
Vines shot from the tiled floor and walls, wrapping around our wrists and ankles. A few weeks ago, I would’ve started hyperventilating. Now, I raised a brow, enjoying the way they cut into my skin.
I tilted my head and smiled, loving how it made Moira’s face flush a cherry red. “Hit a nerve? Ronen not letting you in his bed anymore?” I pouted in mock sympathy.
“Lucy, stop,” Oliver discreetly whispered through his teeth.
A dagger from Moira’s belt came beelining for my head. I dodged it, laughing as it bounced off the tiled wall and dropped near my feet.
“But I was just getting started. The bitch needs to know who she’s speaking to,” I taunted.
If only I could tell her. Better yet, show her.
The dagger on the floor rose, hovering near my stomach.
Moira shook as severely as her dagger did, showing her rage.
But she couldn’t stab me—not unless she wanted to risk the wrath of Ronen or his Dreads.
We weren’t to harm our squadmates. Lightly torture, fine.
But if I came out of this bathroom with a stab wound after she gave such a show to half the warriors in the arena, it’d be her ass, not mine.
If she wanted to punish us, she’d have to do it the same way as always.
I saw her internal battle. She wouldn’t risk it. Not if her relationship with Ronen was already rocky. And by the way she reacted, it was. I smirked and opened my mouth to rub salt in her wounds.
Oliver shot me a severe glance. “Don’t.”
“It’s okay, Oliver. She should know I’ve replaced her. He’s no longer hers.” Oddly enough, I liked that thought. “Poor thing.”
“Theon!” she shrieked. “Shut her up! And suffocate them. ”
I winced. Heavenly Hell, she almost blew out my eardrums.
Oliver groaned, dropping his head. Most likely thinking I was insane. But he should’ve learned by now that I’d never let anything happen to him. He also should’ve been more observant.
Theon grinned, raising his hands to form head-sized water spheres, oblivious to the water coalescing behind him. He taunted us, wanting to stoke our fear.
But it was difficult to be scared when three water dragons reared up behind their backs. They were expertly crafted, from the frills along their faces to their glistening teeth and scaled bodies. They almost looked real, if not for their transparent, wavering forms.
I rested my head against the tile, unconcerned and smug.
Theon’s nostrils flared, and he chucked his spheres at us. Before they could so much as move a foot, the dragons attacked. One cleaved through the air, swallowing Theon’s water, and the other two swallowed Theon and Cyrus.
Before Moira could overcome her shock, the third dragon reared up tall, opened its maw, and devoured her. The three of them dropped to their knees, suffocating.
Cyrus’s vines released us, and we stepped away from the wall.
“Doesn’t feel too good, does it, Theon?” I mocked.
Theon bared his teeth, his face as red and angry as Moira’s. Both of them glared at me while Cyrus desperately clawed at his face, more concerned with fighting the water than plotting revenge like the other two.
There would be hell to pay later. No doubt about that. But I didn’t care. We were done being their punching bags. If they wanted a fight, we’d give them a fight .
Eventually, the three of them passed out on the shower floor. The dragons splashed to the ground, running toward the drain. Ichi stepped around their limp bodies and approached us.
“You’re a badass, Ichi.” Oliver grinned.
I dipped my chin to her. “Thanks.”
She bowed her head in response. “I’m only following my word. They’ll wake up in a few minutes. Let’s not be here when they do.”