Love, Blood & Fury

by Melissa J Kincaid

  With a frustrated growl, she sprinted in Elijah’s direction.

  He was a flurry of black cloth and steel. Where he moved, blood sprayed, and Nymph heads rolled. He was a whirlwind of death, and the creatures began to fall back. The dark eyes of the silver haired Water Nymph glimmered with uncertainty, with shimmering moonlit bodies beginning to hesitate in their advance.

  All the while, Elijah’s hood did not fall, keeping his mysterious face in shadow – all that was visible was his lightly downturned frown.

  Even as he dealt death, Elijah still managed to look unimpressed.

  Arii slashed one of the Nymphs, making a path to Elijah. The air reeked of blood, the metallic taste tangible on her tongue, filling her nostrils. Any other day, this would have set her Fae blood alight with the lust of battle, but this blood smelled wrong, as if tinged with dirty lake water.

  “What are you doing? Kill them!” the silver haired Nymph screeched, pointing at Elijah and Arii who now stood back to back.

  The two guards circled, weapons raised as they eyed the remaining women. Arii felt the heat of Elijah at her back and could hear the steady sound of his breathing.

  “Are you alright?” he murmured unexpectedly, giving her pause.

  “Just dandy, I think some of their blood went in my mouth,” she whispered back, spitting on the stones.

  She swore she heard a hint of a smile as he retorted, “I thought you’d left me to defend the castle on my own. Your movements are sloppy, recruit.”

  She dared a swift glance over her shoulder, face incredulous.

  The nerve!

  Before she could tell him where he could shove his sword, the silver haired Nymph let out a shriek of frustration – ripping Arii’s gaze back to the creature.

  When the Nymphs did not move further, Silver Hair screeched again.

  “Leave now, return to the depths with what is left of your sisters,” growled Elijah, his breath hardly winded.

  The silver haired woman moaned in anger again as her sisters began to flee through the gates. Her head whipped back to the two soldiers, her onyx eyes alight with rabid frustration.

  “I’ll drain you myself!” She flew at Elijah with an enraged screech.

  The man flipped his sword to clasp the grip and slammed it into the woman’s throat. She staggered, before he was grabbing her skull and smashing it against his knee. She wailed, and soon found herself with her face pressed against the bloody cobblestones.

  Arii was on the Nymph’s back, dagger pressed to her throat and shoving the woman to the floor.

  The Nymph spat, the blood of her sisters wetting her face.

  “Wait!”

  The woman cried out, just as Arii pulled her head back by the hair, dagger poised to slit her throat.

  “Wait! I have information!”

  Arii paused, knife pressed into the woman’s jugular. Elijah was swiftly kneeling before the woman, cloak billowing around him. Arii was not sure what information the creature could possibly provide to them that was worth her life. Her head tilted to Elijah, and without a word between them, they decided it was worth hearing her out.

  “Speak,” he ordered.

  The woman twitched and Arii pressed her blade deeper into her skin. This seemed to spur her on. “Some of my people have been disappearing from the lake,” she rasped.

  Elijah’s growl was low and dangerous as he snapped, “And this matters to us how?”

  “They have been disappearing over the last few weeks. Prior to the full moon. My spies have told me that they have been fished from the depths by small groups of Red Guard soldiers.”

  This caused Elijah to jerk. “You utter lies.”

  The woman’s laugh was light but pained. “It is the truth! Someone is ordering my people to be plucked from the depths like common fish and flung into containers filled with water - aboard wagons bound for Bonemire. For what purpose I do not know.”

  Arii’s brows drew in confusion.

  What would Red Guard soldiers want with Water Nymphs? She wondered briefly if Nem knew what this could be about.

  “Perhaps it is to thin your numbers before the next full moon,” spat Elijah. Were it not for him, the castle and all of its men would have been drained of blood tonight.

  The Nymph gurgled a laugh, the dark blue puddle rippling as she spoke. “Something is happening in the North. My sisters living in the pools in The Dragon’s Teeth Mountains claim more sightings of Kryverns. The beasts are being disturbed from the dens and some are even being captured and transported in the same wagons as my sisters.”

  Arii felt her stomach bubble with dread. Why would the royal guard be transporting the beasts to their training base and prison in the North?

  “Why would you tell us this?” said Elijah. The Nymph chuckled darkly, causing Arii to press her face into the bloody stones once more.

  “Perhaps one expects some mercy to be given?” murmured the creature, her voice wet from the puddle of blood.

  “And why would we do such a thing? You slaughtered a dozen of our men!”

  “It is our nature to become ravenous every full moon when the Gods above allow us to have legs rather than fins for one night. Please, my Lord,” the woman begged. “If you spare me, I will ensure word of your mercy is taken to the depths with me. Perhaps it will sway my sisters to leave the castle alone next full moon.”

  Arii pressed the dagger to the woman’s neck, harder this time.

  She had enough. It was time to end this.

  Before she could split the scaled woman’s windpipe to the air, Elijah moved a hand to her arm, halting her. Arii’s dark eyes flicked up to see his hood angled her way.

  “Let her go.”

  “Wha-”

  “Arii, let her go.”

  Elijah must have known she would take convincing. He had never addressed her by her first name before. The brief words they had exchanged up until this point could be counted on two hands.

  The sound of her name from his lips caused a warm shiver to shoot down her spine. She did not need to see his eyes to know he was staring her down, a hair’s breadth from giving an order.

  With a last shove in the Nymph’s back, Arii removed the dagger from her neck and stepped away. The woman slowly stood, eyes wide and fixed on Elijah, her expression disbelieving.

  “Go now before I change my mind,” he growled, not sheathing his sword. He was ready if the Nymph decided to attack again.

  Lucky for her, the woman was not so stupid.

  “Your mercy will not be forgotten,” she said, her tone meaningful and soft. She turned and fled in a blur, out the gate and into the night.

  ~~~

  “Why did you not kill her?”

  Their swords clashed in the training arena the next morning. Steel kissing steel, Arii pressed her attack on Elijah as she spoke. He met her stroke for stroke and was not even winded after a solid thirty minutes of consistent sparring.

  To say she was impressed was an understatement. He moved like he was made of water, each stroke of his weapon landed in a precise spot to cause the most damage, or the quickest kill.

  It caused fire to rocket through her veins.

  How in the Gods name was she to fulfil her assignment with him shadowing the King at every step? She had not been expecting someone of such skill to be by his side.

  As they sparred, Elijah spoke.

  “Sometimes one must show mercy.”

  Clang.

  “Mercy may just sway fate in your favour at a later date.”

  Clang.

  What did this man know of fate?

  Swords clashed again and her blade ran down his, causing their bodies to come closer. She could feel the heat of him through her leathers, a tingling in her fingertips. Perhaps he was a
tad winded? Her eyes narrowed as she attempted a peek below his hood.

  He shoved her back, and she grinned slyly.

  Dropping suddenly, she swept her leg out to trip him.

  Elijah anticipated her move and jumped, then they were once again dancing in a flurry of fluid swipes, jabs and twists.

  After the attack on the castle, Elijah and Arii had reported the Nymph’s words to the King. They were all unsure what to make of the information, and Lorch had agreed to ask questions of his council. Lorch seemed unsure - even unbelieving that anything but imprisonment of criminals and training was happening at the fortress to the North, but he agreed to do some digging after a firm word from Elijah.

  Now Arii and Elijah were alone in the training arena, the morning rays bathing them in golden light. Arii was not sure about the man, but she had not been able to get a lick of sleep after the events of the full moon. Adrenaline from the fight kept her awake, twisting in the sheets as she replayed the beautiful death dance she had witnessed. Her mind was a flurry, questions belting her from all angles.

  Who was Elijah Wolfe?

  Why were creatures being transported to Bonemire like cattle?

  Who was tampering with the Kryverns?

  She wondered if what the Water Nymph had said was true, and not just a ruse to be set free. Either Elijah was a fool or had incredible foresight that could aid them later on.

  Gods, was she going to help them with whatever event was on the horizon? If the feeling in her gut was correct, she knew something was coming that would throw all of her plans into disarray. Surely the Gods would allow her a brief reprieve from her duties? Besides, she would fulfil them, it was to just take a little longer than expected.

  When she had come to the training arena in the early hours of the morning to begin some exercises, she was not expecting to see the hooded figure of Elijah, sparring in the ring on his own. She had lingered in the shadows, watching his broad shoulders and practiced steps of his feet as he dipped and turned.

  He had paused to watch her, his lips pulled in a frown.

  She wordlessly grabbed a sword and joined him in the ring.

  There was a weighted silence between them, but it was no longer so uncomfortable. Every now and then, she attempted a sneak glance under his hood. He knew what she was doing, and so far, she was unsuccessful.

  Now, Arii was tired of holding back. She finally had someone who matched her own skills, and she was eager to work up a sweat. Eyes narrowing and smile vanishing, her veil of magic dropped, and her vision flashed into crystal clarity, eyes dancing over her target. The threads in the material of his cloak, the fine hairs of dark stubble on his chin, the smoothness of his lips.

  Her Fae eyes saw it all with crystal clarity - as if peering through a telescope. She felt a shock of electricity sizzle through her veins as the magic danced through her body like starlight, and suddenly she was a blur of steel, raining down on him.

  He blocked her swift attacks, and they danced to a silent song.

  She could have sworn she heard a suck of breath under the cloak before her sword slammed against his, and with a swift twist and a jerk of her wrist – the weapon was sent flying from his hands.

  Grinning in triumph, she dipped into a fluid crouch as the crash of the sword hitting the floor rang through the arena. She stood, sword flipping in her hand as she pointed it in Elijah’s direction.

  Her sword pointed at air, for the space before her was empty.

  Cool steel pressed against the side of her neck, and Ariiaya - the deadly Fury assassin - was completely floored.

  “How the fu-”

  “You are far too full of yourself…” His breath was a warm caress against her cheek, its cadence deep and gentle. He held her upper arm, his body pressed close behind hers. A scent of leather and sandalwood drifted across her senses, causing her toes to curl in her boots. He smelled like the forest - deep, woody and surprisingly complex, as he murmured, “When you become cocky…”

  She began to struggle, and he held her tight in an impossibly strong grip. “…you begin to lose sight of important details.”

  Arii’s lips pulled back in a snarl as her magic veil slowly lifted once more.

  “Where did you learn to move like that?” she hissed.

  His laugh was like a dark melody. “Many, many years of training.” He paused, before adding, “And years of discipline - discipline which you lack.”

  Arii gnashed her teeth together in fury.

  Bested by some… human male.

  Elijah mistook her silence for shock. “I must admit, you are incredibly talented yourself. With some fine tuning, you will be a force to reckon with on the battlefield.”

  Arii felt his chest against her back, solid and unmoving. Gods he was strong. The air sizzled between them, and her lips began to quirk as she dared to slowly turn her head.

  He was so dark, dangerous and mysterious.

  She very subtly leaned back into him, pressing her bottom against him, and for a small moment their breath mingled.

  She swore she heard his breath hitch.

  Ever so slightly.

  He made her blood boil, and not in the bad way which she was expecting. She felt the dangerous fingers of attraction claw at her stomach. How could she be attracted to a man when she had never seen his face? It surely was not his stunning personality…

  Arii’s lips quirked in a smirk as she turned her head once more.

  Suddenly the knife was gone, and he shoved her away - just before she could peek beneath his hood. She rubbed her neck where the ghost of the blade lingered.

  The knife twirled in Elijah’s hands as he barked, “Again.”

  From the shadows of the training arena, eyes watched the pair spar. Lips curled as the thing smirked, and it glided a tongue along dagger sharp teeth.

  The thing in the shadows was growing hungry.

  Chapter Ten

  Another night of twisted sheets, another night of waking with a light sheen of sweat on her brow.

  Calloused, battle hardened hands roved her body, dark stubble tickled her in places that she had not been touched in a long time. The man was hooded and faceless, a cloak draped across their bodies as she writhed in the moonlight. His touch was like fire, his tongue a wicked thing that had her back arching and her fingers gripping the sheets as pleasure sheared through her body.

  Her heart was a riot in her chest, a tornado of whirling confusion. Part of her wanted to tell him to stop, to grip the cloak and yank him away – yet part of her wanted to beg him to never stop.

  The face beneath the hood lifted and slowly came into focus, dark blue eyes lifting to meet hers as a seductive smirk tugged at Lorch Kruel’s swollen, ravaged lips…

  Arii shot up in her cot, pawing at the sweat forming on her brow, her chest rising and falling as if her body could not get enough air.

  Gods these men, they were getting beneath her skin.

  Now, they were both entering her dreams.

  Arii was sure she was the first Fury to be kept awake at night by the thoughts of two men. She wondered if there was something in the water here, something causing her mind to run away with itself into dark fantasies of desire. If Nem knew what haunted her dreams of late, she would surely laugh in Arii’s face. She would call her a stupid fool, and she would slap the thoughts from her head.

  Perhaps that was what she needed, a good slap to the face.

  A Fury does not think.

  A Fury does not feel.

  Arii pulled on dark brown pants and boots before heading to the bathing room, brushing sleep-mussed hair quickly before slipping a white tunic over her body. Splashing water over her face and pausing to look at her reflection, she blinked at the wide-eyed woman staring back at her before sighing heavily and pushing from the basin. />
  Today was her day to be off duty, and her dress was casual and comfortable. She slid a knife into her boot, along with the efficient strap of a dagger to her hip.

  Casual did not mean unarmed.

  After the night of the full moon, Arii had been relieved to see all three of the recruits alive and unscathed. Swiftly passing the beds where Tikkani, Emerson and Quinn still snored, she headed for the door and entered the cool morning air.

  She then ran smack bang into the King.

  Stunned, she dropped to one knee, causing Lorch laugh gently.

  “Please stand, Miss Clearwater. I was just coming to see you.”

  Blinking, she stood. Her eyes found the lingering shadow of Elijah nearby, causing her to swallow heavily.

  “Me?” she asked.

  Lorch was dressed in a light tunic of moss green, sporting dark brown pants and dark boots.

  He looked… just as casual as herself.

  She was not used to seeing him look so… not like a King. His light brown hair was swept in its usual style, the copper highlights glinting in the morning light. His face was lit with a smile.

  “Yes, you.” he confirmed, grinning. “Care for a tour of the gardens?”

  Lorch insisted Arii loop her arm with his as they strolled the vast expanse of the castle gardens. It was strange, the North Court was close to the Winter months, but still the grounds were bathed with sunlight, the air warm and mild as if Summer insisted on lingering.

  Lorch spoke of his mother, and how amazed he was at the patience the woman showed for his stuck up, ill-mannered sister. He spoke of his father and of the councilmen he had dealings with. Words left him like a waterfall, and eventually Arii felt a kind of peace wash over her at the sound of his voice. She knew she should be gathering valuable information and finding out more about what the Water Nymph had said, but after a short time she realised that Lorch in fact knew hardly anything about the fortress to the north. Lorch, despite being the King of the North Court, knew little of the workings of running a kingdom. It was incredibly strange, yet Arii got the distinct impression once again that Lorch heavily relied on his father when it came to his job.