She rocked her body side to side tentatively, testing the chair. It wasn’t secured to the floor and shifted with her efforts. A spark of hope kindled. If she got enough momentum, maybe she could tip the chair and break it... If she could get part of her body free, maybe should could wiggle loose and free her hands...
But blood still trickled down her throat; she swallowed again. She started to feel light headed and queasy... If she couldn’t heal herself and stop the bleeding, she knew she would pass out soon.
She rocked side to side, tipping the chair slightly in both directions, building up some momentum. When she thought she had enough force, she threw all her weight into the motion and slammed the chair against the floor.
The impact was harder than she expected and knocked her breath away; she lay there stunned, trying to breathe but unable to pull any air into her lungs. The combined lack of air and blood loss caught up to her, and she passed out. Her head thudded softly against the floor as she lay there on her side, still strapped to the chair.
Chapter 20
Phoenix
He knew Ara was fading; he could feel her heartbeat growing weaker. He had to find her. Fast.
Upon returning to the villa after successfully capturing Kenzo and Cedric, Phoenix and Bash discovered that Ara was missing--plus a significant amount of blood and scorch marks on the guestroom wall. Rayna must’ve gotten the drop on Ara and wounded her... Now, Rayna likely held Ara captive in one of the nearby Malaki bases.
Phoenix swore. They should’ve waited for a better plan.
Though they were quite powerful themselves, Phoenix and Ara weren’t foolish enough to believe they didn’t need help. They had a formidable team of knights and witches, and they weren’t afraid to seek help elsewhere when needed. And now, with Ara’s life in danger, Phoenix knew he needed all the help he could get.
He immediately asked Bash to find Maddox, with instructions for Maddox to find Lynx. Phoenix knew the male fox was extra-protective of Ara; they’d need his motivated nose to find her quickly if Rayna hid her.
While Bash went to find the reinforcements, Phoenix worked on Ara’s whereabouts.
He used a travel sphere to instantly appear in the witches’ workshop. Dolan worked alone there at the time and didn’t even blink at the intrusion.
“My king,” he said, without looking up.
“Dolan, Ara’s been captured. She’s wounded and can’t heal herself. We need to find her now.”
Dolan looked up with shock and immediately abandoned his project. It took a lot to startle the seasoned witch, which was a strong indication of just how bad this situation was.
“Let’s find her, then,” he said.
The leather-bound Atlas hurled off its shelf onto the large table, and a scrying pendulum appeared in Dolan’s hand.
“Locate your queen,” Dolan commanded the book.
For someone else, the book could not have located them this way; however, as queen, Ara’s magic was so distinct the book had no trouble finding her.
The book’s pages flurried as Dolan crossed the room to the table. The book decisively settled open to the relevant page.
Dolan glanced at the page and said, “Ah. I don’t even need the pendulum. Queen Ara’s in the main Malaki base, the first one you raided.”
The Atlas closed and hurtled back onto its shelf.
Ara’s energy felt fragile to Phoenix; that terrified him. He needed to move fast.
“Anything I can do to help?” Dolan asked.
Phoenix shook his head. “Thanks, Dolan. I have sleeping powder and travel spheres. If I can get to Ara fast enough, I can heal her. For now, send as much healing energy to her as you can...and pray to the gods that I find her in time. I need all the help I can get just to find her, then I can heal her.”
Phoenix had just turned to head to his office, contemplating the possibility of just leaving now by himself, when Maddox, Bash, Nerina, and Lynx appeared in the workshop.
“Do we know where she is?” Maddox immediately asked.
Phoenix nodded. “Yes, the main Malaki base. She can’t heal herself. I can feel her fading. We have to move fast.”
Nerina said, “I’m not exactly combat-trained, but I’m going with you. I’ll insulate Lynx’s body and take the heat so he can just concentrate on finding her. Heat doesn’t bother me.”
Phoenix nodded. “Good thinking. Thanks, Nerina.”
Without prompting, Dolan apparated pouches filled with sleeping powder and travel spheres in front of the newcomers. They each took them with thanks. Lynx was a little wide-eyed with surprise, but accepted them.
Lynx handed his pouches off to Nerina; she would essentially be on his back the whole way, anyway.
He said, “I’ll shift now so once we get there I can lead you straight to her. I’ll find her, King Phoenix. I swear it.”
Lynx quickly stripped his clothes and shifted on the spot. The transformation was so fast, it only took the blink of an eye. His deeply black, almost purple, fur shone as he shook his body after the shift.
Nerina almost purred and eagerly rushed over to stroke the fox’s fur. “Oooh, can I keep you? You feel so nice...” she said, running her hands through his thick fur.
Maddox narrowed his eyes and growled at the affection.
Nerina laughed and continued to pet Lynx’s fur. “Not like that, Maddie. You know I love you. I’m not fuckin’ around on you. Don’t be jellie.”
Shock crossed Maddox’s face as though the nickname or the love declaration--or both--was news to him, but he quickly shook it off. Any other time, Phoenix would’ve had a good laugh about it, but he was too worried at that point.
Lynx dropped to his stomach against the floor so Nerina could climb onto his back.
After she’d stretched herself across his back and covered as much of his body as she could, everyone formed a tight circle.
Bash held a travel sphere between his fingertips.
Before using it, he said, “We’ll start toward the center of the base and work down. Hopefully Lynx can pick up a scent, and we can follow him from there. Know up front, it will get extremely fucking hot the further down we go. If the heat gets to be too much for anyone, don’t be a tough guy; that heat can kill you. Say something. Understood?” Bash leveled his golden gaze across all their faces.
Everyone nodded, except Phoenix. The heat didn’t worry him; reaching Ara did.
Bash clapped Phoenix on the shoulder and caught his eye. “Let’s bring Majesty home.”
Bash mumbled a few words, then released the sphere.
Chapter 21
Ara groaned, wondering where she was and why everything hurt so much.
Her head throbbed painfully, the side of her face seemed massively swollen, and her right eye wouldn’t open...from the swelling, she assumed. Blood still trickled down her throat and she could only assume it still flowed, at least a little, from the back of her head, though she couldn’t feel it anymore.
She felt so weak...
The room remained pitch-black, and silence weighted the hot air.
Ara tried to focus.
She found herself still strapped to the chair, now on its side against the floor.
She concentrated on blocking out the pain... She needed to do all she could to escape. She needed to focus.
One of the chair legs snapped during the fall, allowing her to pull her leg free.
She managed to kick her shoes off.
Carefully, she used the toes on her freed foot push the ties down her other leg. When the ties were close enough to her ankle, she meticulously wiggled her bare foot through and slowly slid her leg free.
With both legs finally free, she planted one knee to the floor and tried to leverage her weight against the chair so she could flip onto her knees. After some struggle, she managed to get enough momentum to turn.
She landed on both knees in a kneeling position, struggling to breathe.
She pressed her forehead to the dirt floor and r
ested, trying to catch her breath. Her arms and torso were still bound to the chair; its weight pressed down against her back.
She was so tired...but she needed to push through.
She thought if she could just get to her feet, maybe she could break the chair against the wall enough to fully free herself. Then she could heal. But she was so tired...
Just when she thought she’d gained enough strength to make it to her feet, the giant rock blocking the entryway slid to the side. A figure raced through the doorway, then quickly slid it shut again. Ara couldn’t see well enough to tell for sure, but she assumed the figure was Rayna.
She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the punishment she knew was coming.
She heard footsteps stride across the floor and Rayna hiss, “Keep your mouth shut or you’ll be sorry.” Then Rayna’s boot struck Ara’s face with a sickening crunch.
Ara tried to cry out, but blood gushed down her throat from her broken face and turned her cry into a gurgle.
She struggled to stay conscious... She knew if she passed out, she’d die.
Distantly, she heard someone shout “Over here! Behind the rock!” but she was drifting into shock and couldn’t process what that shout meant for her situation.
Her mind drifted to Phoenix. Images from their life together flashed behind her eyes. She could almost hear him calling to her...
Phoenix
Phoenix cried out when he felt sudden striking pain through his face, like his nose and cheekbone were broken. Then he felt Ara’s energy draining away faster than before. Something happened to Ara...
He knew he had to get to her immediately or she wouldn’t make it.
“Over here! Behind the rock!” Nerina called out as Lynx clawed frantically at a large boulder leaned against a wall in the hallway.
They were deep inside the Malaki base, far enough down that the heat was stifling.
Maddox turned back a few hallways ago due to the heat, and instead went to round up any guards posted on the higher floors.
Lynx would never have made it this far without Nerina’s assistance absorbing the heat, and they never would have found Ara behind that boulder without his help, so Phoenix was grateful to both. He knew they weren’t trained for this and had stepped outside their comfort zone to help Ara.
Bash travelled ahead, using his invisibility to scout the halls in case he could find her faster.
“Ara!” Phoenix called out and raced to the boulder. He pulsed his magic through it and “unmade” it, making it disappear so that no one could ever be trapped by it again.
When he rushed through the door, the sight that greeted him made him sick.
Two versions of Ara lay on the floor in front of him, looking exactly alike, on their knees with broken chairs strapped to their backs, wrists bound with magic-restrictive rope, and swollen, mangled, bloody faces.
Phoenix’s mind flashed back to the hallway outside the villa drunk room where Sienna/Rayna made a show of her clothes not shifting with her. Apparently, she had also lied about that because right now she looked identical to Ara--right down to the Ara’s wedding ring and flashing brooch.
Bash suddenly appeared by Phoenix’s side, looking ready to rip Rayna’s head off with his bare hands. He was obviously off his elixir and ready to kick some ass.
Phoenix pulled sleeping dust from his pouch and planned to simply dust both of them, which would affect Rayna but not Ara, when he heard the one on the left whisper, “Helios...” Then he knew.
“That one’s Rayna; get her, Bash!” he shouted, hurling a handful of dust toward the one on the right while dashing for Ara on the left.
He must’ve missed Rayna with the dust because he saw her skin start to flicker as she gave up the act and morphed back into her true form.
“I’m taking Ara to the witches’ workshop! Meet us there when you can!” he said. Magic was amplified at the workshop, so he could heal Ara faster.
“Got it!” Bash shouted, then he roared and dove toward Rayna using his super speed.
Before he could see more, Phoenix wrapped his arms around Ara, slammed a travel sphere to the floor while shouting “villa workshop!”, and transported them there. Bash could handle Rayna.
The workshop was empty when Phoenix and Ara arrived.
Ara lay on her stomach on the soft moss covering the floor, the chair still strapped to her back.
Since the ties were magic-restrictive, he couldn’t just use magic to untie them; he’d have to undo all of them by hand.
He knew he had to hurry. She had a large gash on the back of her head, in addition to the damage to her face, and was losing a massive amount of blood; he could feel her fading. She’d already lost consciousness from the trauma. She didn’t have long.
Phoenix’s hands shook from adrenaline and worry, but he quickly began unbinding the ties on her body, murmuring soft, encouraging words to her as he worked.
Her breathing came in short shallow gasps and gurgles...she was drowning in her own blood.
Fear rose in his throat. Losing her was a very real possibility.
“Stay with me, Ara. Don’t you leave me,” he managed to choke out.
Phoenix struggled with the last tie, but finally got it undone and shoved the broken chair off Ara’s back.
He immediately surrounded her with healing energy and love.
He pulled her into his arms and cradled her to his chest. His energy encompassed them, covering them in warm golden glow.
Though his voice shook, he sang to her as he held her tight, letting the magic do its work; music, too, was powerful magic for him, and the vibrations from his chest would amplify the healing effect. He hoped the magic, music, and his love would be enough. She needed all the help she could get.
He pressed a shaky hand over her chest, focusing some extra energy on her lungs.
He could see her skin beginning to knit itself back together and her face beginning to heal, so he knew the magic was working.
It took a few minutes, even with his most potent magic amplified by the workshop and the music, but her face had healed and she finally drew a deep, clear breath.
Relief flooded him. She would pull through!
He kissed her forehead and kept the magic flowing, waiting patiently for her to wake. He hummed and rocked gently, holding her tight.
When her eyes fluttered open, his relieved smile greeted her.
She smiled sleepily back at him, as though she’d just awakened from a peaceful nap.
“Welcome back, sweetheart.” He feathered light kisses across her cheek. “Let’s not do this to each other again, okay? Anything we do from now on, we do together. No more splitting up.”
Ara nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
She snuggled into the warmth of Phoenix’s chest.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, kissing her hair.
“Never been better,” she murmured against his chest.
“Good.” He ceased his healing energy, and the golden glow faded.
“Mmmm. I could stay right here forever,” she said.
“That sounds perfect,” he said with a smile.
After a moment, everything rushed back to Ara, and she sat up, pulling away from Phoenix. “Wait,” she said. “Where’s Rayna?”
“Still back at the base. Bash is handling it.”
“We’ve got to get back there to help!” She jumped up, then reached a hand down for Phoenix.
“Are you sure you feel up to it?” He let her pull him to his feet.
“I’m fine. Bash might need our help! Plus. we just established that you’re not going back by yourself so you can’t leave me behind, anyway. Let’s go!”
Phoenix grinned. His queen was back.
Chapter 22
Phoenix transported them to the hallway outside the cave. Flames and smoke rolled out of the cave and they could hear screaming and shouting coming from inside, followed by a loud, guttural roar.
Lynx and Nerina crouched down
the hallway away from the cave, Nerina still on Lynx’s back.
“Bash and Rayna are still in there,” Nerina called out. “It’s too hot for us; we can’t go in to help. But I didn’t want to leave him alone down here...”
“We’re on it,” Ara called back. “Find Maddox and go back to the villa. Stay safe!”
Nerina nodded.
Lynx turned and dashed off, heading away from the heat with Nerina clinging to his fur.
The screaming suddenly stopped, and silence filled the air.
Bash walked out of the cave a few moments later, his clothes smoking, and his hands blistered but rapidly healing. His usual leather jacket was absent, and his T-shirt and jeans looked a little scorched.
He saw Ara and grinned. “Majesty! You had me worried but you look good as new!”
He strode over and tightly embraced Ara; she returned the hug with surprise. His skin and clothing were still hot from the encounter, but tolerable--even though his shirt still smoked.
“Uh...thanks, Bash,” she said. “What happened?”
Bash stepped back, his golden eyes gleaming. “Rayna’s no longer an issue. She won’t hurt anyone ever again. Good fuckin’ riddance.”
Phoenix looked into the cave, then turned to Bash, looking puzzled. “Where’s the body?” he asked.
Bash said, “There’s not one. She turned to ash when I ripped her heart out. Must be a Malaki thing. I dunno.” He shrugged.
Ara’s chin dropped a little and she gaped at Bash.
He’d ripped Rayna’s heart out with his bare hands... That was...unexpected. Even for Bash. To Ara’s knowledge, he’d caused a lot of pain in the realm but had never killed anyone before.
Bash laughed and gently pushed her chin back into place with his fingertip. “Don’t look so surprised, Majesty. No one fucks with my friends and gets away with it. She had it coming. And it takes a monster to destroy a monster, you know. Once she pissed me off, she never stood a chance.”
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