There weren’t many warriors stationed on the Aeris side of the rift, but each one was as huge as the next, and they were formidable to look at as they fell into line. Each one held a large shield on their arm that they placed out in front of them, creating a wall of silver. A swirling design snaked around the outer rim of the shimmering metal that looked like interlinking vines. Sloane remembered seeing the design before, when she was training with the Unfaih, but hadn’t taken much notice at the time. Now, as she looked at the beautiful, alluring pattern that linked the immovable warriors in the clearing, the design felt strangely familiar. She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t have seen it anywhere else other than inside the walls of the castellum.
‘Do you think it’s your father?’ Allirie asked, coming to stand beside Sloane.
‘Either him or my brother,’ she replied, before turning to Rhyn. ‘What do you want us to do?’ she asked.
Rhyn grabbed her arm with one hand and started guiding her back towards the rift, while Allirie kept pace on his other side. ‘We don’t know who is coming or why,’ Rhyn said. ‘We can only assume the worst, so I want you to stay back and let me deal with this.’
Sloane shook her arm from his grasp, tugging it hard into her body. There was both anger and hurt playing in her eyes as she stared up at him. ‘I’m not going to hide, Rhyn. This is my battle as much as it is yours, and you know I can help.’
Surprisingly, his face softened as he listened to her. ‘Yes, I know you can help, but until I know what they are after I don’t want you getting involved. Those humans were planning to do horrible things to you last night,’ he said, his voice dropping low and sounding strained. ‘I know you can protect yourself and I know that you are a brilliant fighter, but I can’t watch you race off into danger right now. I need you to stay back for my sanity if nothing else.’
The anger in Sloane’s eyes dispersed and her forehead furrowed as her gaze dropped to the ground. There was so much pain in Rhyn’s eyes, and she hated that it was there because of her. She would never have imagined that the night before could have had such an impact on him. Her father’s men had barely had a chance to lay a finger on her, so it wasn’t anything she was going to lose sleep over. Still, she was surprised by how affected Rhyn was by what had happened.
She didn’t want to be kept from the action, but for once she didn’t object. ‘Fine’, she muttered, struggling to hide her irritation at having been so easily swayed by Rhyn. ‘But don’t expect me to stay back if this ends in a fight,’ she added.
His eyes became hard at the prospect, but he eventually relaxed a little and nodded. ‘I don’t think I could ever expect that of you,’ he replied, before turning his attention to Allirie. She had been listening quietly to their entire exchange, and her eyes were calculating as she took everything in.
‘You should leave for the other rift now,’ Rhyn said.
Allirie glanced uneasily at the warriors who currently stood guard. ‘Won’t you need my help?’
‘We can handle twenty humans,’ he replied. ‘But we can’t protect the other rift from them without you.’
‘Do you really think they’ll attempt to use it after what happened to Ash’s group?’ Allirie’s voice lowered, and she looked around as if it were tempting fate to say the words aloud.
‘I wouldn’t put anything past them,’ Rhyn muttered.
Sloane hated how suspicious he was of her people, but deep down she knew he had every right to be. Her father was capable of anything right now, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he sent men to use the other rift despite its proximity to the Brakys.
Allirie nodded. ‘You are right. It is better if we are cautious.’
Rhyn guided them past the wall of warriors who guarded the rift until they reached the glowing phenomena. He stopped right by it, and they stood so close that Sloane could feel cold wisps of wind blowing through the opening.
‘Talk with Lorian,’ Rhyn said to Allirie. ‘He will be able to give you the rift’s location.’ He pulled her in for a hug. ‘And be safe.’
Allirie stepped from his embrace, her eyes brimming with concern. ‘You stay safe too,’ she replied, looking at Rhyn and Sloane before she turned to leave. She must have known there was little chance of them both staying out of trouble.
Sloane watched the woman step through the rift to the Unfaih world, a hint of unease tugging in her gut. She didn’t think the humans would be stupid enough to use the other rift, but she couldn’t help but feel nervous for Allirie as she disappeared from sight.
‘You stay here,’ Rhyn said, drawing Sloane’s attention from the rift. His gaze held no room for argument, but then it softened as he reached for his sword and passed it to her.
‘I really hope it doesn’t come to this,’ he said, as she took hold of the weapon.
‘Yeah, me too,’ she murmured.
He turned and walked around the wall of Unfaih warriors to join Elyx who was standing in front of them issuing directions. Elyx didn’t miss a beat, handing Rhyn another sword the moment he approached him. The two of them were much closer to the woods than Sloane was, and the Unfaih warriors between them made it difficult for her to see Rhyn.
She would have liked to be standing with him, but she knew that wasn’t her place today. She couldn’t believe she had actually given in to Rhyn’s request for her to stay back. The look in his eyes had made her back down though, and she hated the effect it had on her.
She sighed and looked away from the two warriors to focus on the woods. Her body felt tense as she surveyed the tall trees that surrounded them, and the clearing they stood in seemed almost too quiet as they waited for the humans to arrive. It was eerie how silent and still the Unfaih could be.
Sloane felt torn as she watched the trees. It was her people coming to face the Unfaih, and she was supposed to be on the humans’ side. But how could she support them when they were thrusting themselves into danger? They were threatening everyone on Aeris and everyone in Rhyn’s world, and she refused to be a part of it. She had no choice but to stand with the Unfaih and fight to stop the humans from obtaining the Liftsal—although she hoped it didn’t come to that.
She let out a breath and tried to keep her shoulders strong and stand tall. Inside she felt like she was crumbling though. Standing against her own people was hard, and she felt like she was betraying them. She had to keep reminding herself that it was for their own good and that she wasn’t the only one who thought so. Both Jack and Rowe supported her, and although Rhyn wasn’t human, he too believed she was doing the right thing.
The sounds of some commotion drifted through the rift, dragging Sloane’s attention from the woods. She turned to watch as more warriors from the castellum arrived. They streamed through the rift in large groups, spilling into the sunshine on Aeris and falling into rows behind the Unfaih who already stood guard in front of her.
At least a hundred men poured through the shimmering portal, their armour glinting as the suns on Aeris reflected brightly off of the blue metal. She could see more fighters waiting on the other side of the rift to act as backup if needed. It wasn’t the entire Unfaih army, not by a mile. But it was an impressive number given the lack of warning and certainly enough to strike fear into a force of twenty humans.
The assembled warriors looked fierce as they stood defiantly in front of the rift. They were all so imposing and held their weapons with such certainty, Sloane thought that Ash and her father would have to be crazy to try and take them on. If Rhyn’s plan was to display a show of force to make the humans reconsider any attack, then he was doing a pretty good job of it.
The Unfaih had barely finished falling into place when a sudden alertness rippled through their lines. Each warrior tensed and they gripped their weapons tightly. Sloane stood up on her tiptoes to see past them, to try and gauge what they had seen or heard. The edge of the woods still appeared empty, but she knew the Unfaih had much keener hearing than she did.
Ever so slowly she began to
see movement through the trees as a group of men materialised from the shadows one by one. Sloane’s focus wasn’t on the group as a whole, but on the man who stood at the front, his hands raised in the air as a sign of peace.
It was her brother who led the humans towards the rift, and from the look on his face as he stared the Unfaih warriors down, he didn’t come in peace at all.
Chapter Two
The Unfaih stood silently as Ash and his team advanced. The warriors watched on, completely motionless, as the humans continued past the edge of the woods that bordered the clearing and made their way onto the open field where the rift was located.
The soft tread of the men’s shoes against the ground was all that could be heard. The Unfaih were almost like stone statues as they waited for the signal to attack, and the humans who approached seemed intimidated by their presence. Even Sloane felt slightly unnerved by the silent warriors that stood between Ash and herself.
Ash may have had his hands up in the air, but the men who followed him all had their fingertips hovering over the guns at their sides. Their eyes darted around nervously, and there was a respectful hint of fear on the humans’ faces as they took in the sheer number of warriors that separated them from the rift. The Unfaih warriors towered over even the tallest human soldier, and their chests were almost double the width of a normal human man’s.
The group became increasingly hesitant as they moved forwards. Rhyn had easily taken down six men with guns the previous night, and Sloane had no doubt that his warriors could do similar damage if given a chance. Ash’s men might have been able to overcome the small contingent of guards who had protected the rift the previous night, but there was no way they could win against the large group who stood there now.
From the anxious looks Ash’s men kept shooting him, it was clear the humans hadn’t been expecting such a display of force. Sloane was almost surprised the humans continued to approach, and she couldn’t decide if they were brave or stupid. There was little chance her brother would back down, even though he was outnumbered six to one. She kind of hoped the idiots who followed him would at least realise their chances of success weren’t high and reconsider.
Sloane focused on her brother who led his men confidently into the clearing. It was hard to see him past the solid wall of muscle in her way, but she was able to look through the small gaps between the Unfaih and catch glimpses of him as he approached. He was slightly frowning as he took in the multitude of warriors before him, but there wasn’t an ounce of fear in his eyes. His gaze scanned the Unfaih, as though he were evaluating them before his scrutiny rested briefly on Sloane.
There was no remorse in his eyes as he looked at her, and her back stiffened as she realised he held no regrets for betraying her the night before. Her hands bunched at her sides and her knuckles cracked as she clenched her fists tightly. Sloane wasn’t sure if she could despise her brother any more than she already did, but she felt like her anger towards him had just increased exponentially.
He was almost disinterested in the way he looked at her, and his gaze was quick to move past her as he sought his real target, Rhyn. Once he caught sight of Rhyn, standing in the front row of warriors next to Elyx, Ash came to a stop. His eyes were entirely focused on the Unfaih prince, and there was almost a challenge in the way Ash looked at him. A small, knowing smile lifted at the corner of his lips, and Sloane could see Rhyn’s back stiffen in response.
Rhyn may have had a formidable force behind him, but Sloane knew Ash was not without power in this situation. If there was one thing her brother was good at, it was keeping his cool. And the way he was eyeing Rhyn held more of a challenge than if Ash had brought a thousand men with him.
‘Are you going to cower back there with your men?’ Ash shouted across the distance between them. ‘Or will you meet me face to face?’
Sloane glanced to Rhyn, hoping he wouldn’t react, but Rhyn was already livid with her brother, and she knew it wouldn’t take much to rile him up. He wanted Ash to pay for his betrayal, for the lies he’d told and the danger he’d put Sloane in. Rhyn wasn’t the only one, but for once Sloane hoped he would exercise caution. She didn’t know what Ash was up to, but it was clear he was trying to provoke Rhyn—and it was working.
Sloane almost wanted to put her head in her hands. Whatever was about to happen, she knew it wouldn’t be good, and she wished she wasn’t stuck behind the barricade of warriors.
She started to edge forwards slowly, trying to make her way towards Rhyn, but he was standing at the front of his assembled force, and there were rows of huge warriors between them. The Unfaih formed such an effective barrier holding her back that she thought she would probably have a better chance getting into the Brakys’ lair again than making it past them. She lifted herself onto her tiptoes, trying to search for a gap in their defence, but the Unfaih were well trained, and she couldn’t find a way to get past them.
Movement caught her eye, and she watched as Rhyn marched out in front of the group of warriors with Elyx at his side. The two of them drew their swords as they began to bear down on Ash and the men clustered behind him. Sloane’s stomach plummeted as she watched on, hating that she couldn’t do anything to help. A small group of Unfaih warriors followed the two of them, fanning out around Rhyn as he approached the small contingent of humans.
Elyx put two fingers to his mouth and whistled, and within the blink of an eye more Unfaih warriors materialised from behind the trees that bordered the clearing. Sloane hadn’t realised Elyx had fighters stationed there, and the humans looked as surprised as she was. They were completely surrounded and the Unfaih warriors were slowly converging on them. There was nowhere for them to run. They were trapped.
The men in Ash’s group grabbed for their guns as the Unfaih closed in, fumbling as they attempted to raise their weapons in defence. Rhyn’s warriors responded quickly though, and the moment the humans reached for their guns, the Unfaih rapidly darted forwards. They moved so swiftly the humans didn’t have a chance to react, and before the first gun was raised each human had a sword pointed at their neck.
Sloane could feel the tension between the two groups rippling through the air. Even the warriors who still stood by the rift were restlessly shifting as they watched on. Rhyn may have gained the upper hand, but one wrong move could result in carnage.
‘Drop your weapons,’ Rhyn growled, his own sword pointed at Ash’s throat. It gave Sloane a small wave of satisfaction to see her brother on the receiving end of the threat. She didn’t exactly want him hurt, but she did like the idea of seeing him squirm. He wasn’t doing much squirming though. Ash stood just as assuredly as before, and his confidence made Sloane slightly nervous. She felt like she was missing something.
‘Calm down, Rhyn. I’m just here to talk,’ Ash replied casually, his arms stretched out wide as if he were greeting an old friend. ‘We don’t want any trouble.’
‘It doesn’t look like it,’ Rhyn said. ‘Drop your weapons.’
Rhyn’s voice boomed across the clearing and Sloane could feel the impact of his words reverberating through her body and settling in her toes. The other humans must have felt the same way because they immediately dropped their guns to the ground.
A fleeting look of annoyance crossed Ash’s features, but it quickly turned into a smirk as he leisurely unstrapped the gun at his side and crouched down to place it on the ground. He briefly paused as if he was considering whether or not to let go of his weapon before he released the gun and left it lying in the grass in front of him. As Ash slowly rose to his feet, Sloane could see how much her brother’s confidence was irritating Rhyn.
‘Why are you here?’ Rhyn asked as Ash stood tall in front of him once again.
‘I told you, we want to talk,’ Ash answered. ‘I think we can come to an agreement with your people. You don’t want trouble from us, and we don’t want to start a fight either. But if you’re open to it, maybe we can come to some sort of truce.’
Ash stood silentl
y as he waited for Rhyn’s response, and Sloane’s gaze flickered between the two of them. She desperately wanted to butt in and mouth off at Ash, as she was still furious with him. She wanted to tear him to shreds for betraying her after all she’d done to help him. But she was powerless where she stood. It wasn’t her place to make decisions for the Unfaih, and Rhyn was more than capable of telling Ash to shove his truce.
Rhyn didn’t respond straight away though. He paused as though he was thinking it through; like he was actually considering Ash’s offer. Sloane shouted silent thoughts at Rhyn, begging him to tell Ash to turn around and go back to the settlement. She couldn’t understand why he hadn’t told him to run along the moment he’d appeared out of the woods.
‘I don’t make agreements with traitors,’ Rhyn finally said. ‘And I know what you’re after. You can’t have the Liftsal. That is something we will never allow. There will be no agreement, and there will be no truce.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Ash said, raising his voice slightly, a smirk playing on his lips. ‘All we want is to live here in peace, but you obviously have other intentions. Just let me have my sister back. Please, we don’t want any harm to come to her.’ His voice dripped with sincerity, but mockery filled his eyes.
‘Lies!’ Sloane yelled, attempting to dart forwards. One of the Unfaih warriors grabbed hold of her arm to stop her though. She swivelled to break from his grasp, but another Unfaih grabbed her other arm before she could get free.
‘Let me go,’ she demanded, desperately wanting to storm up to her brother and make him pay for everything he had done. The Unfaih warriors wouldn’t listen and merely tightened their grip on her. It was no use. Rhyn must have told them not to let her through. She stopped squirming and resigned herself to glaring at Ash across the distance that separated them.
The Oblivion Stone (The Liftsal Guardians Book 3) Page 2