Twisted Bonds

by Brandy L Rivers

  She pulled away. “I need to talk to Jayde.”

  “Shit, you were right, Isa. We should go inside.”

  “Where is Scotty?” Instead of turning back, she pushed through the crowd.

  “Gone,” Toryn answered. “He’s not here.”

  “You’re certain?”

  “Fairly. She wouldn’t be that frantic if he were.” Toryn grabbed her hand, but she kept moving.

  Isa caught Jayde’s shoulders. “What happened?”

  Frantic hazel eyes met hers. Jayde’s chest heaved. “Dragon took him.”

  “What dragon?” Toryn asked.

  “Black. Earth.” Jayde shook her head. “Other than that, I don’t know. I’ve never seen him before.”

  Lonny made his way to them. His rainbow hair was tied in a braid that hung over his shoulder. “Gebiet. He found his way to the east tower where Jayde and Scotty had snuck off to. Bastard knocked out Jayde, took Scotty.”

  A scarlet dragon rose up and snatched Toryn off his feet before streaking across the sky.

  Toryn screamed.

  Isa didn’t think before she shouted, “Alenathos!”

  The dragon walked toward her in his human form. He yelled, “Clear a path. I need room.”

  Gasps sounded and everyone backed away, some running from the terrace.

  Alenathos shifted into a long serpent with wings.

  Reance made it to her, pinning her with his emerald gaze. “You cannot go alone, Isadora.”

  “Watch me!” she hissed, hiking her skirt up to climb onto Alenathos’ back. She settled between his wings. “Go, before he finds a way to stop me.”

  Alenathos shot into the air.

  Jayde spoke out, “I’m right behind you.”

  “Follow that dragon,” Isa demanded.

  “Kasai. Gebiet’s mate,” Alenathos provided.

  “Is she bound to anyone?” Isa asked.

  “No. Not that I know of, but much has changed since I last set foot in Faery.”

  “Thank you for coming.”

  Alenathos huffed. “Don’t thank me yet. We have to track her down and get Toryn back.”

  The scenery blurred past them as they flew over mountains and treetops. She saw scarlet flickering in the distance. A stream of flame shot toward them.

  She threw her hand out, shielding them from the fire. Jayde wasn’t far behind her. Lonny too. Then Alenathos dropped in elevation and fear rolled through Isa.

  Shit, she hated flying and there she was, on the back of a damn dragon, skimming over the treetops. Her life couldn’t get much stranger.

  “Relax. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Alenathos vowed.

  “Easier said than done. I’m not a fan of flying. Period.”

  He chuckled. “Aye, but you must fly if we’re to catch the bitch.”

  The scarlet dragon was closer, but nearing a tower surrounded by scenery that looked awfully familiar.

  “Oh fuck, I told him this was coming soon.” She threw a bolt of ice at the dragon, hoping to freeze its wings so it would drop to the tower. If they could make the tower, she could stop the dragon.

  Blue ice raced across the red wings, slowing the flapping. Kasai aimed for the tower.

  Howls rent the air and she knew hellhounds were on the way. She never saw Alenathos, just one hellhound, and then Kasai at the end.

  Her stomach bottomed out as Alenathos descended. Toryn hit the cold stone of the tower with a thud she felt as the dragon careened past, into the trees.

  She felt several of Toryn’s bones snap on impact. Ribs punctured a lung. The pain through their bond gave her trouble pulling a full breath, though Toryn surely felt it worse.

  Alenathos touched down, and Isa slid off his back, hurrying to Toryn’s side. She dropped to her knees and envisioned him whole and healthy before pouring her magic into him.

  “I’ll take care of Kasai,” Alenathos hissed before his body narrowed down to a serpentine one and winding down the stairs, into the woods.

  Toryn’s eyes flipped open as he sat up, capturing her face in his hands. “Are you okay?”

  She glanced down and nodded before looking him in the eye. “I’m fine, but you?”

  He kissed her, drawing her closer.

  A snarl rent the air and she shot to her feet. “We aren’t safe yet, babe.”

  He grinned. “I’m not worried.”

  She couldn’t help laughing as he drew her closer.

  Her skin crawled as something set eyes on them. A terrible wail rose above the thrashing branches and cracking limbs below.

  “What the hell is that?”

  “Dobhar-chu,” Toryn answered.

  “And that would be?”

  “Won’t believe me until you see it.”

  Beady red eyes popped over the stairs. Furry wolf ears sat on an otter’s head. Adorable until it opened its mouth and rows of sharp teeth glistened.

  “What in the fuck is that thing?”

  “Mean little bastard and resistant to most everything. The Fae version of a honey badger.”

  “Perfect,” she snipped.

  It dove toward Toryn, and Isa whipped out her blades, slashing at the animal. It reared up on its long furry body and swiped at her with massive claws that didn’t belong on the beast.

  Oh, who the hell was she kidding? That thing was a mutant.

  She ducked out of the way, and Toryn pulled her across the tower.

  He threw a stream of silver flames at the beast. “Watch out. Their blood is acidic.”

  The creature rose up on its hind legs, reaching seven feet tall before it stumbled back. It grabbed the edge of her train and fell back, tearing the fabric as it tumbled to the jagged ground below.

  “Wasn’t part of the vision?” Toryn asked.

  She shook her head. “No. The dress was already torn. And that train was a pain in the ass.”

  A pained yelp sounded before snarls and barks as a thousand claws scrabbled on stone.

  “I saw one hellhound,” she snapped. “Not an army.”

  “You got this,” Toryn answered as silver flames erupted in his palms and traveled up his arms.

  Isa called forth the elements. The wind kicked up as black clouds formed twenty feet above them. Lightning streaked through them. Flames and sparks danced over her body. Rain started to fall as the first beast reached the top.

  Fire danced in the hellhound’s eyes. She stashed her blades and called forth the flame whips, wanting a longer range to battle the monsters coming at them.

  She slashed through the first as three more climbed over the edge.

  “They’re coming from all directions,” Toryn warned.

  “Which is why I pulled out the whips.”

  “Could probably transmute the blades.”

  She nodded slowly. “Now there’s an idea, but I’d rather stick with what I know until I can master that.”

  He chuckled as he slung a fire ball at another hellhound when it climbed over the top of the tower.

  Something yanked her hair back as she whipped around, finding another hellhound biting her dress and hair. She slashed the whip out, flinging it off the edge of the tower as she flicked the other whip, sending another flying.

  The wind kicked up the remains of her skirt. “So much for enchantments.”

  “Apparently Canton hadn’t planned for a battle.”

  “Thought you said the dress could form armor.”

  “That kind of magic usually requires a spell from you.”

  “Well, that’s helpful. I’d rather deal with Monique’s wards. At least I’m familiar.” Isa spun, flinging the whip out, catching several more hellhounds. The flames severed their heads as her magic crackled through each.

  Her whips were torn from her grasp. She called the magic back as another hellhound charged her.

  Like in her vision, she stretched her hands out, forming a net of pure energy as it advanced. Is
a slung it out and watched the electricity wrap around her enemy. It flipped head over heels off the tower with the momentum of her spell.

  “Isa, watch out,” Toryn screamed in the fire dialect.

  She turned in time to see a scarlet dragon fly up the other side of the tower. Her mouth unhinged as a pillar of flame shot forth.

  Toryn tackled her to the ground, blocking the inferno.

  Isa threw a dome of sparkling energy and the air cooled beneath her spell.

  Toryn infused his own magic, capturing her face in his hands. “This what you saw?”

  “Yeah. You okay?”

  “Because of you.”

  “I’m going to kill that bitch. She has Scotty.”

  “Call Alenathos. I know where they’re headed.”

  “You do?”

  “Call it a hunch,” he answered.

  Isa shook her head. “Alenathos brought me to you. He was fighting Kasai. I can’t imagine he’s in good shape if he hasn’t come back.”

  He winced. “Not what I want to hear. How about a portal out of here?”

  The dragon roared as it flew into the sky, then came down at the shield in a blur.

  She grabbed Toryn and pulled him back, dropping the shield as the dragon crashed into the stone. The tower shook and cracked, knocking them off balance as a hole fell in with the dragon.

  Scotty charged up the stairs and caught Toryn, keeping him on his feet.

  Something was wrong. His warm brown eyes were dull, empty, black. He wasn’t in control.

  “Toryn, watch out. Don’t trust Scotty.”

  He spun and reached out with a spell on his tongue. Toryn slumped to his knees as the temperature rose.

  Isa turned, pulling her blades as Kasai emerged from the hole she’d created in the roof of the tower.

  She ran toward the dragon, slashing into the scarlet body as her tail whipped out.

  There was a snap. Pain radiated up her left side as she hit the stone slabs. The building shifted and she fell as something hit her. Everything faded in a blur of pain that dimmed to black.

  Chapter 12

  Jayde dispersed into air and followed Alenathos and Isadora, but she couldn’t keep up.

  Lonny spoke up, “Follow me. I know where they’re going.”

  He hadn’t led her astray in the past, so she stayed with him. Broken Tooth tower stood before them, hellhounds surrounding and climbing the tower.

  Isa and Toryn had them covered, but flame and water splashed through the trees. The earth rumbled and a black dragon joined the fray.

  The same bastard who’d taken Scotty.

  She reformed behind Gebiet and sent a bolt of fire through him. He reared up and lifted his massive claw. Jagged pieces of earth rose up, reaching for her.

  Jayde faded to air as Lonny landed in a tree. He morphed back to his normal shape and flung one throwing star after another at Gebiet.

  The dragon spun toward Lonny, and Jayde reformed on Gebiet’s back, placing both hands on his scales. She healed the damage, pulling his ability to control the earth from him.

  She stopped healing when she got to scars that had been there for some time.

  Gebiet lashed out, flinging her to the ground. Before he could crush her under a massive claw, she was dragged through a portal that opened behind her.

  She tried to twist free and go back through as the portal closed. Unable to get back to the bastard dragon, she spun, letting stones form in the palms of her hands.

  Lonny held his hands up. “Hey, only doing what he said.” He jabbed a thumb to his right.

  Her eyes narrowed on Reance.

  “Let me through!” she screamed.

  “No,” Reance stated. “Listen to me. Scotty’s being controlled by Damha. If I send you back, he’ll only kill you, and later himself once Isadora kills Damha and he realizes what he’s done.”

  “No. He can’t go back to Saressa. That monster can’t touch him.”

  Reance caught her face. “Scotty won’t remember anything that happens while under Damha’s control, and Saressa won’t allow him to use him the way she let so many use him in the past.”

  “I need to go to him.”

  “You must live,” Reance argued, desperation in his eyes. “Trust me. Without you, so much will go wrong.”

  She heaved breath after breath but couldn’t find words. Once again, Reance stood in her way of going to Scotty.

  Lonny squeezed her arm, and she flashed a glare at him. Lonny calmly explained, “He knows what he’s talking about. Without you, Scotty won’t survive.”

  A desperate wail left her lips. “I can’t lose him again.”

  “I’m sorry, Jayde,” Aeryana said and touched Jayde’s shoulder.

  Her body grew heavier and she started to fall as the colors faded to black.

  * * * *

  Alenathos shot a stream of water down Kasai’s throat and the earth shook, the ground cracking. He fell into a chasm that swallowed him up, cutting off the light.

  Bursting into water, he pushed his way through the earth, seeking fresh air. Magic tried to push him back but that quickly faded as rocks shattered and shifted nearby.

  The tower. Gebiet and Kasai had taken the tower down. He heard Isa’s cry of pain, then a thundering sound that rumbled through the earth.

  He burst free, reforming as a huge water beast. He rushed to the crumbling tower as Gebiet and Kasai flew away. He could feel Isadora faintly. She was there, but unconscious.

  He tossed one stone after another from the crumbled tower, then he saw a lock of her hair and blood.

  Fuerah! he called in his mind. If nothing else, get a message to Reance. Isadora needs a healer now. She’s in bad shape. Gebiet and Kasai have Toryn.

  Her hiss rolled through him. Have you finally learned your lesson?

  We don’t have time for this, love. She’s fading, and without her, I fear a far darker world.

  He heaved another stone and found Isadora facedown, blood seeping from her shattered side. Healer now. Or none of us stand a chance. Broken Tooth Tower.

  A portal opened. Reance came through with Mathis and Paavo. Alenathos stood up. “Jayde would be the wiser choice. I can’t imagine they can get her off in that state.”

  “Won’t have to. Brought my little sister,” Paavo answered with a longing glance at Isa. “Besides, without her and Toryn’s permission, we wouldn’t.”

  Alenathos rolled his eyes.

  A petite woman stepped through the portal. Purple hair flowed around her, violet eyes taking in the damage to Isadora. Then Hayden stepped through with his brother, Xander.

  “Dare I ask?” Alenathos muttered.

  Reance dipped his head. “She’s a nymph. The strongest I’ve had the pleasure of meeting. Her name is Amethyst. You’ve met her mate, Hayden, and his brother, Aeryana’s general, Xander.”

  Hayden had been Henroyld’s father’s general. He didn’t take kindly to Henroyld’s rule and left Faery for good. Xander stepped into his place, and Aeryana kept him on, gaining his friendship and loyalty.

  Amethyst looked up at Reance. “I’ve never healed this much damage.”

  Reance turned to Amethyst, pleading with his eyes. “Please try. I know you can.”

  Dipping her head, she knelt beside Isadora. Her eyes flashed a brighter shade of purple as she ran her hands an inch over Isadora’s body.

  Hayden knelt behind her, cupping her shoulders. Autumn colors burst through his skin as purple sparkled through hers, replaced by brilliant white light.

  Alenathos looked away and a familiar hand wrapped around his shoulder. You have learned to love your master.

  He turned, looking directly into his mate’s eyes for the first time in twenty-eight years. “I didn’t have a choice in serving Saressa. It was the only way to save you.”

  Fuerah smiled sadly. “You could have chosen to ignore her.”

  He shook his head. “She never pl
ayed by the rules. And now I plan to help Isadora tear her apart.”

  “I’ll help as well.”

  He cupped her face. “Forgive me.”

  “I’m not sure I can. You took the one thing that righted everything that bitch took from me.”

  “At your master’s request.”

  Her eyes sparkled like rubies as she turned toward Reance.

  “We’ll talk later, Fuerah. But there was a good reason,” Reance promised.

  “You better have a convincing answer.”

  * * * *

  A weight had been lifted and Isa struggled to breathe. Pain tripped through her system, spreading like wildfire. Isadora had never felt pain like this. Like she’d been crushed.

  “Don’t move,” a soft, angelic voice murmured as warmth spread through her.

  She called Toryn’s name, but it came out mumbled. Her jaw wouldn’t work.

  Then her whole body shifted, reforming. The pain sharpened and dulled in waves before everything settled. All feeling melted as everything went dark.

  * * * *

  Reance knelt beside his daughter and lifted Isadora into his arms. The dress didn’t do as promised. No, it didn’t offer any protection, and he planned to have words with Canton as soon as he had a moment free of everyone.

  After opening a portal, they stepped into the ballroom, and he carried Isadora to her chambers. He hoped she’d be out for a while. He needed time to plan a solid attack on his sister’s realm.

  Amethyst followed. The young nymph reminded him of her grandmother, Sapphire. Hayden followed close on her heels.

  “Where are we going, little nymph?” Hayden asked.

  “I need to make sure she’s really okay when she wakes up. She was crushed. Like, really crushed.”

  “I know, but you made her whole.”

  “And what if I didn’t do it right?” she asked, her voice rising an octave.

  Reance glanced over his shoulder. “Relax, Amethyst. I assure you, everything is mended. She needs rest. However, if you will feel better, I will allow you to keep watch over her. But the moment she wakes, I need to know. Hayden can call me to him.”

  Hayden answered, “Of course.”

  Placing Isadora on the bed, he stood and came face to face with Aeryana.