Hex Breaker (The Fenearen Chronicles Book 1)

by Taryn Noelle Kloeden

  “Don’t you dare do that. Don’t you dare make me sound selfish for wanting to keep you from making this mistake.”

  “Channon please! You know I would never hurt you, not if I had a choice.”

  “You do have a choice, Ray.” He grabbed her wrist so suddenly, she almost pulled away herself. “Tell him you changed your mind. Tell him you can’t marry him because—because you’re already attached.” The words escaped Channon’s mouth before he seemed to realize what he had said. But after he had said them, he nodded, urging her to respond.

  “But I’m… I mean we’re not…” Tears fell down her cheeks, but she could not stop them.

  Channon slid his hands up her arms, cupping her face. His thumbs wiped away her tears. “Ray, don’t make me say it. Not like this, not now. Please, I’m begging you not to do this.”

  Rayna was not sure where she found the strength, but she closed her fingers around Channon’s hands and forced them to his side. “I’m sorry. I have to. If you don’t want to come with—”

  His hands clenched into fists. “Of course, I’m coming, so I can get you to come to your senses in time.”

  “You don't make my decisions, Channon. I can take care of myself.” The anger in her voice astounded even herself. She was not angry at Channon. She was angry with herself for hurting him, at the war for forcing her to make this sacrifice, at Rhael for existing.

  “No, you can't. You're too busy fixing everyone else’s problems.”

  “What was I supposed to do?” Desperation and exhaustion bled into her words. She regretted them already, but could not stop herself. “Let Nero attack Bayne in front of the Maenorens? Let Rhael plunge us into another war?”

  “You should not have given everything up! Bayne would rather lose his dominance than see you marry that—that monster. What about your future? What about our future?”

  “Don't you think I wanted that, too? Fenear is more important than what we want, Channon!” Unable to face the pain, she snarled at him and took off toward Thera’s den.

  “Run, little pup! Run away from the mess you made!” Channon called after her.

  With Channon's heated words looping through her mind, Rayna skidded to an unsteady halt before Thera’s den, nearly tripping over her impractical skirts. She walked in and saw Thera sitting by her hearth. She sat beside her.

  “Did the tonic help last night?”

  “No. My last one was the worst yet.”

  “Hm.”

  Rayna took up Thera's iron and stoked the fire. “Do you think I made the right decision? I mean going to Maenor, marrying Rhael...”

  “Do you?” Thera asked.

  “Yes,” Rayna lied. Channon's voice calling after her pressed into her brain.

  “That is all that matters.”

  “Channon does not think so.”

  “Channon does not want to lose you.”

  “He isn't losing me. He's coming with me,” Rayna retorted.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  Rayna bit back a childish snarl, but amended her words. “Then what do you mean?”

  “Nothing in this world is so important as love, Rayna. To give up on love is to give up on all else, too.”

  Rayna twisted her bracelet around her wrist. “I’m not giving up on love. I love Fenear, and I will do anything to protect it.”

  Thera looked as if she might argue, but instead dropped her gaze to the ground.

  “Thera, you seem distracted,” Rayna said to change the subject.

  She sighed. “I promised Mya I would protect you if you had dreams like hers.”

  “What has that got to do with anything?”

  “Only that even with this alliance, I cannot trust Maenor or your betrothed.”

  “Betrothed,” Rayna breathed the strange word, feeling her insides ripple and twist.

  “Rayna, you have made your choice, and you alone can decide if it was the right one. Not I, not Roxen or Bayne or Silver, and certainly not Channon. Only be careful keiri, and Lumaen heli brutain do. Lumae’s grace protect you.” Thera hugged Rayna, touching her forehead to hers. After a moment, she spoke again. “Now, you had best be resting. You have a long journey tomorrow.”

  Chapter Seven

  The dark was unrelenting. Even her lupine sight failed her as Rayna padded down the slick, rocky path. She didn't realize she'd shouted Channon's name until she heard the echo. Silence answered her at first, but then, screaming.

  “Channon!” She ran through the darkness, her best friend's cries rebounding between the close-set walls on either side.

  “Channon, where are you?” She ran until her throat was coarse with thirst and the muscles in her legs threatened to tear from her bones. No matter how hard she tried, she could not reach him. Laughter, caustic and cruel, mingled with Channon's screams. Rayna's blood turned to sludge. She stumbled to the ground, gasping against the tears. She could not reach him in time.

  Cold air flooded Rayna’s lungs, jolting her awake. She dressed, hands shaking. Moments later, dawn light poured into her den as someone opened her deerskin door.

  “Channon?” She wanted to throw her arms around him, to prove her nightmare was nothing more than a relic of her anxiety.

  “No.” The Overlord's deep hiss was impossible to mistake.

  “Oh.”

  “May I come in?” It did not seem a question, more a formality, but Rayna answered anyway.

  “No, I’ll come to you.” Rayna shook the sleep from her body.

  “Very well,” he said. She walked from the den, but Rhael did not move aside. He snaked one strong arm around her waist, crushing her to him. She collided with him, and fury boiled in her chest.

  Even so, she chose her words carefully. “Lord Rhael, I would appreciate it if you’d wait until we are better acquainted before you behave with such familiarity.”

  “My apologies, Rayna. Of course, we must learn more about one another. In fact, I was thinking that we have not had opportunity to speak alone, without interruptions, besides our short discussion last night.”

  They walked toward the northern woods. It was still early. Stars clung to the pale sky, and the sun’s rays had just begun to melt the dark. Rhael must have been an early riser, too; it was one quality they shared. Rayna glanced at his angular face as they walked, framed by pine trees, ferns, and wide-trunked oaks, deeper into the woods. His features were even sharper in profile. Despite his epithet, there was nothing snake-like in his appearance. His square jaw, dark curling hair, and golden-brown skin reminded her more of a lion. He was, Rayna reluctantly conceded, handsome. But not handsome like Channon, with his sunny smile and boyish dimples. Not even handsome in the way Roxen was, with his muscular frame and laughing hazel eyes. There was something about Rhael, in his stare, the cut of his features, even his stride, that was as cold and hard as granite. He was like a statue of some fearsome predator— beautiful, threatening, and unreal.

  When they reached a clearing, Rhael plucked Rayna like a raptor would a hapless field mouse and set her on a boulder.

  Her gaze met Rhael’s. He hid some emotion within, buried beneath sheer will. Yet it shone through with an intensity she could not explain. The woods were oddly silent. Not even the birds sang. After a long moment, Rhael spoke.

  “Rayna, Maenor is a wonderful place, very different from here. We're civilized. You will have servants and fine dresses and everything a girl could want.”

  Rayna ground her teeth. She wanted none of those silly things. She wanted the woods and wild, fresh air, freedom. It occurred to her that she might never again experience any of that after today. “You don't know anything about Fenearens, do you?”

  “No, but I am learning. You must understand, Maenorens are different. They act differently around me, especially. Therefore, when we arrive, I ask that you speak only if you must and treat me with the utmost respect. If you address me in public, you should not use my name. 'My lord' or 'sir' will suffice.”

  So much for le
ading Maenor into a time of positive change. Rayna could not sort through her anger to form a coherent response. A growl rumbled low in her throat.

  Rhael did not appear to have heard. “And if I ask you for something, you must not defy me. Do you understand?” He leaned toward her, putting his terribly handsome face close to hers. His noxious, metallic breath stung her nostrils.

  “No,” Rayna said. Rhael’s face did not budge. Rayna took a deep breath. “If this is going to work, don't expect me to act like some pampered pet that lives to please you. I'll marry you, but only as your equal.”

  “Such tenacity. What would it take to tame you?”

  Rayna's eyes thinned, and her claws extended. “You can’t tame a wolf, Lord Rhael. It is certain death to try.”

  “Unfortunately, I must try.” Rhael closed the distance between them with a sudden kiss. The moment his lips touched hers, the world disappeared. Black and gold roiled over her vision. The smell of carrion assaulted her nostrils, and faces appeared in the blackness. Terrible, dead faces. Screams sounded, and with them came nightmares. Channon crying out in agony, Silver covered in blood, Bayne falling to his knees. Through it all, two voices from her dreams, Lumae's and Alvo's, repeated one word: Run.

  Then it was gone, and Rhael was kissing her.

  Appalled, she struggled to pull away, but he trapped her in place with one hand while his other ran through her hair and his lips caressed her neck.

  “Get off of me!” Rayna shouted, outraged. She raked her claws across Rhael's cheek. With a grunt, he froze. “That,” he said, touching his bloodied face, “was a mistake.”

  Rayna jumped to her feet. “How dare you kiss me without my permission!”

  “Your permission?” Rhael chuckled as he drew his blood-soaked glove from his cheek. “You agreed to marry me, Rayna. What did you suppose that meant?”

  “Nothing, now! If you want to control me, use me, tame me, then you will have to choose another bride. Good luck finding a Fenearen who won't rip out your tongue, or worse. I’m going to find Bayne and tell him I've changed my mind.” The peace treaty wasn't worth it, not if it meant this. Whatever vision she had seen, whether real or not, Alvo and Lumae were right. She must run from this man and never look back.

  “That is not an option, Rayna. You will come to Maenor, willingly or otherwise.”

  Rayna's heart sent blood coursing through her limbs. She bit her words with extended canines. “I'd like to see you try and force me.”

  Rhael smiled widely in response, turning his angular face into a pit viper's leer. “Then you’re in luck.”

  A low growl rumbled behind him. Rayna broke eye contact with Rhael to see Channon approaching from the silent woods in his human form.

  “Perfect timing, boy,” said Rhael. “I shouldn’t be surprised. Your persistence is admirable.”

  Channon's gaze focused on Rhael's bloodied cheek. “Rayna, what did he do to you?” His teeth grew to dangerous points.

  “That is none of your concern, boy,” Rhael sneered.

  Rayna looked around the Overlord's shoulder. “Channon, go to the Densite and get Bayne and Silver.”

  Channon held out his hand. “Come with me.”

  “What right have you to order her?” Rhael asked. Rayna could detect no anger in the Overlord’s voice, only curiosity. She leaped from the boulder, giving Rhael a wide berth

  “I’m not ordering her. I'm asking her. If you can't tell the difference, I feel sorry for you, Rhael,” Channon growled as Rayna took his hand.

  “She is not going anywhere.” Rhael's voice was calm, like the silent woods before a storm. He was remarkably composed for an unarmed man alone with two angry Fenearens. A chill crept up Rayna's spine.

  “You can’t own her.” Channon tried to move in front, but Rayna held her ground beside him.

  “No? You seem to think you do,” Rhael said.

  Channon charged, forming wolf, his teeth and claws snapping into place as he ran. He slashed at the Overlord’s uninjured cheek, but Rhael dodged away. Channon tried again, swinging his claws across Rhael’s chin. Rhael stumbled back. The irritating calmness vanished from his face. A stare burned through his bloodied and bruised features.

  “Enough of this.” Rhael punched the air. The gold in his pupils spilled over the black ringing them.

  Channon crashed to the ground as if rammed in the stomach with some invisible force. He scrambled to his feet, tail-lengths from Rhael.

  Rayna leaped between them as Channon crouched to charge again. Rhael’s eyes blazed molten gold. “Stop, both of you! This is madness.”

  Channon formed human and limped to her side, though his teeth and claws remained extended. Rhael’s eyes gradually returned to their normal, concentric colors.

  “Miss Myana.” Rhael lowered his arms and approached. “Am I to understand it is no longer your intention to come to Maenor as my bride?” He spoke with the same civility as before, but something new strained his voice now. It sounded like desperation.

  Rayna shook her head. “As I told you, Lord Rhael, it seems my aunt and uncle were right. Our cultural differences are too great. I cannot marry you.” She paused, quelling her temper. “I’m sorry. Please don’t let this affect the treaty.”

  Rhael dabbed at his bleeding cheek. “You would choose this boy over me?”

  Rayna’s throat tightened. “No. I would choose myself.” Beside her, she could sense Channon relaxing, his teeth and nails returning to human length and shape.

  Rhael nodded. “I understand.”

  Rayna glanced at Channon, and both their eyebrows arched. “You do?”

  Rhael produced a golden handkerchief. Wiping his face, he said, “Yes. You see, I had thought you self-sacrificing enough to marry me despite personal objections. I had also hoped to assuage those objections, but I miscalculated.”

  “Oh?” Rayna shuffled closer to Channon.

  “There is something you are not willing to part with, even for the good of your filthy people. How can I ever own your heart, if you have already given it to another?”

  Rayna could find no words. She had hoped that her skepticism of her uncle's plans for peace had proven false when Rhael Demetrian had wooed the Densite with words of fidelity and treaty. All the delusions of ending bloodshed and war fell to pieces beneath the treachery before her now.

  Rhael shook his head. “I know of only one way.” At those words, the gold in his eyes overtook the black once again. Beside her, Channon lifted into the air. The Overlord thrust his hand forward, hurtling Channon into a tree.

  “Stop it!” Rayna threw herself in front of the slumped Channon. “Stop now, or I swear I’ll kill you.”

  Rhael hissed as he strode toward them. “Don’t make threats you aren't prepared to carry out.”

  Channon looked up at her. His cornflower blue eyes were unfocused; blood trickled down his forehead.

  “I said, leave him alone!” With blind ferocity, Rayna’s teeth and claws extended and her skin bristled, ready to transform. She would tear Rhael limb from limb, or die trying, peace treaty be damned. Channon mattered most now.

  “Get out of the way, foolish girl,” Rhael said.

  “Never.” Rayna growled as she rose and advanced. Bayne’s words echoed in her eardrums: If he ever hurts you, you kill him. Nothing could have injured her worse than Channon's pain, and now Rhael would pay with his life.

  Rhael sighed as if she were some minor inconvenience. He grabbed her by the neck. “It didn’t have to be this way, you know.”

  Rayna raised her claws, but before she could slash his forearm he threw her to the ground. She could not believe a Maenoren could move so quickly. He flicked his wrist, and she screamed as her ankle snapped to the side, broken. Rhael lifted his arms over his head once more, his gaze fixed on Channon.

  “Channon! Get up! Fight! Come on!” Her ankle cried in protest as she dragged herself forward.

  “Let's see if this works, shall we?” Rhael crossed his arms over his c
hest, closing his eyes. A moment later, they shot open, dazzling gold. Rhael thrust out his arms; a shock-wave flew at Channon from them, and the force slanted the trees around him backward. Twin black tendrils, half beast, half maelstrom wrapped around Channon. He screamed as dark energy engulfed him, multiplying in a haze of coils all around his body. Terrified, Rayna crawled toward the horrors. Channon's eyes widened in shock as the curse reached his face. With one final look of desperation at Rayna and a cry of agony, Channon was pulled into the ground. The black coils melted into bubbling mud. The moss and dead leaves smoked. The sky lightened and the forest swayed in the breeze.

  Not a single bird sang as Rayna fell where Channon had been a moment before. She scratched at the boiling leaves and dirt, searching for some trace of him. Nothing remained except his leather and pine scent, laced with terror.

  “What did you do? Where is he?” Rayna screamed before taking her wolf form and rounding on Rhael. Her ankle sent shards of pain up her leg and hip, but that did not matter. Nothing mattered. Channon was gone. Her hackles rolled into spikes. She lowered her snout, curling her lips to reveal every one of her deadly teeth.

  For all her speeches of unity, when faced with the reality of sacrifice, she had balked. She had accepted Rhael's offer against her family's wishes, imagining herself a hero like her mother and father. When Rhael showed her what it would mean to marry him, though, those delusions fled in the face of her selfishness. She chose her own happiness over the peace that would protect her pack, forcing Rhael to find another way to control her. He punished Channon, and it was her fault.

  Rage and grief propelled her forward, her jaws aimed at Rhael’s neck. Her feet left the ground, but she flew backward. Her back slammed against a huge, sticky maple. She fell to the ground, her body left limp and human from the pain, her leg numb and useless. Rhael approached her, and she managed to extend her teeth and claws.

  “He isn’t dead.” Rhael's voice had returned to its unpleasant calm, but sweat beaded his brow, “but he’ll wish he was.”