Blood Before Sunrise: A Shaede Assassin Novel

by amanda bonilla

  I caught Moira’s eye and brought my hand to my temple to indicate what I was attempting to do. She nodded once, and since I couldn’t detect her pushing into my thoughts, I had to assume she read me loud and clear.

  “I feel you, Darian!” Faolán’s voice sliced through the silence. “You can’t keep me out, no matter how hard you try!”

  Wanna bet, motherfucker? I was going to do everything in my power to ensure he’d messed with my mind for the last time.

  As the snow fell around us, collecting on branches and bushes, blanketing the tall stone structures of The Ring, a calm fell on me as well, covering me with a warm composure that this would all end just as it should. I don’t know where it came from, whether it was divine intervention or maybe even Fate itself. But one thing I knew for sure: I was going home, and soon.

  Moira caught my eye and smirked—a deadly expression if I ever saw one. She took off through the trees, around the ring of stones to the opposite side. With two Guardians against one fanatic, Faolán didn’t stand a chance.

  “I’ll kill her!” the asshole shouted to the sky. “Come any closer and Brakae will die.”

  Could he actually kill the woman he loved? Sort of pointless if you ask me. His love for Brakae had been the source of all his bitterness. Why would he kill her when everything he was about to do would ensure that they could be together forever?

  I wanted to answer him back, let off a string of curses and snarky comebacks just to taunt him. But I kept quiet, fortified my mental barriers, and waited.

  “Do you doubt me?” Faolán kept at it, showing his crazy like a poker hand. “I’ll do it, Darian! I’ll cut her traitorous heart from her breast!”

  If I played my own hand right, I’d have him unraveled in a matter of minutes. He’d been slowly losing his mind since we’d arrived in O Anel. All it would take to send him over the edge was a few mind games of my own. And I’m a quick study. My silence was pushing all the right buttons, edging him toward the point of no return. I needed Faolán off balance, unfocused, easy to tip.

  A strangled cry reached my ears, turning my blood to ice. From the sounds of her screams, Faolán had gone to work on Brakae with the ferocity of the beast he was. And worse yet, his own silence while he took out his frustration on her made me realize that maybe I’d given myself too much credit. It was going to take more than the silent treatment to maneuver Faolán into a position of disadvantage, and I’d risked Brakae’s life in the process.

  When Brakae’s screams finally echoed off into silence, I took a deep, steadying breath. The sensation of her presence was no longer calming but made me so jittery that the dagger shook in my hand. She was alive, but obviously damaged. Damn him. I’d never longed for someone’s death as much as I longed for his. My knees shook as I shifted position, and above the crunching of my feet in the snow, Faolán’s ragged sobs rose to cover the sound.

  “How could you make me do this?” he cried. “You’ve done this, Darian! This is your fault!”

  I’d never heard anything so…pathetic. Faolán was tortured by love and obsession to the point that he’d lost all sense of right and wrong. What he’d done to Brakae had been necessary to that part of him obsessed with merging the realms and eradicating what he felt had kept him from happiness. The racking sobs coming from the ring of stones now were those of blinding grief and heartache.

  Shit. No point trying to push his buttons; Faolán’s switchboard was already pretty well lit. Only one thing left to do. I took a page from Brakae’s book—and surrendered.

  Chapter 29

  I wanted to run to her, the urge to both protect and avenge a burning acid in my limbs. Was this how Tyler felt when my safety was threatened? Did his instincts urge him to the point that he’d charge out to meet the enemy head-on? Of course they did. Add love to the equation, and that impulse was probably even stronger. I wondered, after all that I’d done, could he love me still?

  Faolán’s influence poked at my brain, searching for a way past my mental barriers. I took Moira’s words to heart. Faolán was strong, but I was a Guardian and just as strong if not stronger than my enemy.

  “Slowly.” A flash of silver tears glistened in his narrowed gaze before trailing down his cheeks. He held Brakae’s whimpering form close, her arms hanging limp at her sides. “Don’t do anything foolish, Darian. I will kill her.”

  No problem there. Any sudden movement was bound to bring him to his breaking point. And I had no intention of seeing that up close and personal. “I’m not interested in seeing her killed, Faolán.” I slowed my approach to a near shuffle, my movements tedious and precise. “I’m standing here right now because I want to keep her safe.”

  “She’s not dead.” The words seemed more self-reassuring than meant for me. “You have no idea how precious to me she is. How much I love her.”

  Then why the hell did you cut her up, asshole? “I know you do,” I said, inching closer. “This isn’t exactly the way to show your love.”

  Faolán pointed his dagger at me, the blade stained with Brakae’s blood. “You love deeply. So you should know the pain I feel. Your love freed me from stone. And the symbol of your love will merge the realms, putting an end to this separation once and for all.”

  That didn’t sound good. Though I didn’t know what he was talking about, I wasn’t going to ask. I couldn’t close the gap between us fast enough. Every shuffle of my feet felt like another mile between us. The concentration of power surged around me, the energy emanating from the ring of stones, Brakae’s magnetic pull beckoned, and Faolán’s influence still searched for a way to control me. My hands began to shake the closer I came to the vortex of energy, my teeth chattering so hard, I had to clamp my jaw tight. It was like walking into the eye of a tornado, the swirling winds of power whipping at my body as I breached its barrier. The short sword weighed down my arm, testing my strength as I fought to keep hold. But it slipped from my fingers, landing in the snow at my feet with a muted thump.

  I didn’t even try to pick it up. Why would I need a weapon? I wasn’t here to fight…. I was here to bear witness to something. My thoughts clouded, a familiar peaceful haze blanketing me.

  “Come here, Darian,” Faolán said.

  I closed the distance between us with an eagerness that fired a flight reflex somewhere deep inside me. Run! Common sense shouted while my brain answered, Why? My gaze drifted from Faolán’s silver stare to the woman he held in his arms. Her dark hair cascaded over his arm, and he cradled her as if she were fragile and might shatter if he but shifted in any direction. I knew her. Her name…

  “Darian.” Faolán’s warning tone cut through my thoughts. “Pay attention.”

  Okay. “I’m sorry.” Why did I feel the need to apologize?

  “We’re about to begin, and you have to focus.”

  Focus. Yes, I was supposed to be focusing on something right now. I had a mission in this place. Something I was meant to protect.

  Faolán snapped his fingers, and I lost my train of thought. I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my brain, but something held my mind in a strong grasp. I couldn’t do a damned thing to help myself.

  An unspoken command had my arms stretching out, and with gentle care Faolán eased the burden of the woman’s weight into my arms. I knelt slowly, spreading her out at his feet as seemed appropriate for some reason. Tears streaked down his cheeks as he looked on her pale face, and I realized this woman must have meant a great deal to him. Her chest rose and fell with shallow breaths, and gory, bloody paths oozed from her arms and neck. Someone had taken a knife to her, and, from the looks of it, had enjoyed what he’d done.

  The woman’s lids fluttered before opening to reveal beautiful blue eyes. Memorable in both color and the intensity of her stare, I sensed something in this woman that called to me.

  “Raif,” I whispered, wondering why that name would come to mind.

  A hand gripped my own, squeezing hard for how frail she looked. “I trust you,” sh
e murmured. “And I’m sorry I stabbed you.”

  Holy shit, she had stabbed me! Brakae. Fuck. Brakae was bleeding all over the pristine white of the snow, used like a slab of meat while Faolán doled out his cruel punishment on her flesh. I tore my eyes from her scored skin, brought my gaze to his, and fought like hell to keep my mind closed to his intrusion. “You sonofabitch!” I seethed. “I’m going to kill you for this.”

  “Not if she kills you first,” he said, jutting his chin toward the outer ring of stones.

  Resist. Moira’s thoughts pushed into my mind as she approached, weapon drawn and ready. He’ll pit you against me. And you know what I’ll have to do. I can’t allow him to mend the glass.

  She sure as hell wasn’t wrong. Already I felt the impulse, the idea being planted in my head: Attack. I didn’t have a weapon, but that didn’t seem to matter as I left Brakae’s side and headed straight for the outer ring of stones. Darian! I ignored Moira, my pace quickening at Faolán’s urging. Stop this! My arms pumped as I ran, my boots kicking up snow behind me. This is insane! How can you forget your purpose? My breath clouded as I labored, my lungs ached from the cold. I will kill you! She would, I had no doubt. Faolán would keep us both occupied with fighting, and Moira would kill me, doing his dirty work for him. Fight him!

  The toes of my boots dug into the snow and turf, and I launched myself at Moira as I closed the last few yards between us. Time slowed as I cut through the winter air, and by sheer will I forced my mental barriers into place.

  I hit Moira with a jarring impact that sent us both skidding through the snow. “Make this believable,” I said close to her ear.

  Holy hell, what had I gotten myself into? The first crack of Moira’s fist to my jaw had me reeling; by the third, I was spitting blood. I had the feeling she was enjoying herself a little too much. I’d wanted it to be believable, though, so I had to grit my teeth and bear it while she attempted to beat me to a pulp. On the plus side, Faolán wanted me to initiate the attack, and it wouldn’t have seemed realistic for the scales to be tipped in Moira’s favor. So I gave her a decent beating as well, kicking and throwing punches as if I had nothing to lose. And at this point, I didn’t.

  As Moira and I rolled around on the ground, pounding each other for the sake of entertainment, I noticed Faolán from the corner of my eye. He’d lost interest in our tussle and left Brakae lying in the snow. From my backpack, he produced the broken halves of the hourglass and brought his treasures to the centermost part of the ring of stones, the heart of O Anel. I shifted, rolled, and kicked, maneuvering our fight closer to the real action, and Faolán paid us no mind. He set Reaver’s half of the glass on a stone pedestal, the golden sands swirling like the snow falling from the sky. Moira had eased up on me, her blows more acted than real by this point. Let’s face it—neither of us would have been worth a damn beaten to shit.

  The atmosphere seemed to quiver, a ripple in the fabric of time. And as my attention was drawn away from my pseudo-fight to Faolán’s actions, a glint of silver caught my eye, and I froze. Sitting at the top knuckle of his forefinger was a ring, old and worn. My ring. The ring Tyler had given to me. Goddamn him. I was going to tear his head right off his fucking shoulders. I dodged Moira’s already misguided punch and started off toward Faolán when she grabbed my arm. Not yet!

  Bullshit. I pulled free from her grasp and lurched forward, but she jumped in front of me. Wait! We need him to be distracted! Blind rage guided my fist, and no one influenced my actions now. I swung hard—frustration, anger, and lust for revenge fueling the impact as I made contact with Moira’s face. She spun full circle and fell to the ground, snow flying up around her like feathers as she landed.

  Faolán’s gaze met mine, the silver of his eyes dead and devoid of emotion. His eyebrow cocked, and he plucked the ring from his finger, holding it up for my inspection. He brought it to his lips, blowing gently, and the silver glowed bright as a star. “No!” I shook my head as I left Moira’s unconscious body on the ground and took off at a dead run. No fucking way was he going to use my ring, the only thing I had of Ty, to destroy the world.

  That ring was my lifeline to Tyler, to my own heart. My pulse pounded in my ears as I charged Faolán, anxiety burning through my bloodstream like liquid fire. I didn’t have a weapon, but I’d rip his head off with my bare hands if I had to. The ring, carved with Tyler’s bear, was the embodiment of his love and undying protection.

  His name was a war cry as I advanced, building momentum with every push of my legs. The bastard was going down, once and for all. But when I took the final step and bent down low to throw my body into his, his power hit me like a wrecking ball, and I stopped still in my tracks, my head whipping back from the jarring halt.

  Stop.

  The command was too strong to resist.

  Be still.

  Like a fucking statue.

  Quiet.

  Not a peep.

  “Love is such a powerful thing,” Faolán mused as he twisted my ring between his thumb and forefinger. “I’ve seen what your Jinn would do for you and what you, in turn, would do to protect him.”

  Thoughts swirled in my head, a torrent of vile curses I reserved for only the lowest of bastards. But thanks to Faolán’s control, my mouth wouldn’t open so I could let the word vomit out.

  “In the blood, you will find the most ancient of magic.” His voice dropped, becoming soft, almost tender. “But in love you will find power in its truest form. And you, my dear Darian, you have harnessed that power.”

  Oh. My. God.

  Faolán slipped the ring on top of the broken neck of the hourglass. As it made contact, the band of silver glowed white-hot. The snow, swirling into blizzard proportions, stopped in the air, just as still as I was, as if waiting for the command to move again. Even the wind seemed to bow at Faolán’s feet, along with the naked tree branches and blades of grass poking up through the snow-covered ground.

  All of O Anel held its breath, and I was really starting to regret knocking Moira unconscious. Frankly, I could have used her help right about now. My mind was sharp as a razor’s edge; obviously Faolán wanted me completely lucid for this particular trick. I imagined the horror of billions of humans disintegrating into dust, a madman’s revenge exacted on innocent souls. This was exactly why I only took jobs that involved ridding the world of the dirtiest scum. Faolán wasn’t interested in being anything but a blight on the world. It didn’t matter whom he killed or whose heart he broke in the process. All he cared about was his burning need for revenge.

  My muscles rebelled against my brain’s own commands as I fought to move. Snowflakes remained suspended in midair, and the still silence became almost palpable. Two worlds teetered on the brink of collision, and I couldn’t help but wonder what was happening on the other side, in the mortal realm.

  But in the midst of impending chaos, of death, retribution, and sorrow, I did the one thing that seemed utterly impossible.

  I let go.

  I swept my mind clean so it became a blank canvas. I focused my gaze on the hovering snowflakes until I lost sight of everything in a blur of hazy white. The fear funneled out of my body, the desperate need to think my way out of this clusterfuck became a nonexistent thing. For the first time since coming to this place, I absorbed and appreciated the calm, the absence of time that never left me in the mortal realm. And in the freedom from everything that weighed me down, a feeling blossomed in my chest—something warm and welcome that fed my soul.

  Tyler.

  I felt him as if he were standing right next to me, circling me in his strong embrace. I was a world away; yet his love gave me strength. Our connection could never be broken, and from a million or more miles away I knew Tyler was the only thing holding me up. Fuck Faolán. Fuck his power, his control, his bullshit Enphigmalé magic. He’d had my blood, but so had Tyler. And Tyler had my heart.

  The world came rushing back into focus. Moira still lay unconscious near the outer ring of stones. Brakae
rested, unmoving, at Faolán’s feet. The snow, wind, grass, and branches waited patiently to do a madman’s bidding. A ripple of color like the aurora borealis shone against the darkening sky, the mortal realm pushing at the cusp of the Faerie Ring. My jaw loosened on its hinges, my muscles released their tension, and my heart swelled with the love that had always been there. I should have trusted Ty. I should have let him in. I should have allowed him to be the equal partner I knew he could be. Because Faolán was right; there was nothing more powerful than love.

  Chapter 30

  In one fluid movement, I set my body in motion, throwing every ounce of muscle I had into Faolán’s midsection. I’d deal with getting a weapon later. Right now, I had to get him the hell away from the hourglass before he mended the damned thing and sent the natural order to hell.

  He wasn’t hard to surprise; his arrogance would have never allowed for the possibility that I had the strength to resist his influence. My fist flew, and I clocked him a good one before he found the presence of mind to throw me off. I may have been physically strong—stronger than a mortal man—but Faolán’s strength had me beat two to one. I wasn’t one to cower from a fight, though, no matter the odds.

  I could feel him poking around in my brain, sending invisible feelers to shut me down. Not gonna happen, asshole. You’re done controlling me. I didn’t need to fortify my mental barriers against him any longer; I’d found my power, and that was something Faolán couldn’t undo.

  “Not so tough anymore, are you, Faolán?” Sticky situations like this required more than the normal amount of cocky bravado. Granted, I wasn’t his zombie-puppet anymore, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t kick my ass the old-fashioned way. I brought my elbow down hard, square on his sternum. “You made a huge mistake when you decided to bring Tyler into this. You don’t fuck with anyone I care about.”