by T. F. Walsh
Sure, she spoke the truth. But he had no clue what the touch points were, or whether his particular mission extended beyond taking out the queen. Since leaving the realm, he hadn’t woken up covered in anyone’s blood. To date, he’d lived with that dread, but with Fallen now bound to him, the fear looped around and around in his mind, consuming everything else.
“And you?” he asked, eager to deflect the attention off his fucked up life. “I’m out in the open about being an Ash, now it’s your turn to share. What’s with the fire production? It’s not magic. How are you doing it?”
Her cheeks blanched, and when she spoke, she didn’t glance in his direction. “I told you, it’s a spell.”
“Then show me. If we’re stuck, we should know each other and what we’re dealing with.”
A brisk wind rose from behind, sending the grass into a whipping sway.
“Nothing to show.” Her eyes narrowed, and she swept her attention away from him, focusing instead on the city in the distance.
What was she hiding? Nothing compared to being revealed as an Ash.
For the rest of the walk, the awkwardness between them hung in the air. Fallen ignored him and kept her mouth zipped. Trepidation seeped into his gut and reminded him that the circumstances of their relationship were strange. And to make it worse, storm clouds crowded overhead. The first trickles of rain hit his nose. Within a moment, the downpour struck.
Rainwater rolled down Saber’s face, soaked his clothes. The holes in his jeans at the back of his thighs were like a vacuum, sucking in water, drenching his legs.
Open land in front of them sloped toward a grand, red-brick manor. The building had two stories of windows that he could count at a glance. The manicured lawn had stripes from a recent mowing, and enormous oaks dotted the sides of the house. A long cobblestone driveway stretched out for at least forty yards from the house toward the main road.
Fear tore at his insides, nudging Saber to retreat, to abandon this place.
During the three months locked in an underground dungeon with flea-infested hay for comfort, he’d watched goblins, half-draes, feasters, and even trolls come and go. Most prisoners were sold to the highest bidders within days of arriving in the ark. And they were the lucky ones. The others remained chained to the walls, their powers siphoned by Noah, drained to death. Saber’s stepfather had been among them.
All Tapestry citizens had the innate ability to use magic to cross the veil between worlds, including Saber. But he had no other enchanted skills, which was why Noah had turned him into his personal entertainment clown, pitted in arena-style fights against trolls and wild animals as an amusement for the asswipe and his crew.
One night, Saber had defeated two feasters who’d left him bleeding and temporarily blind in one eye. He’d snapped their necks. Instead of leaving the makeshift cage in the backyard, a monstrous troll entered with a club.
Noah’s claps and laughter had grated at Saber’s insides.
The club connected with Saber’s head. His vision blurred. Kicks and punches bruised every inch of his body. He staggered to his feet and drew on his remaining energy. He kicked a foot into the troll’s knee. A crack of broken bone sounded. When the troll’s weapon swung again, smashing into Saber’s face, his body fell, numb, and he hit the ground hard. His last image was of the troll stomping closer. Death was imminent. But instead of life flashing before him, he felt warmth embracing him as if death had opened the door for him to pass.
The next day, he awoke in his cell. Figured. Noah must have taken pity on him, or enjoyed seeing him suffer. Either way, he’d shared a room in Hell for three months while in Noah’s ark.
And yet, the bastard insisted his actions would benefit Tapestry residents. That, coupled with his growing powers, would help him defeat the queen. She ruled harshly, which didn’t necessarily make her evil, but a world reigned by Noah placed every being at his mercy and torture.
When someone had finally put a bid on Saber while he was imprisoned in Noah’s ark, trolls loaded him into a van with a blindfold. He’d tripped as they forced him to cross into the human world and his covering fell off an eye. Enough time for him to glimpse a manor. The same one that now lay in front of them. Next day, he’d woken up in the old building in the woods, locked up in a cell next to Fallen’s.
A crack of thunder exploded overhead, shaking Saber to the core.
“I think people are living in this house. You sure this was Noah’s Ark?” Fallen voice lowered with each word.
Yep, he knew wealthy human families lived in the medieval manors dotting the countryside.
Saber glanced over at a hunched Fallen. Rain dripped onto her face. His first reaction was to reach over and wipe her wet brow, but he didn’t, figuring she’d reject his touch.
“Ready to cross into Tapestry?” he asked.
She nodded without peeling her gaze off the house. Saber guessed there was a one percent chance that Noah remained in this location. They’d find out soon enough.
Beneath his breath, he whispered, “Lumi cruce.”
At once, the world rippled around him. Blue sparks surrounded the area where they stood, then the illumination shot outward, claiming everything in sight. And the once-picturesque manor now resembled a demolition site. No greenery nearby. The air was heavy with the smell of cement and a decayed staleness. Magic had faded away from this house and land, leaving behind an empty feeling. The outside walls remained standing while debris and chunks of the building littered the ground.
“Shit. There’s nothing left. You sure this is the place?” The sparkle in Fallen’s voice faded.
“Yep.” Saber felt more determined as he closed the distance to the manor. Entering the dilapidated building, he marched to the rear… the location where he remembered the stairs to the basement. He’d climbed those dozens of times for fights where his choice had been to defend himself or die.
Walking across a broken wall lying on its side, he found the stairs in a hole in the floor. And his stomach dropped. Without another thought, he headed down, Fallen following close behind.
At the bottom of the spiral stairs, the spray of light revealed an empty room. The corners remained cloaked in darkness. Then a deep exhale came from deeper in the basement.
He froze and listened.
Heavy exhales continued.
Saber grasped Fallen’s hand. “Someone’s here!” Probably a troll guard left in case anyone came looking for the ark. Saber welcomed the opportunity of a fight. He cracked his neck and continued forward.
Footsteps sounded overhead, so he halted. At least two newcomers. The sound vibrated through to the basement as one of them either stomped, or the being above was another troll.
Was Noah upstairs?
Fallen grabbed his sleeve. “We’re trapped.”
Palming a hand down his face, he huffed. If he lost the fight, his enemies would capture Fallen, and that shit didn’t sit right with him. As much as he despised the idea of hiding, he took her hand and pulled her to a small corner where Noah kept the girl he favored for the week. She would be chained to the wall, and even when the lights were on, shadows cloaked her.
Saber and Fallen crouched side by side. A heat wave washed over him. Trepidation hung in the air between them. His muscles tensed, ready to fight. Getting caught was not an option.
Fallen’s breath hitched, and Saber took her hand and held her tight. Whatever happened here, she’d walk out alive.
The thunder of footfalls drummed overhead as dust from the floor joists above sprinkled onto them. Then two figures came down the stairs.
“Makas.” A familiar, male voice called out.
And a shudder gripped Saber. Vexare. No, it couldn’t be. The queen’s cousin? Vexare had been in the queen’s chamber when Saber had snapped out of attack mode, seconds from killing the queen. And here he was again? The bastard had to be working with Noah. Or infiltrating the outside world on behalf of the royal?
A faint glow of light filtered i
nto the room from an adjacent passage.
When a troll emerged, Saber wrapped an arm around Fallen, pulling her against his side. He leaned as close as possible to conceal them in case the light flashed in their direction.
The male broke into troll language, something Saber had zero clues how to translate. Troll boy grunted.
Saber peeked out as the ray of light washed across the guard. Then the trio stomped up the steps.
He prepared to confront Vexare. Seeing him in this location was too much of a coincidence for Saber.
Rage swallowed his thoughts. Fallen’s faint orange and honeysuckle fragrance from last night should have soothed him, but it hadn’t. Not when his body shook with the desperation to rip out Vexare’s spine.
Once the trio vanished upstairs, Saber stepped out of the hiding place. “Stay here.” He turned to face the steps. Maybe it wasn’t too late for him to get the truth from the prick. Saber wanted that with every ounce of strength that remained in his body.
Fallen’s hand seized his.
He spun around, the light from the top floor casting shadows beneath her eyes. “I’ll be back. Promise.”
“No, you don’t understand. I know where the new ark is.”
11
Saber stared at Fallen with wide eyes, his mouth agape. “You understand troll?”
Please. Considering troll language was composed of grunt sounds, it wasn’t hard to decipher their meaning if anyone listened to them long enough and studied their actions. While patrolling the Cluj-Napoca’s city outskirts to protect humans from feasters, Fallen had plenty of time to scrutinize trolls and other creatures that lurked in the night. Plus, it made for a wonderful place to overhear a ton of information about the kingdom, Wart Market, and everything else related to Tapestry.
“I picked up a few words here and there, but I can’t speak it.” She pushed past him and climbed the steps, finding the area clear of the earlier intruders. “Anyway, you wanna stand around or go find us an ark?”
Outside, the bright daylight stung her eyes, and with no sign of Noah’s minions, she allowed herself a nanosecond to inhale the fresh smell of rain and let the bird’s song fill her ears.
When they found Noah, not only would she remove her bond with Saber, but on this mission she would put an end to Noah’s travesty. No more selling Tapestry citizens or senseless killings. The monster would pay for her mother’s death. Afterward, she could focus on finding her life mate to satisfy the Creators.
Her future was looking up.
But finding a soul partner wasn’t like shopping for the best pair of heels. She wanted to get to know the guy, learn about his past, what he desired from life, and if they were a match beyond physical attraction. How could she do that in less than a month when she still hadn’t found him? Damn, she usually took weeks just to decide on a new pair of boots before buying them.
Fallen glanced at the dragon insignia on her inner wrist when Saber stepped alongside her, the breeze coating her in his musky scent. He stared at her with deep, vivid eyes. His strong brows and eyelashes were so thick, it should be punishable. A crackling sensation in her stomach formed, the kind she felt all the way to her knees, weakening them. She pitied the poor girl who was his life mate—they’d be in for one dangerous ride.
“So, which way?” His question sliced through her gawking and rightly so because drooling wasn’t changing the in-your-face facts. Otherwise, the dragon mark would react somehow.
After clearing her thickened throat, she said, “The ark is in the center of the city. I say we travel in the human world because we’re less likely to be seen.”
“Agreed. And the dickhead’s smart to surround himself with humans. The realm Guardians would never search for him there.”
Once they’d crossed the veil into the human world, they hurried toward the city. The closer they got, the more Fallen’s chest tightened at the memory of her mom being drained to death by Noah. Her heart beat a little faster at the images cramming her thoughts—dead eyes, life taken, Fallen helpless. Noah didn’t deserve to live. She held no compassion for him. Zero forgiveness. Zero second chances. Fallen decided it was up to her to stop him. The Creators had allowed Noah to take her mom’s life away. Yeah, she understood life was cruel, and events, good and bad, happened for a reason. Whatever. None of it made sense. Overthinking it hurt her head.
“Let’s move.”
Once in the field, they broke into a sprint. The wet lawn was slippery under her shoes, but the determination to capture Noah propelled her faster.
As a half-drae, Noah wouldn’t have natural affinities, so he must have found another way to siphon energies from those with stronger magical abilities. How he’d done it exactly wasn’t clear, but she would discover soon enough.
Fallen and Saber passed the last known location of the Wart Mart and raced toward the city farther ahead. A block away from the location of the ark, she slowed her pace to catch her breath, and Saber followed suit.
She stared at him for a long moment. Aside from a few healed scars across his brow and cheek, he looked normal. She gave herself a mental shake… he was the farthest from that. He had been created from clay and brought to life with magic and divine intervention from the Creators.
“Why do you want Noah?” she asked.
“Why do you?” His response was viper fast, as if he’d practiced keeping his walls up against anyone who got too close. She could relate.
Okay, she’d play the game if it got him to open up. “He murdered my mom. And the fucktard needs to be stopped from slaughtering lives.” She nudged Saber’s arm. “Your turn.”
For a long moment, he didn’t respond, and she was about to poke him again when he said, “He’s holding my stepfather.”
“Shit.” As an Ash, he shouldn’t have had a childhood, yet now he had a stepfather. She remembered hearing that Guardians trained for years and lived separately from the kingdom, which might explain why he had lasted so long without attempting to kill Her Majesty. So how did he now have a family?
“Is that why the trolls caught you the first time? You were trying to rescue him?”
Saber nodded, and his gaze seemed a world away.
“I hope for your sake, Noah hasn’t sold him or…” She couldn’t bring herself to voice the rest.
“He’s still alive.” Saber’s response was dark, and his shoulders hunched forward in a posture that told her he was lost in his thoughts about whatever happened while in Noah’s clutches. She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear about the atrocities. The thought that Saber had endured them for three months after discovering his whole life was a lie softened her emotional walls.
Her throat stung, and she reached an arm across to him, sliding her hand into his, fingers braiding together. Just silence. The two of them. Warmth from their touch.
If Zana hadn’t found her in the woods and taken her home to her family, Fallen wouldn’t have survived the nightmare. She’d lived with the human-goblin hybrids on the outskirts of the city for most of her teenage years. Just as she started to feel as if she belonged somewhere, Noah’s trolls trampled Zana’s parents to death, and everything changed. Zana turned dark and vanished, and Fallen was alone again.
A few years later, Fallen had bumped into Zana at a Wart Market. Something was different about her, and their relationship was never the same again. It was strained, and nothing she said could bring back her childhood friend.
Saber’s hand squeezed Fallen’s lightly as if acknowledging the acceptance of her company, her help in such a time. He lifted his other hand, wrist side up, and stared at the indented dragon.
“So, you really believe this is the Creators’ mark?”
“Yep.” The dream served a purpose, and the Creators spoke the truth.
“Say it was real, then where are we meant to find these life mates?” Something shifted behind his gaze. Was he implying she was his mate, or… no. The Creators had clearly stated the mark was a clue as to who their soul mates were, ye
t even holding Saber’s hand hadn’t made a difference to her dragon ink. No color, glow, or anything. Surely, the mark would respond if it came in contact with Fallen’s life mate. But then again, Saber wasn’t a true drae, so it made little sense that he could be her partner. Otherwise, wouldn’t her tattoo be something to represent him being an Ash?
“An online dating site could help track down our mates?” she suggested.
Saber broke into a chuckle that coaxed her into a laugh. Lifting their linked hands, he pointed to her tattoo. “I’d have better luck tracking down the Creators and finishing them off before that happened. Anyway, what does finding our soul mates have to do with proving Tapestry residents aren’t war-loving creatures? Look at the battles between the two kingdoms. Just because you and I find our partners, it won’t stop the resentment between the draes.”
She couldn’t deny his reasoning, but maybe the Creators had had enough of sitting back and watching the slaughter. “The Creators want to see that our kind is capable of love, not just atrocities. I think it’s sort of nice and way overdue.”
He shrugged and lowered their linked hands, not breaking free, which had her smiling. Not because she adored the feel of his large hand around hers or the tingling sensation his touch filled her with, but that he didn’t want to let her go.
At the edge of the city, she bit the inside of her cheek. She was better off keeping her distance. After Noah, they’d go separate ways because she didn’t need him playing her heartstrings while she searched for her real love. She broke free from his hold.
The midday sun peeked through the clouds overhead, lighting up the Renaissance buildings drenched in the rain. Puddles filled the streets and sidewalks. People hurried past.
By the time they arrived at the Piaţa Unirii, the largest plaza situated in the center of the city of Cluj in Romania, they had stopped near a medieval building that had been transformed into a cafe. Across the square were the town hall, museums, and more stores. People went about their business around the cobblestone area.