Found and Forged

by Ivy Asher

  “What’s with Wings McGee, over there?” Torrez asks, and I look up to find Ory the winged douche staring at us.

  “No fucking clue,” I tell him.

  “I want wings,” Knox admits, and I crack up.

  “Dude,” I tell him in agreement.

  “Why do the assholes always get the best toys?” Knox adds, and I reach out and pull him into a hug.

  “I wonder which rune does that? Think you can magicjack him like you did with Elder Kowka?” Bastien encourages.

  I chuckle and then go quiet contemplating his question. Can I do that?

  “Might not be a rune,” Sabin observes. “He could be mixed with something that has wings.”

  “I don’t know,” I answer. “That was my first thought, but they kept calling us filth and unworthy magic. I’m not getting the impression that they think very highly of other supernatural species or magic users. They went straight for the slut shaming for being with you guys, so I doubt these Sentinels are getting it on with other supes, even if it does give them wings,” I explain.

  Sabin nods, but he looks lost in thought.

  “It’s probably the opposite really,” I add. “Wouldn’t surprise me if a bunch of fucked up Lannister inbreeding shit is going down in these parts. That dude clearly has a screw loose.”

  I jerk my chin in the direction of Ory, and a growl rumbles up from Torrez’s chest. Several Sentinels stop and trace the sound back to Torrez with alarmed expressions.

  “Tell your mutt to keep his threats to himself,” Suryn orders.

  “Call him a mutt one more time, and I’ll cut your fucking tongue out,” I retort.

  She rounds on me, a katana appearing in her hands. I flash short swords into my palms and step toward her. My Chosen and Shields all move to block my way, annoyingly boxing me in. They call on their own various weapons and take up defensive positions around me.

  Fucking hell, I could really use that rocket rune right about now.

  “Suryn!” Ory yells. “Stand down!”

  She points her katana at him. “I don’t take orders from you,” she grinds out between clenched teeth.

  “Not normally, but I am the Voice chosen by the Sovereign herself, so in circumstances like these, I outrank you. You will stand down and keep your mouth shut until the Sovereign states otherwise!”

  They glare at each other, and I try not to judge myself too much by the enjoyment it gives me to see the power struggle going on between them. Suryn stomps off, and Ory watches her go with a resigned huff.

  “I don’t think your girlfriend likes you very much,” Bastien tells him.

  Ory shoots him a glare and then storms off in the same direction as Suryn.

  “I think we’re growing on them,” Valen deadpans.

  I slam a hand over my mouth to keep the laughter inside, but it doesn’t work. I lose it. I try really fucking hard to get a hold of myself, but the harder I try to shut the fuck up, the harder I laugh. A couple of the other Sentinels eye me, judgment clear in their gazes. I’m sure I look like a fucking nutter. Good. Maybe they’ll be less likely to fuck with us if they think we’re bat shit.

  My giggle fest slowly becomes contagious, and the other guys start to guffaw. The more they laugh, the more I laugh. It makes no sense that I’m suffering from a giggle attack in the middle of the shit that’s going down, but I have no fucks to give.

  Ory watches us over his shoulder, and I can’t read the expression on his face.

  Oh yeah, definitely growing on them.

  11

  Torrez growls at me as I dart out of the protective circle he and the others have formed. I blow a kiss at him over my shoulder and drop back so I can talk to Kallan and the others. We’ve been walking for hours, all of us silent and contemplative. It’s like the giggle-off drained us of the last dregs of our energy. I’ve hit my limit with the quiet. I was planning on talking to Enoch and his coven when we were alone, but the need to talk about their new marks is making me itchy, and I just can’t put it off anymore.

  Becket looks up as I fall in line with them and gives me a small smile. I return it, dismissing any reservations it stirs up. I’m still waiting for him to go back to hating me, and I’m not sure what to do about the fact that he hasn’t yet. We need to talk, but for that kind of chat, I need to wait until it’s just the two of us.

  “You guys okay?” I ask quietly.

  Ory and another winged Sentinel take notice of our chatting, and I wonder if they have the ability to increase their hearing and eavesdrop like I can.

  “I don’t think any of us are close to any kind of version of okay,” Kallan tells me, and I rub my shoulder against his. Enoch snorts his agreement with Kallan’s assessment.

  “Yeah, I’m not sure what to think about any of this,” Enoch admits.

  “How can she just mark us? I thought there had to be sex and shit as a catalyst?” Becket asks.

  I shrug. “Sentinels can mark Chosen without sex, but I thought it had to be a conscious choice that they made, like when I marked Torrez and Siah. She looks as confused by her magic as I did when I unknowingly first marked Valen, Bastien, Sabin, Ryker and Knox. So I don’t know.”

  “Could have warned us that it hurt that bad,” Nash razzes, but I don’t miss the wince that sneaks over his features.

  I bark out a humorless chuckle and roll my eyes. “They’re just Chosen marks for now, just wait until you become a full Sentinel,” I rib back and then quickly go silent.

  Will they become full Sentinels? Would they bond with that nightmare of a female? I can’t bring myself to ask any of that though, and the unasked questions seem to loom heavy in the air all around us.

  “So how the hell do we get rid of these?” Becket finally voices, pointing at his throat. Enoch and Nash exchange a look, but I don’t try to interpret it.

  Frustration starts to simmer inside of me yet again, and I wonder if I will ever reach a point in my life where I’m not holding hands with this emotion. I was hoping for answers here. That I’d be able to piece things together and better understand who and what I was. My irritated gaze hops to our guides. I watch these beings, so much like me but not, as they silently lead us who the fuck knows where.

  I can feel the tiny amount of hope I had get snuffed out with each muffled footstep toward where they live. I didn’t want to look at that ember of hope in my chest too hard, because acknowledging it was just inviting more disappointment. But as I feel it die, I can finally admit how much I was hoping I would find my people here. That they would welcome me with open arms and become everything I have always wanted. I should have fucking known better.

  We all dive back into brooding silence, robotically setting one foot in front of the other. We walk like that for who knows how long when suddenly the terrain around us starts to change. The trees thin, and the ground starts to even out. The other Sentinels grow more tense the closer we get to our destination. And then, like with the barrier protecting this place, we crest a hill, and the city is… just there.

  It’s something out of some fantasy fairy tale. The large castle—that looks like it’s made of some kind of decadent cream colored stone—sits proudly in the middle of it all, like it alone rules everything around it. The massive structure dwarfs the large houses that circle it. There are more and more houses and buildings that flare out in a ringed pattern, growing smaller the further they are from the proud castle. The structures are all different tones of cream with gray roofs, and it all looks clean and organized.

  Fields, growing crops and supporting livestock, lie far in the distance on the complete opposite side from where we’re standing. I’m distracted by the occasional body that arcs in the air as Sentinels fly to and from their various destinations. I tamp down the envy that once again surges in me.

  We’re led out of the tree line toward the outermost ring of the city. For a people that says no one has ever breached the barrier, they sure as fuck have a lot of guards. Males and females sporting the telltal
e black armor walk the perimeter, and I can spot black specks moving on every level the castle has and wandering around the ringed streets between rows of houses.

  I had zero expectations about what Sentinel City would actually look like, but I’m stunned to find something that looks like a CGI special effect that belongs in some epic fantasy movie. It all looks so calm and peaceful, which is in direct contrast to the unwelcoming assholes I’ve met up to this point.

  “Welcome to Tierit,” a Sentinel that hasn’t spoken until now offers as he passes by.

  I’m too stunned to respond, which is probably good since I don’t know if he actually means that we’re welcome, or is saying it like it’s a threat.

  “By the moon,” Bastien exclaims, and someone snorts in agreement.

  “Why did I picture log cabins as far as the eye can see?” Valen whispers with awe.

  “Because you’re a weirdo,” Ryker responds, not missing a beat.

  “I had a dream it was some castle built into a mountain,” Torrez throws out there.

  “Probably shouldn’t have watched Lord of the Rings right before we left,” Sabin teases. “Although this is pretty damn close to something you’d see in one of those movies,” he adds.

  I shake my head and then jump, shocked, when someone snarls at us to keep moving. I turn to glare at the bearded asshole, but it’s exactly what I needed to snap out of my stupor. I don’t care how mesmerizing this place looks, it’s important to remember that they don’t really want us here. I take a step forward, shaking off my dazed awe and slamming myself back down to reality.

  “We stay together no matter what. If they try to separate us, we fuck them up,” I declare as we move closer to the small houses bordering this place.

  Everyone nods and sounds off their agreement, but an uneasy pit opens up in my stomach. We’re all pretty tough individually and even more so as a group, but I’m staring at a massive city full of Sentinels. The odds of us fighting our way out of here are zero. I know we were in a lose-lose situation before when we agreed to cooperate, but the reality of what we could be up against just bitch slapped me across the face.

  Every cell in my body goes on alert, and uncertainty wells up inside of me. I’ve always been able to trust myself and my abilities, but staring at this place has me faltering. We make it several rings in before we run into a large concentration of Sentinels. There have been guards and people dotted here and there, but nothing like the bustling crowds we walk into as we get closer to the castle. People go silent as soon as they spot us, and several of them immediately call on a weapon or some other magical defense.

  I take in the light gray fabric they’re all wearing in a myriad of different styles and the markings that everyone carries on their bodies. Some of them have markings on their faces, others you can catch a hint of runes leading into a sleeve or collar. I have the weird urge to ask all of them to strip down so I can see the runes that mark their bodies.

  I want to compare what I have against theirs and learn about the differences. But the threat that floats around the atmosphere as soon as others see us tells me that curiosity would fucking annihilate the cat...the Sentinel, the Chosen, the Shields and anything else with these people.

  Eyes track us warily, some of them filled with unfiltered anger. I make a point to meet each of the angry gazes head on. They radiate a certain I am not to be fucked with vibe, so I do all that I can to ensure they get that same clear message from me. I almost wish we had we come in peace tattooed over every inch of my body, but maybe even that wouldn’t make much of a difference with these people. These Sentinels have secluded themselves for a reason, and it’s clear in their response to us that they want to keep it that way.

  The sun is setting, and the bright colors are reflected all throughout the walls of the city; it’s beautiful and feels like a trap. It’s like the city itself is trying to lull me into a false sense of security and appreciation. The cream colored stone all around us is smooth enough to be marble, but it appears to be softer somehow. I want to touch things as we make our way through rings of houses, but I don’t want to lose a hand or have any of my actions taken as an attack.

  We approach a massive iron and wood gate that blocks the way to the castle. The gate opens up on its own accord as we get closer. We step through and have to fight our instincts to call on weapons and protect ourselves as we’re surrounded by more black armored Sentinels as soon as we’re through the gate. They say nothing and do nothing, just fall in line around us as we’re led further in.

  I trace the features of my Chosen and Shields. Tics in jaws, tight features, vigilant eyes are what I find. I meet Sorik’s gaze and see the concern and worry in the tight lines around his eyes.

  “If this goes bad, you get Vaughn out of here,” I tell him, reminding him that this is what we agreed to before, and nothing has changed.

  He’s in charge of Vaughn, and I’m responsible for the rest. Sorik nods, and I take a deep breath and turn forward. I have no fucking clue why I think the plans we made before still apply here. There may be no getting out of this shit. I shove that thought away and attempt to refortify my faith in who I am and what I can do. I’ve always been able to rely on myself and my abilities. I’m smart, I’m capable, and I love these guys.

  They are my family, and I will find a way to keep them safe, no matter what.

  We’re escorted down several halls, but I’m too on edge to pay attention to the details of this place beyond the directions. Our steps echo through the cavernous spaces that make up this castle. It’s an ominous sound that sends a rush of adrenaline through me. I do my best to catalog the lefts and rights we take. I can tell by the looks on the faces of others in my group that I’m not the only one.

  Large black lacquered doors swing open, and we’re led into a very long empty room. At the far end of the massive space, there’s a large throne with three smaller thrones positioned on each side of it. A boom echoes around the vast space as the doors are closed behind us, and the black clad guards immediately separate to line the outside walls of the room. I recognize one of the guards as a guy I stabbed in the fight earlier.

  Everyone is silent. Suryn looks pissed off, and Ory just looks bored as he cleans dirt out from under his nails with a dagger.

  “All hail Sovereign Finella, Leader of the Marked, Ruler of Tierit, Blood Savior, Walker of Realms and Gate Keeper,” a voice bellows out in the room, his announcement bouncing off the cream stone walls and ramping up my unease.

  I hear the telltale sound of synchronized marching first, and then I spot the guards as they perform some synchronized stepping bullshit either meant to impress or intimidate. It does neither for me. They part to reveal an older woman, maybe late fifties, who is so fair she almost looks albino.

  Her white hair is sleek and straight, the gold ornate crown on her head reflected in the sheen of her tresses. She doesn’t look our way as she strolls up to the biggest throne. I’m shocked that the Sovereign is a female. I don’t know why that sends a spark of hope through me, and I try to dismiss the irrational relief.

  Beth was a woman, I remind myself as I take in the Sovereign as she seats herself. Her sleeveless gown is red and more revealing than I’d think a queen would be down for. Slits up the side of the gauzy fabric reveal milky white, toned legs. A plunging neckline reveals cleavage that’s not as perky as it probably once was.

  I spot four runes on her shoulder, four runes running horizontal over her left breast, and one between her eyebrows. I’m surprised by the lack of markings other than those. I figured the leader would be even more decked out than I am. More figures are led in behind her, but they’re hidden by the guards as they do their synchronized entrance thing. The guards eventually part, revealing a man.

  His dark skin is a surprising contrast to his unusual eyes and pure white hair. His pupils are the lightest shade of purple I’ve ever seen, and I’m mesmerized by the one of a kind color. He watches me curiously as he moves toward the thrones. I l
ook from him to the entrance and catch sight of the other person behind him. Acrid rage burns through me. How is this possible? Golden red eyes meet mine, and everything inside of me screams with blistering fury.

  How the fuck did Adriel get here?

  I claw at my neck needing to make sure there’s nothing there. But I don’t feel any relief when I just feel my skin under my nails. I watched that piece of shit turn to ash in front of my eyes. This doesn’t make any sense. I call on my long sword and take a step forward before I even know what I’m doing. Growls and statements of shock ring out around me from all of my guys, and Becket quickly falls into step next to me as we both begin to sprint toward Adriel. I’ll fucking make sure the piece of shit stays dead this time.

  12

  “Vinna, no!” ricochets off of me, but I don’t care. All I see is red. All I feel is the need to fucking end him once and for all. Shouting fills up the chamber, and the shields from my runes activate to keep orbs from touching me.

  Adriel’s eyes widen with surprise. Satisfaction percolates through my acrimony and bloodlust.

  “You better fucking be afraid,” I shout at him as I close the distance.

  Someone tackles me from behind, and I thrash to get out of their hold. I need to fucking kill him. I scream as I fail to break away from whoever has me. Chaos erupts all around me, and the sounds of fighting hit my ears. Fangs sink into my shoulder, and pleasure courses through me, battling for control with the need for vengeance raging through my veins.

  “Vinna, focus,” Siah demands, and then he bites me again. I groan from the sensations his bite sends flooding through my system and whimper because I don’t want to be feeling them right now. I want to be feeling Adriel’s body turning to ash in my hands.

  Siah licks at my neck, and I try to buck him off of me.

  “Vinna, listen to me,” he orders and then flips me onto my back. I release the long sword in my grip, not wanting to hurt him, but I’m fucking pissed.