by S Lawrence
“You tried.” I forgive the animal who creeps closer.
Another howl and this time, it does look away and then back at me. I swear I can see a sadness that matches my own. The hound keeps coming and then crouches down, the great black nose sniffing at the wound, and I don’t know why but I reach out, laying my hand on the dark fur. It is the softest thing I’ve ever touched but also the hottest. I know my hand will be blistered, but it doesn’t matter.
I’m dead anyway.
The animal flinches but then pushes its body against my hand just as darkness takes me. My last thoughts are of peace and love.
Weird.
Chapter Twelve
REYNA
I swear I hear Liam. I swear he is close but in front of us somehow.
I glance over at Lash; his brows are furrowed and his eyes are darting from side to side.
“It’s Liam, I know it,” I tell him.
“I believe you, but how did he get in front? Although, maybe it’s just a trick from the hills and mountains. An echo, maybe.” He turns, looking behind us.
“Maybe.” I say it but feel that isn’t it.
Another howl cuts the silence that has surrounded us. That isn’t Liam. It is unnatural, making my skin crawl, and I fight my need to run. It’s the inherent fear prey has of a predator.
“Fuck. What was that?” Lash spins again, moving in closer to my side, protective.
“Something that kills.”
It is a statement. I know it in my bones. I search the shadows cast by the trees around us, flinching as another howl, even closer, cuts through the forest. This one isn’t the same as the others.
“That was the alpha from the pack that has been watching us,” Lash whispers as he leans close. “We need to move.”
I’m frozen.
“Now!” He pulls at me, dragging me a little to get me moving.
“Lash, what if something is hunting Liam?” My heart pounds at the thought of anything happening to him.
“I’m more worried that something is hunting us.” He pulls more then looks down at me, and whatever he sees makes his face soften. “I’m sure Liam can take care of himself.”
“But…” I start but stop, unwilling to put voice to my dark thoughts.
“Let’s just get someplace not so vulnerable,” he urges, and I start to follow him as he turns away.
He doesn’t run but we are walking as fast as possible, his head turning side to side. Searching. Protecting.
I’m gasping when he finally stops. The peak the woman had pointed out looms huge in front of us. We still have a long walk tomorrow to reach the coast but we’ve come much farther than I thought we’d get. The almost-running helped us cover a bunch of ground.
“There.” He points to a small crevice in the stone.
I wonder if it is like the place I had hidden Fallon. The image of the mysterious woman pops into my head. Could it have been the man? Can he be any shape? Any person? Any animal?
“Could the one directing all this be anything? You know, any person or thing?” I murmur, and he whips his head around to look down at me.
I can tell the thought really disturbs him. Sadness washes through me. The differences in our lives are only highlighted by our reactions. I thought the idea to be exciting; he seemed to feel instant distrust. I hate it. I hate that they have all gone through so much. I hate the scars that have been left.
“I don’t know. What are you thinking?” His eyes scan the area around us.
“I just… I don’t know... wondered at what he might be capable of doing. The crevice looks a little like the one that was in the cave I hid Fallon in.” I look toward the narrow opening once again.
“You think he sent us here?”
“I don’t know what to think. All of this is insane. I just wondered.” I sigh before stepping toward the opening. “I don’t really know anything about the war or the people who fought in it. The gods.” I peer into the opening and see just enough room for the two of us, but it would be a tight fit. “Not like the cave. Maybe my imagination is getting the better of me.”
“I doubt it. I don’t know if anyone really remembers the gods. From what I understand from the books we’ve found, they were thought to be myths, just stories from a time long before the war. What they are capable of is anyone’s guess.” Lash looks over my head into the small cave. “Cozy.”
I grin as he waggles his eyebrows and I feel a flutter low in my stomach. Before I can second guess myself, I rise up and kiss him, lingering over his full lower lip.
My breath catches as he deepens the kiss. Letting my arms slide around him, I press against him. A deep rumbling moan fills my mouth, and I drink in his desire.
Rustling in the trees near us tears us apart, and he pushes me into the tiny cave, blocking the entrance with his body. I once again appreciate the wideness of his shoulders and the way his waist is tapered in. My eyes lock on the curve of his ass just as I hear him clear his throat. I look up to see him staring at me, but his fake stern look can’t hide the heat in his eyes.
“We are being stalked, and you’re staring at my ass.”
“I couldn’t see anything else since you shoved me in here so I figured why not enjoy the view I had? Did you see anything?” I lean to one side, trying to look around him.
“It’s the wolves, but they are nervous. The female is pacing just there.” He steps back and points to the trees we had just left.
I see her as she moves between two tall, wide pines. Her ears keep swiveling and her head is low. She watches us, only stopping her movement when a huge black male moves to her side. I push out around Lash. Time to test this power.
“Come to me,” I murmur as my eyes focus on the female.
She takes a step but the male nips at her shoulder, stopping her, protecting her. It is he that comes, answering the call of my magic.
MY magic. My brain stumbles over the thought.
“Reyna,” Lash warns as the wolf comes ever closer.
I can feel many eyes on us as the alpha draws near. His lips curl back in a snarl, but he doesn’t try to hurt me. I kneel, ignoring Lash’s angry whisper about being reckless and stupid.
“I won’t hurt you,” I tell the animal, who is now within my reach. “I know you won’t hurt me. Thank you for watching over us.” I hold my hand out slightly but stop when he growls. “Sorry.” I let my hand drop as my eyes focus on the female and now another large male moving close to protect their alpha. “Is there something else in the woods?” I ask and then I try to think it.
Nothing happens. I don’t know what I thought would.
“Anything?” Lash asks, meaning it, believing in me.
I reach back and touch his leg. “No. I don’t even know if I’m doing it right. Or if that is part of these mysterious powers. But thank you.”
His hand closes over mine and he squeezes gently. "I have faith in you, not the magic we think you might wield."
My heart pounds at the significance of his words. Maybe more than sweet words of love or even trust, it’s faith that I can help them. Faith that I can help save them. Saving the world is obviously important, but them believing I can save the family we want to create, when I couldn't save my own family, is... I don't even have a word to describe the feeling.
His faith. It pushes me to try again. I reach for them, picturing my thoughts, my question flowing to them. The alpha locks golden eyes on mine, and I feel it before I see it. Just a tingle of awareness, of sentience, knowledge, and then the image hits me like a ton of bricks.
My breath lodges in my lungs. Terror. There is no other word for the feeling that is coursing through me, that has frozen my muscles in place. Terror.
A beast. It can be described no other way. Towering over any animal I’ve ever seen, in person or in books. It is black, the absence of light, except for the red of its eyes. Snowy white fangs were revealed as the lips were pulled back in a snarl. I could feel the fear as it rolled off the alpha and the other
wolves in the pack.
I turn my head as if in slow motion and look at Lash, and he reacts immediately to my face and the emotions racing over it.
“Monster,” I stutter over the word and he nods, turning his back to watch behind us.
I look back at the pack. ‘Where?’
The female spins and paces away toward the coast. Her mate yips at her, stopping her, and she snarls. I get another impression but I don’t understand it. Frowning, I send my thanks, and they spin away, disappearing into the trees.
Lash waits for me, not pushing for more information while I try to get my fear under control.
Finally, I swallow and turn to him. “Something is in the forest, near the water. Something unnatural and not of this earth. It is a creature that makes Liam look like a tiny pup. I just got the impression of somewhere near the water.”
He tenses at the description. “They are fucking with us again. Aren’t they?”
“I don’t know if the one who is directing us is or if it’s that someone else is working against us. Could the creature belong to the King?” I ask but I’m almost positive of the answer he’s going to give me.
“No.” His head shakes. “He has never had any kind of beast. Can you describe it any better?”
“Not really. I just got their impressions and felt their fear.” I frown, trying to pull more information for him, but there just isn’t anything else. Just fear from the whole pack, which scares me more than the image.
They hunt together, can take down huge prey, and this thing had sent them running. It’s still in the forest and it could be looking for us right now. The thought chills me.
“What if it follows them to us?”
He purses his lips, and I realize that he had already thought of that, which was why he had been watching the trees around us.
“Should we move?” I glance around.
“I think we should be fine here. They will let us know if it comes close.” He moves away and starts to clean an area outside the small opening. “I’ll get a fire if you find some wood.”
I start to move away from the granite face of the imposing cliff face, but his voice stops me.
“Stay close though.”
Normally I’d bristle at an order but I know it is said out of care and worry so I just nod before moving into the treeline. There is plenty of dry wood, so I load up my arms while keeping an eye on Lash and the darkness around me. I pause as a thought creeps into my mind. Darkness… The thing that the wolves saw was exactly that—darkness. I shift my eyes over every patch of darkness, searching for any hint of red. I don’t breathe until I finish and begin to hustle back to Lash’s side, dropping the wood in my arms. I stay at his side as he moves around the area picking up large stones. He says nothing but hands a few to me as he grabs the last two from the ground. I follow him back to the cleared area and hand the stones to him after he places the others he had in his hands around the bare ground.
“You okay?” He finally asks as he strikes a rock against another making a spark.
I hadn’t even seen him tuck the wad of dry grass in the middle of the circle. Smoke drifts up then a small flame appears as he snaps twigs from the pile of wood I had dropped.
“I just spooked myself,” I admit.
“I’ll keep you safe.” A promise... But is it one he can keep?
I don’t doubt his sincerity, but this creature, it could kill us both.
“Come sit down. We don’t have food but we can get warm. The fire will keep most animals away and with the rocks at our backs, we should be safe until morning.”
I look around at the quickly darkening sky as I lower myself down. “Maybe in the morning, we can find some berries or some kind of food.” On cue, my stomach rumbles.
We sit watching the flames as the moon rises.
Exhaustion forces us into the alcove and into a restless sleep. He lays in front of me, blocking the opening. Protecting me in every way he can.
I wake. No, something wakes me. Blinking, I try to focus on what had disturbed me. Silence greets me, only broken by the sound of Lash’s deep breaths.
Unease crawls through me.
Something woke me.
I reach out with the power that has also been awoken.
Chapter Thirteen
“Burn it all.”
I listen to him bark orders. The King that I made, the King that seems to be forgetting that fact.
“Burn them, along with their homes,” he calls out, and I stiffen, looking out at the villagers huddled together.
Children are clinging to their mothers, and I lock eyes with a young man, his arms around a young woman. Anger and hatred makes his shine like diamonds. I focus on how the girl is holding him. Not lovers, no. I held my brother just like she’s holding hers.
I’ve hung onto Hypnos the same way. I was holding onto him just like that when Nestor murdered him.
“Leave the people.”
He straightens from his slightly slumped position at my words.
“I’m the King here,” he growls, and I think it's time to remind him of who I am.
I hit him with a hint of my power and drive him to his knees. Exactly where humans should be when in front of me.
“I made you a king. You will do well to remember where I found you.” To remind him, I rip the memories from where he has buried them, using my magic to make them real for him.
I smile as I watch the terrified boy manifest right before my eyes, tears filling his eyes. Locking them away, I bend down and smile when he focuses on me. I swallow the anguish that is wafting from his body, drinking it down like ambrosia.
“Leave them,” I order. “Or those memories will be nothing in comparison to what I will do to you.”
I sift to half a dimension away, where I can see him and make sure he does what he was told.
I grin again when he calls out and his voice shakes. “Get on the ships.”
Moving to his side, I whisper to him, “She is already with the boys you so carelessly threw away. Stop searching the villages. You shouldn’t have lost them.”
“You took him. You took our key to finding them,” he growls.
I drive him down with my power once again, rage coursing through me, as I see the beast coming at me on the cliff top.
How had it gotten here? Who had sent it?
Nestor?
I hate not knowing who all is playing this game. Those traitors locked the power away, gave up what was ours and then left after killing so many. The biggest traitor was Nestor, but then again, he had betrayed me a thousand years before the war had even begun.
The cries of those around us drag me from the memories, and I realize my power has washed out from me and is punishing all of the pirates and quite a few of those from the village.
I am known for my ability to exact revenge or help a person get their revenge, but retribution, that is my true talent. I use their own guilt, no matter how tiny it might be, no matter how they have buried it. My power pulls it out and forces them to relive their transgressions.
I feed on their emotions, gulping down the guilt.
Moments later, I pull my power back and let myself move through the dimensions to my home. I haven’t been here in a hundred years, unwilling to face the emptiness. It looks just like it did on the last day of the war.
My family hadn’t joined the fight and for that, they had been killed. Slaughtered.
Nestor had once been welcome, but that was when the humans had still been struggling in their caves. We had been so young, so innocent.
He killed that innocence.
My palace needs an update in preparation for my new rule. I start removing things that are too painful to look at. Other items—things of my mother’s, a bow that had been my brother’s—I keep. I trail my fingers over the intricate carvings along the riser. I remember when he carved it.
Shaking my head, I scatter the memories. Instead, I focus on the present and try to figure out how to best direct the
players in this game.
“Fuck,” I scream, angry once again that I can’t claim the power myself. “It will destroy you,” I remind myself.
I must stay the course. The girl is the key. I have set the plan in motion and I have to trust that I have made the right choice.
The King will capture her and break her, and then she will be mine to control, along with the power held within her.
I will use her to destroy Nestor and those he helped. Humans. Humans in our world. A disgusting betrayal. We came to this world to escape our own and then we were forced behind the veil by the creatures that we had helped.
I hate him.
I have been alone for so long. The others that survived the war have hidden themselves away even here. I haven’t seen them as I’ve travelled throughout our world, other than those that sided with the humans. I’ve stayed far from them. My temper is well known, and I don’t try to keep it under control.
Why would I? I am a goddess.
Chapter Fourteen
FALLON
The seas are rough, with waves battering the ships as we turn out of the channel.
“Lower the mainsail,” I call out, and my men rush to get it lowered, slowing the ship so I can watch as my brothers pull through the narrow opening.
The channel is more like a funnel, and in the final one hundred yards, the ships have mere inches between the rock cliffs and the sides. I hold my breath as Wilder’s ship eases out and I can see the Lust come into view. The crew works under the direction of the first mate but they are somber without their captain.
They do the same as I and lower their sail, gliding up alongside of us. Grabbing the swing rope that is hanging down at my side and running back and then forward, I fling myself over to them.
“He will be working his way with Reyna to the rendezvous point,” I assure them when they all pause to look my way. “Our biggest concern is Cyder.”