by Ciara Graves
“Until he takes over the entire Otherworld.”
The weight of her words was heavy. Standing there and arguing was pointless, though. If Rudarius wasn’t stopped and continued to form alliances with the shifters and who knew who else, no one in Otherworld stood a chance. Especially while he had those rings. The demons in Valesk were safe for the moment, but how long until he took the fight to them? He wasn’t just after the fae. He wanted to conquer all the races.
The question remained. If the final fae kingdom fell, where would he turn his eye to next?
Not sure he’d be too keen to tell me his plans if I asked. Holding Seneca’s hand, we exited the room to join the others making ready to leave the fort.
My thoughts drifted to Shane and Lark. With any luck, they hadn’t been caught and killed yet. We needed insight into what Rudarius planned with the mages. A hint. Anything to go off. His plan was about more than just the fae rings. It had to be, especially now that we knew what he’d done to Seneca.
What he would still do, if he snatched her away from me.
Not feeling close enough, I draped my arm around Seneca’s shoulders, drawing her into my side.
I expected her to say this was too much too fast, but she leaned into me, her arm going around my waist easily.
As we entered the courtyard, some fae glowered at us, while others offered up small smiles. Raine and Karina both looked as if they bitten into a very tart lemon. Marlie said something to them both, but they huffed and stormed off to the front of the large group ready to evacuate the fort. If their reaction bothered Seneca, she kept it hidden.
The fae soldiers who came to aid us surrounded the line of fae as they exited the fort, with us bringing up the rear.
Once outside the walls, Seneca and I both fell into the defensive, eyes watchful, muscles at the ready, in case there was a fight.
No one said how far the High Kingdom was.
I settled in for at least a few days of very tense walking, wondering when the next attack would come.
Wondering if I would be able to keep my promises to Seneca in the end.
Chapter 11
Draven
Day four of walking to High Kingdom came around, and I waited until Seneca was asleep on our brief break to venture into the woods and find something to eat.
I’d neglected my appetite the first few days, but my throat burned. If we were to face down Rudarius again, I could not be weak.
After the first couple of days of walking, Marlie dispatched the guards under Lark’s command to the rear to join Seneca and me so the soldiers would stop sending threatening glances our way or muttering under their breath about protecting monsters when they should be watching over their own.
As I wandered off now, several of the guards bowed to me, moving closer to watch over Seneca in my absence. Their monarchy might not approve of us, but at least the guards respected that we’d risked our lives for the fae.
Silently, I slunk through the trees, sniffing the air and closing in on my prey. Thankfully, there were plenty of bear and elk in these parts. A set of large antlers appeared through the low-hanging tree limbs, and I bared my fangs, thirsty for blood I hadn’t had in far too long.
I lunged at the beast, biting down on its neck when it tried to sprint away. Warm blood spilled down my throat. I drank greedily until I had my fill. Resting back against a nearby tree, my eyes slipped closed as strength returned to my body. Now I was ready for the next fight. I remained sitting for another long moment, letting the fresh blood seep through every vein and flood my heart. Being here alone was peaceful, no watching eyes on me, but the sudden urge to get back to Seneca had me back on my feet.
The urge turned into a strange pain in my gut, and I hissed.
Something was wrong. She was in trouble.
Her angry snarls met my ears seconds before I burst through the trees and crouched by her side.
“What happened?” I demanded of Marlie and the two guards standing over her, flinching back at my sudden appearance.
“She was sleeping then just started muttering in her sleep,” Marlie explained.
“What did she say?”
“Don’t know. Couldn’t make it out. She got up and tried to walk off, and we stopped her, had to tackle her and then, well, she’s been like this.” He motioned to her thrashing form in the grass. She was gnashing her jaws as if fighting off an attacker. “What’s wrong with her?”
“Nightmare.”
Seneca snarled again, lurching off the ground and nearly biting my shoulder. I took a firm hold of her and shook her, trying to wake her up. She fought against me, and I yelled for the others to back off. The guards did. Marlie didn’t.
“Do it.”
“She won’t hurt me.”
“Glad you trust her now,” I muttered, not believing him.
I knew why he stayed. He didn’t want her to wake up and see him freaked out again.
“Seneca, open your eyes. It’s just a nightmare. You’re safe. I’m right here.” I cupped her cheek, and her face scrunched as the growling cut off. “Right here, Seneca. Just have to open your eyes.”
She leaned into my touch. “Draven?”
“I’m here. Right beside you.” Gently, I sat her up as her eyes opened. “Seneca?”
The fear on her face was like a stake to the chest. She clung to my shirt, and I hugged her close, smoothing my hand down her back as I told her over and over it was just a nightmare and she was alright.
“No,” she whispered, wiping a hand down her face. “It wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard him, inside my mind,” she breathed in my ear so the fae wouldn’t hear. “He was calling to me, and I almost went to him.”
A guttural growl slipped from my mouth as I held her even tighter. “It won’t happen.”
“It almost did. Draven, I can’t keep him out. What if he tells me to do something, to hurt you?”
“It won’t happen,” I repeated. “You hear me? He is not going to get his hands on you.”
“Who?” Marlie asked, hovering over us. “What are you two talking about?”
“Nothing,” I snapped, not letting go of Seneca yet.
“You’re lying. You both are. What was that? And don’t say a nightmare.”
I hissed in warning.
He backed off, barely, planting his single hand on his hip.
The instinctive drive to protect Seneca, no matter what the cost, kicked in and I was tempted to run off with her, take her away from this battle, and whatever might come of it. I might not have known her long, but I knew well enough that if I did that, she’d be more likely to hate me for it. The only way to end this would be to kill Rudarius, and we couldn’t do that if we ran away from him.
“We should tell him,” Seneca whispered, lifting her head from my shoulder. “As long as he swears to keep it to himself.”
Marlie scowled. “I can’t do that. Not if it’s going to affect the safety of the others.”
“Then I guess you don’t get to know.” I helped Seneca to her feet and started to walk away.
Marlie shouted my name. “Just wait a damned second.” He ordered the guards to give us some space then caught up to us. “I swear, whatever you tell me, I will not share with another soul. Not our parents. Not the soldiers. No one.” He placed his hand over his heart. “On my life, I swear it. If this is what it takes to earn the trust back of my sister, then so be it.”
I wasn’t ready to give in, but it wasn’t my secret to tell. “Up to you.”
Seneca glanced around, paranoid, then told him exactly what she told me about her remembering being with Rudarius and the truth of who turned her.
Marlie took it in stride, not saying a word until she was done explaining. And even then, he held back.
On instinct, I moved closer to Seneca, ready to protect her if this fae went back on his word and called out for aid. He glanced over his shoulder, and I growled, but when he faced Seneca aga
in, it was with sorrow and anger in his eyes. There was no hint of deception or guilt. As much as Seneca might not want to admit it, I believed she could trust her brother. As long as he understood that he could trust her, too.
“No one else can know,” he whispered when the silence stretched on uncomfortably long. “I don’t know what they would do.”
“I do,” I snarled, remembering how heartless Raine was the last time we spoke of what he would do with his daughter once this war was over. He hadn’t said it, but the intent was clear. If she posed a threat to his people, he would see her taken care of. For good.
Seneca’s hand found mine, calming me. Slightly.
“If he’s trying to call to you,” Marlie went on quietly, “is there a way we can stop you from hearing it?”
“Yeah. Never sleep again,” Seneca mumbled.
“One of us must be with you at all times,” I added.
She rolled her eyes, but I scowled, and she gave in.
I continued, “If you seem in distress or like you’re going to take off, we can stop you long enough to make you snap out of it.”
“For how long? You can’t watch over me forever.”
“If that’s what we must do, then we will,” Marlie declared. “We’re three days from the High Kingdom. We’ll watch over you in shifts until we reach safety.”
“Great. It’s like having babysitters all over again.”
“Marlie, can you give us a minute? We still have a bit before we move out, right?”
“Yes, I’ll come and find you.” He stepped toward Seneca as if to hug her, but she flinched, and he backed off, returning to his guards.
“I don’t want to make this any worse for the two of you,” she said as soon as he was out of earshot. “I’ve made too many people’s lives a pain in the ass, I won’t do it to you or my brother. I can handle myself just fine.”
“Bullshit. This has everything to do with us.”
She pulled away, but I followed, not letting her go anywhere.
“Don’t do this,” I urged as I looked into those green eyes that overflowed with uncertainty and anger. “Don’t pull away from me.”
“I won’t see you hurt.”
“We’re in a war. Getting hurt is part of the deal here.”
She hissed in sudden anger and shoved me backward. “And if it’s me who hurts you? Are you going to hold up your end of the deal we made? Will you?”
I bit my tongue, backing away from her words.
“Draven look at me. You swore to do whatever had to be done to stop me. Tell me you’ll do it if he gets hold of me. I won’t go back to him. I won’t.”
“So you want me to kill you then. Is that it?” I seethed, hands in fists at my sides.
“If he gets hold of me, yes.”
“I swore to not let you harm another living soul,” I muttered, each word strained as I clenched my jaw to keep my anger in check. “Thankfully, I am not living.”
“Yes, you are.”
“Depends on who you ask, really.” I spotted Marlie waving his arm over his head to snag our attention. “We’re moving again.”
“Fan-freaking-tastic.” She stalked away from me, though I made sure she stayed in my sight.
Marlie joined me, giving his sister a wide berth when she snarled at him. “You two have a fun chat?”
“Don’t be cute. I’d hate for you to lose your other hand.”
He tucked his right hand out of sight as we fell in with the rest of the fae continuing our journey toward the High Kingdom. “I wish I could give you advice, but I’m afraid in this situation you know her better than I do.”
“Not as if you were old enough to stop your parents from handing her over.”
“No, but I was old enough when we found out she’d been taken by Rudarius. And even then, I did nothing. I let them dictate my every move.” He sighed, shoulders hunched in shame. “When we reach the final fae kingdom, I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what my father plans on doing if the king and queen are like Mina and not easily convinced there’s a threat.”
“From the number of soldiers they sent to escort us, I’d say they know.”
“You said it yourself. Fae are a prideful race. All they did was send aid when we called for it. Nothing more. No king wants to admit they screwed up and then send their troops into battle.” Marlie lifted his left arm as if to use his hand, grunted to himself, then used his right to scratch his chin. “If not for your being here and taking care of Seneca, I’d challenge you to a fight to get some payback.”
“To be fair, you and your sister have both nearly managed to kill me. I’d say that’s payback enough.”
“I tried to kill you before you took my hand.”
My lips twitched, but I kept my satisfied smile to myself. “Are there no more rings you can use?”
“They would have to come from my parents. Something tells me they aren’t too keen on parting with their power, not when their son is turning against them.”
“And I thought the politics in the covens were messed up.”
“Welcome to fae royalty, where every situation has to be made ten times worse,” Marlie said in a mockingly cheerful voice. “As terrible as her life was, I’m glad Seneca grew up away from all this. She was able to become her own person. Strong. Independent.”
She was certainly those, amongst other traits I found extremely attractive. She held nothing back, not in her fighting or her smart-ass mouth.
I rubbed my chest where she’d staked me, knowing even that impressed me.
In all my years of fighting, there was only one other vampire able to get close enough to almost kill me.
A smile stretched across my face remembering the first kiss we’d shared. Seneca was passionate beyond words, and though I sensed a small part of her holding back for the sake of the demon she spent so much time with, she’d opened up and let me feel everything she felt in those moments.
We were one in the same being, two tortured and broken souls searching for a way to heal. To move on.
I found my purpose again in Seneca and finally had a way to get revenge.
All she had to do was realize and accept her destiny was about so much more than enduring her pain alone.
I caught a flicker of movement to my left and then Seneca’s hand was in mine.
She said nothing and neither did I.
The contact was enough for me to sense that though our conversation from earlier was far from over, she wanted to be my side as much as I wanted to be by hers.
If Marlie had an issue with our closeness, he was wise and kept it to himself.
Chapter 12
Seneca
With Marlie and Draven watching over me every time I slept, we made it to the High Kingdom without my running off to join Rudarius, despite his attempts.
Only a few hours ago, Draven had awakened me after having to fight me off when I lashed out at him. He’d been holding me down to stop me from walking off, and it had gotten a bit heated.
My jaw hurt, and he informed me through gritted teeth he’d had to deck me just to get me to still long enough for him and Marlie to grab hold of me. There were scratch marks all over his face. I’d barely gotten the words out to say I was sorry when he hissed at me to not say it.
“But I hurt you,” I’d whispered when Marlie gave us a moment alone.
“And I’ll survive. Not like your nails have silver in them, Rocky.”
“Rocky?” I’d smiled despite the tension between us. HIs from worrying about me and mine from worrying I could’ve seriously wounded him.
“Yeah, you were throwing some nasty punches in your sleep. Damned lucky I’m a vampire.”
“Did I hurt the old man?” I’d teased.
He dragged me into his arms for a kiss that left me gasping for air and him smiling smugly, though I knew it didn’t fully chase away his concerns.
Now, as the soldiers from the High Kingdom led us through the main gate of the city, I glanced toward Drav
en’s face. The wounds had healed, but if I concentrated hard enough, I saw where I hurt him. I reached up, cupping his cheek. He took my hand in his and kissed my knuckles.
“Stop.”
“I didn’t do anything,” I murmured.
“You’re lingering. Don’t do that and don’t try to apologize again. You are not the one attacking me. It’s that red-eyed piece of shit I’m going to have the pleasure of decapitating, one of these days.” He hissed viciously as he said it and I shared his anger.
Hearing Rudarius in person was bad. Hearing him inside my head was a living nightmare. Each time his voice came to me, it started out the same way. I’d be dreaming, walking through my garden. The sun was shining, and Draven was there, lying in the grass. Draven being in the sun was impossible, but it was a dream. The rays didn’t burn him. I’d start to go to him, and then the sky would blacken, and Draven would be on his feet, bellowing in pain, as all his old wounds opened, and he was gushing blood. I tried to get to him, but someone held me back, nails digging into my arms. I was forced to watch as he bled to death in my garden, my name on his lips and that horrible look of betrayal in his eyes.
“You won’t be able to save him,” Rudarius would whisper in my ear. “Not unless you join me.”
He would go on and on, telling me the only way to save Draven was to go to him, help him finish off the fae who hated me anyway. They all saw me as a monster. I should just give in and be the monster they saw me as. Let my true power shine through. If I sided with him, he would ensure Draven lived.
“Seneca?”
“Hmm?”
“You’re overthinking. I can feel it.”
I shrugged. “Not sure how I can’t overthink everything at this moment.”
“You want to tell me what you see when you sleep?”
He asked me every time I opened my eyes, but I managed to hold out this long. He felt bad enough as it was. Adding to his worry when we were probably going to get ourselves into another fight here soon was a bad idea.
“Nah, I’m good.” I beamed at him as he growled. “What? Trust me, it’s better if you don’t know.”