by Raven Storm
“D’Arcy’s right; you must be a spy. Don’t even think of calling for help; not until I’m ready for Benedict to find your body. I’ll tell everyone you betrayed us, and that you tossed yourself over the side of the cliff in shame! I’m sure Kieran will at least mourn you.”
I tried to hold onto the sword, but he squeezed harder, and black dots appeared at the edges of my vision. The sword clattered to the ground, and I realized with a pang no one was coming to save me; hell, no one even knew where I was. Kieran and Ronan probably still thought I was in the bedroom.
“Just go to sleep, it will all be better when you wake up.” Bair’s voice was patronizing, and the anger that surged through my veins filled me with renewed strength. If there was anything I hated, it was a cocky asshole. My foot came up and kicked him hard in his crotch, and he went down screaming. I grabbed the sword and screamed as loud as I could, my own eardrums throbbing with pain as it reverberated in the small space of the cave.
“You fucking BITCH!”
He lunged again but I was ready, taking the few tips Kieran and Ronan had taught me and using them the best that I could. He went for my throat again, but I aimed a kick at his head, slashing out with the sword in a short, controlled blow when he moved to deflect my leg. I caught him on the undersides of his arms, and he shrieked in pain. We both turned as a thundering sound was heard coming from the tunnels, and he grabbed my head and bashed it into the ground.
“BENEDICT! SHE’S TRYING TO KILL ME!” Panic and anger flooded my system, but it was hard to move as I was seeing double of everything. If Bair got to the drakens first, would they believe him over me? I didn’t want to find out. I threw the sword with all the strength I told muster, even knowing it wouldn’t fly like a knife. By some miracle it hit home, embedding itself in Bair’s back. He dropped like a stone, and I stumbled over to him. I yanked the blade out from his back and that’s when he struck, catching the side of my face with his claws and raking them down my neck. I screamed; my voice laced with pain. His elbow came up and slammed on the top of my head, and I struggled to stay conscious. As he shakily stood over me, I pressed my hand down on my face, trying to stem the blood flow. His wound had already stopped bleeding. I watched his eyes unconsciously follow the flow of my blood down my chest, and I nearly laughed at the sense of power that I discovered there. I still had him.
“Wouldn’t you like to try it before he gets here?” I panted, holding my blood-soaked fingers out to him. “The others say that it tastes exquisite…”
Bair went rigid, and I made my eyes wide and innocent.
“Help me, and I’ll let you drink as much as you want. Then we can run away, together.” I gave him a sultry look, one hand on my bleeding face, the other reaching for the fallen sword in the dirt. The idiot leaned in closer, and my arm with the sword went around his neck, hovering at the juncture between his head and his spine. He knew I was a backstabbing bitch, but his draken instincts were stronger, making him weak, and less aware of his surroundings.
His lips hovered above mine, his tongue flicking out to taste my blood. That’s when I struck: as hard as I could, I brought the sword down across the back of his neck, his mouth frozen in a surprised ‘O’ as I severed tendons and hit bone. He flopped uselessly over me, blood pouring down his back and staining my front. I pushed him off with a shove, shaking as I gathered my knives and wiped them on my pants. Bair reached out to me, his eyes frozen in a look of betrayal, which I thought was rich. His blood continued to pool around his body, leaving too quickly for him to heal. I tried to drop the sword, but I was shaking too much. Dripping with his blood, I turned around and found myself face-to-face with Benedict.
THIRTEEN
“Benedict, I can explain.”
Hatred burned in his purple eyes, and I managed to drop the sword to the ground with a clatter, my arms shaking.
“I think I heard enough right before you butchered him.” My jaw dropped as my stomach twisted with fear.
“No! It wasn’t like that at all! You don’t understand—"
I reached for him, but he swiped his claws at me as he stood in his draken form.
“I understand just fine. It wasn’t enough to damn my species to extinction, was it? And to think, I believed you when you said you didn’t know who I was, and that you knew nothing of this arrangement. What else did Bair find out, what secret was so terrible you had to murder my baby brother?"
I didn’t know what to say...what could you say in the face of such accusations? Tears ran down my face, but he turned away from me.
“Save your tears."
The blood drained from my face, and I was unable to move he grabbed me and dove out the mouth of the cave. The wind roared in my face as his wings pumped hard, flying us to the south and west along the mountain range. After a while he threw me down, and I collapsed onto the rock. My leg twisted unnaturally under me and I hissed in pain. He stood over me in silence over the cliff, staring out at nothing. I tried to reason with him.
“Bair was trying to leave the mountain and take me with him!”
Benedict sneered. “That’s a lie; he knew he couldn’t leave the mountain. You just lured him out there to kill him!”
I didn’t have the strength to stand and face him, so I yelled up into his angry, twisted face.
“Why would I kill him and mess everything up? You were the one who pointed out how much better my life is here! Why would I give that up?! Bair said Severn told him the Overlord would break his curse on the mountain. He figured once you were dead, he could fly as far away from this damn mountain as he could!”
Benedicts hands curled into fists.
“He was going to sell out your people as exotic, immortal PETS!”
Benedict spun away from me, his hands gripping his hair. I’d never seen him so angry before. He vibrated with rage, and I half-expected to be thrown off the mountain at any second. His grief was a painful, tangible force that kept me laying on the ground. Had I finally pushed too far? Would he kill me, like he obviously wanted to?
“You’ve been working with Crullfed this whole time, haven’t you? I guess all those stories of him beating you were a cover. I have to give you credit for your great performance."
His voice was cold, almost completely unaffected. Then he leaned in, his voice a deadly purr.
“Give me one reason not to watch your body break on the side of this mountain.”
I wiped my face, smearing blood everywhere. Did nothing that had happened between us matter anymore? I felt as well as saw the hate in his eyes. An ache opened in my chest, robbing me of breath and hurting more than any of my injuries.
“I told you the truth. You just don’t believe me,” I whispered.
He roared away from me and punched the mountain, his hand breaking audibly as it met the stone’s unyielding surface.
“Bair, Sabien, and D’Arcy are the only direct family I have left. And you slaughtered one of them. Feel free to never come back.”
He disappeared and left me there. I was alone on a high peak, unable to get down myself.
I laid there for hours, the hot sun beating down as I slowly bled out. At first, I was thankful he didn’t kill me, thinking it was a mercy, perhaps due in part to some affection he held for me. The more I laid out in the sun, bleeding onto the rocks, the more I realized that this was a far crueler way to die. I thought about letting out a cry for help, but who would come? Benedict wouldn’t, and Kieran and Ronan might not either after word of what I’d done spread throughout the mountain. I gave myself only a day or two before the elements killed me.
I don’t know how long I stayed there on that hot piece of earth, refusing to cry, refusing to move, refusing to do anything to save myself. In a way, Benedict was right to be angry; I did kill his brother, never mind he was a backstabbing little traitor. I drifted in and out of consciousness, unaware of the passing of time. The wound on my neck still bled, though sluggishly from dehydration. My skin felt tight and painful, no doubt bur
nt from the sun. I thought of Bair, and something he’d said before he died. Something about D’Arcy. I shot up, crying out as my body protested the movement.
D’Arcy said—
Was D’Arcy in on the plan with Bair, or was he already a traitor before Bair found out about it? If so, that meant he was also in contact with Severn and the Overlord, which made perfect sense as to how he had access to a group of lykos. If D'Arcy was a traitor, then Kieran, Ronan, Benedict, and all the other drakens were in danger! I needed to save myself so I could save them, even if Benedict threatened to kill me, and even if Kieran and Ronan didn’t want me after learning what I did. I took a deep breath, knowing what I needed to do. Sometimes the hardest, yet most effective thing anyone could do was call for help.
I tried to scream, but my throat was too dry. A pathetic warble came through my lips, and then I managed to make a high-pitched keening sound. I collapsed back onto the ground, completely spent. The cry had been my last resort, and now I was going to die up here, stranded a mile up in the air. I didn’t have any liquid left in my body for tears, so my eyes drifted shut again. If I focused hard enough, even the pain in my face and ankle didn’t bother me anymore. It would be so easy to go to sleep, wouldn’t it? No one would bother me, and I could just drift off and away…
Heavy vibrations landed around me, but I ignored them. It was time to rest.
“I don’t care what Benedict says, I won’t let her die!”
It was the kind voice...the one with the green eyes...my eye cracked open, but it was too bright.
“We have to get some blood into her, but let’s get to the cave first.”
There was an odd sensation of lifting, and flying, but that was preposterous. Then hot blood that felt glorious going down my throat, easing the pain as I greedily drank. I slid into true darkness then, tired and exhausted.
When I woke, Kieran and Ronan were next to me. I felt better, but still not completely whole. I blinked my eyes wearily.
“You came for me.”
Kieran offered me a weak smile, rubbing the back of his head.
“I would never ignore a distress call from you. It just...took a bit for us to figure out how to get to you.”
He stroked my hand, and offered me a cup of water, which I gulped down. He chuckled, and Ronan offered me another. Halfway through that one, I turned to him.
“How did you get to me?” Kieran nodded at Ronan, who blushed.
“Well, I figured if Bair got close to the edge of the mountain, maybe you were still within the mountain range, just on the outside of it rather than the inside. It was a bit terrifying leaving the cave mouth, but I was right. We can go outside if we stick to the mountain range. Benedict isn’t happy with us; keeps threatening to execute us then thanking us for saving you, then screaming at us again. In turn, I threatened to tell every draken we could leave the cave, however limited, if he tried to ban your return. It hasn’t been fun.”
My eyes went to my lap.
“Oh. He’s told everyone then?”
Kieran grasped my hand, his gaze intense. “No, Kieran black-mailed him to keep it to himself, but he tried to tell us. It was some ridiculous story about subterfuge and the Overlord, but frankly none of it made sense. All I could get from it was something happened, and you killed Bair?”
Ronan sniffed.
“I never liked the little shit anyway.” Kieran rolled his eyes and cuffed him on the head. I stifled a small smile; these two always were able to cheer me up.
“So, you don’t hate me?”
Kieran laid a kiss to my forehead. “You are our mate; of course, we could never hate you. Why do you think Benedict is fucking crazy right now? On the one hand he wants to kill you, but on the other hand, he can’t. It’s a bit hilarious if you’re not the one he’s screaming at.” Kieran frowned.
“I thought you couldn’t mate with humans.”
Kieran shrugged.
“It’s all down to choice, isn’t it? Ronan and I choose you, and at some point, Benedict obviously did as well, even if the blockhead won’t admit it.” He paused and looked down at me with worry.
“What actually happened, if you don’t mind?”
I balled the covers in my fist, sorrow filling my heart. “Bair told Severn where the drakens are hiding.”
Kieran reared back, blinking furiously.
“That...that can’t be right.” Righteous indignation flared with me.
“I’m a liar, then?”
“No! I just...I need to go talk to Benedict.”
He practically ran from the room, leaving me alone with Ronan. I rolled my eyes, and Ronan sighed.
“That’s going to be a tough sell; Benedict is mourning his brother. He’d probably kill you if you got close now. It is wise to try and let Kieran break the news.” He looked away, deep in thought. My jaw dropped in alarm, and he waved an arm casually.
“I wouldn’t take it seriously; Kieran will talk him around. Our mateship is too new, and he’ll be forced back eventually. That is, if I don’t kill him first for ignoring your distress call.”
“What do you mean, forced back?” I asked.
“New mateships need time to settle in; the more time we spend together, the quicker it happens. Sleeping together, meals, all of it helps. Since Benedict hasn’t been around much, he’ll likely start feeling some of the negative effects. My only worry is if it will impact you at all.”
I blinked at him, tired. He patted my hand.
“How about a bath?”
I agreed and let him fuss over me. Not only did I not have a choice, but deep down, it felt nice to have someone care about you like that. I felt a stab of regret as I thought of Benedict.
“The Games have been postponed indefinitely. Benedict doesn’t want to see anyone right now.” Ronan kept up a steady stream of chatter as he filled the bath, lacing it with scented oils and herbs. It smelled divine.
“The other drakens are shook up over Bair; it would help to get your story out there so the others know you’re not a murdering psychopath like Benedict has painted. Kieran will probably do that as soon as he sees Benedict.”
Ronan easily picked me up from the bed and carried me to the bath. I stripped out of my clothes, no longer bashful about being naked with him. They’d seen it all already. Ronan helped lower me into the warm water, and I hissed as it lapped over my skin. I felt along my neck and face, my fingers meeting raised, torn edges that hadn’t been there before. Ronan’s eyes turned serious.
“We tried, but by the time we got blood into you the wound had been there for too long. It’s a wicked scar though! It makes you look even more desirable. It lets others know how vicious you are.”
I scoffed, and splashed water at him.
“Can I help? I’ll wash if you’d like?” Ronan’s eyes were hopeful, with a bit of mischief thrown in. I looked away.
“I think I need some time to think, if you don’t mind.” Ronan stood, his face serious.
“He doesn’t deserve you, or your compassion.”
I was tired and didn’t feel like fighting.
“Like you said it’s my choice, and not yours.”
With a grunt he left. I picked up a hand mirror on the side of the pool, exploring the new contours of my face. I wasn’t upset about my appearance; I had never much thought of it to begin with. Rather, I was more concerned how every time Benedict looked at me, all he would see were his brother’s final moments.
FOURTEEN
For the next week I stayed in my bedroom, refusing to come out. Kieran, Ronan, and even Georg teamed together to keep me dressed, clothed, and even hand-fed me. As the days wore on, I couldn’t help the empty hole in my chest, draining my energy and making it difficult to get out of bed. I tried to sleep at night, but it always felt as though something—or someone—was missing, and I’d wake up more exhausted than the previous evening. Kieran and Ronan were starting to share my frustrations, my silence and mood wearing on them. I wanted to discuss with them my su
spicions about D’Arcy, but Kieran got angry anytime I brought it up, so I stopped trying.
“Do you like books?”
Kieran was trying to tempt me with a sandwich, but I stayed in bed, uninterested. I sat up slightly at Georg’s question and his eyes lit up, sensing my interest.
“You have a library here?”
Georg nodded; his eyes wide.
“We have lots of books! I haven’t read many, but Domik knows where everything is!” I swung my feet out of bed, considering. If I were going to figure out what D’Arcy was up to, it would do me good to learn more about the Demon Wars and the Overlord, wouldn’t it? My historical knowledge was literally nonexistent. I glanced over at Kieran and Ronan, who were just happy I was willingly getting out of bed.
I slid on my boots and threw my hair up in a braid. Georg clapped excitedly and swiped a sandwich into his pocket. I pretended not to notice, and instead weighed whether I would need my daggers. I snorted. What a stupid question. I strapped them on top of my breeches and tried on one of the fresh new tunics. Kieran said another draken had made them for me as a gift to try and coax me out of my room. The material was soft and ended midthigh in order to effectively hide my daggers. Perhaps this was proof not all the drakens hated me or believed Bair’s death was my fault.
“Alright Georg, where’s this library?”
Kieran and Ronan trailed behind us as Georg happily led me through the fortress, and I vaguely wondered if there was a map somewhere. It would help me to learn the ins and outs, because I couldn’t rely on Georg leading me around forever, could I? We walked for some time and didn’t see any other drakens. I remarked as much to Georg, who cringed slightly.
