The Dawn of the End (The Rising Book 3)

by Kristen Ashley

  But they would all soon learn there would be no pacifying the Prince Regent of Airen as his gaze stayed locked on the male unicorn with his shorn horn.

  And then it happened.

  Their prince threw back his head and roared to the sky, the raw fury in the sound moving up and out, blanketing the entire city.

  Fearful murmurings and panicked shifting happened amongst the crowd.

  For as he did, the sun disappeared.

  Day turned to night.

  And darkness descended all around.

  Queen Ophelia

  At the Foot of the Night Heights Mountain Range, Two Hundred Miles East of Sky Bay

  AIREN

  Ophelia reined to a stop as she felt it, then wheeled Midsummer around and threw up her hand.

  The Nadirii behind her halted.

  “Good goddess, Ophelia, what could possibly be causing—?”

  Agnes did not finish.

  The sun left the sky and night fell all around.

  “Ophelia!” Lucinda snapped with some alarm.

  Ophelia said nothing at first.

  This because she did not know whether to laugh or change their direction from tracking Fern to going directly to Sky Bay.

  She looked to her lieutenant.

  “Someone has made Cassius Laird very angry.”

  Lucinda’s head twitched.

  Ophelia made her decision and circled her horse back around.

  And even if she did not have the energy for it, for hers left her earlier and earlier in the day as each one passed, she called up what she had, and shouted, “We ride!”

  The Nadirii rode, through day turned to night, tracking Fern in the Heights.

  The People of Airen

  Highgate (Eastern Gate into Sky Bay)

  AIREN

  “Cassius!” the Nadirii princess called urgently.

  The crowd watched through the stars twinkling all around, hanging low in the very air, as their Prince Regent strode boldly into the clearing, directly to the female.

  “Cass!” Princess Elena hissed, looking as if she would follow him.

  She did not.

  She stopped when the mare butted Prince Cassius’s outstretched hand and whinnied.

  She then moved her beautiful head with clear intent to invite the prince to stroke her nose.

  This, Cassius did.

  Those of the crowd were stunned.

  What was this marvel?

  A male of the royal house of Airen at one with a unicorn?

  Was all of this indication that magic would be back in their bleak realm?

  “Bring him to me,” Cassius demanded, to who, the people didn’t know.

  Until the mare lifted and shook her head, braying.

  “Bring him to me,” Cassius repeated.

  Another shake of her noble head before she blew out of her nostrils, jerked from him and trotted, rounding and herding the reluctant stallion toward the prince.

  “Tch, tch, tch,” Cassius fussed. “Here now. Come here, boy.”

  The stallion swung his head side to side and danced this way and that, trying to evade getting close to the prince, not as if he feared the man, as if he was ashamed, but his mare was always there to foil escape.

  And finally, as the crowd looked on in amazement, Cassius caught the stallion’s velvet jaw in two hands.

  “You came to Ellie and me to be safe, eh?” he asked the creature, moving his head side to side to catch the unicorn’s evasive gaze.

  It was not lost on many that their prince referred to his intended as “Ellie.”

  Many thought that was very sweet.

  Some thought it nauseating.

  “And now you are with us and you will be safe,” the prince promised. “For you are my Sky, and she is my Star, and the Sky King cannot do without either. Hmm?”

  The stallion nickered.

  “Yes, that’s right,” Cassius murmured.

  The stallion nickered again, dipped his head and pawed at the cobbles with his hoof.

  Cassius moved his hands from the unicorn’s jaw, toward the truncated horn at his head.

  And when he did, Princess Elena sprang forward with great alarm, crying, “Cassius, don’t touch his—!”

  But the Prince Regent touched the horn.

  And the darkness went from the day, the air went stark white and the ground shook.

  Triton

  At the movement of the earth, Mars raced for his Silence.

  And when he found her, she turned her silver gaze to him, and she was smiling.

  Marian put her hand to the wall of their underground lair, looking up.

  And she frowned.

  The pirates ceased shouting at him at the summit table, and Aramus turned his head to look at his wife.

  And he caught Ha-Lah grinning.

  Serena lifted her head from the crumbling stoop as she felt it, her eyes watching the troll across from her blinking stupidly as he did.

  “Sister,” she whispered.

  And her heart grew light.

  Even as her eyes filled with tears.

  Jellan pressed his hands to his throat, closed his eyes, sensed the seismic shift of the veil.

  And decided it was time.

  True broke his embrace with Farah.

  And when he gazed down at her, he saw she was gazing up at him, laughing.

  Nandra of Firenze appeared at the henge first.

  Rebecca of Wodell flashed in second.

  Lena of Mar-el arrived third.

  They all went directly to the slab.

  But it was Nandra who spoke.

  “It is beginning.”

  A god moved from the shadows and smiled into the dark.

  “Finally, my love, our wait is almost over,” he murmured to nothing.

  The Nadirii galloping up the side of the mountain stopped abruptly, for their queen had suddenly tumbled from her horse.

  Her lieutenants dismounted instantly and raced to their friend.

  And Ophelia lay on her back, gazing up at them…

  Dying.

  Princess Elena

  Highgate (Eastern Gate into Sky Bay)

  AIREN

  The white left nearly as quickly as it came, but it was as if it was still there, for I could not believe what I was seeing.

  Cassius’s hands had not been charred to dust at touching the shorn horn of a living unicorn.

  The unicorn was up on two feet, scraping the air with his hooves as his mare pranced around him and Cass slowly stepped back from him, its horn renewed.

  Renewed.

  “The Phoenix,” I whispered.

  And as sheer joy soared through me, I sprinted to my man who turned just in time to catch me up in his arms.

  “What did you do?” I asked, framing his face in my hands and looking down upon him as he held me high.

  “I’m seeing you aren’t the only one in the family who has magic,” he replied arrogantly.

  I gazed at his handsome face before I threw my head back and laughed.

  While doing it, Cassius lowered me, my body gliding along his as he did.

  And I did not mind our audience, and further paid no mind to the miracle that had just occurred.

  For my prince was kissing me.

  The People of Airen

  Highgate (Eastern Entrance into Sky Bay)

  AIREN

  Almost all the population of Sky Bay were most startled to see their prince openly embracing the Nadirii.

  He was known to have very much loved his wife.

  He was known to very much grieve her death.

  But now, seeing him vital and happy, it appeared he was healed.

  Reborn.

  A goodly amount of the population of Sky Bay fell in love with Princess Elena in that very moment.

  Another number continued to detest her.

  But those last realized they had a very serious problem.

  Especially in the now, with their plans so close to being put into acti
on.

  For their prince could heal a unicorn.

  And that begged a very important question.

  For if he could do that…

  What other powers did he have?

  108

  The Taking

  Tedrey

  Heden District, Fire City

  FIRENZE

  Fortunately, it was not unusual for a man to move through the narrow alleyways of the Heden District wearing a short, belted sarong at his hips, crossed straps on his chest, and a short cloak with the hood pulled over his head.

  For this was how Tedrey had left the home of Nyx and Lorenz after receiving the message from Faunus.

  Taking the alleys as instructed, he was deep within the District when he saw the purple lotus flower painted on the shingle above the purple door.

  He moved through that door, turned to the burly Firenz man sitting directly inside, and handed over his coin, not lifting his gaze, thus his visage, as he gave this token.

  He then grunted, “Faunus.”

  “Up the stairs, second door on the right,” the man said in Firenzii.

  Tedrey did not waste time below stairs.

  He wound his way around the couches, cushions, thus the lounging bodies embracing or smoking ashesh or sipping spirits.

  The air was cloying.

  The noises he heard and gazes he felt were discomfiting.

  He rushed up the wide steps with their thick purple carpet and down the hall.

  Second room on the right, he knocked twice, then a pause, and once, as the missive had instructed.

  The door opened, he was caught at a strap at his chest and pulled inside.

  The door was then closed behind him.

  “Faunus!” he snapped.

  But he stopped speaking when his warrior shoved him to the door and pressed up against him.

  Faunus said nothing.

  Tedrey said nothing.

  Faunus did nothing.

  Finally, Tedrey whispered, “Fau—”

  “Shh,” Faunus shushed him harshly.

  “This is so unwise, it is downright reckless,” Tedrey hissed.

  And it was. So much so, he did not know why he was there.

  Except he now had Faunus’s handsome face filling his vision and pressed to him was Faunus’s powerful body.

  Tedrey was weak.

  But his warrior was so beautiful.

  And he missed him.

  Faunus dipped that handsome face to Tedrey’s.

  “I…said…shh.”

  Tedrey scowled at him.

  Faunus grinned at his scowl.

  A knock came at the door and Tedrey tensed.

  One, a pause, then two.

  He felt Faunus relax.

  He then felt his eyes narrow.

  “You had me followed?” he demanded.

  “How else would I be certain you weren’t trailed by someone I did not wish to track you?” Faunus asked in return.

  “You could have mentioned that in the missive,” Tedrey pointed out.

  “How would that be exciting?”

  Tedrey pushed at his chest.

  And found himself flung across the room, landing on his back on a pile of cushions.

  He came up on his elbows as Faunus stalked toward him.

  “Your sarong is very nice,” his warrior drawled.

  “I should not be here. I should be anywhere but here,” Tedrey returned as Faunus crouched at his feet.

  “It will be good when all of this is done, and you can wear the garments of your land at all times.”

  “Trousers, boots and a frock coat?” Tedrey asked. “Wearing all that, I would melt in this heat.”

  “Wodell is not your land. This is your land, Teddy.”

  Tedrey felt a pinch at his heart.

  He did not carry on this particular discussion.

  “This is not smart,” he whispered.

  “I have missed you,” Faunus whispered in return.

  Tedrey closed his eyes.

  This was a mistake, for when he did, Faunus caught his ankles and yanked him across the cushions, so when Tedrey again opened his eyes, Faunus was all he could see.

  Faunus’s voice had dipped lower when he asked, “How often has he fucked you?”

  Oh no.

  He should not be there.

  But now it was more, for they should not be speaking of this.

  “We have this time, let us not do this,” Tedrey suggested.

  “How often?”

  “Faunus.”

  Faunus caught him in a light hold at the front of his throat.

  “How often, Teddy?”

  “He now finds me…lacking,” Tedrey admitted, and watched his warrior’s eyes flash. “So, none at all. But you should not ask such, Faunus. It will only serve to upset you.”

  “None at all?”

  Of course, Tedrey could not find attractive, say, a fellow teacher.

  Or perhaps a quiet purveyor of rugs.

  No, he had to find attractive a possessive warrior.

  “None at all,” Tedrey confirmed.

  “And he trusts that you are still on his lead?”

  Tedrey pressed his lips together.

  “He makes you suckle him,” Faunus growled.

  “Can we not talk about this?” Tedrey asked.

  “Yes, we can not talk about this,” Faunus murmured. “For I’ve got something better to do with my mouth.”

  Tedrey’s sarong was then flipped up, Faunus’s head dipped down, and Tedrey’s head fell back.

  Yes.

  This was much better.

  “I want you to stop what you are doing with this Rising and allow Lorenz to find you a safe place until this is over,” Faunus declared.

  Tedrey lay with the back of his head resting against his warrior’s thigh. Faunus was sitting up, his back against some cushions that were set to the wall, his long legs stretched out. Tedrey was reclining perpendicular to him with Faunus as his cushion.

  “I cannot stop now,” Tedrey denied.

  Faunus didn’t reply.

  Tedrey turned to his side and lifted up, propping himself on his elbow.

  “My friend, please understand, this is something I must do,” he said.

  “I am not your friend, I am your lover,” Faunus retorted.

  He was definitely that.

  “Yes, you are,” Tedrey agreed, and rested his hand on Faunus’s bare thigh. “And as such, I am asking you to understand and do not push about this.”

  “A Go’Ella had something to share.”

  Tedrey stared up at Faunus, his hand dropping away.

  “I’m…really?”

  “One of the ones you said belonged to one of the priests in the necropolis.” A look transformed Faunus’s face that, if Tedrey didn’t know him, would have him moving away. “He would make her darken her hair and then he would debase her as the ‘Firenz whore’ who would be slave to him when the Rising took control of all lands. This, although she was fair. And Airenzian.”

  “This is evidence of his guilt, but naught else,” Tedrey noted.

  “She also has a good memory, as well as good hearing, thus she knows which priests visited him for business of this Rising. And she knows which ones did not. And last, she heard him mention a Society, and several names in regards to it, including a G’Jell and a G’Thom.”

  Tedrey sat up.

  “G’Thom?”

  “Yes.”

  “He is known wide, for he is a legacy. Quite a famous one.”

  Faunus’s brows shot up. “Born of a priest?”

  Tedrey nodded. “It is not that it is unusual for such to happen. It is just unusual for them to stay within the Go’Doan when they come of age. But he is different. He is…” By the gods, how did he not see this before? “He is known as exceptionally devout.”

  Faunus held his eyes before he said quietly, “King True came into the possession of some letters as written and to have been received by the traitor they execut
ed. In one, a Golden Thomas was mentioned.”

  “That is he. His mother named him Thomas, and he is known as such, for he is said to be as golden to the faith as our domes. Does King True know who this refers to?”

  “I do not know if he did, but Queen Farah had heard her father mention him, so he knows now.”

  “This is fantastic, Faunus.”

  “This is indication you can cease with your spying and stay safe, for it may be over soon,” Faunus retorted.

  Tedrey grew quiet.

  Faunus leaned to him and again caught him at the back of his neck.

  “You do not need to suck his cock to gather information any longer, Teddy. What you have provided has yielded rewards. Now, be safe and let kings take care of the business of protecting their realms.”

  “There are many of them, Faunus, and even if he is the leader, there are others to take up the banner. Not to mention, I do not know what this Society is. I have never heard of it.”

  “Mars is going to close down all the temples and demand the priests return to the Dome City until The Rising is quelled, and it is doubtful he will ever allow them to return. He has wished an excuse to do this for some time. Now he has one. It is done for you here, in Firenze. Once the priests have been gathered that are known to be of this Rising, King Mars will make the proclamations and the whole of Go’Doan will be gone from this land.”

  “I don’t know—” Tedrey muttered.

  “Nyx told me if you vacillated, that I should share that she will refuse to get with child until you cease your activities.”

  Tedrey’s gaze sharpened on Faunus. “That is unfair.”

  Faunus shrugged. “She is most intelligent. She feels things are coming to a head. And she, as do I, and I will say, as does Lorenz, and not simply because he wishes to plant his seed in his wife, wants you nowhere around when they do.”

  Tedrey again grew quiet as he considered all of this.

  “You have made your amends and you have proved your worth,” Faunus said softly, giving Tedrey’s neck a squeeze. “Now, let it be done and enjoy the life you built with the friends you earned.”

  The life he built with the friends he earned.