“I see. And when were you supposed to stop Bane from boarding my ship? Back in Akros when you were carried aboard because you were too weak to walk?”
Sabine blinked at him. “No, but I could have tried to—”
He pressed his fingers against her lips to stop her objections. “No, you couldn’t have done anything except what you did. The Wild Hunt was chasing us, and we couldn’t even risk stopping for supplies. We all did what we had to do to survive.”
Sabine wrapped her hand around his wrist, and he lowered his hand. She frowned and said, “Esme and Bane are mine to protect, just like Levin and your crew are yours. Ignorance and circumstance don’t excuse that simple truth.”
“You’re right. They are yours to protect,” he said gently and took her hands again. “But none of us knew the Merfolk attack was a possibility. I’m sure Bane didn’t even realize it. We may not see eye to eye, but that demon would never put you in harm’s way.”
Sabine didn’t answer right away, which made him hopeful she was at least considering his words. He reached up to tuck another of her silver braids behind her pointed ear and said, “When it came down to it, you alone were the one who saved my remaining crew and forced the Merfolk into a negotiation. You may not know everything, Sabine, but it’s the wisest of people who admit that fact. And you, my dear, have proven to be very wise.”
She swallowed, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “They’re all I have left, Malek. I don’t know how to save them.”
The vulnerability in her eyes was nearly his undoing. Unable to resist, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Running his hand over her silky hair, he marveled how this incredible woman had already found her way into the deepest recesses of his heart. “You aren’t alone, Sabine. If I need to knock this damned cart over to get us out of here, so be it. We’re going to liberate Bane, find Blossom, and make our way to Karga—together. Someone there will have some knowledge of Pearl. We’ll get Esme back for you.”
Sabine nodded. She managed a weak smile and brushed away her tears. “I’m sorry. I normally don’t fall apart like this.”
Malek arched his brow. “In the short time we’ve known each other, you’ve proven to be one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Most would have given up after experiencing a fraction of the challenges you’ve faced.” He chuckled. “I admire you, Sabine. I don’t think anyone would begrudge you a few tears, and if so, to hell with them. I’d like to see them try to walk in your footsteps.”
“I’m glad you’re here with me.” Her gaze lowered to the mark on his wrist and then she lifted her head to meet his eyes. “I would like to change our arrangement, Malek Rish’dan. Will you allow me to alter your mark so we can exchange power at will?”
Malek searched her expression, but the look of determination in her eyes erased any doubts. He smiled and nodded. “I’d be honored.”
“All right. First, you’ll need to remove your warding medallion.”
Malek looked out the back of the cart to check on the placement of their guards. Satisfied no one was paying them any attention, he removed his necklace and placed it in his pocket. The original mark Sabine had given him in Akros hadn’t permanently affixed to his skin until he’d removed the warding medallion. “Now what?”
“I’ll need to cut both of us to change the mark,” she said, glancing around the cart for anything to use. She picked up a few items before dropping them back down.
He reached to grab one of the clasps used to fasten the hide over top of the cart. It was made of critonia, a common lightweight metal too flimsy to be used without a lacquer made from yaven trees to strengthen it.
He offered it to Sabine. “Will this work?”
She nodded, pressed the sharper edge of the clasp against her finger, and sliced downward. Closing her eyes, she traced the outline of the original mark using her injured finger. Her magic, potent and beguiling, poured over his skin and penetrated beyond his barriers. He inhaled sharply as desire rushed through him and his own magic surged to the surface.
The moonlight filtering through the cracks in the tarp cast a glow over Sabine’s features as though even the night awaited her commands. Even with her glamour, he found himself wondering how he could have ever thought her to be anything other than Fae. She was magic incarnate, and as rare and exquisite as the most precious gems hidden deep within the dwarven mines. Like those precious gems, he wanted to claim her for himself.
Switching to the ancient language of Faerie, Sabine whispered, “By blood and magic, and by rights of both, I command the elements to attend me.”
A sharp crack of thunder pierced the night. The hunter’s mounts trumpeted, and several of the hunters called out warnings about an approaching storm. The caravan came to an abrupt halt. A sharp wind picked up, causing the treated and leathery hide affixed over the cart to shudder.
Malek darted a quick glance out the back of the caravan to ensure no one had seen anything, but no one was paying them any attention. The hunters were busy trying to calm their mounts. Malek hoped they didn’t realize the wind and thunder were magically wrought, or they might be in far worse trouble than their current situation.
The mark on Malek’s wrist pulsed at Sabine’s touch, drawing his attention back to the woman beside him. Sabine lifted her head and he froze, too entranced to look away. Her glamour had softened, fading to reveal a glimpse of her true features. The changes were subtle, as though a fog was beginning to lift. Her skin was the color of the rarest of porcelain, with a flawlessness only marred by the silver marks of power etched into her skin.
It was her eyes, though, that captured his attention and held it. The color had deepened to a shade of lavender that could never be confused with a human, but it was more than the color that made it impossible to look away. It was the way she was looking at him, with a combination of desire and need, that threatened his weakening control. He swallowed, wrestling with his draconian instincts that urged him to steal her away and get lost in her for the remainder of his days.
Her fingers moved across his skin as she traced the mark a second time. When she finished, she cut a line straight across it. The dull metal pierced his skin without warning, and he winced. Sabine pressed her bleeding finger over his injury, and the mark glowed with a strange silver light. Her power accompanied her touch, and a need unlike anything he’d felt before filled him. He wanted this woman more than he’d ever dreamed possible. Sabine’s breath caught and she stared up at him, her gaze mirroring his own emotions.
The wind grew stronger, whipping through the cart. The hide covering ripped off and flew into the night. Shouts filled the air as the caravan leader issued commands to secure their belongings, but Malek couldn’t tear his gaze away from the woman in front of him.
When she spoke, Sabine’s voice was infused with power, and his heart pounded in rhythm with the cadence of her words. “By blood and magic and by rights of both, what once was solely ours shall be no longer. By will and might, we merge our purposes and intents. As I will it, so mote it be.”
Lightning streaked across the sky, its spidery tendrils illuminating the darkness. Repeated cracks of thunder created a cacophony of noise, and the cart shook in time with the booming sound. Sabine’s magic rushed through him, and his back bowed from the sheer force. His heated power surged forward, expelling from him in a shocking blast. Sabine gasped as she gazed up at him and her glamour fell away. Her skin began to glow, a beacon of power chasing away the darkness. She was exquisite, and he no longer gave a damn about resisting his instincts.
He lowered his head and claimed her with his lips. Their magic blended together in an intricate and impassioned dance. Her fingers curved into his shirt, pulling him closer as she returned his kiss with equal fervor. Her magic wrapped around him in an erotic wave of heat, and he responded in kind. She tasted of wild magic, of forbidden ancient rites promising to deliver a glimpse of the heavens if he could only hold on to her.
The power bet
ween them continued to build, staggering in its intensity, but there was an undercurrent of foreign magic he didn’t recognize. Screams sounded from somewhere in the background, but all he could focus on was Sabine. Something wasn’t right, but he couldn’t seem to break free from her spell. He was drowning under waves of magic, and he was dimly aware Sabine was also struggling to break the connection between them.
“Sabine!” Bane roared, and she was yanked out of Malek’s grasp a moment later.
Sabine staggered and blinked up at the demon in confusion. “Bane? What—”
Before she could finish her question, Bane’s silvered eyes narrowed on Malek. The next instant, the demon pushed her aside. With a roar, Bane dove into the cart and tackled Malek, knocking him to the floor.
Bane’s razor-sharp claws lashed out, and Malek struggled to grapple with the demon without causing him undue harm. Sabine would never forgive him if he killed the demon. “Dammit, Bane. Don’t make me hurt you.”
“Enough!” Sabine shouted, clapping her hands together with a sharp crack. The magical backlash was enough to wrest them away from each other. It took Malek a few seconds to shake off the worst of the effects from whatever Sabine had done. Bane appeared equally nonplussed and dazed, sitting on the floor of the cart. Malek slowly sat up, his eyes widening at the sight surrounding them.
Everyone was gone. The hunting party had disappeared. Clothing and weapons were strewn around the cart, all in various placements as though each person had disappeared from existence in a heartbeat.
Malek climbed out of the cart and dropped onto the sandy ground. He approached one of the bundles of clothing and picked up an abandoned spear. A sick feeling rose in the pit of his stomach as he moved aside the clothing, and he squeezed his eyes shut. It was as he feared. Nothing but smoking ash remained. Such widespread destruction shouldn’t have been possible in human form, but he couldn’t argue with what he had just witnessed.
“This was your doing, dragon,” Bane snarled from behind him. “Only dragonfire could kill so efficiently. While I have no issue with these deaths, I’ll destroy you if you ever put Sabine in harm’s way again.”
“This wasn’t Malek’s doing, nor was it mine,” Sabine said, the fury in her tone causing him to turn. She hadn’t yet reapplied her glamour, and her beauty was almost cruel given the circumstances. Such death and destruction should never touch someone so full of life and passion.
Malek frowned. “How? Bane’s right. This was caused by dragonfire.”
Sabine whistled sharply into the night and then approached him. “We are responsible, but only in that our magic was used to achieve these results. But this was done without consent and not by our hand.”
Malek’s eyes narrowed. “Then who?”
Sabine didn’t answer right away. Instead, she knelt beside one of the piles of ash. Malek frowned and glanced at the demon, whose eyes had reverted to their normal amber color. In an effort to take advantage of their circumstances, Bane had already confiscated some of the discarded weapons and was going through the remaining supplies.
A tiny pixie flew toward them. Malek sighed in relief, thankful at least Blossom had been spared.
Sabine lifted her head, her stance regal as she regarded Blossom. “Is the goddess fully aware of what transpired here?”
Blossom winced, still hovering in midair. “I’m sorry, Sabine. I told her you’d be angry, but she wouldn’t listen. She said humans should never be allowed to take one of her children captive.”
“This was the goddess’s doing?” Malek demanded as fury filled him. The idea this alien goddess had declared it her right to use them in such a manner was intolerable. “She used our combined powers to murder these people?”
Sabine gave him a curt nod. She picked up a knife lying beside the pile of ash and stood. Turning back toward the pixie, she said, “You will allow her the use of your eyes and relay these words exactly as I speak them, Blossom. I would have Lachlina understand the consequences of her actions.”
Blossom nodded. The tiny pixie fluttered her wings at nearly blinding speed, reminiscent of an agitated hummingbird. A high-pitched whistling noise filled the air, and Blossom glowed with a strange gold light.
Bane walked toward Sabine and asked, “The pixie has the power to summon the goddess among us?”
Sabine held up her hand to silence Bane. He scowled but remained quiet.
Sabine waited until the whistling noise stopped before she said, “You have stolen that which was not bargained nor gifted, Lachlina.”
“One may not steal what they have created,” Blossom said in a voice foreign and alien to Malek’s ears. The cadence and inflection were similar to Sabine’s voice when she spoke words of power, but Blossom sounded far away, as though she weren’t truly in the present.
“Then understand this,” Sabine warned, her skin glowing as she drew upon her remaining power. “The Fae shall never again be slaves to any of the gods.”
“You seek to challenge me, daughter?”
Sabine’s eyes narrowed, and her skin glowed with a power that rivaled the brilliance of Blossom. “I agreed to aid you in protecting this world. Not only have you violated our agreement by forcing my magic to destroy innocents, but you have also caused me to break an oath between me and my allies. You used Bane’s magic to seek out their life force and Malek’s dragonfire to destroy them. This will not stand!”
Sabine lifted the knife and pressed it against her wrist over the chalice mark that was a symbol of her pact with the goddess. “I will flay your mark from my skin should you ever attempt to bind me to your will again. Your chalice shall be melted in dragonfire, and the remnants buried in the deepest recesses of the underworld. I will see your memory shattered and destroyed before I allow this to transpire again!”
She dug the knife into her skin, causing a rivulet of blood to flow down her hand. Malek stared at Sabine with a combination of both admiration and horror. The resolve in her eyes made it clear this wasn’t an idle threat.
In a sharp sting of power accompanying her words, Sabine shouted, “Acknowledge, or this ends now!”
“Very well, Sabin’theoria, daughter of Mali’theoria,” Blossom intoned. “You have an agreement forged by blood and magic. Your bond shall remain yours to command.”
The glow faded from Blossom, and the pixie’s wings slowed. Sabine held out her hand, and Blossom landed on it. Her cheeks were streaked with tears as she said, “I’m sorry, Sabine. She thinks it’s silly you want to protect humans.”
“Shhh,” Sabine said quietly. “This wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have stopped her.”
Blossom hugged Sabine’s thumb. “It hurt you.”
Sabine turned toward Malek, her eyes tired and sad. “You and Bane have my apology as well. You both trusted me, and I didn’t ward well enough to prevent this.”
Bane snorted. “The gods have always been fickle. But mark my words, Sabine, she will try to get around your agreement at the earliest opportunity.”
Malek frowned. “Can she do that?”
Sabine nodded, lifting her hand so Blossom could perch on her shoulder. “Eventually, yes. I believe she wants to keep the portal sealed, but I also think there’s something she’s not telling us. Her callous disregard for human lives worries me. We’ve bought ourselves some time to figure out a solution, and I have a few ideas we can discuss later.”
Sabine paused, and her gaze lowered to the many piles of ash. “This should never have happened, and I won’t allow it to happen again.”
Bane put his hand on Sabine’s shoulder and said, “We must go. The grooves in the road indicate it is well traveled, and someone will be along soon. We can’t risk getting caught here.”
Malek looked down at the remnants of human lives that were now gone. It had been centuries since dragonfire was last used in such a manner. Destruction such as this had been outlawed since the portal was sealed. If any of his clan discovered his hand in this, his life would be forfeit. They co
uldn’t risk alienating this world further than they already had. His people were trapped here and not nearly as powerful now that they were cut off from the universe’s magic. For better or worse, the remaining dragons were here to stay unless the portal was reopened.
“Malek?” Sabine approached and looked up at him with a question in her eyes.
He frowned. One day he’d need to tell her everything, but her burdens already weighed too heavily upon her. “Let’s go.”
Sabine woke to the smell of cooking meat. Rubbing her eyes, she yawned and sat up. The sun had already been up for a few hours, and the day was beginning to warm. After eliciting the agreement of the goddess, they’d managed to locate some of the hunter’s mounts that had run off. They’d traveled throughout the night before finally making their way back to the beach where Malek had left the ship.
“Good. You’re awake.” Bane turned the meat roasting over the campfire and brought over a steaming cup to her. “The food should be ready soon. How did you sleep?”
Sabine accepted the cup, the familiar aroma of one of Esme’s special tea blends filling her nose. She took a sip and said, “As well as can be expected. Did you get any rest?”
“A bit,” Bane said, poking the fire with a stick to distribute the embers evenly.
She looked around, but the beach was completely empty. “Where’s Malek and Blossom?”
“Malek’s on the ship. He woke up an hour ago and needed to check on some things. I told him you’d likely sleep for a while. Blossom’s looking for flowers.”
Bane continued to fiddle with the fire, but he didn’t say anything more. He wasn’t normally a huge conversationalist, but the tension in his shoulders and taciturn responses made her think something was bothering him. Prying wouldn’t do any good. She’d learned a long time ago Bane had his own ways of doing things and in his own time. She just needed to wait him out.
By Blood and Magic Page 8
