A slow smile spread over Eryanth’s face at the jealousy in her tone. “Yes, I do, but you will always be my queen, Diamond,” he purred.
“We don’t have time for these games, prince,” she said, trying to keep her tone level and calm. “Is your allegiance to me or your father?” It was cruel of her to force him to choose, and in truth she was overjoyed for him. After everything he had been through, he had a father.
Eryanth looked to Firan, indecision causing him to falter.
Firan shrugged good-naturedly. “Go to your queen, Eryanth. She needs you. As I have said before, now we have found each other, I am not going anywhere.”
Firan glided fluidly up to Diamond and bowed his head. “For now, my magic is yours, Diamond. I should like to help heal the wounded,” he said, already assessing the camp nearby.
A wizard sat propped up on the tangled remains of a tent twenty feet away. Bandages swathed his chest, but it was clear he was still bleeding profusely. His face was pale and he shivered even under the glare of the sun.
“I think I will start there. May I respectfully suggest you allocate a section of the camp to each kingdom’s dead?” He paused, looking solemnly at her. “I know my son is soul-bound to you, as you are to him. However, as a prince of two kingdoms, I do not think it appropriate for him to be considered in servitude to you. I feel that whilst he is by your side, he should be treated with the respect a member of two royal houses deserves. That said, if you can spare him for a moment,” he twisted to look at Eryanth, “and you are willing, Eryanth, you have the authority to instruct my troops.”
Eryanth flushed a little, seeming to stand even taller. “Of course, father,” he replied, though his voice shook a little.
Firan smiled proudly and without restraint, clearly overjoyed by Eryanth’s response. “Good. Well, that’s settled then. Our troops can help gather the fallen and take them to their respective sovereigns for their death rights.” He turned to Rayan, the soft silk of his clothing whispering as he moved. “They could also help bring the injured to your healers,” he suggested.
Rayan nodded, clearly grateful for the offer of help. “Thank you, Lord Firan. I will instruct Clarissa to liaise with Prince Eryanth and yourself,” he replied.
Diamond swallowed hard, feeling simultaneously chastised and thankful for the immortal lord’s direction. Firan was nothing like the evil ruler he had a reputation for being. Then again, neither had Erzion been who he had seemed. As ancient as they were, they had kept their lives shrouded in legend and myth. Smoke and mirrors, she thought, wondering if she would have to master such skills of deception. For now, she lifted her gaze to Eryanth’s. Firan was right; for the first time in his life, Eryanth could decide where he should go and who he wanted to spend time with. She had no right to force him to be with her.
“I…” she coughed to clear the thickness in her voice. “I will leave it to you to decide where you are best placed to help, prince,” she said quietly.
Eryanth narrowed his eyes, doubt clouding his face. Then he set his jaw in a stubborn gesture that Diamond recognised immediately. “I will do as my father suggests, then I will return to you. If Erebos attacks again, I will be nowhere but by your side.”
Diamond unfurled her fingers and released a tense breath. “Thank you,” she whispered, giving him a small smile before she made her way to Clarissa and Attion, wondering how long it might be before she would feel him back by her side.
Chapter 34
For hour upon hour, the peoples of the four kingdoms worked together. Diamond was exhausted, though she would not admit it. Elexon came into view and landed expertly near a blood—and sand—covered Rose. Diamond’s reunion with her friend had been short and tearful. Rose was too thin by far and seemed withdrawn and unwilling to make eye contact with anyone other than her and Elexon. Her determination to help the injured had lifted Diamond’s heart, though she had not stopped to take a break either. Elexon had returned frequently to Rose’s side, clearly worried about her in the company of so much death and so many strangers. In turn, Rose had snapped that she was a grown woman and that she was perfectly able to cope without an overbearing, overanxious fae warrior checking up on her every moment.
It was the only time Diamond had seen Elexon flush guiltily, though he had missed the way Rose’s eyes followed him as he had apologised and walked away. To save them both more discomfort, Diamond ordered Elexon to work with Rayan until the dead were ready to receive their final rights of fire.
The last of the injured were finally helped onto horseback or secured upon makeshift litters made from tents and poles. The sun beat down upon the heads of them all, relentless and unforgiving.
Diamond winced. The pain in her shoulder had become worse and her fair skin was burned from exposure to the sun’s rays. Drinking had been way down her list of things to do, and her thirst was raging. A growl from her stomach reminded her she had not eaten at all today. Her shoulders slumped, weariness riding them.
“Diamond, you need to rest,” Eryanth said as he carefully helped a young soldier onto a makeshift litter.
Diamond ignored him.
After ensuring the soldier was as comfortable as possible, they walked away.
“Diamond! Listen to me! You need to eat and rest. And if you don’t go and see a healer, I will bring Attion to you.” His fingers were soft and warm against the damp skin of her arm. He gently pulled her to a halt, then let go.
“I’m fine!” she bit out, though she was anything but. Her soul was sick with guilt at the line of dead bodies laid out at the foot of the massive dune. Her stomach heaved. They wouldn’t be dead if it wasn’t for me, she thought despondently. That was why she refused to let a healer see to her shoulder. She deserved to suffer for what happened to these people.
Eryanth’s fingers twitched, but he didn’t reach for her again. It was almost as if he was unsure if he should. “No, Diamond, you are not. But you are also too stubborn to listen to even your mate, aren’t you?” he said quietly.
“Is that what we still are?” she asked quietly, her hand shaking as she reached out and traced her forefinger over the perfect skin of his face where his scar had once been. “This isn’t the face I remember.” Guilt burned her heart. “So much has happened to us both,” she said sadly. “Perhaps when you know it all, you will no longer wish to be bound to me.”
His eyes clouded with compassion. “Diamond, you are my mate. Mine. Nothing will ever change that. Even death could not break our bond; it tried and failed. Whatever happened when we were apart, we can work through it together,” he said. Slowly, giving her time to pull away, he cupped her face with both hands. Then he leaned forward resting his brow against hers. “Together, my love,” he whispered.
At his touch and words, Diamond felt the torrent of tears she had been holding inside her heart almost break free. She pulled away, swallowing the ache in her throat. So much had happened since sunrise that she couldn’t process it all properly. She resisted the urge to drop her head into her hands. She was a queen, and queens did not show such weakness. “I can’t do this right now, Eryanth. Please, give me some time,” she pleaded, knowing it was cowardly to ask him to do such a thing without any explanation.
Eryanth cocked his head and contemplated her. “I don’t understand why you cannot share your thoughts and feelings with me,” he said quietly, sadness in his eyes.
It was that look that almost broke her. She looked away from him, pressing her lips together and blinking away her tears.
“Our souls are bound together, Diamond. I came back from Chaos for you. You were the reason I survived. I don’t know why you are pushing me away, but I will respect your boundaries—for now,” he told her in a resigned voice. “Just please, give us some time to talk—somewhere when death and pain aren’t so heavy on your heart.”
Diamond nodded. He gave her a watery smile and turned away. Tears blurred her vision. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to his retreating back. It might have been
her imagination, but he appeared to slow at her words before striding away, his boots kicking up plumes of sand.
He soon reached Tawne’s wolf, who had shadowed them from a respectable distance all day. There was a flash of magic and Tawne stood there in all his naked glory. Diamond didn’t even blink. She had gotten used to seeing him like that.
Tawne’s pale eyes followed her progress to Attion and Rayan. Satisfied she was safe, he turned his attention back to his old friend.
Attion looked as exhausted as Diamond felt. His wings were no longer armoured, but merely covered in emerald feathers.
“I think we are ready,” Rayan said quietly.
Before them, lines of the dead stretched out. It was a macabre sight. Weapons were tied to the chests of Ilya’s people, their heads swathed in the head scarves they had worn in life to protect their faces from the sands of the desert. Rayan’s people lay side by side, their wrists and ankles secured with lengths of material, keeping their bodies bound just as their magic was now bound inside them.
Elexon landed nearby. Rose remained silent as he passed her to stand with his queen.
Diamond swallowed the ache in her throat. Red-winged fae dressed in light leather armour rested alongside the fae of the Fire Mountains. It didn’t matter that they hailed from different lands; they had fought and died together.
“I am so sorry you lost warriors, Elexon,” she said, sorrow causing her voice to choke up.
His red eyes glowed, a frown creasing his brow. “Their deaths are not your fault, my queen. No one here believes that.”
There was a snort of disagreement.
Attion snarled and whipped his head around, fixing Clarissa with a stare that would have anyone’s knees quaking. Clarissa glared back at him before she flushed and spun away, marching after the column of retreating soldiers.
Diamond swallowed, determined to hold her tears inside. She had not seen the aftermath of the battle for the Rift Valley, nor the dead or the giants that had needed to be burned. Now, looking at all these bodies, she wondered how she could have left Jack to deal with that aftermath alone.
“Where is Queen Ilya?” she managed to croak.
Rayan nodded to the skies. “Up there.”
A gold and purple dragon soared in the late afternoon sunlight. Its silhouette fearsome, yet so beautiful as to steal her breath. Ilya glided down gracefully, using the eddies of hot, desert air to descend. Her roar as she glided over the assembled dead spoke of grief and devastation.
Firan assisted the last of the newly-healed onto a waiting horse, and it joined the long snaking line of people and horses heading away from the battleground. Rayan had instructed his captains to begin the journey to Ion Kugat. With all the human soldiers and wounded, it was impossible for the fae to fly ahead or the wizards to use the wind as Rayan had explained they could do.
Diamond took one more look at the bodies, burning the image into her mind.
“You said I can kill him,” she said quietly, feeling Eryanth’s presence at her back. “How?”
“Your blood, your life’s energy and the magic in your veins,” stated Eryanth unemotionally, though the slight tremor in his voice did not go unnoticed by her. “All of them need to enter his blood stream.”
Diamond swallowed. “I don’t have magic anymore.”
“Yes, you do. Griana could not take all of it, no one can. It is part of you; your heart and your soul. You will always carry the essence of your grandmother’s magic.”
Diamond was silent for a moment. “How much will it take?” she whispered.
Silence.
Ice coated her insides. Gathering her courage, she glanced over her shoulder. “How much of me will it take to kill him?” she asked again, wondering how she even managed to speak.
Sapphire and silver turned to raging dark shadow. But it was the way he clenched his jaw, the way his fingers curled into fists as though he wanted to break something, anything, that told her.
“All of you,” he snarled, shadow swathing him.
Diamond turned away from the devastation in his face, not to mention the shock and horror on the faces of the others, and merely walked away. Back in his wolf form, Tawne howled his anger and disbelief. He padded up beside her as she walked. Diamond threaded her fingers through his thick fur. The heat and feel of it gave her focus enough to stay on her feet, to be strong for everyone who needed her.
In silence the others followed her to where Firan waited at a safe distance. Without speaking, he took a stance by his son’s side.
Tilting her head back, she gazed at the magnificent creature in the sky. At least something good has come from all this devastation, Diamond thought. Eryanth has a family who can support him when I am gone.
She looked to where the wind tugged on the scarves of the dead, threatening to expose them to the harsh reality of this world once again.
“Burn them,” she whispered, knowing the guardian that was Ilya would hear her.
Ilya screeched her agreement and beat her wings. She flew high into the sky, banked around and dived. Her neck and belly glowed with a bright golden light as she levelled out. Almost unbearable heat bathed them all as she spewed flame across the waiting dead.
Diamond felt Eryanth tense, his body swaying forward to brush her shoulder with his chest. She glanced up at his rigid jaw. His dragon was fighting for release, to fly alongside his sister. Without a second thought, she opened herself to his soul. His desire to help Ilya and his inadequacy at not being able to breathe fire hit her like a blow. Tentatively, her fingertips brushed his, a gesture of reassurance and understanding. Diamond swallowed the ache in her throat when his fingers curled tightly around hers.
His eyes burned with silver fire as he tracked his sister’s movements. Ilya beat her wings and dived again.
As the dead burned, as embers and ash floated away on the desert winds, Diamond whispered a prayer, “May Lunaria protect your souls and the guardians guide you on your final journey.” She could only wonder if there would be anyone to say that prayer for her when she sacrificed her life to kill Erebos—or indeed, if there would even be an Eternity for her to go to.
Without another word, Diamond gently but firmly pulled her fingers from Eryanth’s grip. She mounted her horse and, without glancing back at the burning bodies, set out on the journey for Ion Kugat and war.
To be continued…
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A Bond of Swords and Sacrifice
For Aaron, Annie and Abbie,
who have given me the determination to write and share the stories inside my soul.
Thank you.
Prologue
Griana screamed—a sound born of rage and frustration. Her broken, dirty fingernails raked down the sallow skin of her captor’s face.
Feeding upon thousands and thousands of souls had given him such power.
She blinked away the burning in her eyes as the absence of her own magic sliced at her heart.
The once queen of the fae kingdom cursed her stupidity, her greed; by bringing Erebos into the mortal realm, he could now gorge on the souls of mortals and magic-wielders. Now he could regenerate his own body without the need for a vessel. If his physical form was destroyed in battle, all he needed was to consume more souls to reform his flesh.
Griana spat in the dark god’s face.
Erebos chuckled. Pleasure shone in his eyes. Ribbons of black shadow leaked like blood from the deep gouges she had inflicted, but they would heal. She knew it, and so did he.
“You killed my warrior!” she screeched, her voice echoing around the empty dungeons.
Her cell was lit by one paltry torch, just enough to see his emaciated face.
“No, my dear, he was already dead. You gave his soul to me before his body broke your curse. Or did you forget that? You made the biggest mistake of your existence by cutting off his wings in the belief you could control me. It is I who controls you—an
d I will do so for eternity.” He stepped closer.
Griana did her best not to flinch. She was a queen, an ancient one. For one thousand years she had bested all her enemies. She would not cower.
Icy breath caressed her cheek as he breathed in her ear.
“And it was he, along with other guardians—the ones you said did not exist in this world—who turned that suit of flesh into ash,” he hissed.
Griana held in her desire to sink her teeth into his icy flesh and rip his throat out.
“It is of no matter now,” he said dismissively with a flick of his hand. “My own body is regenerating from the souls I have taken. I will be to full strength soon enough.”
Griana snorted in angry pants. Somehow the spawn of the goddess had survived; if that wasn’t enough, it sounded like Hugo had escaped Chaos. This wasn’t how her life should be. She was a queen, and she had been promised the world—a world of power at this god’s side. Now she was nothing—a chattel to his whims, something to be used and then discarded as he saw fit.
The life inside her kicked—hard. It was as if that small soul was chastising her stupidity at trusting this ancient god. She winced as her belly tightened. “No, I did not forget,” she snarled. “But you told me if I triumphed over Ragor in battle, if I proved I was stronger than him, then I would rule by your side.”
Erebos laughed, a vicious cruel sound. “It is true. I did say that, but, my queen, I am a liar, a cheat and the Lord of Chaos; surely you know that I cannot be trusted?”
Giana tried not to hiss as she pulled on the chains that held her ankles. Her burned and weeping skin was infected; she could smell it even if it was too dark in her cell to see it. Her hands were free, but that did not help her. The iron bands around her wrists allowed her the ability to function, nothing more. Erebos gave her enough freedom to move, to eat the food brought to her and to see to her basic needs—but that was all. The magic she had taken from the descendant of the goddess was useless now—the iron bands had seen to that—but even if the Lord of Chaos had not imprisoned her, the child in her belly had rendered her magic useless.
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