Kaitriana raised her hand to deliver a deadly strike but it went askew, released just as a hard blow to her back knocked her forward. She fell to the stone steps and turned her head to discover that Broderick and Marcus were no longer engaged by only four opponents. They were surrounded by warriors and fighting to keep their own lives. Her gaze flitted to Lorcan, determining that his circumstance was equally dire. Protecting her mate was much more important than downing her foe and she raised a ball of light to send towards Lorcan’s adversaries when she felt a cold burn against her arm. The click of the locking mechanism barely registered over the din of battle but the light disappeared from her hand.
She knew instantly that a binding had been placed on her. Kaitriana rolled and sprung forward, regaining her feet a few steps up the staircase. Spinning to identify her attacker, she gasped. Lorcan’s yell of rage confirmed the vampire’s name at the same time that her eyes found him, “Alaric!”
Kaitriana was temporarily frozen in shock. Attempting to regain her composure, she tried at the same time to rouse her powers to overcome the device he had placed on her arm. Whatever manner of device he had locked on her was wrought of formidable Dark magic and she could not loosen it. She recognized then that it was the highly trained guard warriors of the Council that lent their assistance to the Darks overwhelming her two protectors. The large number besieging her mate and his Elite also wore the garb of the Council guards. Three of them faced her now with the Ancient Vampire…her mate’s father.
Alaric was snarling as he advanced towards her, sword raised and eyes blackened, “Witch whore. I will end you and your Prophecy. Your kind has no place among us and you shall die for tricking my heir into taking you to mate.”
Kaitriana knew that her Vampire strength alone would be no match against an Ancient, much less the guard warriors that were closing in. Lorcan was making his way to her but with his Elite fully engaged and each relying on the other to keep their heads from the throng of attackers, she would be in the midst of this fight before he could reach her. Were he to shadow away from his men, they would be left unguarded from attack on the one side. His honor would not allow him to leave his men to slaughter and he would not do so since he had no idea she was without her magic.
She needed to buy them time to reach her so Kaitriana began backing slowly up the steps. She looked to the massive stone railing on the floor above and nearly stumbled backwards when her attempt to shadow there was brought up short.
Alaric’s acidic laughter ridiculed her, “You did not think I would bind your powers only to let you shadow from my grasp, did you? Stupid Witch. That is no small amount of magic holding you, girl. All of talents…your magic, your Vampire abilities, your very immortality…are all wrapped up in that pretty bracelet I had fashioned just for you. I knew you would not be able to resist going after the Dark One. I counted on your unbridled conceit, knowing I would be able to get you alone.”
Cold dread seeped into her. Although all of the enemy Vampire in the castle had their shadowing bound, they maintained their strength and speed. Alaric and his men could be on her in a second. Kaitriana would be unable to outrun them and their strength would quickly overtake her attempts to fight them with weapons. Lorcan remained a good distance away. She spared a second to glance down; Marcus and Broderick had been successful in cutting the number of their opponents in half. If she could distract Alaric and stave off his offensive for a few minutes, she might have some assistance.
She unsheathed her weapon but did not raise it towards the group. Instead she continued her steady path backwards and upwards, “Since you would murder your own mate, I assume you have no issue doing the same to your son’s?”
Alaric’s eyes narrowed on her as he hissed, “She was a deceitful bitch and blessed that I made her end quick. I should have tortured the witch for her treachery.”
Kaitriana raised a brow, her face contemplative when she responded matter of factly, “She was a Queen and you were lucky that she saw fit to mate with a dog like you.” At Alaric’s answering growl, she continued, “Brisen did not betray you. The one that is closest to you now…she was the source of that deception.”
Alaric shook his head, advancing. His eyes glistened with purpose and the thirst for blood was rampant in his expression, “Lies…you lie as easily as all your kin. You think you are smarter…better…You are nothing! Why do you think there are no Queens? It is because your most illustrious one betrayed her purpose and the Light…Brisen was Rhydach’s slut and you are all being punished.”
She had reached the landing of the second floor. Her allies were at the bottom of the staircase now and her mate had arrived as well. Kaitriana knew rescue was imminent, Lorcan would be free to shadow to her in a minute more. Her focus was centered again on Alaric and she was surprised to realize he had climbed no closer. The fleeting idea that perhaps her words were finding home in him caused her to continue, “You believe Rhydach defiled your mate yet you join with him now? You are mad, Alaric. Brisen would never have sought the Dark, but you…you never truly left it. You are also wrong. The Queens are rising…It has begun.”
Kaitriana enjoyed Alaric’s stunned look over her news regarding the Queens, but his response confused her. His words were barely audible, “I’ll not strike your deathblow Witch…my son would find that unforgivable.”
She was not left for long to wonder, a searing pain tore through her back. Her cry of agony rang off the stone walls. Looking down just as the blade passed through and exited her stomach in the front, she screamed again when it was twisted and pulled out through her side. The gaping injury left her no strength to break her fall as she collapsed on the marble stairs.
Rhydach’s depraved laughter barely made its way through the haze of her pain. He leered down at her, “A shame you will not be here to see it, Witch…the Queens rising, that is. Alaric and I agreed that your death needed to be slow and painful. It will be burned in the memory of your breed and serve as a warning to them. Their Chosen could not defeat me and without you they are nothing! Turloch created the band so only my touch will release it and I have decided to leave you with your pretty new bauble.”
He leaned forward, his putrid breath washing her face as blood dripped from his fangs to smatter her cheeks, “You will suffer an agonizing mortal death and you can watch Lorcan suffer his grief as you slip from him again. I doubt he will recover from losing you a second time.” His crazed eyes were the last thing she saw before hers flitted shut as the pain engulfed her.
When she opened them again, Lorcan was kneeling over her. His Elite were standing guard and the sounds of battle had abated. Rhydach was gone but Alaric foolishly remained, peering over Lorcan’s shoulder with his dark eyes. He did not bother to conceal his smirk. Kaitriana focused her attention back on Lorcan, her breathing was already shallow. Through the pain she could hardly voice the words, “The band…I will die…cannot be removed…”
Lorcan’s face was a mask of anguish and that was as excruciating to her as the wound. She forced herself to continue, tears beginning to stream down her face, “I am sorry. You warned me to not allow my emotions to rule my actions.” He was shaking his head at her words and she urgently whispered the next, “You will vow that my death will not make you Dark…you will continue in alliance with the Witch. You will vow it to me…now.”
Alaric began to protest her request. Offering her his bleeding wrist, Lorcan shot a wrathful glare at his father, insuring his silence, “You will not die, I forbid it Kaitriana…do you hear me? You gave me your pledge…I have your vows…you will abide me in this!”
She was growing chilled. A crowd had assembled. Despite her agony, a small smile touched her lips upon seeing the Witch and Vampire crowded shoulder to shoulder. Kaitriana turned away from the offered wrist and whispered to him again, “We have joined them…you will move forward on this path.”
Lorcan only nudged his wrist to her lips again, his voice harsh, “We will move forward on this path. Kaitriana
drink!”
She forced the explanation, grimacing in agony, “You are an obstinate vampire…but I love you…more than my own life…you are not my destiny, you are my very heart.”
His response was to cup her face and she saw moisture gathered in his eyes. Leaving him was more painful than any wound the Dark could have inflicted but she needed him to come to terms with her fate, “The band is Dark magic…it binds everything…my magic… my immortality. Only Rhydach can remove it…I am dying.”
Understanding dawned and he looked around frantically, shouting, “Where is Myrrdyn? He is strong enough to remove this…bring Myrrdyn, now!”
She witnessed the Healers shaking their heads, they knew as did she that without her magic it was a mortal wound. Cade knelt at her side. Putting his hands on the band, he gave Lorcan a bleak look, “I have never seen anything of its making, Lorcan. It is exceedingly well-configured Dark magic.”
Lorcan’s response was another bellow for Myrrdyn. Colm appeared a moment later, his hand falling to Lorcan’s shoulder, his voice laden with grief, “He is not here. We have searched the grounds and the castle and he is not at his cottage.”
Cade thrust a sharply curved blade toward Lorcan, his voice grave, “Sever her arm Lorcan, above the band. We can heal her and regenerate the limb. It is the only way.”
Lorcan cursed harshly, shook his head at Cade and then stroked a hand tenderly through her hair. Grim determination set his face, “You will not die, Kaitriana. I will not have this; I will not be without you again.”
Kaitriana felt his hand wedge between her skin and the metal band and experienced a warming sensation there. Her eyes widened with alarm and shot to his. She knew she was losing awareness and she whispered hurriedly, “No Lorcan! Not here, not with these witnesses. Tis more important than my life that you stay what you are, be able to remain what you are.” Her eyes were beseeching, “Take the blade and free me from this band...please.”
He shook his head at her, “There is nothing in the Realm that is more important than you, Kaitriana…nothing! I will not inflict injury to you or allow you to suffer further when I can fix this.”
The warmth was continuing to build and with his head bent down over hers, only she was privileged to view the beauty of sparkling blue magic when it swept over the blackness in his eyes. She grimaced against the next wave of pain and when she opened her eyes to him once more, she could see a glow spreading over her arm. There was a rumbling mixture of curiosity and awe from those in attendance.
Kaitriana turned her head, squinting against the bright glow as she focused on his hand and murmured, “Stubbornly obstinate…” As she watched, the metal in the band seemed to ripple and then turn to liquid before melting away in a mist. She had never seen anything more beautiful than the rise of power in him when he overcame the Dark magic. With that thought, she breathed a tiny sigh and lost her last bit of hold on consciousness.
Loud voices brought Kaitriana to awareness a short time later. Her lids lifted and saw that Myrrdyn was now present and Alaric remained. The latter may not have been voluntary, as Colm and Broderick flanked him. Their heated exchange with Lorcan was responsible for bringing her back to awareness. Alaric had just finished spewing caustically about Lorcan still possessing his mother’s magic and the great deception he had perpetrated against the Vampire. She could already feel the magic rebounding within her but she was too weak still to deliver the vengeance to the elder that was she was now contemplating.
Kaitriana released an unsteady breath upon encountering the intense gaze of her mate. She could feel the warmth of magic as his hands moved over her wound. As quickly as she could manage, she lifted her hands to his wrists in an attempt to cease his activity. Shaking her head at him, her voice was still riddled with pain but also her concern, “Lorcan…no. My magic is returned, I will heal readily enough.”
Lorcan snarled as he shook her hands off and he returned to ministering her wounds. At the feeling of warmth healing against her skin once more, she returned a growl of her own and smacked his hands away, “Enough!”
His face was murderous, but she understood it was due to his confrontation with his father and Myrrdyn combined with the concern over the extent of her injuries, not with her directly. Kaitriana felt of his hands until she was able to interlace her fingers through his. She attempted to lean up closer to him despite the suffering that accompanied the movement, “You must not do this… you are Vampire… you must be true to what you are, Lorcan. Do not use this magic.”
Lorcan resisted the compulsion to set his hands back to her wounds. Pulling his hands free of hers, he instead rested them on her shoulders and aided her in lifting her torso upwards. His voice reflected the level of his grief and a touch of uncertainty, “Myrrdyn said if I am unwilling to fulfill my place in the Prophecy, to use the powers given to me …there is no point in your living, that the Prophecy is dead.” His voice was full of remorse, “Your role was foretold for centuries Kaitriana; I will no longer be responsible for holding you from your destiny.”
Her gaze had turned black with rage when it touched on Myrrdyn, she was bloody well furious with her grandfather’s exploitation of the circumstances. He dared much by making her warrior feel guilt in this matter. Her voice was deadly cold, “You manipulative bastard! If you continue on this path there will be no place for you in my life. Do you understand me?”
Kaitriana did not wait to see his reaction nor for a response. The despair in Lorcan’s eyes overwhelmed all suffering from her wounds and she lifted her hands to his cheeks. Cupping each she leaned closer in to him but made certain all surrounding them could hear her words, “Together we are the Prophecy. We define it, we complete it. You and I decide the path, one that we forge together. Magic has never defined you. You are the leader of the Light…and you are Vampire… the same as you were all those nights ago when you offered me your protection. That was enough then and it is more than enough now. I love you.”
Lorcan nodded his understanding to her. Scooping her gently in his arms, he was mindful of her injury and rose gingerly to his feet. Both his clothes and hers were sodden with the crimson of her spilled blood. The wound was beginning to mend, her intrinsic healing aided by the bit of magic he had delivered before she awoke. Lorcan knew that it would still take her an extended period to recover; he doubted that she would be on her feet for a full week.
He looked to Myrrdyn and he knew that the Ancient had been cowed the girl’s speech. For the first time that he could recall, the Sorcerer of Light appeared to be humbled and contemplative, if not a bit sheepish over his scheming to force Lorcan to reveal his magic. It was enough for Lorcan…at the moment. His father was another story. He let the full wrath of his anger unleash on the elder, “If I were not tending my mate, I would be sorely pressed to find a reason to let you keep your head, Alaric.”
Alaric returned an icy stare and sneered, “You are not a Vampire, you have never been and that is the reason you have fostered this alliance. You will never be one of us.”
Lorcan met the accusation with one of his own, “And you are not of the Light. You cannot be and hold this hatred in your heart. The girl possesses powerful Seer magic and I believe her claim that Brisen was innocent. If you cannot come to terms with that and release your anger, you have no place in my life. Just as with all others in the Realm, you will align yourself with the united factions under my leadership or you will be my enemy. I have no doubt that you had hand in this betrayal tonight…this was true treachery. Your heart is dark.”
When it appeared as though Alaric intended to offer argument, Lorcan shook his head with barely restrained violence, “The Council is abolished. You have all acted without honor tonight and by those actions you have abdicated your authority. You submit to my leadership or return to your Dark origins. Are we clear?”
Cade had obviously released the spell that restricted shadowing as the Ancient removed himself from the confrontation without acknowledging the words from his
son.
Lorcan, his wrath somewhat abated, had more important duties to consider. His mate appeared to be sleeping comfortably in his hold, though he knew he needed to return her home to tend her wounds. When he turned away from the bloodied steps, he was nearly overwhelmed at the sight before him. Hundreds of Witch and Vampire stood together in the cavernous hall below and the concern over the little female cradled against him was plainly visible on all faces.
A far departure from his normal stoic demeanor, Lorcan smiled affably and shared his thanks for their watch over him and his mate during the trying moments that had just passed and his congratulations on the victory of the night. His voice was strong, certain, when he proclaimed, “The Chosen is well, she will return to lead us to triumph yet again.”
The loud cry that echoed in the hall did not rouse Kaitriana from the deep healing sleep that had claimed her; she only snuggled in more tightly to his chest. Lorcan gave one final order before he took his leave, “Level this place, it is a message from my mate." He knew his female would have appreciated the sentiment. Nodding to them in farewell, the warmth of his smile remained as he indulged their cheers for a few more minutes before shadowing his precious witch away.
EPILOGUE
When Kaitriana opened her eyes, the room was well lit. She surmised that she must have slept through the remainder of the night and judging by the sunlight filtering into the chamber, it must be mid-afternoon. It was then that she noted that the light was spilling in from the wrong side of the room. Puzzled, she studied the ceiling above and then her gaze darted over to the far wall. She was not at Breslein. In alarm she shot upright, only to shriek when a large hand settled on her arm. Her eyes still held some fear when she turned to see her mate reclining on the bed next to her. Lowering his book to his side, a smile of greeting formed on his lips.
Chosen: Book 1 in the Ancients of Light series Page 33
