The Fighter (Prophecy Series Book 2)

by Jessica McCrory

  “Brady died because of Vincent. Don’t you dare blame yourself for it. He died to save you, and if you blame yourself, you will take away from what he did.”

  She felt the anger bubbling under the surface of her skin, and she knew that if she wasn’t careful, it would erupt and there would be no controlling what she said.

  “His death won’t be in vain because I acknowledge that it was my fault,” she said softly. “He died to save me, a death that wouldn’t have been necessary had I stayed with Vincent.”

  “It will be in vain, you will damn yourself if you take the blame for Vincent’s actions. Not to mention the damn fact that you are in turn blaming me.”

  “I did not blame you!”

  “You did, by saying that I was a distraction, that you can’t be with me because it causes people to die. Fuck that.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” She dismissed his words. “We can’t be together, end of story.” She headed for the ladder and he grabbed her arm.

  “Don’t walk away, we aren’t done. You promised me that you would never leave willingly again. Does your word mean nothing now?”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “Not that long ago,” he said angrily.

  Anastasia’s skin began to glow, and she stared Dakota in the eyes. “Let. Me. Go.”

  “You don’t scare me, Ana, I know who you are.”

  “I should scare you, Dakota. That’s part of the problem.” She yanked her arm away from him and climbed down the ladder.

  Dakota looked into the bottom of his nearly empty glass. He took one last swig and then refilled it with the amber liquid. How dare she tell him he was a distraction? As if he hadn’t sacrificed every damn thing to follow her here. As if he didn’t also carry the weight of the many deaths he had seen on his shoulders. Shit, he carried hers with him for ten years. It was such bullshit that she believed she was solely responsible for them all. The only one who was completely at fault was Vincent, and that was the end of it.

  He tried to stand and fell back down when the sky started spinning around him.

  “Shit.” He looked down at the now empty bottle of Terrenia whiskey. Where did it all go?

  “That was about half full when you started,” Argento said as he emerged from the dark.

  “Or half empty,” Dakota muttered.

  Argento regarded him for a moment. “Yes, I suppose that could be true as well.” He eyed Dakota cautiously. “What is troubling you?”

  “Women,” Dakota said simply.

  “Ah, yes. They do seem to be a confusing group, aren’t they?” He laughed and took a seat next to Dakota at the table.

  “You said before that you are married?”

  “Yes.”

  Dakota noted the pain behind Argento’s eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “It is not prying, we are friends.” He took a deep breath. “I told you that our race is matriarchal, and that the queen is my wife.”

  Dakota nodded.

  “What I failed to mention was that she is missing.”

  “Missing?”

  “She was taken, by the captain of my guard, I believe.”

  “Argento, I’m so sorry, man.”

  Argento nodded. “I believe he took her and somehow convinced her to take most of our warriors with her to suit his needs.”

  “She may be being manipulated by Vincent.”

  “I believe that as well, much in the way that young man Brady was.”

  Dakota felt the stab in his chest at the mention of Brady’s name.

  “I feel sadness at his death,” Argento said softly. “He was much too young to suffer such a terrible fate. Had your Anastasia not killed the one responsible, I would have taken great pleasure in the death of my enemy.”

  “She’s not my Anastasia,” Dakota growled, his words slurred.

  “No?” Argento questioned. “She certainly seems to be.”

  “Not anymore.” Dakota tried to stand again, and once again fell down. He sneered at Argento when the Brute began laughing madly.

  “You going to help me, friend?” Dakota asked sarcastically.

  “Yes, yes, in a moment. We will sit a bit longer, I need to gather myself. I have never seen anyone so intoxicated before.”

  Dakota smiled at the humor reflected on Argento’s face. Seeing a Brute with such humanlike expressions was still a surprise to him.

  “I suppose you all don’t drink?”

  “No, we drink, we just handle it much better.” Argento began laughing again and Dakota couldn’t help but smile.

  “So what happened with not your Anastasia?” Argento asked, changing the subject.

  “She thinks I am a distraction. Believes that had she not run into me, or come back from Vincent, then Brady wouldn’t have died.”

  “A distraction? That’s foolish. True love is a strength, not a distraction. If anything, not having someone to spend your life with would be a distraction.”

  “You should tell her that.”

  “I will.” Argento started to stand, and Dakota grabbed for him.

  “No, that’s just an expression.”

  Argento eased back down. “So you don’t wish for me to speak with her?”

  “No, I do not. I do, however, wish you would help me up so I can go to sleep.”

  “Very well.” Argento lifted Dakota’s weight with ease and set him cautiously on his feet.

  “Thanks.”

  “I will walk with you. Where are you going to sleep?”

  “I’m crashing at my mom’s. Wow,” he laughed, “that sounds lame.”

  “You must not give up,” Argento said to him as they stopped in front of Elizabeth’s cottage. “She may just need time to process what has been happening; it has been a lot for everyone, and she is at the center of it all. Your Phoenix will come back, Dakota.”

  “Thanks, Argento, for everything.”

  He nodded. “It is what friends do for one another.”

  “We will find your wife,” Dakota said softly, patting Argento’s giant shoulder.

  “Yes, I believe that as well. Sleep soundly, Dakota.”

  “You too.” Dakota crept into the house as quietly as he could, but it apparently wasn’t quiet enough.

  “Dakota George Parker.”

  “Come on, Mom, I just want to go to sleep.”

  “What happened? Why are you here?”

  “You know the answer, Mom. There is only one reason why I would be stumbling into your house in the middle of the night after having drank nearly half a bottle of whiskey.” Too drunk to care what she had to say, he collapsed on the couch.

  “What’s going on?” Tony asked sleepily as he came into the living room.

  “Seems we have a fight going on between this one,” she motioned to Dakota, “and Anastasia.”

  “He drunk?”

  “That’s what it looks like.” She pulled a blanket from the back of the couch and covered Dakota up.

  “I’ll talk to Anastasia tomorrow.” Tony rubbed his hand over his chin. “It’s not good if they are not speaking,”

  “I agree,” Elizabeth started, “but why do I feel as if it’s for a different reason than I think?”

  “Dakota is her light.” Tony clarified, unsure how much Elizabeth understood about the importance of it.

  “That’s what the letter from Gregory said, but what exactly does that mean?” she asked, referring to Gregory’s last journal entry.

  “It means that without him, Anastasia could wander too far into the dark. We could lose her completely.”

  “That is definitely a bad thing,” Elizabeth agreed. “I suppose we are just going to have to fix things then, aren’t we?” she said simply, and turned for the bedroom.

  “You continue to amaze me.” Tony stared after her. “I am very blessed that I have found you, woman.”

  “Yes, you are.” Elizabeth giggled as Tony ran after her.

  Anastasia sat staring at her reflection in th
e mirror. She looked the same on the outside, her hair still curled and fell to her waist, and her eyes were the same shade of blue that they had always been. She looked just as she had every single day since she had arrived in Terrenia, and yet she felt nothing like herself.

  She had shut out the only person in the world who had been there for her even during her darkest times. Dakota had never let her down, not one single time in all the years she had known him, and yet she had let him down in the worst way.

  “Dammit!” she yelled, and slammed her fists into the mirror. She felt the pain from the glass shards in her hands, but it was nothing compared to the gaping hole where her heart once was. She turned and let herself slide to the floor. She cried until there was nothing left in her, and eventually she slept.

  “What the hell?” Dakota asked, rubbing his hands over his eyes.

  “Feeling better?” Elizabeth asked loudly.

  “Jeez, Mom! Could you be any louder?”

  “Oh, I think I could muster up a notch or two.” She slammed a glass down in front of him and turned for the kitchen area, where Tony sat looking incredibly amused.

  “Sleep well, Dakota?” he asked cautiously.

  “Sure.” Dakota lifted his glass and stumbled over to the table.

  “Want to tell us what happened?”

  “Not particularly,” Dakota muttered into his glass. “What is this stuff?” he asked, looking disgusted.

  “Just shut up and drink it, Dakota George. And you damn well better tell us something, or you can find somewhere else to stumble into drunk in the middle of the night.”

  Dakota ran his hands over his face. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “You and Anastasia have a fight?” she asked.

  “Something like that.”

  “What do you mean, ‘something like that’?” Dakota noted the worry on Tony’s face.

  “She’s fine, Tony.”

  “What happened, Dakota?” Elizabeth asked, taking a seat next to him.

  “We are taking a break,” he said sarcastically, standing. “I need to get some fresh air and check in on a few things.”

  “Already have the Fighters doing a walk through our defenses. We will be prepared for a fight should one come this way again.”

  “Thanks, Tony. We have buried one too many of our own lately.”

  Dakota stepped out into the light and shielded his eyes. His head was throbbing, and the ground still seemed to be spinning slightly.

  “Good morning, Dakota. How are you this day?”

  “Just great, Argento, thanks.”

  Argento smiled lightly at Dakota. “We are meeting at Tony’s cottage this morning to go over a few things.”

  Alarms went off in Dakota’s mind, and as he still wasn’t quite awake yet, he knew he hadn’t masked it well.

  “Everything is fine. We found a few more Brute camps nearby and just want to be sure everyone is aware of their locations.”

  “I just saw Tony, and he didn’t say anything about a meeting.”

  “That’s because he isn’t aware yet. I am on my way to tell him now. The camps were discovered late last night, and Tony had already turned in for the night.”

  Dakota nodded and turned to head for the training cottage so he could gather his things. “Great, I’ll see you there.”

  He had expected her to be there, had hoped that she would have been waiting for him to come in. When he opened the door to the empty cottage, it hit him harder than it had the night before. Who the hell did she think she was? She was seriously going to turn her back on him now? They were best friends at the core of everything, and she had no right to decide without him that they couldn’t be together. Who was he without her? He had felt as if he had died after she disappeared, and it wasn’t until after he found her again that he felt alive. So what was he supposed to do now?

  “Hey girl.” Dakota patted Kaley’s soft fur as she nuzzled his stomach. “Sorry I didn’t come home last night. I sure did miss you.” He smiled at her when she started to purr. “I just need to grab some things and I’ll be on my way.” Dakota pushed open the door to the bedroom and he knelt next to the broken glass.

  He picked up a piece that had blood on it and he began to look around the rest of the room for any indication of a struggle. Had Vincent found her? Was she hurt? Had the Brutes snuck in last night? He stood and ran for the door, forgetting why he had gone there in the first place.

  “Have you seen Anastasia?” he asked one of Argento’s men as he passed.

  “I have not. The meeting is about to start, maybe she will be there,” he grunted, and continued walking.

  Dakota ran for Tony’s, praying that Anastasia was all right. He stood on the porch and waited for her.

  When he saw her, he immediately began looking for injuries. The only ones he noted were on her hands.

  “What happened to your hands?” he asked, grabbing them to look them. “Were you attacked?”

  “I’m fine.” The shortness in her voice had him stopping. For a moment he had forgotten their argument last night.

  “The mirror?”

  “I fell into it, it’s not a big deal.” She dismissed him and headed inside.

  How could he be so intoxicating? she wondered angrily as Argento filled in the Fighters about the Brute camps. It had only been one day, and still she yearned for him. He had shown such concern over her hands that she had nearly told him “screw it” and dragged him back to the cottage.

  She knew that what she was doing was right, felt that if she didn’t get some distance from him, then more people would die. Still, did it have to be so painful? She hoped he hadn’t noticed when she turned away that she had only been hanging on by a thread.

  “What do you think, Phoenix?” Argento interrupted her thoughts.

  “Oh, I agree with you, I think that’s a good plan of action.” She hoped that she hadn’t just made an idiot of herself, since she had absolutely no idea what he had been talking about. Judging by the looks on everyone’s faces, she had given the correct answer.

  “Very well.” Argento’s voice filled the room again. “We shall head out at dawn.” The other Brutes in the room grunted in response, and the Fighters pounded their fists against their chests.

  “I want to go out with you.” Dakota followed Tony into Elizabeth’s cottage.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Dakota.”

  “What do you mean? I am damn good with a sword and I can handle myself, haven’t I proven that?” he said angrily.

  “Yes, you have, and then some. But with your current situation, I don’t know that going into battle is such a good idea.”

  “Because of Anastasia?”

  “Exactly. You are not in your right frame of mind. Anyone who looks at you can tell you are angry.”

  “Hell yeah, I’m angry. I haven’t tried to hide that, but you aren’t leaving me behind on this one, Tony.”

  “Your mom will never forgive me if something happens to you.”

  “I’m a grown man, Tony. I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions, and whether you want me there or not, I’m going. So don’t you think it would be better to have me lead a group as well?”

  Tony considered Dakota’s words for a moment. He knew better than to believe the boy would stay behind even if he was ordered, and if he was in charge of a group then maybe he would take more care and not endanger their lives as well.

  “Fine. But you had better not be out for blood, Dakota.”

  “Aren’t we all?”

  “You fight with anger in your heart, and you will lose. Don’t make me tell Elizabeth that her only son was killed.”

  Dakota nodded. “Fine.”

  Kaley followed Dakota out of the gate and into the crisp morning air. The sun wasn’t up yet, but Fighters and Brutes had gathered, ready for whatever lay ahead in the trees.

  “Hey Dakota.” Andrew and four other Fighters approached him. “Tony said we are with you.”

  Dakota n
odded. He knew why Tony had put Andrew in his group, even though he was perfectly capable of leading his own Fighters. Andrew was meant to keep an eye on Dakota, and he was okay with it. He didn’t need to be babysat, but if it made Tony feel better, then so be it.

  “When we get to the Brute camp, you are not to engage until I give the say. We need to make sure we aren’t walking into a trap. This is the closest they have made camp since the night we found Anastasia.”

  Dakota found her standing next to another group of Fighters. He was in constant awe, even now, at how beautiful she was. She looked so incredible and powerful standing there, sword in her hand. She had a cloak wrapped around her shoulders and pinned at her neck, and the leather she wore under it hugged every curve of her body.

  It pissed him off.

  “Let’s move.” Tony began walking and the group followed him.

  Anastasia didn’t even look at Dakota. She could feel his eyes on her, every cell in her body firing at the thought of him standing there watching her. He shouldn’t be out here. She could feel the anger rolling off him in waves, and that would only get him into trouble.

  She shot Tony a look, knowing he would understand it. He shrugged, and Anastasia understood it as well. Dakota would have come regardless, and this way Tony could keep an eye on him.

  She made a mental note to watch him as well.

  When they came up on the base of the mountains, Tony, Argento, Dakota, and Anastasia crept to the edge.

  “I count fifteen,” Argento offered.

  “Same,” Anastasia agreed.

  “There’s more,” Dakota added.

  “What do you mean?” Argento asked him.

  “Look at those tents, there are more than fifteen in this camp.”

  “Some may be out,” Anastasia argued.

  “Unlikely, look at the fires. There are at least ten and they are all lit. What reason would they have for being that spread out unless there were more? And why light them all if they weren’t all there? It would be stupid to attract more attention with the smoke than necessary.”

  “He’s right,” Tony replied.

  “Send me in first,” Dakota said.