“How much longer?” It was simmering just below the surface as it was. It wouldn’t take much more to send her over the edge.
He shrugged. “Not that much longer. I’ve faced all the novices and over half my peers. I just have group combat and then to face and beat three of the adepts.”
Obsidian held up the ladle for her to drink from before he’d take anymore. “You’re on edge. I can scent that even without the use of my magic. You need to calm.”
Fuck calm.
She’d need something a whole lot stronger than water to feel mellow while Obsidian was battling half the gargoyle nation.
But soon more dryad healers arrived and began sponging him with cold water to help cool him down. Anna joined them.
After he was sufficiently cool, more arrived with a light meal and leftover treats from yesterday’s feast. Drinks that were stronger than water by the smell were making the rounds out in the amphitheater’s seating area.
“Wonder if there will be any of that alien octopus to try.”
“I don’t smell it. So, it was likely devoured yesterday.” Obsidian whispered in her ear. “Tomorrow, I’ll make sure to hunt some up for you to try.”
“Focus on your test, not my stomach. I’ll be fine. You might not.”
“Fear not. No one has ever died.”
“Comforting.”
They shared a quick lunch. Obsidian didn’t eat anything substantial, sticking to fruits high in water and sugar and a few of the dryad version of granola bars.
After the meal, Thayn called Obsidian back into the ring.
Then between one heartbeat and the next, the most skilled of the journeymen were rushing toward her partner, five to one. Anna fisted her hands and kept quiet. This was just part of a test, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.
The fight was brutal, but even then, there was something breathtaking about how Obsidian moved. His sword a bright streak of silver, a flash of light and then with the ring of blade on blade, sparks rained down upon the sand.
He didn’t move so much as glide from place to place.
Actually, he was good enough he didn’t need to move, but he chose to dance.
And his deadly dance was stunning.
Between one strike and the next, his present opponent’s sword was on the ground. But the match wasn’t over, and before the slight cloud of dust had settled, two more opponents raised their blades to his.
When he beat his first five opponents, five more came to take their place.
Anna’s fingertips began to burn, and her shoulder blades ached in that familiar way that spoke succinctly of her gargoyle’s wish to come out and hurt something.
When Obsidian defeated the last group, Thayn called for another break.
“No wonder you take years to practice for this shit. It’s so y’all don’t drop dead midway through the test.” Anna set down her bucket and squeezed out the rag on his overheated skin. Only after he seemed cooler did she offer him something to drink.
All too soon, Thayn was calling over the noisy crowd, ordering Obsidian to face the first Adept in the ring. Anna followed along behind. His first opponent was Adept Shorban. Others were already waiting at the edge of the ring for their turn.
She prepared herself for another long fight with her own gargoyle nature.
Shorban was followed by one of the warrior-dryads, a woman by the name of Adept Karlaryn. Then another gargoyle called Firethorn.
Midway through the present fight, threads of warning began fingering their way up Anna’s spine. Her gargoyle nature roused stronger and studied Firethorn. No. He wasn’t the cause.
The threat was emanating from closer to her position than Obsidian’s.
Scanning the press of gargoyle bodies crowding close to the ring, she stalked in the direction her magic tugged her.
There. Where Rook and Thayn were watching from the side of the ring. Just behind them, Reaver stood at the ready, a spear in his hand.
If she shifted now, it would alert Reaver that she was stalking him.
Remaining human, she made her way toward him.
Just then Rook stepped away from the others, his blade coming free of its scabbard.
Swinging her eyes back to Reaver, she froze.
He was gone.
Pulse pounding, her eyes darted around the outside of the ring, scanning the crowd.
There!
Snarling, she shifted to her gargoyle form and bounded across the sand toward her prey.
Too late. Reaver wasn’t alone. Three other gargoyles stood with him, and they launched their spears at staggered intervals, targeting Obsidian.
She tossed up a shadow magic shield between him and the airborne spears. Two of the spears struck her barrier. The other two clipped the top and sent them spinning. One hit the sand, but by some unimaginable bit of ill luck, she heard a grunt of pain followed by Obsidian’s snarl.
Anna growled in answer and adjusted her trajectory, racing through the crowd.
She’d kill the others once her Rasoren was safe.
Chapter 42
SILENCE SMOTHERED THE ring as the crowd fell silent in shock. Anna ignored them as she powered forward, sending bodies flying in her wake. At her mental call, more shadow magic rose up from the sands.
The temperature in the arena plummeted. Steam rolled off the sand and Anna’s own breath condensed in the air. Any gargoyle in her way was shoved aside by her savage power.
There was no pain or fear or weariness. No limit to her power. There was only rage that these lesser beings had endeavored to harm her Rasoren. And now! Now they were daring to cage her.
Nothing could stop her when her partner was weaving between consciousness and oblivion. He was losing too much blood. She could smell it. And after drinking that potion, he couldn’t call his magic to heal the wound or shift to stone.
It drove her into a frenzy of rage.
When she reached her Rasoren’s side, he was surrounded by several other gargoyles.
She snarled a warning. Wisely, they darted away to what they thought was a safe distance. There was no safe distance for them to run if they meant Obsidian harm.
When she sniffed at him, she swiftly determined those others hadn’t intended harm. They had cut the spear from his side and packed the wound to stop the bleeding until one of the healers could reach him.
“Anna,” his voice came weak as shudders coursed down his body. He lay on his side, wings curled around him. “I need your magic. I can’t summon my own.”
His words a command she wanted to obey. Every fiber in her being vibrated with the need to obey, to belong, to be claimed by her Rasoren. They’d both been foolishly resisting the soul-deep bond for different reasons.
“My Anna, all will be fine,” he whispered as his body began to feed on her power, draining strength and healing from her flesh.
Of course it was going to be all right now. She was here. They were together. She would kill all threats until he was well enough to move.
“No, Anna.”
“Why not?” Her voice sounded scratchy to her own ears like she’d damaged it with her snarls and growls.
“Come, lie next to me, my lovely Kyrsu. We’ll shift to stone and sleep side by side until we’re both healed.”
“You’re still in danger.” But denying him was so very hard.
“Am I?”
His words confused her until she examined the minds closest to them.
The others feared her.
As they should.
Hmmm. But she detected no hostility toward Obsidian.
That was strange. There’d been a definite threat before, but now it was gone.
It had to be a trap or a trick. That was the only reason.
“It was an accident.”
“No. What I felt and what they did to you was no accident.”
“It was part of the test,” he assured her. “After it was over, I heard Rook yelling at Reaver and the others about their terrible aim.
They were supposed to cause a flesh wound at most. I think Rook did it because he wanted to see this side of you.”
His words made sense when compared with what she felt in the others’ minds. But there had been some threat. She’d felt it. Sighing she gave herself a little shake, her fear and adrenaline slowly melted away.
She would listen to her Rasoren but only so far.
Concentrating, she summoned more magic and formed it into a powerful weaving. A moment later a protective dome surrounded them. Safe now, she curled up next to him and nosed at his wound.
Removing the packing placed there to slow the bleeding, she started to lap at the wound. Even as the healing compound in her saliva started on the surface, her magic worked its way into his body, finding the deepest point of the puncture wound.
The spear had bitten deep, perforating his liver. She summoned another wave of magic and sent it deep.
He hissed in pain.
But healing him was helping her to calm, so she continued.
“It serves you right for drinking something that would cripple your ability to summon your magic. Don’t do that ever again, you great dolt!”
“Don’t think I will.”
“Good. It was very foolish.”
“How are you feeling?” He asked, already sounding stronger from her healing.
What a strange question for him to ask her.
“I’m fine. You’re the one who got his ass kicked up and down the arena floor and then used your liver to catch a spear.”
“You’re back with me?”
“Back from where? You delirious? Where the hell did you think I’d be when you’re hurt?”
He gestured above them.
Anna spotted a shimmering dome of power. It smelled of her magic, and she had a foggy recollection of creating it. Outside was chaos, the sky black with gargoyle wings.
Then she noticed the bodies littering the arena floor.
“Oh, god. I went berserker, didn’t I?” She knew she had because, while she could remember the events, they were blurry and dull, like she’d witnessed them through a dirty window.
“It’s not your fault.”
“The fuck it’s not.”
“No. The blame can be firmly placed on Rook’s shoulders. This was his idea. He has wanted to witness your berserker nature for quite some time. Goddess only knows why he chose now to do it, in front of so many and with everything that’s been going on.”
“What the bloody hell did he think would happen?”
“Something like this I’d imagine? But on a smaller scale maybe. I don’t know.” Obsidian sounded exhausted.
She snuggled closer to him and glanced around once more.
“Do you need a healer?” she asked just to be certain, but it looked like her magic had sealed his wound, and his other injuries were gone. “I didn’t even know I could heal like that.”
“I didn’t either, but it’s good one of us does. We tend to get into a lot of trouble.” He gave his side a cautious poke. “I don’t think a healer can do any more for me than you already have.”
“Good.”
“Now all I need is my Kyrsu.” He yawned and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She glanced around. First at the dome and then everyone on the outside. The dome’s magic was impressive and damn near impenetrable. No one would be getting past it anytime soon. Not unless she allowed it and right at this moment, she wasn’t feeling very magnanimous. They could just sit out there on their collective asses until she and Obsidian were healed and rested.
Besides, it looked like most of the bodies on the ground were picking themselves up or being helped up by others.
She’d likely feel guilty later, but now all she felt was numb. Emotionally empty.
Briefly, she wondered if the emotional numbness of a berserker was a little like being a psychopath. That the thought didn’t inspire fear probably should have scared her.
But she couldn’t even feel fear.
Yawning, she curled closer to Obsidian and then with a silent command and a wave of power, she ordered both their bodies to shift to their stone forms to recover.
Chapter 43
OBSIDIAN YAWNED AND stretched, feeling a little tender where the spear had thrust deep, but his injuries were healed, and the drug the elders had given him had been purged from his body.
All in all, he felt good, physically.
Mentally? That was another matter altogether.
But there was only so much Anna and the healers could do. Restoring his peace of mind wasn’t one of them.
He’d woken from his stone sleep before Anna and found that Thayn, with the aid of Lord Draydrak, had been able to undo the spell his Kyrsu had hastily raised to protect them while they healed.
The elder had brought them to the healer’s quarters, where he remained.
Obsidian’s body was on the mend, but his mind was restless, thoughts and theories about why Rook had sabotaged the test churned endlessly.
If the elder had merely wanted to test Anna’s tolerance to threats directed at her Rasoren, the elder could have set something up during regular practice. It wasn’t necessary to do it in front of everyone or was that the point?
Did Rook want the entire gargoyle legion to see what he and Anna were capable of before it was unleashed on the battlefield? That still seemed a poor excuse for such a spectacular risk. Others had been harmed. Rook was lucky there hadn’t been any deaths. Anna in berserker mode wasn’t known for mercy.
Perhaps she’d managed to retain enough of ‘Anna’ to reason that the legion gargoyles weren’t a threat.
As for Rook, he could have done a series of smaller demonstrations throughout their training sessions. But the elder hadn’t exercised caution. Now, in the blink of an eye, all Anna’s hard work to gain the legion’s trust had been undone. Could she ever regain their people’s confidence, or would they judge her a threat?
A soft grunt drew his gaze down to Anna. His restless thoughts must have disturbed her sleep, for she’d still been stone up until a moment ago. The shimmer of magic even now danced along her skin, before being swallowed back.
Her eyes blinked open to stare at him.
Or at least she tried. Dawn’s light angled in and struck her right in the eyes. Groaning, she rolled over onto her belly, shielding her face.
“Oh my god. What the fuck did I drink? Fuck, I don’t care what it’s called. Just don’t let me drink it ever again.”
“You’re not drunk.”
“Obviously. I’m all too sober now.”
“It’s a reaction from calling more magic than your body is trained to handle.”
“Ugh. Remind me to go easy next time, will you?”
“I don’t think you were in a receptive mood to listen to reason.”
“Meh.” She rested her face in her hands. “Stop talking. My head is going to explode.”
“Stop whining and come here,” he said with a grin.
When she didn’t move, he sat cross-legged on the bench and then dragged her unresisting body closer to him until he could roll her over and position her head in his lap.
She groaned dramatically.
Calling a tiny bit of his shadow magic to the tips of his fingers, he gently worked them between the rows of her braids. He wasn’t a natural healer like Anna or some of the dryads, but he’d learned this trick from Maradryn. The smallest trace of the tingling magic could sooth headaches.
“Oh, you’re a god. Thank you.” Anna’s unguarded expression made him smile, but it wasn’t likely to last. As soon as she remembered what she’d done, doubt and self-loathing would replace it.
Which was why he was in no hurry to have this rare peaceful moment end.
But eventually he’d rubbed away the worst of the pain, and her eyes opened and spotted the ceiling of the healers’ quarters.
Her brows drew together in thought and then her earlier blissful expression became shuttered. She compressed her lips.
“I fucked up, didn’t I?”
Following her progress along their link, he witnessed when she recalled all that had happened. Much of it would be blurry and hazy, but there was enough for her to piece together events.
“I flipped and hulked out on everyone when you were hurt, didn’t I?”
He wasn’t familiar with the term, but its meaning was clear enough in her mind. “Yes. Though, this wasn’t your fault. You were just reacting to what you perceived as a danger to me.”
Obsidian explained what he’d been theorizing about while she’d slept.
“So, you see, I think this was exactly what Rook wanted to happen—at least your going berserker part. Though I don’t think he expected it to be quite so violent. At least I hope he didn’t.”
“Well, I for one am going to go ask him myself. Just as soon as I can stand up without the room spinning.”
“Tomorrow will be soon enough for that,” he said, and he gently brushed away some sand that was sticking to her temples.
If only his other worries were as easily brushed away.
Chapter 44
THE DAY AFTER OBSIDIAN’S Adept Trial, Anna found herself high up on the slopes of the eastern peak picking berries with a group of novices and journeymen.
It was a mundane task, which was why the mentors had assigned it to her. Secretly, she was happy to do it because it got her away from most of the stares and whispers.
Reasonable, quiet, and unassuming had been her modus operandi since the morning she’d awoken in the healers’ quarters with a splitting headache. Later she and Obsidian had confronted the elders.
Rook had admitted his plan had gone afoul. Thayn clarified by adding that when Anna had tossed up her first shield, it caused the spear—which was supposed to miss—to change its trajectory.
The spear was only supposed to have clipped him, causing a flesh wound.
They’d wanted something that would cause a threat response in Anna, but nothing so dangerous to trigger a full berserker event.
The Complete Gargoyle and Sorceress Boxset (Books 1-9) Page 144
