He tensed as Loren’s gaze came back to rest on him.
“I was speaking to Commander Fuery.”
His eyes leaped to the male, and then to his left, to the one his prince had brought with him. Bleu. They had been close once, millennia ago. He had taken Bleu under his wing and had trained him, helped him ascend through the ranks of the legion, partly because he had known the male hailed from the same village as Shaia and partly because he had liked the spunky youth and his attitude towards life—one that had said he could achieve whatever he wanted as long as he worked hard enough.
Bleu nodded, offering silent encouragement that Fuery seized with both hands.
He couldn’t bring himself to meet Prince Loren’s gaze though, not when his eyes were near-black and he was finding it impossible to bring his darkness under control. The need to find Shaia, the pain and fear he could feel through their bond, kept the darkness boiling in his veins, whispering tempting words in his mind about cutting down anyone who stood in his way.
He needed to reach her.
Losing himself to the darkness in the presence of Prince Loren would be a grave mistake though, one that might end with the male calling in a death squad to deal with him, so he kept fighting it, chanting calming things in his mind to drive it back.
Until he needed it again.
He would unleash it then, would let it all out and not hold back.
He would kill whoever had hurt Shaia.
“Shaia,” he started and swallowed hard as he pictured her, thought about how frightened she must have been when the males had attacked her, and how afraid she was now as she waited for him to save her. “She returned here believing she could find me, but I was with… your brother.”
Prince Loren’s gaze grew more intense, piercing his face, and he could almost sense the male’s need to ask about his kin.
“When I came to the kingdom, I found a dart and signs of a fight. Three males have her. Three I am convinced were hired by these people. Sarea knows where she is and will not tell me.” He growled as the need to find Shaia blasted through him again, shaking the hold he had on his darker urges. “They mean to keep her from me… when I know she wants to be with me.”
He risked a glance at Prince Loren.
The male’s clear violet eyes grew stormy and he turned them on the couple behind Fuery. “Is it true you meant to keep Commander Fuery from Shaia?”
“She is to mate with a male more worthy of her. One she is promised to,” Sarea snapped.
Fuery saw red.
He turned on his heel and snarled at her through his fangs as her fear suddenly made sense. She was afraid he would find Shaia before the male who had hired the mercenaries could force her to wed him.
Loren’s hand on his shoulder held him back.
He looked across at the male as he passed him.
The male’s black eyebrows dipped low over stormy eyes, ones that flashed with lightning as he directed his anger at the couple.
“Do you believe the rank of commander, a rank not bestowed lightly and one earned rather than inherited, is not a worthy rank to possess?” The air in the room seemed to darken as Prince Loren halted before Shaia’s parents and fear flitted across both of their faces.
Bleu growled in a low voice, “Weigh your answer carefully.”
Sarea’s mouth flapped open and closed. Aylen rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and looked at anything other than Prince Loren, him or Bleu.
Fuery haemorrhaged patience so fast he thought he might pass out, so he opened his mouth to demand the bastards tell him what had happened to Shaia and where she was now.
Loren stunned him into silence, and almost knocked Shaia’s parents on their backsides, when he spoke.
“Why do you mean to keep your daughter from her mate of forty-two centuries?”
He knew?
Fuery whipped his gaze to Loren and stared at the back of his head as he remained facing her family.
“I am aware of your shock,” Loren said. “I met Shaia at the palace some days ago and learned of her situation when she sought advice from me about her bond.”
She must have gone to speak with Bleu and had somehow ended up talking to Prince Loren instead, asking him about why she had believed Fuery dead and why he had thought he had killed her, and why they had both been unaware of their bond, believing it gone when it had still been alive inside them, tying them together.
Aylen and Sarea looked from Loren to him.
“It is true,” he said, somehow managing to keep the darkness from his voice as the pressing need to find Shaia battered him. He clawed back patience, aware that if he could hold on a little longer, there was a chance they might break and tell him where to find her. “I am bound to Shaia and have been for four thousand two hundred years. We sealed our bond the night before I left for the borders of the free realm with the legion. She is mine, and I am hers.”
“So the matter seems rather resolved to me.” Prince Loren’s tone brooked no argument as he released Fuery’s shoulder. “Commander Fuery has every right to know where his blood-bonded mate is being held… against her will.”
Sarea paled and looked as if she might have slumped to the floor had Aylen not tightened his hold on her.
“We were not aware,” Aylen said, his voice steady despite the fear Fuery could see in his eyes and smell on him. “Neither were we aware of any plan to capture her. Eirwyn was distraught when she went missing. He might have…”
Fuery cut him off with a snarl. “Eirwyn?”
The bastard was the son of the late Commander Andon who had taken Fuery under his wing. Eirwyn had always despised him, jealous of the attention his father had given him. He had been a scrawny youth the last time Fuery had seen him at his family’s mansion, before his father had died in a war with the Fourth King of the demons. More than once, he had made his feelings about Fuery clear.
And more than once, he had mentioned taking Shaia as his bride when he was older.
Fuery was fucking damned if that was going to happen.
“I know the place.” Bleu grabbed his arm before he could move an inch and darkness descended, cold that chased over his skin and seemed to seep through the tiny gaps between the scales of his armour.
He shuddered as he landed outside the grand mansion on the other side of the village with Bleu and Prince Loren, and rubbed his hands over his arms.
“Is my brother well?” Loren had barely appeared before he asked that, his violet eyes bright with a need to know the answer to his question.
Fuery wanted to growl, wanted to snarl and tell the male that he was here to fight, to reclaim his mate and free her, not make idle talk, but he bit his tongue and found a shred of civility that the darkness hadn’t managed to eradicate yet.
“He is well. Better than I. He has been helping me.” When Fuery glanced at Bleu, he saw relief in the male’s eyes.
He remembered Bleu being there in Vail and Rosalind’s garden the first time he had gone to see his prince. He had needed to see Vail, and had been drawn to him and hadn’t been able to hold himself back from going to him. To this day, he still wasn’t sure how he had known where to find Vail. The darkness that always came over him on the anniversary of the day Vail had turned on his legion and made himself into an enemy of the kingdom was strong and often left him unaware of the things he did.
It had been that day that had brought him back to Vail, centuries after they had parted on the very same day.
“You seem a little better too.” Was that relief he could hear in Bleu’s voice?
He didn’t dare believe it, but when he looked into the male’s eyes, he saw it there. He nodded and turned away, feeling awkward as both males scrutinised him, as if they were trying to chart how deep his darkness ran now so they could see if he was any better the next time their paths crossed.
It seemed Vail wasn’t the only one who wanted to see it was possible to come back from the darkness.
He faced the door of the mansion and
While he had been making progress towards the light again thanks to Prince Vail and Shaia, he was about to take a huge step away from it.
It would be worth it though.
Gods, it would be worth it.
He lifted his boot and kicked the door open, and stormed into the mansion as Loren muttered behind him.
“He could have knocked.”
Bleu grunted. “Would you knock if he had Olivia?”
“I would tear the fucking building apart stone by stone,” Loren growled and prowled into the mansion behind Fuery.
It was as if Loren had read his mind. Fuery’s dark eyes scoured the unlit vestibule of the mansion, his ears twitching as he strained to hear anyone so much as breathing in it. His heart laboured as he fought the urge to begin ripping everything apart, destroying all that Eirwyn held dear in an effort to draw the bastard out of hiding.
He could hear the fucker’s heart beating in the distance above him.
Drawing closer.
A light appeared at the top of the balcony that ran around all four sides of the vestibule, the candle flickering in the darkness, illuminating a male’s face.
Eirwyn.
Fuery bared his fangs on a low growl. “What have you done with her?”
Eirwyn tilted his chin up and glared down at him. “Done with who?”
“Don’t fucking test me.” Fuery took a hard step towards the arrogant male, hungry with a need to wipe the imperious look away by gripping his long hair and pummelling his face with his fist.
Bleu moved up to stand beside him, and Fuery shot him a glare, daring him to try to hold him back and stop him.
Eirwyn casually leaned over the elegant wooden balustrade, resting his right elbow on it and causing his ponytail to fall over his left shoulder to brush his bare chest. “Commander Bleu. It is a surprise to see you again. I assume you have come to escort this male away?”
Bleu rolled his shoulders in an easy shrug. “Probably not. Depends on how things go. If you tell him what you’ve done with his mate, then I might stop him from killing you.”
“His mate?” Eirwyn’s left eyebrow rose.
“Shaia,” Fuery bit out. “What have you done with Shaia? I know you think she is promised to you. You cannot have her, because she is mine and has always been mine. She is my mate.”
“Ludicrous,” Eirwyn scoffed, and then his eyes slowly widened as Loren stepped out from beneath the balcony, coming into the sphere of the candlelight.
“I assure you, it is the truth. If you know where Shaia is, it would be wise to tell us.” Prince Loren stared the male down, and a flicker of nerves began to show in his eyes.
Fuery locked onto them as he scoured the building with his senses, searching it for a sign of Shaia. Only four heartbeats came to him, and he growled when he couldn’t scent her in the mansion either.
Or on Eirwyn.
Either the male hadn’t been in contact with her, or he had scrubbed himself clean after he had, erasing any trace of her scent.
Eirwyn gathered himself and calmly straightened, turned to his right and slowly descended the stairs. Fuery tracked him, keeping a close eye on him, refusing to let him get the jump on him. He turned slowly as the male rounded the curve in the staircase, shifting so his back was to the entrance and Loren. Eirwyn stopped on the bottom step, his face fixed in a concerned expression that didn’t fool Fuery.
“What happened to Shaia?” He leaned right and rested the candle on the flat top of the broad pillar at the bottom of the banisters. “I swear, I have not seen her. She disappeared weeks ago and her parents have been frantic. I have been frantic.”
Lies.
Eirwyn knew where she was.
He might not have seen her yet, but he knew what had happened to her. Fuery could see it in the bastard’s eyes as the male tried hard to hide it from him. The smugness shone through though, eclipsing the fake worry for brief flickers, revealing it to Fuery. He knew where Shaia was, and couldn’t contain his elation, his excitement at taking her from Fuery and having something he wanted.
Prince Loren moving snapped Fuery out of thoughts of tearing into the male and slowly clawing through his chest until the male gave up her location or died.
“We will find her, Fuery,” Loren whispered, his deep voice smooth and calm, comforting him as it swept through him and pushed the darkness out enough that he could scrape together a modicum of control over it. The male approached him, and stopped close to him, genuine concern in his clear eyes, mingled with hope and determination. “You can use your bond with her to locate her. It is stronger now, yes?”
He nodded. It was, but he didn’t dare hope he could use it to find her. He could feel her pain and her fear, but the desperate need to find her had his darkness at the helm, and it was drowning out the light inside him.
“Focus on your bond,” Loren murmured. “Close your eyes and focus on Shaia and the connection that links you together.”
He did as instructed and felt Eirwyn move. Bleu was between them in a heartbeat, blocking the male’s path to him.
“Focus.” Loren placed his hand against the back of Fuery’s neck.
Darkness surged through him in response and Fuery turned and knocked his hand away. “Don’t.”
As much as he wanted Prince Loren to use his connection to nature to aide him with locating Shaia, he couldn’t let him do it. He didn’t want to taint the male, and he knew the prince would feel the darkness in him, would be affected by it. Vail would never forgive him if he passed this terrible disease to his beloved brother.
Loren nodded. “Very well. I shall not.”
When the male lowered his hand, Fuery closed his eyes again and tried to focus. The roar in his mind and in his veins was too loud though, the darkness writhing and wild with a need to shed blood, break bone and carve flesh. He frowned and pushed, attempting to focus through it, and felt a glimmer of Shaia’s pain, saw a flash of the red ribbon that connected them, and then it was gone.
The darkness was too strong, denying him as it fought against the light his bond with Shaia created in him, clouding their link so he couldn’t find her.
Fuery flicked his eyes open and settled them on Eirwyn.
Centuries of life as an assassin had taught him to read people.
The male knew where Shaia was.
Centuries of life as an assassin had taught him to see all the possible moves a mark would make and pick the one they would choose and use it to his advantage.
The male would meet with the mercenaries to take his prize from them.
When it happened, Fuery would be there, ready to strike.
Right now, he needed to give Eirwyn a reason to believe he would no longer be a threat to him and he could meet with the mercenaries without interference and claim his bride.
On a roar, he launched at Eirwyn, managing to rake his claws down the male’s bare chest before Bleu tackled him as predicted, taking him down in a tangle of limbs and pinning him to the cold stone floor.
Eirwyn spluttered, his face red with rage. “Imprison that animal.”
Loren looked as if he didn’t want to do it.
Hope fled Fuery’s heart.
Bleu eased back and looked down at him, and Fuery shifted his gaze to him. The moment their eyes locked, Bleu began wrestling with him, jostling him as he grabbed Fuery’s wrists and moved them, making it appear as if he was fighting him.
“Calm down,” Bleu snarled and his eyes widened, just a brief flash of white around his irises as he gave Fuery a pointed look and raised his voice again. “I said calm down!”
Realisation swept through Fuery like a blinding sunrise.
He growled and fought Bleu’s hold, managed to break one arm free of his grip and slammed his fist into the male’s face, knocking him sideways.
Bleu scowled at him as blood pooled at the corner of his lips. “You left me no choice. It’s the cells for you.”
He teleported.
Fuery dropped into the darkness with him, and landed in the courtyard of the castle with Bleu still astride him.
Prince Loren appeared a second later. “What in the gods’ names is going on?”
Bleu rose onto his feet, grabbed Fuery’s wrist and pulled him onto his. “You had better be right about this… because Eirwyn’s brother is one of my subordinates and I don’t want to have to explain to Leif that we were hunting his brother if it turns out you’re wrong. He’ll give me hell for years.”
The way he said that made it sound as if Leif would be supportive of their actions if it turned out he was right though.
Leif sounded like his father, Andon, noble and courageous, a male who did the right thing and followed the law to the letter in order to maintain the reputation of their family and avoid tarnishing their name.
“The male hired the mercenaries.” Fuery dusted himself down, hands trembling as he used the small task as something to focus on so he could gather himself and push back against the darkness. Losing his shit in the middle of the castle courtyard would be a death sentence. While Prince Loren seemed fine with the tainted, most of the occupants of the castle were not and they would call for his head. “I’m sure of it. He despises me because his father had a soft spot for me and he wants to take what is mine. He knew I had feelings for Shaia, and told me several times that he was going to wed her. He wanted to spite me.”
Loren looked to Bleu.
Bleu shrugged. “It sounds reasonable. I met him once with Shaia when I was taking Taryn to meet my parents. Taryn remarked that the male had the same look in his eyes that she gets whenever she sees treasure. Having seen the way her brother looked at the sword, I can see what she meant. It was a little too possessive, and not in a good way. Eirwyn thinks that Shaia will achieve him something, and I’m guessing it’s power. It’s always fucking power with these nobles.”
A passing well-dressed male scowled at Bleu. Bleu shot him a black look that challenged him to say something. The male huffed, turned his nose up and kept walking.
Fuery had to agree with Bleu.
“Whenever Eirwyn had spoken of marrying Shaia, he had said nothing about love and everything about what it would gain him.” A fact Fuery wanted to growl over, because Shaia deserved to be loved, cherished, not treated as a possession. “He wants power, standing, and taking Shaia as his bride would gain him that. She is the sole heir in her family’s bloodline. With no male to inherit it, marrying her would pass that power on to him, and would help him ascend in rank.”
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