“Of course I would.” I rubbed her arm. It was so skinny and feeble, like the rest of her.
“Why?” She leaned back to see my face. “You barely know me.”
“For one, I never break promises.” Especially now. “Second, we may not have spent a lot of time together, but from the moment I met you, I knew you were family. And I fight for my family.”
“And you’re mine.” Tears wiggled from her eyes, her irises gleaming with love. I kissed her forehead.
“Thank you, Zoey.” Kate stepped up to us, her face contorted, like she struggled with her words. “I’m not sure I deserve it, but thank you for saving my life. For coming back for me.”
“Of course you deserve it.”
“I’ve done so much bad in my past. Lost my way.”
“You found it again. Dunn told me everything. I know why you did it. And I am so grateful for the help you gave me here even when your daughter and granddaughter were at risk.”
Kate’s hand came up to my face. “They are my blood, but I always thought of you and Daniel like that too. He would have wanted me to protect you. And there was no way I wasn’t going to do everything in my power to help you. He’d be so proud of you, Zoey.”
A soft smile curved my mouth. “Daniel would be proud of both of us.” I gave her a hug, trying not to squeeze Sprig, but clearly not doing a good job because he grunted and climbed underneath my tangled, bloodstained hair, hugging my neck. The stone thumped like a heartbeat against my ear, fury knocking into my skin. Stay strong, Zoey.
“Thank you, both of you.” I wrapped my arms around Annabeth and Kate in a group hug, so happy we all survived and for everything they did down there. “We can talk later. I need to see if everyone else is all right.”
####
Battle worn, the three of us hobbled for the exit to the street level. When I opened the door to the glow of morning light, a few tears escaped. The warm rays felt like a rebirth. A new beginning.
I did it. I ended Rapava. He was dead.
No. We all did it.
The thought of my loved ones moved me quicker out onto the street than I thought myself capable.
I expected to see fire engines and police cars, but there was nothing like that. A dusting of dead bodies scattered down the lane and around the building. The fight was over up here also, and the bodies on the ground declared the fae were the winners.
With the gunshots and screaming you’d think someone nearby would have heard and called the cops. But I could only hear the chirping of birds waking up and the groans of hurt people mulling around the space. Groups of fae dressed in gray scrubs along with some of Lars’s men clumped around, healing themselves. There were a few men in lab coats sprawled dead on the ground, but not as many as I feared. I had expected a lot more mayhem with blood running into the gutters. It was probably painting the walls and floors inside, hidden behind the doors of the building. Those lives could be thought of later, my mind was on the people I cared about.
“Ryker? Croygen? Lexie?” I bellowed, scanning the crowd. Kate walked with Annabeth as I rushed forward.
“Ms. Daniels,” a deep voice said, his voice a mix of velvet and death. My stomach locked, and I whirled around to face the Unseelie King. Sprig mumbled under his breath, inching deeper into my knotted hair.
Decked out in his suit, he appeared pristine and unbelievably handsome. Goran walked behind him as usual. His clothes and hair were at least rumpled as if he had been fighting. Lars probably sat in his car having a drink as he watched the battle like it was a TV show.
“You look like you’ve been through hell.” Lars’s yellow-green eyes drifted over me.
“You could say that.”
“I am pleased you survived.”
Most likely, he was only glad because of the stone.
“I believe you have something of mine?”
Goran took a step, a box in his hand. He lifted the lid, sticking it out.
“Sprig?” I nudged the figure strapped in fear to my neck. He took tentative steps out of my dirty, matted mane and crawled down my arm. He took off the backpack and opened the top, dumping it out over the box.
Pam and my underwear fell out along with the rock into the chest. Sprig squeaked, reaching back for Pam and the cape.
Goran quickly snapped the lid closed and drew it back.
“No!” Sprig cried, then turned to me, his eyes wide and full of sadness. “B-but…Pam? I just got her back.”
Lars took a step forward, his face showing nothing, then looked at the box. He lifted the lid slowly, and his long fingers dipped into the case. They brushed the stone and his eyes turned black, his face sharpening. I felt a punch of power to my chest, my hand pulsing like a Bat-Signal.
The stone slammed pressure into my head, bending me over, flashing image after image of a bloodstained field. A battle. Earth burning. Crumbling. The walls between the Otherworld and Earth disintegrating. A beautiful woman with bright red hair and a cruel smile. A gorgeous, dark-haired girl with different-colored eyes. A tiny, pretty brunette holding a sword. Death, blood, screaming.
Holy shit.
Lars grunted, shoving his power back at it. My brain felt like it might pop. I cried out as another wave of magic collided against the other. Then it burst, like fireworks in my brain, splintering down my arm to my palm. The pressure and images seeped out of me like a bucket with a hole. I drew my hand to my chest, my gaze darting up to the King.
“It’s angry with you.” Lars licked his lips, his features returning to normal. “Very angry.”
I continued to huff as if I had run a marathon, the vibrant images fading from memory.
“What?” He tilted his head.
“I-I…saw…” My mouth wouldn’t work.
“What did you see?” His gaze intense, his voice almost demanding.
I tried several times before I waggled my head. “I don’t know. War. I think.” I straightened.
Lars watched me, his stare drilling into me before it drifted to the stuffed animal between his fingers. He lifted Pam slowly from the container with one hand. His eyebrow hitched as he picked up the underwear with the other hand. Damn. The King of the Dark was holding my underwear.
“I think this is yours.” He placed Pam and the cape delicately in Sprig’s hands, acting as if the strange moment with the stone never happened. “She is a lucky girl.”
My jaw fell open. The Unseelie King just politely returned a stuffed goat and my undergarments to my sprite-monkey and acted like it was normal, treating Pam like she was real. What. The. Hell?
“Thank you.” Sprig hugged his arms around Pam, looping the undies around his neck before running up to my shoulder.
Lars’s intense gaze landed back on me. “I thank you, Zoey. You are an unbelievable young lady. Maybe our paths will cross again.”
“Sorry, no offense, but I hope the fuck not.” Stupid Zoey, why did I always have to open my mouth?
However, he just tipped his head back and started to laugh, which made me even more nervous. He shook his head. “You two really would get along. Be the undoing of every male who crossed your paths.”
“Get along with who?”
He just smiled, giving Goran a nod. The man reacted instantly and moved to the car, the box in his hand. The farther the stone moved away, the more my legs itched to follow it. But I held my ground, letting its beckoning slide over my skin.
We are not done, it hissed in my head.
Yes, we are, I sent back, but my gut felt the doubt in my declaration. I pushed back the uncertainty and lifted my head. I could feel an easing in my chest the farther the stone went from me. Go. Go…far away.
Lars stood watching me intensely, like he saw and heard more than he let on. He cleared his throat. “I want to forewarn you.”
“Warn me about what?”
His lips pinched. “There is a war coming. It’s not fae against human, but it will be fae against fae. Light against the Dark.”
“Why
are you telling me this?”
“Because I admire you. You are strong, and I want you to be prepared. It is not if, but when, and nowhere will be safe.”
“Then what can I do?”
“Be ready.” He started to turn. “You think this was a fight. What’s coming will make this seem like child’s play.”
I swallowed. Hell.
“The moment I leave, so will the glamour. I have a cleanup crew for the dead fae, but the human authority will get wind of this soon. I would get far away.”
Ah. Lars was the reason no one had yet called the police. No outside human could see or hear anything out of the ordinary. Yet.
I peered down at Sprig, rubbing his head. When I looked up the King was gone, as was the bond he’d put on me. My soul felt fifty pounds lighter. “Fuck, he scares me.”
“Like crapple.”
“Yes, he definitely makes me crapple.” I sucked in air.
And what really terrified me was I just handed one of the most powerful objects to the King of Darkness. A demon. Did I doom the worlds, both the Otherworld and Earth? Was that what the stone was showing me? Would it be wise for anyone, especially someone as powerful as him, to hold a relic he could use to destroy and dominate everything in its path?
I swallowed back the sour taste in my mouth and shrugged to myself. There’s nothing I can do about it now. I had to believe he had become King because he was smart, and that such a man would be too powerful to be controlled by a tiny rock.
“Zoey?”
I swung around.
Happiness exploded through my chest and I rushed instinctively toward the speaker, the Unseelie King all but forgotten.
“Croygen!” I almost knocked Sprig off my shoulder as I ran into his arms. He crushed me against his frame, a sigh bursting from his chest.
“You’re all right.” He breathed out in relief, kissing the top of my head.
“Ugh, you didn’t get shanghaied or something?” Sprig exclaimed, making a face.
“You didn’t fall into a rat trap?” Croygen squeezed me again then took a step back.
“Lexie?” I dropped my arms.
He nodded behind him, and I saw Kate hovering over Lexie’s blanket-wrapped body. Annabeth stood close to both.
I was at Lexie’s side before I could even blink, hugging her. Sprig leaped down next to her, cuddling close.
“Zoey.” She reached for me.
A burst of happiness erupted from me in garbled words and tears.
“I think Leanbh needs some honey. She’ll feel better then. It always helps me.”
She smiled weakly and nuzzled into him, then her lids drifted closed. After all the battles we had fought, my little sister was still dying. Those legs were poisoning her system.
Kate grabbed my hand. “We will handle this. I know a surgeon who doesn’t ask questions.”
“Then do it. Whatever it takes.” Lexie’s only hope for survival was to remove the legs and probably a blood transfusion. The chance of her dying on the table was too high for me to think about, but her chance of dying without an operation was a hundred percent.
Kate nodded. “I will contact Dunn. He will get us there quickly.”
I placed my hand on top of Kate’s. “Thank you.” I couldn’t fix or fight for Lexie anymore; Kate was my only hope.
“You sure you’re all right?” Croygen twisted me to face him, his attention going to my wrapped hand. “What happened?”
Before I could get a word out or pull my arms away, he unwrapped the cloth. The cool air stinging the tender wounds.
“Holy shit.” He sucked through his teeth and took a step back, his eyes glued on my hand.
“What?” Trepidation strung like lights running across my shoulders.
“How did you get these?” His black eyes were wide as he looked at me.
I swallowed nervously. “The stone. It got really pissed at me.”
“Do you know what they mean?”
I shook my head, my gaze going to the two etchings in my palm. The first one, still crusted by blood, reminded me of the symbol pi but the vertical lines were more like Js each facing out, the bar across lower and thicker with curved edges. The second looked like a lowercase cursive R with a curled end. I knew whatever they were, it was permanent. The scars too deep. The magic in it strong.
Croygen cupped my hand again, pointing at the top one. “This one is the symbol for remembrance, and the strength of stones.” He moved to the one below. “This one means hatred or vengeance. Not good, Zoey. Especially together.”
I bit down on my lip, pulling my hand back and covering it up again. “Well, there is nothing I can do about it now.” My voice sounded clipped, pushing away this news. “Have you seen Ryker?”
It took Croygen a beat to pull his attention from my hand. “What? No. He was with you.”
Dread tumbled into my stomach like an avalanche. “You haven’t seen him? He hasn’t come up?”
“No.” He shook his head, worry flickering in his eyes. Despite their petty arguments and bickering, I knew if Ryker was really in trouble Croygen would be the first one to go after him. Okay, the second. He’d have to get past me first.
I moved before I could think, screaming his name. Then I remembered the vision of Ryker on the stairs. It hadn’t been real, had it? My body felt weak with terror. If he were here, he would have found us already. He would have found me. Fear quickly rolled into terror, and I could barely breathe.
“Zoey, I’ve been watching, waiting for either one of you to come out.” Croygen didn’t have to say more. Ryker had never reached the surface.
“Did Liam come out?”
“No.” Croygen replied. “If he had, I would have killed him myself. And any one of those hunters.”
I couldn’t stop searching or calling his name.
“He’s not here, Zoey.”
Nononononono. My brain and heart cried, propelling me toward the entrance of DMG. I have to find him.
“Zoey, stop!” Croygen yelled, clutching my arm. “You can’t go back in there. It’s too dangerous.”
“I don’t care! He’s still in there, Croygen.” I ripped from his hold, darting for the alleyway.
“Zoey…” Croygen’s words were trampled by a boom so loud, my hands went to my ears, covering them. The explosions kept going off, like a cannon. The ground vibrated underfoot and knocked us to the ground.
I felt frozen, my gaze locked on the trembling structure in front of me.
“Zoey!” Croygen screamed.
The building crumpled, like a child kicking down blocks. Slabs of concrete tumbled and smashed into the street.
Arms came around me, pulling me back as the ground gave way. Dust billowed around the base, as if the DMG was built on clouds, pushing debris, smoke, and dirt in a wave over us. Then in a whoosh it slipped below the surface. Gone. The ground devoured it in a gulp. Croygen pressed me to the ground beneath him. The dust cloud rained pieces of the building down on us, clogging my lungs.
It was probably only seconds, but it felt like eternity. Then everything went silent.
Croygen lifted off me, and I sat up, staring at the empty lot through the haze.
“Noooooooo!” I wailed, getting to my feet. Croygen didn’t stop me as I ran, stumbling, and then falling to my knees close to the edge of the crater. A block-long hole sank deep into the earth, showing nothing remained. Another guttural scream tore out of me and shredded my throat.
Ryker had been five stories below. His axe was eight. He was hard to kill, but even he couldn’t live through that explosion.
Croygen wordlessly came to my side, wrapping me in his arms. If Ryker was in there, he would be staying there. My brain was blank of words, filled instead with a rushing agony, white-hot sound and pain like a million tiny buzzing insects trying to tear their way out of my chest and throat.
He rocked me back and forth, my body limp. My head spun, and I felt overcome with a fatigue so powerful I almost begged it to come,
to take me away. I didn’t even realize I had stopped crying or moving. I hunkered over my knees, making noises that didn’t sound human.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
That even seemed like too much. I’d have to be strong for my two sisters. But in that moment I just wanted to join Ryker. I could not live without him.
“Please, Croygen,” I whispered. “Tell me he isn’t dead.”
He held me tighter. “I’m sorry.”
My throat burned as I screamed up at the morning sky. The sun mocked me. I needed night to swallow me up, carry me away forever. I collapsed forward over my knees.
Time was irrelevant, but I knew it was ticking by. Another moment I lived without him.
My mind latched on to his memory, feeling his touch, seeing his face. I could even hear him call for me. After a few seconds I heard my name again. My eyes opened. Did I imagine that?
“Zoey?” a distant voice screamed through the dense air.
My head popped up, looking over my shoulder.
I wasn’t even sure if his voice existed only in my head, but I scrambled to my feet.
“Ryker?” My heart pounded in my chest, air struggling to move out of my lungs. “Ryker?” My throat was scraped raw by anguish. I circled around, scanning every inch of space.
From the burning ashes a hazy outline of a man appeared. Like a Norse god he strode out of the smoke, a glistening axe strapped to his back. His hair hung loose and covered one side of his face. His shirt and pants were shredded and his body, his gorgeous, chiseled physique was covered in red burn marks, weeping cuts, and flowering bruises. He locked on me and all at once I felt alive again.
“Ryker!” I ran. My boots hit the pavement as my heart soared. I flew into him, leaping into his arms. He crushed me in his embrace, a guttural sound rumbling from his chest.
“You’re alive,” he whispered, his voice breaking. He held me so tight I almost couldn’t breathe, but I didn’t care. He buried his head into my neck, his voice cracking. “You’re all right. I-I thought I lost you.”
I couldn’t speak.
Hearing his voice, the legendary Wanderer, the feared Viking, terrified over losing me, my heart wanted to explode with emotion—with the love I felt for him.
From Burning Ashes (Collector Series #4) Page 35
