Valiant Heart

by Angela Addams

  The smoke nearly choked me, the fumes seeping past my closed eyelids, burning my flesh, consuming me as I consumed it. My head swam, thoughts turning foggy, lips growing numb, tongue thick. Kelly squeezed my fingers tightly, her nails digging into the backs of my hands. Was Artemis speaking to her? Maybe. Were we delivering a message to the others, our bodies the vehicle for Artemis? Perhaps. I didn’t know. I didn’t care. What I wanted most was to curl up and fall asleep.

  “Daughter.”

  The voice was in my head, commanding, demanding that I focus. I felt my body go rigid, spine straight, all other sensation falling away.

  “You are on a dangerous path. You must honor your bond and respect the vows or you will not have the power to do what must be done.”

  I nodded. “Honor. Respect. Yes, I will.”

  “See this mission through. Do not be led astray. Mind your flock. She has called her beast and her call was all powerful. Your warriors need you. Now!”

  The scream of her last word echoed through my body, my eyes snapping open of their own volition. My hand was at my back, pulling my sickles from their sheaths before I really understood what was going on.

  “The beasts!” Paige screamed as she jumped the fire and headed toward the sound of battle cries.

  I sprang to my feet, sickles in hand, brain still fuzzy. What the fuck? There was fur, metal, bodies, blood.

  Lance was at my back within seconds, his sword raised. He spoke to me over his shoulder. “The beasts came out of nowhere.”

  “Where the fuck is Kelly?” She has called her beast. I scanned the tree line, the dusky sky making shadows look deadly. “Nobody saw where she went?”

  Beasts came at us, fangs bared, claws ready to tear. I could only hear Lance as he battled, keeping his attacker back with his sword while I swiped at the one in front of me. We fought with our backs together, our grunts, our sweat, like a pair who’d been fighting together for eternity. He wounded, I impaled, he maimed, I stabbed. The three that came at us died brutally and not a scratch for either one of us. I’d never been this powerful. I lifted my head and roared, adrenaline coursing through me. The bond. It was like a drug. Dangerous and addictive.

  I saw her flaming red hair through the haze of power lust. A beast had her cornered, her back against a tree, her eyes wide, hands raised, no weapon. She was enthralled. She was going to die. With a bellow, I jumped over the dead beasts at my feet and raced to her. I tossed my curved sickle to the ground then jumped on the beast’s back, impaling him with my other blade straight through the shoulder, down and out its armpit. It roared, head raised, fangs elongated. I gripped its head, the coarse fur giving me a good handle then twisted the blade.

  Kelly and I locked eyes. Understanding dawned. I pulled my blade and swiped it along the beast’s neck, sending a cascading splatter of blood over Kelly’s face. The beast stumbled to its knees. I nodded at Kelly. She lowered herself, tiled her head to the side and bared her throat. With my blade at its neck, I forced its head down, slamming its fangs into her flesh with all the power I could. She screamed. I ripped the beast away, flinging it to its back before picking up my curved sickle and impaling it through the chest. Killing blow. It died immediately.

  “Kelly!” Lance skidded to a halt next to her, on his knees, assessing the gaping bite wound at her throat. It would not heal spontaneously because it was done with hate rather than love.

  Lance moved his fingers to hover over her wound.

  She pushed his hands away, her eyes flashing with defiance. Rejecting his comfort.

  Ah, sister Huntress, there you are. Fierce at last.

  Kelly raised her hand to her wound, pulled her fingers away to see her blood, mingled no doubt with that of her beast. She looked at me, at the dead animal that was destined to be her mate and then smiled. “My powers…” Her eyes dimmed for a moment. She swayed on her knees, a vacant look crossing her face. “She’s going to die, Ariana, go, go…” Kelly frowned. “Go!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Lost

  Lance followed Ariana as she ran through the trees, jumping the bodies of fallen beasts, heading for the trail where her Huntresses screamed their fury. He couldn’t even think about what had just happened. How Kelly had looked as she’d taken that bite, how his heart had constricted violently when he realized he could lose her to the same vows he was battling Ariana over.

  He couldn’t think about it. Not when his Huntress was running into battle once again. Not while the tether that bound them pulled so taut, threatening to break while his heart was torn in two. Kelly stayed behind. Ariana ran forward.

  Relationship status: Complicated. Hell yeah.

  The trail was littered with the bodies of the dead beasts. There were Huntresses who were injured, holding weapons weakly while they cradled damaged arms or favored bleeding legs. They were attempting to corral the two beasts who remained upright, huge, mean-looking motherfuckers right out of a horror movie.

  The tension was palpable, choking him with fear. The Huntresses were being held at bay by one of the two beasts. In his grasp, held high above his head was one of their warriors, the one with the power of hell fire. Paige. She was broken, her body twisted. Her eyes opened slightly, the sound of her moaning the only hint she was still alive.

  “Release her, beast!” Ariana roared, her voice filled with fury, hands clenching her sickles, raised and ready to attack.

  “She will die!” The beast snarled back, words garbled by fangs. It turned its face toward Ariana, yellow eyes glaring with malice as it grinned a wolfie grin. “Huntresses will all die.”

  He catapulted Paige. That was the only word for it—pulled back his massive arms and flung her through the air. Ariana didn’t look to see where Paige landed; instead she flew at the beast. Lance heard the sickening sound of a soft body hitting something hard. He didn’t look either. The time for mourning would come later, if they survived.

  When Ariana attacked, so did her women. It was utter mayhem, with warriors jumping onto the beasts, screeching as they gripped fur, stuck blades, took hits from claws and fangs. An arrow came out of nowhere, then two more. Lance glanced over his shoulder to see Kelly, bow in hand, knocking yet another bolt. Her aim was flawless—he’d never seen her so on her game. She looked right through him, determination and power radiating. The next arrow took one of the beasts out with a shot straight into its chest. It dropped and another Huntress slammed her blade into its heart just to be sure it was dead.

  Ariana jumped down in front of Lance, breathless and motioning for his sword. He snapped his gaze to the remaining beast, the pack alpha with the yellow eyes. Her sickles were in his body, embedded and sticking out. The Huntresses had all backed off while it sank to its knees, the beast trying desperately to remove the blades, the Huntress poison weakening it.

  “Lance!” Ariana motioned impatiently for his sword again.

  He handed it over. With swelling pride, he watched his Huntress grip his weapon like she’d been using it her whole life, the weight no longer any issue for her as she swung in a wide arc, bringing it down to slice off the beast’s head in one swoop.

  She crumpled to her knees at the same time as the beast’s head hit the ground, the massive body sliding back a second after that to shake the ground with a thud.

  Silence consumed them. The weight of battle dissipating to be replaced with a new heaviness.

  Ariana laid the sword on the ground, then rose slowly and turned, walking straight toward the body of her fallen sister. Lance followed her, knowing by the set of her shoulders that she wouldn’t accept this death well.

  Paige was impaled through the chest on a low hanging broken branch. Her eyes were wide, all seeing dead eyes.

  “Get her down,” Ariana ordered. “Lay her here.” She pointed to the ground at her feet.

  Lance jumped into action, helping alongside the other Huntress
es to free their dead sister. He held her upper body as they removed her from the branch and placed her in front of Ariana. His mate’s face crumpled for a split second; Lance was certain he was the only one to see it. And then determination set in and she slid to her knees, her hands hovering over the wound, magic crackling.

  What the fuck?

  He moved around the body, intent on stopping something so ridiculous.

  She looked up at him with anger in her eyes. “You’ll help me.”

  Lance gulped, shook his head. No. “She’s gone, Ariana.”

  Her eyes flared, flashing with manic defiance. “I can mend this.”

  And then she turned from him and stuck her hands into the grotesque wound, soaking her fingers in gore, muttering as her magic rose up with such intensity that Lance staggered back a step. She was going to damage herself. There was no way to fix this wound. She would drive herself mad if she let the magic consume her.

  With a look around at her women, all of whom were staring in shock, Lance swooped forward and wrapped her up in his arms, bear hugging her tightly as he lifted her away. “No, Ariana, she’s dead.”

  “I can mend her!”

  She bucked against him, screamed, kicked at him, tried to bite him, but he held on, flexing his muscles to keep her secure. “No, Ariana, no.”

  “She’s dead.” Kelly crouched down at Paige’s head and swiped her fingers to close the woman’s eyelids. “She can’t be saved.”

  Ariana moaned, a mournful soul-ripping sound that made Lance want to murder the beasts all over again.

  “She’s gone, sister,” Harper said.

  Ariana ceased her struggles, deflating in his arms. “No, I refuse—”

  “You can’t mend this, Ariana. Not this time,” Lance whispered against her ear, his arms still holding her tightly.

  Harper stepped forward, her right arm cradled against her stomach, blood dripping from a long laceration. “Mend this, sister.”

  Ariana shifted her head to finally look away from the body. “You’re injured.”

  Harper nodded. “Mend my arm so that I can transport us out of here. Greer will meet us at camp. We can regroup there and give Paige a proper funeral.”

  Ariana sucked in a deep breath, let it out slowly, shifted her weight to pull away from Lance.

  “Are you good?” he asked as he started to let her go.

  She nodded, cleared her throat. “I’m good.”

  With her powers as strong as they were, Ariana had Harper’s arm mended in a matter of minutes and then she was barking orders, all business, any trace of weakness gone.

  “We have a base with cabins that’s safe,” she was saying to Kelly as Lance approached, barely making eye contact with him as she continued. “Greer will meet us there.”

  “We have to travel by Harper again?” Lance asked with a shudder.

  “You need to remember to breathe this time.” Kelly smiled as she turned to him, wrapping him in her arms for a quick embrace.

  By the time Kelly released him, Ariana had walked away. Fuck.

  “How are you feeling?” Lance snuck a look around, searching for his mate. He caught sight of her talking to Harper and a few other women. When she noticed him looking, she gave him the finger.

  Kelly chuckled. “She’s perfect for you, Lance.”

  Sighing, he turned his attention back to Kelly. “She fucking hates me.”

  “Nah, she just wants you to think she does.” Kelly touched his arm. “She wouldn’t get jealous if she didn’t care.”

  Lance snorted, deflecting the logic of Kelly’s words and how much they meant to him. “You didn’t answer me.” He pointed to the wound on her neck. “That hurt? How are you feeling?”

  She ran her fingers over the tattered flesh, her Huntress genes already at work mending it. “Nope, doesn’t hurt anymore. Guess I’ll have this mark for eternity though.” She sighed. “Bitten in anger, nothing pretty about a wound like that. At least I’ll be like the others.” She smiled wistfully. “I feel good, really good. Stronger, and my powers are filtering in. Nothing like they were in the coma but I’m getting flashes at least. I wouldn’t put any money down on things I’m seeing, but I have a feeling it will get better.”

  “It will get better and you’ll be stronger.” Harper walked up to them, her hands out. “You two ready to go?”

  “Don’t you girls usually travel en-masse? Where’s the big circle?” Lance asked, inwardly cringing at the thought of traveling by Harper again.

  “Ariana thinks it’s best that I only take two at a time, make sure things don’t go missing in the transport.” Harper held up her arm. “It’s healed but I lost a bit of blood.”

  “You sure this is safe?” Lance didn’t like the idea of losing anything in transport.

  Harper smirked. “Perfectly. Haven’t lost an appendage yet.” She glanced down at his crotch briefly. “You ready or what?”

  Lance frowned as he looked around for Ariana, spotting her as she collected some weapons from the bodies of the beasts. “I’m not going until Ariana goes.”

  Harper shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She motioned for Kelly to follow her as she moved toward another batch of women.

  “Be careful,” Lance said as Kelly smiled and turned away from him, a wave of okay over her shoulder.

  He headed toward Ariana who was struggling to free her sickle from the beast’s body. “You want some help with that?”

  She glanced up at him with a fuck you look. “Oh, now you want to help?”

  Ouch. Okay, she was pissed. What else was new?

  “What’s your problem, Ariana? You angry with me because I wouldn’t let you mend a dead body? Is that the issue here?”

  She glared at him but said nothing, instead turning her attention back to the beast and her weapon.

  “What’s your thing with mending no matter the cost? You see one of your women injured, gravely injured, and can’t keep things under control.”

  “It’s called being a leader, Lance!” she spat as she heaved her sickle out with a grunt. “Being strong for my warriors. I wouldn’t expect you, a Hunter, to really get it.”

  “A leader?” He crossed his arms “Oh really? That’s what you call it? You totally lose your shit, Ariana. You’re out of control. A good leader relies on her head and logic, not emotion. Emotion gets you killed, gets your women killed.”

  “Oh, what? You’re saying that I got Paige killed?” She stepped away from the beast’s body, her sickle still in her hand.

  “You lead with your heart, that’s what I’m saying. It’s dangerous. Makes you vulnerable.”

  “Fuck you, Lance. You don’t know anything about me.”

  She made to bypass him and he caught her arm and spun her back. “So tell me then, what the fuck, Ariana, why the need to save at whatever cost?”

  She looked at his hand holding her arm then at him, and although she was angry—her rage simmering in her eyes—he also saw vulnerability.

  She didn’t want to tell him, he could see the battle but she opened her mouth and spoke anyway, like she was compelled. “After my mother was long dead and I became Father’s battle companion, he’d take me with him on every hunt. A Hunter is only as effective as the Huntress at his side. He’d put me into some dangerous situations, called it on-the-job-training.” She pulled her arm away and he let her go, giving her the space she clearly needed. “One day while we were out hunting a rogue beast, he came upon a newly turned wolf. Beautiful creature, so new that it was still an actual wolf. Huge, black sleek fur, blue, blue eyes, not tainted by Lazarus. He was mesmerizing. Truly.” She sighed. “Father ordered the kill, for practice he called it. The wolf understood what Father was saying, must have felt the hostility. It acted on instinct and attacked. I hesitated, didn’t even raise my sickle. Father was slashed across in the thigh. Must have h
it the artery because he was bleeding bad. The wolf bolted. I tied a tourniquet and you know what my father said to me?”

  Lance shook his head, didn’t dare open his mouth.

  “He told me that I was a poor excuse of a Huntress, that I should be ashamed to have let the wolf go. He bled out right there on the forest floor, died at my feet and I did nothing to stop it from happening.”

  Lance frowned, made to take her into his arms, his heart contracting. “How could you have done more? You were in the middle of a forest, cut off from isolation, no powers…”

  She shook him off and stepped back. “I did have powers, Lance. I’ve always had them. I told you that, being among other Hunters and Huntresses triggered them early. So, yeah, they were there. Maybe not as strong, but from the time I was a child, my powers have always worked to some degree. I could have closed the wound enough to get him to medical help. I made a choice. I killed my father.”

  Lance gulped. His mouth was dry, no words there.

  “And as much as I hated him, he didn’t deserve to die that way. Not while I could have done something. I owe it to my women to at least try, Lance.” She touched her chest, at her heart. “You say I lead with my heart, and I say, so what?”

  Lance moved to touch her face, to bring her closer. “You did what you had to do. Your father abused you. He put you through hell. You shouldn’t blame yourself for that. You lead with your heart. It’s dangerous, but it’s something that I’m falling in love with as well. I just wish you’d lead with your heart for me too.”

  “You two ready to go or what?” Harper appeared next to them in a flash, like a specter from a nightmare all covered in dry blood.

  Ariana shifted back and nodded. “You get everyone else? Including Paige?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I did. Just you two now.”

  Ariana reached out and gripped Lance’s hand, while Harper did the same to both of them.

  “Hang tight,” Harper said seconds before Lance’s world shifted into a dizzy mess of nausea.